Replica photos by Robert Garvey born, and o n 10 January 1997 Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands symbolically laid the ship's keel. According to project director Graeme Cocks, the Foundation's vision was, first, to co nstruct the most accurate possible reproduction ofa Durch jachr and, seco nd , to tell the sto ry of Captain Willem Janszoo n's voyage of discovery to Australia. Bur long befo re any Latvian oak was shipped from the frozen was res of the northern hemisphere to th e hot docks of Fremanrl e, a team of researchers, led by maritim e architect Nick Burningham, had to recreate the ship's design . "No plans for any Durch ship of the Duyjken's era we re ever drawn on paper or parchment," Burningham explains. "A ship's design evolved in the master shipwright's head; designing and building a ship was an inseparably integrated process. " T he researchers used computer sofrwa re to anal yze hull forms depi cted in co ntemporary art. T he wrecks of Durchbuilr ships offered furth er evidence, as did shipbuildingconrracts and documents from the rime, which revealed clues LO perfo rm ance and carrying capacity. Ultimately, the cho ice of individual timbers for specific uses and myriad practical derails were decided by the master shipwright as the ship rook shape. Master shipwright Bill Leonard notes: "The past has a way of reaching into the present, and, agreeing that no as pect of the design would be fi xed, we let the D uyjken
The man on the left caulks a seam, while another sees to the smooth fit ofthe rudder.
This interior view ofthe hull before fit-out looks aft toward the constable's cabin. Rows ofhanging knees line either side ofthe hull, and a man works on the whipstaff in the stern.
j ennJ1Scrayen carved the coat-of arms ofthe City ofFremantle, later fitted on the vessel's stern.
SEA HISTORY l02, AUTUMN 2002
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