'The sea was in my blood': Model ship exhibit features a farm boy's passion

Health problems kept 69-year-old Thiren Smallman out of the navy, but he has found a different outlet for his passion for the sea.

Smallman grew up on a farm in western P.E.I., and since he was young felt an affinity for the water.

"I always wanted to be a sailor," he said.

"I was brought up on a farm but I always loved the water. The sea was in my blood. I don't know what it is about it."

When he was 14 he came down with rheumatic fever. It left him with a heart murmur, and that ruled out military service. Instead of the navy, Smallman found himself driving trucks for a living, with a bit of carpentry on the side.

Then in the winter of 2002, with time on his hands, he thought he'd take a shot at building a scale model of the Nova Scotia schooner Bluenose.

"I'm not much good at sitting around the house watching television. I like working out in the shop," he said.

He has since built 33 scale model ships, a number of which, like the Bluenose, have been celebrated in song and story: Edmund Fitzgerald, Reuben James, Marco Polo, Titanic.

He ended up selling the first Titanic he built, and has made six more since. He has also made seven Bluenoses.

His Marco Polo includes a piece of the wreck from the original 1851 ship.

"That was a piece of the brass pin that was in the keel. A diver found the pin, cut that much off, used it for a key chain and I ended up with it," he said.

It usually takes a month or two of evenings to build one of the scale replicas. The time can vary by the difficulty of the design, and whether someone comes in with a broken rocking chair or some other more urgent woodworking project.

Smallman's ships are currently on display at the Lefurgey Cultural Centre in Summerside. The exhibit continues through August.

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