Book review The Statenjacht Utrecht 1746

Joined
May 13, 2020
Messages
2,006
Points
503

Hi all

If you want to built the Statenjacht Utrecht 1746 from scratch, from a kit (Dusek kit) or want to built the interior of the kit Pegasus. These 2 books are a very helpful.

I am noone to made a book review. So I will limit my comments to the books contents.

The first one :

The Statenjacht Utrecht 1746 by Ab Hoving with ship plans from Cor Emke.

20201217_113254.jpg20201217_114511.jpg

The book has historical references and tells the story of Statenjacht's. Excellent if you want to know the origin of Statenjacht's and their use. @Ab Hoving is a SOS member and you can direct to him any question you could have about this book.

Moreover, the book describes the re-building of the Utrecht 1746, actually in use, with very nice pictures (you can find videos online). The building process images provides you an idea of the magnitud of the job. They have detailed descriptions.

Also, the book has a set of 13 plans that will help you on every detail to built a model, as said, from scratch or from kit.

Something to mention is that, to my knowledge, only the English version of the book includes the plan sheets.

I will post some pictures of the content.

The other book is :

Scratch Building the Yacht Utrecht by Gilbert McArdle

20201217_114617.jpg

This book has detailed information and very nice pictures. The author takes you along his scratch building, step by step, ending with an amazing model. The book also contains the frame plans.

I will post picture from this book to.

Now Pictures :

Just follow the flow. Picture's of each book are after their book cover image.

Enjoy them. !!!

Daniel

20201217_113254.jpg20201217_113402.jpg20201217_113459.jpg20201217_113606.jpg20201217_113636.jpg20201217_113651.jpg20201217_113725.jpg20201217_113827.jpg20201217_113858.jpg20201217_113933.jpg20201217_114025.jpg20201217_114055.jpg20201217_114135.jpg20201217_114217.jpg20201217_114432.jpg20201216_211039.jpg20201217_114511.jpg

Just wait to comment till I finish posting the pictures
 
Last edited:
Many thanks for posting the information about those books. I am sure this will be valuable to someone who desired to build this wonderful model.

Here are the links where you can purchase those books



Thanks again, Dan!
 
Many Thanks for introducing the two interesting books - I think I will order them also....

And I think everybody knows, that one author @Ab Hoving is also an active member here in our forum......
 
A lovely little ship.

Years ago I made a tiny open-frame model of a similar (or the same) vessel when it was featured in Model Shipwright magazine #84 in 1993.
The hull length is only 15cm. I have since lost the sight in one eye and find accurate miniature work very difficult or impossible, so I couldn't repeat it today.
Here are a picture of the author's model, the outline plan I worked from, and my model from 1995.

yacht5.JPGyacht4.JPGyacht3.JPGyacht2.JPGyacht1.JPG
 
Last edited:
Nice job. But as a design it has nothing to do with any Dutch yacht. Still amazing work.
not quite sure why you say that - the design featured in Model Shipwright is clearly a copy of old plans entitled "Yacht Olandese of 18th century". The author Ove Andreasen states "In a book I came across a drawing of a Dutch statenjagt of about 1700".

not that it matters - I was entranced by the photos of the author's miniature and was inspired to copy it.
 
....as a design it has nothing to do with any Dutch yacht..... .

Hi Ab Hoving , would it be very nice that you explain the desing differences so we all learn.

By the above posted plan drawings, that model looks very similar, as the Utrecht plans.

Thanks
Daniel
 
Last edited:
I’ll be glad to.
The fact that the model is made after a plan is no guarantee for authenticity. Someone sat himself at the table and drew something he must have seen from far away, without understanding how it was made. Moreover the fact that it was drawn by an Italian designer is reason for serious suspicion. Did he have any knowledge of the type? Aparently not, because the underwater shape of the hull is pure fantasy, the sheer is almost a caricature, the inside devision of rooms is hard to be taken seriously, the shape of the main sail is rediculous, there is no way to steer the ship, the dockyard-model-style has never been practiced in Holland and certainly those cant-frames in the bow suggest that the designer had no idea of how the construction was executed.
Still, these are in no way reasons to condamn the model. If the builder enjoyed the build, the model was successful. If he looks at it with pleasure, it is a good model. Only if he suggests that it depicts something it is apparently not, there is reason enough to make a remark.
Still, a nice job. :)
 
Last edited:
I’ll be glad to.
The fact that the model is made after a plan is no guarantee for authenticity. Someone sat himself at the table and drew something he must have seen from far away, without understanding how it was made. Moreover the fact that it was drawn by an Italian designer is reason for serious suspicion. Did he have any knowledge of the type? Aparently not, because the underwater shape of the hull is pure fantasy, the sheer is almost a charicature, the inside devision of rooms is hard to be taken seriously, the shape of the main sail is rediculous, there is no way to steer the ship, the dockyard-model-style has never been practiced in Holland and certainly those cant-frames in the bow suggest that the designer had no idea of how the construction was executed.
Still, these are in no way reasons to condamn the model. If the builder enjoyed the build, the model was successful. If he looks at it with pleasure, it is a good model. Only if he suggests that it depicts something it is apparently not, there is reason enough to make a remark.
Still, a nice job. :)

Thank you !!!

Daniel
 
Ab - fair comment. Now I look at it with your far more perceptive vision I can see that the design does not follow Dutch norms. I assume that the Italian (del .. secolo ?) who drew the plan was trying to draw the same Utrecht yacht but through rose-coloured glasses. So I will take my model as a fanciful caricature and nothing more, but the hull shape he drew filled me with inspiration.

When I look back on it, I was on an overseas posting in Asia with little to fill my spare time, and I thoroughly enjoyed building a miniature; the only authenticity I sought was with respect to the plan in the book because it looked so pretty. I especially enjoyed carving the tiny window frame mouldings which I gilded later, when I returned to civilisation.

Ab, thanks for your critique - much appreciated.
 
I hope my comments did not disappoint you. The model might not be a true replica of the type, as an object I understand that you felt the charm of it. I do too.
Having made a nice object is most rewarding, even if it is based on imagination.
Ab
 
I have seen several caricature models of ships, especially galleons, tugs and fishing boats, that really capture the character of the prototype even though they are vastly out of scale and exaggerate many of the original features. Unfortunately I can't find any now, except perhaps Amati's model of Coca of Matarò, the prototype of which was built as a votive offering and was a caricature of a typical merchant ship of the time. If anyone has any leads I would love to check them out.
 
Back
Top