IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: CUXHAVEN

By: Dreadnought & AP

 

 

Chapter 50:

 

THE PHOTO TOUR

06

 

 

 

THE WEST LOCH – Part 06

This chapter will wrap-up our tour of the West Loch – with a look at the permanent berths along the breakwater. There are, basically, two types of harbors in the world – “natural” and “man-made”. The natural harbor is just that – a terrain feature created by nature that is large enough and deep enough to accommodate large ships, while sheltering them from the ill-effects of stormy seas. Examples of a natural harbor might be Oslo, Norway, the Thames Estuary, or New York. A man-made harbor is usually found on an open, exposed stretch of shoreline with no surrounding land features to block the wave action caused by heavy seas. An offshore breakwater has to be constructed to provide an area of calm water behind it. That is exactly what was done in the West Loch. The original shallow bay was too small to accommodate numbers of large ships, so the breakwater was constructed offshore to create a sufficiently large safe anchorage.

 

This is a clear view of the breakwater constructed to form the renovated West Loch anchorage. The engineers saved a few Marks by using the only natural island as part of the breakwater. It was later decided to add permanent mooring points along the breakwater to accommodate the growing numbers of armored cruisers. The Kaiserliche Marine traditionally favored permanent mooring arrangements, usually at quays and docks, but could not afford the expense of building numerous new docks – so “mooring points” became the alternative. (By contrast, the Royal Navy, long before Nelson’s day, chose to anchor far offshore -- in the Solent and the Thames Estuary. Unbelievably large numbers of British tars could not swim, so it was a simple means of preventing sailors from “jumping ship”.)

 

Here is a closer look at the join between the breakwater and the island. As already mentioned, these breakwaters are by “Uki”. It is a Japanese website, but the lots are in common usage in SC4 and should be readily obtainable. I tested every available breakwater set and settled on these because they were (for the most part) easy to work with and are certainly the most realistic available. You will notice two light cruisers have been moored at a temporary buoy just off the island.

 

Moored at the buoy offshore of the island are the light cruisers SMS Karlsruhe and her sister ship Konigsburg. They were commissioned in 1915 and were among the most modern in the Hochseeflotte. German light cruisers were widely known to be handled aggressively, and at 27.5 knots and packing eight 5.9-inch guns – they were fast with a formidable “bite”. The cruiser models were generously provided by @Barroco Hispano.

 

This is the same scene from a different angle. This gives you a close-up detail shot of how the island has been put together. The basic land mass was created by raising the land level some 15 meters above sea level (about 45 meters above the seabed). I gave the island an irregular shape to make it more “natural”, then used the “God Mode” tools to lower some of it below sea level. Once the rough shape was achieved, I used the “softening tool” to give it a smooth, rounded look with gently sloping sides that ease down into the water. I then applied a scattering of various bushes and ground cover. This was followed by MMP trees by @Girafe. The “earthen” areas were painted with “Heblem” brown sand, and the light gray sand – which actually looks more like loose gravel. Finally, I dotted the underwater areas with “Girafe” cattails and feather grass. It took the best part of an afternoon and evening to finish the island – very tedious and a lot of “trial and error” – but I think it was worth it.

 

The most difficult part of building the island and the breakwater was finding a way to bring the breakwater ashore. The “Uki” set does not include a specialized piece that merges the breakwater with the shore line. Apparently he thought offshore breakwaters were sufficient and there was no need to attach them to land. The “Uki” pieces are placed at sea level – no higher, and no lower. If you try to bring it ashore on a raised land area – it jumps up and towers over the other breakwater pieces out in the ocean. So the secret is to lower the land below sea level (like digging a small trench) where it comes ashore – while matching the height of the offshore breakwater pieces. Then you can cover the “watery ditch” with large rocks, small stones, and overhanging trees that will cover up the “join area”. It’s not a perfect solution to the visual problem – things always look different when you change camera angles – but it was the best I could do. The rocks and stones are by either “PEG” or “NBVC” – I think – I could be wrong about that.

 

One last view of the island.

 

This is the armored cruiser SMS Yorck (not to be confused with the later battlecruiser class). You will notice there is a “change-of-command” ceremony in progress on the forecastle deck. You will also notice the boat boom and small boats deployed on the port quarter. The boom and boats were lotted as a stand-alone lot designed to be plopped alongside any warship you like. Model by AP. (Complete details on the armored cruiser can be found in Chapter 06.)

 

The armored cruisers SMS Prinz Adalbert and Friedrich Carl. (For full details on the armored cruisers – see Chapter 05.)

 

This beautifully rendered model of SMS Furst Bismarck is being nudged into the berth by two tugs – Nordwind on the left – and the more modern Passat on the right. All three are the meticulous work of @AP. (Details on Furst Bismarck are in Chapter 03.)

 

 

SMS Hertha and Hansa, both painted in “foreign station” livery. The two protected cruisers spent most of their service life on the China Station. You will note Hansa is lowering a manned cutter over the side, while a small dinghy is unloading boxes of supplies up forward. Cruisers by “AP”. (Details can be found in Chapter 02.)

 

 

Another view of the protected cruisers.

 

 

 

NEXT TIME……

 

CUXHAVEN:

THE PHOTO TOUR

07

 

 

MANY THANKS to @Barroco Hispano for his beautiful warship models.

SPECIAL THANKS to my friend and partner, @AP, for his talents, meticulous models, colorful imagination, and extreme dedication.

 

If you enjoyed anything – please punch the “like” button so WE will know. A comment would be even more informative.

Comments and critiques requested and gratefully accepted. All questions answered promptly to the best of our ability.

THANK YOU for your visit!

 

 

You may wish to visit these CJ’s as well……

 

SERIES I:

IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: WILHELMSHAVEN

 

SERIES II:

IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: CUXHAVEN

Appearing – Work In Publication

 

SERIES III:

IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: BREMERHAVEN

Appearing -- ???

 

And please feel free to drop in at…

THE SIMTROPOLIS SHIPYARD

https://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/761469-simtropolis-shipyard/?tab=comments#comment-1766496