pollex

Thanks, Carl. I am speculating here. I am far from clear about this myself. The grapnel is only an auxiliary anchor. The main anchors are much larger. The grapnel may be used for manoeuvring the ship in harbour. I doubt it was used to grapple other ships. The grapnel chain is attached to a cable which is led into the forecastle, maybe through the hawse holes ( i dont believe this now. see posts below).The windlass could also be able to assist and the grapnel cable could be wound onto the tranversal bitt. What is the exact function of the transverse bitt and how is the main anchor cable attached to it? No detailed contemporary pictures show this detail although one picture shows what may be the anchor cable wound around the bitt. This is guesswork but I would appreciate all suggestions. Dick

Hello,

I am very pleased about your positive reactions and nice comments.
Thanks for that and for all the likes.

In little steps, it goes on.
The 2 x 8 bottom boards are ready for installation.

Working hinges... and such lovely details on the great cabin.   Inspirational work.

cont...
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

la vela de estay estay segundo acabado

Re: 'The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor'. For Canadian modellers among us who may be interested
in obtaining a copy of this book, it is available in Canada at "Lee Valley Tools". My hardcover copy was
published in 2000 by Algrove Publishing Limited, ISBN 0-921335-71-7. Please check the Lee Valley site
for the current pricing & availability. Regards, Mark Pollex, Calgary.

Re: 'The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor'. For Canadian modellers among us who may be interested
in obtaining a copy of this book, it is available in Canada at "Lee Valley Tools". My hardcover copy was
published in 2000 by Algrove Publishing Limited, ISBN 0-921335-71-7. Please check the Lee Valley site
for the current pricing & availability. Regards, Mark Pollex, Calgary.

I've looked at both video links.  I think, while the new colour may be a bit on the red side of things, and lighter in value than most of the older versions, they all could be called 'Naples Yellow' which is a mixture of yellow ochre and white.  It's also a matter of the colour sense, the rods and cones and how those stimulations are perceived by the viewer whether this new one is actually 'pink'.  I think it's close to the yellow shown in the opening shot of the hull in full sunlight.  Keep in mind also that we are seeing this through several filters, the video to TV, to computer, and computer to our particular monitor.  A small change in each could make for a large difference.

Yes good point BE here is a painting supposedly done two years after Nelson's death showing Victory with yellow ochre stripes, and before the refit that closed in the stern galleries? Note the other ship's stripes are not as yellow, what's with that? Lots of unanswered questions.

I have managed to get in a few hours of work on the Byzantium today. I made some blocks, now I have all 3 sizes. I also repainted the nameplate as it got covered up during paint touchups. But most importantly I have tied 112 clove hitches on the port side ratlines.




My box of fittings is filling up



 
 
 
 
Lextin.

I finished the final bonding of the beams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Lextin,  You mentioned earlier (post #301) that you weren't sure of
some rigging details. Let me refer you to "Rigging  Period Fore-and-Aft Craft"
by Lennarth Petersson. I hope you'll be able to find it. My copy is dated 2007 and
was published both by Naval Institute Press, USA and Chatham Publishing, UK.
ISBN 978-1-59114-721-3 The contents cover the British Naval Cutter, the French
Lugger and the American Schooner.  I paid C$53.95, good value for over 110 pages.
I hope this helps. Mark Pollex

Hello Matrim; It's good to see more books covering the topic ships of Eastern Asia. 
    I became intrigued this subject when I discovered several titles written by Gavin Menzies.
Gavin with his book "1421" challenged the "sacred cow" of American History that Columbus
was the first foreigner from Europe to discover America in 1492!  Although the large fleets
of Cheng He date about 150 years later than the Mongol invasion,  this is still a similar
Marine Archeological Study.
     Others inspired by Menzies have been studying huge wrecks found on the east Australian,
New Zealand, and Oregon coasts.  Evidence of huge mahogany timbers, and ferro-cement
bulkheads 600 years old have also been found in China. What a fascinating study!
Regards, Pollex

Hello Lextin,  You mentioned earlier (post #301) that you weren't sure of
some rigging details. Let me refer you to "Rigging  Period Fore-and-Aft Craft"
by Lennarth Petersson. I hope you'll be able to find it. My copy is dated 2007 and
was published both by Naval Institute Press, USA and Chatham Publishing, UK.
ISBN 978-1-59114-721-3 The contents cover the British Naval Cutter, the French
Lugger and the American Schooner.  I paid C$53.95, good value for over 110 pages.
I hope this helps. Mark Pollex

The Origins of the Lost Fleet of the Mongol Empire
By Randall J. Sasaki
College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2015
6-1/2” x 9-1/4”, hardcover, 216 pages
Illustrations, diagrams, maps, bibliography, index. $50.00
ISBN: 978-1623491949
 
Despite the growth of nautical archeology over the last forty years, less attention has been focused on the archeology of ships of Eastern Asia—Japan, Korea, and China—than elsewhere.
 
The Origins of the Lost Fleet of the Mongol Empire, by Randall J. Sasaki, fills part of that gap. The book analyzes wrecks found off Takashima, in Japan. The ships, part of the second Mongol invasion of Japan in 1281, were sunk in the typhoon the Japanese afterwards named the Kamikaze, or Divine Wind.
 
The long-forgotten wrecks were rediscovered in the 1980s, with research on the finding ongoing since then. An intact wreck was even discovered in in 2011. In 2004-2005, Sasaki, then a graduate student at Texas A&M’s Institute of Nautical Archeology, participated in these studies for his master’s studies.
 
The book explores the results of his research, examining the origins of the ships wrecked off Takashima. Three different types of ships were found: flat-bottomed lapstrake boats, flat-bottomed carvel craft, and round-bottomed vessels. Sasaki identified both the origins and probable purpose of each type of ship based on its timber and construction (respectively: Korea, the Yangtze River, and Fujian Province).
 
Sasaki clearly presents the logic behind his conclusions, explaining how the woods and fastenings discovered on the offered clues to their origins. He takes readers on a tour through the shipbuilding techniques of thirteenth-century Korea and Japan. He provides significant and fascinating detail on how shipwrights built the ships that ended up off Takashima.
The book is well illustrated, with maps, period images, modern archeological photographs, and author plans. The mix is well-thought out. It offers readers insight into the events leading up to the invasion and typhoon. The drawings and plans are extremely useful in illustrating the construction and shapes of the ships found.
 
This book is concentrated very narrowly on one aspect of Asian maritime archeology. If you want to know how Korean and Chinese ships were built during this period, it provides a wealth of valuable information. On the other hand, if your interests have a broader focus, this book may not hold your interest.
 
For the model-maker, it contains enough information to make a start on building a representative model of a Korean, Yangtze, or Fujian ship. Completing the model requires additional research. For those whose focus is maritime history, it offers a window into the Mongol invasion fleet, including its origins, organization, and loss. For those into marine archeology, it is a fascinating look at how research is done.
 
While unlikely to interest everyone, those who are interested in this topic will find The Origins of the Lost Fleet of the Mongol Empire a useful addition to their library.
 
Mark Lardas
League City, Texas

Just thought I'd share some photos I took of the new kit from Shipyard. This is a nice looking kit that's more expensive than many of their other kits, but a lot less than their HMS Mercury kit. HMS Wolf is a 10-gun brig of war. She's actually "Snow Rigged" meaning that she carries a small mast immediate aft of the main mast, which carries the spanker sail, boom and gaff.
 
The ship is small, and while the Laser Cardboard Kits are all of a larger scale than their Paper Model kits, it's still only 1:72-scale, so the model measure about 20.5" long complete.
 
As with all the Laser Cardboard kits, this one contains all the paints, spars, blocks, rigging line, sails, turned brass cannons and swivel guns. It also includes resin castings for the figurehead and some of the carvings. Other flat carvings are laser-etched cardboard.
 
The Laser Cardboard kits also include instruction books, far better than the instructions provided in their less expensive Paper Model kits.
 
For other information, you'll just have to take a look for yourselves...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Clare
 

First of the planking on with the lower counter and wing transom planked.
Rather than bending them laterally straight planks were used on the counter with shaped planks at top and bottom.

 
Finished counter. There's a small lip of about .8mm att the top of the transom (bottom in the pic) from the thicker planks that will allow a decorative moulding to sit along the edge later on.
A slot was cut for the stern post, which is unfixed still. The rudder hole will be cut later. The port filler blok was a bit short so has been replaced with another yet to be shaped.

 
Wales are next. Petrejus says three strakes for the wales but the plans show two in anchor stock pattern.
Helpfully, in the appendices is a reprint of the builder's contract for the brig Raven of 1804. This details two main stakes of 4 1/2 inches with a single stake of thick stuff of 3 1/2 inches above these and below with the lower thinned into the rest of the planking.
I'll try this when I get a moment in the shipyard.

present state of the build.

 

 

 

Dick
 
 

Hello Matrim; I would like to add an observation to your review of  "The Bounty"
       Few have noted that Bounty was under-manned; there weren't enough officers!!
Captain Bligh was the only "commissioned" officer on board for 40+ seamen. Fletcher
Christian the most experienced midshipman (officer in training) aboard, was appointed
by Bligh to be "Acting Lieutenant".  Had there been another commissioned officer, the
story might have had a much happier ending. 
      Consequently I would consider Bligh to have been an overstressed exasperated nag! 
The unfair Hollywood character given to him of 'a cruel tyrant" really described Captain
Edwards of the Pandora.  Regards, Mark Pollex

Hello Matrim; I would like to add an observation to your review of  "The Bounty"
       Few have noted that Bounty was under-manned; there weren't enough officers!!
Captain Bligh was the only "commissioned" officer on board for 40+ seamen. Fletcher
Christian the most experienced midshipman (officer in training) aboard, was appointed
by Bligh to be "Acting Lieutenant".  Had there been another commissioned officer, the
story might have had a much happier ending. 
      Consequently I would consider Bligh to have been an overstressed exasperated nag! 
The unfair Hollywood character given to him of 'a cruel tyrant" really described Captain
Edwards of the Pandora.  Regards, Mark Pollex

The fore mast winch drum is getting close to done - I need to cut the slots for threading the braces and it'll be complete.



The main/mizzen drum is underway.  The threaded rod isn't thread over it's full length, only for about 1-1/2" at either end, so I need to tap the threads further along to get the length of rod I need for the now taller winch drum.



Drilling stack of plastic is aggravating at best, so I quit before I took the hammer to it and worked on something else.  In this case I traced a photo in Paint Shop Pro that I took of the ship's original end-boards that were mounted in her entry ports.
I scanned one of the end-boards I made from basswood and resized the tracing to fit it.
 


I printed them on the color laser and glued them onto the basswood pieces.  Here they are sitting in place on the model.  They need a couple of coats of poly on them yet.

......
 
            ......

"kardeelblocks"

 

 
More of the smaller stuf including 26 canons for the "verdek" - deck

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
I didn't want the captain to stare at his maps in the dark, so I brought him some lights

 

 

 
 
And finaly, I decided to make this piece (don't know the English word for it) which is absent in Winter's model.
But, I didn't like the open version.
 

 
 
I will keep you up to date more often, that's a promise...
 
Jack

más

Thank you mark,
here is my latest model at 1/48 scale...
and the set-up is ready to begin the next stage.