Historic Ships of the UK

[lenknight]

Hello All,
Now we have been presented with the long awaited  â€˜Ships For The Nation’ report, what are we to take onboard?
 Smaller group to be known as the National Historic Ships Unit (NHSU) to possible replace the larger group National Historic Ships Committee (NHSC), albeit this new group will eventually be answerable to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as opposed to National Maritime Museum (NMM). Otherwise replace one Quango with another, but smaller, but more control by the government of the day. Not necessarily a bad thing, but why now, after all this time?
I must assume this has nothing to do with the possible DCMS interference to the funding by diversion of the Heritage Funds that could have been available after 2009 into other purposes than Heritage, normally financed by the Tax Payer (Read Heritage Afloat Report)
I was of course of the opinion that the Lottery was set up with the idea to fund projects other than state projects, which were deemed to be of charitable status. It seems not only is the state not satifyed with the 12% that is taken from the fund tax wise before it is divided, it now also has its eye on the unclaimed prizes as well.
I think we must by now all realise that very few of the vessels on the ‘Core Collection’ have any chance of funding, alone Restoration along with those on the ‘Designated List’. Hence we are now looking at a new brainwave called the ‘Ships at Risk’ which possibly sums up all.
If projects dear to your heart are not in receipt of any funding by 2009, I fear it’s a matter of the state saying “Pull up the anchor lads, we are inboard mate” and our maritime history will just be that, buy a book, and read all about it.
Has anyone out there have any comments on this on going situation.
Len Knight.

[Eddy Matthews]

Thanks for the update Len,

I'm afraid it just sounds like the normal situation in this country - We were a maritime super-power, but the preservation of our maritime heritage seems to be left to a few dedicated individuals. The government is just playing at it - all these new comittees  - It's just the government renaming things IMHO. I can't see that there will be any REAL change! :-(

The National Maritime Museum is a total joke - I wouldn't trust them to organise a party in a brewery! And the National Lottery is great if the thing you want funding is benefiting the ballet, or lesbian mothers, or other very minority groups - Give them something really important to fund and they never come up with the cash!

I'm sorry to have to say it, but I can't see the government or any of the large organisations doing anything to help - It's still down to the dedicated individuals and a few small charities to keep the flag flying. I hope I'm wrong, but past experience should really tell everyone what is likely to happen....

Regards
Eddy

[frankmcneilll]

The UK isn't the only place with politicians that say one thing and do another.
I would like to suggest that we need a thread for on and off-topic discussion about the need for a multinational, mostly-nonprofit cartel for the production and marketing of semi-scale models of boats and ships that traveled on the world’s rivers, lakes and seas during the golden years of paddle wheel propulsion.
World Headquarters would be located in the UK— on the Paddleducks web site of course— and regional offices would be located in countries with groups that are trying to keep paddle boats from going the way of the dodo bird. Go to: http://www.pskc.freeserve.co.uk/links.htm for more.
Semi-scale paddlewheel models wouldn't compete with RC stuff from China & Company, so who would be willing to to buy paddle wheel models that wouldn't be able to compete with battery powered toys— and even less with the nitro-powered stuff real men play with? For starters, there are maritime museums and maritime archaeology Institutions all over the world. I don't remember where all of them are, so please ask Google for information. Some of these organizations have online gift shops that sell caps, banners and pictures, everything nautical except ship models and toys. The Smithsonian has a huge collection of ship models, plans, pictures and maritime historical stuff, four gift shops in Washington DC and a online store with model airplanes and trains— but no ship models or toys.
I hope I won't get booted out for mentioning pop-pop boats again, but there are people who sell them on web sites: American Science & Surplus, Buzz's Boatyard, Gasoline Alley Antiques, Goodfriends, Hawkins Bazaar, Home on the Farm, Hilgart Holdings, Knatterboot, The Pop-pop Store, Scheffel's Toys and John Woodson. My hunch is that anybody who started cranking out RC pop-pop boats disguised as heritage vessels would have to fight the guys who sell pop-pop boats off with a stick.
Paddleducks members probably have jobs that are more lucrative than working in model ship yards, but might be willing to develop plans for simple models and a few production fixtures teen-agers could use to build stuff that could be consigned to the nearest cartel offcee for marketing to museums and preservation groups that could raise funds by selling models to unwary tourists. I am attaching a couple of jpg clips. The first shows the "Excelsior," a painted tin toy owned by the New York Historical Society. Kids all over the world have seen paddle wheelers in movies, but have never had toys that show what they were really like. The next shows a simple string-pulled toy side wheeler that can be built from plans sold by that mother of all hobby stores, Hobbies of Dereham. This one could be fitted with a pop-pop engine and steering that might be accomplished by using RC equipment and brakes that would stop a paddle wheel from rotating and turn the boat in that direction. There are miniature thermoelectric generators that could convert waste heat to electricity, and eliminate the need for batteries. A newer technology has the capability for approaching 70-percent of the theoretical limit for efficiency defined by the Carnot algorithm. For more about this, go to: Power Chips at: http://tinyurl.com/bbghf .