French longboat of the 18th century 02

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A small digression. Historical background. The second half of the 18th century is rightfully considered the heyday of sailing shipbuilding in the sense that by this time ships had already acquired high seaworthiness, but had not yet become a victim of harsh naval pragmatism. 

Their silhouettes fully reflect the harmony of graceful ship lines, and the overly luxurious decoration of the past has acquired a restrained and moderate character, without wasting its attractiveness. And the sailing equipment has become rational and effective, while ease of perception.

Suffice it to say that contemporaries of this era were William Gershel (1738), Alessandro Volta (1745), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756), Horatio Nelson (1758), Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759), Ludwig van Beethoven (1770)… such was the era.

All these features were naturally reflected in small ship forms, such as single-masted messengers and reconnaissance ships, as well as, of course, not on such a scale, in ship’s boats.

The boat, which became the prototype of my model, was born somewhere on the French coast from Dunkirk in the north to Bordeaux in the west. This is evidenced by the luger sailing equipment, which was not used in the Mediterranean. 

On youtube you can find videos in which graceful luger boats, built by fans of the maritime business, still “plow” the sea. By the way, this type of sailing equipment was very fond of smugglers, and I guess why many boats carried dark burgundy sails…

To be continue…

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