The Deck:

A special feature of the deck is that it is 90% removable, even with a length of 1.60m. In this way it is easy for me to access the fixed engine, the mechanical and the electronic parts. The deck, the gangway and the sideboards are made of multiplex wood in order to provide better stability for the planks that were made out of obeche wood. I stained these with dark oak beforehand. The footholds and the benches as well as the forward assembly were also cut to measure using obeche wood. All parts were either kept in their natural color or stained with dark oak. The officers' deck was fixed with about 3000 nails.

Front view of the bow with its 5 main canons.

The navigator at the stern, controlling the rudder.

The 5 main canons are made from solid brass.

The Armament :

The canons are made from solid brass and can be loaded (front-loader) with gunpowder. They are ignited with a filament that is lit through a short... at the displeasure of the ducks in the lake The armament comprises of 17 canons: Twelve swivel-guns each with a length of 9.5cm and five canons on the bow: 2 pieces at 13cm each, 2 pieces at 16cm each and the main cannon is 32.5cm long. The total weight of the 17 canons is 4kg, whereas the middle main canon already weights 1.8kg alone. Additionally, numerous hand weapons (such as swords, sabres and rifles) for the matching mercenaries will be included.

Close-up shot of the sideboard with 24-carat gold-leaf frets.

Detailed shot of the transom with ist ornaments out of 24-carat gold-leaf.

The swivel-guns on the sideboard.

The Mast, Sail and Flag:

The mast (length 1.60cm) and the yardarm (length 2.45m) are made from beech and were stained with dark oak. The crow's nest will carry a mercenary, proudly sitting beneath the venetian flag and keeping an eye on the lookout. The flag at the top of the mast as well as the transom are originals from Venice . The lateen sail was sewn from linen and is 1.60m x 1.60m large. The matieral for the rope is made from actual hemp. Additional functions: Reap the sail and sink the yardarm.

Shot of some of the 134 sweating oarsmen (still not painted).

View above the bridge over the whole ship.

The transom with its elegant ornaments.

The Engine:

how many sleepless nights it brought me... After many prototypes, for example, chain system similar to a tank or an Excenter, etc., I have found the optimal engine for the oars (and the oarsmen) through a friend: The engine works in similar way to a steam engine, therefore a rail moves at a height, a second rail moves up and down. In this way I can achieve a horizontal and vertical movement, together forming an ellipse-shaped movement. Because the oars in these galleys are located above the deck, the next challenge came: How do I get the mechanics on top, without the deck losing any of the aestethics? After a lot of thought and trials, I found the current solution: Extensions of the engine move above through the gangway, where the guard rail for the oars is fixed. In order to make transportation easy, the oars must be removable but how? I first tried to fix an aglet that passes through the boards from above. This was not the ideal and nicest solution for the long-term because the aglet was being pushed out through the movement of the oars. Then I did the following: I moved the aglet below the boards through the oars and I fixed it with an eyebolt, so that the topside of the ship would not be deformed with holes. I have been asked the question: Whether I let the oars run starboard or portside separately. Unfortunately a roll resulted from a lower gauge and the moving weight could not be balanced. In order to achieve an optimal manouverability for a ship of this size, a bow thruster and shottle-drive in the stern were additionally incorporated.

Section of the transom.

The main bridge with the inlays.

Elevation to the frontal assembly of the bow.

The Transom and Ornaments:

The command and state galleys were outfitted with numerous elaborate frets and paintings to make them stand out. For example, the deck of the main bridge were the ship commanders sojourn, was coated with elaborate parquet and wood inlays. I used mahagony and oak for the inlays on my model. The figures and ornaments on the transom as well as the special frets along the ship were first cut out of wood. Only the faces were modeled out of an existing doll head. Silica molds were constructed out of these samples and multiple figures were cast out of resin. A button and an earring where used as a template for the frets along the boards. All 400 parts as well as all that glitters like gold were gold-plated from real 24-carat gold leafs. The resin parts were coated in glue and subsequently a thin gold-leaf was laid and pressed upon. The gold-leafs were coated with a cellulose lacquer for protection. About 1000 gold-leafs (4.5cm x 4.5cm each) were used all over the ship.

The galley in scale 1:16 sailing with full sail.

The 1.60m long mast with rigging, crow's nest and the venetian flag.

The galley in scale 1:16 on calm see.

The Crew:

The oarsmen are comprised of 134 dark-skinned, muscolous, hard-trained, nearly naked men that were hired from Switzerland . It was not that easy to find a doll in scale 1:12, especially if it had to be fullly movable and able to simulate oar movement as realistically as possible. Through the dollhouse hobby of my girlfriend, I learned about the company Heidi Ott from Switzerland . They had a doll that met all the requirements: The doll is made up of 34 parts, whereby each limb is connected through joints and therefore being fully movable. Three men are required to sit on a bench if the scale of the dolls with today's average height of 1.80m was going to used. The average height of a man in 1571 was about 1.60m, and therefore 5 men were required to move an oar. The oarsmen were given an individual treatment (eg. various skin colors, veins, chest hair, dirt patches, etc) with an airbrush to avoid looking like clones. An additional 50 mercenaries were awaited on the ship. Even background noise was thought of, for example, orders, drumbeats, whippings, etc). Only the authentic smell was avoided in respect of the viewer If one has to believe historical beliefs, one always smelled a galley three days before it was sighted This and other detailed plans are still not completed for 2006.

2003 maiden voyage of the galleys in Scale 1:16 in a swimming pool.

• Detail

Original

General

Model

• Overall length

• Width of fuselage midship section

• Width over the outrigger

• Gauge

• Oars

• Oar length

• Oarsmen per oar

• Masts

• Largest height

• Length of the yardarm

• Sail

• Sail surface area

• Weapons

1- cannon-of-24

2- cannon-of-8

2- cannon-of-4

• Crew