Beginning as a hobbyist, Dr. Dowst was drawn by the exemplary seamanship, expert building techniques, and aesthetic designs for marine models constructed by fellow members of the U.S.S.Constitution Model Shipwright Guild and the Nautical Research Guild, where he would later gain his own professional reknown. To the end, Dowst’s “part-time” undertakings presented quite a dilemma for him, as he often talked to his wife of retiring to build ship models full-time.
