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Post by fredhocker on Feb 11, 2020 8:02:29 GMT
So here is where we stand on Vasa II, after my meeting last week with Nordic Academic Press, the publisher.
Volume II, on rigging and sailing, will be in two physical parts (otherwise it is an unmanageable book). Part I, which will include all of the archaeological documentations of finds related to rigging and ship operations (such as anchors, capstans, steering gear and navigation) will appear first. Part II, a detailed reconstruction of the whole rig with investigations of the economics of collecting the resources needed, an analysis of the process of rigging the ship, analysis of likely sailing performance, and evaluations of our sailing trials on Kalmar Nyckel, will be accomplanied by large-format plans. It is not yet certain if the plans will be on paper or included as digital files (I am arguing for both). Part II will come with a slipcase which will hold both parts. Part I, which is 408 pages (of which illustrations account for 153 pages), should go to the printer before midsummer and be available in the autumn. The schedule for part II is less certain, since we operate on annual budgets and cannot promise things very far in advance, but we would like to produce Part II next year, on a similar schedule.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Feb 5, 2020 8:05:30 GMT
Time for an update.
Things move slowly here, not sure why. I have a meeting on Friday with the press to discuss scheduling. Will report back here once they can give me an idea of the printing schedule.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Feb 5, 2020 8:03:17 GMT
We have at least two yards that survive. These taper so that the end is about 1/3 the diameter at the center.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Feb 5, 2020 7:59:25 GMT
Sorry not to have answered this earlier (although it is a question I have answered several times on this forum and others). Purchase records for the navy yard indicate that they bought lamp black specifically for painting gun carriages, so the carriages should be black.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Nov 18, 2019 7:50:51 GMT
Since the upper masts did not survive, it is not possible to say definitively, but archaeological finds from other ships indicate that there would be a sheave in a slot for the halliards.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Nov 18, 2019 7:48:46 GMT
Bela, Vasa hatte Klampen für die Fallen (ich schicke ein Bild), aber nicht für die Nocken. Fred Attachments:07880a.tif (1.78 MB)
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Post by fredhocker on Nov 13, 2019 7:31:10 GMT
Dear Bela,
Most of the rig is confirmed directly or indirectly by archaeological evidence. The surviving elements include:
Spars Fore lower mast (complete) Main lower mast (complete) At least two yards (probably the main topgallant and spritsail topsail)
Tops Fore top - about 40% Fore crosstrees - 75% Main top - nearly 100% Mizzen top - about 25% Mizzen crosstrees - 25%
Caps Mainmast cap Mizzen topmast cap Ensign staff cap
Tackle 125 deadeyes 480 blocks 150 parrel components (trucks and ribs)
Sails Spritsail topsail Spritsail Fore topgallantsail Main course Main topgallantsail Mizzen bonnet Mizzen topsail Longboat forestaysail Longboat mainsail
In addition to this, we have in the museum stores nearly 400 metres of rope of all types, up to anchor cable.
The reconstruction is thus largely substantiated by the finds. The one area where we have to rely on secondary sources is the fore and main topmasts and topsails, as these were recovered after the sinking.
With best regards, Fred Hocker Director of Research Vasa Museum
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Post by fredhocker on Oct 22, 2019 14:16:52 GMT
This should be fun! Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Oct 11, 2019 6:49:42 GMT
The deAgostini rigging plan is not very close to the original, as it is greatly simplified and some of the belaying furniture is incorrect. The Lanitzki drawings are a little better, although not entirely accurate either. Much of the rigging reconstruction is conjectural in any case, since direct evidence of how lines were led is minimal. We can be cofident about some lines, such as the lower halliards and sheets and tacks, topsail sheets, topropes, and a few others, but much of the rest is based on combining the block types we have with secondary evidence, which is usefully summarized in Anderson's study of 17th-century rigging.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Sept 25, 2019 6:55:09 GMT
As far as we can see (without taking the ship apart), the ship is built in the bottom-based manner, with the bottom planks fastened together temporarily with cleats nailed across the seams. The bottom is assembled out to the turn of the bilge (the hals) and then floor timbers are inserted. Once the bottom is stabilized, first futtocks can be added. We have plotted seven floor timbers which are much heavier than the rest, and these occur at useful locations for shaping the bottom, so there may have been some guiding floor timbers used. There do not appear to be any fasteners between the framing elements, so no made frames that we can detect. Also, the maximum breadth at each waterline does not occur at the same frame, which suggests that there was no master frame to define amidships. This agrees more or less with how Witsen and van Yk describe ship construction in the northern part of the Netherlands.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Aug 12, 2019 6:45:07 GMT
The Corel kit is definitely a challenge. It was developed before the conservation of the ship was finished, and so is not very up to date. I am told it is also difficult to build, partly due to the incomplete plans.
The new deAgostini kit is the most accurate, but only sold on a partworks basis and difficult to find.
Your finished model is very clean, a very good job with a difficult kit. Bravo!
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Aug 12, 2019 6:40:51 GMT
The stern ports in the gunroom are actually rather heavily framed, but this is disguised by the round opening. There is a heavy transom timber immediatly above and below, and a vertical timber about 20 cm square either side, mortised into the transom timbers. These frame a space about the size of a normal square port. The ringbolts for the breeching and tackles are driven through the vertical timbers. The edges of the round opening might be a little fragile, as there is only the sculptural ornament on the outside to reinforce them, but the internal timbers which frame the port are set right at the horizontal and vertical limits of the opening. Looks pretty substantial to me, and the carriages found at these ports are for 24 pounders.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Jul 30, 2019 8:07:21 GMT
On the original shrouds and ratline fragments we have, the amount of tarring is the same.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Jul 30, 2019 8:06:07 GMT
Hi Guy,
Not in the same scale, but we have drawings available of guns and carriages. Send me an email at fred.hocker@smtm.se and I can send you the information you need, then figure out how to post it here.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Jul 17, 2019 6:56:17 GMT
Hi Laurent,
All of the text for the first part of Vasa II has been delivered and we are sorting out the illustrations now. Cannot say exactly when it will appear, but I hope at the end of the year or in January. Once I have a release date I will post it here.
We are still discussing the plan format. At present, we are looking at four or five loose sheets in a pocket in the back of the book. These should be at 1:50, if we can print the full rigging reconstruction at that size conveniently. We are also considering a CD with digital versions. The plans will appear in part 2, which should come out later in 2020. There will be about 500 illustrations, including many detail drawings, exploded views of complicated assemblies (such as the capstans and tops) in part 1.
Fred
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