The Rigging of Period Ship Models: A Step-by-step Guide to the Intricacies of Square-rig - Tapa dura

The rigging of period ship models is arguably the most complex task which any modeller has to take on. The very scale of the work is daunting. An eighteenth-century man-o-war boasted mile upon mile of rigging, over 1,000 blocks and acres of canvas. This book aims to make the modeller's job logical and straightforward. The author has, after studying numerous eighteenth-century models now located in museums, drawn some 400 diagrams which show clearly how each separate item of rigging is fitted to the masts, yards and sails. Each drawing deals with only one particular aspect so allowing the reader to see it in isolation. For instance, the fore deadeyes and channels are shown before the shrouds are added, and these in turn are depicted before the ratlines are added; and the backstays are shown without the shrouds confusing the image. Clear headings and concise captions add to the ease with which the book can be used. Whether a modelmaker needs to rig a whole sip or just requires information on one aspect, it should all be here.

Lennarth Petersson is a modelmaker and draughtsman and has spent years studying square rig. He has written for journals and periodicals and, amongst many commissions, produced detailed visual interpretations of the Vasa for the Statens Sjohistoriska Museet in Stockholm. He lives in Sweden and this is his first book.