[COR - Mar FB1] The Lady Jacqueline

[Ayrlego]

Hello All!

The Lady Jacqueline started as my attempt at a free license ship for the MRCA. As you can see I got just a little carried away with the size thing. I have made two versions, below is my Corrington version, the other, slight more medieval version can be seen on flickr. Based on the CGH pre-fab hull method, and heavily influenced by Napoleon's French Xebec. I feel she'd be around a Class 5F, but happy to hear other opinions/suggestions (I'd have probably originally said 4F, but there is no such class! and I believe she definitely deserves the 'F' designation!). I will license her when I have the appropriate funds, which probably won't be for a couple of months. The below table is for indexing purposes.

Type of Ship: Xebec

Class: 5F

Licensed: Not yet (I need slightly more funds!) Yes!

Master: Matthew Sawkins

Owner: Dirk Allcock

The Lady Jacqueline is the vessel that Captain Dirk Allcock purchased for his expedition to the new world. A Xebec, she is manoeuvrable and very fast. She is Captained by Matthew Sawkins, an experienced former Naval Captain. Her armament consists of four cannons (2 are currently stored below) and together with small arms and a detachment of 3 Royal Marines led by an experienced Sergeant. The weapons stored at the entrance to the cabin may seem a bit medieval, but the Marine Sergeant assures all who query that they prove their worth in close combat boardings.

Edited March 14, 2016 by Ayrlego

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Now that is a fine Lady, Sir!

One of the finest ships I have seen on the forum. And quite large too, but she doesn't look that way at first glance - so: a beautiful ship!

[Elostirion]

This is an absolutely beauftiful addition to the grand navy of Corrington. It really does look like a fast ship (I would have guessed size 4 or maybe 3, not 5, but I think it is fine that way as well) and just provides so many beautiful details. All Minifigs work superbly well, the presentation is nice and just really, really cool overall.

Only suggestion I'd have is to replace the white-green at the rear by white-red - would probably not look as great but make it look even more Corrie.

[TitusV]

She is a lovely ship! I really like her colours, with the green-white band. Great job!

[blackdeathgr]

A really beautiful and well built ship! Especially since this is my favorite technique. I too believe that she is class 4 though but is for others to decide :-) . Safe voyages!

[Tezclatipoca]

Excellent vessel sir !

The stern is cleverly done, I like this white and green band.

I am not sure for the bow, though, the bowsprit is quite well done for a xebec, but perhaps adding frontsail on it would be good, or perhaps supporting the bowsprit by a more pointy hull, but it is difficult, as you used a prefab.

Overall, it's an excellent ship !

[Tomsche]

Great expanding on the prefab hulls, a fine ship indeed

[Fuzzy MacFuzz]

Fabulous ship, everything about it is perfect. Wth minimal rigging and simple sails, the xebec is a great ship to build in lego. You've done it full justice here. Amazing work, I am in awe of your skills!

[Garmadon]

Aha, good to see this ship over here too! Great job with those lanteen sails and the rigging, and the tumblehome and stern are superb as well! Excellent work!

[Kai NRG]

A very nice ship, looks very fast and maneuverable. The checkered green and white on the side is great as well!

[Franco Clarke]

What a lovely ship, the checkers on the stern finish it off perfectly

[Ayrlego]

Thank you all very much for the comments,

Now that is a fine Lady, Sir!

One of the finest ships I have seen on the forum. And quite large too, but she doesn't look that way at first glance - so: a beautiful ship!

Wow! Such high praise Captain Braunsfeld! Thank you! As for size she definitely doesn’t look as big in the pictures as she does in real life. Not including the bowsprit, she is around 65 studs long and at her widest 18 studs wide.

Only suggestion I'd have is to replace the white-green at the rear by white-red - would probably not look as great but make it look even more Corrie.

I agree! I actually did seriously consider this, to the point where I got all my 1x1 red plates out – to find that I didn’t even have enough to do even one side!

I am not sure for the bow, though, the bowsprit is quite well done for a xebec, but perhaps adding frontsail on it would be good, or perhaps supporting the bowsprit by a more pointy hull, but it is difficult, as you used a prefab.

Overall, it's an excellent ship !

Thanks Faladrin. I did consider a front sail, but wasn’t sure if Xebecs were ever rigged that way. A quick google search has informed me they were! As for the pointier hull, I’ll definitely keep that in mind. I think it would make the vessel look even sleeker!

[Capt Wolf]

I love this ship! I'm going to have to study her more, and steal some ideas from her! This is possibly the best ship I've seen in BoBS so far.

As for class, she looks a touch small for a class 5, but a 5F does fit in general. I think you could get away with classifying her as a 3T2 large sloop, although I think she's a bit bigger than that. There's no class 4 description that really fits. Tough call.

Edited March 13, 2016 by Capt Wolf

[cb4]

I like it! She has a wonderful colour scheme and great detailing.

For the rigging - you don't need jibs for headsails on a xebec. However, generally the lateen foresail is effectively the headsail. This is why xebecs generally have the foremast stepped almost at the bows and raked forwards. Right now the masts are a little crowded together.

As for the rating, I really have no idea what the standard is.

The Lady Jacqueline has a wide prefab hull with 3 midsections, with some widening.

The ship index shows the following licensed class 5 vessels:

5T

- The Dancing Dogfish - wide prefab, 3 midsections, no widening.

- Heart of Eslandia - wide new style prefab, hard to estimate the number of midsections in the photos, looks bigger though.

- Antigone's fury - wide new style prefab, 4 midsections, no widening.

5HA

- HMS Bull Shark - narrow prefab, effectively 3.75 midsections. Much smaller internal volume due to the narrow prefab.

So you could easily make an argument that the Lady Jacqueline is class 5, or you have to consider that some of the ships on that list are overlicensed.

[Ayrlego]

Thanks Capt Wolf and CB4,

Capt Wolf, your class argument pretty much sums up my dilemma perfectly (and much better than I put it!)

CB4 your calculations are pretty much exactly how I justified my original classification. Like I said, I’d be more comfortable with her as a Class 4, but I’m loath to give up the ‘F’ designator as Xebecs were known for their speed.

I guess the argument for now is academic anyway, as I still need to earn another 50-150DBs depending on what I license her as!

[Vedauwoo]

I'd say you're firmly in the class 4 range, if not class 5....perhaps armament would decided it...but I notice she has no Gun Holes....

Very nice boat.....I agree on adding a Jib sail of some sort....

Nice Hooters on the Figurehead!

Edited March 13, 2016 by Vedauwoo

[cb4]

But she does have guns.. and the gun rating of a 5F is only 1, so it seems very reasonable. It's easy to cram guns into a ship and overgun her. In my opinion guns should only matter if you're licensing a ship with a fairly high gun rating, or a warship in particular.

[CelesAurivern]

Tis a beauty indeed. Fair and refined.

As for class, she looks a touch small for a class 5, but a 5F does fit in general. I think you could get away with classifying her as a 3T2 large sloop, although I think she's a bit bigger than that. There's no class 4 description that really fits. Tough call.

I guess you could always petition to add a 4F, seeing how greatly representative this build is for a 4F.

[Legostone]

First - this is a beautiful ship - the widened hull sections look great here. I'm not as excited about the integration of the stern with the tumblebone though, its sides look a bit to flat, but still good (I really like that checkerboard pattern that has been mentioned before). Perhaps the stern is bit to high up, but it still looks alright.

As for class, she looks a touch small for a class 5, but a 5F does fit in general. I think you could get away with classifying her as a 3T2 large sloop, although I think she's a bit bigger than that. There's no class 4 description that really fits. Tough call.

As for the rating, I really have no idea what the standard is.

The Lady Jacqueline has a wide prefab hull with 3 midsections, with some widening.

The ship index shows the following licensed class 5 vessels:

5T

- The Dancing Dogfish - wide prefab, 3 midsections, no widening.

- Heart of Eslandia - wide new style prefab, hard to estimate the number of midsections in the photos, looks bigger though.

- Antigone's fury - wide new style prefab, 4 midsections, no widening.

5HA

- HMS Bull Shark - narrow prefab, effectively 3.75 midsections. Much smaller internal volume due to the narrow prefab.

So you could easily make an argument that the Lady Jacqueline is class 5, or you have to consider that some of the ships on that list are overlicensed.

I'll just go and add onto this the class 5 examples mention in the MRCA explanation thread:

4184 Black Pearl = War Brig / Heavy Sloop?

4195 Queen Anne's Revenge = Heavy Sloop

10210 Imperial Flagship = Heavy Sloop

6286 Skull's Eye Schooner = Heavy Sloop / War Schooner

6274 Caribbean Clipper = Large Sloop

Okay, these are all armed ships - but besides the Imperial Flagship none of these have more than 3 midsections just like this one. I left the Caribbean Clipper in to show the given example of a large sloop - 1 midsection, small hulls.

But she does have guns.. and the gun rating of a 5F is only 1, so it seems very reasonable. It's easy to cram guns into a ship and overgun her. In my opinion guns should only matter if you're licensing a ship with a fairly high gun rating, or a warship in particular.

I completely agree with this.

I guess you could always petition to add a 4F, seeing how greatly representative this build is for a 4F.

I'll just quote Ska again here - the example for the class 4T1 is way smaller

6271 Imperial Flagship = Small Schooner / Snow / Large Sloop (depending on how rigged)

This one has 1 small midsection, not 3 like this one.

Overall I think this should easily qualify as a class 5F considering the examples and other ships available. And everyone - you must always consider that there is some extension - as in higher ship classes - planned for the future. Do you want those classes in the range of 5+ midsections if it is even possible with prefabs? As well as that - almost everyone here is somewhat limited in his parts selection and can not build the most gigantic ship possible.

[Bregir]

That is some beautiful headlights... Erhm... I mean...

Great looking Xebec, Ayrlego. I too love xebecs, and this is a great example. The overhanging sterncaste is looking really good, and very characteristic for xebecs.

I really like how it is detailed and well-finished all over, and details like the boats on deck, the cannons and the weapons stored on deck. Lanterns and figurehead are nice too.

Suggestions for improvements.

Hull - I like what you have done with tumblehome and overall shape, but I think it might benefit from a little more curvature, as that is very typical of xebecs.

Rigging - I like the current rigging, especially the rake of the mizzen. And I don't think you should add a jib - as far as my research is concerned, I agree with cb4. Xebecs would probably mainly wear headsails when they used square rig. Normally the lateens would give plenty of performance close to the wind. I do agree that the foremost mast could be stepped further forwards and raked well forwards, to give it a more balanced rig. Currently, the center of the sail pressure is a little far aft, which would make her hard to steer.

I also think a lighter string for the rigging would improve the look a bit - And you could add standing rigging (stays) to the masts as well, making it look more elaborate. You have, however, done a good job so far - the sails are really nice too, btw.

Great job, all in all - the above is really nitpicking.

As to rating, I think you can easily get away with the 5F. The fast ships would typically be sleeker and smaller than more bulky, roomy cargo ships. If there was a class 4F, that might be slightly better, but I really don't see any issue with registering her as a 5F, as she is comparable to other class 5 vessels.

As to financing, I might know someone who would assist you... I'll send you a PM.

[Capt Wolf]

Thanks Capt Wolf and CB4,

Capt Wolf, your class argument pretty much sums up my dilemma perfectly (and much better than I put it!)

CB4 your calculations are pretty much exactly how I justified my original classification. Like I said, I’d be more comfortable with her as a Class 4, but I’m loath to give up the ‘F’ designator as Xebecs were known for their speed.

I guess the argument for now is academic anyway, as I still need to earn another 50-150DBs depending on what I license her as!

I missed that the gun rating for a 5F was "1". In that case, and given the analysis re number of pre-fab hulls used, I think 5F is a fair classification.

And if you want to get her into the game quicker, you could always sell some shares in her while retaining majority ownership. You could even include a buyout clause so you could buy back the shares from investors as you can afford it.

Edited March 13, 2016 by Capt Wolf

[BrickOn]

Beautiful ship, love that green and white checker board and the tiles decking just adds the cherry to cake, she looks fantastic. If you are in want of more investors send me a PM, although I suppose you must build a smaller ship first to make use of the free licence. Good luck!

[Kwatchi]

Gorgeous detail on the ship. Well done!

[Ayrlego]

Thank you all for the comments and discussion regarding Lady Jacqueline's class. With some help from a friend, she will be licensed as a 5F for participation in this month's MRCA!

Nice Hooters on the Figurehead!

Thanks Vedauwoo, I was wondering if anyone would comment on the figure head!!

I guess you could always petition to add a 4F, seeing how greatly representative this build is for a 4F.

Ideally I think this would be the best solution, but I don't want to add more work for the probably already swamped leaders!

Overall I think this should easily qualify as a class 5F considering the examples and other ships available. And everyone - you must always consider that there is some extension - as in higher ship classes - planned for the future. Do you want those classes in the range of 5+ midsections if it is even possible with prefabs? As well as that - almost everyone here is somewhat limited in his parts selection and can not build the most gigantic ship possible.

Thanks for the detailed argument Legostone, I have licensed her as a 5F.

Suggestions for improvements.

Hull - I like what you have done with tumblehome and overall shape, but I think it might benefit from a little more curvature, as that is very typical of xebecs.

Rigging - I like the current rigging, especially the rake of the mizzen. And I don't think you should add a jib - as far as my research is concerned, I agree with cb4. Xebecs would probably mainly wear headsails when they used square rig. Normally the lateens would give plenty of performance close to the wind. I do agree that the foremost mast could be stepped further forwards and raked well forwards, to give it a more balanced rig. Currently, the center of the sail pressure is a little far aft, which would make her hard to steer.

I also think a lighter string for the rigging would improve the look a bit - And you could add standing rigging (stays) to the masts as well, making it look more elaborate. You have, however, done a good job so far - the sails are really nice too, btw.

Thanks Bregir, I think (at a later stage - this is one ship I'll be keeping built!) I'll try and modify the mast arrangement. Like you suggest I'll move forward and rake the foremast as well as move forward the middle (main?) mast. I too am not happy with the twine I am using for rigging, but cotton thread is too thin and I am yet to find something 'just right'. I'll keep looking!

Beautiful ship, love that green and white checker board and the tiles decking just adds the cherry to cake, she looks fantastic. If you are in want of more investors send me a PM, although I suppose you must build a smaller ship first to make use of the free licence. Good luck!

Thanks BrickOn and thank you for the offer of finance! Another investor has however provided the necessary funds. I already have a small 1F using my free licence, the Saucy Gibbon.

[Bregir]

From fore to aft, fore mast, main mast, and mizzen mast.

On single masted vessels, there is only one mast, thus a mainmast. On two-masters, it is a bit more complex, but the tallest mast is the mainmast. If the main mast is the forward mast, it would typically be a ketch, while the other way would make it a brig (square rigged) or a schooner (fore and aft rigged).

I am using the kind of string used for suspending tents. It has the right elasticity and thickness (a little less than a mm, I would think). It can really be given the right tension to hold the masts up.