USCGC Eagle Boats

Oh boy, I'll be following this one. I used to be stationed at the Academy, back in 84, so don't try to pick my memory.

Jtilley seems to have a lot of knowledge regarding the Eagle, maybe he will jump in here.

Steve

My suggestion would be to go online and find photographs, buy the kit, and work from there.

I have the Minicraft kit and the boats are not accurate. The 25' motor surfboats the CG used are round ended not a "pointy end" craft like is usually cast as a CG smallboat. Actually, the Eagle carried a number of different boats over the years, (pulling boats, Captain's gigs, surfboats) by the 1980's it only carried the 2 motor surfboats. I'm not sure what they carry today, I'm guessing RHI's like the rest of the Service's units. Plus if you do a little research, you'll see the Eagle underwent a few deck alterations as well as paint schemes. Good luck!  

Eagle's Ports of Call:

June 13: Arrive Staten Island, New York

June 14: Phase Change (Cadet Phase II)

June 16: Depart Staten Island, New York

June 25: Arrive Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

June 29: Depart Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

July 4: Arrive Hamilton, Bermuda

July 7: Depart Hamilton, Bermuda

July 18: Arrive Portland, Maine

July 21: Depart Portland, Maine

July 23: Arrive Boston, Massachusetts

July 24: End of Long Cruise (Swab Short Phase I)

July 27: Depart Boston, Massachusetts

July 31: Arrive New York, New York

August 1: Phase Change (Swab Short Phase II)

August 3: Depart New York, New York

August 7: Arrive Newport, Rhode Island

August 8: Phase Change (Swab Short Phase III)

August 10: Depart Newport, Rhode Island

August 14: Arrive New London, Connecticut

August 16: Cadet Summer Training Ends

August 17: Depart New London, Connecticut

Assuming you live in Pittsfield MA, what better than to go onboard and take a zillion pics.

The Eagle's boat complement is an interesting subject. The old Revell kit (which, as we've discussed several times, is based on her near-sister Gorch Fock) had/has the boats she was carrying in the 1950s - including two big gas-powered ones with cabins. That kit is still being sold by Revell Germany under the name Gorch Fock.

The Coast Guard Historian's Office hired me to make a drawing of her back in 1994. (That's 21 years ago. Wow.) At that time she was carrying those two surfboats Thunder mentioned. (They had the numbers EAG1 and EAG2 painted on them.) And stacks of big, orange liferafts.

Here's a link to the drawing I did: http://www.uscg.mil/history/docs/plans/CGCEagle.jpg .

The Lee kit was originally released by the much lamented Japanese company Imai in about 1976 or 78. It was part of a big series of 1/350 sail training ships, with waterline hulls, that the company produced - apparently - in response to the great binge of publicity that accompanied the "Parade of the Tall Ships" for the U.S. Bicentennial. (I was lucky enough to be sitting on a hill overlooking Newport, RI when they sailed in from the West Indies. I'll never forget either the sight or the painful sunburn I acquired on my prematurely bald forehead.)

Imai used the same hull for at least three of those kits. Unfortunately, though all three ships were built in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, they all differed in length. I think the Imai kit is based on the plans of the Gorch Fock, which is (now named Tovaritsch - I think) about 20 feet shorter than the Eagle (ex-Horst Wessel). We've discussed the convoluted history several times here in the Forum - including here: http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/7/p/123717/1240430.aspx#1240430 . The difference in length would amount to about 3/4" on 1/350 scale. Whether it's worth worrying about is up to the individual modeler.

That kit, in other words, is almost forty years old. Quite apart from the progress of plastic kit technology during that time, the Eagle has undergone a lot of changes since the kit was produced. She's had at least two major refits. She's had a small deckhouse (a pretty simple box) added to the break of the quarterdeck, the boat complement undoubtedly has changed, and she's re-acquired the double spanker rig on the mizzen mast. She had that rig originally, but the Americans altered it shortly after World War II. The current rig shows pretty clearly in the drawing - though I confess it's based on photos rather than measurements. (I didn't climb the mizzen mast with a tape measure.)

Imai was one of the best sailing ship kit manufacturers ever. The potential for a fine model certainly is in that box. Good luck.

And a little more.

The original Gorch Fock was scuttled at the end of WW2. In 1947 she was salvaged by the East Germans at the direction of the USSR and became the Tovarishch (sp?) as noted above. In 1991, as she was homeported in Odessa, when the USSR disbanded she became the property of Ukraine. Which country was unable to afford to maintain her and sold her. Odessa now is of course a defacto part of Russia. The Gorch Fock now is in Germany again, in a state of disrepair hopefully destined to be restored. A ship that certainly has seen a little bit of 20th Century history.

A further complication is that West Germany built another Gorch Fock that was launched in 1958, and is currently in use.

Enough to keep anyone busy for awhile...

images.search.yahoo.com/.../view;_ylt=AwrTcXuNxnlVtBoAuw8unIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTI0cWZwdThrBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM0ZWQ2ODE1OTM5YmU0M2UxYmFiM2I2NGEyMTAyNzA5OQRncG9zAzE2MgRpdANiaW5n

And, the boats carry the designation EAG 1 and EAG 2 ... I spent 18 hours sitting next to EAG 1 in 1983 while on the EAGLE to view the last race of the 83 AMERICA's Cup series off Newport.

A friend of mine was the sail master on the Eagle in the 1990's. When the ship pulled into Germany they took a tour of the Blohm&Voss shipyard where the Eagle was built. In the shipyard's board room they were shown a short film of the HORST WESSEL  being commissioned with all the Nazi bigwigs in attendence. The film hadn't been viewed publicly since a 1936 propaganda film of the new German navy. He managed to get a copy of the film and I have a copy also...

I viewed the last Newport Cup Race from the USCGC CHASE helo deck, a great memory!

The double spanker boom was made by the Coast Guard Industrial Division on Governors Island, NY in 1992 or 93.  The main part of the boom is a commercially made flag pole.  The Industrial Division fabricated and welded on all the various eyes, sail tracks, etc., as well as painting the boom.  I worked as the Industrial Division ATON/Civil Engineer at that time and oversaw the painting of the boom.  As off September 2014, the EAGLE still carried at least one 25' Motor Surfboat.

Thunder1 - was that friend of yours W/O Keith Raitsch (spelling?) by any chance? I met him while I was working on that drawing. A most impressive gentleman.

Doctor Tilley,

 CWO-4 Doug Cooper was my friend, the sailmaster.  

Now that you mention it, I think WO Raitsch's title was Boatswain. Heck of a nice guy, and extremely knowledgable about the ship's history.

CG Bob

The double spanker boom was made by the Coast Guard Industrial Division on Governors Island, NY in 1992 or 93.  The main part of the boom is a commercially made flag pole.  The Industrial Division fabricated and welded on all the various eyes, sail tracks, etc., as well as painting the boom.  I worked as the Industrial Division ATON/Civil Engineer at that time and oversaw the painting of the boom.  As off September 2014, the EAGLE still carried at least one 25' Motor Surfboat.

Is there a color called "Spar"?

Was the boom painted that color?

What is the FS number of the paint you used on the boom?

Do you have a hobby paint recommendation?

There is a color called Spar, it's FS 10371, and the boom was painted that color.

Best match is Badger Model Flex Marine Colors #16-405 Deck Tan.  That's what I use on most of USCG boat models.

The Dumas kit of the USCG 36' Motor Lifeboat, I used Badger Deck Tan.

Thank you Bob!

 White Ensign model paint "Color Coat" makes a "Spar" paint. Another close pigment is Floquil "Southern Pacific  Armour Yellow" and Floquil "TTX Yellow" railroad paints, found in any well stocked hobby shop. Spar is difficult to mix, I've seen builders use yellow, tan and pink for CG spar paint.  For my Coast Guard models, I use official  USCG spar paint. When Bob was "fabricating" that boom,  I was over at the base's bosun locker requistioning some official CG paint for my models :)

PS nice looking thirty six, Bob!

Hello, John Tilley included in his post the link to his USCGC Eagle drawing. The Coast Guard has since updated their website, does anybody know the new address to these drawings?

Thanks! John