Waldemar

No Druxey, it was no needed. Artillery fire was usually opened at the point blank range or even less, otherwise it was waste of ammunition or missing the only chance to effectively bombard the opponent. Look at the muzzles of guns from the "Solen". In many of the pieces the bores are so much out of centre, that even at the musket range on land they could easily miss the target. Ironically, a number of these pieces are cast with foresights, equally out of place. Therefore, the small notches were cut by the gunners for attaching the aiming reeds (visible on the left barrel). There are much more geometrical faults in these guns, rendering them suitable only for the closest range fire.

Daniel, very nice work and it looks very promising. This is why I have to say (in simple soldiery words, forgive me) that you have to follow Patrick suggestion to fill the bow part with wooden blocks until too late, in order to avoid unsightly bent on the first frame. Then you may make it pleasantly smooth, even by eye. You may hate it now, but later you would not be able to correct this unevenness. By the way, this is my most favourite shipbuilding period 🙂. Cheers

Many thanks Ab. Thanks to the good advice of Fred Hocker I was able to make hopefully reliable graphic reconstructions of all the "Solen" carriages, which I published in 2011 together with their descriptions. Here you have such sample reconstruction of another carriage from the "Solen", shown with its preserved wooden components. Exceptionally, it has only single hook attached to its cheek (and not double one as in all others). Instead, it has a hole at the rear of the bed. Some iron fittings are the same as in other carriages, and some are unique in its arrangement. All parts of all carriages are made of single piece of oak. The same for the trucks (wheels), which were also found in quite large number in spare parts storeroom. The fibres of the larger front trucks are always parallel to the carriage cheeks, while those of the smaller rear trucks are always perpendicular to it. Front trucks could have chamfered edges, as shown in the picture above. I think double layer trucks are only later development, as they are single in many other preserved carriages from this period too.

Many thanks Scrubby! It gives power to go on... Mark, you are absolutely right. Just to start the new topic: As requested by modellers, the ship's armament is treated next. One of the most valuable source materials for this reconstruction are the cannons and carriages from the Swedish warship "Solen" ("Sun"), which fought bravely against the Polish fleet in the battle of 1627, although not against the "St George" herself, and I was able to subject her salvaged armament to detailed analysis many years ago. Out of the ship complete armament of 20 guns, not even two barrels are identical (of Swedish, Ruthenian and Polish origin). As well, not even two carriages are similar in size, shape, decoration and construction, each being individually built to a specific barrel. The general carriage construction is shown below and it is closely based on one of these preserved carriages (English names of its parts are in gray). It was perhaps the same on the "St George", although such wild diversity will be reduced for practical reasons in this reconstruction.

Just a note to let you know that today my project has been formally accepted by the investor and the two-dimensional drawings handed over to him. The construction of the model in 1:15 scale has also been confirmed. However, this is not the end of this log. Au contraire. Now comes the second stage - designing the 'loose' elements of the ship such as artillery, masting, rigging, etc. Intentions have also been put forward to prepare the ship's drawings for sale and other applications. Still a lot of work to be done, but for the time being I need a little rest from the intense efforts... 🙂

My most favourite period. Caravelles, Carracks and Galleons. Great Discoveries and yet relatively uncomplicated ships' construction without Industrial Era sophisticated components. Thanks for this.

Jules, you are simply wrong again. Read or re-read my post #1 and #77. I don't believe you Jules, sorry. I have never stated that. Read or re-read my post #1 without manipulating its content. And why do you expect me to do something, and even more so a hard work, especially for you just for free? You kidding, right? Is this your way of doing business? Don't answer. Last but not least, I detest manipulation. Please don't try it again. Thank you in advance, Jules.

It was only relatively recently I learned that just such elements, in true scale, and both at the bow and stern (especially the wales and planking in the 'difficult' places), were cut from compass timber rather than bent to shape. Anyway, perfect job.

Still a small update. Aiming for standard solutions in this reconstruction, I have also slightly rearranged the layout of the gun deck (overloop) by replacing a number of carlings and ledges. Now carlings are beneath ledges as can be seen below.

These renderings just for fun, taking a rest from preparing 2D draughts. Mostly structural elements with the frames hidden.

Wow, thank you Tony. These are some of the most valuable compliments, especially coming from an already experienced digital model designer. It looks like we inspire each other, as it has long been a goal of mine to build a 3D ship model like your impressive Schooner Adventure or the pinas and later fluit-ship of the Ab Hoving/Rene Hendrickx duo. In this particular case, the original intention was ultimately to create two-dimensional plans that were precise and reliable in a geometrical sense, and in that sense my 3D model is merely a means to that end. But now you have made a clear suggestion, giving much food for thought. I am a little concerned about the rigging, as the digital model file of "St George" is already over 600 MB. And I am doing my best to reduce its size without compromising precision – defining the simplest possible shapes, rebuilding those unnecessarily complex, shrinking trimmed surfaces, reducing number of control points etc. I took a closer look at the rigging on your schooner looking for ideas on practical solutions. There is hope... 🙂

What a finely clean work! And sorry for being late. I am dreaming that my model would be built in such an attractive way and from the wood similar in appearance to your choice. "My" modellers suggest to use oak! Ghhrrffgth! 🙂

Once you get familiar with the above listed works, you will easily realise that the parameters adopted for this reconstruction, such as the most important length of the floors and the curvature of the frames, are in reality the standard values recommended for men-of-war. However, as soon as possible, I will try to show the method graphically in this log.

Jules, first and foremost in „lasts” cargo capacity was determined, and not the ship's displacement as you have stated. This is understandable, bearing in mind that usually ships' users were just interested in cargo capacity, while displacement was a useless value for them. Nevertheless, if you know of even one reverse case, please let me know. Let me also please explain the basics. Imagine a board floating horizontally in the water. This is the ship in your example. Even with little or no ballast, it is very stable, which is good for an artillery platform and bad for its sailing qualities, making the ship leewardly (unless very long) and liable to lose masts easily. The „Sankt Georg” is the opposite. For simplicity's sake, you can associate it with the same board, but held vertically by ballast. The ship is then softer, which is an advantage for masts durability and its crew well-being. Weatherliness gets better too. The ship's behaviour may be optimized by adding or taking off some ballast. The price to pay is to have more depth in hold and sailing in deeper waters only. And with deeper hulls you gain ballast capacity, still keeping the battery well out of the water level. If you really wish to know how the ship's hulls were shaped, you would better consult the historical sources, as I am now very busy preparing the working draughts for the model. For the first half of the 17th century I would recommend the following, which I consider of the most practical value: – Fernando Oliveira, Livro da fabrica das naos, ca. 1570–1580 – English so-called „Newton” manuscript of ca. 1600 – Manuel Fernandes, Livro das Traças de Carpintaria, 1616 – English anon. manuscript of ca. 1620 – Spanish government ordonances (dimension establishments) of 1607, 1613 and 1618 – Georges Fournier, Hydrographie, 1643 – Bushnell Edmund, The Compleat Ship-Wright, 1664 – Anthony Deane, Naval Architecture, 1670 Now, at the excellent at the time battery height of 5 1/2 feet, the „Sankt Georg” calculated displacement is about 460 tons, and for 5 feet it is 490 tons. It was also calculated that with the gravity centre not being above the level of the main battery barrels in the waist, the ship would get upright from „any” (practical) list. My guess is that the cargo capacity of 200 lasts given in the inventory was estimated (usually by eye) as if for a merchantman of similar dimensions and even rounded, as was often the case for administrative purposes. The best, Waldemar

Now that all parts are already trimmed (i.e. cut to the nearest boundary), the so-called "Pen" display mode in Rhino may be used to its full potential. All polysurfaces of the 3D model are closed, no exceptions here. This „Pen” mode would also serve for producing any desired number of perspective or 2D projections. In the process, the weather deck (koebrug) structure has been completely rearranged by replacing all carlings, ledges and deck planks.

Hello Jules, Thanks for asking. This reconstruction is made on the order of Muzeum Gdańska (Danzig Museum) and in practice I was given a free hand in historical research regarding the ship's characteristics and construction. My concept was seemingly accepted and now the intention is to build a model of wood to the scale of 1:15 (hull alone of about 2,6 m). Most probably the ship was built by shipwrights from Gdańsk (Danzig) and Kołobrzeg (Kolberg) and entered service in 1627. Shipwrights from Gdańsk were German speaking Polish citizens, as was most of the ships' complement, command and fleet administration. The ship's main dimensions were taken directly from the other ship in the fleet of similar complement and armament – the „King David” (König David). The inventory for this ship reads: Das Schiff ist von 200 Lasten, 120 Fuss lang, 26 Fuss breit, 14 Fuss tief ins Raum, 6½ Schuh hoch zwischen dem Uberlauff undt der Koybrucken (length – 120 feet, beam – 26 feet, depth in hold 14 feet, distance between decks – 6½ feet). These proportions, while quite extreme for a man of war (especially length/breadth ratio), may be also found in other ships of Dutch origin or later French light frigates. The „Vasa” herself would have the same proportions if not slightly broadened during actual construction, upon a change in plans for heavier artillery, also requiring in turn stronger and heavier upperworks. The crew and armament for this ship are known and these were already given in this log. As a reminder – 50 sailors as a permanent crew and 100 infantry temporarily embarked for an expected battle.

I am still not convinced about the transverse stability of such watercraft, but I would certainly place such an exotic-looking object with attractive lines in my living room. Simplicity of the construction does not matter here. By the way, for some reason it seems to me that actually only ship models are suitable for display in presentation interiors. With perhaps a few exceptions. Sorry tanks, jets and spaceships 🙂.

Thank you very much for your comment Nicolas. Yet, somewhat ironically, I really only use a tiny fraction of Rhino's capabilities, still getting the shapes I want with the perfect fit. Believe me or not, but only a few basic functions and commands are constantly used in this project and, very occasionally, the more advanced ones if in trouble or need. So I think you can handle it perfectly as well, although to be honest I don't know the specifics and capabilities of Fusion 360. I think the secret lies not so much in a thorough knowledge of the software, but in the right philosophy of constructing a 3D model, especially of this kind. Generally, first I define the master surfaces of the hull, decks, stern "flat", beakhead, bulkheads, etc. True, some are simpler and others more complex to define, but well worth of effort, as these master surfaces are later an indispensable basis for creating the actual parts of the ship by offsetting them (not just moving!) and then cutting to shape. Almost nothing else but offsetting, cutting and other Boolean operations. Well, I know, easy said, but despite of thousands of interrelated parts already generated I am still able to control this beast... 🙂 Best regards

Mast steps made (only the mizzen mast step is shown). Now trimming all the pieces to their final shape (mortises, rabbets) and preparing the 2D drawings of the hull. Good luck Waldemar!

Nolens volens, the überlauf (overloop) had to be done now. In the Dutch fashion, as many other parts of the structure.

Main capstan, pumps, popular at the time „Turks' heads” and some other outside ornaments (not shown here). In some places it gets really crowded.

Due to the only one possible place for the fish-davit and its aperture, the fore gun ports had to be rearranged. Many other rigging-related fixtures, although inconspicuous in the images, were also made: kevels, pinrails, fixed blocks. In this type of reconstruction, at least 90% of the drawing time is consumed by various changes, corrections and fine-tuning.

The not-so-obviously shaped rudder with its iron fittings.

Maybe so, but gold painting this nearly four-foot beast was a real horror show. Everything around became solar 🙂.

Hello Johnny, Many thanks for this log, as for some reason I also have a weakness for ancient Egyptian ships. I once made a simple block model of a solar barge myself, which I gave to my sister. If time permits, I will still try to build an Egyptian boat one day in the way you do.