Bosun, who scattered all this bloody mess on my bloody deck?

[Olli Sukunimisson]

I'm thinking about the details. According to plans, there should be piles of ropes scattered around the cannons on the deck of my Duyfken. And somehow, this bothers me. Was it really like that? I can believe it if we're modeling a combat scenario. But in day-to-day operations—during a routine watch—they would have gotten whipped for that, right?

 

The image from https://kolderstok.com/en/collections/modellen/products/verkenningsjacht-de-duyfken?variant=34578437210275

[DonSangria]

I think the neat coils on deck were only in times of inspection.

When the guns were used, there were no coils. I think the rope was layed on the deck so it could run free or be grabed easily.

When the guns were stowed away, the ropes were so as well.

Edited November 4 by DonSangria

[Keith Black]

 For the most part men aren't neat and tidy creatures. The 65 foot Duyfken had a crew of twenty and I expect they would have left a proper mess in their wake on a normal sailing day. But a some point a Captain would have had to order the deck cleared and the ship made tidy once more for reasons of safety more so than aesthetics.

[ccoyle]

Don has nailed it -- the tackles would have been stowed when the ship wasn't in action. Also bear in mind that lots of stuff on a ship model is 'optional' to some degree -- if you wish to display a tidy deck sans tackles and rope coils, then by all means do so.

[Thukydides]

As Chris said really it is up to you. The reality is that the state of a deck would have changed significantly depending on the circumstances (are they cleared for action or just sailing along). So you have essentially two choices:

1. Pick the exact scenario you are trying to depict and do so accurately (e.g. show the tackles laid out if the ship was ready for action or shut the ports and secure the cannons to the side of the bulwarks if just sailing along).
2. Do some sort of representative scenario (this is what most people are trying to do). Essentially you are depicting some of the many things that were done on the ship even though it is technically inaccurate to have them happening simultaneously. But in this case it comes down to what you want to depict and how aesthetically you want to present it (a ship model is a work of art after all).

Though with #1 there might be a technical right answer there is most definitely no right answer to number two as it depends on what YOU are trying to depict.

 

TLDR: do what you want