Young America by EdT - FINISHED - extreme clipper 1853

[EdT]

Thanks for the thought, Micheal.  The importance may not translate.  My impression is that the topping lifts were used most usually at dockside or perhaps when moored.  There would be no need that I could see - as well as some major difficulties with the yards above - to top the lower yards while underway.  This relative unimportance is one factor in my thinking about belaying them further aft.  Of course, by the time all the lines on this mast, maybe 100+, are rigged there may be a lot of crossed lines, although many will pass through fairleads in the top or on the shrouds.  We'll see.

 

I spent my two hours today unwrapping lower shroud lanyards so I can pull up on the shroud and backstay tension.  The cold weather and lower humidity has loosened things up.

 

Ed

[Tigersteve]

Volume 3 will be a good investment for many of us. I'm happy to purchase your book in support of your thorough research on this massive rig and to complete the set!

Steve

[Jeronimo]

Hi Ed,

beautiful work.

Karl

[cog]

As always, nicely instructed progress. Often I have to go back to see what I have missed, being unaware of the all the hardly visible detail you add.

 

(The cold weather and lower humidity has loosened things up. ... shouldn't it be higher humidity?)

[EdT]

Thanks, again, everyone.  I can't say how much your comments and support are appreciated.

 

Steve, thanks for you interest in Volume III.  I am very excited about it and hoping to make it a good reference on clipper ship rigging.  There is much work to do, however.

 

Carl, relative humidity where I live ranges from above 90% in summer months to as low as about 20% on the coldest winter days and it may persist at these levels for weeks at a time.   I know my basement workshop hits these extremes - even with dehumidification in the summer.  The contraction of rope (or model rigging line) when damp seems counter-intuitive, but I am assured by my prime sources that this is indeed the case, to the point where many running rigging lines were slackened during wet weather to prevent damage.  (Luce, Seamanship 1868)  Well-tarred standing rigging was probably less susceptible.  I was very surprised a couple weeks ago to see considerable slackness had developed in the stays, backstays, and shrouds.  I have withheld waxing the lines until attachments that involve gluing have been completed - items like ratlines, fairleads, and strapped blocks - and I am sure this has contributed to the amount of expansion.  Some of the lines on this model are quite long.  I expect to have better protected the rigging before the humidity of next summer creeps in, but also intend to keep an eye on things as the weather warms in the spring. 

[cog]

Interesting bit of  knowledge Ed. Is it the twist and tendency of rope to swell when getting wet, which shortens it?

[EdT]

No idea, Carl.

[SJSoane]

Ed,

 

That is counter-intuitive about low humidity in the winter and absorbing more moisture. I just heard the other day that in our location near a lake, doors tend to bind in their frames more in the winter than in the summer; this was also explained to me as counter-intuitive. And yet, my own admiralty framed model opens up joints in the winter due to wood shrinking. Many mysteries in the world still to be fathomed...

 

Mark

[wefalck]

As to doors: it probably depends on which parts shrinks more, the door or the frame - as the vertical frame of the door is a single piece of wood, it might shrink more than the door that is pannelled or even made from plywood.

 

As to rope: when the fibres swell in increasing humidity their diameter and the diameter of the strands increase; as the strands are wound around each other they need more length to give a certain length of rope - or in other words the rope will shrink. If the fibres were all nicely arranged straight and parallel to each other, then the rope would indeed become longer, but they are actually running at an angle to the lenght of the rope.

Edited December 12, 2017 by wefalck

[EdT]

Mark, I'm not sure about your first sentence, or maybe it was me in my note, but in the winter the low humidity dries the rope and causes it to lengthen.  Wefalck, I have to digest your rope shrinkage explanation, but I'm sure its credible.  One other explanation for some doors sticking in winter is the effect of frost lifting thresholds on doors on grade.  I have one such.

 

Ed

 

Later:  Got it Wefalck.  As the fibers swell, the circumference increases requiring more strand length to maintain rope length.  That is, after all, what you said.  Thanks.

Edited December 12, 2017 by EdT

[cog]

Thanks wefalk, that was what I meant with my question

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 257 – Fore Yard Bowlines

 

Bowlines were used to keep the weather leech on large sails taut when close hauled – to prevent the sail from folding back on itself.  On double topsail rigs they seem to have been used only on lower sails.  The lines were toggled or tied to cringles about halfway down the leeches on each side of the sail using "bridles" that were brought together to a "lizard" that in turn was connected to the bowline itself.  This consisted of a sort of whip tackle.  Bowline bridles were toggled or tied to the sail after it was bent to the yard before it was loosed, so on the unsailed model the bridles are stopped to the jackstays with temporary knots.  The first picture shows the installed bowlines.

 

 

The bridles are passed through bullseyes on the lizards and tied off to jackstay stanchions.  The standing ends of the tackles are shackled to eyes in the bowsprit, passed through the forward lizard bullseyes, passed through blocks lashed to the bowsprit cap, and belated on the forecastle fife rail.  The next picture shows the two blocks being lashed to the cap eyebolts.

 

 

The next picture shows the method I use to form most eye splices to shackles.

 

 

The needle is passed into the rope, then the short end is threaded through the eyebolt shackle and needle, then pulled through and glued.  The next picture shows the shackled eyebolt installed in the side of the bowsprit just aft of the bands.

 

 

The picture also shows the bowlines rigged through the blocks.  The next picture shows lizard bullseyes and the bridles.

 

 

The bridle eyes are tied off to jackstay stanchions using small hemp knots.

 

 

Then, a close-up of one of the bullseyes.

 

 

The splice around the bullseyes were made as described above.  As with other running rigging on the fore yard, the falls were belayed without glue to allow for later adjustment of tension or sag.

 

 

Ed

[Sailor1234567890]

Question about how you've temporarily rigged the bridles. Were YA's sails furled to the bunt or the yard arm? I ask because you've got the bridle about mid way out the yard which would not be proximal to the edge of the sail if it's furled to the yard arm and may or may not be if furled to the bunt, depending on how the sail ends up furled. I tend to think that if the sail was struck below, she wouldn't have the bowlines rigged at all. I may be wrong though.

[Sailor1234567890]

Looking closely, I have another question. The boom iron is shown on the forward 10 o'clock position or so in that second last image. It's significantly forward of the jackstay. The jackstay was used to fasten the sail to so how was the sail bowsed up tight to the jackstay if the boom iron was so far rotated forward of the jackstay? Or was the sail not lashed tight to the jackstay?

[EdT]

Sailor, I do not know how YA's ails were actually furled, but for the model I have assumed they would be furled at the bunt.

 

As to the location of the temporarily stopped bowlines, I have seen no documented prescription.  I have assumed these would be tied off at a location convenient for bending to the sail, near the bowline cringles on the sail as it would be made up on the deck prior to sending aloft.  These cringles would be left exposed, and if I understand the make-up of the sail for sending aloft, they would likely be toward the outer ends and not necessarily where they would be on the furled sail.  Other options are possible.   I am sure this detail was subject to some variation in practice.  Anyway, this was my rationale.  If there is more prescriptive documentation, I would welcome the input.

 

The sail would be made fast to the jackstay with robands after the head was stretched out on the yard.  The sail would have been hauled up by the buntlines, leechlines (and perhaps  the reef tackle?).  These pass over the forward side of the yard through blocks on the top of the yard, so the made up sail would come up to the yard inside of the stuns'l booms.  There is about a 1' gap between the yard and the booms.  However, it is my understanding that when bending or unbending the sail, the inboard ends of the booms were triced up at an angle to be clear of the process.  The inner boom irons were hinged to be able to release the inboard end for tricing up.  I assume that the smaller diameter at the end of the boom could rotate in the outer iron which is sized for the larger diameter at the center of the boom.   I am not including the tricing lines on the model.

 

If the question relates to interference of the head of the sail with the inner boom iron the answer is that the sail must have been passed under the iron.

 

Whew!  Good questions.  Don't know about the answers.

 

Ed

Edited December 13, 2017 by EdT

[Sailor1234567890]

My understanding of square rig has it done as follows.

Bending sail was done, as you say by hoisting the sail up, stretching it along the yard and making the robands fast to the jackstay. It wasn't hoisted with the bunts and clews though as far as I know. The reason was that for upper sails, those lines are not even close to long enough to reach the deck. Even the lowers would not quite be long enough to reach the deck as the sail was above the deck height and having more line than necessary to work the sails was wasteful. It was hoisted by a single line made fast to the bunt of the sail. This was hoisted from well above the yard in question. In other words, the sail would be prepared on deck then folded in half, hoisted bunt first up higher than the yard then lowered as the earrings were hauled taut to the end of the yard and robands made fast. I don't see how the head of the sail could be lashed tight to the jackstay as you've got the images of your model. The booms were triced up and the inner irons were hinged as you show but how do you get the head of the sail lashed up tight against the jackstay with that boom iron  in the way? There would need to be a slot in the sail. I'm better versed with more modern yards and ships like Cutty Sark where they generally had two jacklines and the boom irons were often below the yard to keep them out of the way a bit more.

I guess the questions remain.

 

 

[Sailor1234567890]

Are you including the lashing to ensure the booms don't slide out? normally they would have been lashed together at their butt ends to prevent them sliding out as the ship rolled. There's a tackle rigged to haul them out and a lashing to keep them secured together when not in use. I love stuns'ls and find the rigging of them intriguing. Sure you won't include some in your model?

[EdT]

I believe your description of raising sails applies to the upper sails but not the courses - at least according to the sources I am using.  Primary sources: Nares, Seamanship 1868 London and S.B. Luce Seamanship 1863, 1868.  Luce is American.  Secondary: Harland, Seamanship in the Age of Sail, 1984.  The same description, with diagram, may be found in Lever, Young Officers sheet Anchor, 1819. So you may want to check your sources.  Perhaps the method you describe was used on courses in later times.  Upper sails could not be raised in this way because of the stays, or as you say, to avoid overlong bunt, leech and clue lines. The courses were below the stays.  Also, sails above the topgallants were normally bent to the yard before raising.  By the way, I neglected to list the clue garnets in my first description of raising the sail.

 

I cannot answer your question on the interference of the boom irons with the head of the sail, except to say that the details of the boom irons and their orientation I used are well documented in multiple sources.  This configuration is also visible in the photo of the ship.  It is unlikely that the sails would be notched around them since this would involve cutting the headrope.  This would weaken the sail.  There would also be problems in stretching the sail on the yard.  I can only assume that the head rope ran under the irons at these points, forcing the head of the sail out about 8" from the jackstays at these points.  This problem is not mentioned in any of my sources, but I will look into it further and advise if I find anything.  Its a great question.

 

On the model, the inner boom ends are lashed to a jackstay stanchion in the withdrawn position.  I am not including any tackles to haul the booms in or out.  These and other studding sail lines are being omitted at least partly because it is not clear in any of my sources which of these remained in place when no sails, or no stuns'ls were rigged.  I am including studding sail blocks that I believe would be left in place when the sails were removed.  Most of this gear is likely to have been stowed when not in use.  I don't know.

 

One other source I might recommend is Murphy and Jeffers, Spars and Rigging  from Nautical Routine, 1849, an American book, slightly earlier period.  And of course the definitive secondary source on clippers:  Underhill, Masting and Rigging of the Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier.

 

Ed

[jo conrad]

Hello Ed and Sailor,

I can´t imagine any other solution to the question of the interfering booms, jackstays and head bolt-ropes but to change their respective positions on the yards : booms to move a bit back and up to the forward-1 o´clock position and jackstay forward and down to about 3 o´clock, i.e. out of the way of boom irons ; to avoid visual confusion : all seen from the starboard yard-arm across the yard to the port yard-arm. No sail could have been bent on or furled with the irons in the way of the head bolt-rope. For bending on, reefing and furling sails the booms had to be triced up out of the sailors´ way.  I think this arrangement was in praxi the only manageable way to handle the sails on these yards.

Greetings to you all

Germanus

 

Edited December 14, 2017 by jo conrad

[BANYAN]

Another very useful lesson for me; thanks Ed.  That rigging is looking very 'tiddly'; the skipper would approve!

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Sailor1234567890]

I have underhill's book. It really is a goldmine. I purchased plans to a boat last year with the intention of building her. She's a 57 footer with a number of different rigs. I would love to put the Hermaphrodite Brig rig on her and if I can, I will include stunsl gear. Underhill has been invaluable in planning her rigging work. I have a few other sources like D'Arcy's book and a couple of others. Maybe the uppers were the only ones hauled up bunt first and I was mis remembering seeing a lower hauled up that way. I know the smaller like moonsails, skyscrapers and such were often hauled up on the yard.

[matelot]

Underhill is indeed a goldmine. His were the first books that I read that told me what a real sailing ship looked like.

However I'd like to point out that he was an authority on the last days of sail and not of ships built some 

50 years earlier.

[BANYAN]

Matelot; I not sure about the period of cover you point out - I have Underhill and his descriptions of fast sailing ships etc, while biased to later rigs etc, does also cover the 1850s onward.  You just need to break out the differences between wood and steel hulls, and then read closely to break out which period he is discussing.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[EdT]

I concur with all the comments about Underhill's book.  It has been invaluable to me in my efforts to devise a credible rigging plan for Young America and I recommend it highly.  It was a necessary resource, but on its own not sufficient, and a long list of other references were needed, mostly 19C documents but some from secondary modern authors, like Crothers, Lees, Campbell, Harland. etc.  - also, photographs, especially those of YA, but many others.  I will not document the full list of sources here.  The list grows by the day and may look different by the time I finish the work.

 

The subject of interference between the sail head and boom irons raised by Sailor 123... has occupied all my available modeling hours over the past two days.  I am sorry to say I have found no explanation of how this was handled on ships in the 1850's time frame, and not even a mention of the problem.  Additional "bending" jackstays were sometimes fitted more forward on the huge steel yards of later years but there is no evidence of these on Young America.  This remains a mystery.  Even the most detailed descriptions of bending sails make no mention of this issue.  If a documented solution were found, I would be inclined to remove and rebuild the lower fore yard to suit, so if anyone has an answer, I am open to it.  However, undocumented opinions will not be enough for that.

 

In the absence of any mention of this problem in any of the sources, I can only assume that the sails were stretched around the irons, a detour of about one foot in forty. 

 

Thanks for the input on this issue.

 

Ed

[rwiederrich]

I too find it strange....and a bit frustrating.  On one hand you have the data(or lack of it) and on the other hand you have logical application.  The problem arises when your logical...reasonable application does not concur with what the limited known record shows.

Some of the stunsail spars on some McKay ships rest on top of the main yard suspended  above the jackstays with points of leverage at the yard ends, much like your example...but without the interior iron.

I don't know.....without sails being bent, the detail is astonishing, and since none of us are true experienced experts in the actual rig of these vessels...your application might be the best and will have to fall within the parameters of every other *creative license* move we make...to try and replicate these magnificent ships.

 

I don't recall off hand, but was the YA's cabins actually painted white....or *Pearl* or *Buff*?

 

Your YA is stunning to say the least...any number of us would have done things differently on many points...but you have done it superbly.

 

Rob

[EdT]

Thank you, Rob.  As far as the colors are concerned, I generally adopted the scheme proposed by Crothers or evident from the photos - with the exception of the masts and spars which I am leaving natural as you see in the pictures.

 

Ed

[Sailor1234567890]

Sorry to be keeping you up for 2 days straight Ed. It just struck me as odd how it was laid out. I've got some experience sailing square rig (not with Stunsl's though) and I quickly picked up on that little discrepancy. I Googled the Barque Picton Castle, admittedly a much later vessel. She is however extant today and has stunsl's. The gear is set up funny in that instead of a straight bar from the yard to the ring of the iron, it's a curved bar starting on top of the yard behind the jackline and curving forward so the ring is located where yours is. Outer boom iron isn't an issue as it's located outside the earing and does not interfere at all.

[garyshipwright]

EdT, Am sure you have heard every  word in the book about you build and all I can think to add to it, she is a very very fine looking lady. Your build is outstanding and am so glad that you are posting the build of her. When do you figure your next book will be out, have a open space on the book case for it. :o)   Gary

[EdT]

Thank you, Gary.  its good to have you back with us.  The timing of Young America Volume III will be just as soon as we can get it, but of course, I will have to finish the model in order to finish the book.  I am working on both - and of course the biggest job, the drawings.  Progress on the model will be the key indicator.  Thanks for your interest.  Maybe we can drag you away from those British men-or-war to a sleek, fast 19th century American beauty.

 

Cheers,

 

Ed

[EdT]

Not to worry, Sailor123....  You have not been keeping me up and I like questions, especially the hard ones .....usually.

 

Ed