Indrek Lepson showcases his amazing models:
68' stay sail schooner FOUR WINDS. I was
skipper on her, and took my son
to sea when he was six months old, on a cruise to Hawaii from San Diego.
Here is a picture of a bell buoy on the
Four Winds model. It's a real gem, a quarter inch
tall, with the bells in place, one clapper hitting a rim, and covered with bird
poop.
The CHESTER BELLE, note ruler in back ground, was built for E.I. duPont. The cliff
in the back ground is a pebble from my yard. She has two wheels, one facing forward,
and one on the port side, connected by a chain. My former wife is immortalized in
this model, as there was no chain this small available, so I made a crochet hook
out of a needle imbedded into a dowel, and crocheted a chain out of her hair.
One can't get close enough to tell the difference.
The Boston Whaler is also for the duPonts. They were especially proud of
their home made trailer, and wanted that to be part of the model.
I made two models of the Friendship sloop, one as she looked originally, as a working
vessel, and the other after she was converted to a yacht. She is unique in that she
is a s.c. "spoon bill" hull, instead of the traditional clipper bowed.
The Huckins LORELEI is a bit over six inches, and is the largest model
that I have made. I have never been on a power boat, so the wake is wrong.
There's even a ¼" x ½"
painting of Newport harbor on the aft bulkhead of the Lorelei.
Here is a yawl. I have forgotten the name. She was built to represent a photo that the
owner sent me. He is the bald headed one winching in the jenny on the port side.
The four master in the bottle is the bark LAWHILL.
I made that for a man who sailed
on
her. There were 21 strings coming out of the neck. Each had to be glued and cut.
There is NO!! chance for error. I have never put a model into a bottle sober. I start to
shake the day before launching, and have to steady my nerves. There has been no disasters.
The 75' stay sail schooner CONSTELLATION. I was skipper on her.
This model is unique in that I was able to make a spinnaker.
Except for the bottle models, where I used putty for the sea, all the other models
are in a sea carved from Alaska cedar. One day I would like to make a wreck in a
bottle, but in order to achieve that, I will have to first get it in proper, and
then break it up with sticks and hooks. I just can't bear to do that.
I haven't built a model in about thirty years, but I still have
all my tools and materials, and my hands don't shake yet.
Best wishes,
Indrek
This is the BACARDI, a Quincy Adams designed sloop (QA) for the duPonts.
Shortly after they got the model, the boat shed, along with the boat, burned
down, and they only have the model as a three dimensional reminder of her.
