Scale Colin Archer - Norwegian rescue ship
Specifications
• Scale Size 1:40
• Measures 18.7" long x 4.92" wide x 19.68" tall
• Skill Level - Beginner model builder: Choose this skill level if you have never tried model building before. These models all have a simple construction. However, even the easiest model kits take more than on evening to build.
• Add a water proof varnish if you plan to float this model
Set Contents
Wooden hull, laser cut wooden parts, wooden strips, detailed fittings, cloth sail, rigging thread and instructions.
This model boat does not require a building slip. The hull is crafted by a unique system of creating to half models hulls on a flat surface, and then gluing them together to create the hull. This system simplifies the difficult job of building the hull and is therefore encouraging to those new to model building. With this model kit a beginner can create a museum quality replica.
Recommended Accessories
Billing Boats designer tool kit item number BTS 5715 sold separately.
NOTE: There is also a "Expert" skill level Remote Control version of this boat item no. 01-00-0414 which retails for $599.95. Please contact us directly if you are interested. Call toll free (866) 250-6564
History
The RS1 was built in 1893 for the Redningsselskapet (The Norwegian Lifeboat Company) at the Colin Archer shipyard in Rekkevig near Larvik, Norway. It was later renamed Colin Archer after its designer and builder. The sharp stern design of the vessel has given it world wide renown. Roughly 30 ships of this type were built, most of them at the Colin Archer shipyard. The ship is still afloat today and is used as a floating museum.
Biography
Colin Archer (22 July 1832 – 3 February 1921) was a naval architect and shipbuilder from Larvik, Norway. He was born of Scottish parents who emigrated to Norway in 1825.
Prior to his career as a naval architect in Norway, he spent time in Queensland, Australia, with several of his brothers, including Thomas. While there, he sailed with a cargo up the Fitzroy River, Queensland "when it was almost if not quite unknown".
He and his shipyard were known for building durable and safe ships. The most notable single ship built by Colin Archer was the Fram, which participated in expeditions to the North Pole, and later Roald Amundsen's historic first expedition to the South Pole. He also designed a sturdy sailing vessel class for the Redningsselskapet (The Norwegian Lifeboat Company) which was used for many years and now is referred to as a Colin Archer. Fram is now preserved in the Fram Museum on Bygdøy, Oslo, Norway. The prototype lifeboat "Colin Archer RS 1" is still afloat and in use as a floating museum. Several other original vessels of the Redningsselskapet are still sailing including the Frithjof Wiese RS40.
Archer spent a lot of time calculating how an efficient hull should be designed. Even to this day, people still consult his work when designing new ships. He is credited with over 200 vessels. The Fram is one example.
Archer's designs were adapted to pleasure sailing in the 20th century. In 1904, Archer built a boat for the writer Robert Erskine Childers called the Asgard. This yacht is now in a museum and is considered the "most important yacht in the history of Ireland". In 1928 William Atkin scaled down Archer's 47-foot Regis Voyager, a pilot boat, to make the 32-foot Eric. This design went on to become very influential in ocean sailing, with boats such as Vito Dumas's Lehg II and Robin Knox-Johnston's Suhaili making notable circumnavigations. In the 1970s, the design was adapted to glass-reinforced plastic by William Crealock, and became the Westsail 32; this famous cruising boat has, in turn, inspired many imitations, so that the "Archer double-ender" style of boat continues to be popular to this day.
The Colin Archer Memorial Race sailing race is named in his honour. The race starts in Lauwersoog, Netherlands and finishing near Larvik in Norway, organised every two years. The distance is about 365 nautical miles, depending on the weather and the type of ship the sailing time generally amounts to 3 to 5 days.