Hi all,
I posted in the welcome section, but will rehash a bit here. Building wooden ships is something I've always wanted to do, but have been scared off by the planking and kit costs (I build a lot of plastic models, so I'm more used to a $30 airplane than a $300 ship).
But, of course, it's a different artform, and if you break it down to hours of entertainment per dollar, it's dirt cheap.
The ship I really want to build is L'Hermione. I spent some months in Paris back in 2009, and when I was there, I took a trip to Rochefort and saw L'Hermione being built. Years later, when it sailed to the States, I was able to see it in Philadelphia. So I bought the Artesania Latina ship, but obviously have some skills to hone before I take on something like that.
So, enter the La Provençale.
I finished the main construction of the hull last night (the following pics are a little earlier - I've since sanded down the frame flush with the hull in preparation for adding the gunwales). I definitely made some mistakes (one side is about 0.5mm lower than the other, and I got my measurements slightly off on one side, resulting in uneven plank spacing), but it's been a uniquely fun experience getting it here. I have no idea yet how I'm going to bevel the mast and yardarms (if that's what they're called on lateen sails), but I'm sure there's a few threads here where I can learn.
I posted in the welcome section, but will rehash a bit here. Building wooden ships is something I've always wanted to do, but have been scared off by the planking and kit costs (I build a lot of plastic models, so I'm more used to a $30 airplane than a $300 ship).
But, of course, it's a different artform, and if you break it down to hours of entertainment per dollar, it's dirt cheap.
The ship I really want to build is L'Hermione. I spent some months in Paris back in 2009, and when I was there, I took a trip to Rochefort and saw L'Hermione being built. Years later, when it sailed to the States, I was able to see it in Philadelphia. So I bought the Artesania Latina ship, but obviously have some skills to hone before I take on something like that.
So, enter the La Provençale.
I finished the main construction of the hull last night (the following pics are a little earlier - I've since sanded down the frame flush with the hull in preparation for adding the gunwales). I definitely made some mistakes (one side is about 0.5mm lower than the other, and I got my measurements slightly off on one side, resulting in uneven plank spacing), but it's been a uniquely fun experience getting it here. I have no idea yet how I'm going to bevel the mast and yardarms (if that's what they're called on lateen sails), but I'm sure there's a few threads here where I can learn.