Mark P

I have just impulse-purchased a length of lancewood because I understand it is desirable for masts and spars. Then the questions began to bubble to the surface.
(A) Is that correct, it is good for masts and spars?
(B) What is the quality that makes it better in that application? 
(C) Does it have any pros & cons I should know about?
 
My piece was obtained from a luthiers' supplier and I believe is sapwood. The application I have in mind is masts and spars, possibly cap rails? and the masts will have an octagonal section visible.
Thanks in advance.
Bruce

Good Evening Michael;
 
My previous answer referred only to the eye-bolts; the plates serve a different function. Without denying their support function, and without being certain of what I am about to say, it is likely that these solid plates were made with an eye in their upper end, to which the lower block of the tackle which ended the shifting backstays could be hooked. These backstays were rigged as additional support for the upper masts when under sail, and would be shifted as the yards were braced further away from the central position. They would only be hauled taut/rigged on the windward side of the mast at any one time. 
 
All the best,
 
Mark P

Good Morning Michael;
 
These are for use in emergencies, when the chain plates or channels have been carried away by battle or storm damage, and were to enable the attachment of jury rigging for the shrouds.
 
All the best,
 
Mark P

A very neat solution, David! Well done and a happy Canadian Hanksgiving to you also.

I have always struggled making rope hanks. I've tried every method I can find on this forum and on YouTube, but it always boils down to the same problem. Every method seems to work for me until that point at the end when it calls for "a small dab of glue." Well, for me diluted PVA glue never seems to hold and a small dab of CA glue never seems to hold the whole thing together either. So I end up using enough glue to hold everything together, but the result is usually the glue wicking into the line, darkening and hardening it and it generally looking terrible. The best I have ever been able to do is to try to minimize this effect, which means that at least half of the hanks I make for every model end up in the garbage and I'm only somewhat happy with the ones I do use.
 
So here is the result of my experimenting yesterday and I think it just might be a good solution to my problem. I was trying (for the umpteenth time) the method outlined by Tom Lauria in his YouTube video. I was having the best luck with this method of any of the others I've tried, but still having the glue problem at the end, so here's how I adapted his method to try to avoid the glue problem.
 
I wrapped the line five times around three nails - two at the top, with a narrow space between them and one at the bottom. The distance apart is the length I need excluding the loop that goes over the belaying pin; in this case 3/8".
 
Tom outlines a perfect oval with a series of closely spaced nails, but I found it's not necessary to do that. The hank comes out more or less the same with the three nails as it does with several. Many methods only use two nails anyway, one top and bottom. However I found it necessary to have a space at the top, hence two nails at the top.
 

Then I wrapped a length of matching sewing thread around the coils at the top and tied a knot. I'm not worrying about the loop for the belaying pin at this point. This knot around the coils ensures that they will not come apart and it's actually easy to get a small dab of CA glue on this knot without touching the main line. The glue only has to hold the knot; the thread is holding the coils.

When the CA glue was set in a couple of moments, I trimmed the threads off, leaving just the knot.
 
Then I pulled one of the long ends of the line underneath the coil at the top and up through the centre -
 

Made a loop out of it and pulled the end back through underneath the coil at the top -

And then, just like Tom Lauria did, I secured the loop with a drill bit in a previously drilled hole and pulled the loop snug against the drill bit -

Here I took a length of matching sewing thread in a needle and stuck in down through the middle of the line on one side of the loop and through, at least part of, the coil below -
 

Then I transferred the needle to the other end of the sewing thread and did the same thing on the other side of the loop -
 

This ensures that when I tie the two ends together, the knot will be on the back of the hank -

Then I just tied the sewing thread into a knot on the back side of the hank. Just like before it's easy to put a small dab of CA glue on this knot without touching the main line.
 

When the CA glue sets, it's just a matter of trimming off all the lines -
 

This hank cannot come apart because the coils are tied together in a bundle and the loop for the belaying pin is sewn directly to the hank. There's no glue visible on the surface and the sewing thread is completely invisible. I think this is the best hank I've ever made and the process didn't end up with the garbage men wondering  "what's with all the gluey coiled thread coming out of this house?"
 
So that's my good news for this weekend.
 
Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadians out there! ( or should I say "Happy Hanksgiving?")
David

Good Evening Michael;
 
My previous answer referred only to the eye-bolts; the plates serve a different function. Without denying their support function, and without being certain of what I am about to say, it is likely that these solid plates were made with an eye in their upper end, to which the lower block of the tackle which ended the shifting backstays could be hooked. These backstays were rigged as additional support for the upper masts when under sail, and would be shifted as the yards were braced further away from the central position. They would only be hauled taut/rigged on the windward side of the mast at any one time. 
 
All the best,
 
Mark P

Good Morning Michael;
 
These are for use in emergencies, when the chain plates or channels have been carried away by battle or storm damage, and were to enable the attachment of jury rigging for the shrouds.
 
All the best,
 
Mark P

I don't recall seeing the inhaul tackle modeled, while the outhauls seem to be almost mandatory these days.. 
If modelers feel such detail is important, why omit the inhaul?
 
I remember when just the breaching rope was considered a nice touch.

Good Evening Wayne;
 
Thanks for this. Battine was, if I remember correctly, clerk of the cheque at Portsmouth dockyard. He produced one of these books every year, and dedicated each of them to potential/actual patrons who could help with advancing or safeguarding his position. I am sure that at least a dozen different copies survive in various archives and collections. William Keltridge, a shipwright/ship's carpenter produced a similar book, in a similar size, which is more detailed, but of which I know of only one copy, and possibly one other. Keltridge knew his stuff, certainly, as he ended his career as the carpenter of the Royal Sovereign in the 1690s, the highest possible position for a ship's carpenter. I presume that he either died or was pensioned off shortly before the Sovereign burned, as he was not her carpenter by that date, and I have not seen any record of his appointment as an assistant master shipwright in a dockyard, which was the next step in a ship's carpenter's career. His work is not available as a pdf. 
 
The various copies of Battine's book seem to be written in different hands, interestingly, with some very neat, and others noticeably less so.
 
Such books came into existence due to the need to educate ships' commanders who had not grown up at sea, and consequently were lacking in all but the most basic knowledge of ships. The competition for an appointment to the command of a warship was eagerly sought by many who considered it their birthright due to their rank in society; and their appointments were hotly contested by those who held themselves more suitable due to their hard-won experience of extensive sea-service. The debate and competition over which source provided the better commanders occupied a large part of the 17th century. 
 
All the best,
 
Mark P
 
 

Good Morning Wayne;
 
Many thanks for this. I will see if I can find out anything about it from the Library.
 
All the best,
 
Mark P

Good Evening Wayne;
 
Thank you for your comment re Browns University; I was not aware of this one. Would you mind sending me a copy of their collection listing for this.
 
The Keltridge draughts are available as prints from the RMG. They are not as large as 18th century draughts, and are therefore not as expensive to purchase. They do indeed show a lot of detail, but most are not identified with any particular vessel, and may be an exercise in drawing rather than an actual vessel. I stand to be corrected in this, of course. The RMG Keltridge book has some unfinished pages, and whilst greatly detailed, does have some gaps, regrettably. Perhaps the Browns version has these pages completed.
 
All the best,
 
Mark P

Here's an example of one of these oiled canvas mats.  This was in a heritage house (Runnymeade) we visited in Hobart, Tasmania.  I was pretty impressed with the overall quality.  Youy can see the wear and tare Wefalck refers to on the edges where the mat is more prone t foot traffic etc.

cheers
 
Pat

Good Evening Wayne;
 
Thank you for your comment re Browns University; I was not aware of this one. Would you mind sending me a copy of their collection listing for this.
 
The Keltridge draughts are available as prints from the RMG. They are not as large as 18th century draughts, and are therefore not as expensive to purchase. They do indeed show a lot of detail, but most are not identified with any particular vessel, and may be an exercise in drawing rather than an actual vessel. I stand to be corrected in this, of course. The RMG Keltridge book has some unfinished pages, and whilst greatly detailed, does have some gaps, regrettably. Perhaps the Browns version has these pages completed.
 
All the best,
 
Mark P

Good Evening Wayne;
 
Thanks for this. Battine was, if I remember correctly, clerk of the cheque at Portsmouth dockyard. He produced one of these books every year, and dedicated each of them to potential/actual patrons who could help with advancing or safeguarding his position. I am sure that at least a dozen different copies survive in various archives and collections. William Keltridge, a shipwright/ship's carpenter produced a similar book, in a similar size, which is more detailed, but of which I know of only one copy, and possibly one other. Keltridge knew his stuff, certainly, as he ended his career as the carpenter of the Royal Sovereign in the 1690s, the highest possible position for a ship's carpenter. I presume that he either died or was pensioned off shortly before the Sovereign burned, as he was not her carpenter by that date, and I have not seen any record of his appointment as an assistant master shipwright in a dockyard, which was the next step in a ship's carpenter's career. His work is not available as a pdf. 
 
The various copies of Battine's book seem to be written in different hands, interestingly, with some very neat, and others noticeably less so.
 
Such books came into existence due to the need to educate ships' commanders who had not grown up at sea, and consequently were lacking in all but the most basic knowledge of ships. The competition for an appointment to the command of a warship was eagerly sought by many who considered it their birthright due to their rank in society; and their appointments were hotly contested by those who held themselves more suitable due to their hard-won experience of extensive sea-service. The debate and competition over which source provided the better commanders occupied a large part of the 17th century. 
 
All the best,
 
Mark P
 
 

Good Evening Wayne;
 
Thank you for your comment re Browns University; I was not aware of this one. Would you mind sending me a copy of their collection listing for this.
 
The Keltridge draughts are available as prints from the RMG. They are not as large as 18th century draughts, and are therefore not as expensive to purchase. They do indeed show a lot of detail, but most are not identified with any particular vessel, and may be an exercise in drawing rather than an actual vessel. I stand to be corrected in this, of course. The RMG Keltridge book has some unfinished pages, and whilst greatly detailed, does have some gaps, regrettably. Perhaps the Browns version has these pages completed.
 
All the best,
 
Mark P

Good Evening Wayne;
 
Thank you for your comment re Browns University; I was not aware of this one. Would you mind sending me a copy of their collection listing for this.
 
The Keltridge draughts are available as prints from the RMG. They are not as large as 18th century draughts, and are therefore not as expensive to purchase. They do indeed show a lot of detail, but most are not identified with any particular vessel, and may be an exercise in drawing rather than an actual vessel. I stand to be corrected in this, of course. The RMG Keltridge book has some unfinished pages, and whilst greatly detailed, does have some gaps, regrettably. Perhaps the Browns version has these pages completed.
 
All the best,
 
Mark P

Inserting ready graphics is quick and easy, so one more 'design' draught. This one, from the Swedish archives, is dated circa 1615, and the technical descriptions with dimensions are in English. Here, too, attempts have been made to achieve the effect of perspective. And the jump to geometrically perfect 18th century plans didn't happen overnight.
 

 
 

In fact, I do not insist on accepting or confirming this interpretation. But the mere awareness of such a possibility might just come in handy for you while potentially inspecting some period plan.
 
 

It is certainly a fascinating study!

Thank you, Waldemar, for demonstrating the rest of the (re)construction. It is similar to the 'propositions' in the Newton manuscript.

Firstly, I determined through fitting that all green arcs have the same radius, and all blue arcs have different radii. Then I determined more or less arbitrarily the triangle for the blue curves.
 
The red lines were drawn first, then (inside the triangle) the blue arcs as tangents to the red arcs and the horizontal lines, and finally the green arcs tangent to the previously drawn sections of the profiles. 
 
It would even be similar to the conventional moulding method if it weren't for all those variable radii. For greater clarity, I have included another diagram below.
 

 
 

I see the centers of the  radii nicely plotted now. in a straight line.  But, Waldemar, how did you go about generating the hollowing curves?

Done. The way the designer of this ship plotted the bottom curves on the plan is not as elegant as the method described by Sutherland. However, this does not matter much in practice, as in both cases these curves were redone by the shipyard workers during the actual construction of the ship anyway. And most likely in an identical manner.
 
 

 
 

Trying to reverse engineer this plan in a more regular way (btw, the ship's designer is Claus Reimer). The general method is already understood, only those troublesome floor curves remain to be reconstructed...
 

 
 

In the last example, the lower defining line of the conoid is clearly seen in the elevation/sheer plan. I cannot see where the designer defined the arc radii, though. The spread of these in body plan are only implied by your superimposed circles.
 
As you point out, the floor/hollowings are rather fanciful!