Eagle

[Tony Zavilenski]

I'm refurbishing my transom and would like to get one of those sculpted eagles. I think one would look good on my boat. Any leads or advise would be appreciated

[Greg & Angie Wheeler]

Hey Tony, 

You can find them on ebay here is a link to one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Large-22-Vintage-American-Eagle-Patriotic-S... and there are many more choices. I would look for one that is fiberglass, wood ones are more expensive and wouldn't hold up as well, they also have aluminum ones that might be a good choice. Ebay is also a good place to look for vintage boat parts.

Good luck, Greg

[Clyde A. Phillips]

 

Just a few words on the transom eagle and what it means to this old timer. 

First, the eagle started out as transom decorations, reminiscent of the sailing ships of the past.  It may have been when the Newporter Eagle started to be published that it became the icon for the Newporter.  So, this old goat likes to see the “official” eagle on the stern.  Remember, this is me, and you is you, and your ideas are as good as mine.  So, if you would like a pair of crossed flags on the transom, put ‘em there.  On to the eagle.

The picture of old number 71 just prior to its launch shows the eagle as it was mounted.  Note on the picture I’ve included the red lines.  These indicate the approximate ends of an eight foot sheet of ribbon grain mahogany plywood.  The two eagles at the bottom are there just to show the wing spread of the eagles, which appears to be about four feet.  That, to me, says that I should keep any replacement near that width.  Looking at other spread-eagles found on the web, the “large” ones are 24” and that doesn’t seem to fill the spot.  So, find what you can that suits your eye, and hang it out for all the world to see.

Some things to keep in mind as you plan your replacement.  Greg recommends a fiberglass eagle and I concur with that.  If you looked at the web site he suggests you have seen the picture of the back side of that eagle.  It looked to me that it has no good place through which to pass the mounting screws.  Unless you plan to epoxy the eagle to the transom this is not a good option.  Wherever you use a screw the back of the eagle should be built up solid from the eagle’s outside surface to the transom so that the you can seal the screw in the transom with a good bedding.  Two things to be considered here involves water.  First, the mounting procedure must leave the transom waterproof.  Second, the eagle must be mounted with the strength to not be ripped off the transom by any heavy sea.  All else is in your hands.

Now, there seems to be a market for Newporter Eagles.  Maybe not big enough for a commercial answer, but someone may want a hobby.  The route used was wood, to molded metal (at least aluminum) to fiberglass.  The wood and metal eagles would use the “rules” of wood carving, undercutting the edges of the edges so they appear round, but this will not work for fiberglass.  The mold made for producing fiberglass eagles must be built so the finished product can be pulled off the mold.

If I were twenty or ten or even five years younger I’d learn how to carve the eagles, make a mold, and pop off some eagles for those of you who need them.

The eagles are ‘traditional’ and the Newporter was designed on the traditional side, so if you plan to keep your boat traditional hang an eagle on the transom.

Good sailing,   Clyde

[Tony Zavilenski]

Clyde,

Thanks for the advise. I have found an eagle with a spread of approx 40 inches which seems close

enough to the original. The fill mtl appears to be a foam. I intend to confirm the exact chemistry.

I have been told that a epoxy/fiberglass can be overlaid the foam to provide a weather resistant

product. Conversely the same person said polyurethane would melt the foam. This technique

would require repainting the eagle. After spending this type of money and time on such a project

I certainly want it mounted properly and I take your admonishing seriously. I will take some

pictures of this and other recent projects for posting. I have appreciated the recent pics provided

by other new members to the board. 

Tony

[Clyde A. Phillips]

Tony,

I don't know which melts what but I do know that only certain foams can be fiberglass covered.  We don't really need to know the exact chemistry, we only need to try to glass the foam.  Even with foam filled eagles I'd want to have solid backing in way of the screws.  By the way, the foam fill of that 40" eagle is probably compatible with fiberglass since the two are already together.

After I wrote that first tirade I thought I might even do my first suggestion: fiberglass (or epoxy) the eagle directly to the fiberglassed transom.  The eagle in question (on the suggested web site) had, if I remember correctly, a ledge of some sort that should lay against the transom.  Gluing that to the hull should work.  If I did that I would also drill a drain hole at its lowest point that would, first, drain any water, and second, maintain air pressure equilibrium.  It may even need a second hole higher up than the first to allow any water drain easily.

Keep at it, you'll wind up with a good looking bird on your stern.  Since you are going to repaint the eagle, get a good picture to see how to paint it (where the white of the head ends at the neck, the color of the beak and feet).  Critics like me get "upset" when they see miss colored eagles.

One other thought: You'll be mounting the eagle on a curved surface, so the back of the eagle may not match the curve.  In a marine carving handbook I have it showed flat backed eagles (wood, of course) being mounted to curved transoms.  The trick is just to mount a block of wood under each wing, carved on both surfaces to match the eagle and the transom.  The Newporter Eagle was made with a matching curve, which helped in the mounting.

Peace, you all,      Clyde

[Eddie Offermann]

Clyde: it looks like "recent" painting on mine may not match the original eagle colors. I was behind the boat on a dinghy last weekend contemplating touching her up (most of the paint is faded and tarnished except for the flag which is still very vibrant). I'm not sure I've seen any great photos of painted eagles here - would you care maybe to sketch a "color by numbers" pattern over the eagle above? (I was excited that you pulled those from the splash-day photo of mine!)

At present, mine looks to have been repainted at some point with the bird done entirely in a copper-based paint (which has subsequently tarnished) - I was going to redo it with a good quality gold paint but am curious what the original scheme was.

[Clyde A. Phillips]

Eddie,

Original colors of the eagle depends on who you ask and where and when your boat (i.e., your eagle) was made.  Even in NJ, original eagles date back to about 1958 or so when the Newporter was first built in NJ, but these were California eagles.  For me the original eagle would be the  first one I saw, so I’ll talk about what I saw.

The eagle of #71 (built in CA) looks to me to be a shined-up cast aluminum eagle.  Picture A shows some shading, which may not really exist.  The vast majority seems to be polished aluminum with area 1 being darkened a wee bit, area 2 a little darker, and area 3 still darker.   We had some of the aluminum birds in the storeroom (I never saw one installed) but our eagles were of molded fiberglass.  Coloration varied, sometimes to the whim of Ack, sometimes ordered by the owners.  Basically they were painted with bronze powder mixed in the vehicle base and trimmed as in picture B: head and tail, white; feet and beak, yellow (I could see only one foot in the picture but I’m sure two are on the moldings); shield, red and white stripes with blue field.  The last edition was made with bronze powder (or whatever) mixed in clear gel coat.  For some owners that was enough; others wanted the color treatment.

Remember, it’s your eagle so make it to suit you.

Peace, and good flying,    Clyde