schiffebastler

Hi Michael, 

these small things make the difference between a good model and an outstanding model!  

It is really interesting to follow your log.

Regards, Joachim

Hi Michel,

being back from my absence, I had to read a lot through your build log. After a long summer holiday, I came in contact with a horrible computer virus, destroying all of my computers! And it took me several weeks now to solve any problems with it....

But now it was really great for me, to see your wonderful build growing and going to be better and better! At the end it will be a marvelous ship! 

Best regards, Joachim

Thank you very much, Grant!

Regards, Joachim

Thanks a lot Brian and Kevin!

Kevin, I can understand you, that you have lost the will to continue with the kit. I also had this phase. Therefore, in-between I built a smaller kit (the Robert-E-Lee), which was much easier and I build it out of the box, without any research to the ship. But this gave me the motivation to continue with the Amerigo.

Brian, you are right, this is one of the most detailed kits on the market, but it is still not detailed enough (I think no kit can be this). 

During the build, step by step the intention is, to improve the kit in order to become get a more realistic model. So, for example, I had to built all the boats individually, I could not (or would not) take the simple ones from the kit. 

The next improvement will be the rigging, the included plans are not sufficient and partly wrong. So, with help of a few people (e.g. @fabius.b from the forum here), I will come to the right plans.

Regards, Joachim

Thanks a lot to all! It is always a pleasure to read your kind words.

After my holidays, I hope, I will have more time for the Amerigo... and it will be easyer to work, because during this summer I measure about 30 to 35 degrees celcius in my hobby-room, and it makes it a bit difficult to work, it is much easier with lower temperature...

Regards, Joachim

Hello,

now the second of the two big open motor-barkasses is ready. Has been build like the first one.

some pictures of this boat

now a picture of both boats together

I will pause now with the build log for a few weeks. With my family I will go in sommer holiday to the south of France au bord of the mediterranean sea.

So long everybody....

Regards Joachim

Hello Michael,

really great pictures from your Wasa. Your progress is amazing! The way you build (somtimes rebuild...) the model is great, I like this.

Regards, Joachim

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!! What an outstanding model, I really like it!

Regards, Joachim

Hi Nils,

thanks for your kind words!

And yes, I will do the complete rigging inclusive sails. Since several weeks I am preparing the plans for rigg and belaying.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures from the beginning. Due to personal events I had to interrupt the building for several years. I restartet to build the model last year and made pictures from that time on.

By and Tschüss, Joachim

Thank you very much Grant and Michael for your kind words!

Regards, Joachim

Hello everybody,

now a new part for the Amerigo. Before starting the rigging, there have to be finished the two big (whatever is called 'big') open motor-barkasses, because they have to be fixed on deck and this could be difficult afterwards.

Like all of the boats from the Amerigo, the parts of the kit are not usable and I had to take the pictures as a basis for the proportions, the appearance and the details.

The boat is build on frames with planking outside and a second planking inside the boat after I had broken out the inner frames. The white "thing" in the middle is the motor, the micro boat's propeller (1 mm diameter) is build of small brass foil; the rudder looks a bit special with a pod on top for the flagstick.

And now the same again for the second boat.

Regards, Joachim

Just looked again trough your build log...

Really an outstanding model, wonderful pictures and interesting description. I like it very much!

Regards, Joachim

Really great your model! 

Unfortunately my job gives me actually not enough time, but I always like to look in your build log and do this as often as possible. 

Regards, Joachim

Thank you very much Edwin!

Hope I can continue soon, actually, my job is a bit time consuming ....

Regards, Joachim

Hi Michael,

I am sure, you will succeed with a wonderful result!

Regards, Joachim

Hi Michael,

as you can see on the first picture I posted, you can see on the right side, how these holes end on the deck. Usually the deck should have at the side some thicker planks (I don`t know the english word...) where the chanel for the drain holes ends.

Regands, Joachim

Hello Michael,

the price of the book sounds crazy! I bought the book and the plan-set for about 40 USD...

Now, I took some scans of the drain holes (in German "Speigat"). There exist 13 pairs, 12 of them arranged in the middle section of the hull (see pictures). One pair is in the back and bigger than the others, it is used for the water from the pumps and is build by a beam where a hole is drilled through for leading the water directely outside.

Usually for this type of ships, outside the drain holes have become a tube of canvas in order to protect the hull, but of course they did not found this by the Wasa, so it ist not sure for this ship.

Hope, I could help you.

Regards, Joachim

Hi Michael,

do you need special informations for going on with your Wasa? Maybe you remember, I own the plans and the book of the Wasa from Wolfram zu Mondfeld. So, if you need some special infos, I can send you scans or photos of it. Although it is written in German language, nevertheless it might be helpful for you.

Regards, Joachim

Thanks all for your nice words. We really had a great time ... and my kids are already planing for next-years sailing trip

But now I have to proceed a bit with the Amerigo...

Regards, Joachim

Hi Michael,

just read your absolutely NOT boring aviation chat, was really interesting!! 

Beside of the ships I myself always was interested also in aviation, but it is really time consuming if you want to do this only as a hobby (especially in Germany...). After the separation of my first wife, I first made my license for paraglider, then for sailplane and trained for motor sailer, but never made my license (I met my today's wife...).

The paraglider I flew for several years. But at least I had to decide between my wife, children and on the other side the aviation... My wife was interested in sailing and ships, but absolutely not in aviation - therefore, step by step I stopped all aviation activities.... Since then, nearly every year I am sailing with my family, and we all like it (see the last post in my build log)....

It was the only possible decision for me to stop the aviation activities, there is not enough time to do everything, but sometimes, whenever I see beautiful planes, .....

So far a bit off-topic... but now I am looking forward to see more of your wonderful model!

Regards, Joachim 

Hello everybody,

after being back from holiday for a few days, it still takes a few days until I will be able to proceed with my build log. In the meantime I would like to give you some impressions of my sailing trip in Croatia.


After the last years with cold and rainy sailing trips in Netherlands, Our intention for sailing on the Mediterranean Sea was, to get no storm, no rain and warm weather... And we got storm, rain and cold weather... But we also got sunny hours nearly every day, but always followed with storm, rain and cold...

Every day we got at least 5-6 Beaufort, often up to 7 Bf., the weather forecast always had been wrong ... once we got 8 Bf. (more than 40 knots) wind and waves with a hight of 2 meters in open waters! That was really exciting!
 

Here you can see our ship, a "Bavaria 45" which carried us well through heavy seas and strong winds.




So it looks at about 6 Beaufort, ... I mean, it is really great, to sail with maximal hull speed of 9 knots through the water!




In between times we visited some attractions such as the Krka waterfalls - absolute unique! (maybe you remember the Winnetou movies?) By the way, one hour before starting to this trip we got a heavy rain, then sun during the visit and afterwards the rain came back for the whole evening and night.




My children also could manage the ship just fine. While my daughter stears the ship casually over the Krka, my son likes to stear the ship in strong winds, but he is able to do it very well, so I can rest easy and enjoy the ride.

A small view of the innumerable islands of Croatia, with some sun in between really great!




Because of the threatened storm, we layed in a marina in the middle of the lonely cornat islands.




A few cliffs had been there also, and many stones, stones, stones ...




A common sight: bulging sails, as we love it!




and also a common sight: thunderstorms with rain and hail, what we do not love!




On the way I had seen the first waterspout my life 'in real life'! It was a nice, small tornado (maximum 100m in diameter). But did not have a picture of it, because I was afraid that since he is no more, until I had my photo taken.



That's it... Soon I will proceed with the regular build log.

Well then, see you soon, Joachim

Hello everybody,

after my holiday I will proceed with the build log soon. But after a really cold holiday, we actually have 38 degrees celcius in Germany, and due to the fact, that my hobby room is in the penthouse, the actual temperature there is about 34 degrees! Not easy to work in it... but on the weekend the big rain is comming back.

@fabius, thanks a lot for calling to the Ufficio, it seems that it will take a bit time for me until I will be able to visit the Amerigo

@4whelr and @jimbob, thank you for your nice comments!

Concerning your questions, jimbob, unfortunately I was not able to achieve a better plan of the boats. Many years ago I got additionally the italien plan from Franco Gay "Amerigo Vespucci - La Nave E Il Modello". It contains a few better informations than included in the kit, but still not sufficient.

Once I detected, that the real boats are different from the plan of the models, I collected lots of pictures of the Amerigo from the internet. Only on basis of these pictures, I designed the boats as close as possible to the real ones. But still there are two older ones which do not really fit to the real boats (maybe I redesign them...).

Here I have a link for you where you can find a lot of pictures, maybe it helpes you:

http://www.congedativespucci.it/galleria/2011-index.html

Best regards, Joachim

Thanks for the phone number, Fabio, hope, they can speak english (or german).

Once I visited the Amerigo, but it was in the beginning of the 90th. I took a lot of photos, but most of them are too bad.

A few times I met the Amerigo on the Baltic Sea during sailing trips, but unfortunately we could not meet the vessel in a harbour.

Since a long time, I tried to visit the ship again, but from the south of Germay it ist not so easy, all harbours are far away. And then I met my wife, build a house, got two children, a timeconsuming job, my wife has a photo studio.... But my family too likes ships, so one day we will visit the Amerigo all together.

But now I am going to prepare the car for our trip!

Regards, Joachim

Hi Fabius, you are really a great help for me, thank you again very much!

Due to your help, lots of the ropes I could now identify. Still a problem is for me, that multiples of the ropes are labled with the same words, but it is not clear, to which sail they belong. I think I have to make my own assignment.... But nevertheless, also this plan does not fit totally to the real pictures.....

Now I am running in the next problem, After a long time, I took a look into the kit (the last months I made only things which had been anyway not within the kit) and I had to discover, that the kit contains only ONE black and ONE brown rope! No different type of ropes, the same for everything! And I had to discover, that the kit contains only ONE sort of blocks, no more! I will have to sort out the different rope-types and their thickness!

Following the links below, you can see lots of different blocks from the Amerigo (pictures from a dockyard time of the vessel):

http://www.congedativespucci.it/galleria/camp2006/images/57.jpg

http://www.congedativespucci.it/galleria/camp2006/images/56.jpg

http://www.congedativespucci.it/galleria/camp2006/images/50.jpg

So I know, what I have to do......

It is a bit disappointing, that such an expensive kit does not contain suitable material and plans for the rigging.

But first of all, the next few days I will prepare and pack for our sailing trip on the mediterranean see! We have chartered a sailing yacht for the next two weeks in Croatia!

Everything else, afterwards. Until then

Regards, Joachim

Hi,

here I have a link from an italien modeller (Giancarlo Gambato), who lived not far away from the Italien Navy Scool, where the Amerigo has her harbour. Years ago he build a model of it, he had the possibility to visit the Amerigo multiple times. And on this model you can see also a sort of fitting. I don't know, if this absolutely correct, but it gives an hint.

http://www.amerigovespucci-theboat.com/de/schiffsmodell_galerie_amerigo_vespucci.html

http://www.shipmodels.com.ua/eng/models/elite/amerigo_vespucci/

Regards, Joachim