jack.aubrey

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Italian Boats of the Adriatic Sea
 
The Trabaccolo
 

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Pictures by http://www.cherini.eu/
 
The trabaccolo is a Venetian sailing coaster, built of oak and larch, that dates back to the 15th century, and which became widespread all over the Adriatic. The name derives from the Italian word trabacca, meaning “tent” – a reference to the vessel's sails. 
 
The trabaccolo was used as a cargo vessel, and generally had a crew of about 10 to 20 sailors. In the 18th and 19th centuries many of these vessels carried cannons in order to defend themselves from Muslim and Slavic pirates, and from French and British privateers cruising around the coast of Italy, who frequently attacked and pillaged these ships. 
 
The Maritime Museum of Cesenatico in Emilia-Romagna, Italy has a newly-restored, original and fully functional trabaccolo.

Italian Boats of the Adriatic Sea

The Brazzera
 

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Pictures by http://www.cherini.eu/

The brazzera (called bracera in Croatian) is a traditional Italian cargo sailing vessel which originated in Dalmatia, and was first mentioned in the 16th century. It derives from the Italian expression forza di braccia, meaning “power of hands” (which the Venetians called brazzi) because the vessel was moved by oars.

These vessels were often designed with a lateen rig (also known as a Latin rig) – a triangular sail invented by the Romans. The brazzera was widely used all over the Italian coastal region of Dalmatia, as well as in Istria and the Gulf of Trieste by Italian sailors and fishermen. They were often used to transport wine, olive oil, salt, sand, wood and other supplies. In Istria the brazzera was especially utilized in the Italian cities of Rovigno, Pirano, and Capodistria. In Dalmatia they were widespread all over the entire coast, but most notably in Ragusa and the Venetian island of Brazza.

In the last few decades a conscious effort has been made by Croatian writers and organizations to misappropriate the brazzera and proclaim it a “Croatian” vessel and pretend that it belongs to “Croatian” culture and tradition, once again usurping the heritage of Istria and Dalmatia and forging a new Croatianized revision of history. Croatian nationalist editors have used Wikipedia to create articles depicting the brazzera as a “Croatian” vessel.
In 2006 the Dolphin Dream Society, a Croatian environmentalist organization founded in 2001 in Zagreb, even launched a national campaign known as “The White Project” aimed at conserving traditional “Croatian” shipbuilding and “Croatian” maritime heritage. As part of this project, in 2011 the Dolphin Dream Society constructed a replica or imitation of a traditional 18th century brazzera with a Latin sail, which they named Gospa od mora (“Our Lady of the Sea”).
Today the Dolphin Dream Society operates an education program designed to teach Croats how to continue “their” tradition of crafting brazzera vessels. The Dolphin Dream Society also operates an art program in collusion with the Croatian tourist industry, using stolen heritage, occupied land, and a falsified history to generate tourism and stimulate the Croatian economy.

 

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Thank you all for the kind words and the likes, I appreciate very much!

Jack.

Tuesday, September 20th, 2016

The finished model with the complete display case . . .

Now this model can be really considered a closed project.

It was a very interesting and valuable experience: the clinker planking, the viking culture and many other things.

Enjoy the attached images . . . bye, Jack. 

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Most probably this will be my next model when I'll come back to Tuscany, always from Dusek Ship Kits: the Viking Knarr.

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Did she have carronades when taken, or long guns?

The right armament, when taken by RN, is unknown. The only info known it that the armament was "imcomplete". This because the ship was sent on sea, not fully equipped, probably in hurry with a strategic mission to bring to Guadeloupe some supplies in relief of the attacked island. Rgds, Jack.

Sorry about the delay in responding to your post of June 14, but somehow I missed it. The draught must represent the ship as she appeared at the date on the plan. Were the guns added after the date of the lines being taken off? She has sufficient ports pierced for 16 guns.

My thought (o assumption) is that the original guns (although if it seems that Le Nisus ordnance wasn't complete) were totally replaced by the english carronades. In fact I have prepared the english pattern carronades (14 pieces) plus 2 x 6pdr long guns at prow.

Hi Steven,

regarding your question about the three different steering oars the answer is in the following picture, here below attached under paragraph "h".

It seems that inside this ship three other small oak boats were found with several fragments that seem to be part of them . . 

You may find the whole pdf were I got all these info's here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B752g0VVxf2KOGNjOV9lelRiazQ/view?usp=sharing

Torbogdan, do Dusek specify the shapes of the bireme's oars? You might like to have a look at the contemporary representations of Ancient Greek galley oars among the images here.

 

While doing my dromon, I've got very interested in oar shapes. I've made mine as close as I can to contemporary representations, but as no oars have ever been found, it's largely educated guesswork.

 

Steven

On top of this picture is shown the shape of the viking oars for this ship. Some were found inside the wreck in Gokstad.

As you can see they do not correspond to the oars I made. They are much more simple and primitive (in shape) vs mine. I preferred for my model a more "classic" but recent oar shape, more suitable to build with a lathe.

The plan contained in the kit from Dusek reports the same shape you can see in this picture.  

Very nice build, Jack. It'll be good to see it all displayed.

 

I envy you only having to make 30 oars. My dromon has 100, and I don't have a lathe. I'm up to 36 so far . . .

Good luck with your 100 oars . . . for me 32 oars plus a tenth broken was enough . . 

Rgds, Jack.

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Details of the device for housing the oars, with the grooves to hold them in position at the correct distance.

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That's all for now.

Most probably you will not have further news for some time.

The plexiglas cover will be made by a craftsman specialized on this kind of tasks and I have no idea about the time it will take to make it . . 

Only then I will be able to shot some final images of the entire, finished model.

Cheers, Jack.

Rgds, Jack.

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Cheers, Jack.

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Here below my personal interpretation: obviously it was not possible for me to make an exact replica of this device given the very small size (diameter 4mm) of it.

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Inizio dell'ultima fatica, preparazione della vela e installazione dell'alberatura . . per ora la vela (è la prima che provo a cucire . . .) fissata sul pennone, e poi alcuni dettagli . . 

Begin of the last effort, preparation and installation of the sail and yard . . now the sail (the first I try to sew...) mounted on the yard, and then some details . .

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Cheers, Jack.

Looks great, Jack.   Since it's on the base, would a spot of glue where the oar goes through the hull and another under the bladetip work?   Off the top of my head, that's all I can think of.

Hi Mark, thank for your suggestion but I don't like it 'cause it forces to permanently fix with glue the oars . . and I prefer to avoid this fact.

I'm thinking to a plexiglass curved bar, +/- 8mm height, with its shape following the sides of the ship and with several slots where the bladetips should rest. This bar should be glued on the basement at the proper distance from the ship sides, close to the oar bladetips. Being it transparent should not interfere too much with the whole . . 

Another (and simpler) solution shuld be to use wood instead of plexiglass, provided it has the same color of the basement . .

What do you think ? Thanks Jack.

PS: thank to all of you for your comments and likes.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Another small step forward: I finished the building of the oarsmen's seats and sailor's boxes and, after giving a coat of clear matt paint to the deck, I proceeded to glue them in the same way of the drawing I reproduced some messages ago. Then, considering that hardly the viking warriors were equipped with common uniforms, I thought to paint with different colors the various blankets over the boxes.

An additional note of color most probably plausible . .

Then I continued to permanently fix the other superstructures on the deck: the two lateral mast holders and the mast foot where the mast is inserted and held when the ship runs with sails.

Now the most important, and still missing piece, is the rudder, after which the close of the shipyard is approaching more and more . .

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