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The Amerigo
Vespucci is a world-famous tall ship of the Marina Militare,
named after the explorer Amerigo Vespucci. Her home port is
Livorno, Italy. As of 2005, she is still in use as a school ship.
In 1925, the Regia Marina ordered two school ships to be built
following a design by Lieutenant Colonel Francesco Rotundi of the
Italian Navy Engineering Corps, inspired by the style of large late
18th century 74-cannon ships of the line. The first of these two
ships, the Cristoforo Colombo, was put into service in 1928 and was
used by the Italian Navy until 1943. After World War II, this ship
was handed over to the USSR as part of the war reparations and was
shortly afterwards decommissioned.
The second ship of the design was the Amerigo Vespucci. The
ship was built in 1930 at the (formerly Royal) Naval Shipyard of
Castellammare di Stabia (Naples). She was launched on February 22,
1931, and was put into service in July of that year.
The vessel is a full rigged three masted steel hull 82.4 m long,
with an overall length of 101 m (331 ft) including the bowsprit and
a maximum width of 15.5 m (51 ft). She has a draught of about 7
metres (23 ft) and a displacement at full load of 4146 tons. Under
auxiliary engine power, the Amerigo Vespucci reaches a top speed of
10 knots and has an autonomy of 5450 nm (at 6.5 knots).
The three steel masts are 50, 54, and 43 metres high, respectively,
and carry sails that total 2824 m2 (30400 ft2) In total, the Amerigo
Vespucci has 26 sails - square sails, staysails, and jibs: all are
traditional canvas sails. The rig, some 30 km of rope, entirely uses
traditional hemp ropes, too. Only the mooring lines are synthetic in
order to comply with port regulations. Currently, she is the only
existing three decked square rigger.
Amerigo Vespucci mini-kit by Mamoli is a well-detailed, high
quality kit that's fun and easy to build. Solid wood hull is
pre-carved and perfectly shaped. Fine-grained wooden dowels are
provided for the masts and spars, and individual planking strips
cover the deck. Authentically scaled fittings include metal parts,
cotton rigging and silk-screened flags. One-to-one plans and simple
instructions assure a model you'll be proud to display. Average
assembly time is 15-20 hours.
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