A scale model of the sailing ship, Sovereign of the Seas, built and donated by Robert Wood. The Sovereign of the Seas, also called the Royal Sovereign, is the fifth ship model built by Robert. The Sovereign is an English Naval warship built by Peter Pelt at the Chatham Dockyards in England for King Charles I. It was launched in 1637, saw three battles, and burned to the waterline in 1697.
Completed in 1965, the Sovereign model is a solid hull, scratch-built ship. With the exception of a few metal fittings and the cannons, everything else is handmade by Robert. The Sovereign is an especially complex model with yards of hand crafted rigging and intricate carvings decorating the ship. This was the first ship for which Robert built an 18th century ropewalk in order to manufacture rigging rope. He spent many hours hand-twisting various sizes of rigging, and formed the decorations by carving individual molds in plaster in order to make the castings of wood paste.
Sovereign of the Seas specifications:
– Finished in 1965
– Solid hull construction
– 35” stem to stern
– 26-1/2″ keel to top of main mast
