Kevin

10 years ago i purchased the Amerigo Vespucci, which at that time was my second POB kit the Royal Caroline was the first i was still in the Royal navy at that time and away from home quite a bit, so i never got into a routine with her, by the time i had the time, the Victory replaced her as a result she has got into quite a mess with a hole in the hull and some damage on the bulkheads above the main deck i have many reasons for this being my next build, i enjoyed the rigging on the victory and wants another 3 masted ship i dont have all the information to start the Trawler St Nectan other reason are that i have plans to retire within two years so the trawler and several other builds i want to buy will be paid for before i leave employment although i bought it as the whole kit, it is also available in 9 parts, which makes it a lot more expensive, i have ordered two parts to enable me to restart her n 1925, the Regia Marina ordered two school ships to a design by General Lieutenant Francesco Rotundi of the Italian Navy Engineering Corps, inspired by the style of large late 18th century 74-cannon ships of the line (like the neapolitan ship "Monarca"). The first, the Cristoforo Colombo, was put into service in 1928 and was used by the Italian Navy until 1943. After World War II, this ship was handed over to the USSR as part of the war reparations and was shortly afterwards decommissioned.[citation needed] The second ship was the Amerigo Vespucci, built in 1930 at the (formerly Royal) Naval Shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia (Naples). She was launched on February 22, 1931,[1] and put into service in July of that year. The vessel is a full rigged three-masted steel hull 82.4 m (270 ft) long, with an overall length of 101 m (331 ft) including the bowsprit and a maximum width of 15.5 m (51 ft). She has a draught of about 7 m (23 ft) and a displacement at full load of 4146 tons. Under auxiliary diesel-electric propulsion the Amerigo Vespucci can reach 10 knots (19 km/h) and has a range of 5450 nm at 6.5 knots. The Amerigo Vespucci in the harbor of Oslo, 2005. Akershus Fortress in the background. The Amerigo Vespucci & bireme Ivlia. Portoferraio island Elba, 1991. The three steel masts are 50, 54 and 43 metres high, and carry sails totalling 2,824 m2 (30,400 sq ft). The Amerigo Vespucci has 26 sails – square sails, staysails, and jibs: all are traditional canvas sails. When under sail in severe sea and wind conditions she can reach 12 knots (22 km/h). The rig, some 30 km of ropes, uses only traditional hemp ropes; only the mooring lines are synthetic, to comply with port regulations. The hull is painted black with two white stripes, harking back to the two gun decks of the ships her design is based on, but she carries only two 6pdr saluting guns in pivot mountings on the deck, forward of the mainmast. The deck planks are of teak wood and must be replaced every three years. Bow and stern are decorated with intricate ornaments; she has a life-size figurehead of Amerigo Vespucci. The stern gallery is accessible only through the Captain's saloon. The standard crew of the Amerigo Vespucci is 16 officers, 70 non-commissioned officers and 190 sailors. In summer, when she embarks the midshipmen of the Naval Academy (Accademia Navale), the crew totals some 450.[citation needed] In 1964 the ship was fitted with two 4-stroke, 8-cylinder FIAT B 308 ESS diesel engines, which replaced the original 2-stroke 6-cylinder FIAT Q 426 engines. These engines generated electric power for one electric propulsion motor that produced up to about 1,471 kW (1,973 hp).[citation needed] After update works, between 2013 and 2016, the ship has been fitted with two 4-stroke, 12-cylinder MTU, 1,32 MW each diesel engine generators and two 4-stroke, 8-cylinder MTU, 760 kW each diesel engine generators,[2] and one NIDEC (Ansaldo Sistemi Industriali) electric engine.[3][4] During the same work, the ship has been fitted with new radar GEM Elettronica AN/SPS-753(V)5, new satellite antenna ORBIT AL-7103. When carrying cadets, the ship is usually steered from the manual stern rudder station, which is operated by four steering wheels with two men each. At other times, the hydraulically assisted steering on the bridge is used. Except for the anchor winch, the winches aboard are not power operated. The bridge is equipped with sophisticated modern electronic navigation instruments. Other than during World War II, the Amerigo Vespucci has been continually active. Most of her training cruises are in European waters, but she has also sailed to North and South America, and navigated the Pacific. In 2002, she undertook a voyage around the world. The Amerigo Vespucci often takes part in sailing parades and Tall Ships' Races, where she is in amicable rivalry with the Gorch Fock. When she is berthed in port, public tours of the vessel are usually offered. On 7 July 2018, Amerigo Vespucci arrived to the port of Almeria.[5] It is the third time it visited Almería:[6] the first one was in 1932,[7] and the second one was in 1989.[8] It left the city on 10 July.[9] Then it will travel to Ponta Delgada, in the Azores Islands, and it will cross the Atlantic Ocean to the Northern Europe.[10][11]

welcome to my restarted Amerigo here are a few pictures taken back when first started in 2008

good evening everyone with the exception of a change in my next build, i have been continuing with the rigging all the braces are now fitted, still have a couple to secure all cluelines and tacks are now fitted all blocks put in at the time of making the spars are now in use forward anchors are finished on the stbd side missing Chesstree made and fitted tomorrow it is hoped to finish of the vangs, fit the rudder and secure more loose ends

another build i have followed has come to an end, she looks fantastic

Just reread your log, lovely work I had to giggle to myself over the stern wheel supports mistake, had you not said anything, would anyone have noticed? and im certainly not going to do that on my log, LOL

lol taken me three days to do just the same

OC im loving this build of yours, just wish i had the time and lots of popcorn to watch you all day

Good evening everyone stbd side anchors are now in, but may need to re-do them as i am pretty well guessing how they actually attach the after ones, but until them they are quite secure, and LOL given me another load of snaggy bits for lines that i am replacing

Thank you for the info, i looked up the references for the chesstrees last night and found what they were for, LOL gutted that i had missed it in the first place, but very happy that it was spotted, i scratched one last night, and will fit it this weekend as for the colours, i was never ever going to paint her in the pink shade, and still find it had to believe that was one of the top coats used the rigging thread although very poor in quality had been dipped in Flory Models clay based wash and then waxed, different shades has allowed me to show it not looking pristine the wooded decks were just brushed with a water based matt varnish the tiles im not sure what to do with, most likely i will buff them up again after the rudder is fitted, and then tone it down with a diluted salt wash and then possibly a green wash, but no intentions of her staying that bright

good morning Jerry, its a wooden strip that is added to the hull to prevent damage from loading cargo and not the anchor , it shows in the top photo and not the other side (but should be)

lol maybe it was, but i started her 7 years ago, anyway , will make one just found this photo dated 27th July 2013 so would have been about the same fitting/or not fitting in this case

well Paul, i dont know what to say, there is certainly no sign it was ever fitted, and certainly not in the box. i quess i will be making one, thank you for spotting it, lol i certainly hope thats what you were referring to

Paul i wiil have a look tonight ty for letting me know

hope your feeling better my friend, and you build looks fantastic

i do so fancy another rigged ship at the present time, but not one with so many teeth (cannons) perhaps a decent scale Cutty sark but not the Amerigo Vespucci, would have to be a kit though, i have/ never stopped thinking about a 4th or 5th rate and build the Melampus

some better (maybe) phots from today, taken for me to see what still needs to be done, re-worked and the opportunity to blow more dust off her, i have truly fallen in love with this build again

lol of course you do, sorry perhaps i should have worded it a different way and say build the black pearl from a doner kit then

i will always be here looking out for your brilliant updates, apologies for not realising the turmoils going on at the present time

im impressed with what you have done, isnt it time you thought about a wooden kit, scale say a 1/64, then you can realy go to town on truss pendants and all the other lifting blocks etc, i bet you would enjoy it

Sorry not the best photos, to bright using the tablet

Just had her outside in the nice british springtime sunshine to see obviuous mistake and things still to be done,

Yours is everything i wanted to do with mine, i will go home tonight look at mine and sigh

i will certainly be happy to see my next build on the table, lol i was looking at another kit today, chucks Confederacy again, but the st nectan id ready to be started and a couple of months

Good evening everyone still on track to complete this build, spending as much time as i can at the weekends, with all the other normal stuff that goes on there in real life the last of the main yards are now made and being rigged into position, LOL i now have to think about both ends when turning her around, most of the rigging should then be completed by this time next week these are the gaff and Driver boom

very nice indeed