Going deeper down in history: a Vlieboot

[Don Boose]

I have read all this very carefully and learned a lot in the process.

All of your threads are very much worth reading and seeing. The story revealed by your research is fascinating and your plain little vessel prior to the installation of decks (and gratings!), deck furniture, and rigging is a thing of great simple beauty.

Don

[Michael Mash]

Wonderful tour of history Ab.
The story of the Dutch gaining their independence is one of my favorites.
Mike

[Seahorse]

Ab,

for me, your posts are amazing. They not only show cool work on models, but they also teach a bit of history. Thank you.

Best
Tomek

[JohnMGD]

Hi Ab,
What happened with your model of the "Vlieboot", last entry was February 2019 !!

[abhovi]

Good question Jan,

The point is, that I produced a very nice hull, completely in accordance with the contract and much to my content. The problem started the moment I wanted to let it look like the vessel on the painting. That ship has a grating deck over the entire upper deck. The bulwarks however are not much more than a meter. If I mount deck beams to support the gratings, there is not enough height to handle the cannons.
Of course I realize that guns in the end of the 16th century did not need much space, because they were very low. But the purpose of the gratings was not to allow foes on deck and if they dared to do it anyway they could be seriously hurt with short spears, coming through the gratings. I don't see that as possible while the defenders crawled around underneath a one meter high deck.
In other words: I could finish the ship as is, without the grating deck, but then the likeness with the vessel on the painting is zero.
Still waiting for a solution...



In the mean time I did solve the problem of making gratings: my friend Herbert Tomesen with his railroad model company Artitec produced a pile of grating panels for me, allowing me to cover more that the whole model.
But to finish it that way, I first have to believe in it and the problem is that I still don't.
Well, there are more serious dilemmas in life....