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Apparently I prefer to have multiple builds going at once, as I'm still working on the Lake Chapala Canoa build. But, this should be a relatively short and quick build, as it's a cross-section of a largely open boat. Obviously, this is an unusual choice for a cross-section--why make a cross-section of a boat that already has mostly visible framing?--and I think it will be the smallest vessel with a cross-section build log on the site. So, it's reasonable to ask why I'm doing it. Apologies for the long-winded explanation! Detail from the plans of the Juana y José. A cross-section of a barca catalana, a similar vessel. The Juana y José is actually a bit simpler than this in some aspects. Source: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barca_levantina#/media/Archivo:Parts_buc-català.jpg Why am I building a cross section of such a small boat? One thing that I'm grappling with is that, for the foreseeable future, I am going to be moving with some regularity and probably won't have much space. This makes modeling difficult. Unless I plan on giving most of my builds away, most everything will have to be readily transportable. So, much as I'd like to jump into even a relatively small model of a rigged sailing ship, like the Chilean Lancha Chilota coasting sloop that I have plans for to make a POB model, or the Model Shipways Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack, I'm struck by how difficult it will be to pack it up and lug it with me. So, I'm considering some more portable options. One option would be an unrigged half hull, and I do think I want to do the NRG half hull. Beyond being a good learning experience, it would be easy to store on a wall and much easier to transport than a rigged model. Another option would be to do some extremely small models or ships in a bottle, the latter of which would definitely take the prize for portability. There are some amazing and creative builds in both categories on the site, but I don't think my building skills are quite there yet. Another option is a cross-section (without a mast). The Triton and Echo cross sections both look fantastic, but both also seem like you really need more tools and skills than I have to build them. Finally, I was looking at a fourth option: a small model around 6 inches long, likely of a rowing vessel in a reasonable scale that wouldn't be too fiddly to make. I got started with modeling after going to the Barcelona Maritime Museum and being blown away by its small craft collection, and one of my goals is to build a POF model of a traditional lateen-rigged Spanish fishing vessel (of which there are a number of types--the barca catalana, the Mallorcan llaüt, the palangrera, the sardinal, the barquets and barches of Valencia that wefalck discusses in detail on his website: https://www.maritima-et-mechanika.org/maritime/albufera/Boats-of-the-Albufera.html, etc). I found that a Spanish modeler, Alfonso del Valle, had drawn up plans--not just line plans, but also diagrams of all frames--and made them freely available for one such boat, the Juana y José. Although there are no builds of it on this site, the Spanish modeling forum Foro Modelismo Naval has a number of builds (such as this one: https://www.foromodelismonaval.es/viewtopic.php?t=15014), and the plans produce a very nice model. Javier Baron, who has a number of albums in the galleries of Model Ship World, even made a beautiful tiny model in 1:74 scale: https://barcosbaron.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/391/). The Juana y José is a small vessel, and the plans are originally in 1:15, but I was curious about what a 1:32 scale build would be like, as that would produce a model about 6 inches long (1:74 scale, in contrast, is well beyond my skills). Printing the plans off in that scale, I noted that the frames would be thin, but perhaps still manageable, and that all parts can be constructed from basswood in thicknesses I have access to. I decided to hold off on a full build for now, as I have no idea how to plank a curved hull form yet. But a small cross-section seemed like a way to test out whether I will want to eventually go ahead with a full build at 1:32, or if I'd prefer a larger scale. It also will give me some experience with POF construction, and will produce a readily portable model. Also, if I eventually do a full build, I can display it alongside the full model. The Juana y José There are a few particularities about the boat and the plans. As del Valle discussed both on his website, now sadly defunct but still viewable through the Internet Archive (https://web.archive.org/web/20160902024136/http://www.modelismonaval.com/magazine/almejera/juanayjose.html), and also on Foro Modelismo Naval, the Juana y José is a real vessel, an old fishing boat that he came across on the beach in Algeciras. The owner allowed him to take its lines and photograph it, and told him about its history. It was built in Málaga sometime in the early 1900s, and was later sold to an Algeciras fisherman. It was broken up in 2003, and was 4.75m/15.6ft long. However, the actual vessel is entirely open and oar-powered (while the owner said it used to have a sail, del Valle saw no mast step or other such evidence, although it conceivably was removed during repairs or renovations). While del Valle accurately depicts the Juana y José in its line plans, in the other sheets, he instead decided to depict it in the rest of the plans as a lateen-rigged, decked vessel, similar in form to a sardinal, and added a prominent windlass, turning it into a traditional clam dragger as he remembered from his youth. So, while the hull is accurate, other details are not. These additions are certainly similar to other vessels, though. So, I could either build the Juana y José accurately as a pure rowboat, follow the plans even if they're not totally accurate--as I've noticed, they make a gorgeous model, and I do really love the look of Spanish lateen-rigged fishing boats--or perhaps take a middle route, inspired by the owner's comment that it used to have a sail, and add a mast while leaving off the deck and windlass. Following the plans would certainly produce the most visually interesting option, even if it's still very simple for a cross-section. The Build, Part 1: The Keel I decided to make the cross-section long enough to include two thwarts, providing the build with some structural rigidity. I chose a six-frame section running from around amidships foreward. If I choose to follow the plans, this section will include the mast step and windlass. The section is just under 2 inches long. I started with the keel. As it turns out, at 1:32 scale, the keel is very close in thickness to 1/16 of an inch, so I was able to use some of my stock of that basswood for the keel. While this seems very thin to me, it's what the plans show and widening it would require reshaping all the frames a bit, so I'm keeping it for now at least. I marked and filed out the frame notches. My filing skills could use a little work, and the notch on the right in the photo below is too wide, but it will do. I then carefully carved out the rabbet, mostly using an exacto knife but also running a file edge along it to widen it a little. I was very concerned about the rabbet cutting through the keel--again, it's 1/16-inch thick--so it's probably not as deep as it should be, but I think it will work. After this photo, I added a coat of sealer-varnish to strengthen the wood a bit--I don't want it breaking along the rabbet or elsewhere, or chipping any more than it already has. Some of the notches may need to be slightly deepened, but I'm going to leave them as-is for now and adjust that once I test-fit the frames. This post is already long, so I'll leave the first frame for the next post.
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I add to the forum this sequence of four articles written by an Italian expert of Spanish naval history (he defines himself a treasure hunter), which has written a book about historical shipwrecks: CLAUDIO BONIFACIO. The author lives in Spain and has explored for various years the Spanish archives related to the Spanish fleets and the goods transported. The matter is interesting since the Spain consider their ancient ship wrecks (related to governative military ships) still as their property, so their content is theoretically still their. The author make an analysis of the various shipwrecks and the amount of gold/money lost and transported... The overall quantity still under the sea is impressive. The overall economical balance is in the fourth article, but each article has a partial one. UNFORTUNATELY (or luckily, it depends) the articles are all Italian written....but Google translate can make miracles. The order of the articles are from the first to the last. https://www.lastampa.it/mare/2023/03/09/news/laltra_banca_di_spagna_che_sta_in_fondo_al_mare-12684974/ https://www.lastampa.it/mare/2023/03/19/news/laltra_banca_di_spagna_la_lista_dei_naufragi_apre_la_via_alloro-12703246/ https://www.lastampa.it/mare/2023/04/22/news/laltra_banca_di_spagna_loro_mancante_della_san_pedro_alcantara-12768605/ https://www.lastampa.it/mare/2023/09/05/news/laltra_banca_di_spagna_quelle_750_tonnellate_doro_che_riposano_sui_fondali-13027885/ If someone is interested, other articles about shiprecks written by the same author: https://www.lastampa.it/mare/2023/05/14/news/alla_ricerca_delle_fortune_sommerse_lungo_la_costa_dorata_delluruguay-12805340/ https://www.lastampa.it/mare/2023/02/09/news/nelle_acque_delle_bahamas_ci_sono_tesori_milionari-12633036/
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I have the usual suspect textbooks: Lee, Marquardt, Zu Mondfeld, Davis. They have mast and yard length and diameter formulae for a number of nations but not Spain (except for Zu Mondfeld but his information is prior to the Napoleonic era and so not helpful .... Spanish spar formula probably changed with the surveyor). With the exception of the periods when the Spanish used English or French methods, is there a source of these formula? My books in Spanish, which I do not naturally read, all appear to provide information on Spars for actual ships (Frigate and above) and that just won't help me mast a brig though I do intend to work backwards and create formula that might be relevant to a brig. On the subject, a general book with Spanish plank sizes, hammock stancions, etc. would really help as well. I have several books by Enrique Garcia-Torralba Perez, books of photos of Museum ships, and a lot of original Royal plans and diagrams (many of which appear in said books as well), so that is how I have been picking up details but I really miss having sources like Goodwin and Lee. TYVM in advance!
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I have just put on-line a page on my Web-site on the traditional boats of the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia (Spain): https://www.maritima-et-mechanika.org/maritime/albufera/Boats-of-the-Albufera.html
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