VOC SPIEGELRETOURSCHIP BATAVIA 1628 - KOLDERSTOK 1:72

@Kolderstok Hello Hans. The small boat was big fun to build, is very solid and - on its own - looks great. But, I have a specific picture in mind of what I would like that whole part of the deck to look like - and for that (I think) I need a much lighter-coloured boat with more detail.
 
Heinrich said:
Hello Friends

So during my two off days, I made some progress. First up was to continue planking the hull below the water level and to prepare for closing the hull.

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As I need more working space than my little work table affords me, the working surface in the kitchen was called for. Luckily the admiral is fully supportive of the build, so no problems there. :D

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The closer I get to the end the more tricky it gets to anticipate how the final planking when pan out (no little pieces of graph paper meticulously marked out where each plank should go for me). So far there are no dropped strakes - (I might probably end up using one or either side), but it has required some forceful "manipulation" of the planks at time.

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Will all those who reckon that a double-planked hull gives better results, please stand up! :D(Bear in mind that no sanding - whatsoever - has yet taken place).

While waiting for the glue to dry I have embarked on building a long boat for the Haarlem. Historically, the Haarlem's long boat played a huge role in the Dutch gathering information of the Cape and in their general day-to-day-survival. I ordered the Kolderstok long boat which at a length of 120mm is perfectly in scale.

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Don't be fooled. It is small ... Keel, bulkheads and front and rear compartments.

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The stern is planked with walnut strips which are glued at an angle of 45 degrees.

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The first plank goes on ...

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With a plethora of clamps.

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Planking done.

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And finished.

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And the final verdict? I don't like it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the model for what it is, but - to me - it just lacks the WOW factor.

Tonight, I will order a long boat from one of our Russian friends and see how that goes.

Well, that is all for now. Until next time, keep safe and enjoy your building.

Kind regards - Heinrich
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Nice boat. Maybe some improvement would be to cover the plywood with .6mm timber, add a tiller to the rudder and possibly an ad hoc mast with small sail, as I believe some longboats had these. Not sure what they had in that period. All looking good, though Heinrich.
 
Hi Heinrich

I am one of the follower of your log. Works looks amazing to me. One question. Why you waited to finish the hull planking till this step (with many things built on the decks). Just a curiosity. In my short experience as model builder, in my few models done the hull planking was always one of the first steps. But I noticed, reading different logs, that many experienced modelers, like you, do a lot of work on the decks and then at some point finish the hull.

Sorry.... long txt for a simple question. :)

Daniel
Ps: By the way, that hull planking is something I wish from the bottom of my heart that, one day, I too will be able to accomplish.
 
frankieg said:
Nice boat. Maybe some improvement would be to cover the plywood with .6mm timber, add a tiller to the rudder and possibly an ad hoc mast with small sail, as I believe some longboats had these. Not sure what they had in that period. All looking good, though Heinrich.
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I can understand Heinrich here - for me most obvious is the use of plywood for the keel, which is visible - so some veneer strip to cover would immediately help - and this would be maybe a small improvement also in the kit not to use for this part plywood, but thinner solid wood......
 
@frankieg Thank you very much for the nice comments, Frankie. Yes, I could jazz up the look with ropes, oars and the likes, but to me the basic look was not what I was after.
 
@Dematosdg

Hi Daniel. I am very glad that you are following along and that you are enjoying the build. To be very honest with you, there was no real reason for that. I planked the hull and then, as some form of variety, changed to working on the decks again. What is true however, is that if you get to a certain point below the waterline, you can no longer use your build jig - which makes other work awkward. the last reason is time. Sometimes my teaching schedule is so that I have a single day off only and not two days in a row. Because of the time I put into the planking, I will not attempt it unless I have two following days free to work on that.

Kind regards - Heinrich (Oh and by the way - I am not an experienced builder. This is my first build and this is my first attempt at planking. :D )
 
Heinrich,

Your planking looks great. I have to agree with you on the little boat. If it doesn’t look as you envisioned and you leave it as is, it will bother you every time you look at your completed build.

Jan
 
Heinrich said:
@Pathfinder65 Hi Jan. Absolutely. I have just paid for the Falkonet Long Boat from Russia.

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The version I got is the Pear Wood one so it should be a lovely little boat - I just hope I can do it justice.

Regards - Heinrich
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Hallo Heinrich,
The Falkonet Longboat for 20 oars is a nice boat and it will make some additional fun to build.
But I have my doubts, that it will really fit correctly on the deck of your Batavia of early 17th century.
It is a different scale an mainly I guess it is too "modern" for the needs (late 18th or early 19th century) - and I think on the Batavia was more a jolly or cutter than a longboat
Not every boat is the correct boat
 
@Uwek Hi Uwe. Thank you very much for your comments and suggestions. It is great to have you comment.

On the issue of model-size scale - this boat is 110mm, the bijboot for the Batavia is 120mm - so size-wise there shouldn't be a problem. The Haarlem had two "lifeboats" - a skiff and a proper longboat.

From Bruno Werz's thesis:

These, together with the skiff and the longboat from Haarlem were used in an attempt to free the ship. Around noon Haarlem’s longboat was sent to the beach together with First Mate Cornelis Wallis and some other men, including two carpenters and their tools, to build a tent. On 29 March the Haarlem's longboat transferred a quantity of mace, 82 bales of camphor and about 80 bales of cinnamon to Witte Olifant in two trips.

From this we could gather that the Haarlem did have a longboat and that it was not small either. As far as the historical accuracy goes you are right but the cutters from Master Korabel and Falkonet that I could find, were much too small (75mm), so it is a case of the lesser of two evils.
 
Heinrich said:
@Uwek Do you possibly have another suggestion, Uwe?
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I am not a specialist for this time period and which kinds of boats they used, but if you stay f.e. with Falkonet, there is f.e. a Jolly in scale 1:72 and a total length of 7,5 cm
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or another longboat of an earlier period (still too young) scale 1:72 and 10cm long
qww.JPG

But I keep my eyes open for other alternatives
 
Heinrich, I just got to following and cheering from the parking lot today! Seems Im very late to the party but happy to have finally arrived.
Your build log and review are a testiment to a superior grade of kit design/manufacture and to the craftmanship you obviously possess.
Im in total awe of the kit and the work of art you have been making from it. Well done :)
 
@Jimsky Thank you Jimsky. I spent a lot of time looking at Master Korabel as well. The second option you mentioned, looks very much like the Falkonet. I opted for the Falkonet for a number of reasons:

1. The Falconet is bigger and the closest in size to the long boat that Hans supplied.
2. I believe that the pear wood will give exactly the effect that I am looking for. (Finished with 100% pure Tung Oil, I relish the prospects of what that could look like.)
3. I like the look of the gratings (which are totally in line with the many gratings used on the 17th Century Dutch ships).
4. I wanted to support one of our advertisers.
5. The customer service I received from @Falconet-mfg.(Mariya has been great.)
 
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