HIGH HOPES, WILD MEN AND THE DEVIL’S JAW - Willem Barentsz Kolderstok 1:50

This weekend there was a debate as to the fact that the replica of the Willem Barentsz was/is being constructed with much narrower hull planks than what is used in the kit. The kit uses 6mm wide planks which equate to a real-life (1:1 scale) width of 30 cm, whilst the replica uses much narrower planks. @Kolderstok Hans explained that availability of the wide planks is severely limited as those would be produced by very old trees which are more likely than not, now being protected.

So, I thought it might actually be interesting to know a little more about the wood used in the reconstruction of the replica.

Achterhoeks Oak used for the construction of the replica ship, Willem Barentsz

DOETINCHEM: It is significant that the wood used used in the reconstruction of the expedition ship, Willem Barentsz, is oak from the forestries of Slangenburg in Doetinchem. The original ship was also constructed from oak from the same area; therefore the Willem Barentsz Foundation was extremely pleased to hear that the wood would be donated free of charge to the WB Foundation courtesy of the Agterhoeks State Forest.

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Build master, Gerald de Weerdt next to the oak donated by the Department of State Forestries.

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The wood was moved with horse and cart to the waiting trucks.

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The wood selected for the keel of the Willem Barentsz.

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The keel being processed.
Ha Heinrich,

Kasteel Slangenburg is for me just around the corner. I didn t knew the wood is coming from there, nice to know.

This is actually the castle.
Kasteel-Slangenburg-Doetinchem-20150102-_99C0018-1024x683.jpg
 
Dear Friends

It has been a week since my last build update and I have now entered one of those stages where you do a lot of work, but have little to show for it. On the agenda was placing the top railings on the deck portion between the rear and front canopies. All good and well, but before that can happen, that part of the wale needs to be finished off properly so that it can receive the top rails. That meant another inner planking layer, putting the stanchions in place and then making sure that the wales and the top of the stanchions are perfectly level.

View attachment 300137

Here the black arrow indicates the final layer of inner planking on the Port Side that has been glued to the inside of the bulwarks - clamped and in the process of waiting for the glue to dry. The yellow arrow points to the stanchions which have already been glued to the inside of the bulwarks on the Starboard Side. The gap which is indicated by the red arrow provides the space needed for the saw blade to fit into. That of course meant that after all the stanchions had been sawn off, I had a final one to place, glue, and saw to the correct height. In each case, the stanchions were pre-drilled at the bottom to receive a brass pin which was inserted in another pre-drilled hole in the deck. Laborious and time consuming.

View attachment 300138

Here all stanchions had been sawn to their correct length and filed and sanded flush with the top of the bulwarks. Now I had a perfectly level surface on which the top railing can be fitted. That, however, still needs to be done.

From here on I am taking things slowly, both by own choice and by necessity. Own choice, because I believe rushing the finishing parts on a model, can undo all the work that has come before and by necessity because since yesterday afternoon we are in Covid - Lockdown! Again ... That means online teaching and a ton of class preparation - much more so than offline teaching in a classroom. There are rumors that it will only be until Wednesday next week, but who knows ...

I hope to have some updates before the end of the weekend, but only time will tell. Until next time, take care.
It's really coming along! It sure seems we spend a lot of time on the little things that all make up a beautiful model! Very nice work Heinrich!
 
Ha Heinrich,

Kasteel Slangenburg is for me just around the corner. I didn t knew the wood is coming from there, nice to know.

This is actually the castle.
View attachment 300159
That is most interesting Maarten! I agree with you - it must be quite a nice feeling to know that your region's wood was what was used in the construction of the real ship and now in the re[plica as well. Obviously, the ultimate goal is the trip to Nova Zembla. The wood for the knees comes from Doetinchem, but that is another story all of its own.

What a beautiful picture that is - I can actually sense the history ...
 
Not only is that little ship complicating your life, but you also have to deal with that ever evolving virus.
You are right Jan. Sometimes there are complicated things to deal with in the build, but the overall satisfaction that I get when I look at the progress thus far, makes it all worthwhile!
 
It's really coming along! It sure seems we spend a lot of time on the little things that all make up a beautiful model! Very nice work Heinrich!
Thank you Phil! Oh heck, yes - time is something that these models devour. Last night just before I went to bed, I glued the one top railing into position. I had to make a bathroom run now (it's 4.39 in the morning) and quickly checked on the little ship to see if all was well with the railing. You guessed it - the clamps must have moved. Do-over time! :)
 
Dear Friends

It has been a week since my last build update and I have now entered one of those stages where you do a lot of work, but have little to show for it. On the agenda was placing the top railings on the deck portion between the rear and front canopies. All good and well, but before that can happen, that part of the wale needs to be finished off properly so that it can receive the top rails. That meant another inner planking layer, putting the stanchions in place and then making sure that the wales and the top of the stanchions are perfectly level.

View attachment 300137

Here the black arrow indicates the final layer of inner planking on the Port Side that has been glued to the inside of the bulwarks - clamped and in the process of waiting for the glue to dry. The yellow arrow points to the stanchions which have already been glued to the inside of the bulwarks on the Starboard Side. The gap which is indicated by the red arrow provides the space needed for the saw blade to fit into. That of course meant that after all the stanchions had been sawn off, I had a final one to place, glue, and saw to the correct height. In each case, the stanchions were pre-drilled at the bottom to receive a brass pin which was inserted in another pre-drilled hole in the deck. Laborious and time consuming.

View attachment 300138

Here all stanchions had been sawn to their correct length and filed and sanded flush with the top of the bulwarks. Now I had a perfectly level surface on which the top railing can be fitted. That, however, still needs to be done.

From here on I am taking things slowly, both by own choice and by necessity. Own choice, because I believe rushing the finishing parts on a model, can undo all the work that has come before and by necessity because since yesterday afternoon we are in Covid - Lockdown! Again ... That means online teaching and a ton of class preparation - much more so than offline teaching in a classroom. There are rumors that it will only be until Wednesday next week, but who knows ...

I hope to have some updates before the end of the weekend, but only time will tell. Until next time, take care.
Looking fantastic, I love the lower photo highlighting the doors and that layered planking, (I am sure it has a name)
It's something I thought about doing to improve my model but at the time didn't have the confidence, doing it again now I would give it a go.
 
Looking fantastic, I love the lower photo highlighting the doors and that layered planking, (I am sure it has a name)
It's something I thought about doing to improve my model but at the time didn't have the confidence, doing it again now I would give it a go.
Dear Richie thank you so much for the kind words. I am excited to hear that some part of my build has inspired you to try something new. This whole build is the result of me trying to emulate things that Piet Sanders has incorporated in his build. The overlapping planks are called "schotelend" in Dutch. :)
 
Hello Dear Friends

Today my classes finished early so I could complete the top railings.

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Next on the to-do-list is to finish off the rear part of the rear canopy. This will consist of two "door" pillars (indicated in red) and then applying the overlapping planks to the section in yellow - tricky - taking into account the curvature of the roof that has to be followed. This I hope to complete by tomorrow and that will be followed by a final sanding and cleaning up of the front canopy. By the way, the grating has been sanded down to receive its second coat of Tung oil.

I will post updates as soon as that is done.
 
@Pathfinder65 Yes, I will try to get the finishing planks to follow the roof curvature. There I will deviate from Piet who has used straight planks. If I am finished with this section, I will take pictures to compare the two lay-outs.
Mooi Heinrich. Jan is pretty observant with a sharp eye.;) Cheers
 
Hello Dear Friends

While I am awaiting for glue to dry, it is time to think about the next part of the build. This involves a lot of planning and hypothesis. It is made trickier because it involves two separate items, but as each has a direct influence on the other, they have to be viewed together. This section of the build log is then again a part in which I am thinking aloud – and in doing so, I hope to offer you an insight into the type of research that goes into this project to build the most historically accurate Willem Barentsz that I can possibly build.

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Photograph: Piet Sanders (@pietsan )

If you look at the above picture of Piet Sanders’s build you will see that on the Kolderstok version of the Willem Barentsz, the anchor windlass and rack for the belaying pins are mounted IN FRONT of the front canopy, just behind the foremast.

However, if you look at the scratch-built model build by Koos Weestra (picture below), you will see that the anchor windlass is mounted underneath the canopy …

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... as it is on the full-sized replica.

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Photograph: @Maarten

So, does this mean that the Kolderstok kit is inaccurate in this regard? Not at all. They key to this answer lies in the available space on deck, but more importantly in the storage of the lifeboats. Therefore, we first need to solve the issue of how the lifeboats were stored on deck – and indeed if they were stored on deck. Dealing with the lifeboats will be done in a separate posting later today. There is some fascinating information to be absorbed and in addition to that, I will also have a nice freebie for all of you, courtesy of Ab Hoving.
 
Heinrich, your build is splendid. I really like the clean lines and lack of 'fussiness'. To my eye you are building it just right. first class! Thinking about your ships boats.
Of recent, with a view to scratch building the Susan Constant 1605,I have done some little research about how and what type of ships boats where carried in that era and apart from towing them, (not to practical in rough waters), I believe that often collapsible boats where carried in the hold. This was most likely the case with the Susan Constant, albeit she was probably English built. Just a thought. All the best.
 
Heinrich, your build is splendid. I really like the clean lines and lack of 'fussiness'. To my eye you are building it just right. first class! Thinking about your ships boats.
Of recent, with a view to scratch building the Susan Constant 1605,I have done some little research about how and what type of ships boats where carried in that era and apart from towing them, (not to practical in rough waters), I believe that often collapsible boats where carried in the hold. This was most likely the case with the Susan Constant, albeit she was probably English built. Just a thought. All the best.
Hello Jack - welcome to the build and thank you for your most kind words! I can assure you that the feeling is mutual - I have the highest regard of your build of the HMS Speedy. I am so glad that you spotted the "lack of fussiness"! :) That is exactly what I am trying to achieve - let the wood and the ship speak for themselves.

Thank you for the info on the Susan Constant - I will most certainly have a look at that. In the meantime, I will post later today a complete breakdown of Dutch ships' boats in the 16th and 17 the Century with a free POF plan one one of them, courtesy of Ab Hoving. So, stay tuned!
 
Now I just need to interrupt my line of thought with regards to windlasses and small boats - I have completed the closure of the rear canopy.

First, let me show you what Piet has done by giving it his own bent.

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Photograph: Piet Sanders

As beautiful it looks and as wonderfully as it is executed, I did not want to do the same. I wanted a far less elaborate approach and one that follows lines the roof curvature.

And this is what my effort looks like.

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It still needs to receive its final sanding, but you get the idea. Also, you can see a nice a close-up of the railings.
 
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