Sovereign of the Seas Hull Color

[Kurt Konrath]

I have a question on what is proper color to paint the hull behind all the brightwork on the exterior of SotS.

I have seen multiple different colors in build logs, photos and web photos.

Is it a bright royal Blue, dark blue, or even black as I have seen on a few models.

I would like to get everyone's opinions as I want to try to build it correctly to keep the standards high for this great beauty of a ship.

 

[Bryian]

I guess its up to your own personal choice Kurt, but black would be my advice.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

I have a question on what is proper color to paint the hull behind all the brightwork on the exterior of SotS.

I have seen multiple different colors in build logs, photos and web photos.

Is it a bright royal Blue, dark blue, or even black as I have seen on a few models.

I would like to get everyone's opinions as I want to try to build it correctly to keep the standards high for this great beauty of a ship.

King Charles I personally issued the following instructions on March 23, 1636 (transcript of a manuscript deposited in the Public Record Office, London) to carry out the decoration of the ship - gilding and painting.

It says:

"The head with all the carved work thereof, and the rails to be all gilt, and no other color used thereupon but black. The stern and galleries to be gilt with gold and black in the same manner, with the rails on them to be all likewise gilt with gold. The sides to be all carved work according to the draft which was presented to his Majesty and that carved work to be all gilt with gold, and all the rails of the sides to be likewise gilt with gold and no other color to be used on the sides but black. Also the figures in the upper strakes to be altered into badges of carved work answerable to the other strake, that runs fair with it, and to be gilt answerable to the rest."

An explanation is needed for the above text - since the 17th century. The English used two terms for the "gold" decoration of ships: "to gilt with gold", literally "to gilt with gold", i.e. to cover surfaces with gold leaf; and the word "to gilt," which meant "gild" with paint. This much cheaper "gilding" with paint was done by varnishing wood painted white or left in natural light color carvings. The varnish had a yellowish to golden color, coating the white background gave the impression of a "golden" color.

To paint the ship, the English used the terms "paid" or "served", which meant painting a mixture of linseed oil, turpentine and pitch / tar. To this mixture, usually sulfur (brimstone ) was added and a resin (rosin). Pitch / tar obtained by distillation from pine wood was thin and yellowish to light brown in color.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_tar

 

[Thomas]

I'm doing the Mantua Sergal SoS and am staining the hull behind the bright work dark mahogany--its almost black. My reason is that I've used navy blue for my previous two big builds and wanted to do something different--no historical basis at all!

 

[EIHood]

As I recall, Joh McKay noted that something called Swedish tar may have been used. He described that as a sort of brownish-black. McKay seems to be pretty much definitive; I'll be using it as a primary reference in the hear future. My nieces have asked me to complete a Mantua kit started by my brother, who passed away after completing the basic substructure of the hull.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

As I recall, Joh McKay noted that something called Swedish tar may have been used. He described that as a sort of brownish-black. McKay seems to be pretty much definitive; I'll be using it as a primary reference in the hear future. My nieces have asked me to complete a Mantua kit started by my brother, who passed away after completing the basic substructure of the hull.

Take McKay with a grain of salt. Much of what is in his book on the Sovereign is not correct, often borrowed from ships built 100 years later. The decorations information is fine, but Frank L. Fox and Charles Aldridge, both well versed in 17th century ship design, had serious criticism of McKay's book. Frank Fox encouraged modelers not to use McKay as a source for building a model of the Sovereign. McKay's work appears pretty and colorful but he actually totally ignored what Peter Pett, the builder of HMS Sovereign of the Seas, wrote bout the hull construction and form, as well as ignoring information he petitioned from Fox himself. The book I recommend for well researched details of the ship is James Sephton's Sovereign of the Seas: The Seventeenth-Century Warship.

Read what Frank L. Fox and Charles Aldridge had to say HERE. Then, cherry pick what you borrow form McKay. When ship modeling, your research is a laborious study of the various sources you collect information from, and prioritizing those sources in order of believability. This research is frequently more exhaustive and time consuming than building the model! This is especially true for early 17th century ships where sources are so few, and the ones that exist, even John Payne's print and Willem van de Velde's drawings, contain errors.

 

[EIHood]

Darivs - Thank you for the detailed reply. I appreciate the time you spent on that.
I'll certainly keep it in mind. To that end, I've printed a copy of your Nov 22 2020 post.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Darivs - Thank you for the detailed reply. I appreciate the time you spent on that.
I'll certainly keep it in mind. To that end, I've printed a copy of your Nov 22 2020 post.

Here is a very informative page from a Czech modeling forum on HMS Sovereign of the Seas. It compares what is known about the features of the ship to several famous models, and some corrections to the Mantua model. Great info. Note that the Mantua model resembles the ship after it was refit and modified in 1659-1660, particularly with regard the stern decorations. It is not as the ship appeared in 1637.

Sovereign of the Seas 1637

Here is a picture showing how the internal decks were rearranged. This had an effect of the decks no longer lining up nicely with the side gallery decks and windows, even though the side gallery design went essentially unchanged. I imagine that after 1660, you would have to step down a few steps as you enter the side gallery and then walk forward down the sloped deck of the gallery to go outside. Note that the top end of the rudder is located too high, and the tiller should be located just below the middle gun deck, not above it, as was typical in 17th century ships. See the cross sections above for the location of the tiller relative to the lion head mounted above it, and how the tiller was relocated a bit lower after 1660.



Stern gallery in 1637 as painted (date unknown) by Sir Peter Lely:


Stern gallery after 1660 as drawn by Willem van de Velde:


As you can see, no model kit exists which does a decent job capturing the features of HMS Sovereign the Seas, however with some modifications made using your research, you can make any of the kits more accurate. The degree of how many changes you make and which details you choose not to is up to you. That's why modeling this ship is so difficult, aside from the obvious complexity of the decorations and complete lack of accurate kit parts in that regard. This ship is for the most dedicated.

 

[EIHood]

Thank you again, Darivs, I've had a lot of experience with historical reconstructions of aircraft (google me), but the closest I've gotten to sailing ships is an unfinished set of drawings of Beagle I'd started back in the earlt '90s for another modelmaker. In a word, I well understand the need to gather as much information as possible, and then more. Once again, I appreciate your advice.