Juliana Maria mid 20th c.Danish model of a 74 gun 3rd rate ship of the line ca1720-50

Restoration of a mid 20thc. Danish model of a 2nd quarter 18thc. 3rd rate 74 gun ship of the line of the combined Danish-Norwegian fleet of that era. When I got the model she was in far more decrepit condition than is evident here. She looked like she'd spent the last couple of decades in the Okefenokee Swamp with Spanish moss dangling from every spar and line of rigging and the ship buried in the mud for as long, with decades of dust adhered by decades of summer humidity. The beak head was trashed and the sprits'l yard had come adrift. All the guns on the gun deck had come loose from their carriages and had to be fished out from below using a long pick to work them along the deck to the bottom of the companion way and extracted with a long pair of tweezers. Much of the rigging had to be replaced and matched to what had survived. All the surviving rigging was severely compromised by UV, but with the utmost care could be saved. The capstan in the well of the spar deck and the Ship's wheel and cabins at the fore part of the Quarter deck were unglued all to be re-seated between the spar deck and quarter deck above. The model was built mostly of Baltic Pine. She is 53" long on deck. It was a curious mixture of in depth, accurate, finely wrought craftsmanship, by a very Knowledgeable model shipwright and folksy, naive carving.
All the guns on their carriages and rigging on the forecastle, spar and quarter decks had to be removed intact in order to allow access for cleaning, to be replaced later. Innumerable pieces were missing and had to be fabricated.
I tried to dissuade the customer who insisted that I had to be the sucker to take on the restoration. I repeatedly attempted to deter her, giving her the "GO away, I don't want to do it!" price and " You under stand , this will take at LEAST four years!" ( It took eight!) AND she'd have to insure it herself!
But she was undeterred and kept saying "OK".:p So I couldn't weasel my way out.Cautious
All of the rigging broken or missing from the three masts and spars could be worked out, being self evident from intact repetitive examples and from my library of books on the subject. But everything from the the tip of the Jibboom to the fore mast was trashed and dangling, with the sprits'l yard completely adrift. A complete mystery. After pouring fruitlessly through my library, including Lee's "Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War1625-1860" For the answer (s), I realized they were not to be found anywhere in between the covers of any of my books. but in the cover photo on the dust jacket of Lee's! Taken at just the perfect angle and alignment to decipher the whole thing! Once more: " Better to be lucky than good"
My cabinet maker and I built the case around it and it finally returned home the sixty miles or so away to Annapolis and into its new abode on the lady's now enclosed front porch, intact and placed, at my insistence, out of direct light. All's well that ends well. (Fingers crossed)
The order of pictures is kinda mixed up and a little backwards, but you get the idea. :rolleyes:
Pete
(By the way, could one of you clever administrators please rotate the pictures of the Quarter galleries 90degrees counter clockwise? I tried ,but no luck.)
 
Last edited:
An addendum: In several of the pictures there are tags of blue tape attached to dangling lines of rigging. These have notes on them identifying the line by name, it's purpose, for repair or replacement,
and where it goes.

I was able to rotate the offending sideways pics by clicking on "rotate" next to "edit" But when I I click on "save", no dice!...Help! Sick

Thanks for theThumbsup guys!
Pete
 
Last edited:
Hi, Peter, Thanks for the good words.
Truth is, I got Patience for what I got Patience for. That doesn't include traffic, long waiting times at the doctor's office or on hold and worst of all, on hold muzak! Cautious
Pete:cool:
 
I’m feeling your pain! There are some situations though that I justify as “me time” such as being in the MRI tube listening to music that I choose (over headphones of course) and getting a haircut. I’ve been called crazy about my patience in the MRI… they don’t get that when you’re “Tech Support 24/7 no one can ask for help!
 
HPeterB said:
I’m feeling your pain! There are some situations though that I justify as “me time” such as being in the MRI tube listening to music that I choose (over headphones of course) and getting a haircut. I’ve been called crazy about my patience in the MRI… they don’t get that when you’re “Tech Support 24/7 no one can ask for help!
Click to expand...
....being in the MRI tube listening to music, and getting a haircut? LOL
 
Peter Gutterman said:
Hi, Peter, Thanks for the good words.
Truth is, I got Patience for what I got Patience for. That doesn't include traffic, long waiting times at the doctor's office or on hold and worst of all, on hold muzak! Cautious
Pete:cool:
Click to expand...
I am just thankful for an iPhone to play, read emails and listen to music while waiting in Doc office. They charge you a ton to visits, but don't understand cost of sitting and waiting way past scheduled appointment times.
 
uncchains said:
Jimsky: How does one get the Master chief chevron on your ID?
Click to expand...
As you earn more points by participating in the forum life e.g. replying to threads of others, 'like' the posts, creating your own posts, and other activities, you will get trophies and rank
 
"So I'll cherish the old rugged cross (rugged cross)
Till my trophies, at last, I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown..."
;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top