Santa Sofia by Ferrus Manus - FINISHED - Heller - 1/75 - PLASTIC - Another theoretical reconstruction.

[Louie da fly]

Good observation, mate. Here's a somewhat better resolution copy of the same picture.

 

And some others from the same series that might be of help.

 

   

 

Steven

[Ferrus Manus]

The bent sail and yard, and how they will be displayed on-ship:

I did something a little differently than usual. Usually, what I do is take a small piece of line, thread it through the hole in the sail, and tie it together at the top of the yard. This time, I put a knot between the sail and yard, and another one on top of the yard. The idea of this was to prevent the top of the sail from bunching up at the yard, and it worked about as well as I expected. 

I dunked all of the ropes needed for this sail in a brown paint/water mixture, and you can see some of them behind the stern castle. 

[Ferrus Manus]

Regarding gaskets: 

I have never seen permanent gaskets affixed to any yard on any Medieval ship in any of the artworks I have seen. However, from evidence, I could probably give you a good idea of how sails were taken in on a Medieval lateener. Realistically, lateeners and square-riggers were probably pretty similar when it came to taking in sail. 

I know of a couple of good pictures of men tying up sail, here is one of them:

Taking in sail on deck: 

 

Another good shot of a furled sail: 

My guess is that a sail was lowered to the deck and men would take short lengths of rope, climb on top of the yard, gather the sail by hand, and tie it up with the ropes. This would probably have been gradually replaced by permanently affixed gaskets. 

Edited January 15 by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

I got the halyard and parrel lines rigged today. 

I based the parrel off of this image, which I'm assuming is from some Italian research paper: 

Yes Steven, I've been stealing your sources. 

Here's the parrel: 

And on deck, the halyard and parrel lanyards, blocks and knights: 

 

The sail provides excellent shade for the crew, protecting the men aboard from the blazing Mediterranean sun. 

The ship so far: 

[Ferrus Manus]

More progress on the mainsail: 

I recently rigged the braces, single vang, and sheet. 

I've recently adopted a more realistic modus operandi for displaying coiled line. 

I don't really want to risk ruining the work I put into making the sail material wrinkle-free by brushing it with diluted super glue and blowing it with a fan, as the amount of billow in the sail currently is realistic for a light wind. The issue is that this type of silkspan, while scale-accurate, is very light and not stiff in any way. This lends it to poor billowing in the absence of real wind. 

[Ferrus Manus]

I am now one with the ship. 

Somehow, in the process of hand-sanding the second spar for the mizzen yard, I nicked the tip of my thumb. 

In other news, the mizzen yard is ready to be assembled. 

Edited January 16 by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

It's time now that I run headlong into the only real problem with this kit- the mainmast placement. As I started to work on the placement of the mizzen yard, I realized just how little space there was to work with at the back of the ship. I actually intended on displaying both the main and mizzen yards in their fully upright position, but now I have some doubts. I quickly realized that the mizzen yard would be at a steeper angle than the main yard, which looks a bit tacky to me, especially in light of paintings of caravels. So, I am thus preparing to depict the mizzen yard at half-mast, in the process of being raised. 

Thankfully, the lee shrouds on the mizzen loosened up naturally on their own. As per Steven's advice, I wanted to depict the mizzen yard outside the shrouds, just like the main. 

You should now understand the problem here. 

The placement of the mainmast complicates this severely, as seen in the photos. The main halyard and parrel tackles both foul the mizzen port side brace, and vice versa. The main vang fouls the mizzen sail and potentially the mizzen sheet, depending on how I depict the sail- both of which are problems that would not exist if the main could be moved to about the middle of where the forward hatch is now. I realized this at the beginning of the build, and I just wasn't willing to scratch-build a new main deck. Belaying the braces on the relatively empty forward section of each main rail would severely limit the crew's ability to wrestle the mizzen yard to a different tack. 

My plan is to either suck up my pride and display the mizzen fully aloft, or keep all the mizzen lines, save for the halyard and parrel, slack. 

Edited January 17 by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

Small update, I have bent the mizzen sail to the yard and made the stand, which will eventually be painted and decaled. 

My solution for the mizzen yard and sail: 

[Ferrus Manus]

The mizzen yard halyard and parrel tackles: 

While it's only visible with flash photography and not visible in real life, one of my only gripes about CA glue is that it dries with an ugly white residue left behind around the application site that needs to be painted over. 

Edited January 18 by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

The rest of the mizzen rigging, with the exception of the clew line. 

[Louie da fly]

I've been away for awhile, so please forgive the longwinded reply - a lot to reply to all in one go, with the fast progress you've been having.

 

Regarding your post #33 of Jan 15 I'm going to (reluctantly) take the role of advocatus diaboli. While I agree that it's quite possible contemporary pics don't show 'permanent" gaskets, it's difficult to draw definite conclusions - the gaskets may be temporary, but maybe the artist just didn't bother to show them. To be able to see the (unused) gaskets hanging down from the yard, firstly it would require a picture of a ship with the sail(s) set. Second you need a very good artist to notice and include such a fiddly detail. And I'm afraid even my favourite, Carpaccio, sometimes gets details wrong. Even he might have missed that detail, particularly of a ship under sail if observing from the shore. Not saying you're wrong. It's quite possible you're correct, just that the evidence is a bit equivocal.

 

On 1/15/2025 at 12:52 PM, Ferrus Manus said:

My guess is that a sail was lowered to the deck and men would take short lengths of rope, climb on top of the yard, gather the sail by hand, and tie it up with the ropes.

But that's not what is shown in the pictures in your post. In each case the yard is considerably above deck level with the gaskets being tied or already tied.

 

OK, enough devil's advocate. On to the rest of the post.

 

On 1/15/2025 at 4:31 PM, Ferrus Manus said:

Yes Steven, I've been stealing your sources. 

Actually, credit for this diagram should go to Woodrat, who generously shared it with me.

 

On 1/16/2025 at 10:38 AM, Ferrus Manus said:

I am now one with the ship. 

See the motto in my signature . . . 😁

 

On 1/17/2025 at 11:48 AM, Ferrus Manus said:

So, I am thus preparing to depict the mizzen yard at half-mast, in the process of being raised. 

That's a nice fix for a problem forced onto you by the kit manufacturer, who probably never imagined that anyone would attempt this level of detail and accuracy on their model, and certainly wouldn't have thought through the consequences for sail control caused by the mast placement.

 

You're doing a very good job of this whole build - very workmanlike, and based on thorough research and practical thought. And high quality modelling. Well above the quality you were presented with by the kit. Something to be justly proud of.

 

Steven

[Ferrus Manus]

23 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

While I agree that it's quite possible contemporary pics

I elected not to show them under the careful consideration that they simply might not have been added in contemporary paintings. 

23 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

In each case the yard is considerably above deck level

I assume at least the caravel will have the sail lowered further. By "deck" I really meant "gunwale". Gathering sail in a context whereby a fall from a straddled yard would not be fatal or significantly injurious is just good seamanship in an age significantly before the introduction of manropes. 

23 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

See the motto in my signature . . . 😁

 

Hemophilia A strikes again! 

23 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

That's a nice fix for a problem forced onto you by the kit manufacturer

I actually elected to display the sail fully raised as the issue of the port brace fouling the main halyard and parrel was too significant to ignore. 

Thank you for your comments regarding this adventure, which is now almost finished! Now for a question: Where would fishing gear be stored on a ship of this type, time and place, and what (other than a net) would have been employed in this context? I have come across a surprisingly numerous supply of Medieval images regarding boat fishing, but not much more than a net is shown. 

[Louie da fly]

Getting close now. 

 

Regarding the fishing gear I can't comment on this period with any certainty, but apart from nets (with floats and weights attached, perhaps - depends on the technique they're using - just tossing the net over the side and drawing it back in? Or something a little more sophisticated?) the only other thing I've come across was Byzantine 11th century, a multi-tined 'fork' (it would be a trident if it had only three but there were more). The Serçe Limani "glass wreck" had the following: 

"The fishing gear found in the Serçe Limani shipwreck in Turkey included nets, spears, sinkers, and spindle-whorls. The shipwreck dates back to the 11th century AD. 

 

Fishing gear 

 

• Nets: Three large nets with floats, a smaller casting net, and beach and open-sea seines
• Spears: A multi-tined spear
• Sinkers: Fishing-gear sinkers, some with Christian symbols
• Spindle-whorls: For making lines
• Netting tools: Tools for working with nets

I tried to find images but couldn't lay hands on them. The article linked below

 

Aha! 7th century AD, but some very nice pictures: https://www.ancientportsantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/Documents/PLACES/Levant/Dor-Galili2010.pdf

 

I don't know if the fishing method would be the same, but it's probably quite likely. Oh, and a set of balances to weigh the fish with. The linked article has pics of (modern - but almost identical to ones found in archaeology) balances to weigh the fish, a fishing spear (and a mosaic of one in use) plus a mosaic of a net being used. It also mentions finds of fish hooks, and pictorial representations of hooks "with and without rods"  

 

Have fun with it.

 

Steven

Edited January 23 by Louie da fly

[Ferrus Manus]

Here's what I came up with: a net, a spear, a hook, and a weight with a cross carved into it. 

I am thinking of just stowing the net below decks. This is because, while I did the best I could with what I had (an old garlic bag) it looks the same type and level of tacky as using plastic ratlines. Other than that, the spears and weight look good, and the spears should scream "fishing boat". Given how massively important fishing, and especially commercial fishing was in the Late Middle Ages, it's surprising that we don't see more about how fishing was done and with what tackle. 

Edited January 23 by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

The spear, hook and weight are now on the ship. The net was excluded. 

Steven @Louie da fly I appreciate your advocatus diaboli. Feel free to resume if anything I say is incorrect or unreasonable. The ship itself is now complete with one exception: the flag. Now, I have been hesitant to include a flag on the currently bare flagpole until now. The reason why is that I have no clue what flag the ship would have flown. You see, all the Medieval ships I have built until now have been owned by a particular monarch, family or crown. This ship, on the other hand, would have been owned by either a shipowner who would have leased the vessel, or a fishing captain. 

This has important consequences for the flag flown atop the mainmast. It stands to reason that only a vessel owned directly by a monarch or crown would have the right to fly the nation's arms. This possibility would have a very practical purpose- ships owned directly by Portugal's government might be exempt from certain taxes, tolls and fees, and having an easy way to identify the vessel in question as being owned by the crown would be of great importance. I have no idea whether any of this is true, but it certainly stands to reason. 

I have no idea if a manuscript on maritime law from around this time and place even exists, and if it does, there's no guarantee that flag etiquette is even mentioned, let alone elaborated on. Any information would be helpful. 

[Ferrus Manus]

Regarding the flag of the Order of Christ: 

This flag would be unsuitable for use on this ship, as it was only used from the 16th century onward and mostly in a military context. 

Edited January 24 by Ferrus Manus

[Louie da fly]

I'd agree that it would be the owner's flag. If the person was important enough (and presumably a shipowner would be well enough off to be regarded as important) he may well have a coat of arms, and that would be shown on his flag(s). For example, the image of what I believe to be the (first) Lomellina shows the flag of the owners, the Lomellini family, which is an adaptation of their coat of arms.

   

 

Do you have any particular owner in mind? I'm assuming the ship is Spanish? If so, perhaps look at a few contemporary Spanish merchants'/shipowners' coats of arms. For example https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/heraldry-coats-of-arms-of-spain-gm928877224-254747533 shows a number of non-royal and non-regional coats of arms from Spain (and links to others). I'm assuming the names under the shields are family names, but I'm not sure. Perhaps choose one you like the look of that isn't too difficult to reproduce and use that. If you really want to do it properly, perhaps research the family name and see what they were into and if they lived on the coast? 

 

A couple of things - what's the purpose of the weight? I don't see what it's there for. And I'd recommend a multi-tine spear - that seems to have been the thing for fishing - presumably because a fish could wriggle off a single point. Sorry, I realise that means more work for you . . . 

 

Steven

[Ferrus Manus]

The ship is Portuguese. I will build the multi-tined fork and put it on the other side of the ship's deck. The weight would have been attached to the net, which sadly was too ugly to display on-deck. I think that, given my situation, the weight is in the best spot it could be. Perhaps the weight would be tied onto the net when it was taken up out of the ship's hold. 

I am very well aware of the Lomellinis and what business they were in- the Elisabetta would have been owned by them. 

[Ferrus Manus]

It seems as though sources on shipowning families are exceptionally rare- a Wikipedia list of noble families in Portugal, and what businesses they were in, yields no results. Some of them were involved in the Portuguese exploratory missions, however, but none mention general shipowning. 

A little bit of help would be a massive benefit. Do you know of any articles or sources that would lead me to said information? 

The big problem with this is that the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and subsequent fire would have destroyed many of the records of Portugal's noble/merchant/shipowning families, a problem that the Lomellinis never faced. 

[Louie da fly]

I went a different way, following up directly via Portuguese heraldry. This seems to have had results.

 

First look at this one - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_heraldry

That gives a good overview. And mentions that King Manuel I (1495-1521) forbade the use of arms to those who were not of the Portuguese nobility. So if you want a coat of arms and therefore a flag based upon it, you need to be a noble - but I think the noble class would also have been the major shipowners anyway (as I understand it Portugal was very hierarchical). 

 

That article provides a link to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livro_do_Armeiro-Mor which contains a section "Princes and Main Houses of Portugal" showing the arms of several noble families, plus a bit of their history and achievements from which you might like to pick one. It even has the arms of Vasco da Gama - hey, why not have the ship belong to him? Certainly a maritime connection there! 

 

Steven

[Ferrus Manus]

The big stick: 

I have an issue with your assessment about the possibility of the ship being owned by Da Gama- that being the fact that this vessel is from the 1450's, not the 1490's. 

At some point during my research, it dawned on me that I know a guy who's from Portugal. His last name is Afonso. I looked up the family name Afonso and the internet is in relative agreement that the Afonso family crest looks like this: 

If what you say about Portuguese laws regarding family crests is true, this must be a noble last name. The name Afonso is mentioned in the book. 

Bingo. 

We have our shipowners. 

[Ferrus Manus]

The flag I designed around the Afonso family crest is now on the ship. 

With that, we can piece together a narrative about the Santa Sofia: This would have been a ship owned by the noble Afonso family at around the middle of the 15th century, in Portugal. It would have been among a number of similar caravels and coastal vessels built for and used by the Afonsos, and this one might have been leased or rented out to fishermen who plied the coasts of Portugal, bringing up cod from the depths- a staple food, especially during Lent or other fast days. The Afonsos would have pulled in profits either as a flat rate, or more likely, a substantial cut of the profits from the fishermen's catch or the catch itself. 

[Louie da fly]

Nice one. You might also consider an additional banner - a long triangular pendant being a simplified version with the three main "field" colours of the coat of arms; white, green and gold/yellow - so perhaps green and gold together as two halves of a square by the flagpole, and a long white triangle as the 'fly'. That seems to have been a 'thing' with these flags.

 

Steven

[Ferrus Manus]

I have now decaled the stand. 

I think one singular flag is sufficient for this model's aesthetics, and not inaccurate. 

And with that, the Santa Sofia is finished. Honestly, I had lots of fun with this one and look forward to seeing it on my shelf. 

[ccoyle]

Well done!

[Ferrus Manus]

18 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

Well done!

Thank you, Chris! 

[GrandpaPhil]

Very nicely done!

[Louie da fly]

Nice job, and well researched.

 

Steven

Edited January 30 by Louie da fly

[Ferrus Manus]

2 minutes ago, Louie da fly said:

Nice job, and well researched.

 

Thank you, Steven! Next project is actually not a ship, but an airplane. Check for it in the non-ship logs!