Javier Baron

The Lake Geneva, also known in french as Lake Léman, is the largest lake in Western Europe. It is located north of the Alps, between France and Switzerland, at the crossroads of two major communication axes that connect the Mediterranean and the Adriatic with Northern Europe. Coming from Marseille, goods from the East, together with Provencal products (wine, salt, olive oil ...) traveled up the Rhone to Seyssel, the northern limit of the river's navigable course. From there they passed by road to Geneva. To continue their journey, they were embarked to Morges and disembarked again to reach, transported by land, the river network that took them towards the Rhine basin through the Neuchâtel and Bienne lakes, then accessing the Aare, a tributary of the Rhine. In the 17th century, from Marseille to the North Sea via Geneva, in a total length of almost 1,600 km, the waterway was only interrupted for 70 km, with only two load breaks. Another road, which passed through the port of Gran San Bernardo, was used to transport precious products from the East (silk, spices, perfumes, porcelain ...), coming from Venice and Genoa. This traffic was carried out from the east of the lake towards the coastal cities, then north and west via Morges or Geneva, and continued on to Lyon, Burgundy and Champagne. Local productions were also exported by river: thus, the Gruyere cheeses, packed in barrels and destined for the French Navy in Toulon, crossed the lake between Vevey and Geneva. In addition, there has always been an important local traffic, both in the longitudinal and transversal direction of the lake: food products, firewood and materials for construction, livestock and passengers. The navigation of the lake with boats suitable for the traffic of products and merchandise has a long historical tradition. The water transport was particularly suitable for the heaviest materials: sand, gravel, carving or facing stones and lime from the southeast shore where numerous kilns, established on the shore, took advantage of the proximity of the limestone and the necessary wood to your warm-up. The present model is the reproduction of one of the lake boats that were basically dedicated to the transport of construction materials. The development of the Meillerie quarries, at the beginning of the 19th century, was the origin of the heyday of the Leman boats, until their disappearance during the Great War. Paradoxically, it was the construction of a road, a direct competitor of the lake route and contemporary with the development of the large riverside cities such as Montreux, Vevey, Lausanne and Geneva, which sparked the heyday of the Leman boats (which were sometimes called " Barcas de Meillerie ") as they turned out to be the most efficient and suitable means of transport for transporting the heavy construction materials used in the construction of these new urban centers. In addition, these boats ensured the maritime transport and the transit of goods between the different ports of Lake Geneva. With beams of seven to nine meters and lengths that reached thirty-five, these vessels could carry up to 180 tons per trip, having a flat bottom and a reduced draft of between 0.5 and 1 meter. The boats had two masts, the largest in candlelight and the fore-forehead slightly inclined. The sticks carried a whole set with very vertical lateen sails. A typical characteristic of this lake rig is that thanks to this verticality the nets did not jibe and were always kept on the port side of the mast. Sometimes they also rode a tack jib on a bowsprit. In the calm, or when the winds were contrary, different systems were used to move the boat: In the vicinity of the coast, the boat was pulled by means of a cable by the men of the crew, who hooked it to a strap around their torso, while the skipper remained at the helm. The cable was fixed in the upper part of the ratchet pole, which made it possible to avoid possible obstacles. Until the late 19th century, a tree-clear towpath existed around the lake for this purpose. It was only when this path was interrupted by too many private gardens that the boats were fitted with a keel large enough to be able to girdle as much as possible against the wind. In waters far from the coast, the “naviot”, a sturdy flat-bottomed boat, was used to tow the boat by force of oars. In shallow waters, such as in the ports or in the roadstead of Geneva, the “strips” were used, long iron poles of 7 to 9 meters that were supported on the bottom while the crew moved through the false, the lateral platforms that the boat has in great part of its length at the height of the gift cover. Traditionally the keel was made with Jura white fir. The frames, spaced between 40 and 50 cm, were made of oak 10 to 14 cm thick, as well as the bars or slats, the latter sometimes made of chestnut. Below deck transverse chains connected the port and starboard side belts to prevent the hull from opening under loads of up to 180 tonnes. The stern was flat and was attached to the keel, like the stem, by ties made of oak. The deck, equipped with abrupt, also had a very high sheer in the bow to allow the passage of waves of up to 1.5 meters. The strakes of the lining made of white fir 8-14 cm thick on the bottoms and then larch for the sides, decreased in thickness with height. The very steep sidewalls, between 40 and 45 degrees, made it possible to increase stability under load, thus compensating for the higher center of gravity due to the load on deck.

The peramas were Greek ships from the 19th and 20th centuries, typical of the Eastern Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara, which were used to transport all kinds of goods. They were characterized by their carrying capacity and good behavior in all types of seas. A very special feature of the peramas is the presence of floating handrails, which end before reaching the bow and the stern, as well as the existence of a small parapet transverse placed vertically on the deck. Normally they were rigged with two masts with gaff or lug sails and jibs, although there were also single masts, sometimes with Latin sails, which were frequently used for piracy and war operations. The main sites where its shipyards were located were Syros, Plomari and Samos, and although they are no longer under construction, many specimens have been recovered and adapted into pleasure boats. My model is based on the one made by the Greek model maker Thanassis de Giannikos of a tsernikiperama, a traditional perama with a single mast and a gaff sail, which he built following the line drawing of the Moon ship, as described in the book Construction Traditional Greek Warship by K. Damianidis (p. 58), while for the rigging of the model it was based on the book On the Equipment of Ships by Kotsovilis (p. 66).

During the 19th century and the first half of the 20th it was easy to find, both in the eastern Mediterranean, on the coasts of Anatolia, Syria and Egypt, as well as in the Black Sea and the Adriatic this type of vessel with its unmistakable sails, whose main component was a large spritsail The model is made from the plans that, based on those of Admiral Paris, are found in the book "Vele italiane della costa occidentale dal medioevo al novecento", as well as from the observation of photos of other models of this type of vessel present in internet. The goods carried by these ships were mainly grains and skins from the Black Sea, cotton from Egypt and salt, almonds, olives, wine and oil from the Greek islands. In the sacolevas, the maneuvering of the spritsail was very easy, since it was provided with some rings on the luff that slid over on a rope and allowed the sail to be released and collected as if it were a curtain. The name of this boat as a sacoleva given by Admiral Paris seems to obey more to its rigging (since sacoleva is the modern Greek name for the spritsail) than to the peculiar shape of its hull, which is actually that of a tserniki , a type of boat that appeared rigged in different ways. Possibly it would be more appropriate to call it "tserniki-sacoleva".

The “pareggia”, a typical Ligurian boat, was very similar to the “bovo”. In reality, the only relevant difference between them is in the position of the main mast: inclined towards the bow in the first case and practically vertical, in the second. The “pareggias” had a practically straight stem with little inclination, a round stern and a hull with quite full shapes as befits a cargo ship. Normally they did not exceed 20 m. in length with a displacement of 30-40 t. In the book “Les caboteurs et pêcheurs de la còte de Tunisie. Pêche des éponges”, by the frigate captain P.-A. Hennique, which describes and illustrates the vessels of different nationalities (Arab, Greek, Maltese, Sicilian ...) that this French Navy officer found in those waters in 1888, a “pareggia” appears, the Monteallegro di la Spezia, a boat of about 15 m. in length, 4 m. of beam and 1.25 m. draft. Hennique noted the resemblance of their rigging to that of the Spanish feluccas which he had frequently encountered on his voyages. In navigation, the dinghy was brought on board and placed on the deck. The crew consisted of six men, counting on the skipper. The “pareggias” were used to transport people and goods along the Ligurian coast, although they also undertook navigations to much more distant destinations. They had a reputation for being excellent sailboats, very adaptable and that they had very well at sea in any weather. Regarding rigging, the difference between that of the mainmast and that of the mizzen is noteworthy. In the latter, the halyard is placed upright, in the position in which it should be placed to pass it from one side to the other, so the halyard goes forward of the mizzenmast. On the other hand, on the mainmast, the halyard of the entena descends from the wedge and is located aft of the mast.

The bracera is a traditional coastal cargo sailboat from the Adriatic, originally from Dalmatia, whose origin dates back at least to the 16th century, when it first appeared in the chronicles. Together with its larger sister vessels, the Trabaccolo and the Pièlego, the braceras formed the backbone of the commercial fleet in the Adriatic Sea, with the single-mast being the most abundant and well-known, although there were also specimens of two and even three masts. The bracera was a solid and agile vessel, with a good load capacity, making it particularly suitable for trade and communication between the many islands of the Adriatic and the neighboring coasts. These boats were dedicated to the transport of wood for construction and firewood, mainly from Senj to the south and the islands, and also for the transport of salt, sand, wine, olive oil and everything that was produced on the islands, from Istria to Dubrovnik. In Istria they were also used for fishing and in Dalmatia for collecting sea sponges.

The Canarian “Balandra” appeared at the end of the 19th century in the fishing fleet of the islands inspired by boats from the European Atlantic, in response to the need for large and fast boats, capable of reaching the African coasts in a few hours. There were three types of sailboats in the Canarian fishing fleet of the time; the “balandra” (trawler), which often carried ketch rigging, the “balandro” (sloop), with a single mast and more refined lines, and finally the “pailebote”, a schooner rigged with two equal-length masts. The main species fished in the African fishing grounds was corvina, which was caught with gill nets, without inking, set deep on stone cliffs and at a depth of up to 50 m, although baskets for Moorish lobster were also set. The west coast of Africa between Cape Juby and Cape Blanco was the most abundant in corvina. The nets were set less than five miles from the coastline, and the abundance of fish was such that, in the middle of the Corvinera harvest, a hundred sailboats from Tenerife and Las Palmas would gather.

The “pailebote” was a wooden boat with solid lines and a low edge, which was fitted with two or more masts of equal height, which were rigged only by auric and triangular sails, dedicated to cabotage or large cabotage in the western Mediterranean, during the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century. The name of these boats comes from the “pilot-boat”, very frequently rigged with schooners, that Catalan and Levantine sailors found in the destination ports of their voyages in the 18th century. The idea and concept which inspired these boats were taken as a model by Mediterranean shipowners who wanted to have smaller and faster boats in their fleets, and which, in addition, required less crew than brigantines, corvettes and classic frigates. If at the beginning of old brigantines and corvettes were rigged in schooners, it did not take long for the shipyard carpenters to integrate the “pailebotes” rigged as such in their constructions. Due to the different function of the two types of boats, their similarity was really limited to rigging, as pilot boats had thin and light hulls and had a large sail area, while “pailebotes” had large sails. larger and heavier hulls and had less sails. These boats were widely distributed and it is proven that they were built in several places: in Águilas, Torrevieja, Villajoyosa, Santa Pola, Altea, Calpe, Valencia, Vinaroz, Alcudia, Soller, Andraitx, Palma de Mallorca, Ciutadella, Mahón , Ibiza, Tarragona, Barcelona, Malgrat, Vilassar, Arenys, Mataró, Blanes, San Feliu de Guixols, Palamós and Port Vendres, but they were probably built in many other ports and beaches. There were also some in Galicia, Cantabria and the Canary Islands, as well as on the other side of the Atlantic, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Argentina, etc., Their loading capacity varied from 100 to 1000 tons , the most abundant being those that could carry between 150 and 400 metric tons. These ships transported all types of solid cargo, mainly - in the western Mediterranean - salt, citrus fruits and materials for construction (cement, tiles and bricks); as well as olive oil in barrels, alfa husks, charcoal and various goods (wine, liquors, beer, ceramics, clothing, food, tools, machinery, etc.). On transatlantic voyages, they carried hardwood, tobacco, coffee, sugar, and rum from Cuba and Puerto Rico. The lumber was shipped to ports on the east coast of the United States. Phosphate was loaded in Moroccan ports in the Atlantic and live animals in those in the Mediterranean. The success of these boats is based on their high profitability, due to the small number of crews, limited equipment, versatility, maneuverability and low cost of construction, since they were manufactured in the same port base or nearby and, moreover, its construction uses almost exclusively local timber.

This is the last addition I have made to my collection. I have not published its construction process in the forum because, being similar to the one I have used in other models, I have the impression that it could have turned out without much interest. And now, by way of introduction, a bit of history: the “speronara” was a boat used mainly in Malta, although it was also present in Sicily. It had remarkable nautical qualities, mainly highlighting its speed, which is why it was frequently used by Maltese for smuggling. In addition to its curious and characteristic spur, this boat was lighter in construction than others of similar dimensions, such as the “bovo” or the “schifazzo”, which gave it a lower draft, which was undoubtedly one of the reasons why that smugglers preferred it, another reason being that this lightness allowed them to be easily beached on the beaches The function of the extension of the cutwater as a spur has given rise to various conjectures, which in the end are reduced to two possibilities: either it was a mere ornamental element or it was a reinforcement of the bow, both being valid and not exclusive explanations. A typical characteristic of the "speronaras" was the cabin, covered by a tarred cloth, which occupied a large part of the stern and which served to keep the crew of four or five men safe. They also stood out for being painted with bright colors The "speronaras" hoisted one, two or three sticks with a Latin candle, also carrying one or more jibs, although they could also be riggedThis is the last addition I have made to my collection. I have not published its construction process in the forum because, being similar to the one I have used in other models, I have the impression that it could have turned out without much interest by repetitive. And now by way of introduction, a bit of history: the “speronara” was a boat used mainly in Malta, although it was also present in Sicily. It had remarkable nautical qualities, mainly highlighting its speed, which is why it was frequently used by Maltese for smuggling. In addition to its curious and characteristic spur, this boat was lighter in construction than others of similar dimensions, such as the “bovo” or the “schifazzo”, which gave it a lower draft, which was undoubtedly one of the reasons why that smugglers preferred it, another reason being that this lightness allowed them to be easily beached on the beaches The function of the extension of the cutwater as a spur has given rise to various conjectures, which in the end are reduced to two possibilities: either it was a mere ornamental element or it was a reinforcement of the bow, both being valid and not exclusive explanations. A typical characteristic of the "speronaras" was the cabin, covered by a tarred cloth, which occupied a large part of the stern and which served to keep the crew of four or five men safe. They also stood out for being painted with bright colors The "speronaras" hoisted one, two or three masts with a Latin sail, also carrying one or more jibs, although they could also be rigged with a spritsail. It was frequently used for the transport of goods, passage and mail over short distances.