'De Groene Draeck' (The Green Dragon)

Here are some images of Authentic Models Holland's 1/24 scale Lemsteraak 'De Groene Draeck' (The Green Dragon).
I never understood the tendency of some model kit companies to name their company in English but everything else is in their own language in this case Dutch.
This kit being an older kit was more difficult than one one might come to expect. First the instructions were all in Dutch. Second the parts were only printed onto the wood and not lazer or stamp cut. So the parts had to be cut out by hand. Anyway it wasn't easy.

From Wikipedia"

 The lemsteraak is a traditional Frisian sailing ship. The design comes from Lemmer , developed from the Frisian fishery (suitable for the Frisian inland waters).
 The first lemsteraak of which drawings are, was built in 1876 by the shipyard De Boer from Lemmer.  Originally the barge was intended as a fishing vessel on the Wadden Sea and the Zuiderzee , in particular the part between Friesland and the head of North Holland. They mainly fished for herring, although the actual fishing with herring was done.  The barge was used for transport and storage of the fish, provided by a (covered) bun on the front deck, which could be up to 2.5 meters in size.  For its speed, the barge was also used for the transport of other (living) fish, mussel seed to Zeeland and mussels from Zeeland to Belgium (up to Brussels).  They were also used early in the 19th century to transport live eel to London , where the barges even had their own berth. 
 Soon the well-to-do bourgeoisie found out that the lemsteraak was perfectly suitable as a pleasure yacht. The bun disappeared and in its place came a cabin placed behind the mast, often with decorative carvings and stained-glass windows. As a yacht, the barge was sailed with three paid powers. In this time, at competitions, the crew can be up to 10 men to be able to maneuver quickly and change sails.  In the first instance, these were converted fishing boats, but in 1907 the first lemsteraak was built at De Boer Shipyard, which was built as a yacht: the Johanna , who is still sailing in a reasonably original state like the Orion . 
In the run up to the 21st century, racing sailing with lemsteraken has received a renewed interest. The existing ships were improved and new ships got more profitable hulls and rigging. Since 2002, the VA class organization has been set up specifically for racing sailing with lemster tasks. The class is recognized by the Watersportverbond. Every race ship has a TVF (time settlement factor). This TVF was completely renewed in 2010 by order of the VA class organization. TU Delft was involved in this. The purpose of the TVF is to give each ship an equal chance of victory. Partly due to the competition sailors, the yacht designers do a lot of research using wind tunnels and towing tanks . The predictive software also plays an important role in the new development. Since 2000, the lemsteraken with the lay-out of the fisherman in the competition field are again in full view and even have the upper hand. The current competition ships are on average longer than those of the last century (now most of the ships are 15 - 17 meters long) The large cockpit of the fisherman offers a competition crew (average 10 people strong) a lot of space and at least as important, the center of gravity is lower than that of the hunting tasks, which increases the sail-carrying capacity.
 The curve with the high head indicates that the barge did not shy away from the rough and fast flowing water of the Wadden Sea and surroundings. The barge is built in an egg-shaped round with the tip to the rear.  The plane is slightly curved and the deepest point is found, as is the largest width, near the mast.  From the beginning of the 20th century, the hull of the barges was built in iron / steel, the first decades were riveted, later welded. The round line both in the longitudinal and the width direction not only ensure the good sailing characteristics but are also responsible for the high price. It takes time, effort and craftsmanship to give a steel plate two curvatures. As a result, a lemesteraak is considerably more expensive than, for example, a chimney .
The mast originally had the same length as the ship. Meanwhile, the barges have convinced a considerably higher mast. The rudder is equipped with a click , on yachts often replaced by a gilded rudder lion or other artistic carvings. The ship is equipped with narrow long sea ​​seams . 
The swords are often adjustable in the longitudinal direction of the ship. The lateral point can therefore be moved. The wind / lee effect can thus be influenced. A characteristic feature of most of the new racing boats is that the continuous keel is missing and there has been carried out with hedges against the extension of the stern and stern to the underwater ship. Due to the lack of the continuous keel and the desired stiffness of the hull, the construction of rafters, girders and the like is heavier.
 The lemsteraak is rigged with a large mainsail on a curved fork with loose trousers, that is to say, it is not attached to the boom at all . As a predecessor one sails a fairly large jib and javelin and sometimes a halfwinder , called in the world of round and flat-bottomed hunters or mizzen . ^[1]
The position and length of the mast largely determine the ratios of jib and mainsail. Nowadays the mast stands at 40 - 45% of the ship's length and the length of the mast is approximately 1.5 times the length of the ship. For racing vessels, the sail width at the level of the fork may not exceed 48% of the length of the bottom. In that sense, the mainsails of modern ships have become narrower. At the same time, the lifting has been lengthened, as a result of which the mainsail has received a higher yield. The big breeding is actually a genoa and here too the longer lifting has changed the height: width ratio, resulting in a higher yield.
The halfwinder or hunter is fed flying at a single fall. The neck should be briefly fed on the jib tree. The halfwinder is not passed along a stag but completely free. Depending on the cut of the sail it is used at about 80 to 140 degrees to the wind or 110 to 180 degrees. The sail can not be used in the wind. In general, the halfwinder up to and including Bft4 is well-paid.
The mizzen, also called hunter, breadwinner, is also fed from half-wind quarters. A tree, with the function of the boom, is attached to the back house. The lap is brought to the cockpit via a block on the rudder.
Water sails are also used for cross-country courses. Under the boom and also under the jib.
 De Groene Draeck is a lemsteraak that was built from 1956 to 1957 in the shipbuilding hall of De Amsterdamsche Scheepswerf G. de Vries Lentsch Jr. in Amsterdam . The launch was on June 4, 1957, the transfer on June 15, 1957. The ship then has a ladies cabin for four people, a men's cabin for two persons and two spare berths in the saloon. The front deck is intended for the permanent crew of the ship and has a separate entrance to the deck.
During construction the ship is equipped with a water-cooled Perkins 6-cylinder diesel engine of 65 hp at 2000 rpm. In addition, an air-cooled Lister diesel, which drives a separate alternator for the power supply, in addition to the propeller shaft generator . A bronze bilge pump can also be connected there, which can also be used for deck cleaning. A large battery set has also been installed in the engine room. The ship is then provided with a carbon dioxide fire extinguishing installation, which appeals at 90 °. In addition to the three underwater line pumping toilets (a private toilet for the crew) there are five washbasins, which then all went to the outside water.
To save space in the cockpit, the ship does not have a tiller , but a steering wheel . The wood carving (more sculpture) around the cockpit is carved in relief from the teak by C. Bischoff . At the helm is a winged dragon , designed by Katinka van Rood , teacher sculpture of the princess. In addition to the stick anchor, there are also a ploughshare anchor and two cat anchors on board. The navigation lights could also burn petroleum at the time, in case the power on board would drop out.
 The idea of ​​offering the princess a ship was elaborated in a committee consisting of representatives of companies who practiced seafaring, coastal shipping, navigation, towage, inland shipping, fishing, etc., and representatives of the Royal Netherlands Navy , rescue, water sports. , in addition to people who were interested in water sports, but also mayors who at that time held major water sports centers. De Groene Draeck was presented to HKH Princess Beatrix by this Comité Varend Nederland on the occasion of her 18th birthday in 1956. The sailing number is VA 18.
At the delivery in Muiden a fleet inspection of an estimated 500 yachts and boats was held, in a row in the harbor and the access channel.
At present the property falls under the Crown Goods Foundation of the House Oranje-Nassau which aims to promote that descendants of HM Queen Wilhelmina in the exercise of the Royal dignity have access to the necessary or desired movable physical matters. Upon liquidation of the foundation, the cases are transferred to the descendants who, according to the law, are their heirs. Director of the foundation is the Bearer of the Crown. The transfer of ownership appears to have happened tacitly around the throne . n 2007 there was a discussion about the maintenance costs of De Groene Draeck . In August of that year they always appeared to have been charged to the Ministry of Defense . In 2005 and 2006, these costs amounted to € 416,000. A new comparable ship costs € 800,000 to € 2,500,000 and maintenance is normally 50,000 to 70,000 euros per year. At the beginning of September 2007, the Ministry of Defense announced that it will continue to maintain and operate this ship, because this was promised when the national gift was offered.
On 11 May 2010, it was announced that Queen Beatrix would still pay a large part of the maintenance itself. She paid the extra maintenance for two years. The costs were estimated at € 326,000. 
Following questions from MP Pechtold , Prime Minister Rutte reported at the end of September 2015 that from 2010 to 2015, € 223,000 more was spent on maintenance than expected. And moreover that for the coming years the budgeted € 51,000 per year will not be spent, but € 95,000 
RTL Nieuws revealed in February 2016 that the maintenance costs for years stood for around 50,000 euros in the annual financial reports, but that in reality the costs were more than double each year. Prime Minister Rutte would have structurally incorrectly informed the House of Representatives about this.