Vivian Galad

I originally started this build when I was unemployed. It looked like a great way to keep my sanity while looking for a job a=in a really tough marketplace. I bought the Enterprise without much thought as to what it would take to build in the way of tools and time. It was May 6 2009 when I laid the false keel. Right after that I was rehired at my old company where we build theme park attractions. There have been many starts and stops due to work, but I have managed to keep a steady if not slow progress.
 
I started with the usual fitting up of bulkheads
 

 
Then the deck planking

 

 
Then I got the idea to light the captains cabin
 

 
More to follow

My last post here was in januari, and now we're talking september.
Haven't done nothing in the meantime though.
 
In januari I started the scratch build Duyfken 1595 - finished it in July and made it into a model kit which is now available:
 

 
I think I should do something on the Trireme again...

It's been quite a while since my last post on the trireme.... sorry.

Started again with two cent coins - collected them via lokal stores and started again to make them convex, tinned them and soldered a little grip on the backside. Thus the shields could be hung on a pole on the ship's side to protect the sailors during sailing, and could be easily taken off to use as shield in man to man fights. 


 
I've got 28 now - need 60 of them

Hello Pasanax (not your real name I guess )
Thank you for your reply! And the image you showed about the shields is exactly the thing I have searched for for longer time, but couldn't find! So if you can send me some images (and please yes - with ruler) this would be very nice.
 
Due to the fact I have also started selling Dutch East Indiamen kits my work on the Trireme has stopped for a while.
 
And to be honest - I am always looking for ways to improve basic items of a kit and I did that for the ram as well. But it is simply a larger block of wood which I have sanded into the right shape. It is some work, but not the most difficult thing in the world. 
 
Please be patient - postings on this topic will start again this autumn

It's all going a bit slow at this moment - due to other projects and things I'm working on.
 
However - I know you are all eager waiting for further steps.
 
Busy on the bow, made some ornaments out of small coins.
 
That's all I can show for now - sorry.
 

Thanks guys.
 
December is a busy month - it has been a while since my last pictures.
 
The structure on the ship is getting in shape more and more:
 

 
And in the meantime cutted some wood for the oars:
 

 
I figured out (being a mechanical engineer) that the structure of the original kit isn't made in the proper way - looking where the oars will come. To my opinion the whole structure will distort when speeding up the rowing (when the captain wants to waterski f.i.)
The immense forces on the structure aren't brought to the hull when the diagonal beams are lacking. So I added them.
 

 
View on the front with its closed nose:
 

 
And the deck being placed:
 

 

Update.
 
Busy on the structure on the ship, all done in oak sticks of 4 x 4 mm - cut in length - with dowels and coppernail mounting.
 
Not really boring, but not the most exciting job to do.  Just some pictures:
 

 
structure for the third row of seats
 

 
Impressive view
 
and
 

 

 

I have to make a big apologize to all the readers - because I made a big mistake in scale.
 
The Batavia on the picture is 1:72 - but the Trireme is 1:35 (the original kit is 1:72)  - ooopppsss 
 
This means the trireme is "only" about 35 meters or 100 feet..
 
Here some pictures for a better idea - the bireme and the trireme
 

 

 

Some people in Holland asked me to make a picture of the trireme compared to some other recognizable thing.
 
Both are scale 1 : 72 - about 55 meters long (180 feet)
 

Bending the oak strips 3 x 3 mm works quite well, but they have to be soaking wet. There is only one problem, it is quite difficult to twist them as well in the round areas.  Sanding the hull must do the trick in the end...
 

 

 
 

I am sorry if some of these are on their sides, you will just have to lie down to enjoy them !!

It has indeed been a while since your last post. Nice to see you back :-)

Not sure if you would be interested but I have just been checking out the contents of my box ! Unlike your kit (same maker) The oars are not plastic but have to be made. The dragon head on the front is made up of 5 pieces of cast brittania metal and the shields are cast in a bronze coloured metal material. So, it's a bit different and I can't make my mind up whether to start it yet or not!

Hi Vivian,
 
Happy to know you are well.  Your Oseberg is looking great.  I have been away for a while myself, I got busy with consulting work.
 
Look forward to your updates.

Well, almost 2 years since I´ve put something in here regarding my Oseberg. I´ve replanked it from the start and am now at my 8th row on the left side. Picture is not that fair, since I have no more good cams available, so, I ask u to considerate that - promise will get one as soon as I can.

Raymond, amigo, that´s great! Take a chair as everyone, there´s some snacks, just right there - that´s it! :P  Welcome to my new project!!

Hey, Sam, that´s a part of it. The other is that work is taking too much time from me and I can´t get to the shipyard as I would like. But she´s growing, my Oseberg version.
 
Hey Bill, be welcome to my log, take some refreshments and feel free to point anything u want - at least regarding the build :P . Sometimes I think u guys put too much faith on me, lol!! But I´ll share everything I learn in my journey.
 
Carl, be welcome too. Glad u joined.
 
Gaetan, that´s a great build and made me think in hollowing at least a segment of my ship. Thank you for sharing the pictures.

Cap´n Magee, thank you . Happy u didn´t miss the boat this time - just take a seat!
 
Jack, it´s some good advice and I´ll look into it for sure, thanks. I was already thinking in use the dremel (I did some tests in the past engraving wood with a dremel ) - don´t worry about the teachers, if they come we teach them! :P
 
Hans, it´s a good choice for a build - viking ships are great, elegant and simple, yet a conqueror of the seas. If I can be of any help, I´ll be glad. And no stealing, only sharing in here. TY!
 
Schnu, feel free to follow, ask, suggest any thing u seem fit. Thank u for visiting.

Thanks, Grant!
 
Pops, right you are. That is something I learned from the Junk, while I darkened the deck in advance, against the after staining of the Caravel. It´s easier to work with the spots that way, cause the natural wood gets really marked by that spots - which we perceive only after staining, even when you had already sanded the wood. And welcome to my new build!
 
Mark, thank you for the encouragement. Feel free as the room is large

Matti, the glues (be it CA or wood glue/white glue) usually stain the waxed wood. CA is worse, cause it can leave a white stain over the waxed wood - white/wood glue leaves a translucid spot. The wax weakens the CA bond, too, but other glues keep their properties. Usually I use a lot of CA, but not that much on waxed surfaces. tyvm for your visit.

Thanks, BrianC.
 
Brian, I should´ve better explained that. The false keel will be apparent. As with my other ships, I like to age/darken them - before planking I darkened the false keel with 2 coats of bittumen wax, that way I won't risk damaging the thin planking with a latter waxing. The planks will receive a coat of bittumen wax too and all the hull will be later varnished to attain an even darker hue. I could use a stain, but till now the bittumen wax for darkening wood and giving that old look is the best I´ve tested.
 
Jack, thank you. I´m already drawing the pattern for the scroll work. Scale is my main problem - it´ll push my skills to the limit.

False keel was attached to the stand, first picture shows the before first modification:
 

 
Second picture shows the after, as I cut the tail off. As I intend on building an engraved cover, that part had to get out of the way.
 

 
I waxed the false keel, then and started placing the bulkheads. They were glued and fixed to the block I made for 90° aligning. I took pictures only after they were already glued and I could verify they were rightly fixed.
 

 

 

 

 
As the ship seems too fragile at this point, I decided to place beams between the bulkeads to assure they wouldn´t bend while planking.
 

 
And that´s it for now. Hope to be posting more pictures soon. :D

So, as I said, I´ll begin some new projects while still building the Chinese Junk. This is the first of two, the Osberg by Amati.
 
Before any sawdust comes through, I have to thank my friend Jack Panzeca for his gift. Yep, he was a sweety and sent me this kit he wouldn´t build for he already was building the Billing´s Oseberg - As I was always telling how nice it was and let it clear I would build one if I had, Jack surprised me with offering this one. Jack, here I am, building the ship - Thank you.
 
A review of the box - In comparison to the other 2 ships I built till now, the Amati Oseberg kit is a little sparse on material. Truth be told, that´s because the ship itself isn´t that material consumer - viking ships are fantastic ships considering the small use of wood and their sailing capabilities. The false keel and bulkheads are laser cut, as the wood for hull planking - at first I thought it strange for they´re strangely shaped, but that's explainable by the planking of a so characteristic hull. Some pictures follow:
 

 

 
Fittings may be a problem to those who, as I do, like the wood everywhere. Shields are metal cast, oars are plastic as the mast step. All of those are already marked on my plans as scratchbuild fittings.
 

 
I have to say, though, that Amati Oseberg isn´t really the Oseberg. I measured the ship´s keell and middle bulkead to find she doesn´t fit on the true Oseberg dimensions - False keel should have 43,16cm, and it has 43,9cm, width should be 5,20cm, it´s 5,7cm. Also, Amati´s bring a strange dragon head instead of the engraved details Oseberg has, as a central oar holder that shouldn´t be there. My plans on bashing/modifying goes for removing the central oar holder, engraving the stem/stern as the Oseberg (well, the closest I can get, at least), adding the big barrel the museum ship exposes and chests before the oar holes. I´ll scratch the oars, shields, mast step and rudder.
 
I begun by building a stand. It´s a 6mm mdf board with two 6mm planks held together by butterfly bolts. I would install metal trails for a bulkead aligner, but changed my mind. Instead, I traced lines on the board and made a 90° angled piece gluing 2 mdf pieces (sanded and measured).
 

 
(To be continued)
 
 
 

Thank u, guys. Be my guest, Mike. I´ll try to post more frequently, since I began this one 2 years ago.
 
Mark, everything is fine, better now.
 
Carl, it´s great to be back!

Well, almost 2 years since I´ve put something in here regarding my Oseberg. I´ve replanked it from the start and am now at my 8th row on the left side. Picture is not that fair, since I have no more good cams available, so, I ask u to considerate that - promise will get one as soon as I can.