The Ship
Second rate, 82 guns, built in 1664 for King Charles II at Woolwich, a borough of London, England, by Christopher Pett, son of Phineas Pett, builder of Sovereign of the Seas. In a raid on Medway, she was sunk to avoid being lost, but when the tide of battle subsided, she was raised and returned to service. She was named after the consort of Charles II.
The Model
Scale: 3/16” H 38” L 40” W 18”
The lower hull is white holly; the upper is English hare. Notice the waterline that Ed put in below the ebony wales and the lower hull. All of Ed’s scratch ships are doweled with handmade treenails as the original ships were, and are all in the same wood as the planking. Except for the Leon and Endeavor making it possible to see the trunels.
The back three lanterns are made of Plexiglas and the metal encasing the lanterns is secured at the top by screwing into the top of each lantern. Ed used a jeweler’s tap-and-die set, and these small crowns actually hold all the metal work and the lanterns in place.
The carvings on the side of the drums, shields and arms were first inlaid with redwood and boxwood, carved and cut out and then overlaid onto the English hare. Also, notice the lion’s head on the catheads. Also, see the carved staircases from the second deck down to the lower deck.
The entries are all carved and the white feathers at the quarter galleries are of a special blue-white holly that he saved for many years.
Look for the many carvings along the outside rails. On this one you can see the gun carriages and how they are put together, along with the coiled ropes or lines that are left as sailors would leave them.
The figurehead of the man on horseback has a wooden stirrup and reins.
From notes prepared by Dorothy Marple