Laying the Keel

A ship’s construction officially starts with laying the keel — the spine of the ship. This is as true for a full-sized ship built in a dry dock as it is with a model ship on a workshop table. The real SS Christopher Columbus had its keel laid in 1892 in Superior, Wisconsin by the American Steel Barge Company. The 1:80 scale Columbus had its keel laid on September 26 of 2025 in Rochester, Minnesota.

Prior to that date, digital work began by creating the hull in CAD software to make early progress on some of the reconstruction and engineering. The model of the Columbus is being constructed with a false keel and ribs made of 5mm plywood. Ribs are spaced equally throughout the length of the ship and make up the general shape of the hull. The plywood was then cut using my xTool laser cutter (my favorite shop tool).

The hull as designed in Fusion 360 before being sent to the laser cutter.

For wooden model ships like this one, it is imperative that the keel be kept perfectly straight during initial construction of the hull. Without this crucial step, the subsequent steps of the build will be negatively impacted by compounding errors. In the photo below, you can see the jig that was used to maintain alignment to a centerline. The keel is clamped about every fifth rib with scrap wood blocks to maintain its straightness along the full length. Each rib is then glued and clamped at precise right angles from the keel using 1-2-3 machine blocks. Investment in precision for this step means that the hull will be both straight and symmetric.

A simple jig to maintain keel alignment to a centerline.

The Historical Research

A technical drawing of the SS Christopher Columbus.

The research phase of historical model building is both my favorite and the most challenging. It is delightful to pour over the historical records and artifacts to learn about the subject matter. It’s a bonus when travel is required to go hunt through museums or archives searching for reference material. My goal is always to represent the original subject as best as possible given the available time, materials, and scale. The challenge, however, is when there isn’t enough reference material available to authentically reproduce the entire model. Artistic license may be necessary to fill in the missing details, though that is always minimized as much as possible.

Fortunately for this project, there are two primary sources that provide most of the information needed. A set of technical drawings was found at a Michigan library. However, the drawings are missing key details. The second source comes from a recent visit I made to the SS Meteor Museum in Superior, Wisconsin which has on display another model of the SS Christopher Columbus (just like the one I am building).

The next challenge to deal with is reconciling some of the major changes that have occurred throughout the life of the ship. Historical photos show that the Columbus had several different paint schemes throughout its life. Even more dramatically, certain photos show that an entire deck was added to the ship in its later years. All of these variances require working with the client to determine what is required and feasible with the reference material that’s available.

The Return Journey of the SS Christopher Columbus

SS Christopher Columbus docked in Bayfield, Wisconsin.
University of Wisconsin-Madison - Superior Special Collections and Archives

A one-of-kind passenger ship was once seen sailing around the Great Lakes during the start of the 20th century. Her name was the SS Christopher Columbus. Though she was less than a third of the length of today’s largest cruise ships and was unlike any other passenger vessel that has ever sailed, she would become a unique and historic icon of the North Shore.

The Columbus had a 40-year career and is estimated to have carried more than 4 million passengers until she was scrapped in 1937. She would often visit ports all around the Great Lakes during her prime, including a small logging and fishing town of Bayfield, Wisconsin.

Just a few days before my 45th birthday, the Bayfield Maritime Museum commissioned me to take on the project of building a 1:80 scale model of the SS Christopher Columbus for their collection. The museum wants to have a model of the historic ship that celebrates its connection with Bayfield. Once completed, this model will be the largest I’ve personally ever built, measuring nearly five feet long.

The museum also had a special request. They asked that I chronicle the build over the next several months so that others can learn how these models are made. Along the way, I will also share some of the details and stories of the ship and techniques for its reconstruction.

It has been nearly 90 years since Bayfield has seen this ship at its dock. I am pleased to be part of bringing this ship back to them next summer. Special thanks to the Bayfield Maritime Museum for its interest and support in this project.

A Story of a Rare Ship

Six sailors stare in fear as the ocean begins to claim them as its next victims. These men are off the coast of Virginia in a vessel that was never designed for the ocean. It's 1905 and help will not find these poor souls. As this vessel continues to sink, the six men must now face a chilling death - a death by drowning.

A Visit to SS Meteor

In the summer of 2021, I was standing in the cargo hold of a very rare ship. So rare, in fact, that there is only one left in existence. In Superior, Wisconsin, right off the shore of Lake Superior, there is a funny looking ship called the SS Meteor which is now a museum. With a hull shaped like a cigar and a bow and stern that taper to a point like a pig's nose, the Meteor is the last remaining whaleback on the planet. All the others that ever existed were scrapped or sunk.

SS Meteor from Superior, Wisconsin

Whalebacks were an icon of Superior and the Great Lakes in the early 1900s. Their rounded hulls were designed to allow waves to roll over them rather than crash into them. But as ship designs go, this one became a story for history more than a paradigm shift in naval engineering. All the whalebacks eventually died out and were replaced with ships that had more typical hulls that we see today.

Being inside the last remaining whaleback as it baked in the sun on a summer day, I thought about the lost stories of the men who earned a living shoveling coal into the hot engines of this sweltering vessel over a hundred years ago. Meteor now sits permanently aground and is well taken care of by a non-profit organization. It's younger sister, Barge 102, would never make it back to land.

Searching for Blueprints

This journey started with the intention of rebuilding the SS Meteor as a scale model ship. The nice thing about working with something that already exists is that it's always easier to get lots of reference photos to work from. Eventually, those plans would change.

I began this project by contacting the organization responsible for maintaining the Meteor museum today to ask if they had any original blueprints. Unfortunately, the museum didn’t have them. I was warned by their staff that even if I could find the blueprints, they probably wouldn’t be accurate since the Meteor had many drastic changes to it since its keel was first laid a century ago.

I was referred to the library archives at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and thought I struck gold when they provided me with the only drawing they had in their collection. For the longest time, however, I struggled reconciling the blueprints they gave me with the ship I toured. Yes, I was told the Meteor had lots of refits over her lifetime, but the designs were so different that it was as if I was looking at a completely different ship.

After a few weeks of research, it was the number of 102 on the blueprint that finally allowed me to connect the drawing to its right place in history. This wasn't the drawing for the Meteor as the library thought. It was the blueprints for an earlier whaleback with the simple name of 102.

Barge 102

102 was not a steam-powered vessel. In fact, it had no propulsion at all. It was classified as a barge. The 102 and other whaleback barges like it would be towed along by other ships into the ports all over the Great Lakes. It had crew quarters to house a few men. It also had a rudder and steering wheel that needed to be helmed, but it had no propeller. This vessel would be fully at the mercy of wind and wave if left untethered.

102 was one of 44 whalebacks built between 1887 and 1889. Some whalebacks, like the SS Meteor, were steam-powered cargo ships. There was even the Christopher Columbus that was a type of cruising ship that carried several decks of passengers on its oddly rounded hull. Over its short career, 102 would change several owners as it carried bulk cargo, like taconite or grain. It would take on another name of Sir Joseph Withmore and ended its life with the name of Bath.

The Wreck of Bath

Most whalebacks only saw service in the Great Lakes. The unique shape of its hull proved unstable for the higher waves of the open ocean. It is therefore sadly fitting that this wreck is not in any of the Great Lakes. It is at the bottom of the Atlantic where this vessel rests today as a coffin.

Precious little is recorded of the wreck. Of the men that traveled on this barge the day of its sinking, there is only one account I could find of their history. In an official maritime ledger, the Bath is recorded as sunk with six men dead. The ironic part of all the research for this project is that there are now more questions than answers. Who were these men? What were their names? Did they leave behind families? Perhaps that's just how all good historical mysteries go.

Rebuilding 102 in Miniature

The first step of the build process was taking the scanned blueprints and using them to make a 3D model. The model was then used to build the bulkheads needed to create the profile of the hull. I opted to go with the plank-on-bulkhead style of modeling verses 3D printing or carving the hull out of a block of wood. It's a personal preference and leaves open the option to someday turn this into a kit for others to enjoy.

Making a 3D CAD version of 102 from the blueprint scans.

The pieces were exported, transferred to a laser cutter, and then assembled. The hull was faired and smoothed. The fittings were created and some were 3D printed. Finally, the paint and detail work finished the project off.

The build diary of the 102.

The 102 Lives On

Bayfield, Wisconsin is a beautiful little town by the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior. It’s my favorite place on earth to visit. It looks more like it belongs off the coast of Maine than it does in the Midwest. This picturesque little boating community is the perfect backdrop for the next Nicolas Sparks novel. Down by the marinas there is a maritime museum visited by tens of thousands of visitors each year. It is where the model of 102 will now be enjoyed by the visitors of Bayfield.

It's been a bucket-list goal to have at least one of my works in a museum. As a model builder, I can think of no higher honor. As I turned over this creation to the vice president of the museum a couple of weeks ago, there was a number of emotions I experienced. Months of my life (and lots of curse words) were used in the creation of this model. It’s not always easy to put my work into the hands of others. Nonetheless, I am grateful they will take care of it as they do with all their other exhibits. I know many people will appreciate the craftsmanship for decades to come and maybe learn a small part of this Great Lakes history.

The completed 102 before being packed up and delivered to the Bayfield Maritime Museum.

Rebuilding The Past

In 2015, the Henrytown Lutheran Church was completely destroyed due to an accidental fire. This southern Minnesota church was first constructed in the late 1800s. The congregation has since rebuilt after the fire, but the white-steepled building now only exists in photos and memories. 

A scale model of the building was commissioned by a former member and will be donated to the church in the next few weeks. Working from only a handful of source images, a rough digital version was created to assist in the detective work of rebuilding the structure without the original blueprints. The model was further refined in CAD, laser-cut, and finished in my workshop.

Recreating lost historic architecture in miniature has unique challenges, but it was such a fun and meaningful project to bring back a small part of history.