I want to make a diorama of the USS Arizona and the Vestal. The question is- The Arizona is docked at her quays and the vestal is coming along side. Does the Vestal come along side herself or she helped by tugs? If so, how many tugs? Thank You ,Hank SUPPORT THE TROOPS
The Vestal would be assisted by tugs, (probably two YTBs and possibly a seamule or two). The Arizona would have line handlers to receive and secure the mooring lines being sent over by the Vestal.
“The Last Mooring” by Tom Freeman should give you some ideas. It depicts the final mooring of the Arizona at Pearl, before the Vestal came alongside.
Note the tug in the mid-distance. Yard and district craft should have a black hull and Ocean Gray (5-O) upperworks. Corsair Armada makes a 1:700 scale model of the USS Hoga, a tug who assisted several ships, including the Nevada on Dec 7. Battlefleet Models makes several tugs and yardcraft , including YTL-17, lighter that was instrumental in fighting fires.
Iron Shipwright makes a 1:350 scale model of the Hoga.
Would you please explain to me what a seamule is. Thank you Hank Support the troops Garry Owen
A seamule is a type of tug - similar to a river towboat. It usually has a small pilothouse structure on it, and a pair of push knees on the bow.
Who makes a model of the Vestal and in what scales?
Scott
You can find a nice resin model of USS Vestal AR4 (1941) at commander series models. Hank Support the troops Garry owen
Would someone please tell me know what the pilothouse on a seamule would look like? Thanks Hank Support the troops Gary Owen
It’s essentially a metal box with windows and a door aft. It is taller than wide and large enough to house one or two occupants, a helm console (throttles and engine mounted gages here), compass binnacle (a small one, on top of the console), a radio mounted on the overhead (often, just a handheld walkie talkie) and a horn. There is often a small mast for navigation lights and a flag. I’ve seen a very few with a navigation radar.I found this picture showing a sea mule in the foreground. Its pilot house is a little larger than usual, but not too much. Actually, this is a pretty nice sea mule.
This is my last question about the seamule. Where is the pilothouse located on the deck? Thanks Hank Support the troops Gary Owen
The pilot house is aft. Look at the photo above.
My computer will not show your picture of the seamule all I get is a little red x in a box. Thank you anyway Subfixer. Hank Support the troops Gary Owen
Go to this website for the photo:
http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/canada/gallery/40_october_19_2004.jpg
Here’s a picture of a sea mule at the USCG yard - http://images.military.com/fp-photos/pix2/00375_s.jpg.
Going to be a well researched dio!!
Thanks for the picture CGBob . Hank Support the troops Gary Owen
What are the two round things on either side of the pilothouse? Thanks Hank Support the troops Gary Owen
raised scuttles to the engine compartment
Wrong - there is a square hatch on the starboard side to access the engine space, just aft of the of the round item. From their color and location, my first thought is engine room vents.
For one thig, this mule is atypical, in that it is not your ordinary sea mule. It has a tow bar which, I imagine, would come in handy for the Coast Guard as they tow a lot of disabled boats. But this is definitely not a normal accessory on your normal everyday sea mule. The two capstan-like objects look more like escape scuttles mounted on access hatches. The smaller cylindrical objects do seem to be vents. If you want to depict a sea mule in the forties, I would not recommend this particular one to be a period mule, it is way too modern and advanced… The pilot house would be the only part to draw any kind of reference from. That ugly beast of a Chrysler at the beginning of the thread is dead on although missing the wheel house.