flying_dutchman2

@Baker, @ccoyle, and @Meriadoc. Thanks for the suggestions. I will rethink the Viking funeral. Marcus

I have got some bad news. I have been diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) symptoms in April of 2025. This disease is fatal & there is no cure. Some doctors say that you live 2 to 5 years but can also be 7 to 10 years. It all depends on good nutrition and continue to move around as much as possible. ALS is also known as ‘Lou Gehrig’s Disease’ My wife and I think it slowly started in 2023 and then in 2024 I could not open a plastic bottle and I fell here there, I was losing my balance. I don’t have the “ALS gene”, but I do have all the symptoms. There are many variants and if you don’t have the gene it is difficult to pin point which one it is. In most cases, ALS patients do not typically experience significantly impaired sensory neural functioning, intellectual reasoning, vision or hearing and eye and bladder muscles. Presently taking some meds that will slow down degeneration of the motor neurons by 25%. One of the positive signs of this disease is that there is NEVER any pain. I still have fine motor skills in both of my hands but my right arm is now stronger than my left arm. I know I will not be able to finish my present built, the fluit, the Zeehaen. I have decided to keep on building and will be mostly to exercise my joints in my hands. Once I lose all my muscles in my hands and arms and the ship is not finished, I will give it a “Viking Funeral.” If you have any questions, just PM me. Regards, Marcus

Beautiful! Lots of gold..... I like it. Marcus

While in Taiwan I went to Wood Craft Fair and purchased some interesting planers. Facebook links: lukangtools - Chisels, planers, etc. - Taiwan https://www.facebook.com/lukangtools sincerecraft - Taiwan Check out their facebook page and some of their videos. https://www.facebook.com/sincerecraft.tw

Cut square and rectangular dowels from walnut on the bandsaw and glued the front of the block on one side and the side of the block on the other side. They are now ready for drilling using a 1mm diameter bit. Marcus

In the summer of 2024, I started working on the blocks. Using TurboCAD, I took the block plan from the book and used the measurements for the scale I am using. Copied both the front and side of the blocks and filled the page with copies of the individual blocks and are ready for printing. Marcus

I did a drawing of the anchors in the scale I needed. They are completely made of wood except for the ring. Two sheet and two best bower anchors. Marcus

Crowsnest.

Added sails, oars, the sticks that belong to the windlass in one of the boats. Tied it all together and will be placed on the Fluit once the masts, sails and rigging is completed. The little boats were difficult to make and the next ones that go on the Heemskerck (War Yacht and sister ship of the Zeehaen) will be made differently. Marcus

In November of 2024 we went 4 days to Taiwan and 10 days to Vietnam. In Taiwan I went to a wood museum and a wood craft fair. I purchased some interesting planners (pictures will follow). I will attach the facebook pages from the woodcrafters I visited. All the temples we visited had very intricate carvings. Taiwan is very clean (not a piece of paper on the roads), and the people are very friendly and that goes for Vietnam as well. In March of this year we are going to Capetown, South Africa for a little less than 3 weeks. South Africa has been on my bucket list for decades. That little crescent shaped piece of the Southern tip of South Africa called, Cape Flora Kingdom is one of the 6 unique plant kingdoms in the world. About 70% of its flora is found nowhere else on the planet. As a retired Horticulturist/Plant & Soil Scientist I just have to see this before I die and the Botanical Garden, Kirstenbosch is the place to see some of these species. Also interested in the Dutch history and the maritime museum. Add some updates which were done last year.

Great review, Chris! I got it a couple of weeks ago and it is another excellent book from Ab and Emiel Hoving. This book will give me the courage to build a ship in card. Marrc

Hi Chris, Thanks for the link. I am going to check some Dutch sites (I speak it fluently) and plug in the weight of paper/card numbers mentioned in Ab's new book. Marcus Thanks Phil, for the information. Marcus

Hi Chris, I am going to try my hand at scratch building paper models. Yesterday I received Ab Hoving's book "Dutch 17th Century Ship Models in Paper", from Seawatch Books. I will start with a small Dutch merchant ship. In his book, Ab discusses the types of weight of the paper but it is the Dutch kind he uses. Can't seem to find a conversion table (European to US paper weight). What do you recommend I use? Abe mentions 0.5 mm thick, 1mm thick and 2mm thick. Thanks in advance, Marcus

Every Fluit you have built is always beautifully executed. I always learn something looking at your Fluits. I use this knowledge on my own fluit to make sure the Zeehaen is correct. Marcus

Ab, Beautiful pictures, so realistic. Emiel does an excellent job with Photoshop. Do you have higher resolutions of all your pictures, especially the ones in your book of 17th Century Dutch Merchant ships? I would be interested in the Fluit pictures. Thanks, Marc