Finished

[Ab Hoving]

This is my last three-masted ship model. Troubles with my eyes and hands force me to stop.
It was a real struggle this last year. I built four models for museum Kaap Skil in the isle of Texel. It needed a small fluit for the Northern waters, a pinas for the Mediterranean, an East Indiaman for Asia and a big fluit for the Atlantic trade. All four models were produced or finished during the past year.

For this last model i used the same design as for an earlier fluit, but in this case the ship was supplied with a beak head. I also wanted some action in the rigging so I took my inspiration from this Van de Velde painting, the ship de Liefde, shortly before the Four days Battle (1666) in which it was destroyed. I love to catch some wind in my sails.


The name of the ship was symbolically depicted on the taffrail and was inspired by a genuine 17th century Dutch fluit stern, stored somewhere in a Danish church or museum (perhaps one of you knows where?). It is 'Abraham's Offering', like so many ship's names referring to the biblical tale.

Thanks for all the likes over the past few years, maybe we see (work from) each other again in future, goodbye for now.
Ab

 

[RogerD]

Those are beautiful models Ab and inspiring to all of us. It is sad to know you have decided to stop building. Don’t go too far away many of us need your generous advice, expertise and knowledge.

Best wishes, Roger.

 

[Peter Voogt]

This is my last three-masted ship model. Troubles with my eyes and hands force me to stop.
It was a real struggle this last year. I built four models for museum Kaap Skil in the isle of Texel. It needed a small fluit for the Northern waters, a pina

Hi Ab. This post of yours I can only reply with the Wow. It must have been a hard decision.
Many thanks for showing the build of all of this beautifull models with your paper technics.
Regards, Peter

 

[Heinrich]

Hello Ab. There comes a time in anyone's life when circumstances force an about-turn. However, when you can look back on a career such as the one you had, such a decision is tempered by what you have achieved. You have left behind a legacy which will remain the go-to source for 16th and 17th Century Dutch shipbuilding for many years to come. Thank you for that - tot wederom!

 

[Demetri]

A true marathon, but at the same time fantastic models, I love them. Thanks for sharing. Maybe you can post some (or all ), for which we assemble kits.

 

[Uwek]

your models are wonderful - so realistic, especially with the sails and the "action" of the wind
Sorry to hear about the health problems, but we all hope, that you feel better in some time.
Maybe it was too much models in a short time, so your hands could not rest for some time in between.....
and I interpret your word in such a way, that only bigger ships are in moment not possible..... there wre also very interesting vessels with only one or two masts
I am crossing all fingers and toes, that you feel better soon
Keep care my friend

 

[DPTrainer]

This is my last three-masted ship model. Troubles with my eyes and hands force me to stop.
It was a real struggle this last year. I built four models for museum Kaap Skil in the isle of Texel. It needed a small fluit for the Northern waters, a pinas for the Mediterranean, an East Indiaman for Asia and a big fluit for the Atlantic trade. All four models were produced or finished during the past year.
View attachment 293729 View attachment 293731 View attachment 293730 View attachment 293732
For this last model i used the same design as for an earlier fluit, but in this case the ship was supplied with a beak head. I also wanted some action in the rigging so I took my inspiration from this Van de Velde painting, the ship de Liefde, shortly before the Four days Battle (1666) in which it was destroyed. I love to catch some wind in my sails.
View attachment 293733 View attachment 293734 View attachment 293735 View attachment 293736 View attachment 293737 View attachment 293738
View attachment 293739 View attachment 293740 View attachment 293741 View attachment 293742 View attachment 293743 View attachment 293744
The name of the ship was symbolically depicted on the taffrail and was inspired by a genuine 17th century Dutch fluit stern, stored somewhere in a Danish church or museum (perhaps one of you knows where?). It is 'Abraham's Offering', like so many ship's names referring to the biblical tale.
View attachment 293747 View attachment 293745
Thanks for all the likes over the past few years, maybe we see (work from) each other again in future, goodbye for now.
Ab

Brilliant model. Well done!

 

[Pathfinder65]

Wow, absolutely stunning models. Your skills have been wonderful to watch.

 

[3rdJerseyman]

I can only say this is utter brilliance. The action in your colors is thrilling. You have secured a place of honor in the grand tradition of the Dutch and the sea. Where I live in the USA ( New Jersey) our landscape is marked with the legacy of those doughty seamen and the settlers they carried to the New World. ( Harlingen Church is up the road and I live on land settled by Van Cleefs our big university began as a Reformed seminary) One of my good friends traces his ancestry to the second ship of colonists. Your work is art. Very best wishes for good health and many thanks for the beautiful work.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

You model has truly captured the appearance of old Dutch ship paintings. The flags really look like silk rippling in the wind, and the sails look realistic also. I am sorry that your health will not allow you to create more works of maritime art.

 

[dsgoldman1]

Ab,
Remarkable work. So realistic and skillfull detail work. Best of luck, hopefully you will be back.
Regards
Dale

 

[Magic Mike]

Very impressive work.
Magic Mike

 

[Ab Hoving]

Thank you all for the likes and for your wonderful words, they are all very comforting. Perhaps in future I will be able to do some small things again, but for the time being I'm on hold. So Roger, Peter, Heinrich, Demetri (all my plans are available, but it is hard to find someone to turn them into useable plans), Uwe, DPTrainer, Pathfinder 65, 3rdJersyman, Darivs Architectvs, dsgoldman1 and Magic Mike, I'm grateful for your support. Don't hesitate to call on me if you want some help of advise (as far as I am capable for that).
All the best from Alkmaar, Holland.

 

[Maarten]

Hi Ab,

I am very sorry to hear that you have to stop building for the time being. Looking at your 4 models I can not imagine that your eyes and hands are not optimal at the moment. Looking at the work you show here I think I can speak for a lot of members here that we want to be able to make the level of work you do, especially keeping in mind the scale you are working in. Maybe you just have to start building larger scale .

Your Abrahams Offerande fluit is simply fantastic.

PS I will send you an email about my fluit project.

 

[donfarr]

MY GOODNESS AB I PRAY FOR YOU YOUR MODELS ARE MAGNIFICENT, PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF STAY IN TOUCH YOUR KNOWLEDGE IS INVALUABLE TO US MAYBE ANOTHER BOOK OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE YOU AND YOURS DON

 

[Steef66]

Hoi Ab,
lees nu pas je bericht. Ja dat is een mooi konvooi aan schepen wat je daar afgeleverd hebt. Jammer dat het niet zo goed met je gezondheid gaat zodat je deze mooie hobby moet stoppen. Maar ooit komt voor ons allemaal dit moment en het lijkt mij geen leuk gevoel. Heel veel bedankt voor hetgeen dat je tot nu toe betekend hebt voor ons. We hebben heel veel kunnen leren van jouw. En we mogen nog altijd om advies vragen, dat zullen we zeker doen.
Stephan

Only now I read your message. Yes, that is a nice convoy of ships you delivered there. Too bad your health is not doing so well that you have to stop this beautiful hobby. But one day this moment will come for all of us and it doesn't seem like a nice feeling to me. Thank you very much for what you have meant for us so far. We have learned a lot from you. And we can always ask for advice, we will certainly do that.

 

[Ab Hoving]

Maarten, Donnie and Steef, thanks for your support. Of course I could not help myself and tried my failing hands on a small vessel. Even one I do not know anything about, which made it more interesting to do. Of course punishment was abruptly. Inflammation of two fingers and my left wrist. But it is hard to get rid of a life-long habit. The ship is a Chinese junk, described by Mr Wolfgang Asbach in 'Das Shaohsing Ch'uan, ein traditionelles Schiff in China', a 'Sonderausgabe' by Das Logbuch, generously donated to me by the editor, Robert Volk.
As said, I know nothing about the building tradition of the ship, but it is surely an interesting one. Watertight bulkheads, retractable rudder, 'mud anchors' (a sort of spears through the bottom of the ship to keep the ship in place in shallow waters) and even leeboards, proving that the Dutch were not the only ones using this provision.
I had to re-invent myself a bit, both in building-methods and in materials. For the sails, which were originally made of bamboo I used a stuff called 'worteldoek' in Dutch. I can only translate the word by naming it 'anti roots fabric', used in gardens to prevent growing of unwanted weeds. It is not to scale of course, but at least it causes an impression of roughly woven herbal strips.
Why taking the trouble of building a model of a ship you know nothing about? Well, I finished the Eastindiaman I mentioned in the beginning of this thread and I hope my son will once make a nice picture of the ship in Asian waters. How to reach that goal better than using a local Asian ship type?
Anyway, I did what I wanted to do and hope you like it as much as I do.

 

[Meriadoc Brandybuck]

Hello Ab,
I’ve been living under a rock and missed all the excitement. I like your Chinese junk and can’t wait to see the painting your son produces with it.
I’m sad to hear your model building is “on hold” for now, though I won’t be surprised if any more small ships poof into existence from your account.
I’ve been working on the wad konvoier ever so slowly as I get close to rigging my little sloop. I intend to try your tricks with the sails to make it look like the ship belongs in a painting. I’ll probably have questions.
Take care.
-Meriadoc

 

[Ab Hoving]

Excellent Meriadoc,

Thank you for your kind words. Yes, I do produce some small vessels now and then, and I am beginning to see the mistakes I made in the junk. The drawings I worked with showed textile sails and I wanted the old bamboo woven ones. What I did not know was, that bamboo sails require a rectangular shape with the sticks parallel to each other, because of better folding, not the bat-wings for textile. See this drawing by Nicolaes Witsen (1641-1717):



The junk on the right carries such sails. The one to the left is a Javanese junk, which I am building at the moment. At least I am trying, but I am 'sailing in unknown waters'. Making bloopers is the risk when you produce things you don't know anything about. I always kept myself in the Dutch area where I knew the ins and outs in an effort to avoid making such mistakes. But even there I know I made mistakes in my models, I have no illusions about that.
Anyway, in the end I'll have to re-rig the junk.

If you ran into any troubles with the rig of your wad-convooier, don't hesitate to call on me. I'll be glad to help if I can.
Best,
Ab

 

[Ab Hoving]

I finished my second Asian vessel. This is a Javanese jung, a trader from the 16th century up to now. The double steering is interesting: When the ship heels over the lee rudder is used, the other simply follows the current of the water. A small ship like this is what I can handle with my eyes and clumsy fingers. As a coincidence the picture from Witsen's book I showed in my latest post shows both of my Asian models.
Now I have to re-rig the junk. Pity, I liked the looks.