Customer Will G. from right in our own backyard in Hayward, CA, recently shared some photos of his newly started project, Amati’s Greek Galliot, and we’re happy to be able to share them here with you. Will just started the model this past weekend, and he seems to be making very good progress.

A galliot, as described on Wikipedia, was a small galley boat propelled by sail or oars. There are three different types of naval galiots that sailed on different seas.  Wikipedia goes on to describe Mediterranean Galliots of the 16th and 17th centuries as a type of ship with oars, also known as a half-galley, then, from the 17th century forward, a ship with sails and oars.

As used by the Barbary pirates against the Republic of Venice, a galiot had two masts and about 16 pairs of oars. Warships of the type typically carried between two and ten cannons of small caliber, and between 50 and 150 men. It was a Barbary galiot, captained by Barbarossa I, that captured two Papal vessels in 1504.

Amati’s kit appears to be based on a 3-masted galliot armed with two forward-firing cannons that appears in an old engraving.

Regarding the building of the Amati kit, Will mentioned that the laser-cut bulkhead pieces are not labeled, and placed, not in order, but placed to the best economy of the laser-cut sheet. Identification of the individual parts requires parts be cut out and placed on the illustrated guide in the instructions. Once identified this way, the parts could then be labeled in pencil.

This is only the beginning of the build, but he says he’s progressing quickly. He warns others that this small Amati kit features a single-planked hull, so recommends what he is planning to do: using balsa filler between the bulkheads to give more support to the planking. We’re anxious to see pics from his future work on this.

A couple variations he made from the kit instructions was to use a water-based stain on the keel piece early in the build. Also, the instructions call for the use of the same light-colored planking for interior surfaces of the ship as well as the decks. Will had some slightly darker wood strips he’d purchased from us (some 0.5 x 3mm tanganica) to give the some more variation in color, though some wood stains should do this as well.

Will says the tools and supplies he’s using are (so far):

• Swann Morton scalpel with No. 11 blades
• Excel K7 carving knife handle for separating plywood parts
• Original Titebond wood glue
• BSI Gap Filling CA glue
• Self Healing Cutting Mat from Model Craft
• Yoctosun magnifying headband visor with LED
• No. 2 pencil for marking the edge of planks
• Coarse grit emery boards
• Various plastic spring clamps

And, of course, starting off with Amati’s popular Greek Galliot kit.

We’re looking forward to seeing future updates on Will’s build. If you’re interested in the kit, there are many build logs and YouTube videos available on the Internet. The Amati kit itself can be found on our web shop here.

Do you have a ship model build to share with us and fellow builders? Just send your photos and details to us: blogger at agesofsail.com. Ω