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Miniature boat builder is artist with his tools
By THOMAS MICHALSKI
| Article published on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 |
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![[Image]](/content_images/090408_par-03.jpg) |
| Photo by THOMAS MICHALSKI |
| Elmer Kaull of Pinellas Park works on the hull of newest ship he is building from scratch. |
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PINELLAS PARK – Elmer Kaull is 92 years old and still builds miniature vessels by hand.
His models range from old time clippers to war vessels. Some have taken a few days to build. At least one took 10 years.
Not only does Kaull build ships, but he finds time to construct furniture and tend to his photography hobby as well.
“I love what I do,” Kaull said, standing in his garage workshop. “Staying active like this keeps me alive and well.”
Born in Newport, R.I., in 1916 to Archie and Rebecca Kaull, he and his two brothers and three sisters grew up near the water. It was his father, a machinist, who introduced him to real boatbuilding. His first project was a sailboat named Enterprise.
After graduating high school, Kaull got into his 1934 Chevrolet and wound up in Baltimore where he went to work at the Sparrow’s Point Steel Mill. During 38 years of working in Maryland he accumulated interests in real and miniature shipbuilding, photography, motorcycles and tennis. He met his late wife, Ruth, there. He still refers to her as “the most beautiful girl in the world.”
His daughter, April, is a television anchorwoman for an NBC affiliate and his son, John, is a federal judge in West Virginia.
Over the years Kaull has also built grandfather clocks, cabinets and an assortment of other furniture. A bookcase his great-grandfather built by hand adorns the dining room.
Once while visiting his old hometown in Rhode Island he came across one of the boats he built. It was docked and unused for several years. Kaull recalled the love and labor that he put into its construction and was heartbroken to see it in such bad shape.
“The woman gave it to me and I took it out into the bay and sunk it,” Kaull said. “I drilled holes in its bottom.”
The Kaulls eventually settled in Pinellas Park where he outfitted his garage as a workshop and began his miniature shipbuilding in earnest. He gets plans from such places as the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and from other sources worldwide. He makes everything by hand, from the tread-like “ropes” for his sailing ships to the cannons on battleships.
His greatest achievement is the “Sovereign of the Seas,” a British frigate that took 10 years to build.
“I made everything on it,” he said, pointing to the ship that rests in a glass case.
Indeed, he creates tiny pulleys and other ship parts from pieces of wood and metal. He uses files, razors and other tools.
It all starts with a chunk of wood that he carves into the shape of a hull. He works from actual plans and photographs. He even makes planking from thin strips of wood and ropes from thread and string. It is very tenuous work, but the outcome is all worth it.
“Doing what I do keeps my mind sharp and it’s all very educational,” Kaull said.
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Article published on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008
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