Posts from — January 2010

We are very impressed with the 3D laser scanning images of the Charles W. Morgan historic whaling ship at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut.

See more images and read about them at Mystic Seaport’s photo stream on Flickr and at Mystic Seaport’s Web site (link below).

3D laser scan of the Charles W. Morgan at Mystic Seaport

The Charles W. Morgan is the last surviving wooden whaling ship from the great days of sail. Built in 1841 in New Bedford, MA, the Morgan had a 80-year whaling career with 37 voyages before retiring in 1921. Read more about the Charles W. Morgan at About the Charles W. Morgan at Mystic Seaport.

We’ve been asked a few times what the definition is of brightwork.

Brightwork is sometimes narrowly defined as one of either the metal or unfinished wood on a boat, but the term applies to both unpainted wood and metal on a boat or ship that must be kept bright by polishing. These days, most effort goes into maintaining the wood, frequently teak, on a classic sailboat or motoryacht.

Wood may be oiled or varnished and requires regular maintenance and reapplication of the oil or varnish. Bronze and aluminum require little or infrequent care, stainless steel needs periodic cleaning and polishing, and chrome, well, chrome on a boat is like socks on a centipede, as a friend of mine says:  it may be fashionable, but it’s just too darn much trouble.