Yenikapi12 by woodrat - FINISHED - 1/16 scale - a small Byzantine merchant vessel of the 9th century

[woodrat]

The mast did not seem to have sufficient lateral support in the absence of mast partners. So I saw a solution to this as used in certain arab dhows and have incorporated it. It also simplifies to process of stepping and unstepping the mast.

 

 

 

 

here is the lower halyard block. I have decided to avoid sheaved pulleys.

 

 

Dick

[Louie da fly]

18 hours ago, woodrat said:

The mast did not seem to have sufficient lateral support in the absence of mast partners.

 

And the mast steps in the Yenikapi Byzantine wrecks seem to have been rudimentary at best - some not even attached to the hull!

 

18 hours ago, woodrat said:

I have decided to avoid sheaved pulleys.

 

Probably fair enough. Even the hockey stick may not have had a sheave, but just a groove along the top to guide the halyard, as I seem to recall your theorising in an earlier discussion. The amount of chafing from this arrangement may have been small enough to ignore in practical terms.

 

Steven

[woodrat]

On 2/12/2021 at 10:46 PM, woodrat said:

I have decided to avoid sheaved pulleys.

As justification for this , a bas relief from Portus Augusti in Ostia second century CE. Which indicates sheaveless pulleys on the forestay and hearts on the shrouds. Note the scuppers beneath each shroud with a rope suggesting that the shroud was looped through the scupper. I have included this on Yenikapi 12 model.

[woodrat]

Here is the first anchor. Based on the anchor found in the 7th century YassiAda wreck

 

and after blackening

 

Cheers

Dick

[Louie da fly]

Beautiful work, Dick. I particularly like the rusty effect that the blackening produced.

 

Byzantine anchors are now a favourite subject of mine. For my own model I copied the Serce Limani anchors, but I love the look of the Yasi Ada one as well.

 

Steven

[Schrader]

4 hours ago, woodrat said:

Here is the first anchor. Based on the anchor found in the 7th century YassiAda wreck

 

and after blackening

 

Cheers

Dick

Nice work. Looks real. Bravo

[Jim Lad]

Excellent work on that anchor.

 

John

[woodrat]

Thanks John , Steven and Schrader. Most kind.

I have made the lateen yard using timber found in the local park. I was inspired by photographs of dhows which show that yards were not perfect machine turned bits of wood but somewhat rough and irregular. I suspect this was the case for this boat.

 

 

 

 

 

cheerio

Dick

 

 

[Louie da fly]

A touch of brilliance. I'm sure you're right about the rough finish. I remember coming across a loom in a Turkish museum used in traditional weaving - it was as rough as bags, but obviously worked.

 

What kind of wood did you use? That gumnut looks like it comes off a marri. (We had a big one in our backyard when I was growing up, and I've always loved them).

 

Steven

Edited February 21, 2021 by Louie da fly

[Jim Lad]

Great idea for the yard, Dick!

 

John

[woodrat]

On 2/21/2021 at 9:49 AM, Louie da fly said:

That gumnut looks like it comes off a marri.

I think you are right. We call them "honky nuts" here. I made a cooking pot out of it. It is definitely the hardest wood I have ever worked.

Dick

 

[Louie da fly]

Of course they're honky nuts!

 

Takes me back to when I was a boy scout and we went to a Jamboree in Victoria. All us sandgropers had woggles [A woggle is a device to fasten the neckerchief, or scarf, worn as part of the Scout or Girl Guides uniform, originated by a Scout in the 1920s] made of nice big honky nuts, which nobody else had because they don't grow big enough anywhere else.

 

They hardly qualify as wood, though I don't know what else you'd call them. But I'm sure you've seen them after the weather has got to them; they are incredibly fibrous.

 

They also make fantastic coals for a barbecue - just keep on glowing - I've never tried mallee roots, but I think they must be similar.

 

Steven

[Chuck Seiler]

Will the YassiAda anchor have a stock?

[woodrat]

4 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

All us sandgropers had woggles

Didn't know you were a sandgroper ( a fond term for native-born west australians).

 

Yes Chuck, I will make stocks as well as 4 more anchors which will be tied down on the stocks on the foredeck, ready for use.

Dick

[Louie da fly]

34 minutes ago, woodrat said:

Didn't know you were a sandgroper ( a fond term for native-born west australians).

 

Strictly, I'm a crow-eater - I was born in South Australia when my parents were over there for work,  but I got out of by the time I was two and grew up in Attadale, so I regard myself as a West Australian.

 

Steven

Edited February 24, 2021 by Louie da fly

[woodrat]

Now to finish the Yenikapi. Sometimes it's good to step away from a model for a while then come back to it with a fresh eye. Having done that, I was not happy with the rudder housing and have redone it. When this is finished it will look almost like the rudder goes inside the hull as many pictures suggest. But it doesn't! If the rudder went through a hole in the hull, it would be impossible to raise the rudder for landing and we know they did this!. Also when docking it would be necessary to protect the rudder with some casing. We see on many ships pictures with quarter rudders a structure which is triangular and I have tried to show one reason for this.

 

 

This is the framing showing rudder in lowered and raised position. Planking will be installed to cover this

 

 

 

Cheers

Dick

Edited March 7, 2022 by woodrat

[Louie da fly]

That looks very good, Dick. Beautiful work.

 

I was wondering, does the shaft of the rudder swing all that way down as the rudder swings up? It looks like it would foul the tiller against the side of the ship.

 

Steven

[woodrat]

14 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

I was wondering, does the shaft of the rudder swing all that way down as the rudder swings up? It looks like it would foul the tiller against the side of the ship.

The rudder doesnt have to swing all the way up but if it did it would be lashed to the bitt. In any case it would only be raised when on the windward side and be out of the water. The tiller would be withdrawn before raising the rudder.

Dick

[Louie da fly]

Makes sense. Thanks.

 

Steven

[woodrat]

No, No No.....!! Bad idea! I had forgotten the KISS principle and was guilty of overbuilding. 😕Plus the construction for the rudder looked ugly. So off it comes and back to minimalist. Looks better

 

I have completed the standing rigging. The rope at the base of the shroud goes through holes either side of a frame a bit like as seen in roman merchant ships

 

 

 

 

 

The hooked pulley to allow the yard to fall away from the mast when tacking

 

Cheers

 Dick

[Louie da fly]

Very nice work, Dick. I agree, the simpler housing looks more appropriate.

 

That's a beautifully detailed bas-relief - it shows the way the shrouds are fixed with pairs of hearts and even how the hearts are led down to the sides of the ship, plus how the control lines for the rudder are attached to the shaft. I've never seen this one before. Where and when is it from? And do you have a pic of the whole relief?

 

Steven

[woodrat]

It's a famous relief from Ostia. 1st century CE. Just search on Roman merchant ship  and Ostia

Dick

[Louie da fly]

Aha! Yes, I'd come across this before but not taken too much notice because it's earlier than my main period of interest. Let that be a lesion (sic) to me . . .

 

Steven

[woodrat]

I have spent some time cogitating over the mechanism of the hooked calcet and have been helped by the fact that a calcet (the hooked carving seen at the top the mast in mediaeval and older ships of the Mediterranean) has been found in a wreck in the eastern Mediterranean, the Michael Ma'agan B. Also found were two pulley-like wooden carvings attached to the calcet. Having pondered mightily for some weeks, I have come up with a suggestion which I humbly suggest may be a working solution to the way the calcet worked to make raising or lowering the yard, as well as tacking, much easier. This system could be managed by a crew of two.

The yard is raised and lowered by the halyard. The yard slides loosely held to the mast by a rope sling (or rope parrel with leather sleeve. I am doubful that parrels with trucks  existed in the 7th-9th century). The rope sling is tightened when the yard is the correct level by a "throat tackle". In order for this sliding of the yard to occur, the yard must be held away from the mast. The forward slope of the mast assists in this. The purpose of the hooked calcet is to pull the halyard further forward once the throat tackle is loosened.

 

the throat tackle has been released. The rope sling (parrel) is loose.

the throat tackle is hauled thereby tightening the rope sling

 

 

A rope which I call the cacet rope passes over a woodeen pulley on the calcet, thence to a thimble roped to the end of the hook and, through this, to another thimble which can slide on the halyard. Hauling on the the calcet rope pulls the halyard forward and the yard away from the mast.

 

note halyard is close to mast

I hope this is easy to follow and of course is only one possible solution.

Cheers

Dick

 

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2022 by woodrat

[woodrat]

Here are some pictures of the rigged vessel. Now largely complete

 

 

 

 

Cheers

Dick

[ccoyle]

3 hours ago, woodrat said:

largely complete

 

Very interesting model! Shall we mark it as 'finished,' or are there still minor details to come?

[woodrat]

On 4/25/2022 at 8:11 PM, ccoyle said:

Shall we mark it as 'finished,' or are there still minor details to come?

Oh, just the usual thimgs: tidy up ropes tie down the anchors, make a stand. But is any ship model truly "finished"?

Dick