A Teacher Gives Wind to His Sailing Passion for Nautical Decor

Miniature sailing boats and mannequin ships are one of the sought after collectibles in the US. Inspired by the warship models, Coimbatore based teacher Queenthunk Amalanathan crafted cruising boats models by using reusable materials like broomsticks, chopsticks & veshti during lockdown.

There are many revolutionary sailing boat models like ‘Dragon’, a keelboat later used in the Olympics was designed initially by Norwegian Johan Anker and many others replicating the ships of the world war era that grace the living rooms and art galleries in the west.

Showcasing his designs on instagram and facebook,  Queenthunk Amalanathan F (Amal) has designed the mannequin replicating the ‘Dragon’ from scratch.

Besides this he has also crafted the models of frigates belonging to Indian navy such as  a 16-inch miniature of INS Baratang (T68) the fourth and final Bangaram-class patrol vessel. It was proposed to be used in search-and-rescue operations in coastal areas and the unique financial zone. The mannequin was constructed to honour a Naval officer.

According to Amal, in India there’s a marketplace for such fashions solely at skilled exhibitions and museums but in the US, mannequin ships are part of décor at houses. Ship modelling is an arduous task which requires obtaining a blueprint and references of the particular model one intends to craft. So analysis is a continuing however one has to additionally study methods and abilities like drilling and sculpting to achieve the precision.

He picked up ship modeling out of interest in addition to a teaching career and used whatever material he could lay his hands on at his house.For instance he used veshti for making sail and chopsticks for the masts.

He aspires to construct a Chola dynasty mannequin ship’s fleet for the Tanjore Museum of the Tamil Nadu but the project will need monetary backing from the  Authorities.