Javier Baron

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.