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Prior to the 17th century the largest boats were nearly always towed, at least on English boats, using two ropes, the boat rope and gust rope. This started to change during the 17th century for the English ships. Smaller boats were carried on the ship midships. Later, even larger boats could be carried on board. Before davits were introduced about 1790 the boats were raised and lowered from the ship by tackle suspended from the main and fore yardarms. They were stowed midships, on deck, or in larger ships on beams over the waist area. Brian Lavery goes into some good detail on how this was done on page 233 of The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War. The following is his description of hoisting boats. Because the largest boats were stowed between the mainmast and foremast, in the longest open space on the ship, a complicated tackle was needed for hoisting them in and out. Draughts of boats often show ringbolts fitted inside the hull, which were used to attach the ropes used in hoisting. The first stage was to raise the boat from its position amidships. Two pendants hung from the masts, one from under the the top of the mainmast, the other from under the top of foremast. When in use these were joined together by another rope known as the triatic stay, which was the same length as the boat. A tackle was hung from the lower end of the pendants, one to lift each end of the boats. Once the boat had been lifted, it had to be swung outboard. The mainyard and foreyard were angled inward towards one another, and a tackle was extended from each yardarm to one end of the boat. If the boat was heavy, the yards had to be supported with extra ropes in addition to the normal lifts. There is more, but this is the gist of it. Pics below may help. Allan

If you have not already done so, you might benefit from watching the You Tube video (4 part series) on proper planking techniques by Chuck Passaro. It will help you immensely. Part 1 --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCWooJ1o3cM Allan

There are really two choices, the way some kits suggest where many of planks do not end at the rabbet near the bow which, generally speaking, is not correct, or the way it was actually done. I don't think one is easier than the other, so your choice. If you decide to go with actual practice there are tutorials here at MSW in the Articles Database https://thenrg.org/resources/Documents/articles/APrimerOnPlanking.pdf and the four part You Tube video by Chuck Passaro. I think that as you will have straight planks you will not be able to spile the planks as in the tutorial so the method used in the videos might be better. Part 1 is

Other than the Vanguard kits I would avoid the others mentioned for various reasons unless you are not concerned with accuracy or are ready to do a lot of research and are OK with kit bashing. Also consider the following high quality project. https://syrenshipmodelcompany.com/hms-winchelsea-1764.php Allan

There was both stone work and brick work in the cooking area. The below is limited to the 1780 era but these are color drawings of the stone work, flue, copper, stove and hearth brickwork (shown in red) for a 36 and a 64 at RMG Collections. The legend describes the various parts. Allan

Thanks Lieste, I was giving the information from Andriana Caruana's second volume ( 1715-1815) regarding English ships and I misremembered the word highlighted below. I just rechecked and confirmed my memory did not serve me well, my apologies. During the War of the Spanish Succession which lasted from 1702 to 171, there were some spectacular English successes such as the capture of Gibraltar. The Spanish had known liking for swivel guns, and the capture of a place of such importance as Gibraltar would have included the capture of an arsenal; it is suggested that this is how the swivel gun RE-appeared <not appeared> in the Royal Navy. I do not have Volume I of the Caruana set so hopefully some member that has it can lend more to this discussion. Thanks for the correction, very much appreciated. Allan

Exactly. I just learned this in the past couple years and have now found that most aftermarket and kit guns are not only often the wrong pattern for a given era and nation but also the incorrect length. This project from Ron will alleviate this situation for those that go with printed guns with the added advantage that printed guns are more detailed and can be purchased for MUCH lower prices. I paid less than $1 each, including freight that last time I ordered 20 Commonwealth pattern barrels at 1:64 scale. Allan

Hi Bill What year and nation are the first rate ships you are referencing? This is important as, for example, the Spanish were using swivel guns in the 17th century but the RN did not begin production until about 1721 with 1/2 pounders so early British first rates would have none. Caruana in The History of English Sea Ordnance, Volume II goes into some detail on swivel guns but does not specify the number of them on any given rating. This is just nomenclature, but just as an FYI, there were classes and groups of ships but this generally referred to a specific or general design such as the Artois (38) class. Rates referred to the number of guns and this varied a little over the years as well as from country to country. Allan

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ship_plans_of_the_Royal_Museums_Greenwich takes you directly to the list of plans they have. About 2200 are low res but over 800 are high res. The drawing size is shown under each plan so you can see quickly which are high resolution and those that are low resolution. The plans are listed alphabetically but is split for some reason. Goes from A to Z for several pages then starts over for many pages. Those in the first group are not repeated in the second group. I downloaded all the high res plans and put them into a file (44gb) by category (100 gun, 90 gun, and so on and so on, plus separate folders for boats, masts etc. ) I added contracts where I could find them and a few low res plans if a particular plan was missing in a set of high res for a given vessel. I would send them to you or post them but at 44gb there is no way to do it unless the mods have some idea. All of this, plus scantlings from the Establishments, The Shipbuilder's Repository, and Steel's Elements and Practices of Naval Architecture will provide you with a wealth of contemporary information. For boats in particular there are sets of scantlings in W.E. May's book The Boats of Men-of-War that are quite useful. All of these scantlings are available in one book from SeaWatch Books for $45. Hope this helps for now and especially for future builds, be they kit or scratch. Allan

Most, if not all of us, feel your pain Hamilton, I know I sure do. Allan

If you study the high res drawings of Bellona 1760 and Dragon 1760 on the Wiki Commons site you can see the wing, deck, and filler transoms so it MIGHT help you decide. It looks like you would have to sand away a lot of material that is already installed but it will be covered in the end. Maybe not worth the effort, but something to consider. Allan

Building kits requires the same thing as scratch building IF accuracy is of any interest, that being, research. There are books based on contemporary data and thousands of contemporary plans, contracts, paintings, and models that can be found on various websites including over 800 high resolution plans at no cost on the Wiki Commons site. Plus, there are a LOT of members here that love the research as much as the build and are a wealth of information if research on your own comes up short. Everyday is a chance to learn something new no matter how much experience we have. Allan

Nice start to your build. You may benefit from looking at the models and plans of launches (the Bounty's jolly boat was rotted through) at RMG that replicate the boat used by Bligh. For example it had two masts that were lug rigged thus there would not be a bow sprit. Allan

This may in fact be the case, but these models are hundreds of years old and many have been repaired, refinished, re-rigged, etc. There could have been damage to the catheads from an incident or vermin and taken off the model. The below photo from James Lees' Masting and Rigging English Ships of War is just one example of such damage. The stem has been eaten away as was at least one of the catheads. Both contemporary models and plans are fantastic sources but I would trust contemporary based as-built plans and even design plans before the models. Allan

The article by David Antscherl on planking in the data base on planking explains lining off as well. https://thenrg.org/resources/Documents/articles/APrimerOnPlanking.pdf To get any of the Passaro vids, just Google Chuck Passaro planking video part 1 or 2,,,, or 3,,,, or 4 Allan

Welcome to MSW Christopher! Regarding your choice of first models,

VERY HAPPY to have you aboard. Welcome to MSW Allan

(The following may be an exaggeration)...... There are a thousand discrepancies when comparing modern plans and contemporary plans, and hundreds between contemporary plans and contemporary models as well. Regarding contemporary models, many have been refurbished/repaired over the past 200 to 300 years so a little care needs to be taken in relying on these gorgeous pieces of art. Common sense is often forgotten so good for you not to ignore it. Allan

As this is only your second kit, the suggestions above about getting a high quality kit are spot on. Maybe try a kit or two that will teach proper build techniques including planking. The 3 model beginner series from Model Shipways or the Syren Medway longboat kit along with spending time studying the tutorials here at MSW in the articles database will make your journey a pleasant one. Allan

The plans may be wrong if the contemporary plan ZAZ7322 in the RMG Collections is correct which shows what I think is the horse above the tiller. Allan

Hi Eberhard, It was introduced to artists paints in the 1960s, Unbleached Titanium (pigment index number PW6 or PW6:1) is a shade of yellow-grey that can be described as being like parchment, suede, or sand. As its name and pigment index number suggests, it is closely related to Titanium White. However, its characteristics are very different and the possibilities it offers in color mixing are unlike any other pigment. Allan

Will there be a stave around which the futtock shrouds ran before being seized to the lower shrouds? Allan

The model looks very nice. There is one thing that looks new for me. Regarding the lower masts I see a rope woolding without the requisite wooden hoops but also what look like iron bands. From James Lees' The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War, page 2, "Iron bands superseded rope wooldings in 1800. They were 3 inches wide" (1.2mm at 1:64) From the photos the bands on the model look to be about 8 or 9 inches ( 3.5mm). As Indefatigable was near the time of transition, would there have been a mix of the types of rings used and a variety of sizes? Allan

Toni, This may be off the wall, but would you consider setting your build aside and get some experience with high quality beginner models such as the 3 part series from Model Shipways designed by David Antscherl and/or the terrific Medway longboat kit by Chuck Passaro at Syren Ship Models. You will learn how to properly plank as well as a lot of other things that will carry over to future more complex builds. Just a thought that may prevent a lot of frustration. If you would rather stay with the kit you already have, the suggestion above to study the planking tutorials as well as the four part You Tube series on proper planking is key. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCWooJ1o3cM Allan

Tim, it really is close to what I am shooting for and Vallejo gets much better reviews than the cheap bottled craft acrylics. I still hesitate to use any bottled paints after spending so much time on the model. I have never had problems with high qual artist tubed acrylics so may stay with that and mix my own. I am wide open to trying new things but this one scares me a little. Any feedback on using this particular paint brand would be welcome. Chuck, very good point. I have not used unbleached t.w. for a while and totally forgot about it. Worth buying a tube and comparing colors. Thanks guys, much appreciated!!!