Search the Community

I completed La Nina in 2019 and am currently building HMS Victory 1805. I am building the Victory in New Hampshire. I travel south in the Winter and Victory is too big to take a long. So while I am south I will build smaller, less complicated ships. Santa Maria is my choice. I am only in New Jersey now to see a couple of doctors. The coronavirus is worse here in New Jersey and we are better off in New Hampshire. We also have a grandson graduating from high school and we are going to congratulate him, unfortunately at a distance. So for a start I am putting the basic drawing in along with the frames on the keel. I see already that a frame is below the keel and will have to remedy that along with truing the frames in general. I did not bring my shipyard for this short trip so I will only have this entry for now. I will be back here in November and resume the Santa Maria. Sorry about feet.

Un po' per curiosità, un po' per passione condivisa con tante persone, provo ad aprire questo wip su questo sito, (non so se la scrittura in italiano, l' unica lingua che conosco "abbastanza" bene, provocherà dei problemi per comunicare con gli altri, ma proviamo a vedere cosa succede, io ho messo il traduttore in automatico... vediamo se potete farlo anche voi ) si tratta della costruzione della caracca Santa Maria, forse uno dei modelli maggiormente realizzati da quasi tutti i modellistici, i piani di costruzione sono allegati nel libro " Le navi di Colombo" di Heinrich Winter, si tratta di un sei tavole in scala 1/50 nel quale viene riportata la "caracca" (nao) di Cristoforo Colombo, o almeno, uno dei tentativi di riportare, come doveva essere la "nao" di Cristoforo, con la quale nel 1492 attraverso l' oceano Atlantico con l' intento di scoprire le Indie..... altro libro che ho e nel quale vengono riportati altri esempi di disegni sulla caravella è "The ship of Christopher Columbus" di Xavier Pastor, il libro di Winter lo avevo da diversi anni, ma non ero particolarmente attratto dal modello, uno tra i piu' classici modelli, e per di piu' di una nave "tonda" cosa che non lega o meglio legava con il mio gusto, perchè fino ad oggi avevo realizzato modelli di nave "lunghe", ma c'è sempre una prima volta... anche perché la realizzazione della caracca non è particolarmente complessa e questo modello mi permette di ripartire con la realizzazione di un altro modello in un periodo nel quale ho poco tempo, per cui la decisione di partire con questo modello è stata presa non tanto per la realizzazione stessa, ma per il "bisogno" di ripartire,,, per cui mi sono messo a guardare le tavole realizzate da Adametz, nelle quali viene riportato anche la costruzione di un particolare "scaletto" per la messa in opera delle ordinate sulla chiglia e il fasciame, cosa che ho realizzato scrupolosamente, e che non avevo mai trovato in altri piani costruttivi in pratica sullo scaletto verrà realizzata in maniera "capovolta" la parte iniziale della realizzazione del modello, con le ordinate che andranno ad aderire alle battute riportate sullo scaletto, almeno l'intento dovrebbe essere questo.......vedremo saluti a tutti luponero

Hey! No need to write a history of this model. This is my first wooden ship build ever. I bought this kit from a local shop in my city. I had no idea where I was getting into! First look inside: Work of first evening: It was a really tedious process to sand all the edges: I had to get some power tools in order to sand trickier parts: I have made clamps from document clams (similar to Amatis https://store.amatimodel.com/en/tools-and-equipment-parts-per-model/product-clamp-set-b7377.html) Getting first planks in place was difficult since I was doing that first time. I had to read and watch lots of videos to understand all the techniques. Props for this forum and written guides! I was really surprised that I my planking speed was 2 planks / hour. I was using hot water and soldering iron to get planks into the shape. Dremel tool was a huge help shaping this line: Starting to look like a ship: I saw no point covering back of the ship with these planks, but instructions showed that I have to do it: It took a while until I have prepared hull for second planking, but it is smooth as butter now: Started second planking:

SANTA MARIA 1492 - ARTESANIA LATINA - 1:65 Topic Contents I. A bit of research II. Kit Review III. Frame Assembly IV. Main Deck V. Main Deck Front Wall VI. Bulwarks VII. Quarter Deck I. A bit of Research Content : Introduction History of the Ship Historical Context About The Ship Replicas Quadricentennial, 1892 Expo Iboamerica, 1929 New-York World Fair, 1964 West Edmonton Mall, 1986 Quincentennial, 1991 Madeira Wine Expo, 1998 525th Anniversary, 2018 Model Kits Introduction Hello Everyone, Here I start my first build log of my first wood ship model... I have some experience in modeling plastic aircraft and got recently into wood modeling with the Wright Flyer from Guillow's. I really enjoyed this wood modeling experience and decided to go to the next level with a real ship model (Covid lockdown being also a great help to find free time !..). For more introduction : So after looking on the forum and the internet, and given my modeling experience and budget, I decided to go with the Santa Maria which looked something not too complicate at a beginning but still presenting some challenges...let see if I was right... I will rely mainly on two builds completed on this forum of the same kit, one by Katsumoto and one by Moonbug : History of the Ship Historical Context In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed a small fleet of three small ships west from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to find a shorter route to the riches of Asia. Before his voyages, Chinese and Indian luxuries for European markets were transported over the long and hazardous overland route through Arabia. The Santa Maria and Columbus’s other fleet members the Niña and the Pinta were older ships used for coastal trading rather than vessels designed for ocean crossings. Nine weeks after the little fleet left Spain, land was sighted in the Caribbean on 12 October 1492, but exactly which island Columbus’s crew first spotted remains disputed. The fleet went on to explore the north coasts of the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola (now Haiti). On the return trip, on 24 December (1492), not having slept for two days, Columbus decided at 11:00 p.m. to lie down to sleep. The night being calm, the steersman also decided to sleep, leaving only a cabin boy to steer the ship, a practice which the admiral had always strictly forbidden. With the boy at the helm, the currents carried the ship onto a sandbank, running her aground off the present-day site of Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. It sank the next day. The ship’s timbers were salvaged and used to build a small fort on shore. Fortunately for Columbus, he was able to return to Spain on the Niña. Instead of Asia, Columbus had landed in the Caribbean islands on his first voyage. Although they were already inhabited, he claimed them for Spain. Columbus made three more voyages to the western hemisphere between 1493 and 1504. Waves of conquerors and colonists—both free and enslaved—followed. What was a triumph for Spain became a catastrophe for native peoples. New livestock, plants, diseases, and beliefs unsettled centuries-old communities and ecosystems, changing and destroying the lives of millions. About the ship The three-masted vessel Santa Maria was the largest of Columbus’s expeditionary vessels and his flagship. Measuring around 70 feet in length, it carried a crew of 40 men. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa. She was built in Pontevedra, Galicia, in Spain's north-west region. Santa Maria was probably a medium-sized nau (Carrack), about 58ft long on deck, and according to Juan Escalante de Mendoza in 1575, SM was "very little larger than 100 toneladas" (about 100 tons, or tuns). There is very little historical evidence regarding exactly what the "Santa Maria" looked like, or how it was built. There was little to no documentation regarding ship building in 1492, and this ship was scuttled and its lumber used for shelter not long after its initial voyage. Replicas Interest in reconstructing the Santa María started in the 1890s for the 400th anniversary of Columbus's voyage. In an effort to reproduce history, the "Santa Maria" has suffered six major Spanish versions, and one American. Little is definitively known about the actual dimensions of Santa María, since no explicit documentation has survived from that era. Since the 19th century, various notable replicas have been publicly commissioned or privately constructed. These opinions are not entirely uneducated. A number of shipwrecks of naos have been investigated, from which verisimilar general measurements could be made, and there are some statements from the literature from which dimensions can be deduced. Whether Morison, a former admiral in the United States Navy, is bringing realism to the topic, or is being perhaps slightly more skeptical than is warranted, is a matter of opinion. There is one sense in which none of the "replicas" replicate an ancient ship: the concessions to the conveniences of the modern world, especially on the ships meant actually to sail. These are well-hidden: it might be an engine, or modern rudder machinery in a closed compartment, or communications equipment. No modern sailors are expected to undergo the hardships of a 15th-century voyage. They have bunks where Columbus' sailors slept on the deck, and modern stoves instead of cooking fires on the deck. In case of emergencies, help is a radio call away. The Renaissance seamen risked life and limb, and some died on every voyage. They feared going to sea, and if they did go, feared to get out of sight of land. 1. Quadricentennial, 1892 In 1892 the naval historian, Fernandez Duro, modelled the ship as a Nao - A carrack or nau was a three- or four-masted sailing ship developed in 15th century Western Europe for use in the Atlantic Ocean. It had a high rounded stern with large aftcastle, forecastle and bowsprit at the stem. It was first used by the Portuguese (its creators), and later by the Spanish, to explore and map the world. It was usually square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast and lateen-rigged on the mizzenmast. Unfortunately, Fernandez Duro made a fundamental error as result of an erroneous reading of Columbus's log. It was also criticized as being too ornamented for the period. 2. Expo Iboamerica, 1929 In 1929, the second attempt to recreate the ship was by Julio Guillen Tato, known as the Guillen version. This reproduction for the Expo was controversially designed as a Caravel - a small, highly maneuverable ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. Caravels were much used by the Portuguese for the oceanic exploration voyages during the 15th and 16th centuries. Tato's reproduction sailed badly and ended up a wreck. 3. New-York World Fair, 1964 Ninety feet long, weighting 110 tons, the vessel was constructed in Barcelona after years of research in museums and naval archives, and brought to the United States on the deck of a freighter. Her architect was Jose Maria Martinez-Hidalgo, curator of the Maritime Museum of Barcelona, Spain; his consultant was Colonel Howard I. Chapelle, chief of the Naval and Transportation Section of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. 4. West Edmonton Mall, 1986 A replica was built during 1986 World Exposition held in Vancouver, Canada, the theme of which was "Transportation and Communication: World in Motion - World in Touch". It was anchored in "Deep Sea Adventure Lake" at West Edmonton Mall. Built at False Creek in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ship was hand-carved and hand-painted, and then transported by flatbed trucks across the Rocky Mountains to Edmonton, Alberta. 5. Quincentennial, 1991 A replica, depicted as a Carrack, was commissioned by the city of Columbus, Ohio. It was built by the Scarano Brothers Boat Building Company in Albany, New York, who later cut the ship in half and transported it by truck to the Scioto River. The replica cost about 1.2 million dollars. The ship was constructed out of white cedar as opposed to an oak wood used on the original to give the ship a long life in the Scioto River and to reduce cost. The main mast was carved out of a single douglas fir tree and was equipped with a top sail (since removed). The replica was declared by Jose Maria Martinez-Hidalgo, a Spanish marine historian, to be the most authentic replica of the Santa María in the world during the ship's coronation on 12 October 1991. Dana Rinehart, the 50th mayor of Columbus, christened the ship as part of the 500th anniversary of its voyage. The ship was removed from its moorings in 2014, cut into 10 pieces, and stored in a lot south of the city, pending funding to do repairs and restorations. 6. Madeira Wine Expo, 1998 A functional replica was built on the island of Madeira, between July 1997 and July 1998, in the fishing village of Câmara de Lobos. The ship is 22 m (72 ft) long and 7 m (23 ft) wide. In 1998 Santa María represented the Madeira Wine Expo 98 in Lisbon, where she was visited by over 97,000 people in 25 days. Since then thousands more have sailed and continue to sail aboard that Santa María replica which is located in Funchal. 7. 525th Anniversary, 2018 The Nao Victoria Foundation has built in 2018 the replica of the historical Nao Santa María. The construction of the ship has been carried out respecting its forms and details with historical rigor, applying an innovative and revolutionary system in the shipbuilding sector of historical replicas of these characteristics, which combines the construction in fiberglass and its lining of wood. It is a novel technique that represents a huge advance in terms of environmental impact, costs, durability and maintenance of the ship. The work has lasted approximately 12 months, and the launching is scheduled for the beginning of March 2017 Built in the Punta Umbría shipyards, it employs about one hundred professionals of different profiles: workers from the Puntaumbrieño shipyard, craftsmen, carpenters or rope makers, mechanics or electricians, forming a large multidisciplinary team of work, together with historians, engineers and builders, who are involved in the planning of the first plans of the replica designing the forms and measurements of the ship. Sources : Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_María_(ship) Fundation Nao Victoria https://www.fundacionnaovictoria.org/replica-nao-santa-maria/ Fundation Larramendi http://www.larramendi.es/fundacion/guillen-tato-estudio/ West Edmonton Mall https://www.wem.ca/play/attractions/marine-life/experiences/santa-maria New York World Fair 1964 http://nywf64.com/sanmar01.shtml Model Kits I recense below the most famous kits available in scale 1:65 or larger, but there are a lot of ther existing. I decided to go with the Artesania Latina one, since there was a lot of material and build logs available for this version. - Amati, 1:65 - https://store.amatimodel.com/fr/modeles-amati-classique/produit-santa-maria-b1409.html - Mantua, 1:50 - https://www.mantuamodel.co.uk/products/ship-kits/mantua/459/santa-maria-1492-detail - Artesania Latina, 1:65 - https://www.amazon.fr/Artesania-Latina-Santa-22411-65-Véhicules/dp/B000L4IKV6

Just recieved 2 model ships from my grandfather and would like to try and restore it. Would love any tips on cleaning, finding or making new parts, painting, etc... Any tip on any part of restoration would be much appreciated.

So here I start another Build Log... This being my 3rd wooden model ship started, and only one being completed (the first perhaps a little bit over my head), I purchased this model kit on Ebay for a very good price about 20 months ago and actually only began this kit in the late fall last year. At first I was not going to do a build log as I always find my time limited with regards to posting progress and updates but given the lack of build logs for this particular Mamoli kit (another one, the first on this forum, just recently started this last month), I thought I would start one. I have always found the age of Exploration of the most interest, and especially with regards to Christopher Columbus... and that being said here is the token picture of the opened box.

This is my first build ever, which I've been working on for a looooooooooooooong time now. I've had so much trouble building this thing, and I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but I think its turned out pretty well so far. I've finished basically everything now other than putting the sails up. I lost a bunch of pictures I had of the progress of the build, so I don't have nearly as many pictures as most people here. Since my older pics aren't great I'm only posting pics of where the build is at now. I won't finish any more for a while since I'm going away to school tomorrow. Hopefully I can get something done around xmas.

I started this build 6 years ago, got the hull bone and then stuff in life started ! Now my kids are 18 and 17 i finaly have time on my hands .....yay ! So i dicided i'd start builing again , since my restart ive spent about 20 hours on my ship i'll poste pics tonight . Cheers André

Click on the tags in the title above (shown in black) for an instant list of all the build logs for that kit subject.

Click on the tags in the title above (shown in black) for an instant list of all the build logs for that kit subject.

Click on the tags in the title above (shown in black) for an instant list of all the build logs for that kit subject.

After HMS Pickle I started Santa Maria kit of Mantua which I bought three years ago. I will modify the kit a little during the construction. Everybody knows about everything Santa Maria. So, no need to tell about her history. I did the framing and glued the main deck in place.

After some thinking I have decided to pick the Santa Maria as my first project. I have some experience in plastic modelling but this is another level. I decided for Amati because I heard good things about this kit manufacturer. This particular kit is specified to be a level 3 difficulty, which means intermediate. Maybe I will struggle a little bit but this is a part of the journey I believe. If I have some issues I will ask for the help of more experienced kit builders so please check my build log. Here it is. The package was more heavy as I expected which is a nice thing. I really prefer the heavier kits. Maybe this is normal for wood but for me coming from plastic models, it is a little bit unusual. I started by studying the plans of the ship and the instruction manual. For now, I understand the process, but there will be some parts where I will need help, especially on the part of the mast and the rigging. I started by carefully cutting out the pieces and numbering them in order to not mess them up later on. After cutting them all out I have inserted them into the keel just to check them out. Obviously I saw some problems with one or two of them as you can see from the picture above. The center bulkhead and the one immediately on his right is not perfectly straight. Another unexpected thing was that one or two of the bulkheads were inserted to the keel with some difficulties and I had a hard time getting the out from the keel. I used a small hammer to get them out... After this I started gluing the bulkheads and attaching them to the keel. I checked their position with a ruler just to be sure that they are straight. After much straightening, I inserted a clip between the two bulkheads and I will let the glue dry for the night.

First ever attempt at a builder's log so please bear with me. This kit is a Plank-on-Bulkhead (POB) kit. First I squared up the keel, stem post and stern post and then glued them together. I then let the assembly set on a 1 X 6 and set another 1 x 6 on top for 24 hours to cure up and to keep the assembly flat. After getting answers to my questions on the stem post and on cutting the rabbit, I dry fit the bulkheads to the keel assembly and marked where the rabbit should be cut. I have removed the bulkheads and will start cutting the rabbits tomorrow. (Have to home school my grandson during the day). My plan is sand it with 100 grit sandpaper glued to a paint stick. Here's how it went so far. So please let me know your thoughts and if I am proceeding correctly. Also noticed the Santa Maria scale was listed as 1:65 but the plans on Sheet 1 (the rigging sheet) says scale is 1:50. I guess this is typical of kits. Thanks, Allen The keel assembly with the bulkhead positions and rabbit line marked. The keel assembly BEFORE the rabbit line drawn in. Stem post with the notorious "staple holes". These hole will not be visible when the hull is completed.

1:100 Santa Maria – First Step Amati Catalogue # 600/03 Available from Euromodels for £69.99 Santa María was built in Pontevedra, Galicia, in Spain's north-west region. She was probably a medium-sized nau (carrack), about 58 ft (17.7 m) long on deck, and according to Juan Escalante de Mendoza in 1575, Santa Maria was "very little larger than 100 toneladas" (about 100 tons, or tuns) burthen, or burden, and was used as the flagship for Columbus’ expedition. Santa María had a single deck and three small masts. She was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa. Courtesy of Wikipedia The kit Everyone has to start somewhere in this hobby, and few manage to build a fully rigged Man ‘O War or clipper without at least some experience of how to work timber etc. Of course, being any sort of modeller who can think on their feet is always an advantage, but there a whole demographic who would like something just to kick-start their passion, whether they are of our generation, or a whole new generation of younger modeller who may progress to the lofty heights you see here on Model Ship World. For that latter group, Amati have their First Step range, and today we take a look at the first of three of these kits that they’ve sent to us for review. Santa Maria is packaged into a small and attractive box with an artwork of a finished model on the lid, and some vessel history on the side. As you can see from the box, this particular model has a length of 28cm, a height of 24cm, and a width of 6cm. So, it’s still a reasonable size. Lifting the lid reveals a set of plans, instruction manual, sail cloth and printed paper sheet for flags, two pre-carved wooden hull halves, a bundle of strip wood, a packet with two MDF laser-cut sheets, a wooden display base, and a whole box of fittings. Unlike your traditional model ship/boat, where you either plank over a series of bulkheads or frames, the Santa Maria comes with two pre-carved hull halves. Looking at the other kits in this range, these halves appear to be of the same shape, but it’s what you add that really makes these models look very different from each other. Note the two holes. These are used to align the halves, and also peg through a centre plate which forms the keel. Instructions will show you how to paint and stain your model when complete. Here you see the main 4mm MDF sheet that contains the main keel/profile with the alignment holes and mast sockets, plus a deck section. Parts are all laser-cut and are clean and precise. Of course, you will need to ensure that any sanding that’s to be done with these parts means you will wear a face mask. Wood dust isn’t great for the respiratory system, but MDF can be particularly bad. Important that youngsters are aware of this. The second and last sheet is also MDF, but 10mm thick. There are ten parts here, for raising up the fore and aft decks, creating the correct shape of this ship and totally transforming the shape of the basic wooden hull halves. When your model is complete, you’ll want to display it properly, and this kit includes a neat wooden base. Nicely turned pedestals are also included that will glue to this and into which the keel will slot. A small bundle of timber is included for masts, spars, wales, bulwarks etc. Timber quality is excellent, as we have come to expect from Amati. These plastic fittings boxes are very common to Amati releases, and even these First Step kits get one, stuffed with goodies to adorn and detail your model. All parts are bagged and compartmentalised, and the clear lid holds tight, keeping everything in place whilst in the kit box. Unlike other kits, this one has a brown plastic-moulded grating which you will need to cut to the required size. Note the mast top/crow’s nest is manufactured from a piece of turned walnut and is silky smooth to the finish. Some white metal parts are included too, such as doors, windows, and the ship’s launch. Casting is very nice, and with a lick of primer/paint, should look very good once installed. Remember, this is a very small model when complete, and therefore these parts are also small. We also have a packet of nails for general construction. Of course, you will also need an anchor or two. A packet of two is included with this release, complete with wooden stocks and brass ring fittings. The anchors themselves are blackened and ready for use. A couple of small packets contain the decorative shields for the upper, rear exterior bulwarks. These are designed to be painted. Also, we have some small copper and brass fittings, such as rings and eyelets. There are a few small staircases on Santa Maria, and these are cut from these pre-formed lengths of timber. Note also some parts for the windlass and rigging blocks. There are only a couple of the latter, as the model is designed to be simple to build (and rig). Here are the aforementioned turned walnut pedestals onto which you will mount your completed model. These are high quality and require no extra finishing apart from some varnish, perhaps. Only two spools of rigging cord are included, one being in black for the standing rig, and the running rig being in natural colour, as a general rule. You will need to make your own sails, but this is fully explained, and is very simple. Plenty of material is provided for this. For the flags and pennants, a sheet of colour-printed paper is included. You can also go to town with fabric paint and add the familiar Maltese cross to the main sails. Again, this is shown so you can copy from the illustration. One large plan sheet will show you everything you need to know for your build, and everything is simple to follow. Several 1:1 scale images are shown for you to measure against, including the masting diagrams. Amati’s instructions tend to be well illustrated and easy to follow, from my personal experience, with many of the very new kits having the best I’ve ever seen in any of the modelling genres. This kit also has a nicely illustrated manual that takes the construction through in a series of easy to follow steps complete with English text. I can’t see anything here that would thwart even a young modeller, with the various drawings. A handy parts list is also supplied at the end of the manual, which is handy for you to check your supplied parts against. Conclusion These kits fulfil several roles on the market. For me, the first is to introduce a young modeller to our hobby and initiate them with a number of the skills required to advance a little and create more complex results. Another is to allow a modeller who may never have used timber before, to build a very nice replica of a ship and to help them also pursue a line of attack into a more challenging project. Lastly, these could well appeal to a seasoned modeller who fancies a little fun between larger projects and may want to build something they could gift when complete. So many possibilities. The kit itself is actually a high-quality product that is well thought out and executed. There are also some classic vessels in this range too, with something that should appeal to most ship builders, or soon-to-be ship builders. Price-wise, these kits are also relatively inexpensive and will provide a good number of happy hours at the modelling bench. Wherever you are in the hobby, or whether you’re starting out, give one of these a try! I have already given this model kit to a young man who will send me some photos of his progress. I will post them here as he builds this model. My sincere thanks to Amati for the sample reviewed here. To purchase, click the link at the top of this article.

Hi everyone! This will be the build log of my first wooden ship model. It's the Santa Maria by Amati 1:65 scale. I've gathered some tools that i had laying around in the house, especially power tools like a DeWalt cordless drill and a dremel type rotary tool. I think these will come in handy in some parts of the process. Ordered some more tools online, some of them have arrived but some still on the way. As of now i have two types of white wood glue, some industrial strength CA glue, 180 and 400 grit sandpaper, medium/fine/superfine sponge sanding blocks, two 300mm stainless steel rulers one of which is flexible, drill bits varying from 0.3 to 8mm, various sized clamps and clips, an exacto knife, regular cutter, tape measure, nail pushing tool, small and medium wire clippers, sketchbook, needle tweezers. Still waiting to receive a set of precision needle files, a 360 degree rotating vise, a small wood scraper and some sanding rotary tool bits. As i progress through the build and find the need for additional tools i will order them and get the job done. Here's my workbench: So far i got to the point of cutting out the laser cut parts from the plywood boards and trying to fit them together to get an idea about how it will come together and also built some kind of support to hold the keel upright. After fitting the bulkheads on the keel i've instantly noticed that the laser cuttings weren't very precise. The bulkheads have the tendency to lean to the right towards the middle of the ship and that is because the keel has a slight warp in it. I have attempted to straighten in using a flatiron but as it cools down it warps back to the original shape. The warp is not that bad as you can barely see it with the eyes but when laid flat on the table, the bottom part sits flush and the upper part rises about 1-2mm towards the middle of the board. This is after correcting it with the flatiron because before it had a 5mm bend. Also noticed a difference of level between the tops of the bulkheads. Got this fixed by adding some thin pieces of planking material where the bulkheads make contact with the keel, and in some places i had to scrape a bit of material from the contact point in order to lower some bulkheads to sit flush with the top of the keel. This was the initial difference in level and the piece fitted to correct this issue: After applying the corrections it now looks way better and all the bulkheads seem to be of proper height. Here's a view from above and from stern to stem. There is a fair amount of space for the bulkheads to move freely in the slots cut on the keel and i can adjust when gluing to get everything properly lined up. It's looking better already even though nothing's glued in place. One more thing isn't right. One of the bulkheads in the bow area sticks down too much and doesn't follow a straight line with the other bulkheads. This will be an issue when planking because the garboard plank will be pushed downwards at the bow area by this bulkhead. The upper part of this bulkhead is flush with the frame therefore i cannot rise it anymore. What do you suggest doing? Should i sand it down when fairing till it comes to a level with the other bulkheads and use a batten to determine the proper curve? Or should i rise the bulkhead to the point it follows a proper line at the bottom and then sand the top part of the bulkhead till it comes flush again with the frame? I would like to fair the edges and fine tune everything prior to gluing because i will use the small rotary tool with a sanding drum bit to shave most of the material from the bulkheads and then fine sand it to get a perfect surface for the planks to adhere. I am also wondering if the edges where the deck sticks to the bulkheads need fairing because the deck has a slight upwards curvature towards the stem and stern. Any suggestions on how to approach this last issue are welcomed. I won't do any progress until this is solved. Thank you! Romique

Me again! I bought this as a gap filler as I knew I would end up waiting for partworks to arrive and so on. This was also the first model I ever looked at when thinking about taking the plunge into wooden ship modelling years ago. Another good reason for this one is I've nver built a ship with sails, and this is quite simplified so will be a good way to get some experience. If this one turns out ok I might think about building the Nina and the Pinta to go with her. I've not done a great deal yet, just working my way down the keel to about half way so far. I've been bevelling the frames as I go, I personally find it just makes things easier, even more so as I can do the bulk of the removal before fixing the frame in place using a Mouse sander. Yes sort of cheating I know but it works. Progress so far:

Its been about a year since my last post; I've been taking some time off. I had gone full throttle on the SIBs for over a year, and neglected the Ship that launched them all for me. So I eventually decided to complete the restoration on the old Santa Maria. The true provenance of this model isn't fully known: My father, born in 1936, once told me that he built the kit as a boy, but he doesn't rememeber how old he was, or how old the kit was, for that matter. Having survived many moves long before I arrived, I remember the ship presented herself to me only in states of worsening decrepitude. As a boy I remember the tangle of fallen masts and sails, and a big dead moth that resided within that mess for years. She sat like that for decades, with most, but not all, parts junked on the deck. Finally, in preparation for a move in the summer of 2017, we were given an ultimatum: Restore the Ship or let's throw her out! These next shots of her, cleaned up as much as possible, prior to work. The Stern has seen better days. Since this restoration took place over many months - and years in fact- and since part of it took place prior to my membership in MSW, I didn't photograph the restoration in an ongoing manner. In fact, half way through I decided to just show the finished product. Eliminating the need to capture every moment of improvement was much easier for me; and quite franky, since my techniques were largely crude, impulsive, and totally uninformed by any nautical wisdom, I don't think I am depriving anyone of any great techniques. I would be happy to respond to any questions about the hows and whys, and most answers will include: balsa wood, bass wood, cyanoacrylate, acrylic paint, waxed thread, hand drills, and more cyanoacrylate. I started with the hull and all the ribbing - all the easy stuff - just to see how it went. After a few months of hull work. Fortunatley, all masts and spars were present and intact! Many vertical ribs were replaced. Painting the stern windows and gilding. Quarterdeck cleaned and restored as much as possible. Rebuilding the poop deck was what intimidated me the most, and it was unease with this next step that made me take a 2 year break and switch gears towards SIBs in 2018. I wanted to respect the original design: It looked like a wire railing, so I tried to replicated that even though most renditions suggests an all wooden rail. Who knows?!? Shileds on the wire poop deck rail were largely destroyed, so I had to be very creative. At this point in the photos I really skip forward all the way to the sails. Suffice it is to say, I reworked the shrouds and ratlines first. For the sails, I bought some muslin of pleasing color, texture and heft. I extrapolated the design from online pictures. I wish I took more pictures after all the sails were up. They hung there flat and dull. It wasnt literally untill the last 2 days, when I chose to fills the sails with wind, that the model came alive! Dont mind the doll's head, my daughter uses it for braiding practice! Thank you for reading!

I started building this handmade Santa Maria kit 3 months ago which was prepared by my friend. It is going quite slowly because i have limited time. I am going to share what i have done so far and continue to share when something new is done.

Good Evening fellow shipsmiths First a little intro about myself. I am a 35 years young man from South Africa, currently residing in Cape Town. I have done quite a few plastic models before and have enjoyed doing them. My uncle picked up a AL San Giovanni Battista about 15 years ago(which he is still doing) and this was my first introduction to wood modelling. For the last 5 years i have been working in construction which gave me a few skills for me to attempt a wood model. After finding this forum and these build logs i finally decided to do one and to do the Santa Maria by AL as it was one of the readily available ones here in Cape Town. I first wasnt going to do a build log but after seeing how much help others have gotten here am going to do one. Onto the build. I started this build at the beginning December 2019, I dont have many earlier build pictures as over eagerness didnt leave time for pictures lol. I used many of the advice and ideas from the build logs here. Would like to thank whoever created all the articles in the database you have here. I got a lot of ideas from a user Katsumutso(sp) build of the Santa Maria and must say his build is absolutely stunning, not gonna measure myself against it lol. I didnt really have any trouble with the planking phase. I did make a few mistakes when assembling the false keel and bulkheads. i also did not check to see if my deck lined up properly with all my bulkheads and had to use a bit of wood filler as a result. I had more trouble with the veneer as it was harder to get it to bend the way i needed them to but in the end managed. A few pics to show you where I am currently.

Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 Nao "Santa María". Part I.

***Santa Maria 1492 - Artesania Latina*** Hello shipmates, Before we are getting started with my new buildlog, a short introduction of myself and the ship is in order. I'm a member of this forum for many years, and I live in The Netherlands a small country in Europe. Once we were dominating the world seas by having more ships in the water as a nation then all ships from all countries combined. So ships and shipbuilding runs through the veins so to say. Unfortuately after the big crash of MSW all my photo's and my buildlogs were gone. For a few years I put my hobby asside and concentrated on my family and on my work. At this moment I've found some spare hours to work on my hobby, and I would like to share my new buildlog with you guys and gals. please have a bit patience on my written English, because it's not my native language and so I'll probably make some grammatical mistakes and I appologies upfront... To the project... History The Santa Maria originally named La Gallega, was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa. She was built in Pontevedra, Galicia, in Spain's north-west region. Santa Maria was probably a medium-sized nau (Carrack), about 58ft long on deck, and according to Juan Escalante de Mendoza in 1575, SM was "very little larger than 100 toneladas" (about 100 tons, or tuns). She was the flagship for the expedition aside La Nina and La Pinta, two smaller of the caravel-type ships. Shipwreck With three masts, Santa María was the slowest of Columbus' vessels but performed well in the Atlantic Ocean crossing. Then on the return trip, on 24 December (1492), not having slept for two days, Columbus decided at 11:00 p.m. to lie down to sleep. The night being calm, the steersman also decided to sleep, leaving only a cabin boy to steer the ship, a practice which the admiral had always strictly forbidden. With the boy at the helm, the currents carried the ship onto a sandbank, running her aground off the present-day site of Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. It sank the next day and was lost forever... The build At first, let's inspect the workplace, which is the kitchen table by the way, and the box...and yes, the box on the left is my toolkit and on the right the ship... Everything looks neat and tidy at first glance. The box is well organized and the wooden parts and timber are of a good quality as can be expected from AL. However, the buildmanual turns out to be very dissapointing. A few photo's on one single page and an instruction list is all that's added to the box. The best parts are the two bigger drawings of the rigging and masts which looks very nice doh. The Bulkheads and false keel / keelplate I start by numbering all the bulkheads and parts on the plate. They are all lasercut and I use some sandpaper to remove the burn from the laser. After inspecting a collect all the parts and dry-fit them together to see how good it fits.....it doesn't! After some corrections, the bulkheads fits nicely on the false keel. However I noticed a small warp in the keelplate. I did some further inspection and Yes, it's warped just between bulkhead 12 and 10. This needs to be fixed otherwise I run into some problems later on....I took the keel plate and soaked it in some water. I let it dry between a couple of books with some pressure on the books so the plate was fixed into a flat position. I let it dry for a day and the next day it was straight. I put everything together again and glued the bulkheads into position. The false deck Next step is to place the false deck on top of the bulkheads. Again, the false keel was pre-fabricated and lasercut. I use the small brass nails and glue to fixate the plate on to the bulkheads. I have limited tools and clamps at my posession at this moment, so I use the nails. They will be coverd up later when the final layer of thin wooden strips are placed on top of the false deck. Overhere I use a nail (red circle) to "help" the deck plate a litte bit and guides it into a better position.... After his I placed some blocks to make the bow a bit stronger and sturdier. Now it's time to sand the end of the bulkhead so they are prepared for planking the first layer of the hull. It will be a dual layered or planked hull. I took my time on this process. If done correctly, the beauty of the lines and shape of hull will shown after the planking process. It is also the part were I struggle the most and we'll have to see later on if I made some mistakes or not... So, to be continued soon.... regards, Peter

Here she is. My new Santa Maria. This will be my third ship, but I plan on doing all the painting on this ship. Plus, doing the rigging correctly, and hopefully not end up with any extra parts at the end. I am really going to take my time doing her. I would greatly appreciate anyone's advice or help as I am working on her. I am sure I will have a lot of questions. Thankfully, I do have photoshop and can mark or write words on pictures that I post that might help show what I am trying to talk about. Please cross your fingers for me.

Dusek Ship Kits MM02 Santa Maria NEW In 2016 Daniel Dusek bought all rights for producing of all Mamoli and MiniMamoli kits. Since then the kits are released in batches. History What were the ships of the great discovery of the New World like? Tradition always speaks of three caravels, a sort of swift ship with a light hull, several masts and an assortment of sails. Scholars advise that, in reality, Columbus’s fleet consisted of 2 caravels, Nina and Pinta, and of a “Nao”, Santa Maria, a boat with 3 masts, 2 square sails and a lateen one, provided with a foredeck, which makes it belong more to the class of carracks. The strong construction, together with nautical knowledge of the time and with the perception of the great sailor allowed such a great enterprise. The year 1492 is an historical date known all over the world. Technical data Scale 1:106 Length 310 mm Height 255 mm The kit 5 sheets of plans and instruction (english, french, dutch, german) Prefabricated wooden hull 4 sheets of lasercut wood (1 sheet in pear!) round timber for masts and yards Fine-meshed sail cloth All parts of the kit are stored safely and tidily in the box so as to minimise any movement of items within. Let's look deeper at this kit. The Prefabricated wooden hull makes it easy even for beginners to create the fuselage shape in a great small model. All small parts are well stowed away. Also the castings make a very good impression. Let's start with the cleanly lasered wooden boards. First of all, there is the deck of the Santa Maria with all planks pre- lasered in a beautiful pear. And this in a beginner kit. Wonderful! Other boards are laser-cut in beech. But there is nothing wrong with this either. Very very less laser char. All is clean and crisp. And see the dowels for masts and spars. And last but not least, for all those who would like to make sails, a very nice fine-meshed fabric is included. The multilingual manual should make it easy for beginners to build a wonderful little model with a lot of fun. Conclusion With high quality components (where to find pear wood in a "beginner's kit"...) a revised manual and a really attractive price Daniel Dusek leads the Mamoli Mini Kit series into a successful future. This little kit of a classic historic ship is really great. For the beginner, but certainly also for the advanced, who are simply looking for a small, loving intermediate project, this small model promises a lot of fun. Dusek Ship Kits currently lists this model for €70,50, and I think that represents really good value for money for this beginner kit. My sincere thanks go to Daniel Dusek for sending this kit for review here on Model Ship World. To buy, go to your favorite Dusek dealer or directly to http://www.dusekshipkits.com

Santa Maria by Pierre Tessier - Maris Stella - 1:60 This is a Christmas gift from my son, I promised myself I would finish the Batelina before starting this one. Now that my first build is complete and my shop is clean I can begin my second build and build log here on MSW. I must mention that I was pleasantly surprised when I met Zoran from MarisStella, here online. He saw that I was building the Batelina and noticed I posted that I had the Santa Maria on the shelf. He got in touch with me and mentioned that he was in the process of re-writing the build manuals for the latter, and offered his re-wright. This would allow, help, a beginner to go about the proper way of building this kit. Also must point out this is single layer POB construction. Maris Stella School of Model Ship Building has categorized this as a "Beginner Set: Level 3" which according to them should be your 5th build. I am in no way an expert nor do I feel I am better then others but thought this would be a great 2nd build as I do like challenges. Hopefully I did not bite off more then I can chew. (If I do I have Zoran to help....lol) Now about the box, two full size plan sheets, two plywood laser cut parts, two hardwood laser detailed bits and parts, full stock of beautiful walnut and mahogany wood planks, strips and dowels, bag of hardware including canons, guns, hinges, bags of wooden bits, anchor, rope, carving block for 2 small boats and pre sown embroidered sails, expert build manual. (Beginner manual being written as we speak) Kit box closed Kit box open Kit box stuff Plan 1 Plan 2 First step to do according to manual is to take inventory of supplied wood. Lumber yard (bundled as per material list.) Next I built the stand with an. 11.4mm incline at the bow. This is to allow proper alignment of the bulkheads when using a square. Stand plan Stand keel 11.4mm offset Stand 90' without offset --- 90' with offset Plywood Elements That's it for now, next I will post the work to be done to prepare the keel for the bulkheads. Did I say how much I am enjoying this hobby, So looking forward to building and learning more I'm like a kid learning to walk for the first time.....lol...anyway until next time. Cheers.