Ray

Next two coats of dull black paint was applied  to the yard before all the blocks and rigging tackle was added. The lower main yard also had the yard slings added, also the slings with a block to support it made and added to the tops , all the lifting tackle blocks were also fixed to the yard finishing with the pendant lines and blocks, lastly the stirrups and foot-ropes completed the yards, the stirrups were made by using stanchions left over from the quarter deck conversion they looked better than my bent wire test stirrups. Lastly the stun-sail booms were made and fitted and lashed down,I must say there is a considerable amount of work, and time and effort, that goes into each yard and I am very pleased with the results.
The main yard and cross-jack are done, now its back to the others.
Cross-jack


pinned to mast

Main yard with some blocks

Main yard fully rigged without stun-sail booms



Main yard sling

Finished main yard


 
 

Next two coats of dull black paint was applied  to the yard before all the blocks and rigging tackle was added. The lower main yard also had the yard slings added, also the slings with a block to support it made and added to the tops , all the lifting tackle blocks were also fixed to the yard finishing with the pendant lines and blocks, lastly the stirrups and foot-ropes completed the yards, the stirrups were made by using stanchions left over from the quarter deck conversion they looked better than my bent wire test stirrups. Lastly the stun-sail booms were made and fitted and lashed down,I must say there is a considerable amount of work, and time and effort, that goes into each yard and I am very pleased with the results.
The main yard and cross-jack are done, now its back to the others.
Cross-jack


pinned to mast

Main yard with some blocks

Main yard fully rigged without stun-sail booms



Main yard sling

Finished main yard


 
 

Next two coats of dull black paint was applied  to the yard before all the blocks and rigging tackle was added. The lower main yard also had the yard slings added, also the slings with a block to support it made and added to the tops , all the lifting tackle blocks were also fixed to the yard finishing with the pendant lines and blocks, lastly the stirrups and foot-ropes completed the yards, the stirrups were made by using stanchions left over from the quarter deck conversion they looked better than my bent wire test stirrups. Lastly the stun-sail booms were made and fitted and lashed down,I must say there is a considerable amount of work, and time and effort, that goes into each yard and I am very pleased with the results.
The main yard and cross-jack are done, now its back to the others.
Cross-jack


pinned to mast

Main yard with some blocks

Main yard fully rigged without stun-sail booms



Main yard sling

Finished main yard


 
 

Next two coats of dull black paint was applied  to the yard before all the blocks and rigging tackle was added. The lower main yard also had the yard slings added, also the slings with a block to support it made and added to the tops , all the lifting tackle blocks were also fixed to the yard finishing with the pendant lines and blocks, lastly the stirrups and foot-ropes completed the yards, the stirrups were made by using stanchions left over from the quarter deck conversion they looked better than my bent wire test stirrups. Lastly the stun-sail booms were made and fitted and lashed down,I must say there is a considerable amount of work, and time and effort, that goes into each yard and I am very pleased with the results.
The main yard and cross-jack are done, now its back to the others.
Cross-jack


pinned to mast

Main yard with some blocks

Main yard fully rigged without stun-sail booms



Main yard sling

Finished main yard


 
 

Next two coats of dull black paint was applied  to the yard before all the blocks and rigging tackle was added. The lower main yard also had the yard slings added, also the slings with a block to support it made and added to the tops , all the lifting tackle blocks were also fixed to the yard finishing with the pendant lines and blocks, lastly the stirrups and foot-ropes completed the yards, the stirrups were made by using stanchions left over from the quarter deck conversion they looked better than my bent wire test stirrups. Lastly the stun-sail booms were made and fitted and lashed down,I must say there is a considerable amount of work, and time and effort, that goes into each yard and I am very pleased with the results.
The main yard and cross-jack are done, now its back to the others.
Cross-jack


pinned to mast

Main yard with some blocks

Main yard fully rigged without stun-sail booms



Main yard sling

Finished main yard


 
 

Next two coats of dull black paint was applied  to the yard before all the blocks and rigging tackle was added. The lower main yard also had the yard slings added, also the slings with a block to support it made and added to the tops , all the lifting tackle blocks were also fixed to the yard finishing with the pendant lines and blocks, lastly the stirrups and foot-ropes completed the yards, the stirrups were made by using stanchions left over from the quarter deck conversion they looked better than my bent wire test stirrups. Lastly the stun-sail booms were made and fitted and lashed down,I must say there is a considerable amount of work, and time and effort, that goes into each yard and I am very pleased with the results.
The main yard and cross-jack are done, now its back to the others.
Cross-jack


pinned to mast

Main yard with some blocks

Main yard fully rigged without stun-sail booms



Main yard sling

Finished main yard


 
 

Next two coats of dull black paint was applied  to the yard before all the blocks and rigging tackle was added. The lower main yard also had the yard slings added, also the slings with a block to support it made and added to the tops , all the lifting tackle blocks were also fixed to the yard finishing with the pendant lines and blocks, lastly the stirrups and foot-ropes completed the yards, the stirrups were made by using stanchions left over from the quarter deck conversion they looked better than my bent wire test stirrups. Lastly the stun-sail booms were made and fitted and lashed down,I must say there is a considerable amount of work, and time and effort, that goes into each yard and I am very pleased with the results.
The main yard and cross-jack are done, now its back to the others.
Cross-jack


pinned to mast

Main yard with some blocks

Main yard fully rigged without stun-sail booms



Main yard sling

Finished main yard


 
 

Next two coats of dull black paint was applied  to the yard before all the blocks and rigging tackle was added. The lower main yard also had the yard slings added, also the slings with a block to support it made and added to the tops , all the lifting tackle blocks were also fixed to the yard finishing with the pendant lines and blocks, lastly the stirrups and foot-ropes completed the yards, the stirrups were made by using stanchions left over from the quarter deck conversion they looked better than my bent wire test stirrups. Lastly the stun-sail booms were made and fitted and lashed down,I must say there is a considerable amount of work, and time and effort, that goes into each yard and I am very pleased with the results.
The main yard and cross-jack are done, now its back to the others.
Cross-jack


pinned to mast

Main yard with some blocks

Main yard fully rigged without stun-sail booms



Main yard sling

Finished main yard


 
 

The Yards Part 1
The yards,the larger yards have octagonal center sections, and the ones I made when building Pegasus I thought were only just about acceptable, and the way I made those was to file the octagon shape from the dowel. I decided to try a different method for Diana s yards,the two yard sizes, at the large diameter point, are 8mm & 6mm, I tried my new method on a mock up yard in 8mm which proved successful so this is how they were made.
I cut the dowel over length by 20mm, I then ran some tape around the dowel at the ends of the center section,then started to reduce the out ends ( mainly to allow the dowel to go into the small lathe further) I the reduced the center section down from 8mm to 6.8mm, and then I laid in four 4mm x 1mm wood strips top & bottom and both sides,then when dry filled in the gaps with wood filler,when the filler was dry  I filed clean the wood strips, and then filed the filled gaps so that all sides where the same width,this gives a really nice octagonal center section and at 8.5mm just .5mm over size I can live with that.
The next step was to shape and tapper the yard from the octagonal section to the ends in my model lathe, then I cut off the 10mm over length each end to give a nice square end. I made all the yard cleats from ABS plastic adding them as oversized bits and filing to shape when dry. I then added some tape around the octagonal part to simulate the iron bands.
 
Reduced center


 
Building up the center



 
Center now octagonal



 
With cleat and band

Part 2
The yards with the stun-sails booms have domed end brackets with legs, these do require some fettling, I first thinned the legs both inside and outside as they are way to thick to start with,they were glued to the end of the yard, and reshaped  (see photos) I then added the rope lashings, I then made a dummy stun sail boom ( the real ones will made from hard wood dowel) to allow the brackets to be aligned, next the mid yard boom brackets were fixed to the yard in conjunction with the outer boom brackets which are not yet glued in, both brackets were set up so that the the rear edge of the boom is over the front edge of the yard which allows the 3mm blocks to be added later, and for them to be in the centre of the top of the yard. I then drilled a hole to the rear of the yard at the centre and added a 1-2mm pin to allow the yard  to be fitted to the mast.
 
Yard end bracket as supplied

 
After rework

 
Yard brackets on with dummy boom

 
All brackets and cleats added

 
 

The Yards Part 1
The yards,the larger yards have octagonal center sections, and the ones I made when building Pegasus I thought were only just about acceptable, and the way I made those was to file the octagon shape from the dowel. I decided to try a different method for Diana s yards,the two yard sizes, at the large diameter point, are 8mm & 6mm, I tried my new method on a mock up yard in 8mm which proved successful so this is how they were made.
I cut the dowel over length by 20mm, I then ran some tape around the dowel at the ends of the center section,then started to reduce the out ends ( mainly to allow the dowel to go into the small lathe further) I the reduced the center section down from 8mm to 6.8mm, and then I laid in four 4mm x 1mm wood strips top & bottom and both sides,then when dry filled in the gaps with wood filler,when the filler was dry  I filed clean the wood strips, and then filed the filled gaps so that all sides where the same width,this gives a really nice octagonal center section and at 8.5mm just .5mm over size I can live with that.
The next step was to shape and tapper the yard from the octagonal section to the ends in my model lathe, then I cut off the 10mm over length each end to give a nice square end. I made all the yard cleats from ABS plastic adding them as oversized bits and filing to shape when dry. I then added some tape around the octagonal part to simulate the iron bands.
 
Reduced center


 
Building up the center



 
Center now octagonal



 
With cleat and band

Clever touch getting octaganol and one to remember. Beautiful work

My next task was to place the front and rear saddle on a flat surface, set the tube into them, align each saddle with the center of it's reinforcement plate, then glue them to the tube.  This step was quite easy!  
 
The next step requires a more steady hand and a set of magnifying visors, (at this point I wish I had bought the type with LED lights).  Then I snip two front and two rear gussets from the photo-etched sheet and glue them in place on top of the reinforcement plates.
(See photos below).  There will be four for each tube for a total of sixteen gussets to mount.
 

 

 

 

 
Cheers,
Tim

Well it's done now


drove to my brother's house tonight (as we do every Sunday night, to have supper together with the whole family - a nice family tradition)
 
My brother had balls enough to tackle the bulkheads with his bandsaw.
 
I'll start cleaning up the cuts and the bevels tomorrow - it's too late here now. I like how they look, though.
 
--Chris

Jimz66 - welcome!  I'm not too far from you, I'm in Simsbury.
 
Well, I promised no more updates until I was done, but just couldn't wait.  Nearly there, just a couple of planks to go on the starboard side, and a few more on the larboard.  Shaping the planks is really essential to get any sort of flat lie which, edge bending is just won't work on this hull.  You can see how I had initially misjudged the line of the planks at the bow, but was relatively easy to correct this one bulkhead back.  The sharp curve at the stern wasn't easy, but not as bad as I thought it was going to be.  You may also see a little protective case around the boxwood sternpost section!
 
Like most, I'll be glad when this step is done.  Once last planks are on it will be back over to Snake until the Spring weather allows some time outside so I can fill and sand.
 



 
 

Part 2
The yards with the stun-sails booms have domed end brackets with legs, these do require some fettling, I first thinned the legs both inside and outside as they are way to thick to start with,they were glued to the end of the yard, and reshaped  (see photos) I then added the rope lashings, I then made a dummy stun sail boom ( the real ones will made from hard wood dowel) to allow the brackets to be aligned, next the mid yard boom brackets were fixed to the yard in conjunction with the outer boom brackets which are not yet glued in, both brackets were set up so that the the rear edge of the boom is over the front edge of the yard which allows the 3mm blocks to be added later, and for them to be in the centre of the top of the yard. I then drilled a hole to the rear of the yard at the centre and added a 1-2mm pin to allow the yard  to be fitted to the mast.
 
Yard end bracket as supplied

 
After rework

 
Yard brackets on with dummy boom

 
All brackets and cleats added

 
 

Just enjoyed a catch-up Ray, love those shots of your three models together, Diana surely is a step up in size but what a great job you're making of her.
 
Soon be able to open your own Maritime Museum -let me know - I'll visit
 
B.E.

Standing Rigging
With all the shrouds and ratlines tied I decided to add as much of the standing rigging as possible before the topgallants masts went on. Again another small issue not enough 5mm dead eyes, to complete all the back stays to the main mast, so some extras were ordered, there are 88 supplied, which I admit I did not count, but I still counted up 90 needed, and at this point I am 6 short, I may have dropped and lost a couple, but who does not, I also think there should be a few spares built into the kit. Next the main and preventer stays to all three topmasts were made up and added, this did meant that bowsprit needed to be fitted, which has the down side of making it more difficult to turn her round, side to side, when adding rigging to each side.
One aspect, I have been having difficult with, is using  the rigging plans, so far I have found that some rigging rope runs overlay others, some of the runs I cannot even work out how they start or how they terminate, maybe it is just me, but, I did not have this problem rigging Pegasus, as a result this promoted me to dig out the Pegasus rigging plans and(in conjunction with Peterssons book), and as Pegasus is a ship rigged Sloop, her and Diana should be rigged nearly the same, so I am using both sets of standing rigging plans, and where I cannot, be sure, or work out, were the rigging runs on Diana s plans go, I will rig her as per Pegasus, this should be OK as naval rigging practices were most likely standard on all ships.

The main and mizzen top masts are now in place, and have all their shrouds and ratlines added, phew, I am glad they are all finished and that I split it up this way, as it did make the ratlines a lot less tedious to tie,I will now most likely add as much of the standing rigging that I can before fitting the tagallants masts.
I have also included some photos of Diana with Pegasus and The lady Nelson.
 
Firstly a lower fold down table I used to bring the rigging to a better level to work at

 
Main and mizzen masts



Completed ratlines



 
 
Some photos of Diana with Pegasus And some with The Lady Nelson as well

The Yards Part 1
The yards,the larger yards have octagonal center sections, and the ones I made when building Pegasus I thought were only just about acceptable, and the way I made those was to file the octagon shape from the dowel. I decided to try a different method for Diana s yards,the two yard sizes, at the large diameter point, are 8mm & 6mm, I tried my new method on a mock up yard in 8mm which proved successful so this is how they were made.
I cut the dowel over length by 20mm, I then ran some tape around the dowel at the ends of the center section,then started to reduce the out ends ( mainly to allow the dowel to go into the small lathe further) I the reduced the center section down from 8mm to 6.8mm, and then I laid in four 4mm x 1mm wood strips top & bottom and both sides,then when dry filled in the gaps with wood filler,when the filler was dry  I filed clean the wood strips, and then filed the filled gaps so that all sides where the same width,this gives a really nice octagonal center section and at 8.5mm just .5mm over size I can live with that.
The next step was to shape and tapper the yard from the octagonal section to the ends in my model lathe, then I cut off the 10mm over length each end to give a nice square end. I made all the yard cleats from ABS plastic adding them as oversized bits and filing to shape when dry. I then added some tape around the octagonal part to simulate the iron bands.
 
Reduced center


 
Building up the center



 
Center now octagonal



 
With cleat and band

The completion of the standing rigging
The top gallant masts were added next,plus the jib boom and martingale and then rest of the standing rigging has been done.
 
Top gallants fitted


 
Jib boom & Martingale fitted

 
Standing Rigging







 

Part 2
The yards with the stun-sails booms have domed end brackets with legs, these do require some fettling, I first thinned the legs both inside and outside as they are way to thick to start with,they were glued to the end of the yard, and reshaped  (see photos) I then added the rope lashings, I then made a dummy stun sail boom ( the real ones will made from hard wood dowel) to allow the brackets to be aligned, next the mid yard boom brackets were fixed to the yard in conjunction with the outer boom brackets which are not yet glued in, both brackets were set up so that the the rear edge of the boom is over the front edge of the yard which allows the 3mm blocks to be added later, and for them to be in the centre of the top of the yard. I then drilled a hole to the rear of the yard at the centre and added a 1-2mm pin to allow the yard  to be fitted to the mast.
 
Yard end bracket as supplied

 
After rework

 
Yard brackets on with dummy boom

 
All brackets and cleats added

 
 

Hi Chris.
It looks like you have only bevelled the lower part of the frames the upper parts will need bevelling as well, I would also highly recommend filling between the first few frames bow and stern with balsa, this helps to get the overall shape and makes planking easier. Also check the transom is right it is very tricky as the other Diana builders have found.
Good luck with her she is a great project.

Part 2
The yards with the stun-sails booms have domed end brackets with legs, these do require some fettling, I first thinned the legs both inside and outside as they are way to thick to start with,they were glued to the end of the yard, and reshaped  (see photos) I then added the rope lashings, I then made a dummy stun sail boom ( the real ones will made from hard wood dowel) to allow the brackets to be aligned, next the mid yard boom brackets were fixed to the yard in conjunction with the outer boom brackets which are not yet glued in, both brackets were set up so that the the rear edge of the boom is over the front edge of the yard which allows the 3mm blocks to be added later, and for them to be in the centre of the top of the yard. I then drilled a hole to the rear of the yard at the centre and added a 1-2mm pin to allow the yard  to be fitted to the mast.
 
Yard end bracket as supplied

 
After rework

 
Yard brackets on with dummy boom

 
All brackets and cleats added

 
 

Part 2
The yards with the stun-sails booms have domed end brackets with legs, these do require some fettling, I first thinned the legs both inside and outside as they are way to thick to start with,they were glued to the end of the yard, and reshaped  (see photos) I then added the rope lashings, I then made a dummy stun sail boom ( the real ones will made from hard wood dowel) to allow the brackets to be aligned, next the mid yard boom brackets were fixed to the yard in conjunction with the outer boom brackets which are not yet glued in, both brackets were set up so that the the rear edge of the boom is over the front edge of the yard which allows the 3mm blocks to be added later, and for them to be in the centre of the top of the yard. I then drilled a hole to the rear of the yard at the centre and added a 1-2mm pin to allow the yard  to be fitted to the mast.
 
Yard end bracket as supplied

 
After rework

 
Yard brackets on with dummy boom

 
All brackets and cleats added