DE 7 PROVINCIËN (1665) 1:50

[Herman]

In the drawings from vd Velde you can’t see the difference between shroud or staytackle (zijtakels). Those cables have the same thickness and don't see the upper dead eye eigther. I would follow Blom. Because nobody knows exact how many shrouds where installed. There is no evidence and that’s why you can’t do it wrong. I love Dutch ships and their rigging. But your approch by looking in vd Velde drawings for the rigging is the best way to find out.

I follow Blom largely, maybe more when I started and used only his drawings in combination with the book of G.C.Dik. But looking at the different contemporary drawings you start to realize that what Blom states with confidence is only his interpretation of what it might have been like. Don't misunderstand me, I am grateful for his work, it got me started and will be largely correct, but I don't follow him blindly, so I make my own more or less unique version. For this stage of the build only the channel and distribution of the shrouds for the foremast are deviating from his vision.

 

[Herman]

Length of the 7 Provincien 165 feet (by recollection)? Rule: For a 100 feet length 6 deadeyes and for every 15 or 16 feet more 1 deadeye extra. I would go for 10 for the main mast, 9 for the fore mast and 5 for the mizzen.

Thank you Ab, it was 163 feet, but that means I have planned the number of shrouds conform that rule.

 

[Ab Hoving]

The rule comes from Van Yk's book, page 221. It is a rule I never saw deviations of.
The real size of the Prins Willem gave reason to much discussion. Chances are that the ship was not 181, but a little bit more than 160 feet long.

 

[Steef66]

Dan ga ik nog eens zoeken morgen in van Yk. Er is inderdaad nooit een bestek van een schip groter dan 170 voet gevonden. Volgens mij gaf Herman Ketting deze 181 voet naar aanleiding van het model in het rijksmuseum.

Then I'll look again tomorrow in van Yk. Indeed, no specifications have ever been found for a ship larger than 170 feet. I believe Herman Ketting gave this 181 feet based on the model in the Rijksmuseum.

 

[Steef66]

@Ab Hoving ik vond de passage in van Yk. Pagina 221 vermeld inderdaad duidelijk het aantal wand touwen.
Wat ik dan wel weer uit het verhaal begreep is dat schepen die op koude landen voeren dunnere wand touwen hadden omdat er dan minder rek in zit ??? Ik zet daar wat vraagtekens bij. Ik vind dat nogal een Hollands "ik ben zuinig"- dingetje. Het maakt het schip weer minder flexibel in bestemmingen.
Grappig eigenlijk, want ik heb die pagina wel tig keer gelezen in het verleden omdat ik de dikte van die touwen aan het bestuderen was. Maar er ging nooit een lichtje branden bij het aantal wand touwen.

I found the passage in Van Yk. Page 221 clearly states the number of shrouds.
What I understood from the story is that ships sailing to cold countries had thinner shrouds because they had less stretch??? I have my doubts about that. I think it's a rather Dutch “I'm careful with money” thing. This makes the ship less flexible in terms of destinations.
It's funny, actually, because I've read that page dozens of times in the past because I was studying the thickness of the shrouds. But it never dawned on me how many shrouds there were.

 

[Albert Mary]

All the loose parts of the bow are assembled and mounted on the ship. Now it was also possible to make and assemble the false keel.

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And a picture including the foremast and bowsprit.

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What a beautiful model!