Louie da fly

Yes, though it may be that different members of the same family of trees would have different properties, and some would be better for carving than others. If you're having success with cherry it's probably best to continue with it.

Regarding the head - yes it's perhaps the most difficult thing to do. If you have a look at my own procedure, I "rough" mine out first - see my posts #200 and #204 in my dromon build log (the Megatron stage).

And sometimes I decide I haven't done a good enough job and throw the figure away . . .

It takes a lot of trial and error, I'm afraid, but the more practice you get, the better you'll become. 

Steven

Understood. And you could well be right. I am quite prepared to believe a seal engraver wouldn't be fully conversant with how to sail a ship 

Steven

5 hours ago, Ab Hoving said:

Would the crew really be forced to climb ropes like monkeys to work on the sails?

Apparently, yes.  Somebody had to invent rope ladders and ratlines sometime. Which means that there was a time before that, when people climbed like monkeys. The transition seems to have happened some time in the 14th century according to the contemporary representations I've collected. But I have at least one modern photo of seamen doing the same thing on a dhow.

5 hours ago, Ab Hoving said:

And would any intelligent sailor hoist yards with furled sails? As far as I am informed (I know nothing about the period the nef sailed) these yards were lowered to be handled.

Well, quite a few of the seals show a furled sail at the masthead with seamen sitting astride the yard unfurling it as the ship prepares to leave port.

It could be artistic licence, but since it occurs so often, I'm inclined to believe it accurately reflects the reality.

Steven

It does take practice. My early attempts were terrible. But if you persist you slowly get better, and get a "feel" for what needs to be done. (I manfully resisted the temptation to answer your original question by saying "just cut away everything that doesn't look like a person" )

I use fruit wood. It has a beautiful fine grain. Pear wood is good, but I found I got even better results from a tree we'd had in the garden which got sick and had to be cut down - I think i was either apricot or nectarine.

Steven

Hi Ab. To be honest, I don't have sensible answers to your questions. I'm really just following the "scene" portrayed on the town seal of Winchelsea - have a look on my build log on 16 August (post # 80) where I talk about it.

It's possible that the windlass is raising the anchor, not the yard. Having since seen a Viking ship reconstruction hauling up the sail (not furled), I'm inclined to think i may have got it wrong, but that was my interpretation at the time.

A large number of  town seals show a similar scene, with trumpeters announcing the ship's departure and men on the yard unfurling the sail, though I have to say the Winchelsea seal has more detail than most. Several  representations even have  someone climbing to the yard by "shinning up" a stay or shroud as the guy in this picture is doing - no bosun's chair, not even a rope ladder. They were tough in those days - not even footropes.

Steven

Happy to help, Marcus. When I was building my dromon I made a lot of figures and posted the process step by step on pages 6 and 7 of my dromon build log. 

If you have any questions on this, please don't hesitate to get in touch. I find carving figures very rewarding, and I'm happy to help anybody else catch the "bug".

Steven

Beautiful work, Christos.  had no idea you were making this. I've wanted to build a model of one of these ships for a long time. I think they're amazing. 

Amazing and beautiful!

Steven

Beautiful model, Thanasis. Congratulations on a first prize well deserved.

Steven

The new sail looks very good, Christos.

Steven

Exquisite. What a beautiful model.

Steven

That's a beautiful model. I love the ships of antiquity and you've done a wonderful job of her - we can even see the cargo of amphorae below decks.

Steven