Ships in bottles: how the most inexplicable marine souvenirs are created
Among the souvenirs on the marine theme, the most popular are models of sailboats in bottles. Amazing miniature copies of frigates, galleons and caravels are placed in a glass container with a narrow neck. Many are sure that the craftsmen saw off the bottom of the bottle, place the ship there, and then carefully glue it back. But it is not. The technology for creating such souvenirs is much more complicated and interesting.
It is believed that the first models of sailboats in bottles appeared about 500 years ago. Of course, they were created by sailors who knew the structure of ships very well and were jacks of all trades. This type of "needlework" appeared due to ... boredom. It is well known that sailboats depended on the wind. With a light wind or during a calm, the bulk of the sails did not need special attention, and the sailors had free time.
Miniature models were made of wood, and the rigging was made of laces twisted from the fibers of real ropes. As for bottles, there were always enough of them in the fleet, since a real sailor could not do without strong drinks. Sea wolves used knives as the main tool, and for especially fine work they themselves made tools from improvised materials.
The process of creating a ship in a bottle consisted of many stages. First, the craftsman created the model outside the container. However, it consisted of several parts. After that, the disassembled boat was placed in a bottle and the final assembly began. The master started from the bottom, gradually moving towards the neck. Only in this way could he do the work without blocking his view.
Neck length played a big role. It was the most difficult place to work. Therefore, in containers with a long and thin neck, models with less detail were assembled. But a short and wide neck provided a lot of room for creativity, but such a product looked less impressive.
The most responsible task was the installation of masts with sails. They were attached to the deck of the ship according to the hinge principle, and a thread was attached to each. When the model was assembled, the master pulled the threads, and the masts took their places, and the sails and rigging straightened out.
Nowadays, the creation of ships in bottles is not only a souvenir craft. In many countries, this is also one of the ship modeling disciplines. Masters compete with each other in the level of detail of the model, showing amazing accuracy. It is worth saying that the creation of such a ship takes a lot of time. Depending on the complexity of the work, it takes from several weeks to six months.