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 Post subject: SV Kurun 1/60
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 1:17 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2009 1:38 pm
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Location: New Mexico, USA
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My latest modeling project.
“KURUN” sailed around the world between 1949 and 1952 with its captain and owner, Jacques-Yves Le Toumelin, in command. The vast majority of the trip was done solo.
The Model: The plastic injection molded kit I built was from the French company Heller/Humbrol. In 1/60 scale the assembly is rather straight forward and the fit good. However to make the model resemble KURUN as she did on her circumnavigation required quite as lot of modifications. I scratch built an anchor windlass cover, the bowsprit, sculling oar, access ladder, cabin top handrails, rigging blocks, stowed boom and gaff cover, baggywrinkle, ratboards, appropriate halyard fittings and the “shore-legs”. I also enhanced cabin portholes, added freeing ports where necessary and added various standing and running rigging enhancements. I used web images and Le Toumelin’s book “KURUN Around the World” as reference during construction.

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Le Toumelin (1920-2009) grew up during the tumultuous period of German occupation of France during WWII. He originally had built a fishing cutter he named Le Tonnerre but she was seized and wrecked by the Nazi’s in the early 1940s. Not to be deterred Le Toumelin had the famous French naval architect Henri Dervin design him a Norwegian cutter class boat based on the famous lines of the renowned Norwegian designer Colin Archer.

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Sporting the usual cutter design of a double-ender KURUN, which means ‘thunder’ in the Breton language spoken around Brittany, was gaff rigged. However KURUN had a couple unusual design features. One was that she had no crew cockpit; her weather deck is unbroken by a recessed cockpit. She was designed this way to add structural integrity to the hull form and it also allows for extra internal storage space in the rear of the vessel.

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Without a cockpit and its usual seating another peculiar feature was introduced. When Le Toumelin was hand steering the vessel he sat on a convex shaped bench that ran athwartships the entire width of the boat just aft of the cabin. Since this bench was higher amidships than along the gunwale lines he was able to sit on a relatively level surface regardless of what angle of heel the boat took under sail.

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A purist when it came to his seamanship Le Toumelin once said, “It is hard to become a true sailor if you get into the habit of using a motor.” And thus he sailed KURUN around the world without an engine (Joshua Slocum style) and therefore we find stowed on the port side a large sculling oar he used to maneuver his boat in tight quarters or when becalmed in certain instances.

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The original KURUN was oak planked with acacia ribs. The deck was made of iroko (a large hardwood tree from the west coast of tropical Africa that can live up to 500 years) and mahogany. Her specifications are:
Length Overall (LOA): 33 ft.
Length on the waterline (LWL): 27 ft. 10 inch.
Beam (Max): 11 ft. 10 inch.
Draft: 5 ft. 4 inch.
Displacement: 8.5 tons
Sail plan: Traditional gaff-rigged with 570 sq. ft. of sail
Aux. propulsion: None

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Launched on February 26, 1948 Le Toumelin and KURUN left his hometown port of Le Croisic, France in September 1949 sailing westward around the world. In July 1952, nearly 3 years from his departure, he returned to his home port and said upon arrival, “I felt as I moored KURUN that I had not come back to the harbor to stay. I was merely at a port of call.” Ironically, with that said Le Toumelin only made one other extended cruise in KURUN, a cruise to the Caribbean from September 1954 to July 1955.

The “shore legs”, attached to either side of the model, were uniquely designed wooden supports that made careening KURUN for unwater hull maintenance much easier. Careening is the practice of grounding a sailing vessel at high tide in order to expose one side of its hull for maintenance and repairs below the water line when the tide goes out. However KURUN’s “shore legs” allowed the vessel to be careened and provided access to the entire hull below the waterline because the boat was upright instead of resting on one side. When not in use these legs were stowed under the helmsman’s bench.)

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 Post subject: Re: SV Kurun 1/60
PostPosted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 6:59 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 5:30 pm
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Location: Nr Southampton England
Bravo!
good lokking model!

a very interesting read-- and a man after my own heart-- engine less sailing.

The French sailors old and modern do like to use a long sculling oar !!
When I raced a J 24 sailboat in la Trinite ( Quiberon Bay in Brittany )

I was amazed at the speed, manoeuvrability and " handiness" of the local French scullers in their race boats.

We UK J24's felt a bit like yesterday's news with our smelly 2 stroke outboard engine leaking fuel and oil under the cockpit companionway !!

:thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1:
JIM B :wave_1:

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 Post subject: Re: SV Kurun 1/60
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:52 am 
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Location: New Mexico, USA
Jim

Appreciate the kind words and info. Along with a 26 yr career in the USCG I’ve always had saltwater running in ‘most’ of my veins. My grandfather owned a 47’ Bugeye sloop in the early 20th century that he used in the commercial fishing industry. He always sculled the little punt he used as an aux. tender.

Ur J24 comments reminded me that on our last cruise (Nov-Caribbean) my partner & I had a port call in Sint Maarten. There we had the opportunity to crew on the Canadian sloop True North IV during a local race. It was quite the experience. True North IV is a 12m sloop built for the Canadian challenge for the 87 Americas Cup. Nothing quite like screaming along under pure sail power.

Joe

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 Post subject: Re: SV Kurun 1/60
PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:35 pm 
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Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 1:33 pm
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Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Hi Joe,

Not your normal fare around here, but this is a very nice model! Clean, sharp, and well presented. Sometimes one has to step back from all the brass and enjoy the simplicity of a boat like this. This is a superb model. I like it - a lot!

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Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!


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 Post subject: Re: SV Kurun 1/60
PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2019 3:52 am 
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Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:04 pm
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Location: Paris
Nice model and obviously done by someone, who knows his way around boats :thumbs_up_1:

Shore-legs used to be a common implement on boats in tidal waters around France and Britain. They were not only used for maintenance, but also to allow boats to be charged/discharged at low tide directly from horse-drawn carts. The Dutch/Flemish and Germans built flat-bottoms instead.

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 Post subject: Re: SV Kurun 1/60
PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2019 1:41 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2009 1:38 pm
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Location: New Mexico, USA
Appreciate the nice comments.
Glad u like the model Larry. I must admit that after a lifetime in military service I tend to concentrate on civilian vsls more than military ones. I still have a USCG 327' and a USCG 95' patrol vsl collecting dust in my closet but one of these days I'll drag them out into the light of day.
And Wefalck thank you for the info on the 'shore legs'. I'll admit that learning about them for my model added something new to my maritime vocabulary.
Joe

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 Post subject: Re: SV Kurun 1/60
PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2019 2:51 pm 
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Location: New York City
Nicely done. That is a sweet build.


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 Post subject: Re: SV Kurun 1/60
PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 10:41 am 
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Tks Dan for the nice comment. She was definitely a 'work of love'.

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 Post subject: Re: SV Kurun 1/60
PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 4:25 pm 
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Location: Liège , Belgium
By the way, "Kurun" does still sail nowadays, she has been preserved.

In 2005, I went to le Croisic to see her, as I also read the book in my childhood.

She now has a propeller shaft on the right side of the hull:

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 Post subject: Re: SV Kurun 1/60
PostPosted: Thu Apr 04, 2019 11:16 am 
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Laurent
I used quite a few photos and ref info from the "The Friends of Kurun" association in France in my build. The following info is from the Le Croisic Office of Tourism web page:
QUOTE: In 1986 a few friends gathered with Jacques-Yves Le Toumelin decided to create the association “The friends of Kurun” with the goal of taking the boat out of a long wintering. The town becomes owner of the Kurun and entrusts them with two tasks :
-To ensure the maintenance of the boat
-Make the boat be available to the public
Kurun was then taken out of its boathouse where it rested for 26 years. A team of volunteers strive to recondition the boat. Over 3500 hours of volunteer work were devoted to the refurbishing.
This work would not have been done if it wasn’t for the financial donations of the town of Le Croisic, county board, regional cultural affairs and of a number of companies from Le Croisic.
The altruistic work of several marine carpenters allowed the refurbishing of very damaged areas of the boat especially on the keel.
Kurun found itself back on the water in May 1991. It then took part in a boating rally in La Trinité sur Mer and then in Brest in 1996.
To this very day, the Kurun is one of the last boats in France at its origin without any major refurbishing.
Friends of the Kurun, a 100 member association.
Sailing comes to life by the attention brought to a boat. A boat’s place is in the sea and that’s the most beautiful museum that could be given to the Kurun.
The first trimester of 2009 was devoted to a more important renovation needing the expertise of a marine carpenter, which was the Fouchard company from Coueron. At the same time, the volunteers gave 1800 hours of their time to secondary tasks.
An installation of a 27ch motor would be needed for the Kurun to finally do its seafaring in 2004. Its presence was remarkable during traditional ancient boating rallies and regional events.
The Kurun went to Brest in 2008 and then to various boat gatherings.
Each year the Kurun participates in different nautical festivals in Piriac, Pénerf, Camoël , Billiers, etc.
And naturally the Kurun is present during the regattas in Le Croisic.
Boat outings are programmed by the half day or whole day for the members to thank them for their devotion.
KURUN and Le Croisic.
The Kurun can be seen by the public regularly next to the “Ole Auction House” (La Vielle Criée). During its wintering, it’s moored at “La Petite Jonchère” UNQUOTE.

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 Post subject: Re: SV Kurun 1/60
PostPosted: Thu Apr 04, 2019 12:24 pm 
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Location: Liège , Belgium
Hi Joe,

There are a few sailboats preserved in France, all of them being "Monument historique", except for the Penn Duick belonging to the late capitaine de corvette Eric Tabarly, who decided, almost 50 years ago, due to a lack of funds, to fibreglass the remains of the original hull.

Almost 12 to 13 years ago, I had the occasion to keep the helm of "la Bergère de Domrémy", a preserved french gabarre, which means that the whole deck area can be removed to load "Maerl" algae, which was used to amend the soils, even if her main job was fishing shells and clams .

Quite impressive, as we left the wharf under sail, no engine at all in this very boat.

http://bergere.antest.net/2016/05/repor ... sur-tebeo/

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