Arjan68
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I call it a redesign. A rebuild or modification implies that it will look like the original, which will not be the case. Even some of the frames will be modified in the next phase. It's like taking some car's chassis and then build up a complete new and better car around it. Hey, let's call it a custom ship Hmmm... should I chop the decks to make it look cooler ? I forgot to mention one more change that was made: the mizzen mast is moved forward approx. 2cm. In its original location there would be no space for the helm,, which is a bit inconvenient on a ship. Also, the new location is more like what can be seen on drawings and paintings of flute ships. Here is a picture of the original model that the kit was based on. It is property of the Rotterdam Maritime museum. I hope that my finished model will look a bit like it (you have to aim high ). -
The last thing I changed was the shape of the bow. It was too rounded, so I gave it a more natural look by making it more straight towards the keel. Only a small amount of wood was removed, but it makes a big difference in appearance. Before nose correction After nose correction So this is the current state of my project. Next I will start the major task of planking the hull. This will be a big challenge because the flute ships have a unique hull shape, especially at the stern. But more about that in the next updates. If some steps need more detail or explanation, just let me know. I did not want to spend too many postings on the past work. Arjan
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Next: the bulkheads. These are my own design, but based on examples on the replicas of the PRins Willem and the Batavia that were built here in Holland. The main challenge was to make the planks follow the curve of the deck. This is almost impossible with the veneer I'm using, so the solution was to cut them "pre-bent" out of a sheet of veneer. The result looks nico, so I will keep this trick in my book for following projects Cutting bent planks Work in progress. The bulkheads are 1,5mm plywood covered with veneer.In this case pear veneer is used. The end result with reference coin And the current situation. Except for the hinges and locks on the doors the bulkheads are finished.
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I always try to plank the decks before I start the hull planking. This way I have much better access and clamps can be used if needed. The deck planking is made of 4 x 1mm planks. This translates to 20cm wide planks in 1:1 which is a reasonable size. I don't know what kind of wood it is, but the color is very nice. It's less yellow than on the pictures. They were made by lamplight. For the caulking I used thick black paper. I hadn;t tried this method before but I like the result very much ! All decks finished. The gratings are made from the parts provided by the kit, but with a very different layout.
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Here's a short update of the build so far. After assembling the keel an bulkheads, the first change was to the layout of the decks. Between the quarter deck and upper deck there was a strange-looking extra deck. I assume that the helmsman was supposed to be beneath it, but then the position would be too low relative to the rudder. This deck is not found on any of the paintings and drawing of flutes, so I decided to remove it and create a more standard layout of quarter and upper deck. The helmsman will now be standing on deck, right behind the mizzen mast. This is much more common for dutch vessels of this era. The original layout. Looks a bit messy: And the result after the makeover. Here you can also see that I gave the main and mizzen masts a slight backward angle. The kit had them straight. Next: planking the decks
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So, here is the restart of my build log. It used to be in the kit build section, but because I'm actually designing my own ship I think a scratch log is better suited. My goal is to reconstruct a 17th century dutch flute ship. The keel and frames are from the Mantua Dutch Whaler, whis is the only kit available of a flute. And that will be the only parts of the kit I'll use (okay, perhaps also some of the wood). The reason for this almost complete redesign is that the kit has a lot of flaws. I will not even start to mention them because it is a long list. Some research made me find the original museum model on which the kit was based. I will try to create a ship that looks more like the original, but with some of my own design added in. I'm not aiming for a 100% historically accurate build, but will try reproduce the shapes and characteristics of a dutch flute. Arjan
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