"Ship in the Clouds" is an American reel in cut time and D Major ('A' part) / D Major/Mixolydian ('B' part). It is played in standard or ADae fiddle tunings. The parts are played ABB' (Brody, Phillips) or AABB (Kuntz).
The source for revival versions appears to be southwestern Virginia musicians Norman Edmonds (1889-1976) and Taylor Kimble (1892-1979) and Stella (Wagoner) Kimble (b. 1892).
The banjo tablature is by John Letscher. His comment:
From Cahan, Ornstein and Fishleder's CD of the same name. There seem to be variations.
It was printed in Brody's Guitar Picker's Fakebook (1984) and Fiddler’s Fakebook (1985) Lamancusa's The Gettysburg Collection of Old-Time Fiddle Tunes (2021) and Phillips' Traditional American Fiddle Tunes vol. 1 (1994).
It was recorded by The Gypsy Gyppo String Band on The Gypsy Gyppo String Band (1977), Tom, Brad & Alice on We’ll Die in the Pig Pen Fighting (2001), Critton Hollow String Band on By and By (1985), Cahan, Ornstein and Fishleder on Ship in the Clouds: Old Time Instrumental Music (1978), Bob Carlin on Melodic Clawhammer Banjo (1977), Scott Nygaard on Dreamer's Waltz (1996) and The Kimble Family on Eight Miles Apart (1978).