G. Delacroix

Hello, The ship is drawn according to its state in 1854. Some explanations on the plan. Building this "monster" is a gigantic task that will require a lot of knowledge that apparently you do not have. Quite a challenge! Look here: 118 canons GD

hello, Here is a photo of the 18-pounder carronades that equip the model of La Toulonnaise at the Musée de la Marine in Paris.

Hello Mark I will have the opportunity to meet Didier Berti (the boss of ANCRE) on October 19 and 20 at the Evian exhibition. I will talk to him about your problem. If you want to detail your request here or in PM, I can inform him more precisely. GD

Hello, I cannot tell you about the current projects at Editions ANCRE because the few authors (we are only three...) rarely communicate with each other. I have no idea what monograph JC Lemineur is working on and even if he has a project in progress. Since F. Fissore has specialized in small Italian ships, I doubt that he will propose a substantial monograph on a ship in the French Navy. On the other hand, Didier Berti, the boss of ANCRE, does not "request" a monograph on this or that ship but is content to publish and ensure the distribution of the books. It is therefore the authors, and they alone, who determine their future studies. On the three wishes that you have expressed, (and without coming out of Aladdin's lamp), I can give you the following details. - L' Unité, La Tourterelle: it so happens that I had started the study of this corvette in parallel with my current project. It is the latter that currently occupies me and probably for several more years. This corvette could indeed make the connection between the two other corvettes of the collection, i.e. between L' Amarante of 1744 and La Créole of 1838 and I have long noticed this "gap" between the two periods. For a future project perhaps. - La Renommée/La Romaine: these two frigates are structurally very similar since they were built about ten years apart and their framework, since that is what interests you, is not really very far apart. The problem lies rather in the fact that these two 18/24 frigates are of the same generation as L' Egyptienne whose monograph was published less than five years ago. Frankly, I dont see myself doing a study on a ship almost similar to the one studied so recently. The time needed to study a ship is significant, of the order of three to four years. This is why it is necessary to make a judicious choice in the projects and I try to produce unpublished monographs on little-studied subjects. My current occupations apply to a ship few represented in the French Navy, it is an artillery pram otherwise called floating battery. The construction is very atypical as I like them but on the other hand, it is a very complicated frame both to study it and to build it for the (I hope) future models. This ship dates from 1760 but you can see one of its "sister-ships" a little later here: https://mnm.webmuseo.com/ws/musee-national-marine/app/collection/record/9024 GD

Hello, There is a very detailed monograph about galleys at Ancre Publications. And a version translated into English. Here : https://ancre.fr/en/monograph/106-la-fleur-de-lis-galere-1690.html GD

Hello, The recommendations of captains upon returning from campaigns were normally followed if they did not entail excessive expenses. For a false keel 11 cm thick (the ship is small), it is within the realm of possibility. Real anti-drift keels did not appear until the end of the 18th century. The experience acquired on one construction must logically appear on subsequent constructions but, at the time, ships were built by several different builders and each applied their own experience. The false keel is a minor part which often appears as natural in the construction of the hull even if it is not mentioned in the specifications. GD

Hello The false keel is used to preserve the keel and to prevent a little the leeway (the drift). On French ships, it is generally only 4 to 5 inches (French) thick, or approximately 11/14 cm. This value does not affect the draft value significantly. On the other hand, its protective role is very important. However, you should know that not all ships have a false keel. In the report published at the end of the monograph, there is no mention of gripe, it does not exist in the French navy. The text cites an iron stirrup intended to prevent the rudder from being engaged by an anchor cable. We can also observe this stirrup on the plans of the monograph. GD

The curvature of the rail is very elegant, well done! GD

Hello, The monograph of "L'Invention" has only been published for 6 months, there is still no model to my knowledge. The prototype models which are detailed in photos in my monographs are of course finished after publication. But, for "L'Invention" and "L'Egyptienne", there is no prototype model. The model by Greg will therefore be the first whose construction will be published. For "L'Egyptienne", there are several models under construction by members of my forum, including this one made with great talent: https://5500.forumactif.org/t3726-l-egyptienne-au-1-48-mes-debuts-en-arsenal GD

I don't know the exact term in English because I find several translations but I think it's cable-laid or cablete or wharp. In reality, it's three hawsers layed together.

In the rigging specifications for a 27-foot-wide corvette from 1810 (L'Echo), it is indicated that the sheets and tacks are made of cable, ("grelin" in French, i.e. 3 x 3).

I'm even certain of it, the basic thread of the ropes, that is to say the rope yarn, is soaked in hot vegetable tar before being worked into larger diameters. This is the basis of tarred ropes. I only indicated that the standing rigging was tarred occasionally, never the running rigging. This is the reason for its lighter shade in addition to wear. The color is a rather dark reddish-brown without being black. In the 1850s, lampblack was added to make vegetable tar darker. It is in these years that we will begin to use mineral tar, coal tar and later petroleum tar. The strops are part of the standing rigging, they had to be tarred from time to time.

Hello, I just want to specify that all the ropes are tarred, I mean all of them. Running rigging becomes slightly lighter as it is maneuvered, wears down, and especially as it passes through the pulleys. The standing rigging remains dark especially as it is re-tarred from time to time without any wear. GD

Hello, Very good choice, I can't wait to discover this yard that is, for the moment, unpublished. All my encouragement goes with you GD

Hello, Congratulations on obtaining these awards, they demonstrate the quality of your model's execution as well as the application and value of your work. For your next model, I take the liberty of recommending L'Invention, which will be much simpler than L'Egyptienne. This beautiful frigate is truly a big ship with all the complexity of the work of carpentry, artillery and decoration that this implies. The Invention is structurally simpler without being easy but, to my taste, it has the advantage of novelty both in the world of model making and in the innovations it brings for the time of its construction. Moreover, it is an opening towards the clippers which will succeed it fifty years later. Whatever you decide, I have no doubt that your project will succeed. And thank you for the citation and the compliments. GD

Hello, In English "canal des anguillers" can be translated by: limber-holes. GD

Your example shows a triangular shape that indeed existed. For the period concerned (end of the 18th century), the size of the sail surprisingly increased until arriving at that which is illustrated in the drawing just above.. Towards the first third of the 19th century, it will return to a more reasonable size. Here is an extract of the sail plan of a corvette, we can see the large surface of this sail. GD

This is the main topmast staysail, quite common at the end of the 18th century. More visible here: GD

Hello, I just found this in my archives, if it helps you, circa 1830: GD

Hello, Concerning the height of Le Mercure deck under the forecastle, I checked in the monograph and, measured on the plan, it is 5 feet 1 inches (0.325 m French feet) from plank to plank. This gives a height of 1.68 m. In his "Traité de Construction" dated circa 1730, the period that interests us, Blaise Ollivier gives, for merchant ships, a height of "4 feet to 4 feet 10 inches / 5 feet above the deck" (still French feet). And this height is also present in the description of small frigates. Jean Boudriot therefore applied the current practices at that time to make his drawings. Often, information from the past surprises us and we tend to think of an error. By cross-checking the data, we realize that this is not the case and above all that our mind is not adapted to the criteria of the time. I think you have been badly advised because there is documentation on the frigates of the time much more suitable than Le Mercure for your reconstitution. Sorry Johannes for this drift of the subject. GD

Hello, "Trust but verify"... First, verify your own knowledge in this field, where your culture is obviously very superficial and does not allow you to judge objectively the work of Jean Boudriot, who is otherwise recognized as one of the great, if not the greatest, specialist in French naval archaeology. Using the construction plans of a merchant ship to deduce those of a 40-gun frigate is a very hazardous venture whose credibility can be seriously questioned. But everyone has the right to be wrong. GD

Hello, At that time, the studding sail boom is either placed at 45° or forward to the yardarm in order to slide into this fittings :

Hello, Please note that the cleats on the yardarms are not square, they have this shape (the front part of the yard is at the top of the picture): Example on Le Rivoli : GD

Hello, I am pleased to announce you the publication of my twelfth monograph which is about a four-masted privateer ship: "L'Invention". Built in Bordeaux in 1799/1800, she is of an innovative design for the time with her pioneering hull design with very tapered lines and her unique four-masted rigging. These major innovations were far ahead of the clippers that would follow her a few decades later. It presents the characteristics of ships specifically built to be armed as privateers. Booklet 23x31cm, 130 pages and 34 large format plans. Available in English translated by Anthony Klouda, Editions ANCRE. Gérard Delacroix

Hello, Nice work but be careful, the axis of the hawses must be parallel to the keel. GD