woodrat

Further progress on construction of the head: The filling piece which goes between the cheeks The upper cheekpiec comes in 2 pieces joined at right angles by a scarf The upper and lwer cheekpieces trialled The cheekpieces isnstalled Dick

Its time to start on the head of the ship. First the starboard side showing the portlids. The were not hinged and the two halflids were removed before running out the gun. The tip of the gun and its tompion plugged the hole when portlid closed. The next pic shows the several components of the head including the hooked gammoning knee, the knee of the head and curved cheekpieces. Thinner filling pieces have been made to go between the curved cheeks the assembled head prior to final shaping. Note the hook on the gammoning knee to accept the stay. This was comon french practice. a trial attachment with duble side tape and a clamp to make sure the gammoning knee lines up with the stempost and support for bowsprit Dick

I have molded the guns in resin, although neater job might be obtained by turning them. Here they are on their carriages. Please note that the continental practice was for the breeching rope to pass through the cheeks of the carriage I will mount them later in the run-out positiion. Gun tackles under construction. Dick

In my build of the Trombetta carrack of 1445 : On page 16 there is a description of a method to create a billowing mainsail from plaster of Paris and paper You may find this of use Cheers Dick

There's no easy way to make the gun-carriages at this scale except piece by piece. this shows the concave cutouts for the sides. Each pair of sides are held together by double sided tape during these steps and drilling. Drilling for the axles. I do not have the skills to mill the axles so I chose a less accurate method. a jig for aligning the front and back crossmembers during gluing. the carriage assembled and pinned Now for the cannon. Cheers Dick

I used the good ole Byrnes saw to mill the steps in the guncarriage sides from two strips of 4mm jarrah glued together. The semi circular slot for the trunnnions was milled using a very small burr mounted in the Dremel router guide. The guns on the gros ventre were only small 4 pounder popguns so the carriages are quite small Dick

Thanks, Steven. I will be leaving off the planking on the starboard side of both decks. I have no plans to cut away any hull frames. Dick

I have done the deck furniture for the forecastle deck except for the capstan which I will make once the forecastle deck is permanently attached. Similarly the catheads. I will now turn my attention to the main deck armament. Cheers Dick

I take your point, Siggi, and would dearly love to get the book but, with the exchange rate of the australian dollar and postage costs it is out of the question at the moment. The other volumes of Ships and Boats of the North are similarly unaffordable. Maybe the local library..... I was unaware of the presence of holes for the tacks. If this is the case, it means firstly that the width of the sail is as Ms Bischoff has calculated and that the norse could sail close-hauled. I am at a loss to explain the appearance of the sails in the rock art except as artistic convention. The graffiti remain very interesting as they were probably drawn by sailors not artists. Cheers Dick

I gave a lot of thought to the great arch for my model of Trombetta's 1445 carrack and certainly most of the pictures show the arch forming a sort of gangway above the waist on both sides and not onto the main deck. Certainly it would be a possible route to the forecastle. Running up a wet lapstrake surface cant have been safe so maybe some footholds were nailed into the planks, who knows! As Baker says, there is not a lot of room left in the forecastle for a hatch and ladder and I had no evidence for or against the ladder so I left it out. I also think that framing of the arch should be strong enough to buttress the forecastle. I hope this helps the discussion. Cheers Dick I

No, you're right, I dont have her book (it's way beyond my budget) and I also make no claim to be an expert on viking ships. That is why I said it was controversial. Ole Kastholm, whose paper I was quoting, is Prehistoric Archaeologist; Senior Researcher and Curator at Roskilde Museum. So that indicates the degree of controversy in the field. I was just trying to help answer Ian Grant's question on reef points. I look forward to seeing the completion of your superb model Cheers Dick

It is a very controversial area to dive into. But the results of "experimental archaeology" do not seem to mesh with the iconography so far found dating to the viking period. The sail that ms. Bischoff depicts in her plans seems to be most like those used in 19th century norwegian coasters as seen in this drawing by R C Leslie: The iconographic evidence from the viking period comes down to only a few sources: rock carvings, coins, rune stones and graffiti. The Gotland stones aconsistently show a low slung sail which is as wide as the ship is long and with a diagonal pattern on it beneath which are a series of lines attached to the foot of the sail The carvings on rune stones demonstrate very wide rectangular sails Coins from the same era show again a wide low slung sail with evidence of the sail being brailed up in a number of places but only one coin (the third one) could possibly represent a reefed sail but I doubt it. The graffiti scratched on rocks in Trondheim show a longship and a ?knarr with lowered yards and the sail furled. The modern reconstructions of sail and rig are more in keeping with the well tested and effective 19th century sail of the coaster which is high and narrow rather than the meagre evidence from the viking period of a wide and low slung sail. We dont have enough evidence to be dogmatic about this and, at the end of the day, Siggi you have built a beautiful model of a modern reconstruction of the Gokstad ship and it is perfectly fine to attach a reconstructed sail on it. The above is not meant as any criticism of your lovely build. Cheers Dick ref. The rigging of the viking age warship. Ole Thirup Kastholm

The after deck has now most of its furniture and fitting. I will install a hen-coop although its not on the plans. I cant imagine the french travelling halfway round the world without a source of eggs for their soufflés 👨‍🍳🇫🇷. They also had a bread oven which I am thinking about Having wasted a mort of time trying to resin mold guns and carriages, I will go back to good old-fashioned wood for the carriage and will try Woods Metal for casting the guns which will only be seen on the port side of course. an arms locker on the main deck Cheers Dick

G'day Grant. Yes, fully retired and able to spend more time in the shed. Where size permits, I like things to open and close (within reason), Very neat work on the Harriet McGregor I see. I have made a callout for interest in a Perth Static modellers club on MSW . But no bites as yet. The bricks were painted molded resin, orange ochre with dry brushed charcoal. Cheers Dick

Thanks, Rik. As Arnie said, I'm bark! I have made quite a lot of the deck furniture: The belfry: The companionway: and the binnacle, different to that shown on the plans. Also done are the pinrails for the three masts, all very fiddly. It's a bit like a doll's house. More furniture to come. Cheers Dick