Spanish Caravel Santa Maria Amati 1:200 Scale

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Christopher Columbus had three ships on his first voyage, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Columbus sailed from Palos de la Frontera on 3 August, 1492. His flagship, the Santa Maria had 52 men aboard while his other two ships, the Nina and Pinta were each crewed by 18 men.

The Santa Maria was a nao, was a bit of a tub, and was not able to go near the coastline. But was able to carry a lot of cargo, and it was able to stand up well in bad weather. The Niña, the Pinta were caravels, with a shallower draft than a nao, did not have much cargo space, but were able to explore shallow bays and the mouths of rivers. A carvel was square-rigged on its foremasts and mainmasts, but used a lateen sail on the mizzen to help in tacking. A caravel had about twenty crew members, who slept on the deck and would go below only if the weather was bad.
No one knows exactly what Columbus's Santa Maria was like. We can examine similar ships of the era. It was a nao, which simply means "ship" in old Spanish. She was fat and slow, designed for carrying cargo. It was a merchant ship, between 200-600 tons.The length of Santa Maria was about 18 meters, keel length 12 meters, beam 6 meters, and a draft about 2 meters.
The Santa Maria was a rented vessel owned by Juan de la Cosa, who sailed with Columbus as the first officer. Formerly, known as the La Gallega since its owner was from Galicia, Columbus renamed the vessel Santa Maria.

The Santa Maria had three masts (fore, main, and mizzen), each of which carried one large sail. The foresail and mainsail were square; the sail on the mizzen, or rear, mast was a triangular sail known as a lateen. In addition, the ship carried a small square sail on the bowsprit, and small topsail on the mainmast above the mainsail. Most of the driving force of the craft was from the largest mainsail with the remaining sails used for trimming.

The Santa Maria also had a crow’s nest on the mainmast. It had a raised stern. There was a forecastle in the bow of the ship.

The ship ran aground off Hispaniola and had to be abandoned.

And away we go.
Regards
Mike
 
Nothing was supplied they recommend modeling clay. I guess I will have to cross that sea when I come to it.
 
Don ju mean Cheet?
Now that I have finished helping my younger son mow his lawns I will now get back to my boatyard. I have started putting the first stage of railings down.
BTW Mike, yesterday I found a pair of blueprints that I have had for 30 years. They are of the HMB Earl of Pembroke. The aft decks and the hatches are the same as your model! Maybe you should rename your ship.
Regards
Eric
 
Hi Eric,
I located a little piece of Historical trivia that might interest you the nautical historian that you are. Here is a link to that info. http://www.usd458.org/gen/blvs_generated_bin/documents/basic_module/Stowaway_all_about_the_HMB_Endeavour.pdf
Apparently Endeavour before she was bought by the Royal Navy she was a bulk coal carrying ship named Earl of Pembroke. I will leave the rest for you to read.
As they say "Truth is Stranger than Fiction"
 
Hi Mike, thank you for that snippet of info, now, you didn't read the first page of my Endeavour post, did you? naughty, naughty.
Seriously, thank you for the link, the cutaway and water clour images are great. Curiously though most of the images I have seen show the quarter deck at a flatter angle than my model. The model deck angle is (only) 5 degrees from horizontal but looks much more pronounced.
20/20 hindsight is a fantastic thing, I should have bought that cmpleted model and gutted it and turned it into the Earl of Pembroke....c'est la vie.
Regards
Eric
 
Hi Eric.
I did read your post, that's what started me to find out about the Earl. I thought of all people you would appreciate it most.
R..R... Matey
 
Hi Mike, yes it is very much appreciated, BTW it would have 2AM when you replied, don't you go to sleep? and about 3degrees, sh*^# that's cold.
Regards
Eric
 
I'm retired and I'm recovering from prostate cancer. I don't go many places anymore so I stay up late and work on my models. It keeps depression away and no one bothers me. I live in Las Vegas a 24 hour town so any time is day time.
 
Ahoy Mates,
Here is an update of my build so far. I have had some minor setbacks sue to being clumsy, but I hope to make repairs and proceed soon.
 
Hi Mike, the base timber they supply, is it balsa or plywood? I hope your setbacks were to do with your model and not physical.
BTW Mike in your next post could you put a ruler along side the ship to give an idea of size, please.
Regards
Eric
P.S. Just remembered, when I was at boarding school and about ten years old we used to sing "Santa Maria" (in English AND Spanish), usually in history class. Now to this day, 52 years on, I still have no idea why the hell we had to sing that song because it had absolutely nothing to do with South Africa (where I grew up or was dragged up!). I matriculated in 1971 and realised that I knew more about the rest of the world than I did of South Africa, go figure!!
Eric
 
Hi Eric,
The pieces that make up the hull only are ply wood. I learned in Oregon where I grew up "In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. In the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.
 
Ahoy Ship Mates,
Back to work on my little ship. Almost a complete redo.
I would post a picture but the new forum won't let me it says my photos are to wide.
 
Hello Mike,seems like the image size needs to be increased,not accepting my images either,try different sizes at the test section.

http://www.shipsofscale.com/sosforums/viewforum.php?f=34
 
Hi Zoltan,
I'm glad it's not just me. I checked the dimensions of my photos and the are within the stated limits. Maybe Donnie needs to tweek it more.
 
Ahoy Shipmates,
I have Taken a break from rigging my other project and picked up my little ship. I was unhappy with the way the sides turned out so I cut new patterns, glue them to my wood and cut out new ones. To my surprise I find they are not the same. I have been an aircraft mechanic most of my life. In aviation following the printed technical date was paramount. Enough whining now. I still in the sanding phase preparing the hull to be planked.
 
Hi Mike,
Nice little build. What is the overall length of her. Must be strain on the eyes. Look forward to the progression of this.
Cheers,
Roger.
 
Hi Roger,
Thanks for visiting my build log, and for your kind words. She is 1:200 scale, 160mm X 52mm. It is very hard to see. I am dreading the rigging of this little ship I will have to use a jewelers loop to see the blocks and dead eyes.
That's why we do it.
 
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