I do. This ship was a lot more than a warship, it was a symbol of dominance to all nations of the sovereignty of the English monarch over all others who float a navy. This was the KING'S SHIP, and hence, it was a national symbol, so huge amounts of money were poured into the wooden carvings which were gilt (covered in gold leaf OR painted in gold... gilt meant either back then). The carvings DID add a lot of weight, but for a national symbol, one of a kind, that was part of the plan, and it was also the chief reason why the maritime aristocrats wanted the ship cancelled. It actually sailed failry well considering its weight, but of course it was relatively slow. But, it had a maximum of 102 bronze guns, the heaviest armed ship of its day. No ship dared let it get too close to them! But the King thought it was a great idea to built it, and since the Pett family had such influence with the King, it was built anyway. After the rebuild of 1658-1660, many of the carvings were removed, and also much of the upper structures were lightened, and the interior gun deck heights adjusted to make it more seaworthy. Later on, some of the carvings were reinstalled... remember: NATIONAL SYMBOL. Other nations also built what I call a heavily decorated "royal man-of-war". French:
La Couronne 72 guns. Sweden:
Wasa 64 guns. Europeans
LOVE their pageantry.
After redesign, the ship was considered much better at sailing, even though by then the vessel was badly obsolete compared to other large ships in the British Navy. Still, the Sovereign had an exceptionally long life...59 years, until it sat for the final years at anchor, with money meant for it's upkeep stolen by corrupt persons in charge, and after lack of maintenance had taken its toll, it is rumored some feckless watchman allowed a candle to spill over one January night in 1696, burning the ship to the waterline... a total loss.
La Couronne only lasted about 8 years.
Wasa, less than 21 minutes.
Take a look at the carvings of the
Wasa. They were made the same way. Gilt wood, in that case, painted.
That said;
), you can get cheap remote control fobs and switches off Ebay. This isn't something I have looked at in detail but may be an easier and more "flash" option to switch your lights on and off meaning you only need access to replace batteries. Another option is a magnetic reed switch which is activated by placing an item on the deck to activate, for example a barrel with a magnet inside.These are often used by RC modellers to turn the electrics on and off
