Sovereign of the Seas Model Ship

English Battle Ship – Sovereign of the Seas

About the Sovereign of the Seas wooden scale Model Ship

This model ship of the Sovereign of the Seas was custom built from the following information:

• The original construction drawings.

About the construction of the Sovereign of the Seas wooden scale Model Ship

• The hull is built using the Double Plank-on-Bulkhead construction method
• The bulkheads and keel are cut from marine grade pine plywood
• The first layer of planking is done plank by plank using Mahogany planks
• The second layer of planking is done using Mahogany Veneer strips
• The deck is made of Anagre, a light brown timber from the Amazon
• The hull is sheathed with real copper plates below the waterline
• The gunwale and stringers are made of American Walnut
• The fife rails and pin racks are made of American Walnut
• The deckhouses and gangways are made of Teak
• The masts and yards are made of Mahogany dowels
• The sails and ropes are made of linen
• The model is painted with acrylic paint
• The ornaments are cold cast in bronze and painted

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History of Sovereign of the Seas

Sovereign of the Seas was a warship of the Royal Navy with an armament of 102 guns. Phineas Pett designed her after Charles I informed him to design a great new ship as part of his effort to improve England’s navy. She was built by Peter Pett, at Woolwich Dockyard in England and was launched in 1637.

Sovereign of the Seas was intended as an instrument of propaganda as well as war. The Sovereign of the Seas was the Royal Navy’s most lavishly ornamented vessel. The brothers John and Mathias Christmas carved her decorations.

The ship-money tax levied by Charles I for his naval program contributed to his overthrow and execution in 1649. His subjects resented his lavish and inappropriate naval program.

In 1660 the Sovereign of the Seas was rebuilt and renamed Royal Sovereign. Despite the Sovereign of the Seas vast size, she was slow and could not keep company with other ships during combat.

She did, however, see action during the battle of Kentish Knock in 1652, Orfordness in 1666, Solebay in 1672, Schoonveld in 1673, and the Texel in 1673.

After another rebuild in 1685, the Sovereign of the Seas was at Beachy Head in 1690 and Barfleur in 1692.

Unfortunately, disaster struck eleven years later when a misplaced candle set the Sovereign of the Seas on fire and she burned at Chatham.

Member of The Nautical Research Guild

Learn more about Sovereign of the Seas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Sovereign_of_the_Seas