woodrat

On 11/25/2025 at 5:01 AM, Mark Pearse said:

Well done, they must have been tricky to get the shapes right.

Well, a fair bit of hair pulling and cursing.

Progress on the head timbers:

cheekpieces in place and filling piece between the cheeks. The first timber of the bolsters below the hawse-holes is installed

Bolsters complete, The rounded timbers below the lower cheekpiece are 3 in number on each side (much hair pulling!) are to protect the head from the anchor flukes.

The main head rail is in place. Note the bolster and vertical timber to protect the gammoning. The curved stanchions(jambettes in french) to brace the head rails are seen (much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments). It's enough to make me build kits again (only joshing).

Cheers

Dick

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

On 8/15/2025 at 3:40 PM, Alvb said:

Perhaps someone here has a tip on how I could create such a billowing, curved sail.

 

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

3 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

Beautiful work, Dick. I take it you're leaving some of the deck planking off to show what's underneath?

 

Steven

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

On 8/3/2025 at 12:15 AM, Siggi52 said:

if you wont to know more about these ships, you should get it. It's worth the money. I got my copy for 40€ + 13€ taxes and shipping.

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

21 hours ago, Alvb said:

We know many illustrations that show how the arches merge onto the upper edge of the waist.

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

2 hours ago, Siggi52 said:

Did you have her Book? It is very interesting to read and she used every source available.

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 

On 8/1/2025 at 4:21 PM, Siggi52 said:

I'm using what Vibeke Bischoff has reserched with her experimental archaelogy.

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

10 hours ago, J11 said:

Definitely a museum piece! 

Thanks J11, most kind. But I don't think so as it breaks too many academic preconceptions .

Cheers Dick 

Thank you for all the likes. I will be off line for a while. I hope to have finished the hull by the end of the year.

Cheers

Dick

Thanks, Steven. This tends to confirm that there was some sort of deck in these vessels, they were shallow draft and were indeed sailed.

Dick

On 4/23/2025 at 12:36 AM, Siggi52 said:

with the rocker in the keel you will have no trouble with hogging. That is statics.

You may well be right but I will be able to test this . Certainly the Hjortspring vessel  had hogging issues and the Nydam, being pre-viking also may have had them. But the later viking vessels may have overcome this problem.

Dick

PS  I will have to put this project on hold while I finish the Gros Ventre

The after deck framing

The central thicker deck planking in place

The outer thinner deck planking in place. Gratings in place.The waterway will be added when the deck is finally attached

The two upper decks are removable which allows completion of the main deck and facilitates finishing off the upper deck furniture etc

Cheers

Dick

This shows the attachment to my cross-sled for making the gratings. The slats are to be the thickness of the saw blade(1mm.). A  1mm. thick brass strip is glued to the slot to allow a spacing of 1mm.

This allows slots to be cut in a block slightly deeper than the planned grating

The grating is turned through 90 degrees and shallower cuts are made for the upper slats

The 1mm. thick upper slats are glued in place . They are deeper than required and the excess will be sanded off later.

double sided tape (wondeful stuff!) is glued to a block of wood and the grating stuck face down .

The excess depth is sanded off. (But Use a thicker block of wood than I did to avoid burnt finger tips). This exposes the lower slats.

T

The grating is detached from the tape, turned over and the excess of the upper slats sanded off

the grating just needs trimming to size now

Cheers. I apologise for teaching you to suck eggs but I have seen some awful gratings in my time. Usually with way over size holes that a sailor's foot would fall through.

Dick

On 4/20/2025 at 6:35 PM, AnobiumPunctatum said:

In your scale you can build the model with all the fine details 

Thanks Christian. I have not seen the vessel and may never do so but it is not only interesting, as you say, but an important  precursor of the later viking clinker-built sailing vessels. The large scale will allow me to test the efficacy of the anti hogging mechanism.

Tschüss

Dick

The forecastle deck. The framing is planned to be visible on the starboard side but planked on the port side. the central planking is thicker than the outer decke planking. The forecastle deck remains removable until all work on the main deck is complete.

central thicker planking

outer planking awaiting waterways

forecastle deck removed

Cheers

Dick

Sheer plank largely finished and some of the framing of the quarterdeck. Now I have to do some painting. Deck furniture will red ochre as may be the inside planking.

Cheers

Dick