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Louie da fly

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Everything posted by Louie da fly

  1. Louie da fly
    I thought of that, Phil. Unfortunately there's nowhere to put one without it getting in the way. Druxey, that was terrible (but in a good way) . Yes, whatever else, if I install a windlass in a future build I'll have a better idea of how it all works in relation to everything else. I have to say I'm learning a lot. They reckon that the best way to avoid Oldtimer's disease is to create lots of new neural pathways by doing and learning new things. At this rate, I'll never get it.
  2. Louie da fly
    What's wrong with these photos? For those who answered "the anchor cable is at the wrong angle to the windlass" go to the top of the class. And there's no way I can move the windlass to change the angle - there's no room. Looks like I won't be using the windlass for the anchors after all (sigh). Oh, well -the crew will just have to rely on brute force to raise the anchors.
  3. Louie da fly
    Ahh, there's nothing like positive thinking. And that's certainly nothing like positive thinking . . .
  4. Louie da fly
    Yes, it appears to be a similar rig to a Maltese Luzzu, though your photo shows only one diagonal sprit per mast. (Apparently these vessels no longer exist - a pity, they're really cool).
  5. Louie da fly
    Hmm, interesting point. There's another ship in the same fresco - quite a different type. And there's no rudder shown at all! Go figure.
  6. Louie da fly
    Oh yes. I certainly know that feeling.
  7. Louie da fly
    You're embarking on a whole new adventure! Make sure you read the planking tutorials (if you haven't already). Quite a lot to know and work out. Take your time, think it through and don't be afraid to undo it if you're not happy with it. With care and application, you'll get there.
  8. Louie da fly
    I like the protruding eye, and it is similar to other "figureheads". The colour scheme sounds good - I'm sure they would have made it nice and colorful just to show off. If anything, you might be being a bit too conservative!
  9. Louie da fly
    That's a difficult bit of carving. It'll need a lot of care to avoid it breaking - they're quite thin. How many do you have to do? Ah, just checked the diagrams - looks like you'll need four. I can't answer your first question but for the second, the piece carries out the same function as a deadeye, so in the absence of an official name that's probably as good as anything else. I suppose you could put quotes around it and call it a "deadeye" to indicate that it really isn't one.
  10. Louie da fly
    I like your new configuration for the bowsprit. It makes sense. and . . . Sounds good to me . . .
  11. Louie da fly
    Very nice work on the counterweights. Unless I miss my guess, that is the stone called soapstone in English, or steatite. Sceatha used it for his ship, too.
  12. Louie da fly
    While I'm thinking about the anchors, I'm also working on the side-rudders (steering oars if you prefer) . I'd originally intended to attach the rudders to the lower through-beam on each side, but I realised it wouldn't be able to pivot upwards if I did, so I used the upper beam instead. So I had to cut a hole in the planking on top of the support structure, for the rope that fixes the rudder to the beam. The rope allows the rudder to pivot around its vertical axis (for steering), and with a bit of luck it will also allow it to swing upwards out of the way when only one rudder is in use. The kind of lashing or whatever that was used is (of course) unknown, so I'm going with the theoretical one from the TAMU paper "The Development of the Rudder, 100-1600 A.D.: A Technological Tale" by Lawrence V. Mott ( https://nautarch.tamu.edu/academic/alum.htm) to see if it works. I drilled a hole in each rudder and inserted a brass pin. and a corresponding hole in the upper beam on each side of the ship Here are the rudders dry fitted There is only one Byzantine picture that shows a tiller on a side rudder: I'm probably going to copy that for my own. To get the tillers at the right height I put the steersman in place next to one rudder and marked where the hole for the tiller would have to be. Note that I haven't yet finished the steersman's arms - I'm holding off till the tillers are in place. I wasn't sure if I wanted one tiller to be swung up out of the way, but I think it'll look better with them both in operation. Which means I have to carve another steersman.
  13. Louie da fly
    Yes, I would have thought that from looking at the cross-sections. It has a very low freeboard - looks like it would get swamped easily. By the way, here is a picture of a longship with a stern rudder, from about 1300 AD. It's from Skamstrup Church, near Kalundborg, Denmark. Note that the tiller is curved, to go around the sternpost.
  14. Louie da fly
    Dislodging the anchor could be done by "sailing (or rowing!) it out". Yes, maybe the windlass wasn't really needed . . . But it does look good, and I think I will wind one anchor cable around it, if only for the look of the thing. And I'm sure there'd be plenty of other jobs on board ship that could need the windlass's help (such as Mark's suggestion of using it to raise the masts). Thanks very much. And thanks everybody for all the likes -they are much appreciated. It's getting to the point where I can actually see the end in sight. Still quite a bit to be done, but there's definitely a light at the end of the tunnel (I hope it's not an approaching train!)
  15. Louie da fly
    They look good to me, Christos. I found I had the same problem when I made my oars - I concentrated too hard on the (tiny) faults in each individual oar. But when the oars are seen all together, those things become almost invisible. What you are aware of is the overall picture - a whole lot of oars all together. And if there are individual differences between the oars you really don't see them. Dan, both methods of fixing the oars to the pivots are and have been used, but one is certainly better than the other. Why doesn't everybody use the more efficient method? "Because we've always done it that way, and what was good enough for grandad is good enough for me . . ."
  16. Louie da fly
    Another masterpiece in the making, Greg.
  17. Louie da fly
    Contemporary representations sometimes show the stay fixed to the bowsprit, sometimes to the hull - and sometimes it's hard to tell. The Bodleian Marco Polo picture shows the stay running to the hull and the bowsprit used for braces running forward from the yardarms. A lot of representations show the fixing point at the base of the bowsprit - perhaps fixed to the stempost? The Marco Polo picture certainly suggests that.
  18. Louie da fly
    Yes - it's from c. 1325, well into the period when stern rudders were in use. But I agree, a longship with one is quite strange.
  19. Louie da fly
    This is wonderful! Yet another of the growing band of people making models outside the general run of the mill. And particularly mediaeval ships (my own particular passion). I'll be following with great interest.
  20. Louie da fly
    Yes indeed
  21. Louie da fly
    Thanks, Pat. My understanding is that they were beached stern-first, rather than bow, but the principle is the same - in fact it would make it easier to use the windlass to haul the vessel off the beach. But they were so light the stern could apparently be hauled well up onto the beach, which would help protect against changes in the sea direction. And of course the Mediterranean is all but tideless. There were apparently a lot of islands across the Mediterranean with adequate supplies of water and a good beach, and they would have been part of any good skipper's local knowledge. If they were too far away from the next one they could spend the night at sea, but preferred not to. Apart from anything else, it only took a very few days for the on-board water supply to run out. If they were beached stern-first and the anchor was over the bow, the cable would have been stored in the bow rather than the stern. Which is how I've been thinking of all this. However, it seems that there would have been at least one anchor somewhere in the stern - when anchors are so light you can't have too many. The Serce Limani glass wreck had nine of them - six of which were stored one on top of each other in two piles somewhere near the bow. Apparently the ship was caught by a storm near the coast, they dropped the stern anchor to give them a chance to get the rest of the anchors and make sure of her - but the anchor itself snapped before they could, and she was driven ashore. I haven't made that many anchors - only 5 - two catted and fished (one each side) and the rest stored in the bow (even though I should probably put at least one at the stern). Anyway, perhaps I'll have one anchor cable connected to the windlass and the other just vanishing under the forecastle.
  22. Louie da fly
    Well it's pretty much accepted that they put in to land every evening if possible - if only to replenish their water supplies (which they used up rather fast - rowing will do that to you). But I have an anchor on each side of the bow - I doubt that both cables would be attached to the windlass. Perhaps if I do it with one cable and have the other one coiled up ready to attach when needed? (In fact I'd probably have it run under the forecastle and pretend there was a coiled up cable there). Which would mean I wouldn't need a hole in the deck leading belowdecks? Maybe I never needed the windlass at all, but I'm committed now . . .
  23. Louie da fly
    And probably at the stern as well. Unfortunately kit manufacturers often supply the planks the same width the whole length, when in fact their width varies right along their length to allow for the complexity of the shape of the hull. Adjusting the width is called spiling, and it needs to be done otherwise you end up with gaps between planks at some points and overlaps at others. I'd suggest you have a good read through the planking primers - take your time, until you're happy you understand them (and even then it's possible to make mistakes - don't ask me how I know), and then have another go at your planking. Don't worry - it is possible to get it right! The other thing is it looks like you haven't faired your frames - that is to bevel them at the edges to follow the smooth run of the planks, so the planks rest against a surface rather than just an edge. The edges of the frames shouldn't be at right angles to the frames themselves, they should be at the appropriate angle to let the planks rest smoothly against them. (I hope that makes sense). Planking is probably the most difficult job you'll have in making your model. It's worth putting in the time and study to get it right. You'll be glad you did. And ask questions - lots of questions. Plenty of experienced people here to help you.
  24. Louie da fly
    Nice to see this reach completion.
  25. Louie da fly
    Exquisite work, Ondras!

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