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Louie da fly

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  1. Louie da fly
    Thanks for the likes and the comments. Funny, I'm in the middle of reading a book called "Finders Keepers" by Craig Childs about archaeological looting, (which is a major problem and is nowadays carried out on an almost industrial scale) - the thing that grabbed my attention though, was his statement "I have secretly wished to be an archaeologist myself, but I do not have the patience for the scientific tedium involved, which would test model-ship builders." (my italics). Nice to see the recognition of one of the main qualities of a ship modeller . . . Maybe I'll make this my signature? Steven
  2. Louie da fly
    Painted the metal brackets on the chain pump and cut the holes for the lands. I still have to put an edging around the holes. Here's the little guy on a mock-up of the rowing bench, with his feet resting on a bar at the back of the next bench. He's still leaning back a bit too much because the stand under his feet is in the way, but I have to keep that because it's needed in the casting process. If you're wondering what's sticking out of his tummy in the third photo, that's a wooden pin I used to hold him together while I was gluing him together at the waist to sit further forward. I only just noticed it, and I've now carved it off. And here he is with an oar in his hand, held in place temporarily with a dab of PVA glue. The angle's pretty good but I'll need to extend his fingers a bit to curl around the oar handle better. From what I've learnt making this guy I'll be able to do the starboard guy better - in particular if I drill a hole for the oar handle before I start shaping his hands it should be easier to get the angle of the oar correct, and the shape of the hands should be easier to do as well. The oar blade is currently facing the wrong way - it should be perpendicular to the water surface. But this is just a test to get the fit right - it will be fixed when the time comes to put everything together. Steven
  3. Louie da fly
    You may be right, Dick. It's a little confusing, and I don't think M. Burlet was very specific with his explanation. Or perhaps it's just my rotten translation. By the way, in the passage above I think "top-rope falls" should be "top-rope downhauls". Nice work on the pumps. Funny to see that the idea of pulling down on a lever with gravity on your side, instead of pulling up against gravity, hadn't yet come into use by this time. But it's confirmed by the 15th century Baltic wreck mic-art posted recently. Steven
  4. Louie da fly
    Thanks for the likes, everyone. They may well have been, Carl. I have to admit it never occurred to me, but in any case I had to make a decision. Though it involved a fair bit of work to extract, the Byzantine Empire wasn't short of metal, so I think I can feel justified in using iron. Steven
  5. Louie da fly
    Oh, and here is the carved original I intend to cast in resin for the oarsmen for the port side of the ship. It's quite difficult getting him exactly the right shape and with his hands in the right position so that he can sit on the oarbench with his feet resting at the base of the one behind him, while holding the oar so the blade goes in the water and the angle of his stroke is right. I discovered he was leaning back too far to do all that, so I cut a wedge out of his tummy and glued him back together so he was sitting up more. I won't be able to check if he's exactly right till I can cast a copy of him and put it in position. A lot of trial and error involved. And though I had made a starboard side oarsman in wax, I wasn't happy with him and I'm going to do him again in wood (which I feel more comfortable with, and which is rather more forgiving). Steven
  6. Louie da fly
    After quite a long gap, I've put the wales on the transom. Unfortunately the wales on the port and starboard sides of the ship don't line up perfectly with each other, so I had to fudge it a bit to get the transom wales as close to parallel and horizontal as I could. Next job is to cut arched gunports in the transom, then make the lower part of the stern. I also have to fit a sliver of wood between the main hull and the upper works to fill the gap noted in the previous post. Slow but steady progress. Steven
  7. Louie da fly
    Thanks everyone for the likes and comments. Much appreciated. Just a bit of finalizing on the chain pump - the brackets holding down the (spindles?) for the cranks. Cut from the little foil boxes the cat meat comes in. Here's the first attempt: I had to do them twice because I got the sequence wrong (but I am rather pleased with the little jig I made to shape them). Drill the holes, then cut the foil into strips, not the other way around (foil strips twisted into unrecognisable shapes by the drill bit). Turned out there was a lot of wastage trying to get the holes in exactly the right places (using a standard carpentry drill - too big and heavy - I have a dremel knock-off but haven't been able to work out how to work the flexible drive to do fine work. I really need to sit down for a while and figure it out.) That's about all the good ones I was able to get (except for the one that fell on the floor and was transported into a parallel universe). Here are the brackets in place - glued at the top of the curve with a spot of CA, then when it was dry, using a stylus thingy to push the foil into the the final shape. And drilled through the holes into the top of the pump case and fixed with fine brass pins, glued in with CA. Once the glue is dry I'll paint all this "iron" black. I realised I should have put the openings in for the dales before I attached the pump assembly to the deck, so I'm going to have to do that in situ, which will be a bit more difficult. Steven
  8. Louie da fly
    Good question. The only statement that might be appropriate (excuse my translation, which might not catch the full intent of the original) is "In the 17th and 18th centuries, the piece intended to avoid wear described here as a “comb” was called an eye (calcet with two eyes), the amans (ropes?) passing through holes and not as here in a groove. The groove at the top of the calcet was probably intended to take the strops of the auxiliary tackles (carnal and carnalette). " What this means exactly, I really don't know, but the reference to the carnal and carnalette might be the answer to your question. Perhaps Rene Burlet may be able to provide the answer, if you can find the right book. He has written a paper called "But how did they row the galleys of the Sun King (Louis XIV)" and a book called "Les galères au Musée de la Marine" (https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Les_galères_au_Musée_de_la_Marine.html?id=4ODlHStz_uMC&redir_esc=y ) analysing the models of galleys in that Museum. The site contains a link to a chapter entitled La galère à la voile (The galley under sail) which on a quick perusal seems to offer some clues. It is all in French, but I've translated below the bits that appear relevant: “The control of the yards, of which the weight is considerable, (a mestre [master?] yard, its largest sail and its manoeuvres easily amounting to 2.5 tonnes) is a delicate affair which requires a series of precautions . . . the yard is supported by a strong tackle which we have already mentioned with its top-rope falls. It is held to the mast by doubled cordage, the trusses equipped with parrels to slide the length of the mast when needed. These trusses are blocked by the angui tackle (??? - I've no idea what this means).” “ . . . to close this brief enumeration, there are two tackles used for each mast, the canal and the carnalette. It should be noted that these could equally be used to hoist barrels of wine.” I'm afraid that still doesn't answer your question, however. He goes on to say that because the size of a lateen sail can’t be adjusted (i.e. reefed) – it’s all or nothing - each galley carried three sets of sails of different sizes for different conditions. Steven
  9. Louie da fly
    Translated from French, the report of the 1987 dive states "Discovered at Q35, [see plan below] close to double pulley A 167 and under the two wheels A66, this rigging piece is in the form of a case with a double pulley with two slots, associated with a sifflet (angled scarph) joint of semicircular section . . ." "INTERPRETATION – HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL REFERENCES (MG – ER) This rigging piece has been identified by Rene BURLET, specialist in galleys and lateen rig. It is a calcet which is fixed to the top of a mast of lateen rig. The two sheaves, often of bronze, serve for the passage of the double halyards of the antenne (lateen yard) (ref D No. 95/87) (page 43) . . . " "The calcet has dimensions corresponding to a mast height of 12 to 15 metres, which could be a mizzen or Bonaventure mizzen." So there you are. Yes it's from a lateen mast, and was found somewhat sternward of midships. Though no pictures exist of the Lomellina herself, the late 15th century representation below flies the banner of the Lomellini family, and is probably of the previous Lomellina (the Lomellina I?) sunk in 1503. Steven
  10. Louie da fly
    She was presumably square rigged (no contemporary pictures exist, and what remains of the masts and spars are not in situ), but I'm assuming the calcet was from the mizzen, which would have been lateen rigged. However, I'll have a look and see if the archaeological report mentions anything, particularly about where the calcet was found in relation to the rest of the ship. Steven
  11. Louie da fly
    Not sure if I've shared this with you, and I know it's somewhat previous talking about masting and rigging when you haven't even finished the hull, but regarding the way the calcet is fixed to the mast, The Lomellina (sunk 1516) had one like this; and another similar one was included in the archaeological report, thus: I also realise this is several centuries different, but when it comes time to rig your own, this might be of help. I know in my own build I puzzled greatly over how the calcet could have been fixed to the mast without introducing nasty forces that would cause problems. This solution may have been in use for centuries, and is certainly the best I've seen as an answer to the problem. Hope it helps, Steven
  12. Louie da fly
    You might try carving "pins" into the ends of the upright supports, with corresponding holes in the gunwale. I tried this and it seems to work - https://modelshipworld.com/topic/10344-10th-11th-century-byzantine-dromon-by-louie-da-fly-150/page/30/ Or (if your hand is steady enough) drill holes in the ends of the uprights and insert metal pins, which go into corresponding holes in the gunwale. If you cut sewing pins short they'd probably do the trick as they are hard and tough and won't bend (or break, as one of my wooden ones did). Steven
  13. Louie da fly
    Very nice (and very informative). Thanks, Dick. Steven
  14. Louie da fly
    Nice work, mate. Steven
  15. Louie da fly
    looks very good, Dick. Any chance of a photo from a bit further away, showing where it is on the ship? I can sort of get an idea, but a picture would help. Steven
  16. Louie da fly
    Very interesting indeed. This puts it in the era of carracks - one of my favourite types of ship. You can see the wales, and the foremast right aft of the bowsprit - maybe a suggestion of a forecastle? And the ship's boat is two-ended, as shown in most contemporary pictures of them. The mainyard's still there, but most of the aftercastle is gone, though you can see she has a round stern and the timbers supporting the aftercastle are still in place. Anchor still in position, and is that a pump just aft of the mainmast, forrard of the hatch and capstan? SO much detail, and the state of preservation is up there with the Black Sea wrecks. I look forward to hearing more about this one. Steven
  17. Louie da fly
    I particularly like points 3 and 4☺️. Steven
  18. Louie da fly
    Looks very good, Dick. I've become much more appreciative of windlasses now I've made one of my own. Yours is even simpler than mine, which is probably right because I just copied the one from the Mary Rose, which is from over 400 years later. Is there a particular reason for making it faceted? Steven
  19. Louie da fly
    By the way, if you're looking for resources, I've found Hearns Hobbies, under the arches at Flinders St Station, to be very helpful. Just got back from a visit to Melbourne with a tin of Humbrol paint and a piece of very small diameter brass tubing. (To be honest that's not why I went to Melbourne, but we were walking along the river nearby, so . . .) On the other hand, I take it your "local" in Ringwood is "Float a Boat" about which I've heard very good things. Steven
  20. Louie da fly
    Very nice work, David. I don't know how I missed this one - I love carracks and would normally have followed the build. But you've done an excellent job and she looks just like the Mataro ship (well, maybe a little newer 😉) Steven
  21. Louie da fly
    Very nice indeed. You can be justly proud of them. Steven
  22. Louie da fly
    Definitely McGyver! A clever solution to the problem, and looks pretty good, too, though I think I'd make the hole in the hull smaller - it doesn't need to be that big for the rudder/tiller combination to work. Yes, it's probably possible to turn tooth[picks in a clamped drill. There was a thread on this forum some time ago about someone making a poor man's lathe that way, and it seemed to work well. However, toothpicks are a bit rough and ready when you get them from the shop, so don't be suprised if you have a fair proportion of failures. Just keep at it - it should turn out ok with some practice and a bit of wastage. Steven
  23. Louie da fly
    Well, that's fixed, anyway. I've now put the port superstructure back in place and it now all lines up - at least as well as possible - any further discrepancies come from my 17-year old self not making it perfect in the first place. I was hoping to make the after face of the superstructure the same way it would have been back in the day, with the wales and the strakes made and installed individually, using the cardboard template to define the shape. Unfortunately it just didn't work out that way. I ended up having to make it out of a single sheet of wood (got it right on the second attempt), with the wales glued on the outside instead of forming part of the structure. There is now quite a gap between the lower hull and the port superstructure, which I will have to infill with a new strake. Still, it's now starting to look like the kind of stern you see in Bruegel's paintings, which has got to be a good thing . . . Steven
  24. Louie da fly
    Hi Kikatinalong, I've had a look at the Mamoli kit and it's a rather nice looking ship. While I agree you're taking on a pretty ambitious project, there's no reason you can't make something to be proud of, even though you may find a few things you aren't totally satisfied with on this, your first build. One thing that might help you, as well as the advice above, particularly from pontiachedmark and knightyo, is to look at the planking tutorials on this forum in the section " Building, Framing, Planking and plating a ships hull and deck" - Planking is a particularly fiddly activity and it's good to have an understanding of the technique before you start. Some kits advocate an oversimplified method of planking which doesn't correspond to the reality, but looking at pictures of your kit, that doesn't seem to be the case. And as you're building a carrack, I'd highly recommend Woodrat's excellent build as a reference. What's not included in that is hardly worth knowing. And as several others have suggested, ask LOTS of questions. The people on this forum are invariably helpful and someone will probably have already found an answer to the problem you're faced with. Best wishes with your build, and start a build log to share your triumphs and problems with the rest of us. PS: Where do you live? As you can see, I'm in Ballarat. You might find other members who aren't all that far from you. Steven
  25. Louie da fly
    Well, why not, Rick? Sounds like something worthwhile to do. And who knows you might get back on it and get a lot of enjoyment from it. Steven

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