Kevin Aris Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 (edited) good evening everyone well im being greedy and have two builds on the go, this is the Amerigo Vespucci and Italian sail training ship that i started in 2008 and abandoned in favour of the Caldercraft HMS Victory, this hull was then relegated to shelf of doom, and has been thrown in the dustbin on a few occasions hence the holes in the hull but since finishing the Victory i have wanted to complete a fully rigged sailing vessel, i bought the Cutty Sark to do that, but then convinced myself that i ought to be doing this so if you want a bit of a giggle, offer help, or want to ask questions please do so, in return i will do regular updates so this is what sh looks like n 1925, the Regia Marina ordered two school ships to a design by General Lieutenant Francesco Rotundi of the Italian Navy Engineering Corps, inspired by the style of large late 18th century 74-cannon ships of the line (like the neapolitan ship "Monarca"). The first, the Cristoforo Colombo, was put into service in 1928 and was used by the Italian Navy until 1943. After World War II, this ship was handed over to the USSR as part of the war reparations and was shortly afterwards decommissioned.[citation needed] The second ship was the Amerigo Vespucci, built in 1930 at the (formerly Royal) Naval Shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia (Naples). She was launched on February 22, 1931,[1] and put into service in July of that year. The vessel is a full rigged three-masted steel hull 82.4 m (270 ft) long, with an overall length of 101 m (331 ft) including the bowsprit and a maximum width of 15.5 m (51 ft). She has a draught of about 7 m (23 ft) and a displacement at full load of 4146 tons. Under auxiliary diesel-electric propulsion the Amerigo Vespucci can reach 10 knots (19 km/h) and has a range of 5450 nm at 6.5 knots. The three steel masts are 50, 54 and 43 metres high, and carry sails totalling 2,824 m2 (30,400 sq ft). The Amerigo Vespucci has 26 sails – square sails, staysails, and jibs: all are traditional canvas sails. When under sail in severe sea and wind conditions she can reach 12 knots (22 km/h). The rig, some 30 km of ropes, uses only traditional hemp ropes; only the mooring lines are synthetic, to comply with port regulations. The hull is painted black with two white stripes, harking back to the two gun decks of the ships her design is based on, but she carries only two 6pdr saluting guns in pivot mountings on the deck, forward of the mainmast. The deck planks are of teak wood and must be replaced every three years. Bow and stern are decorated with intricate ornaments; she has a life-size figurehead of Amerigo Vespucci. The stern gallery is accessible only through the Captain's saloon. The standard crew of the Amerigo Vespucci is 16 officers, 70 non-commissioned officers and 190 sailors. In summer, when she embarks the midshipmen of the Naval Academy (Accademia Navale), the crew totals some 450.[citation needed] In 1964 the ship was fitted with two 4-stroke, 8-cylinder FIAT B 308 ESS diesel engines, which replaced the original 2-stroke 6-cylinder FIAT Q 426 engines. These engines generated electric power for one electric propulsion motor that produced up to about 1,471 kW (1,973 hp).[citation needed] After update works, between 2013 and 2016, the ship has been fitted with two 4-stroke, 12-cylinder MTU, 1,32 MW each diesel engine generators and two 4-stroke, 8-cylinder MTU, 760 kW each diesel engine generators,[2] and one NIDEC (Ansaldo Sistemi Industriali) electric engine.[3][4] During the same work, the ship has been fitted with new radar GEM Elettronica AN/SPS-753(V)5, new satellite antenna ORBIT AL-7103. When carrying cadets, the ship is usually steered from the manual stern rudder station, which is operated by four steering wheels with two men each. At other times, the hydraulically assisted steering on the bridge is used. Except for the anchor winch, the winches aboard are not power operated. The bridge is equipped with sophisticated modern electronic navigation instruments. Other than during World War II, the Amerigo Vespucci has been continually active. Most of her training cruises are in European waters, but she has also sailed to North and South America, and navigated the Pacific. In 2002, she undertook a voyage around the world. The Amerigo Vespucci often takes part in sailing parades and Tall Ships' Races, where she is in amicable rivalry with the Gorch Fock. When she is berthed in port, public tours of the vessel are usually offered. On 7 July 2018, Amerigo Vespucci arrived to the port of Almeria.[5] It is the third time it visited Almería:[6] the first one was in 1932,[7] and the second one was in 1989.[8] It left the city on 10 July.[9] Then it will travel to Ponta Delgada, in the Azores Islands, and it will cross the Atlantic Ocean to the Northern Europe.[10][11] Quote Edit Post Actions Edited August 24, 2022 by Kevin Aris 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted July 2, 2020 Author Share Posted July 2, 2020 welcome to my restarted Amerigo here are a few pictures taken back when first started in 2008 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeddahbill Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 This is such a fantastic build - very much looking forward to the completion! Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted July 3, 2020 Author Share Posted July 3, 2020 3 hours ago, Jeddahbill said: This is such a fantastic build - very much looking forward to the completion! Bill might be a while, took me 7 years on the Victory lol however this is different,, as i can dedicate as much time to my builds as i see fit, without work commitments any more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted July 3, 2020 Author Share Posted July 3, 2020 to progress this build i need to go backwards, and basically rip her apart, i stopped building her for several reason, one of them was nothing fitted, and not because of a poor kit, another reason was, it was just the wrong kit in the first place, as I really wanted the Victory anyway thats enough of the excuses THE RIP OUT HULL REPAIR two holes needed to be sorted, one from being kicked by me, and another from being in the dustbin (yes that close to going to the great failed kevin build in the sky) the holes were made a bit bigger, reinforcements on the back and patched, they will be sanded down when the hull is sanded back 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted July 5, 2020 Author Share Posted July 5, 2020 good afternoon everyone 1st planking although not ready to do this area, it needs to be got right this time, so i packed between the supports with Balsa mixed with PVA white glue whick although not perfect at this time is much better my next thing to sort was the backing for the portholes, as the wood tended to splinter and break away last time around, and is not accessible so i have just glued some ply or balsa to give a bit of extra support (might not work) and middle section secured in place, some of the smaller pieces are being salvaged and reused after being cleaned up midships deck planking i have now gone out of sequence, the first planking should continue, but it wraps around all 3 decks. which would limit access to the midships section 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 Good evening everyone well the main decking is done, and had one coat of diluted water based varnish, and is actually better than i thought and 1000% better than that previous effort i did. Next will be to work on the cabins under the decks, to allow the two upper false decks to be fitted/planked, then i can complete 2nd planking 12 years ago prior to sanding port side with supervisor checking on progress 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted July 8, 2020 Author Share Posted July 8, 2020 good afternoon everyone once the deck was completed, i wanted to sort the bulkheads under the 1/4 deck. the originals were broken up and used as templates 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 Good morning everyone 1st planking continues, but as i correct things, i keep removing more of the original build, so i might have a few issues getting the new to match whats left when the 2nd planking is complete, yes it would have been easier to strip it all back but hopefully i can rescue all this and get her back to pre-strip down the bow is much better than before and the stern, is now the troublesome area but the shape is right this is the most fun i have had since the last time i had fun, if how ever it does not look right, i will send her to to big model ship scrapyard in the sky, the frame will not take this much treatment again the map pins are keeping the vertical planks in place, 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 Good evening everyone 1st and 2nd planking completed at the stern, and 90% forard i want to get the cabins in first before the front bit is completed the stern now works for me in the respect that the balcony fits and although a lots of sanding/filler in places, i am happy with it at present i am recovering the templates that make up the cabins, in a worst case scenario, i will remake them all still a lot of work required on the bow using the recovered templates where possible 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 updated as she is now back on the shelf, but not the shelf of doom, as i have yet another project on the go 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandsaw Steve Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 Looks like this project is back on an even keel! 👍 Don’t call those backward steps ‘strip backs’ call then ‘refits’. Every ship gets a refit now and again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted September 11, 2020 Author Share Posted September 11, 2020 6 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said: Looks like this project is back on an even keel! 👍 Don’t call those backward steps ‘strip backs’ call then ‘refits’. Every ship gets a refit now and again! lol refits normally are done a few years after the vessel has been in commission. she will be finished one day,i actually enjoyed the rebuild, as she looks much better, but the HMS Enterprise project has taken over, for now anyway, all my other new projects, as in new kits have been sold so my options are presently for what i have already started 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpnuts Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 Looking rather impressive atm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceman 29 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Nice job! A rare argentic photo of the Amerigo Vespucci that I have never published on the internet, taken at the entrance of the port of Le Havre (France) in the 1970s, in the foreground the pilot boat of Rouen "Le Mascaret" waiting at anchorage for the high tide, my father was chief engineer until his retirement on board this ship, that I intend to make a 1/100 model soon, I have all the original plans of the ship in my possession thanks to my father. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandsaw Steve Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 On 17/09/2020 at 20:24, Iceman 29 said: my father was chief engineer until his retirement on board this ship, that I intend to make a 1/100 model soon, I have all the original plans of the ship in my possession thanks to my father. That will be a great project! 👍 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted March 10, 2021 Author Share Posted March 10, 2021 good evening everyone for the last few months i have been doing other modeling projects, but the boat building that i love most keeps calling me back so Saturday just gone have brought this build back to the table, But with changes, the shape will be the AV but the couloir scheme wont be, every thing in yellow ochre is being replace with olive green here is where i have got to the black banding is now on and all the upper portholes and air ports have been added primed, ready for the olive green top coat it is hoped to finish this green area tomorrow 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolphin38 Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 She is a great looking ship and your model is starting to look good, saw her in 2018 on her last visit to Portsmouth. ITS Amerigo Vespucci by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr ITS Amerigo Vespucci by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr ITS Amerigo Vespucci by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted March 10, 2021 Author Share Posted March 10, 2021 Thank you @dolphin38 she is a nice looking ship, but very busy, sometime i am overwhelmed by the amount of work i will have to do on her, and look for a very fast excuse to go and do something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted March 11, 2021 Author Share Posted March 11, 2021 Good evening Everyone more progress today, and im happy with the green. i am in no hurry to put the veranda on, it would be far to easy for me to break it 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 good afternoon everyone photo of the AV on top of the wheelie bin, i no longer want to just open the lid and drop her in it. the lockers still need some form of covering at the front, wip 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 good evening everyone the kit for detail is pants, and much is wrong, in fact i would say that in the future rigging this is going to be hard work this is an eample belaying pin rails for the mizzen mast has 7 pins fws and aft, infact it should have 13 fwd and aft so that it looks like this NOT MY PHOTO lol my scratching is going to get better the balcony/veranda last time around this came no where at all close to fitting, how it changed, taking a bit more time 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Great rescue and coming along nicely. I saw the AV at the Naval Academy in Livorno and I’ll love to watch this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandsaw Steve Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 I see this one has come back again. This project seems to come around periodically. Does that make it ‘Amerigoround?’ 🤪 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Aris Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 6 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said: I see this one has come back again. This project seems to come around periodically. Does that make it ‘Amerigoround?’ 🤪 lol 6 hours ago, Valkyrie said: Great rescue and coming along nicely. I saw the AV at the Naval Academy in Livorno and I’ll love to watch this one. she will be recognisable as the AV, but with a few tweeks and my own paint scheme, by rights this build should have been going towards some evolving oilfield underground (deep in a land fill), so glad i didnt do that 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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