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What is the ship on this screen?


PIerrick de Badas

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That´s most probably the french merchant ship Gros Ventre ('Big Belly') of 1766. Same designer as the Belle Poule, by the way: Leon-Michel Guignance.

 

Edit: Nope. The Gros Ventre had just 10 guns. So the hull of the BP with the stern of the Gros Ventre? Could be...:

 

http://modelisme.arsenal.free.fr/artdumodelisme/Le%20Gros%20Ventre/index.html

Edited by Malachi
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Le Gros Ventre is pierced for 10 guns a side though, even if carrying only 10 total. So this must be the ship.

 

This is very exciting, a fast 20 gun merchant frigate for hauling...  :D

 

Fantastic work by devs to find a historically accurate merchant that can be converted from an existing ship.

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Le Gros Ventre is pierced for 10 guns a side though, even if carrying only 10 total.

 

 

The 'MONOGRAPHIE DU GROS VENTRE' shows her pierced for 5 guns per side :blink:

 

its flush deck so a later design

 

 

A flush deck is not as 'modern' as one might think. Some early 18th century british 20- and 24 gun ships had it, as well the danish 8-pounder frigates Raae and Höyenhald (1707 and 1708).

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That´s most probably the french merchant ship Gros Ventre ('Big Belly') of 1766. Same designer as the Belle Poule, by the way: Leon-Michel Guignance.

 

Edit: Nope. The Gros Ventre had just 10 guns. So the hull of the BP with the stern of the Gros Ventre? Could be...:

 

http://modelisme.arsenal.free.fr/artdumodelisme/Le%20Gros%20Ventre/index.html

Wow. That's the same stern, alright. However, when I looked closely at the in-game model in the screenshot above, I noticed some other things as well: 1.) The rail that runs around the stern and the quarterdeck. The Gros Ventre model that Malachi linked has that, while the in-game Belle Poule does not. 2.) The last gun port on the in-game model is about halfway between the main and mizzen masts. This is the same as on the wooden Gros Ventre model, while the in-game Belle Poule's ports run farther aft. So, it's more than just a copy of the Belle Poule's model. It still looks to me like it's borrowed quite a bit from the Belle Poule, so maybe the devs started with the Belle Poule's model and then edited it. 

Edited by Arvenski
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While I agree the stern has similar features to the Gros Venture plans - there are still some differences. (Unless the modellers had 'poetic license) on some features.

 

The gallery windows on the side are two on the devs picture, whilst three in the plans posted. There are two windows and a gun port/or further window on the plans below the mizzen back stays while the devs model has none of these features.

 

I would venture' (See what I did there ?) that the same designer and yard built the devs ship along similar lines, but it not being the same vessel or exact design.

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It is indeed Le Gros Ventre - or the Big Belly. I think it was named this way because of the Indian tribe - The Gros Ventres, but we are not sure.

Le Gros-Ventre is also the name of a fish from (french) Guyana (and it's already been back in the XVIIIth century) :

Lagocephalus_laevigatus.JPG

 

Lagocephalus laevigatus

 

Sources :

https://books.google.fr/books?id=z00VAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA392&lpg=PA392&dq=gros-ventre+poisson+lisse&source=bl&ots=JFiIV6ASV6&sig=gE0Xq8rHN5w60dslBQSazbXZwD0&hl=fr&sa=X&ved=0CD0Q6AEwCGoVChMIq8mR4sujyAIVhVcaCh0skgyi#v=onepage&q=gros-ventre%20poisson%20lisse&f=false

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_poissons_de_Guyane

 

Don't know whether or not the ship was named because of that fish though. May be a matter of shape  :).

Edited by LeBoiteux
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Well..

At first glance I would have bet all I had to give that she was a downgraded Belle Poule. Her lines and whole appearance look really, really close to each other.

So I went ahead and researched about those two ship. And suddenly I got the right clue.

Léon Guignace was indeed the designer of both of these two beautiful vessels.

He was a genious shipdesigner. L'Hermione is also designed by him. A superb architect I may add.

 

In conclution I may have lost my bet but I wasnt off too far ;)

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