Great Henry (Henry Grace a Dieu 1515) by Sergal (1975 vintage kit) - scale to be clarified

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

12 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

Yes indeed. The guys on board are probably mostly passengers, as they are dressed as landsknechts (mercenary soldiers) -  lansquenets in French. Here's some more information on the picture itself - https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/en/work/ship-with-revelling-sailors . Holbein was a superb artist.

 

Interesting about the deadeye shape. Have you seen the deadeyes they fished up from the wreck of the Mary Rose? They're in McElvogue's book Tudor Warship Mary Rose. Here's a sample

 

 

I only found out bout these after I'd committed myself with the deadeyes on my own Great Harry. And anyway, at the scale I was working in they would have been impossible.

 

Steven

  Ahoy Steven !  I've noted the Mary Rose deadeyes with seven (count 'em) lacing (reeving?) holes.   And, yes, I'll have to fashion mine to be like those - which will be easier at 1:88 than at 1:200 for sure.  I happen to have some 'teardrop' shaped metal lower deadeye surrounds from a parts kit that are about the right size (slightly larger at 1:72, so the deadeyes will be made to fit).

 

  My 'take' on this type of deadeye is this (in theory):  once laced, the combined mechanical advantage will be much more than that obtained by merely three holes - especially if there are TWO loose ends of line, that is, the lacing does not begin with a stop knot.  That way, two men would be pulling on the ends to tighten the shroud above.   Once snug, each man would wrap his line end a few times around the lacings near a narrow end of one deadeye (frapping is the term Boy Scouts use when doing ordinary lashing ... wrap twice, frap thrice) and pass the end of the line around the frapping and out to secure with a couple half hitches ... whatever.

 

  This would give the arrangement a distinctive look - one different than the later-developed method of having only three holes and a single loose end of line that is tightened by blocks and tackle from above (to provide sufficient mechanical advantage), the free end is threaded up where the shroud is stropped to a round upper deadeye making a little gap there, then lashed with thin line to the shroud in a couple places, the way done with most models seen on the MSW forum.

 

  There's plenty of time to work out the details,  and I'm now planning to do a post-1536 version.  The very large scale of the 'as provided' materials had me thinking that shorter masting (sans top gallants of a pre-1536 version) might help - but not that much.  A draft with a taller stern castle did make the vessel look a bit 'krank', which it nearly was according to available sources.  Observers 'expect' to see a version resembling the Anthony roll - and most of the artists conceptions one can find on the web, as well as other models made.

[Louie da fly]

That's very interesting speculation regarding the deadeyes. I'll be fascinated to see it in practice.

 

One thing about the higher castles is, of course, that earlier practice had been to attack by boarding, having softened up the opposition with missiles - but only anti-personnel weapons (such as the swivel guns you see on late 15th century vessels). We're just getting into heavier ship-killing guns, and naval tactics were still governed by the old mind-set. Naturally the higher the castle, the easier it was to board the enemy and more difficult for him to board you. And you could also shoot down on him from a higher castle. By 1536 big guns in gun-ports were fully accepted, so having a high castle was a bit pointless (apart from being dangerous due to instability). 

 

Steven

 

PS: Have you noticed that the larger galleon in the Normandy map above has a lateen topsail on the mizzen?

[gak1965]

Those must have been a royal (hah!) Pain to adjust. However you threaded them, it seems like you would have lanyards on top of lanyards, with many of them preventing the set under them from moving...