woodrat

Thanks, Dan. The median "trench" in the mainsail is caused by a lanyard attached to a median boltrope in the sail (you can see two of these lanyards passing around the mainmast, one to the base of the mainsail and one to the lower bonnet). The purpose of these is to pull the centre of the sail in so as to prevent contact with the mainstay (note the wrappings, probably of leather or old sailcloth on the mainstay) and consequent abrasion of the sail. I have deliberately set the yard low as, in many illustrations, the sail billows upwards from the yard as a spinnaker would (please see Mark's valuable comments in the previous post in this regard). Mark, thank you for the sailing explanation. I had not thought that forward buoyancy would be so important. I think you are right. Your pic of the Sydney skiff shows the upward billowing of the spinnaker nicely. Cheers Dick

Thanks Roger and Carl. That clears it up for me. I will furl the mizzen and foresail in the interests of safety! Cheers Dick

Thanks Carl and Druxey. Now to the mysteries of the mediterranean lateen rig. As the ship is running before the wind, should the mizzen be furled? Some illustrations show the mizzen yard turned almost horizontal for running. But this may be because the vessel has the wind slightly on its quarter and the mizzen is being used for steering. Sailors please help. Others show it furled. Dick

See how the mains'l sets........... Dick

Indeed so, which is the clever part of parrels. The wooden bearings ride over the ropes like an all-terrain vehicle. Thanks for all the likes. Carl you wont have to wait long. Dick

One of the more fiddly and interesting aspects of the rigging of this beast has been to work out how the parrels were applied to the mast. The excavated parrels from the Mary Rose were a great help in this regard. But I still had to work out a way of applying the parrels which I could understand and was consistent with the iconography. Firstly, in a large vessel such as this, three, four ar even more rows of parrels were needed. Secondly, any method of attaching them had to allow loosening and tightening of the parrels so that the position of the yard on the mast could be changed. In this regard, I recognise the wonderful work of Franco Gay ( The Ships of Christopher Columbus (Nuova Raccolta Colombiana, Vol. 7) by Franco Gay ) for his contributions . Thirdly, the parrel tightening needs to be done from deck level. The concept is my own modification of Franco Gay's method and seems to work. Grommet is seized to the yard. Its purpose is to transmit the parrel ropes to the deck. There are two ropes: one controls parrel rows 1 and 4 and the other rows 2 and 3 Please note that the slots end up AGAINST the mast The yard is now ready to be attached to the mast. The starboard ropes are now passed around the yard. Note the parrels are loose. All ropes are passed through the grommet The parrels are tightened. The time has come to hoist the mainsail. Dick

Thanks, Steven. The dromon is looking great! Here are some pics of the the parrels and the flagstaff. I have decided not to fit a topsail as they probably did not appear until about 1460. Also, no-one is sure how they were rigged. Cheers Dick

I cant recall seeing illustrations of navi from that time with stern ladders, plenty with side ladders. But I suppose anything is possible. With the very tall sterncastle it would be a long climb to the poop! Dick

thanks Carl and Druxey. Just wait till it's on the mast.

the aft view of the mainsail with rigging attached for furling the sail Dick

This seems to be a 19th century print of a small carrack. The ladder is well shown I presume they had stern ladders to access boats.

All the good contemporary illustrations, especially Carpaccio, agree that the ladder was fixed to the maintop and to the deck (presumably by eyebolts, Druxey). So, it must be concluded there was no other tethering At least one illustration shows both Jacob's Ladder AND ratlines (or at least it looks like he's climbing ratlines, though you can't see them) Note the matelot perched on the mainyard. Confusing, isn't it? Dick

I agree, Carl. But the parrels have to run freely up and down the mast. If the ladder is attached to the mast they could not do this.

This is the making of the Jacob's Ladder. I can understand why it became replaced by ratlines. They must have been a horror to climb on a pitching, rolling ship with the ladder twisting and slapping back and forth. question: were the ladders secured to the mast to make them more safe? Dick

Thanks Jesse and Druxey. I have some deck level work to do first and also the Jacob's ladder before I can hoist the sail. Dick

The bonnets were used to increase the area of the sail in this era They are unlaced from the mainsail as required. Reefing points are not seen in illustrations from this time although they are definitely seen in earlier mediaeval ships, particularly those from northern climes.The bonnets are now laced to the mainsail. I have applied a simple cross as in the Benincasa carrack shown previously. These need not be elaborate and, indeed, need not be depicted at all. Dick

I would not be so presumptuous. Compared to other methods on this site my sail is a little primitive. But the shape is close to what the contemporary illustrations show. It is basically papier-mache using strips of calligraphy paper over the plaster-of-Paris mold shown earlier. White glue is the stiffener. Bolt-ropes are glued on. Dick

I have done the best I could on the mainsail. It is an approximation of the possible appearance of sail in that era. It only remains to hoist it.

Don't be too concerned. I f you look at preserved galleys in the Istanbul Naval Museum, there are some imperfections in the run of planking. Models should never be "perfect" but they should be interesting and yours surely is. Dick

You are most kind, Steven and I would also like to thank everyone for the 'likes'. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. Dick

He fitted with inches to spare. Crows nest were very large fighting platforms in those days Dick

The crane on the maintop is wrong. It should be projecting laterally not aft so that it will access the waist not the quarterdeck. Will fix as it will bug me! Dick

The following is the construction of the maintop (or crow's nest if you like) The construction of the base. Note the access aft for the jacob's ladder to allow ingress to the top and the entry of the halliards. for ward of the mast will be the exit of the halliards. The side frames for the top are made by laminating thin strips of wood and sawing them to thickness required the position of the frames is located using my Emco dividing attachment (Unimat 3) The circular rail for the top is turned on the lathe. Note the crane arching over the rail. This is for lifting objects such as ammunition etc from the deck to the maintop. It has a pulley. The frames are strengthened by bracing timbers Temporary positioning of the maintop on the mast Almost ready for the mainsail and yard. Still have work to do at deck level. Dick

OK Götz. Have fun with your build. This is a classic picture of a carrack ( Kraeck?) from the northern european region which is a good resource . Cheers. Dick Is kraweel a corruption of caravel?

Goetz, most of the vessels of this period have a rope ladder on the aft side of the "crows nest". The ladder entered beneath the crows nest. Remember that the halliards to hoist the mainyard also enter below the crows nest go over pulley(s) then exit down the front to attach to the yard. There were many designs for these structures. No set patterns. Ratlines did exist in some ships but at this period I doubt they were used to access the the crows nest even if they were fitted. I am in the process of building the same structure for my carrack https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/4915-venetian-carrack-or-nave-rotonda-164-by-woodrat/& I will post the details soon. Cheers Dick (Woodrat)