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Society for Creative Anachronism
The following files were packaged as a part of this set of plans by Lord Robert of Vinhold. Many thanks to him for Graciously providing them to me for use on this page. This ship was designed and built for Vicount Sir Alfric Flavinsbane in Golden Rivers, Kingdom of the West by Lord Robert of Vinhold. Materials required: 4 - 4x8 sheets of ACX 3/8" Plywood. 4 - 1x4" x 6' Pine Boards. ( Bow and Stern leading edge reinforcing ) 4 - 1x4" x 6' Pine boards. ( tops of sides and rib spacers ) 2 - 1x4" x 5' Pine Boards. ( Head and tail inserts ) 2 - 1x6" x 8' Pine boards. ( cut into 12 16" lengths ) 4 - 8oz bottles of Elmers Wood Glue. 1 - box 1" sheet rock screws ( about 100 as needed ) Brown paint or dark wood stain for entire surface, inside and out. Black paint for detail work. ( 1 pint ) Varathane or varnish compatible with paint or stain. 62 ft of 3/8" polyester rope for lacing. ( wont stretch under strain ) 16 ft of 1/2" rope for handles. ( 8 24" lengths)
When choosing the 1x6 boards, take care to select wood that is free of knots, and the grain is flat with the width of the board. This will give maximum strength without the board splitting at the laces. Holes for lacing will be drilled along the edges two inches in from the edge and every 4 inches starting one inch from the top edge. Each hole is drilled with a 1/2" drill bit. Drill holes after assembled in place. About the layout patterns: Each square represents 1 foot. Design is intended for use with 4x8' sheets of plywood. Gunwhales are 20" high as are the Rib spacers and side panels. BOW
STERN
A and E - bow and stern panels. B and F - bow and stern upper edge reinforcing strips. C and G - extra edge reinforcing strips where needed. D - Rib spacer panels. ( 20" x 72" on top edge. ) H - Side panels. ( 20" x 68" ) extra plywood - use as edging strips along the bottom edges for durability.
Construction: 1. Lay out and cut the plywood parts, two sheets from the bow layout, and two sheets from the stern layout. Work on good side up on all sheets. Cut the 12 1x6" x 16" pine boards. Good side of plywood is the 'ouside'. 2. Place one A panel with one E panel making one set for the bow, and another set for the stern. Strips F and E will line the inside top edges of the A and E panels, after they have been bent to shape. Cut 4 of the 1x4 x 6' boards into 4.5' and 1.5 foot lengths.Glue and screw the 1x4" x 4.5' pine boards to the inside edges 1/2" inset from the prow and stern leading edge. These reinforce the lacing of the prow and stern. Trim to match points. Glue and screw the 1.5' lengths to the top edge where the side panels will meet. Inset board 5/8" from plywood edge and flush with the top edge. Mount a 1x6x16" board vertically below it and also inset 5/8" from the edge to reinforce the lacing. The resulting vertical slot formed when the side panel is matched up, is where the rib panel will fit. Take care to not place any screws where the lacing holes will be drilled. The holes to be drilled in the head and tail boards are drilled inset one inch from the edge and are to be matched with the holes drilled on the leading edges for the bow and stern sections. Make both identical as panels may be interchanged after completion. (This process may be done at the same time as other sections are built ) 3. For each of the side panels, cut a 1x4 x 6' board 1 1/4" shorter that the length of the plywood panel. Center this along the inside of the top edge. Glue and screw into place. Mount below this one 1x6x16" board vertically and inset 5/8" from the edge, matching the top rail board. These are the reinforcing for the lacing. ( This process may be done at the same time as other sections are built ) 4. For each of the Rib spacers, glue and screw into place the 1x4 x 6 foot boards along the top edges. Glue and screw into place one of the 1x6x16" boards on each of the ends flush with the edges. Trim all boards to fit panels. Take care to not place any screws where the lacing holes will be drilled. ( This process may be done at the same time as other sections are built ) 5. When the glue has set on all lacing edges, mark and drill all lacing holes. Measure out and cut the lacing ropes as: 4 - 8 foot lengths 2 - 15 foot lengths Burn-seal both ends of each length. Tie a single knot in one end of all the ropes to keep it from being pulled through the 1/2" hole. Wind the other end of the ropes with three inches of electrical tape to ease threading. ( This process may be done at the same time as other sections are built )
6. Initial assembly to finish the Bow and Stern sections. Place the panels into position by forming a square with the two sides and the rib spacers. Place the bow and stern panels at the ends. Begin by lacing one bow panel and one side panel sandwiching a rib panel in the resulting slot. Lace from the outside bottom to the top pulling the rope as tight as possible all the way up. Tie off on the inside. Repeat at the rest of the corners. The result at this point has the sides sloping outward and the bow and stern ends open. Using the lacing rope, and starting at the bottom, slowly begin drawing the edges together warping them into the rounded shape of a boat. It may help to use some 5' 2x4"s as spacers to help the rounding. When the shape is satisfactory, fit the edge reinforcing strips along the inside edge. Glue and screw into place. At this time the work will look somthing like a Viking long boat. Let it set this way for one week to allow the warp to set into the bow and stern sections. Sand all edges smooth. 7. One week later, completion of the ship: Drill to 1/2" holes centered vertically and 6" apart at each point along the railing where it will be comfortable for a heavy fighter to stand inside the boat and be able to hold the rope handle. Tie a single knot in the end of the 24" x 1/2" rope lengths. lace through the holes from outside to ouside and tie another knot. This will create a loop that will hang on the inside and be easy to grasp while holding a center grip round shield. Ship fighter spacing will resemble the following:
Your fighter loading may vary. Pole arms may be placed in the bow and stern sections and in the middle. Paint or stain the wood avoiding the laced sections. Trim with black paint for board caulking lines. Dissassemble the ship and complete sections where the lacing was. When stain /paint is fully dry, coat with a compatible verathane or varnish to seal the wood. Create dragon head and tail parts mounting to the bow and stern insert boards. Remember, the holes are closest to the leading and trailing edges. When all parts are fully dry, reassemble the ship in the same order as before, this time include the bow and stern inserts when lacing up the ends. When completed, the ship will be solid and can be carried by two people. Wheels may be mounted at the corners of the forward rib spacer and one at the stern. Make the stern wheel steerable. A mast may also be mounted to the center of the forward rib spacer with rope rigging and sail attached. May your ships carry you to many rich lightly guarded treasures for plundering! Yours in engineering, |
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