Vivian Galad

Oh, and he's shaved off his moustache - perhaps a sort of reverse-Movember?
 
In the meantime, here's some photos taken by my lovely wife Louisa, who (unlike me) actually knows how to work a camera! But first, for comparison, a picture of the original town seal upon which the model is based.
 

 

 

 
One thing that seeing these photos does for me - because of the carved figures - is to give a better sense of scale for the ship - how big it is in the "real world"
 
Steven

And now, to the end of the the year, 2016
 

Well, I've completed another phase in this Santa Maria build, so thought I'd post an update with the progress I have made and the pictures I have taken to-date.  At my last update at the end of December, I had not yet stained the outer hull, so it was time to do that.  I think I had noted that Pavel Nikitin had his own set of paints/stains that he was recommending but, being the poor sprayer that I still am, I decided to use more conventional stains and brush or wipe them on.  For the hull, I wanted a darker stain, so I opted for Minwax Honey wood finish.  I wiped it on the hull, then sanded and used some steel wool to smooth it out some, then applied a 2nd coat.  May do a bit more touchup before completion, as it is a bit "splotchy" in spots, but it gives a decent impression, I think, of how a 15th century ship may have looked.
 

 

 
Next task was to work on the main deck and quarter deck rails.  The kit's quarter deck rails consist of 5 sets of two rail pieces glued together to make the proper rail width. while the kit's main deck rails consist of 6 sets of three rail pieces joined to make its rail width.  The char on all of these pieces was removed the best I could using my Dremel with a 220-grit sanding disc.  
 

 

 

 
Once these were all glued together to form two sets of rails, the kit provided a sheet which was needed in order to cut and shape each of the rails to their proper form.  That was completed and then they were set aside for now, waiting to be stained and then placed once the decks were completed.
 
      
 
There is a back wall for the quarter deck that really isn't discussed anywhere in the pictorial instructions but suddenly shows up in a subsequent picture, so we added that now while also working on the quarter deck planking.  As the provided planks were placed on the quarter deck braces, there was a gap in the planking, so I cut an extra piece using the sheet that the planks came from and filled that gap.  The poop deck planking was also laid out.  Again, as is done with all of Pavel's sheet pieces, you can see the numbering on the planks for identification and placement but, of course, these were flipped/rotated when secured on the ship, so the numbers are not visible.
 
      
 

 
The rail system that was provided in the kit for the poop deck was a dark gray resin material.  Most of it would be covered by wood slats, but the decorative "X" supports were painted black in order to stand out a bit better.  The top rail isn't in these pictures, but you'll see it in later pictures.  The poop deck came out looking fairly well.
 
     
 
      
 
Now to the front of the ship.  I had previously completed the forecastle deck but have not yet secured it to the ship itself.  I had also worked previously on the braces that go under the forecastle deck, but they were a bit shorter than I wanted, so I re-did them so the braces extend out a bit more on the sides.  I stained the braces using the same Minwax Satin Antique Walnut that I used for the decks.  The black marks on each of the braces just helped me remember what side to face up during placement, as the forecastle deck will be placed on top and cover the markings, anyway.
 
Once the forecastle deck was placed and secured, I could then place the main deck rails and quarter deck rails that I had previously completed.  They seemed to go on fairly well, but I will need to look at filling a few gaps between the rails and the hull where needed.
 
    
 
But, with the placement of the rails, that pretty much completes this phase of construction.  I think the next project is to work on the vertical buttock riders that are placed on the hull along with the channels, and then there are several deck items to work on, including rails, ladders, the windlass, etc.  So, for now, this is how my Santa Maria looks. 
 
      
 

 

 
Appreciate those of you who have been peeking in with the likes, comments and advice.  Thanks...

Really don't have a whole lot to update on this Santa Maria build, but with about 20 additional pictures of my "progress" waiting for disposition, I figured I'd provide another post.  I continue to be a bit "underwhelmed" by this Pavel Nikitin kit but am trying to work through the hurdles as they arise.  I am finding, however, that many of the same issues a couple of YouTube builders ran into in their build are appearing in this build, as well.  And Pavel's comment about incompetent builders on one of those builders page still aggravates me.  Pavel is, however, posting his own build log on YouTube.  However, with what appears to be several build logs in the works at one time, his Santa Maria posts are pretty infrequent.  With all that said, I continue to move on and treat the hurdles as best I can as challenges.  I will certainly face similar challenges whenever I begin my Constitution build, so... I need to get used to it, right?? 🤷‍♀️😆 
 
Wow, haven't posted an update in over a month!  Guess the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and all the preparation and distractions had a bit of an effect on my shipyard time this month!  I had begun working on the hull planking and had completed the lower halves of both the port and starboard sides.  Now to work on the top halves.  You will recall that these Pavel Nikitin planks come already pre-cut and pre-shaped, so these seemed to come together fairly well.  I had a few issues with the top planks on both sides not quite reaching the tops of the bulkheads.  So, some sanding was required in the center, main deck areas, and we were a full plank short in the poop deck area, so I added a strip with some available wood strips I had from previous builds.
 
     
 

 
      
 

 

 
I had mentioned in a previous post that all of Pavel's pre-made parts have some type of "part number" assigned to it so you can find the part in the sheets of material and you can (hopefully) see how the part is placed on the ship in the pictorial instructions.  One of the issues that I discovered, then, was that the hull planking part #'s were visible on the inside.  Others had commented that they were concerned that too much sanding of those part numbers would make the hull planks too thin.  Anyways, I am hoping that with the stain I will be applying to the hull (both inner and outer sides) will cover the part numbers and that the inside bulwark rails would also help cover.
 
   
 

 
   
 

 

 
Working on the forecastle deck next.  The kit has you put together a framing jig to assist with the forecastle deck construction, but it was actually more of a hinderance, so I scrapped it and worked on building the deck base without it.
 

 

 
The kit comes with a finite pre-determined number of forecastle deck side panels.  From the diagrams, it appeared that these panel pieces were to be placed vertically, although they were cut at a bit of a diagonal.  Either way we placed them, they still came up short in filling each of the three sides, so I secured them vertically and, again, filled the empty spaces with extra available wood.
 
      
 
The kit's provided 3-piece top rail was not fitting well, either, so I decided to shape my own top rail using some available basswood sheet.  I worked on shaping it, as well as placing the kit-supplied forecastle decking.  I've given it all a couple of coats of the deck stain, and will probably put another coat or two on it before affixing it to the rest of the ship.
 
 
 

 
       
 

 
Speaking of affixing to the ship, the instructions have us placing six (6) timber braces under the poop deck.  However, as other builders have also acknowledged, those timber braces, although identified with part numbers to be found on one of the wood sheets, were not included on the sheets.  So, using my new Byrnes saw I acquired several months ago, I milled six new 3/4"-square timbers.  Excited to find new ways to use the saw!  The poop deck doesn't set perfectly on top of the timbers, so that will be our next challenge to conquer.
 
      
 
Thanks again for the reads and likes.

After completing the lower part of the port side hull, it was now the starboard side's turn.  As you will recall, all of the Pavel Nikitin Santa Maria hull planks are pre-shaped and include nib scarfs where needed.  Many of the strakes, though, did require some careful bending to shape them around the bulkheads.  I've been doing this successfully on these planks by holding them under a stream of hot water for a bit, then pinning them against the bulkheads until dry, then glueing them in place, using Acco clips and mini-clamps.
 
      
 
Although Pavel has been adamant in other modelers' YouTube build logs that all of his planks fit perfectly, modelers have had issues with some planks not being long enough or the spacing being a bit off.  I had that issue on the port side that I noted in my post #19 above, and had a similar issue on the starboard side (actually a bit worse).  I also had an issue with what would, I guess, be Pavel's garboard strake #1 not meeting the keel fully, so I added a small 3/32" square strip to fit in the spot to take up that space.  It will all be sanded and filled as I clean up the hull before finishing.
 
      
 
So, the lower half hull planking of both sides is now compete.  I will now work on the hull planks at the wale and higher.
 
    
 

 
To those celebrating Thanksgiving this week, hope it is a wonderful time for you.  Safe travels if enjoying away from home.  As always, appreciate the reads, likes, comments and criticisms.

Began doing the stern and hull planking on this Santa Maria.  I will remind viewers that this Pavel Nikitin Santa Maria kit comes with pre-shaped hull planks that are removed from the sheets provided.  Here's what we begin with in order to plank the hull...
 

 
I am beginning with the port side and the instructions have us placing the double-planked wale strips just below the deck line (in what they call position #14) on first and moving down to plank #1 at the keel.  After the first couple planks, I realized that we should probably first place the planks on the stern section, as the hull planks will need to fit against the cedar stern planks.  The stern planking went fairly smoothly until I discovered a problem with the diagonal planking that others working on this Pavel Nikitin kit and documenting on YouTube were having... all of the pre-cut diagonal planks on the transom were not long enough.  To cure this, I added 3/32" square wood strips both vertically and horizontally to fill the gaps.  There were still some of the planks that were still too short and those spaces will need to be filled with some wood filler during the sanding phase.
 
      
 
      
 
The port side hull planking went fairly well.  I did have to hold many of the planks under a stream of hot water to make the wood pliable enough to shape perfectly against the bulkheads.  But the process worked quite well.  There were a couple of the planks (#3 & #4 close to the keel) that were not quite long enough to meet the transom planking, but that will also be dealt with using some wood filler when we get to the sanding phase.  Otherwise, edges of the planking at the stern will be sanded even with the transom.
 
      
 

 
So, the port side lower planking is complete.  I'll work on the lower starboard side next, then will work on the upper planking (Planks #15 and higher) on both sides.  I will then sand and fill everything where needed.
 

 
I haven't honestly become a big fan of this Pavel Nikitin kit.  Definitely different with all of the pre-fabricated CNC pieces than what I have worked on previously and what I'll be doing in the future.  But... I keep looking at what the finished product has a chance of looking like and continue moving forward.  So, moving forward is what we shall do...
 
Appreciate, as always, the follows, reads, likes, comments and criticisms.

OK, another silly little update before I start on another major sub-project... After I finished planking the main deck, I wanted to look at how I was going to paint/stain each of the decks, the hull, and all of the fittings and other gear that will be placed on all of the applicable decks.  Pavel Nikitin has a pretty detailed YouTube video (narrated by Olha Batchvarov) on how to paint the ship using his paint kit and an airbrush.  I am still horrible at airbrushing, so I am going to opt for using stains (either wiping on or brushing on) in order to achieve similarly satisfactory results.
 
I tested three (3) different stains with multiple coat options to see which ones I liked, and which ones would provide close to the appearance that Pavel achieved in his work.  Here's what I landed on...
 

 
This ship is painted/stained very dark.  So, I found a Minwax Honey stain (bottom sample on the test sheet) that, after about 3-4 coats, looked like it would be a good finish for the exterior hull.  We'll go with that.
 
The middle sample stain is Minwax's Poly Shades Satin Antique Walnut, and the far-right sample represents 3 passes/coats.  We'll use that for each of the decks.
 
And finally, the top sample is Minwax's Poly Shades Satin Bombay Mahogany, and I will use it for the fittings, furnishings and other pieces that will be placed on the various decks.  The third coat got pretty dark, so I'll judge that "on the fly" on how many coats each fitting receives.
 
So, with that said, I began staining the main deck, as a large part of it will be inaccessible once we place the quarterdeck planking in its place.  I have given it 3 coats of stain so far and may give it another coat or two before finishing.  I think, though, that the subtle differences in shades between decking, hull and furnishings should look sharp (well, I hope so, anyways!).
 
Also, before planking the quarterdeck, I will need to secure the cannons in their proper places while I can get to those spots.  So, I thought I'd take a break before the planking project and work on the cannon carriages.  The Pavel Nikitin kit provides small parts to build up a basic carriage unit and since all that will pretty much be visible once everything is built is each of the four (4) cannon muzzles extending slightly from the hull gunports, we will use the kit's carriage parts.  A bit of sanding was required for pieces to fit, but everything seemed to come together nicely.  We'll set these aside for now until ready to secure to the main deck.
 
      
 

 
Interestingly, in the Anatomy of the Ship - The Ships of Christopher Columbus book by Xavier Pastor, there is no mention or depiction of cannons or gunports on the Santa Maria.  But, as has been widely discussed, there are no actual "certified" drawings of the Santa Maria, so.... we'll call it designer's prerogative! <shrug>
 
Before beginning the hull planking, Pavel provided some additional "layered blocking" at the stern to help support the hull planking at the front of the ship.  These layered pieces required beveling so that there was a smooth curve for the planking to adhere to.  That process worked well.
 
      
 
So... we are now to the stage where we need to begin planking the hull.  Pavel Nikitin's kit includes several sheets that include a bunch of pop-out CNC plank pieces.  The instructions assist in showing which numbered planks go where.  Others who have worked on this kit recently have indicated that some shaping may be necessary, whether heating or soaking or a combination of both, to fit the planks properly.
 
      
 
Well, let the hull planking begin!  I'll check back in as this process progresses.
 
As always, appreciate the likes, comments and criticisms!  
 

Another short update (or at least I'll try to make it short...) as I reach another transition point in this Santa Maria build.  Time to plank the main deck!  Of course, I began with the planks at the centerline and worked out both ways, alternating placement on the port side, then starboard.  You will recall in the picture in the previous post with all of the main deck planks laid out, the centerline section of planks are in three sections.  I lined up the two R & L center planks on the center line and in position with the bulkhead cut for the main mast drop.  You can see there is a slight overlap discrepancy with the underlayment, but I'll take care of that, if needed, with a Dremel when we look at the main mast placement.  But, with its placement there, you may be able to see that the two longer pre-cut planks do not line up properly with their neighboring planks for the hatchway placement.  And, I found this to be the case with all of those planks on the aft side of center.  After contemplating it for awhile and concerned about cutting into Pavel's designed kit, I decided to make the cuts.  So, 4mm was cut from the following planks - 67-1/3R, 67-2/3R, 67-3R, 67-1/3L, 67-2/2L, 67-3L.
 

 
As I continued with the deck plank placement, I decided to "pre-glue" the last six (6) outside planks on each side and then fit them in position with any necessary tapering done where needed in order for them to fit in with the best placement. 
 

 
That process seemed to work pretty well, and the finished main deck planking looked like this...
 

 
There are some areas along the bulwarks that may need some scrap fill, but I will look at that when we look at completing those inner sides.  You can also see in the above picture the layout of planks for the other three decks, as well.  Before I start working on the quarterdeck placement including the support beams that will support the quarterdeck, it is probably smart to do some main deck staining and place the smaller hatchway, as that work will be impossible to get to after the quarterdeck is up.  Also, I believe there are some cannons that will be located under the quarterdeck, as well, so determining their placement will be important now, too.
 
So, I pulled out the laser-cut sheet that has the hatchway pieces on it.  In the instruction drawings, it appears the two hatchways have some ring handles to open or remove the hatchways.  The laser sheets have locations drilled or burned on a couple spots on boards, but not all of them.  So, I'll mark and drill those, and then use some available eye pins and jump rings to create the handles, as I do not see those included in any of the kit boxes.
 

 

 
So, I will work on these hatchways and the main deck staining.  I have several different darker stains I am going to test on some scrap sheets to see what best replicates what Pavel achieved in his demo videos and pictures.
 
We continue to move forward.  As always, appreciate the reads, likes, comments, suggestions and criticisms.  Thanks for peeking in.

Another update!  I have been working on the placement of each of the bulkheads along the former (thanks, Mustafa, for the proper vocabulary lesson!) and placement of the kit-provided battens or support reinforcements that are secured between each bulkhead.  As I began through this build process and reviewed through the 90+ page pictorial Guide to Manual booklet (or at least the initial section pertaining to the bulkheads), several of the pages seemed out of place for me to follow.  So... I reorganized the first few pages to make it easier for me.  Pavel's instructions do say that on some of the pictures, you can see details from later steps of construction, but it was easier for my mind to process it all with at least these first few pages reorganized. My sorted page list is now... 1-4, 25, 5-9, 12, 10-11, 14-15, 26, 16-17, 27, 18, 28, 19-24, 29-30, 13, 31-33.  With that said, on to my construction notes...
 
First off, I sanded each of the bulkheads and their corresponding bulwarks as marked to the fairing lines indicated.  This worked really well using the Dremel (outside!) and then smoothing with sandpaper.  Each of the bulwark pieces are then glued to their respective bulkheads.  I was impressed with the fit between each of the matching pieces, as they all fit snuggly with a nice thin glaze of Titebond.  In addition to the bulwark attachments, bulkheads 2 & 3 on the fore end and bulwarks 11-16 on the aft end have little knees or supports glued in position to support decks that will be above them.  Again, the fit on these were impressive.  Kudos (so far) to the precision laser cutting.
 
      
 
Bulkheads 1-3 were able to be assembled off-ship, with the kit-supplied battens or reinforcements placed and secured between bulkheads.  The three assembled bulkheads were then able to be slid down into place onto the former. Nice fit, and the batten spacers seem to be helping quite a bit in solidifying the bulkheads in place.
 
     
 

 
I, then, proceeded to move down the line, placing each bulkhead in its rightful spot and inserting the batten spacers between each bulkhead for support.  After every two or three, I would spread some Titebond using a toothpickand use a mini-clamp to secure for a period of time.  In the second picture below, you can see how each of the batten spacers are shaped with the tabs, two on one side, one on the other, that were inserted into the existing square holes.  For each placement (especially for the second placement between the R & L sides) it was difficult to spread the bulkheads out away from each other enough for the tabs to pop into place.  My routine was to insert the two-sided tab on the fore end and then spread the bulkheads enough for the single tab to pop in (I used small pliers to hold while positioning). And more on that in a second...
 
      
 
I did fine on all of the inserts until one of the last bulkheads, and on bulkhead 16 I was attempting to spread wide enough to insert the support piece and... snap!  The wood cracked on the left side of bulkhead 16.  I forgot to take a picture of the "post-snap, pre-repair" bulkhead, but I took a couple small pieces of scrap from an empty sheet, glued on each side of the break and squeezed until the repair dried, and... I think that will work.
 

 
My next concern that I ran into is one that I'm totally unclear why it appears this way, but think I know a resolution in order to move forward. Bulkhead 17 is one of the final bulkheads that will be placed on the ship and is different than its neighbor bulkhead 16.  There is a batten spacer similar to the other spacers that needs to be placed in between.  However, it appears to me (and I have positioned all of the affected parts in multiple positions, right-side up, upside down, pivoted 180 degrees, etc.) that the single tab on the #46 batten support (it's the same concern on both left and right sides) is in the wrong place for it to be inserted into the square hole on bulkhead 17.  The double tabs will be placed in the two holes on bulkhead 16 (all marked with the blue X's).  But, as the two bulkheads are placed in their proper positions on the former, bulkhead 17's square hole is to the inside of the inside hole on bulkhead 16!  And, as it hopefully depicts in the picture, its tab on the 46R batten support is roughly in the middle of the two tabs on the fore side of the support.  They ain't gonna fit!  Does this explanation make sense?  My resolution to this at this time is to simply cut off the single tab and, with some type of small strip of wood, glue a knee of shelf underneath where each of the 46R and 46L pieces should sit, and glue it all securely... and move on.
 

 
Other than that latest little hiccup, it is all coming together well so far.  Pavel's Santa Maria continues to be a ship that I look forward to getting more involved in and excited about as I continue forward.  I think this has been a good selection for my 5th build, although as I said before, a bit different than the previous four builds. As always, thanks for the reads, the follows, the likes, the comments and the criticisms.

Well, after finishing my Bluenose, it's time to begin another build!  And I am going to work on the Pavel Nikitin Santa Maria that I purchased earlier this year.  Will work on this iconic ship, and then will build the Constitution.  At least that is the plan... for now! 
 
While there are quite a few Santa Maria build logs here on MSW of differing scales and manufacturers, there really aren't any (yet) from the Pavel Nikitin group.  There are a couple current logs on the Ships of Scale site that I will use for research and reference, as well as some YouTube videos of build logs.  So, hopefully I will have plenty of references if I have questions.
 
I mentioned back in January when I opened this build log as a "placeholder" for when I began the actual build that the box the materials come in was heavy! As I unpacked everything and began sorting, there are multiple packs of laser-cut sheets.  The five (5) sheets of plans are huge! Got them hung up on the wall for now for reference.
 
       
 
Began working on the keel, of course, as a first step.  Each of the sheets are about 3.5mm thick and they are doubled up to form the full keel piece, so it makes for a nice, solid keel of a bit over 7mm in thickness.  Always fun to bring out the clamps when gluing these big pieces!
 
     
 

 
Then worked on the bottom piece of the keel (sorry, is there a formal name for this?) that will be exposed after the hull planking is completed.  Again, two pieces glued together, with small square pegs inserted for additional strength and placement.  Got to pull out the mini-clamps again, too!
 
    
 

 
This Pavel Nikitin kit also came with a slipway to assist in the building process.  Looks nice and I've seen other build logs using it, so I thought I would build it.  Have to admit that it was challenging and frustrating.  Was having difficulty sliding pieces into other pieces and getting things to fit well, so... I put it all back in the box and pulled out my "Keel Klamper" swivel vise.  This should do just fine...
 
     
 
Popped out all of the bulkheads from the laser-cut sheets and placed them on the keel to test-fit.  All of them slid down into place pretty well, some are actually pretty loose.  There are actually some kit-provided reinforcements that will connect between each bulkhead, so they should get better fits as we progress through the final placements of each bulkhead.  Those will be shown in a future build log update.
 
    
 
    
 
So, not a whole lot to start this build log, but wanted to get an initial "build" post on the record.  As others have mentioned in their logs, this kit is definitely different than others I have worked on.  It appears so much of the cutting and shaping has been done for us in this kit, as opposed to other kits that simply provide straight wood strips and you have to shape and cut them as needed.  That analysis may change as I progress in this build.  But, the Santa Maria should be an enjoyable build.  Time now for some sanding and fairing!
 
Appreciate the follows, likes, comments and criticisms, as always!
 

AN ABBREVIATED "UNBOX" INTRO - I was recently internet surfing and looking at Olha Batchvarov's work again (I really enjoy reading her posts and watching her videos, and often pull up her work to get "re-inspired").  In a recent post, she mentioned working with Pavel Nikitin, so I found his website shipsofpavelnikitin.com, and saw the release of his version of the Santa Maria.  I then saw that Model Expo was distributing his Santa Maria in the US, and had to add it to my shipyard.
 
I know there is much discussion about the accuracy/authentication of the Santa Maria models and the caravelle vs. nao discussion.  As one of those "casual modelers", though, I am happy to work on something as historical as the Santa Maria, and Pavel Nikitin's reputation is exceptional, so I am absolutely pleased.
 
Placed the order and shipping was handled very quickly by Model Expo.  Kudos to them!
 
I have promised myself that I would not start the Santa Maria until I finish my Bluenose, but I had to open the box when I got it. Right?!?  So, here are a few observations...  First thing you notice right away, the box is H-E-A-V-Y!!!  Lots of parts!
 

Box Cover
 

Box Contents Upon Opening
 

92-page Manual (all diagrams, no text)
 

Five (5) - 33"x46" Plan Sheets
 

Parts List (some info on backside, too)
 

Wooden Nameplate - Serial #11
 
Well, there it is!  Putting it up on the shipyard shelf for now.  It looks like there are no less than twelve (12) current or finished MSW build logs of the Santa Maria from various kits and in various scales, so there will be no lack of research support from previous builders.  I thank you all in advance!  And, looking forward to see if anyone else builds this Pavel Nikitin version (other than hopefully @shipphotographer.com Olha Batchvarov, once she completes the handful of ships ahead of this one in her queue).  I assume that at least serial numbers 2-10 are out there somewhere!
 
OK, back to my Bluenose so I can get to this build.

Vivian, well done!

Ok, as promised, here comes the update:
 
The main document I´m using to build this kit, and bashing it a little, is Valenti´s dissertation for the Master Arts degree from Texas A&M University, 2009. His work is a reconstruction of the Nave Quadra based on Michael of Rhodes manuscript. He puts forth the origins of the ship type, the Cocca, coming from the Cog, turned vernacular on ship building on mediterranean lands about early 1300´s. The cocca gained room over the other types of ships due to its greater tonnage with fewer men to hand it - it is discussed also that after the plague, 1348, the lack of working force forced the shipbuilding culture from northern Europe over southern. The first cogs would have a main square mast, as those from the north, but soon got a second mast, lateen sail mizzenmast.
 

(Two-masted Venetian Cocha of 1366, Valenti, 2009) - disegno di Zanetti Girolamo
 
The Cocca is mainly a merchant vessel, usually not gunned. It could boast between two and four decks - at the end of the 16th century could have up to 10 sails "with two square sails hung from the bowsprit, three square sails on both the foremast and the mainmast and a lateen sail on each of the two mizzenmasts" (VALENTI - 2009).
 
The kit´s ship is a Cocca Veneta from around early 16th century, though, this type of ship continued to be used till the 17th. As my main interest are medieval ships, I would like to build a late medieval ship, from before 1490, maybe something between 1450/70. The Michael of Rhodes manuscript dates from that period, which makes me go through it a lot, at least, through other works about it. I´m well aware of the log from Woodrat, building the Nave Tonda and be following it from the beggining, since his ship is really a medieval one. Since I´ve found that the term Nave Tonda may describe not only a Cocca as a Carraca (or carrack) - meaning a round ship for commercial purpose - I´ve devised my plans to stick to the Cocca, traditionally following the line from the cog. The ship as it is will have the lines as the image that follows;
 

Corel´s picture shows us this:

Have to say I don´t like those white lines and will be searching if it would be changed. I´m still thinking on changing it to an earlier version, maybe taking out a mast among other things. I´ll be scavenging images, iconography and such. Meanwhile I´m starting to build since I don´t see any major changes on frames and planking - it´s a carvel type ship, rounded at the bow, which will make me have some work bending the wood to fit it. The kit seems to lead me there without too much trouble, but I´m always open to tips and discussing data (thanks again, Steven).
 
Now, here comes my progress, so far:
 
I planned first on opening my decks, always to give space for cabins and such, as I find the lack of details in kits a real pain. In order to do this, I mounted the pieces and searched for all interferences I could see; marked them on plans, marked them on the pieces and got some cutting.
 

 

 
 
After some glue, could see I would have to be more carefull with angles, since sanding alone wasn´t enough to give that edge. After the first frames were glued, I begun to work on the blocks that came with the kit to help planking the steep bow. That made my hands hurt, they´re still hurting - I tried two processes - to sand it from the start and to cut it before hand. Well, the second process went really faster, but got some minor imperfections due to my inability using the saw.
 

 
Then proceeded to glueing more frames till now. Last picture shows my workbench in it´s typical mess.
 



 
And that´s all, for now. ^^
 
 
 
 
 

Several years later I returned to this model and I did some "improvements" to it. Here is how it looks now.
Alexandru

Painted and ready for shading.

And I found places for my previous zombie helmsmen . . . pushing it a bit, but it would be a shame to waste them.


 
Steven

And they're done (except for thinning the legs a bit, and a bit of sanding and painting). I think the stance is wide enough. If not, too bad. I've spent so much time and effort getting them the way I want them, particularly the grip on the tiller, that this will have to do.
 
Roughed out:
   
And finished.
   

Separated, and hair carved:



And trimmed. I pride myself that my figures should be able to stand upright all by themselves, and usually I manage it. And two other crewmen I'd also carved (not sure if I posted them at the time) working on the rigging.
 



I need to cut a little bit away at the base of the helmsmen's feet. At the moment they look like they're from the 70's with platform shoes.
 
And then that's all the carving done.
 
Steven
 
 
 

A-a-a-and - the hull is off the jig. I ended up having to pull the jig apart to get the ship out, but worth it. Then I had to do some correction. The pegs are gluing into the correct position some frames that were angled incorrectly (not perpendicular to the keel).




Then onto making stringers to make the structure more rigid, and deck beams. Here's my poor man's plank bender (a cheap soldering iron) to get them the right shape.

And here are the first bits of deck beam - or are they stringers? I've sort of lost track. (one of them is to be cut up to provide pieces of stringer for the bow or stern, which explains the complex curve).

Gluing complete - here she is without the pegs.



Adding stringers at the turn of the bilge. There'll be corresponding wales on the outside of the hull, and there'll be strengthening stringers and wales where the second and third futtocks join, and a wale in line with the clamp.

The mosaics seem to show a reasonable number of wales, as do the near-contemporary picture from the History of Genoa and the carvings on the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
 

 
  
 
View from the bow.

I'd miscalculated the length of the clamps, so they didn't quite reach the breast hooks. Because they didn't meet the rigidity of the hull was lessened, so I glued bits of wood into the gaps to make each assembly effectively a single strong unit.
   
Smoothing off the pieces that fill the gaps.
 

Still some tidying up and smoothing off to do. They won't be visible under the deck, but I'll know if I don't do it right.
 
And the stringers lined up with the join in the futtocks. They will be curved to follow the line of the join.

Like this . . .

And that's it for today . . .
 
Steven
 

A bit of an update. Still at the fiddly stage - I need to secure the frames so I can take the model out of the jig - at the moment they're held only at the keel. So I've been cutting and bending the clamps to take the deck beams. With clamps in place, the frames will be securely attached to the hull and connected to each other so they don't move.

But first, the frames at bow and stern. These were mostly shaped by guesswork, and I was prepared to take them out again and re-think the shapes if needed. And I did on the last two at each end.

This is a bamboo batten to see if the gunwale will work with the end frames.

Clamps bent and the larboard one temporarily in place.

 

Clamps bent to take the shape at bow and stern.

The piece of wood wasn't quite long enough for the clamp to reach the whole length of the vessel.

However, I'd forgotten I had to make breast hooks as well. And they will take the place of the clamps at both ends, so the clamps will be long enough after all.
 
I also faired the inside of the end frames - it was easier than I'd expected, just using fairly fine sandpaper. But I forgot to take photos of them. (The frames for the rest of the hull really didn't need fairing on the inside because the curve was very gentle.)
 
The breast hooks were made from a forked branch from a tree that died in the garden (an apricot, it was), so the grain followed the arms of the breast hook. There was quite a bit of trial and error getting them exactly the right shape to fit against the frames. But I must have done something wrong, because two of my first three attempts broke in half while I was working on them. I think I cut the fork at the wrong place. However, I finally made a couple that seem to be working ok. Here's the bow breast hook complete, and the stern one in progress.

And I had to duplicate Woodrat's strategy in putting triangular section pieces between the floor timbers and the stem and stern posts to follow their curve, so I can drill through and fix them securely. Not sure if the photos really show it very well. They're pretty tiny.
 

 

And finally, I've put in the filler blocks that create the slots for the mast steps.

That's all for now.
 
Steven
 

I've been working on jigs of various types to enable me to do the framing and keep it straight and square. There's been a bit of experimentation involved, some of which I cancelled because I'd found a better way, others because I hadn't thought far enough ahead and had to undo things because they got in the way of other things.
 
First, emulating Woodrat's 14th century round ship build, I made a cut-out template of the hull shape with slots for the ends of the frames, superimposed over a base to take the keel and the bottoms of the frames. Aren't photocopiers wonderful! Those scrawled figures are the overall widths of the frames, worked out by the mezza luna method (thanks, Woodrat!)

And here's how I intended to support the keel - version 1. The thin masonite strips ('packers' as used in the building trade) have nice vertical sides and are thin enough to let the keel stick out above them a little. The truncated triangles at the ends are right-angled, to keep the stem and sternposts exactly vertical.

And a piece to slide along the keel (it has cut-outs at the bottom to fit over the keel and the masonite packers) to ensure the frames are vertical and at right angles to the keel.

A jig to keep the frames vertical while I drill holes for pins to hold them to the keel (they'll be both pinned and glued). This is different from Woodrat's method, as I'll (hopefully - see below) be using a drill press to make sure the drill bit is vertical. I used bits of scrap wood but they have nice vertical edges.

The upper template held above the lower with long bolts. The sliding jig had to be cut down shorter to pass between the upper and lower templates.


A lot of mucking around in this procedure - on the first bolts I bought the thread didn't go all the way along the shank - something I hadn't noticed when I bought them. So I had to go and get new ones that did. But there weren't enough nuts with the bolts - I'll have to go and get some more to screw the tops of the bolts down on top of the upper template. I also found the triangles I'd made to keep the stem and sternposts vertical GOT IN THE WAY, so I removed them and discovered that the bolts were doing the job very nicely, so they weren't needed after all.
 
Now I have to wait for the rain to go away. My shed has a drill press but no power (can't fit it in the budget at the moment) so I have to string a power cord from the house to the shed if I want to use power tools. And electricity and water aren't a very good combination.
 
In between times, I've pencil-marked the locations of the wales and the deck beams on each frame, as well as the location of the proposed holes for the pins to hold them to the keel. I've also pencil-marked the locations of the frames on the keel itself, so I can do the corresponding holes for the pins.
 
There's quite a bit of drilling to be done before I can move on to the next step, but it's nice feeling I'm making progress, however slow.
 
Steven

Yes, I see them now you point them out! Naturally my question was prompted by wanting to do the floor timbers and get them right.
 
BTW, as far as strange ways of fitting mast steps, at least one of the Yenikapi ships had a mast step that was totally free-floating - not fixed to the hull at all! No idea how they made that work.
 
Now some progress on the model.
 
On coming back to it after several weeks, I decided the hull was too tubby and re-calculated the shape using the Mezza Luna method. You can see the new outline offset somewhat from the original. (sorry, it's a really rubbish photo).

Using My Precious, I cut a bunch of futtocks and then smoothed them off, as being very inexperienced with my new toy I cut well outside the lines:
 

Then I cut out the parts of the keel and stem and sternposts. And courtesy of the local Men's Shed I was able to smooth them down with their nice disc sander. (When you asked me earlier if I had one, I thought you meant a sanding disc, such as you'd attach to an electric drill. I've certainly got one of those, but the disc sander is so much better.) And yes, there's a very mild catenary to the keel.

And I cut and smoothed off all the rest of the futtocks. 

That still leaves the floor timbers, and the frames for the bow and stern to do, but it's good having finished this part of the project. It means I'm now free to go ahead with the next steps.
 
Steven
 
 
 
Steven

I finally got to use my Birthday Present  - My Precious. (We gots it on Our birthday, Precious).
 


And I made sawdust!
 


 
I hope to get more exact with my sawing, but I'm pretty happy with my first attempt. And I can always smooth the cut pieces down to shape.
 
I'm currently designing a couple of jigs - one to assemble the frames from the futtocks and another to put the completed frames onto the keel. The first one will blatantly steal the idea from Woodrat's 14th century Venetian Round Ship build log. Here's the second jig, drawn on Sketchup.
 


 
The keel and its supports are the white and yellow bits running across the drawing. The two yellowish pieces with the curved cut-outs are for the frames to rest against - they slide in and out between the purple guides  (to allow for the narrower frames as we go fore and aft from the master frame). And the Pink and brown things are the two halves of an assembled master frame.
 
 
More anon.
 
Steven
 
Steven
 
 

In the church of San Marco (Saint Mark's) in Venice is a series of mosaics celebrating the so-called "translation" of the body of Saint Mark from Alexandria to Venice, where he became the city's Patron Saint.
 
"According to legend, Saint Mark’s body was taken from Alexandria, Egypt, in 828. Two Venetian merchants travelling in Alexandria, obtained the relics of Saint Mark from Priests at the church of Saint Mark, where the saint’s body was interred. The Priests feared Saint Mark’s relics might be damaged or destroyed by the Saracens during the persecution of the Catholic community in Alexandria. Promising to safeguard the Saint’s relics, the merchants convinced the Priests to allow them  to return to Venice with the body of Saint Mark.
The body of Saint Mark was taken out of the sarcophagus and unwrapped from its silk shroud, the relic being substituted by another and less eminent Saint. It was then placed in a chest and taken on board the Venetian ship, the merchants first ensuring, that the Saint’s remains were covered by a layer of pork and cabbage. When the Muslim officials asked to inspect the chest, they cried out ‘Kanzir, kanzir’ (Oh horror) at the sight and smell of the pork. . . . Thus the Evangelist was safely conveyed to Venice but not before a number of miracles eased his passage across the Mediterranean.”
 
There are five mosaic panels showing the ship itself at various stages of the voyage. They are all very much the same - three masted, lateen rigged, with two side-rudders - but with minor variations in the shape of the aftercastle, the stempost, the line of the gunwale etc. Some of these variations don't make a lot of sense and I am going to have to reconcile them and come up with a version that I'm happy with.
 

 
 

 
This is a rather difficult ship to get a good concept of, but I was inspired by a couple of sketches on a Facebook forum by Wagdemar Lookomsky (I hope he doesn't mind me posting them here) which finally suggested a configuration for this ship that made sense. 
 

 
 

 
I'll be using these as a basis for my own reconstruction, but I won't be copying them exactly.
 
I will be basing the hull shape mainly on that of the 14th century Contarina ship which Woodrat has already used for his 14th century Venetian Round Ship (see https://modelshipworld.com/topic/17991-venetian-round-ship-13th-century-by-woodrat-132-scale-fully-framed-completed/ ) and I will be shamelessly copying much of his technique in building my own (though at a smaller scale).
 
However, this is at the research stage at the moment. First I want to get a lot more done on my Great Harry restoration, which as languished while I built my nef.
 
But this is a bit of a heads-up for those who are interested.
 
Steven
 

Summary of the Construction of the Hull
On a  building board with the plan of the ship glued, the keel was erected.

Stem and stern posts were scarfed onto the keel.
At this stage the shape of the master frame was determined by geometric technique of the manuscript Libro de Navigar.
 
The master frame is fixed to the keel

 
A special jig was made to allow assemblages of frames with different amounts of floor narrowing

Tail-frames and every fifth frame attached to the keel.

Intermediate frames are inserted to complete the main hull framing.
 

Ribbands between the hull, stem and sternposts are used to fashion the bow and stern frames.
                                 
Internal stringers and deck clamps are installed and longitudinal wales.
This completes summary of the framing of the hull
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
The Quarter Rudders
Mediterranean vessels of the 13th century followed the ancient practice of having two rudders on each of the vessel’s quarters. The shape of these rudders is well known from contemporary pictures and recent discoveries in the Black Sea and elsewhere have confirmed the accuracy of these pictures. In essence, the quarter rudders need to have a mechanism to allow raising and lowering of the rudder. For instance, when heeled over under sail it was a common practice to raise the weather rudder and to steer by the lee rudder. A tiller was slotted into the upper end of the rudder. In addition, because there is considerable lateral force on the rudder, this must be resisted. In order to allow raising and lowering and resist lateral force, a system of curved rudder guides was built into the quarter of the ship and rigging designed to achieve this. The rigging is shown diagrammatically and the rudder guides as constructed on the model::
                        
 
The rudder in raised position:
The timoneer’s position is  in front of the sterncastle
The Deck furniture
 
The Pumps
These ships were probably fitted with log pumps. So called because the longitudinal element was made from a single log hollowed out by large augers . The pump mechanism was and expanding leather cone lifted by hand and predating  chain pumps by centuries.
This example was found in the Newport ship 
These are the pumps in the model
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Windlass
The use of simple windlasses is well attested but probably not capstans. I doubt that pawls were installed at this early stage.

 
 
 
 
Masting and Rigging of the Round Ship will be summarised in the next post
 
 
 

I have made a new home for the vessel whom I now name La Serenissima

 

 

 

 
Cheers
Dick