Hubac's Historian

So, last night, I ordered a pair of small, brass micro-planes. The quality appears decent, on EBAY, and they weren’t terribly expensive. What I like about them is that the sole is flat for the middle third, but there’s an entry and exit relief that should facilitate light, fairing passes. We’ll see what comes of that. I needed a good small-work project, so I have decided to tackle the low-relief Mer-Angels that flank the upper finishing of the quarter galleries. I’m carving these in 1/16” white styrene, and I will begin with the aft-most pair: It’s good to carve like-figures in tandem, for the sake of consistency. The forward pair require a little re-drafting, so that they don’t interfere with my aft-most octagonal port. Anyway, this should be a fun little bit of carving.

Hi Kudin- I love your videos! On this most recent video, I have a question for clarification: it seems that you are gluing your deck planking directly to the paper plan layout which, itself, must be glued to the sub-decking. What adhesive of paper to sub-decking do you use to ensure there’s no de-lamination? Clearly there are tremendous advantages to being able to taper planking directly to the layout, in-situ.

Well said, BW!

Looking great, Jonathan!

Thanks for the reminder, Jan. Yes, I am also considering this approach - particularly with the top and t’gallant masts because you automatically have the squared foot that the masts require. It also enables me to mill perfectly straight stock, initially, rather than having to weed through any number of dowels, searching for straight examples. I’ve always wanted a mini violin maker’s plane, and this would be a great excuse to go out and buy one.

Hi Mark - I also prefer the first figurehead, but I do think the actual ship would not have been launched without arms, as they would add gesture and expression to the figure. On the plus side, although it certainly begs a little due diligence, I suspect that her arms would be bare; or, at most, only short tunic sleeves.

Hi Jonathan - can you remind me of the sail paper, please? Is it Modelspan? As for authentic sail color, perhaps take a look at the photo-log of Hermione on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic, after completion of her construction. That will likely give you a fair idea of realistic weathering.

Work on the middle deck is coming along nicely. As mentioned, earlier, I found it much simpler to re-make the dummy carriage platforms from scratch, in order to achieve a close scribe without sacrificing platform depth. I used this simple scribing method to arrive at a faithful pattern for each side: You can see the relative flattening of the ship’s sides, here, with the new pattern mapped-out on white styrene: Once I had achieved a close scribe for each side platform, and before gluing them in place, I checked for the ideal positioning of the dummy carriage blocks, along the whole broadside. On the lower deck, my blocks all follow a uniform line, as they all butt-up against a raised lip at the back edge of the platforms. The middle deck presents a somewhat different reality, as the outward re-curve of the hull, in the area of the anchor lining, would make the barrel projection seem too short, if I were to simply place all of the dummy carriages at a uniform distance from the port opening. How’s that for a run-on sentence?! So, testing the depth from port to port, I discovered that the forward 5 dummy gun carriages needed to be staggered closer to the port openings in increments up to 1/16”. Splitting hairs? Yes. The result, though, will be a finished projection like this, relative to the lower battery: The added benefit of remaking the side platforms is that they are deep enough to adequately support the carriage blocks without any supplemental blocking. With all of that settled, I glued-in the side platforms and center deck sections, as before - taking care to consider the next step of raking the masts. Again - because the masts have been raised, their tapered lower diameter no longer corresponds with the openings at each center deck section level. My solution is to make mast plates that will enable me to align each mast on the ship centerline, while also establishing the rake. With Lemineur’s masting plan of the St. Philippe at hand, I set the rake for the foremast as nearly perpendicular to the waterline as eye and square could ascertain. I will still have some wiggle room to adjust the foremast, if necessary, at the main deck level; the foremast step is not even an inch below this first mast plate, and the fit is deliberately just a hair slack. The main mast is raked aft so that the main top is sensibly level to the waterline, while also accounting for the upward trajectory of the top and t’gallant masts. Here are the relative layout of mast rakes and top heights from a variety of angles: Without the upper deck and bulwarks in place to complete the picture, these mast heights may appear exaggerated, but I am confident that this impression will trend favorably as the model continues to take shape. In other works, the sprit, fore, main and mizzen tops are now complete, and I have made up all of the middle-deck dummy carriages - complete with shims for height, and lid lanyards. I will wait to set the dummy carriages until after I have made the gusset supports for the main deck beams. Placing those beams will require a little thoughtful layout, as they must accurately frame the openings for the main deck hatches and gangway. The beams around the gangway will have to be realistically sided, as they will be partially visible. So, onward and upward we will go. Thank you for the likes, your interest and for looking in!

Really nicely proportioned carriages, and excellent consistency of effort and standards.

I’m particularly excited for this sail-making portion of the build. ‘Looks like you have everything prepped perfectly, and now it’s onto the magic! The Galleon model looks awesome, BTW!

Well, since my return to work, the pace of work has slowed, but I have still managed to make good progress. This evening, I completed the lower gun deck. Typical of my approach to this build - because I want it to remain fully intact over the next six or seven construction years (hopefully shorter😉) - I have over-engineered everything. Once all of the dummy carriage blocks were in place, I decided to add backing blocks for a little extra connection/insurance, so that when I glue in the gun barrels, at the end of the project, I won’t loosen the dummy carriage blocks: It’s total overkill considering the grip this particular cyano seems to have, but it makes me feel better. Likewise the fore and mizzen mast steps, which raise each mast 1/2” respectively, are over-engineered to insure that if the mechanical cyano bond fails, then the welded plastic collar will keep the mast footing in place. Once all of that was settled, I could fit and secure the middle deck “beams”: I faired their top surfaces, this morning, which enables me to begin the whole process all over again, with the middle deck. Interestingly, though, I discovered just how much the hull flattened out, when I cut away the bottom, below the waterline. Roughly, along the waist, there’s a good 8”, or so, where the scribe is tight: Splitting the difference, fore and aft though, it’s a different story: These gaps are too much to scribe without foreshortening the waist depth (of these dummy carriage platforms) so much, that I have to create all kinds of additional carriage support. I think my better bet is to make these carriage platforms from scratch, out of 1/16” white styrene. This way, I can still use the kit center deck sections, while adding back some of the gap space to the carriage platforms. This will enable me to place the carriages so that they don’t necessarily require as much out-rigger/backstop support. Thanks to my good friend and mentor, Dan Pariser, I now have anchor cable, which I seized this morning: I’m waiting for the grey acrylic I applied to the inside of the hawse holes to really cure before threading the hawsers. Thank you so much, Dan! These cables look really great and they are just the right scale. Here’s a broadside view with all of my tapetags pulled through the ports, so that it will be easier to retrieve the port-lid laniards: In other works, I made up the stock kit mizzen mast, which I reinforced with a straightened piece of wire coat-hanger. I did also try to turn a wooden mizzen in the chuck of my drill, but the first attempt was not satisfactory. I’ll have to learn how better to do this because all masts and spars above this level will be made from wood. I also got busy, as a small-work project, making the sprit-mast, foremast, and mizzen tops. Here are the sprit and mizzen tops, which are the same size; I have yet to attach the top banding: As a frame of reference, I found that Lemineur’s masting and rigging plan of the St. Philippe in 1:96 is an excellent corollary to what I am trying to achieve, proportionally. Going forward, as I did with the new top diameters, this will be my guide for proportioning the topmasts and t’gallants. Here’s a shot of the side work, in process: You can really get a sense of the increased scale of the new tops, here. Lastly, I’ve begun preparing stock for the lower half of the quarter galleries: These are ready for my next shop opportunity to profile them on the bandsaw. I still am not sure what the material is. At one of our club meetings, Dan was divesting himself of various odds and ends in his shop, when he gave me this stick of wood. It has virtually no grain, a light yellow color (which I thought was oxidation, but remained so after milling), is lightweight, but fairly hard. I think/hope it will shape well and hold fine detail. We will see. I will save any advanced description of my process for making the quarter galleries, until I am actually doing it. Suffice it to say for now, though, that these carved lifts will be sandwiched between moulding strakes of white styrene, that will define the shape and projection of the QGs at each level. The moulding strakes are highlighted, here, in red: As ever - thank you for your interest and for looking in. Stay safe, sane and healthy, everyone!

Spectacular progress - very nice framing! I watch your build with great interest, as I consider converting Heller’s Victory to this 1765 appearance - way down the road. You are doing a fabulous job, so far.

BRAVO, EJ! She really looks superb. This is a well-earned victory lap!

Yes, it truly is mind-boggling. In 2003, when I was standing in the guts of the Provincien, at Batavia Werf, it was almost incomprehensible to me how tall the stern rose above the keel. The counter timber was gigantic! You are really doing an incredible job, here, Mark. It’s fascinating to me, the questions that arise as one works through their process. And, as you say, it is astounding the complicated geometry that these shipwrights could render with their trained eyes and hands.

At the 3:11 mark, of the following video, the narrator is showing how Victory’s tiller operates, on the actual ship. Shortly after that point, you can see the tiller’s entry into the ship, and the same curved beam that you have fashioned, just beneath the entry point:

A very clever assembly jig, and beautiful results!

I love how the lighting turned out, EJ. What a magnificent job you have done by making all of the carvings yourself!

I just took a look at the expanded view because I couldn’t remember if this conjectural ship from the Album was drawn as a true three-decker of a two-decker. It’s a three-decker. That would place the pilot on the middle deck, actually, and the slot in the main deck.

Chapman, this drawing from the Album, to my mind, definitively affirms the presence of the slot. And, yet, there are a few curious things about the drawing. First - although the rowle is shown on the deck plan view, it does not appear to be represented in the cut-away view. Second - the slot railings would seem to eliminate the possibility that the pilot stands on the main deck, and in any case the whip-staff isn’t drawn as projecting high enough above the railing for anyone to work it. So, that would seem to place the pilot on the lower deck, and facing a bulkhead that walls-off the mizzen mast - far from the action and command. It is puzzling given that these drawings are supposed to be a literal representation of how a French ship was constructed in the 1680s. Mark, you are right about the Lemineur plans. The St. Philippe monograph is a stunning piece of work, but there are numerous inconsistencies and puzzling details that often don’t appear to make practical sense. I joined the Ships of Scale site to watch one modeler, Nigel Brooke, build the S.P., according to the monograph. It’s early yet, in his build, but he’s making a spectacular job of it. His build-log is particularly insightful, concerning the vagaries of interpreting the plans, so that he can correctly loft his frames. Nigel is exceedingly sharp, but he has had to do an incredible amount of mental gymnastics to get to where he is now with the build. The model is absolutely worth the look: https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/saint-philippe-1693-pof-to-the-monograph-by-jean-claude-lemineur-by-nmbrook-1-36.3066/

Is that Chris from Berlin, by any chance?

Jan, I think you have keyed-in on something fundamental to this discussion: the schaarstokken, or as I think they are called in English - the King Planks(?). These longitudinal stiffeners - because they are mortised into the deck beams - would compensate for the presence of the slot. Nonetheless, Leminuer’s drawing shows the slot crossing both pairs of King Planks, but that does not, in itself, invalidate your argument. Certainly, for all practical purposes, the slot must cross the first pair, closest to the centerline of the deck. However, given the down and over mechanics of steering hard to either port or starboard - is it really necessary for the slot to be so wide that it crosses the second pair of King Planks? Considering, also, that the guns would recoil into a slot this wide, and I think there is an argument to be made for a drawing error, in this instance.

Dorf hits the high seas! Face first😂 Could be, Druxey. Makes sense.

My issue with this is that the tiller man, the pilot, on the three-decker is standing on the middle deck, in this scenario, and that much further from the chain of command. There’s a lot of superstructure above him on Soleil Royal, with no view of anything but the mizzen mast and the guns to either side of him. And I’m sorry to disagree, but the pilot will have more leverage to push down through the yoke, the fulcrum, and to either side if he’s standing at the end of the whip-staff, as opposed to closer at the base. The length of the whip-staff counts too. In all fairness, this discussion of mechanical advantage heads straight towards why ship steering transitioned from the whip-staff to the wheel; as ship sheer reduced into the 18th C., the wheel system provided greater mechanical advantage with every rope turn around the drum.

Hey Dan, Your points are well received, here. The Goodwin drawings, as well as the contemporary French drawing, is of a two deck ship, but our discussion pertains to three deckers: I wonder whether the extra deck of separation (the middle deck) wouldn’t provide the extra leverage that would make steering such a large ship much easier, particularly in a heavy seaway. Admittedly, it is less than ideal to interrupt the deck planking, at the main deck level. I wonder, though, whether the external wales, the internal riders, and all of the internal supporting knees mitigate this loss in rigidity.

Hello Papsa, With regard to the tiller/whip-staff arrangement, here is what Mr. Lemineur drew for the St. Philippe: Tiller entry is on the lower gun deck. The whip-staff passes through the yoke, in the middle deck, and then through a slot on the main deck - all just aft of the mizzen mast. The whip-staff slot is numbered 97, in the main deck drawing above. There does not appear to be any visual accommodation for the tiller man, through the quarter deck. It seems that commands to the tiller man would be shouted down, through the aft companionway, just forward of the mizzen mast. I know we are accustomed to seeing on reconstructions, like Batavia, a small “grill” at the quarter deck level that the tiller man could see and hear through. I, myself, have stood on the small bench platform on Batavia and peered put from this grill. For all intents and purposes, though, it is not as though the view afforded the tiller man, in this arrangement, would enable him to guide the ship through his own eyes. On a large ship like the S.P., or the S.R., as long as the highly specific commands could be heard, that would be sufficient. I also have to imagine that the view from the poop-royal deck would provide a sufficient vantage point to see all around the ship, while the bow, midship, and quarter watches would be communicating, aft, anything unusual in their view. Thank you, Druxey and EJ! It is nice to have some phase of this project moving along at a swift pace.