HMS Sovereign of the Seas - Bashing DeAgostini Beyond Believable Boundaries

[Hubac’s Historian]

Spectacular cable bitts, Kurt. I thought about fabricating a set of these just for the fun of it, and the knowing that they’re there. You made an excellent job of it! I admire your willingness to go the extra mileage below decks, here; it really builds anticipation for all that you will do, externally.

 

[dockattner]

Wow! That's a lot of camber! More than I envisioned for a ship this size. Nice.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Wow! That's a lot of camber! More than I envisioned for a ship this size. Nice.

I read somewhere that the early ships like this had more camber in the decks the farther up you go. The upper decks had more camber. I may have added a bit much. The distance from the lower gun deck to the bottom of the beam at the bulwark is 18mm, and 22mm at centerline. The beams are approximately 11cm long. After looking at it a few more times and comparing it to the Wasa, I lowered the camber from a change in 4mm to a change of 2mm across the span of the beams. Thanks, Paul! The forwardmost beam was flattened a bit but still has a bit too much camber. This will flatten out when the deck is overlaid. I also sanded the gun port frames which were protruding from the interior flush with the bulwarks and re-stained them. Another eyesore corrected.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Merry Christmas shipmates!



They arrived! Thirty-six new brass cannon barrels for the middle gun deck culverin drakes! It's so hard to find long, narrow gun barrels to represent culverins, but these found on eBay from a Chinese supplier are perfect. They are 36mm long. Kit barrels are typically incorrect, and always one size for all decks, when ships carried a variety of gun sizes and calibers. These barrels will be browned and segments of brass wire used for the trunnions.

 

[Vfordyce]

Thanks for all the compliments friends! Small update today. Now that the guns are installed, it's time to move on to the fixtures closer to the centerline on the deck, and begin creating the middle gun deck beam above. The anchor handling bits for the hawsers were installed first. Two 3x3mm beams were installed at the bow after soaking them in water carefully bending the camber, and cutting and sanding the ends for a precise fit. They are only held in place with CA glue, so the joints are pretty brittle, but hanging knees, lodging knees, carlings and ledges will be added later. The columns I fabricated earlier in the build appear to be too large in diameter. I have only eight 28mm columns made by Caldercraft (part# 86120) and left over from the La Couronne build that I want to use, but I need a lot more of them for this ship. I will have to devise a way of turning 2.5mm diameter wooden columns in walnut to match them or make at least 40-50 columns of some other design to reinforce the beams and hold them at the proper camber until the deck is made.

Some more details were crafted for the base of the foremast, and the foundation for the end of the bowsprit. At some point the hawse pipes will need to be drilled through the hull for the anchor hawsers.

View attachment 277712

Kurt, will the capstan ropes and anchor ropes be laid out here? I’m very interested to see how that would be placed. Where will the galley be? On this level? This is a level of detail I haven’t dared to imagine yet.

 

[Vfordyce]

And merry Christmas to you too!

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Kurt, will the capstan ropes and anchor ropes be laid out here? I’m very interested to see how that would be placed. Where will the galley be? On this level? This is a level of detail I haven’t dared to imagine yet.

For one of the anchors, the hawser and messenger will be deployed as a sort of demonstration. That anchor will be hanging from the tackle of the cat head. The hawser will pass through a trap block attached to The main mast then down through a hatch into the locker below deck. I don’t know where the galley will be but it’s not in the location where it is typically found in 19th century ships. It’s probably low in the ship, perhaps the orlop deck, under the forecastle. The interior features of this model will only be fitted for the lower gun deck and above. Interior temporary and permanent cabins have yet to be researched, but there is no information available for their layout in the Sovereign.

Here is where the galley is on the Wasa.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

PS: I am curious if I can get the rudder and whipstaff to be functional on this model, but you won’t be able to access the whipstaff as it buried in the helmsman’s room and moving the rudder with your hand may break the whipstaff. The challenge with building full interior details is that it’s easy to forget something vital as you work upwards. For example, making sections of chain pumps and capstan parts for each deck is easier to find information on than features like hammocks, interior bulkheads and temporary cabin walls on the gun decks. Location and sizes of deck gratings is also unknown but there are several educated guesses in build logs and kits out there. Ladder locations are also largely guesswork for these early great ships. If I had better resources, and access to experts like Frank L. Fox, the guesswork would be substantially reduced. I would love to be able to pose questions to Mr. Fox for about an hour!

 

[Vfordyce]

For one of the anchors, the hawser and messenger will be deployed as a sort of demonstration. That anchor will be hanging from the tackle of the cat head. The hawser will pass through a trap block attached to The main mast then down through a hatch into the locker below deck. I don’t know where the galley will be but it’s not in the location where it is typically found in 19th century ships. It’s probably low in the ship, perhaps the orlop deck, under the forecastle. The interior features of this model will only be fitted for the lower gun deck and above. Interior temporary and permanent cabins have yet to be researched, but there is no information available for their layout in the Sovereign.

That’s wonderful. You’ve put a lot of thought into this. I can’t wait to see it.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Today a lot of work was accomplished. The new culverin drake barrels were fumed by placing them in a tin container made from the bottom of a soda can, and this was floated in ammonia in a small glass bowl, then it was covered and sealed with plastic wrap and a rubber band. The bowl was placed on top of the water heater to keep it warm for 4 hours, and the ammonia fumes did a fantastic job aging and browning the brass to a beautiful patina. A course cotton cloth rag was used to burnish and polish the excess green oxide off, leaving a very realistic weathered bronze finish.

While the gun barrels were being fumed with ammonia, 3mm x 3mm walnut strips were cut into deck beams, soaked in water, and allowed to dry while clamped to a convex curved piece of wood to bend them into the required camber. Some of the left over 28mm long walnut columns from Caldercraft were used to support the beams while I ordered 40 more of these columns from Cornwall Boats in UK. Other beam supports were crafted from 3mm x 3mm walnut. The design of the deck structure was taken from John McKay's book for the want of any other source. All of the glue joints were made using CA glue. This may be brittle, but after the deck plywood is glued over this, it will be quite strong. I just have to be careful not to *CRUNCH* anything. The middle deck support structure is off to a good start! The distance from the deck to the bottom of a beam overhead is 18mm at the bulwarks and 20mm at centerline. I'm out of columns at this point, so work on more beams will have to wait.

Ammonia fumes from the liquid surrounding the tin contained holding the barrels oxidized the barrels very quickly.


Oxidized barrels on the right, and burnished, finished barrels on the left.


Walnut beam drying on a curved wood form.


First sets of beams, columns, hanging knees, lodging knees, and other supports fabricated and installed.







Progress so far.

 

[dockattner]

Those gun barrels ROCK! And the camber looks just perfect to this landlubber's eye!

 

[Vfordyce]

Those gun barrels ROCK! And the camber looks just perfect to this landlubber's eye!

I love the way you used the curved beam form. I’m going to try that on some of my curved sticks.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

I love the way you used the curved beam form. I’m going to try that on some of my curved sticks.

Just soaking them in hot water for 10 minutes provided enough softness to bend them at the shallow curve of deck camber. Just let them dry, no heat required unless you are in a hurry.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Those gun barrels ROCK! And the camber looks just perfect to this landlubber's eye!

The beauty is, Paul, that it's SO EASY to brown the barrels using ammonia. Just make sure you remove any oils off the brass before you fume them, and use gloves do you don't put fingerprint oils on the metal and the ammonia doesn't eat your skin. I use toluene because it's the most powerful solvent I have and it's on hand, but denatured alcohol works just as well. You may want to use this method on your Wasa guns. Brass guns look really fake to me, and if you want to leave the green oxide on, the guns look truly weathered.

 

[Richie]

Today a lot of work was accomplished. The new culverin drake barrels were fumed by placing them in a tin container made from the bottom of a soda can, and this was floated in ammonia in a small glass bowl, then it was covered and sealed with plastic wrap and a rubber band. The bowl was placed on top of the water heater to keep it warm for 4 hours, and the ammonia fumes did a fantastic job aging and browning the brass to a beautiful patina. A course cotton cloth rag was used to burnish and polish the excess green oxide off, leaving a very realistic weathered bronze finish.

While the gun barrels were being fumed with ammonia, 3mm x 3mm walnut strips were cut into deck beams, soaked in water, and allowed to dry while clamped to a convex curved piece of wood to bend them into the required camber. Some of the left over 28mm long walnut columns from Caldercraft were used to support the beams while I ordered 40 more of these columns from Cornwall Boats in UK. Other beam supports were crafted from 3mm x 3mm walnut. The design of the deck structure was taken from John McKay's book for the want of any other source. All of the glue joints were made using CA glue. This may be brittle, but after the deck plywood is glued over this, it will be quite strong. I just have to be careful not to *CRUNCH* anything. The middle deck support structure is off to a good start! The distance from the deck to the bottom of a beam overhead is 18mm at the bulwarks and 20mm at centerline. I'm out of columns at this point, so work on more beams will have to wait.

Ammonia fumes from the liquid surrounding the tin contained holding the barrels oxidized the barrels very quickly.
View attachment 278347

Oxidized barrels on the right, and burnished, finished barrels on the left.
View attachment 278348

Walnut beam drying on a curved wood form.
View attachment 278349

First sets of beams, columns, hanging knees, lodging knees, and other supports fabricated and installed.
View attachment 278350

View attachment 278351


View attachment 278352

Progress so far.
View attachment 278353

Phew, the amount of detailed work going on here below deck is frightening to me.

 

[Vfordyce]

The beauty is, Paul, that it's SO EASY to brown the barrels using ammonia. Just make sure you remove any oils off the brass before you fume them, and use gloves do you don't put fingerprint oils on the metal and the ammonia doesn't eat your skin. I use toluene because it's the most powerful solvent I have and it's on hand, but denatured alcohol works just as well. You may want to use this method on your Wasa guns. Brass guns look really fake to me, and if you want to leave the green oxide on, the guns look truly weathered.

Don’t breathe! Toluene was the solvent in airplane glue. I lost a lot of brain cells cleaning printing plates using that stuff.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Don’t breathe! Toluene was the solvent in airplane glue. I lost a lot of brain cells cleaning printing plates using that stuff.

Definitely.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Before all the beams and supports crowd me out of the gun deck, the hawse pipes for the anchor cable needed to be located and drilled. This was done, and the starboard anchor cable for the forward anchor on that side was installed. The anchor cable was fed through the hawse pipe, with turns over the bit and led back along the deck with the end passed below deck through the grate.

Next, it was discovered that John McCay's locations for the beams, lodging knees, and hanging knees was incorrect when compared Goodwin's The Construction and Fitting of the English Man of War 1650-1850, which is a more reliable source. Goodwin describes a convention used in the 18th century in which the lodging knees are forward of the beams in the forward half of the ship, and the reverse is true for the after half of the ship since obtuse angled knees are stronger than acute angled knees. This convention should be used since it makes sense and might well have been used in the 17th century as well.

Also, the beams are supposed to be positioned under the gun ports, with other beams between these. McCay's drawings of the Sovereign violate these conventions. So, DEMOLITION was again necessary to correct the knees. I will not reposition the few beams I have in place, since they are close to the correct positions, but four conflicts between the guns and hanging knees, which have yet to be fabricated and installed, were apparent. Lesson learned once again: DON'T TRUST McCAY. He makes pretty pictures, but knows less than he should about ship hull structures. Luckily, the work forward will proceed with me being a tad smarter about placing the hull internals.

The modified Korabel 18th century capstan was finished for the aft capstan. The capstan was recreated as a 17th century style one and installed aft of the main mast. Also, little details needed to be addressed before continuing the beams overhead, such as installing anchor lines and deck rings.

If you guys can think of any other details besides the chain pumps that could be added to this deck before it is closed off, please let me know. This model may not be as correct in every detail as a scratch built POF vessel, but it's getting a heavy duty upgrade from the kit and all these goodies will look great when it's finished. Next are more deck fittings and columns, and I have to scour my other resource books for any information on ladder locations because I don't trust McCay.

Using Payne's illustration and McCay's drawing of the lower gun deck, the positions of the hawse pipes were establish and drill through the hull.


Reworked lodging knee positions. Note the new deck rings and starboard anchor cable. The port anchor cable will be added along with a messenger cable, with its anchor hanging from the cathead as if it is being weighed and prepared for storage on the channel.


Blackened 1.5mm rings and deck hooks made from 18 gauge brass wire were glued into holes in the deck and various positions.


The top section of the capstan was cut off in favor of the older style one made from dowel.


A square diamond file was used to reshape the holes to square shape.


Not bad for a Korabel kit conversion!


Capstan installed.

 

[Vfordyce]

Before all the beams and supports crowd me out of the gun deck, the hawse pipes for the anchor cable needed to be located and drilled. This was done, and the starboard anchor cable for the forward anchor on that side was installed. The anchor cable was fed through the hawse pipe, with turns over the bit and led back along the deck with the end passed below deck through the grate.

Next, it was discovered that John McCay's locations for the beams, lodging knees, and hanging knees was incorrect when compared Goodwin's The Construction and Fitting of the English Man of War 1650-1850, which is a more reliable source. Goodwin describes a convention used in the 18th century in which the lodging knees are forward of the beams in the forward half of the ship, and the reverse is true for the after half of the ship since obtuse angled knees are stronger than acute angled knees. This convention should be used since it makes sense and might well have been used in the 17th century as well.

Also, the beams are supposed to be positioned under the gun ports, with other beams between these. McCay's drawings of the Sovereign violate these conventions. So, DEMOLITION was again necessary to correct the knees. I will not reposition the few beams I have in place, since they are close to the correct positions, but four conflicts between the guns and hanging knees, which have yet to be fabricated and installed, were apparent. Lesson learned once again: DON'T TRUST McCAY. He makes pretty pictures, but knows less than he should about ship hull structures. Luckily, the work forward will proceed with me being a tad smarter about placing the hull internals.

The modified Korabel 18th century capstan was finished for the aft capstan. The capstan was recreated as a 17th century style one and installed aft of the main mast. Also, little details needed to be addressed before continuing the beams overhead, such as installing anchor lines and deck rings.

If you guys can think of any other details besides the chain pumps that could be added to this deck before it is closed off, please let me know. This model may not be as correct in every detail as a scratch built POF vessel, but it's getting a heavy duty upgrade from the kit and all these goodies will look great when it's finished. Next are more deck fittings and columns, and I have to scour my other resource books for any information on ladder locations because I don't trust McCay.

Using Payne's illustration and McCay's drawing of the lower gun deck, the positions of the hawse pipes were establish and drill through the hull.
View attachment 278900

Reworked lodging knee positions. Note the new deck rings and starboard anchor cable. The port anchor cable will be added along with a messenger cable, with its anchor hanging from the cathead as if it is being weighed and prepared for storage on the channel.
View attachment 278901

Blackened 1.5mm rings and deck hooks made from 18 gauge brass wire were glued into holes in the deck and various positions.
View attachment 278902

The top section of the capstan was cut off in favor of the older style one made from dowel.
View attachment 278903

A square diamond file was used to reshape the holes to square shape.
View attachment 278904

Not bad for a Korabel kit conversion!
View attachment 278905

Capstan installed.
View attachment 278906

Thanks for sharing, Kurt!

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

I got curious if I could add a few micro-details to the anchor handling gear, so two stoppers were made for the starboard anchor cable, using Wilhem zu Mondfeld as as source. It took about three hours to tie the stoppers in the to the same level of detail using and needle, forceps, and needle nosed pliers. Next a viol block need to be made and attached to the main mast for the messenger line.