I can confirm that the kits are one and the same. Seems like a 'buy-out' has taken place unbeknown to us or some of us?If the Mamoli and Model Shipways longboat kit are the same, take a close look at the arrangement of the tiller and mainsheet horse.
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As any sailor will instantly see, the tiller is on top of the horse and even from their advertising photos, it is obvious that this is a gross error as the lower mainsheet purchase block in the picture is fouling the tiller. Under sail, when the boom crosses the center line, it therefore necessarily forces the tiller to leeward, turning the boat uncontrollably into the wind! I discussed this error with the model's designer who maintained the position that he had based his model on the original in the National Museum, Greenwich and that is how the contemporary model in NMG's collection was built. He was indeed correct. In fact, there is also another similar contemporary small craft in the NMG's collection with the same error. While we cannot know for sure why this error appears in two models in the NMG's collection, it is indisputably grossly incorrect. The whole purpuse of a mainsheet horse is to permit the tiller to run beneath the horse so as to permit the lower mainsheet purchase block to slide along the horse over the tiller without fouling it. This may be explained by the possibility that another "lubber" who conserved these two models at some point. The designer's argument in the face of these facts was that his model was an exact "model of a model" in the NMG, so it wasn't an error. When you build the model, you can decide whether you want to build "a model of a model version" or the "model of a boat that would be capable of being sailed" version.
Other than that, it's a damn fine model. One of the best on the market in terms of design and accuracy in all other respects.
