10th-11th century Byzantine dromon by Louie da fly - FINISHED - 1:50

[druxey]

It's just a flesh wound!" 

[BANYAN]

That's a good process you have developed Steven; I have noted/logged this as one never knows, I may be tempted myself one day

 

cheers

 

Pat

Edited May 11, 2020 by BANYAN

[Louie da fly]

The arms will come later, Carl. They have to be individually made to fit the relationship between the level of the oarblade, the thole and the oarsman's hands. In the meantime, the oarsmen are (h)armless enough 

 

Steven

Edited May 12, 2020 by Louie da fly

[cog]

5 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

(h)armless enough

I wouldn't be to certain of that, they might just kick the living daylights out of you , although, you will have ample time to escape considering the difference in scale, or hide behind the new rock wall

Edited May 12, 2020 by cog

[Louie da fly]

On 5/12/2020 at 9:42 AM, BANYAN said:

That's a good process you have developed Steven; I have noted/logged this as one never knows, I may be tempted myself one day

Don't do it, Pat! Well, not for a galley, anyway. It takes a special kind of insanity to build a model of a galley - ask anyone who's done it . . .

 

Thanks everybody for the likes and encouragement (greatly needed at the moment - 7 figures carved for the starboard side, leaving 17 sawn roughly to shape who need carving, plus another 3 that are only there from the waist up, who need some "bottom". And then I have to smooth them off, make their arms, paint them . . . ).

 

So in my spare time [bitter laugh] I've been working on the knights for the halyards. Here's the first one dry fitted. As you can see it follows the rake of the mast.

And now that I've been thinking about the halyard and how it will all work, I think I've figured out the modus operandi of the triple sheaved block with the unexplained three extra holes (see posts 829 and 833-836 and discussion, from June 14-15 2019

 

This diagram shows (I hope) how it all works. That's the knight at the bottom, the red line on the far left is the downhaul, and the connection to the halyard itself goes through the transverse hole at the top.

By the way, from my observations of lateeners still in operation, the line to the halyard will be connected with a quick-release toggle, which is found over and over in Byzantine maritime archaeology. 

Here are the knight and the block together showing their approximate respective positions:

And here is the block with those three holes supporting the first line down to the knight (I've moved the other lines off to the side for clarity).

And here they are together. I have yet to make the second pair, for the after mast but I think that's going to work.

 

Finally, back in June 2019 I promised pics of a block with sheaves at right angles to each other and never came good with them. So here they are (2 pics of the same block):

Source: Istanbul: 8000 Years Brought to Daylight; Marmaray, Metro, Sultanahmet excavations, and  Stories from the Hidden Harbour - shipwrecks of Yenikapi, both published by the Istanbul Archaeological Museums  

 

Steven

 

 

 

[druxey]

Looks like an early version of what was called a 'shoe block' in the 18th century. In that case, the two sheaves were set at right angles to each other. Think two single blocks joined end to end at right angles.

[Louie da fly]

Just an extra bit regarding the three "unexplained" holes. One comment during last June's discussion above (can't find it at the moment) suggested that those holes would be easily pulled out (broken) if any decent load was imposed on them.  However, if my maths is correct, there are seven lines in the tackle, so each line takes one seventh of the load pulling on the halyard. So each line attached to the triple hole takes one third of that one seventh = one twenty-first of the total load.

 

So, though the load on the halyard would be pretty large, that on each hole would be reasonably small. Which is why I put the holes at the bottom of the block as part of the tackle, rather than at the top, where they'd each take 1/3 of the total load on the halyard. Here's a rather clearer photo showing the attachment to the triple hole (I haven't trimmed off the loose end yet - it needs to be cut short).

Druxey, that shoe block is very interesting. At the moment I've no idea how it would be used, but combinations of blocks and their tackles aren't my strong point - I have to sit down and laboriously draw them out to have any chance of understanding them - and at the moment I don't really need to find a use for it. By the way, you might notice an inscription on the block. It's NIKA - Greek for "Victory".

 

Steven

[druxey]

I missed 'Nike' completely! Thanks for pointing it out. Early promotion, not for a shoe in this case, but a runner!

[Louie da fly]

Well, rather appropriate, since dromon does mean "runner" (as you're obviously already aware)! Though in mediaeval Greek it would probably be pronounced something like Neekee . . .

 

Steven

[Louie da fly]

Just an update on the progress of carving the oarsmen. Three missing on the port side* - they're the guys without a bottom half, currently being glued together. Twenty-one carved for the port side, of which two still need to be sanded smooth. On the starboard side eight carved to shape and 16 still only rough sawn.

I knew ship modelling was supposed to develop patience, but sheesh!

 

* Which reminds me of the passenger on a steamer in the Mediterranean travelling east, who asked where the bathroom was, and the steward said "Port side" - to which he replied "I can't wait that long!"

 

Steven

[BANYAN]

That's looking great Steven, it will look superb with the deck houses added - and yes got the joke

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Louie da fly]

My wife says it looks like they're on the bus, going to work.

 

Steven

[cog]

Roman time bus I presume ...

 

I'm missing the driver ... some didn't catch the eight o'clock bus it seems ... still places left. (love the joke, Steven)

[Baker]

A ride on the bus. And everyone has to "push"
They probably bought cheap tickets ...

 

Great work Steven

[Louie da fly]

I think this is appropriate - Rose Bay is a waterside suburb on Sydney Harbour. Lots of commuters travel to Sydney on the ferry - turning left (to port) ends up at Circular Quay right by the City centre (just under the harbour bridge, next to the Opera House). Turning right (starboard) takes you through the heads and out to sea . . .

 

 

 

 Steven

[cog]

12 minutes ago, Louie da fly said:

Turning right (starboard) takes you through the heads ...

odd, taking a ferry to a public lavatory

[Louie da fly]

I should have known it would be Cog . . .

 

Here are Sydney's heads! You can see why Captain Cook completely missed Sydney harbour - the land behind the entrance makes it look like a minor indentation in a continuous coastline. 

Here's a closer shot of the heads.

And a ferry crossing the heads to get to Manly on the other side -or perhaps coming from Manly . . .

Steven

[cog]

I couldn't resist the open door, Mr Louie, not to start about that surname, which is quite appropriate in this context

 

Nice to learn something about Sydney though. Must be a hell of ride with such weather

[Louie da fly]

I've been on the forecastle on a Manly ferry in this kind of sea - absolutely exhilarating! (I got soaked, though).

 

Dammit! I've derailed my my own thread again! 

 

Back to your scheduled programme . . .

 

Steven

[Kikatinalong]

The model continues to impress Steven.  If you could bottle your patience and sell it i think it would be one of the more expensive ones on the market. Port or starboard, glad I'm not trying to pee at that particular time on the ferry. And ask Louisa where she thinks the Myki touch on and off ticket system should be placed.😂

[Mark Pearse]

On 5/18/2020 at 9:33 AM, Louie da fly said:

Which is why I put the holes at the bottom of the block as part of the tackle, rather than at the top, where they'd each take 1/3 of the total load on the halyard.

The blocks are really ingenious.The other aspect - which was clear from your sketch - is that the three lines will also help stabilise the block & keep it from twisting out of square, sheaves can jamb horribly if that happens.

[Louie da fly]

That's interesting, Mark. I know you do a fair bit of sailing and your input regarding the practical aspects is very valued. Last time I did any sailing at all was - let me see - just under 40 years ago - and that was a disaster. I forgot everything I'd learned in Sea Scouts and got stranded out on the bay at Port Stephens. Very embarrassing. I only just avoided having to be towed back to shore by a paddleboat, which would have been the ultimate humiliation.

 

Steven

[Sceatha]

This is an awesome build Steven! I am relatively new to the forum and just got around to finally reading this thread beginning to end yesterday and today.

Really educational, both historically and technically.

 

George

[Louie da fly]

Thanks, George. I'm equally impressed by your own build. The level of research and inspired reconstruction, as well as the quality of your work, is exemplary.

 

Kikatinalong, apparently the amount of sweating the oarsmen do when rowing means that toilet breaks are rarely needed on a galley. The ticketing apparatus must be up somewhere near the windlass, I should think. I'll have to remember to build one .

 

Thanks everyone for the likes.

 

Steven

[BANYAN]

18 minutes ago, Louie da fly said:

Kikatinalong, apparently the amount of sweating the oarsmen do when rowing means that toilet breaks are rarely needed on a galley. The ticketing apparatus must be up somewhere near the windlass, I should think. I'll have to remember to build one .

While you're at it Stephen, better include a water cooler too - where else will they gather to trade yarns and scuttlebut (roumers)?

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Louie da fly]

It would have to be a Furphy, surely. I've always been chuffed by the fact that the name for the "water supply" always seems to become the term to mean "unsubstantiated rumour" - scuttlebutt, Furphy for Australians, and nowadays, "water cooler" answers the same function . . .

 

Seriously, though, it's believed that each oarsman had his own amphora under his bench, and that the main supply was kept iin the hold, probably in barrels. With the amount they sweated, they had to land to replenish water for the ship on a regular basis, preferably every day. If they were unable to, after three or four uninterrupted days at sea they would probably have been in dire straits.

 

Steven

[Baker]

5 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

dire straits

Sultans of swing???? 

 

please explain to a belgian who doesn't understand australian.😉

[Louie da fly]

Dire straits was a saying in common English before it was the name of a band. It means to be in a serious, often life-threatening situation.

 

"Dire" is probably the most extreme word in English for something bad. It usually means things couldn't possibly get any worse. It's defined as "causing or involving great fear or suffering; dreadful; terrible: indicating trouble, disaster, misfortune, or the like: urgent; desperate:" and  "straits" relates not to a narrow body of water, but "a situation of perplexity or distress".

 

Hope that helps. But you didn't ask what a furphy was . . .

 

Steven

[cog]

14 minutes ago, Louie da fly said:

But you didn't ask what a furphy was . . .

Then I will oblige you in that, Louie: What is a "Furphy"

[Louie da fly]

https://www.furphystory.com.au/shop/2018-furphy-tank-end/ - (the AIF was the Australian Imperial Force (army) in the First World War).

 

Steven