Yacht Mary by catopower - FINISHED - Mamoli Dusek - 1:54 - An Inherited Model

[Gregory]

I'm really liking the look of the muslin sails.  I will have to try that.

[Baker]

Sorry for the loss of your friend. 

I would go for what you see on the paintings from that time.

Replicas do sometimes have a "bug" here and there (the Utrecht probly not 😇).

 

A great model build by one of the members from our model club.

https://www.modelbouwclubdedissel.be/blog/galerij-1/statenjacht-de-utrecht-6

[catopower]

Thank you Druxey and Baker for the sentiments on Ken. I've been recently realizing that his loss may also have a profound impact on the activity of the South Bay Model Shipwrights club, of which Ken was Vice President for as long as I can remember. He also wrote up the club newsletter, The Foghorn, and now I find I have nobody in the club that I can really discuss ship model industry news, and historical aspects of ship modeling with. 

 

Anyway, thanks too to you both and Gregory for your comments on this model. Sails are going on now. I've pulled the gaff off the model to add the mainsail. It's back on now, and I'm adjusting and belaying lines.

Not LOVING the sails, but they're okay. Looking at this pic, I think the jib halliard is too thick. Not sure why. It's not difficult to replace that line. 

 

Don't know that I like the set of the mainsail either, but there are a lot of lines affecting the angle of the gaff. I want a slightly steeper angle on the gaff and haven't quite figured out what lines are keeping me from getting it. Might be the throat halliard...

 

Anyway, it'll probably all be fine by the time I'm done. Should be another week. I did a lot of work on it yesterday. Taking the day off from it today and will try to make a big push on Monday.

 

Edited June 6 by catopower

[druxey]

Increase the gaff angle? Slack off the vangs a little before adjusting the peak halliard. The overall 'look' of the model is nice, even if the sails aren't quite the way you'd like them to be.

[Baker]

Indeed,  looks also nice to me. 

[catopower]

Thank you Druxey, Baker.

 

I made some adjustments and I'm MUCH happier with the mainsail.

 

Also, I realized that the lighting in the last photo is what main the staysail halliard look too big. Here's an updated photo. Still have to secure the lines. Then I can add the square topsail and finish up the flags.

[mrcc]

Wonderful build log Clare…

I love how the Mamoli kits build out. 

 

Thanks for sharing!

[catopower]

Thanks Julian, I appreciate your comments. I have to admit that as much trouble as I've had in the past with uneven bulkheads and such, the Mamoli kits can look really nice when completed. It always surprises me when I see a completed Mamoli kit. 

 

A friend of mine just built Mamoli's HMS Victory and now working on Mamoli's Royal Louis, looks really nice, and makes me want to build one. I actually have a partially built Victory that someone was giving away as he was leaving the hobby. Nobody else wanted his stuff, so I took all of his stuff to store. I managed to find homes for all of his stuff except this HMS Victory model. I'm thinking maybe I'll try to pick up where he left off. That seems to be a thing with me these days!

[catopower]

Yesterday, I had the day off, so I took the opportunity to add the topsail and finish tying off all the running rigging. I ended up having to belay a lot of the lines incorrectly, but you can't tell in most cases. In other cases, I figure that I'll be adding rope coils at a later date to hide some of those details.

 

Flags are yet to go on, but I'm no longer feeling pressed for time to get the model done for the IPMS show this weekend. And, in any case, I should have time to get the flags done by tomorrow.

 

Would like to have braced the topsail around more, but the spreader yard was starting to hit the port shrouds and I din't want to deform them. Also, not sure what others do about this, but that spreader yard has no lines that pull down on it. On most ships, you at least have the sheet lines, which can be rigged to apply some downward pressure. As a result, the spreader yard halliard was too slack. So, I cheated, and if you look really closely, there's a thin black thread pulling the yard down, tied off to the staysail sheet horse. It's hardly noticeable, and it works!

Anyway, flags are next...

[Ab Hoving]

You did well on this model. But I have some small remarks on the side on this topsail if you allow me:

The sheave of the halliard was placed inside the topmast and was situated much higher up, which caused the topsail to be much longer.

And I miss the 8-shaped iron brace that kept the topyard close to the topmast. It was loosely situated around the topmast and stayed up, even if the sail was hauled down on deck:

I hope this sketch clarifies it.

 

[catopower]

Thank you for the comments Ab.

 

The mast was already constructed by the original builder, and I chose to keep as much of his work as possible. But, even so, I'm afraid I don't have much general knowledge of Dutch shipbuilding, and the it plans, as you may already guess, are somewhat lacking in the accuracy of these details.

 

I did make some modifications to the rigging, which was based, in part, on your models. If I build another similar model of the Mary or similar, I will remember your comments about the location of sheave of the topsail halliard.

 

I didn't know about the iron brace. After this weekend, perhaps I'll go back and see if I can add it to the model "after the fact".

 

Another issue I noticed when I started adding the topsail is that the spreader yard seems a bit too long and heavy. If I were to do this model again, I would consider correcting that as well.

 

[Ab Hoving]

I don't think the length of the spreader yard is much of a problem. It is carried by the topsail. The pendant which is attached to the spreader yard is so long that it hangs loosely when the sail is in use. It only carries the yard if the sail is not hoisted.

If you would consider to make another topsail (which would add to the atmosphere of the model, but is of course not necessary) you would see that the 'hollow' lower side of the sail goes much higher up, to avoid chafing with the halliard of the jib. With a yard hanging as low as on the model, very little of the surface of the sail remains.

 

 

[catopower]

Hello Ab,

 

Thank you for the advice. I will consider changing the topsail later. I may save these suggestion for a future model of the Mary, as I have my own un-started kit in storage. If I build another, I will remember to alter the mast so that the sheave for the topsail halliard is higher, and modify the topsail itself so that foot arcs up higher to clear the jib. Also, might lower place the tackle for the jib halliard a tad lower on the mast.

 

[catopower]

Adding flagstaffs now, and discovered that one of the decorative fixtures for the flagstaff tops is missing. 🤨

 

So, now, I need to either replicate one, or make something simpler...

It's a bit hard for e to get this exact shape, and I want them all to look the same. I'll see what I can do to replicate this one, but since I want to take this to the IPMS show in Fremont tomorrow, I may end up clipping them down to the ball at the base. That's easy to reproduce.

 

Anybody know how accurate these are for the Mary?

 

In the meantime, I've been adding flags.
 

Something interesting that I've noticed about this Dusek produced Mamoli kit. The flags are just a tad different than the original Mamoli kit. The original kit had a pennant flying from the end of the bowsprit, but with a red pennant with a Union Jack at the base, whereas the Dusek kit has a red pennant with St. George's Cross at the base. I know nothing about what's correct, or where each of the flags should fly, except for what the instructions call for. I'll be following the instructions on this.

 

Below, I've already cut out the flags I printed, and am giving them some shape. I shaped them with various round instruments – a pen, a dowel, a paint brush handle, etc. Then to help them hold their shape, I applied a bit of pressure to the folds by slipping them underneath my cutting mat. The weight of the mat was just enough to hold them in place until the paper "relaxed". The folds turned out surprisingly well and I'm very happy with the results.

Two more to mount. But first, I need to figure out if I can replicate that decoration.

Edited Saturday at 09:03 PM by catopower

[catopower]

Okay, final pics. Managed to fabricate a decorative piece for the last of the flag staffs. Got the last flag added.

 

This isn't a perfect model, but it was one I wanted to finish for the original builder, the late Richard Fletcher.

 

Learned a few things, RE-LEARNED a few things, and had fun working on the model, and I'm satisfied with it.

 

I still have another, original Mamoli Yacht Mary kit in my stash. I don't know that I need it anymore. There are a lot of ship modeling subjects I want to build. Perhaps I'll tackle it later.

 

Don't know the final disposition of this model. I will take it to a couple ship model club meetings in July and August, and probably display it at a miniatures show in October. Then, we shall see.

 

But, now, it's back to HMS Wolf and others!

 

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Congratulations, nice job!

[Baker]

Beautiful model, and i learned a lot 👍

[druxey]

Nicely completed, Clare. The Royal Standard is flown only when the king was aboard. He must be below, somewhere aft.... Usually jack was flown from the jackstaff on the bowsprit. No criticism - just thought you'd like to know.

 

(The painting is of the second or new Mary - not to be confused with the original Dutch Mary. In this instance, the yacht is carrying William of Orange. His standard flies from the masthead.)

[ccoyle]

Very nice, Clare!

[Gregory]

Great!  The flags are especially well done.  I will be referencing them..

[catopower]

Druxey, thanks for the comments. I absolutely appreciate the info. I was wondering why the model carried the royal standard when so few paintings of royal yachts show it. Good to know the King is aboard, probably dining... 🙂

 

JacquesCousteau, Patrick, Chris, Gregory... thanks for the comments! I think I've learned quite a bit from working on this build. May not have incorporated all I've learned, and clearly the model is not perfect, but it's been a good experience!

[GrandpaPhil]

Congratulations!  Very nicely done!

[catopower]

Thanks GrandpaPhil!

 

Following up, the original builder's widow has seen the photos posted here and is very happy and feels her late husband would be very happy with the final model. And, I think we're figured the final disposition for this model.

 

I got this stuff through an estate sale that was facilitated by someone at Crystal Basin Cellars, a winery near Placerville, CA. They also have a stand and case that was originally purchased by the builder for this model. The plan is to put the model in that case and stand and display it at the winery. There, it will be taken care of and can be viewed and enjoyed by others. Gives me an excuse to go up there and visit the model, and maybe come home with a nice bottle of wine or two!

 

Probably won't happen until after the Summer or possibly after a miniatures show in Santa Clara in October. So, for now, it's in a case to keep it clean and protected.