Spanish pirate galleon "Neptune" 1:100 (scratch build)

[RdK]

Hi Ab,

That is a good question.

Here's a painting from Peter van de Velde depicting the burning of the English fleet before Catham (1667) from the Rijksmuesum. Interestingly we can see red gun ports on the Royal Charles, whereas for instance the Carolus V on the right does not have red gun ports, as well as the dutch fire ships. But another vessel in the background has red ports again... (click on the image to open it in another tab for better resolution)

I have no idea if it was a rule or not. There are other paintings also of Spanish ships from the 17th century that show red gun ports, whereas others do not.

Maybe it was more sort of a fashion to paint the gun ports of the larger vessels in a "royal" red?

Unfortunately I have no access to archeological journals and cannot find more information in the depths of the internet. It would be interesting to find out, why some were painted that way.

PS:Yes, we enjoyed a good pizza with Tapcho and exchanged paper-modeling knowledge...

Rgds,
Radek

[Michael Mash]

Originally Posted by RdK

-I can tell you, my dear Tapanillo, but let us now eat and drink and celebrate our freedom! Our dear friend Miguél de Nevado Norte gave me some of my rum with, which he purchased for a pretty penny in Cuba! Said Radék del Sol, while happily eating a Pepperoni Pizza with his friend Tapanillo Giovanni Cassini.

…tbc…

Arrr . . . . A pretty penny indeed!!!
More like TEN GOLD CRUSADOS God forbid.

Miguél de Nevado Norte

[Tapcho]

Few thoughts of painting ships. First of all paints were expencive at the time. Paints were also bad in term how they withstand the elements at sea. They didin,t adhere too well and chipped away in now time.

Gold leaf and gildenig the devorations offered far better protection and stood more time that any of the period paints.

So paint was used as far as I know very sparingly at least in British navy, maybe else where too. Ships were painted and gildened for launch but maintenance after that is a whole different story. Captains were scutanaised how much money they spent on their ships and paint was not at the top of the list.

Old documents show that paint was also used to the last drop. From the leftover (red, blue, yellow and white) was mixed different shades to be used where ever paint was needed to proteck wood. In the period documents these mixtures were described as 'sad colours'.

Gun port inner face: bright red would have been expensive therefore my pick is a 'sad colour'. Like in the painting.

BR Tappi

[abhovi]

That's what I meant. I know some ships had red gunport lids, but how about the sills? I am a bit afraid of mandatory rules. It happened sometimes and sometimes not. I don't know...

[RdK]

Ahoy everyone!

…Steady but slow progress on the Neptune.

As a side note, meanwhile I found some paintings depicting also whalers with red gun ports…

Anyway,
I found some older pictures that show my work on the steering wheel (pic. 1&2). I thought I’ll show them here because the steering wheel won’t be so visible anymore once I will close the sides and start with the deck fittings.
Also I found some pictures showing my work with the self-adhesive foil on the deck walls (pic. 3 to 6). I used the inside of a wound plaster to imitate the window grating (pic. 3).

The next pictures show my work on the sides of the hull, prior to gluing it in place (pic. 7 to 11). First I make the gun port stops, which I also painted red (as described in the previous post). For that I cut out a tiny strip. For the lower and upper post I cut them tapered - or a bit diagonal - to mimic the curvature of the hull, so once glued in place they should be parallel to the decks. I glue first the lower stop, then the side frames and finally the upper one. As I glue them, the whole side structure gets heavier and more robust, which is a good thing. That way it is easier to shape the part into a curvature that fits the ship’s lines.

Then I need to attach the ring bolts and hooks for the gun rigging to each of the nine gun ports on one side for the upper deck (two rings and two hooks for each gun). I attached the rings (pic. 10) and was not thinking about the hooks and glued the starboard side in place, only to realize that now it was quite tricky to attach the hooks.

So, for the other side I will take extra time and make sure, this time I won’t forget anything before gluing it in place. I do not have a picture with the rings, but they are made in a similar fashion like the hooks (pic. 9).

The last pictures (pic. 12 to 15) show the Neptune in its current state. Slowly but surely she starts to show the nice curves of the hull. I am halfway between!

Next is then the other side and then the stern windows and cover, before I can start to finally plank the whole hull.

So much for now.

Have a nice holiday time!

Rgds,
Radek



“…Mayo Anno Domini 1669…

So… – continued Radék de la Sol de la Santa Crúz de Brazil after a while and a fresh glass of Rum, pushing an empty pizza plate out of the way - …Captain Morgan realized that he stood no chance against the fort, now with its even better cannons, delivered from Miguél de Nevado Norte! …Blessed be that man… – and imitating a cross on his chest, followed by his companion, he continued –


Instead, that scurvy dog tried to negotiate his way out, proposing to release his Spanish prisoners for a save passage. But his offer was refused by Campos. Meanwhile the city of Maracaibo offered him 20 000 pieces of eight for not sacking it again along with some 500 head of cattle! He distributed all his spoils among his remaining vessels, 250 000 pieces of eight!! – God forbid that... Son of a Biscuit Eater! – and a few days later, refusing to further negotiate, his galleys busily plied back and forth inshore, seemingly bringing a large landing party to the shore.

-But this time he would not find an empty fort with spiked guns, eh? - Asked Tapanillo, while sipping his rum with excitement – so what happened then?

Of course this hassle at the shore was well observed by the Soldiers in the fort, Radék continued, and so they repositioned their cannons towards the direction they expected the attack to come from, assuming another raid by night. Only that this time Morgan’s men were hiding in the bottom of the boats when they returned to the ships, and no one actually disembarked on the shore! And in the night, while the Soldiers expected his attempt to take the fort by storm again, he silently moved his ships under the cover of darkness, riding them on the ebb and sails stowed!

Tapanillo almost choked on his sip of the rum and had to spit it out again…

He deceived again everyone and slipped past the fort, hoisting the sails at the height of the fort and by the time the cannons were repositioned back, he was sailing off in triumph!
Look, he even managed to waste the tasty rum of yours, my dear Tapanillo…And now he is halfway between on his way back to Jamaica…

...May he be hanged for his atrosities!But I must admit that he has a very cunning way of dealing with you Spaniards, said Tapanillo.

He seems to know well our trade routes (pic. 16), but our galleons are now better equipped with the new cannons so he will sooner or later have a tough time trying to capture our vessels. The guns at the Castillo San Carlos de la Barra were just an appetizer! Replied Radék.

The two companions enjoyed some other, this time more upbuilding stories and some more rum, while the sun slowly set over Olinda (pic. 17), with a new day awaiting for Radék de la Sol de la Santa Crúz de Brazil to continue his work on the Neptune…”

[Michael Mash]

Hello Radek:
Always a pleasure to see more work. The images go along quite nicely with your descriptions.
I have never planked the hull of a wood ship. But you and the other sail ship builders here always show good skill and technique with the process. So it is always an interesting thing to watch and I look forward to it.

And of course . . . I must tell you . . . while dining on a bowl of Spanish Rice for lunch, in the middle of frigid December temperatures . . . how much I enjoyed reading again the adventures of Radék de la Sol de la Santa Crúz de Brazil amid the ambiance of Olinda, in the warm Brazilian tropics.

Que o vento esteja com você.
Mike

[Michael Mash]

Excerpts from “a comunicação” sent to Radék de la Sol del Santa Crúz de Brazil…………… to warn of the hazards and risks along the north Cuban coast . . . .

…Mayo Anno Domini 1669…

. . . . . . . upon the advice and urging of our trusted metalúrgico . . . a student of the principal iron weapons master for Swedish King Adolphus, our own Dominic De La Armas De Hierro . . . . . I was persuaded to undertake a brief viaje to Santiago to meet with another shipwright, the esteemed Firdajan De Anna Maria, for advice in search of additional suppliers of exotic hardwoods, iron and metal.

We departed Habana aboard a Portuguese Caravela under the command of captain Tomek De Sete Províncias. During our short voyage along the north Cuban coast we could not rest, as the waves tossed us back and forth up and down during the night. So Captain Tomek steered his small vessel into a sheltered cove of Cayo Romano. The crew threw the anchors into the water and we all slept.

Then . . . In the middle of the night . . . it happened.
We were awakened by such turmoil and disorder on the deck, causing us to rush to investigate. As Dominic and I emerged from the forecastle, we saw them . . .

Seemingly . . . out of nowhere . . . they appeared. Leading their charge was the mad dog “She-Pirate”, Jacquotte Delahaye . . . from the French Quarter of Hispaniola!!! With flaming red hair flying . . . . brandishing a pair of double-barreled pistoles, she ordered: “GIVE WAY !! WE MEAN NO HARM TO THE PORTUGUESE NATION IN AMERICA”. “WE DO NOT NEED YOUR CRUMMY LITTLE SHIP. WE COME FOR SUPPLIES TO CONTINUE OUR PURSUIT OF THE ABHORANT ENGLISH!”
She and her band of renegades had boarded as we slept god forbid!!
Captain Tomek ordered the sleepy crew to stand down, as they were not prepared to resist heavily armed gente desesperada.

As Jacquotte Delahaye waived her pisoles at our noses she declared: “DELAY OUR BUSINESS AND WE WILL KNOCK YOU ON THE HEAD AND TOSS YOU TO THE SHARKS!”. Dominic De La Armas leaned over and whispered, “those are silver-plated pistols Senhor Miguél, a wealthy pirate indeed!”
Jacquotte Delahaye’s subordinates quickly gathered the provisions they needed, and the whole bunch of them disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

I could not be certain, as their ship slipped away into the darkness . . . perhaps some damage to the stern? Could these be the same brigands that visited us at Rio De Jaruco?

Best to avoid these waters till the Colonel Don Del Valle De Cumberland and his Spanish garrison can rid us of these pests!

Siempre tu viejo aliado,
Miguél De Nevado Norte

P.S. . . . . I must dispatch a boat to your estaleiro at Olinda for purchase of added stocks of your famous self-brewed rum. Our supply runs low, and as you know, my shipwrights, blacksmiths and trabalhadores will not work without a daily portion of the stuff god help us all!


………………tbc……………….

[RdK]

Hi everyone!

Glad you like the story Mike! And thanks for your nice contribution. However, I believe Jacquotte Delahaye was already shot dead by 1669, if she ever existed!

I made a picture of the ring bolts for the gun rigging (pic. 1). No need for any glue for the small rings and hooks. Only pliers and a bit of patience…After attaching all of them into place also on the other side, I gave them still a drop of black oil paint around where they are stuck into the side-wall (pic. 2), because of the drilling of a small hole, there was quite some card visible beneath the self-adhesive foil around them (see previous post pic. 10).

Then I glued the other side onto the frame – was quite a struggle with the CA-gel, which dries so quickly. Somehow more struggle with the second side than with the first one.
Then I used the old, somehow stiff white glue to fill all possible dents and fissures (pics. 3 & 4) and after drying for several days gave it a proper sanding using 80 and 180 sandpaper.
So even if this is a “one-layer-of-card-hull”, it still needed some “filler” and sanding. It was easier with the Mayflower (no “filler” needed there), maybe because it was a smaller vessel?

The next pictures (pics. 5 to 10) hopefully show somehow the sanded hull and its roundness. I am quite satisfied, although in some spots the white glue left a bit rough appearance with small dents between the sanded parts of it (you can recognize some in picture 5 under the 3rd gun port). Maybe I manage next time to post a pic when there is more daylight. But I hope the self-adhesive foil planks will cover it nicely.

Another issue is that somehow when I started to make the stern window part I realized how crooked and asymmetric the two sides are! As if a rum-drunk person made the parts…
Also, I had to cut out some of the frame parts because I was not thinking ahead and forgot that I need space for the balcony entrance and for the uppermost round window…
And in my mind all seemed so straight …and straight forward…
This makes it a bit more difficult to make the stern part so as to hide the asymmetry. But more on the stern in the next post.

Now I am still working on the stern windows and then hopefully the planking of the hull can start.

So much for now!

PS: Apologies for the bad pictures...

Rgds,
Radek




“…Junio Anno Domini 1669…

Antonio Iturribálzaga Gaztañeta !!”
...shouted the shipwright Radék de la Sól de la Santa Cruz de Brazíl…
Where have you been again?? You smell again like a pig! And you look like you haven’t been sober since the conquest of the Aztec by Hernan Cortez! Did you cracked Jenny’s Tea Cup again??

…No, not this time (hicks)… but I got lost in the cellar and…replied the slowly sobering youngster.

- Look at the ship! The stern is totally asymmetric! And where are the frames for the balcony doors? Should the Lieutenant Don Alfonso de Salamanca de la Torre and his young acquaintance María-Dolores de la Jenya de la Calde climb to the balcony through the window?? (pic. 11)

…and with that words he took the hat off the youngsters head and hit him with the hat in a wide sweep, then returning it back…
- We will have to correct this mistakes and see to it that in the end everything be straight again. But what did you say about the cellar?

…I got lost in the cellar and somehow ended up in your rum-distillery…

- Oh, God forbid! I hope you did not drunk from the blue marked barrel! Come now, we have a guest with us from the honorable Miguél De Nevado Norte who is here to take with some of the rum. I will show him the distillery and maybe you can also learn a thing or two about it.

So the two went to greet the man, who came on shore with the dispatched boat.

- Glen De Los Pájaros Montaña! It is such a pleasure to meet you again! Come, come, and let me introduce you to the secret of my rum distillery! (pic. 12)

- As you know, the rum is made from the sugar cane that is to be found so plentiful here in the Caribbean. I started the process back in the 1650s with some workers from my farm on St. Lucia, as I discovered that you can use the sweet molasses – a product resulting from refining the sugarcane plant – to make rum. But you can also use raw cane sugar or sugarcane juice if you don’t happen to have molasses on hand. And this is the first secret to a good rum: the preparation of your wash:

First, I heat up about 21 liters of water (5.5 gallons) up to the point when the liquid in this sealed glass capsule starts to disappear… And Radék de la Sol showed him a glass cylinder, similar to an hourglass, filled with a transparent liquid, which turned out to be methanol with a boiling point of today’s 64.7 ºC (148.46 ºF).
- Then I Stir in the molasses and stir with a long spoon until completely dissolved.
Then I cool down the wash by adding some cold water, some 3-4 liters should be fine (1 gallon).
Then, when the wash is lukewarm (about 25 ºC or 80 ºF), I add some yeast and pour it back and forth between two separate containers for a while (about 5 minutes).
Afterwards I seal it in the fermentation bucket with the air-lock and store in a dark and warm place.
After about two weeks you will see no bubbles form the air-lock, which means all the sugar is now converted.
Then, using a cheese cloth, I filter the wash to remove any solids, which would cause only headache…

At that the young Gaztañeta just rolled his eyes and sighed silently in pain…

- Then I make sure that my pot still is as clean as possible and add the wash in for the distillation. This is to remove any unwanted and bad tasting parts of the rum. For that I developed a method of two and three: I heat the pot and start raising the temperature of my rum wash. I run the rum wash through two separate distillations. During the first, I collect the entire distillate without separating the three: the heads, hearts and tails. That will be done during the second round of distillation.

- So what are the heads, hearts and tails? Asked Glen De Los Pájaros Montaña.

- First, there are what I call foreshots. These can cost you your eyesight (methanol) so throw that part away. The first part is then the head, which is the unwanted first distillate. I collect it in the blue marked barrel. If drunk, it cause you horrible headache (acetone)…

At that the young Gaztañeta just rolled his eyes and run quickly outside, and one could hear the noise of someone vomiting…

- To control the temperature, I use the other sealed capsule (which, unknown to Radék would contain an ethanol-propyl mix, boiling at around 80 ºC or 176 ºF). I got it once from an Arabic merchant back in Europe. I keep the heat just so that the liquid in it does not disappear until the distillery stops producing.
Then I heat it a bit so the liquid disappears and the distillery starts to produce the second part, the heart, which is the sweet spot that produces the best distillate for my rum.
The last part, the tail, I recognize by sight, smell and taste. It shows an oily film on top of the distillate and smells/tastes with a burnt type of flavor. This I can run again through the distillation process.

And the last secret to my good rum is the aging. I use charred barrels, which give a darker and richer flavor. So after mixing it with fresh water, I leave it in the barrels for minimum half a year together with some chips of oak, cinnamon and nutmeg.

I have just some ripe rum I made upon my arrival to Olinda about half a year ago, my friend.

Glen De Los Pájaros Montaña was exceptionally happy to receive 20 barrels of Radék de la Sol’s famous rum – Be careful my friend, I heared Jacquotte Delahaye is still alive...And I have one last question: Why do you call it rum?

…Well, as you know, the slaves on Barbados named it so. When I gave my workers the recipe, they brought it to their enslaved friends there, and since they do not speak Spanish, they started to call it Radék’s "Única Milagro" (Radek’s unique miracle), or short: RUM!

...Centuries later the wise and educated scholars still pondered about the origin of the name, attributing it to large Dutch drinking glasses called “rummers”, or the word “rumbullion”, standing for "a great tumult", like the one of the slaves in Barbados in the 1650s…And of course historians never credited the invention to Radék de la Sol de la Santa Crúz…”

[Tapcho]

Both posts show fine progress. Can't wait to see the planking phase. Your ship has a very friendly face, for a pirate ship. ;-)

Tappi

[Michael Mash]

Absolutely. If one looks at the planking on Radek’s Mayflower (Dec 2020), one can see how nice the final finish of the hull will be. Looking forward to it.
Mike