Den Norske Løve or Vanessa's Nautical Adventures I've been feeling the need to get a new hobby. I'd thought about knitting, in keeping with my fascination with threadcraft and long, pointy metal things. It was not to be, however. On 10 August 2003, I inherited a partially completed model of Den Norske Løve. The ship was started by Asger Dam, uncle to Svend Storm, a good friend of our family. Asger has built many model ships, including one sail ship where the hull is carved from a solid block of wood, completed when he was a boy. When Asger moved into a retirement community, he was unable to bring this piece with him, and so sold it to Svend. The ship has sat in Svend's garage for a while now, but he is too busy to work on it. So when Dad and I expressed an interest, the ship came home with us. I have never done a model ship before, and in my research, I've discovered that Billings Boats, the kit manufacturer, rates Den Norske Løve as three stars, or expert level. Never let it be said that I don't jump into things headfirst! But until I complete my current cross stitch project, and do a great deal of reading about model ship building, the ship will have to wait. I will be cleaning it, though, and repairing some of the damage before starting to do actual original work. Pictured right is the completed model. The following information is included in the kit: This is a model of the warship Norske Løve, which was constucted by Master F.M. Krabbe (1725-96) and built by the Navy's shipyard on Nyholm near Copenhagen. The ship was given the building number 35. Building commenced in May 1764 and the launching took place on 30th April, 1765. The ship was finished and equipped on 10th October, 1767. Norske Løve was the second built from a series of three, the two others being Printz Friderich and Dronning Caroline Mathilde (later called Øresund in 1772). The ship was named after the Norwegian Lion and the Danish-Norwegian Imperial Coat of Arms. The length of the ship was 167 (Danish) feet over the sterns, width 45 feet and depth, fore and aft, 18 feet 9 inches and 20 feet. There was a normal crew of 667 men and an armament of 70 cannons of iron with 26 cannons 24 pd. on the lower deck, 26 cannons 18 pd. on the middle deck and 18 cannons 8 pd. on the upper deck. The Danish-Norwegian Warships were, until 1780, tared with a very dark brown colour, after which they were painted black with light-yellow battery lines (the so called Nelson Look). The decks were light tar coloured and the gun-carriages red. All ornaments, made by the sculptor C. Møllerup, being reminders of Norway. On the transom there is a fisherman and a farmer, symbolising the most important trades of Norway, agriculture and fishing. The Norske Løve was used as a guard ship in Øresund and other Danish waters. In 1789 it was equipped as a guard ship to protect Russian ships in Danish waters. In 1779 the ship was repaired and in 1795, after having been stripped into a block ship, was used to give shelter for homeless families after the Fire in Copenhagen that same year. In 1798 it was deleted from the Navys' registers. Until 1814 Norske Løve was a much used name for ships in the Danish-Norwegian Fleet. Thus known is a Norske Løve (1665-79) an ivory model of which stil exists. Furthermore, there was a model of the Norske Løve launched in 1735 and deleted in 1764 not to be mistaken for the warship this model represents. The model of this Norske Løve is developed on the basis of the original construction drawings. Below are pictures of the model's state as of 11 August 2003. As you can see, a great deal of it is completed. There is some damage; the dolphin striker is snapped, the capstan has come loose, and there are a couple of knocks and dings to be repaired. It also needs a good dusting, and no doubt I'll do more damage as I clean. In my efforts to know what I'm doing, I'll be trying to use proper terminology to refer to parts of the ship. Bow topside. A lot of rigging has already been completed. I hope it won't have to be redone when I fix the masts.   Stern topside. You can see the dust built up on the decking. The whole model needs to be cleaned before more work can take place. Stern. There might be some damage to the rudder assembly.   Amidships. The capstan has broken loose from the deck. The yard on deck is the next one for the foremast, I believe.   Bowsprit. You can see the broken dolphin striker.   Port bow. Gorgeous, isn't it? Starboardside. The topgallant masts are cut down on the fore, main, and mizzen masts, and will need to be replaced before proceeding. Site last updated: 13 August 2003 Comments? Email me!