For model ship builders, these ships are a unique example of an old tradition showing itself on a modern desin of it’s time. Wooden merchant ships with steam engines! After United States entered world war 1, it appeared that existing fleet would not be enough, especially when the German U-Boats were considered. So the Emergency Fleet Corporation signed a contract for 703 wooden cargo stamers to support steel fleet and make use of the timber. Theodore Ferris’ type 1001 design was used as a standard model for the ships. They were 3 islander ships 82.2 meters long (270′) 13.7 meters wide (45′). They had triple expansion steam engines and these wooden cargo ships were capable of cruising at 10 knots.
214 orders were cancelled after armistice was signed. 323 were completed, 44 sold, 23 was lost and 256 sold for scrapping. A large number of wasted ships… They had a bad reputation for high meintenance costs and some rudder problems but 265 of them carried freight overseas.
These plans are actually a little hard to work with. You have to arrange them first to build a model. There are some photos of the ships included to the plan set. Enjoy your model ship building hobby!