popeye2sea

They are the same thing.  Just two different names.

Bill,

I am assuming you meant bow lines and not bunt lines?

No need to get the bow lines very tight.  In reality only the weather bow line would have any strain on it.

When sailing before the wind, yards nearly square, there is no need to haul any bow lines.  Bow lines are primarily used to give the right shape to the sail when close hauled.

Regards,

Henry

She's looking very sharp.  Great job!

Regards,

Henry

3 hours ago, allanyed said:

I cannot find any information based on contemporary sources that give this configuration.  What is the advantage of having three sets of blocks versus two sets? This is very interesting and hope that Flyer and Dave Lester can share the source for this configuration?  Era aside, as with so much in rigging there seems to be variations a lot of the time within any given era. Thanks in advance for your help.

Allan

I believe the advantage comes from the lead of the line down the front of the sail.  A double block works for paired bunt lines because they lead in relatively the same angle down to the foot of the sail.  If you have a bunt line and a leech line passing through a double block one of those lines is going to bind on the block because they are leading off in two very different directions.

Regards,

Henry

These look like leading blocks for the bunt and leech lines.  The double blocks will probably be for inner bunt lines.  It may be that they are rigged in the following manner:

The various lines pass up the front of the sail , through jewel blocks on the yard , through the first leading block on the fore cross tree, back to the corresponding block on the aft cross tree and thence down to the pin rail abaft the mast.

You will have to confirm by looking at your belaying plan and seeing if the lines belay before or after the mast.

Regards,

Henry

Yes, it does happen.

Bill,

The lead of the line will depend on how far out on the yard it's innermost leading block is fastened.  In general, you want a fair lead down to the deck. Meaning, no bends in the rope passing over areas or objects where it can chafe.

For instance,  sheets, where the innermost block may be at some distance out in the quarters, may not have to be lead through the lubbers hole. Similarly, clew lines where the garnet block is at a distance out along the yard.

On the other hand, bunt, leech, and lift lines, where there is a lead block up under the cap or in the trestle trees,  will have their lead down through the lubbers hole.

Regards,

Henry

Eric,

Welcome to the Heller Soleil Royale family.  I also started mine sometime around that same time.

Looking forward to what you do with her.

Henry

4 hours ago, Bill97 said:

Thanks Henry. I am not going to add the staysails. My attempt at using glue on the sheets was much minimally effective. My next idea is to use a piece of small gauge wire of some sort that has very little flex to it. See if I can maybe place it serve it the sheet. That may make the sheet look to our of scale and be a bad idea. 

Another option would be to work small wire into the leach rope of the sprit sail and then use that to change the drape of the sail.  Could work. I've never tried it though I did stiffen up my foot rope horses by worming the rope with wire.  The wire needs to be color matched to the rope if you don't to want to put a service on.  That worked out pretty well.

Regards,

Henry

20 hours ago, Snug Harbor Johnny said:

  I'd avoid using lead, as tin solder is readily available (and far less toxic).

True. But tin solder has no weight to it.

Maybe a piece of uranium would do?  😜

Regards,

Henry

Bill,

I thought about putting a small bit of lead weight in a pocket on the clews of the sprit sail in order to give it some weight and let it hang a bit more naturally.

Just looking ahead a bit.  If you intend to set a fore stay sail it is going to need a false stay.  In fact, I think all of the stay sails would need to be set on false stays.

A false stay runs just below the normal stay. It is seized to the normal stay quite high up and allows the stay sail hanks to slide up and down without fouling on the various braces and brace block pendants affixed to the normal stay.

Regards,

Henry

I believe that the order of setting up the rigging is important as well.

Start by establishing the rake of the mast with the fore stay. Once the mast is properly stayed move on to the shrouds.

Here is where some may disagree with my method.  Since the rearmost shrouds have the greatest angle and therefore the greatest influence on the position of the mast I start there.  If you go from forward to aft then a slight over tensioning of the after shrouds will lead to a bit of slack in the shrouds further forward.

Regards,

Henry

36 minutes ago, Ian_Grant said:

Yes, 1121/1122 clew lines are definitely behind the sail. Leech lines run in front of the sail. Heller doesn't show where the course leech lines go; I would expect them to run through a block beneath the mast top and down to pin rails around the mast foot. Or does SR even have these?

 

I say again that I'm not sure 1117/1118 are the reef tackles; it worries me that I see no labelled line running to the blocks e.g. e147 and e148 used to haul up the heads of the stu'nsls. I would have expected reef tackles to pass through a block near the mast thence down to pin rails near the mast.

 

Then again I've made zero ships from this century.

I agree, however I am not sure that the reef tackle would run in front of the sail.  The hauling end would as you mentioned probably run inboard under the yard to a leading block and then down to the deck.

Bunt lines also come down in front of the sail.

Also, the diagram does not show the studdingsail rigging which is covered under another page of the instructions.

Regards,

Henry

According to the rigging plan lines 1117 and 1118 are the reef tackles

Regards,

Henry

And...the proper coil to use when you are hanging your unused gaskets from the yard is a - wait for it - gasket coil!

Regards,

Henry

I was describing the lower ones. I may have misread your question.  Futtock shrouds take the name from the "foot hook" or the "foot hook plates" that they hook in to. So when you said from the topmast shrouds, I assumed you had a question regarding the topmast futtock shrouds.

Given that, I do not think there was the same necessity for ratlines on the topgallant futtock shrouds. There is much less rigging that passes through the gaps in the top mast cross trees and so would not impede the climbing through of the sailors.  I have not read any references to ratlines on the topgallant futtock shrouds

Regards,

Henry

Yes.  The lubbers hole that exists in the top is not actually there for sailors to pass through.  It is there to allow rigging to pass through the top on the way to the base of the mast.  The lubbers hole when the ship is fully rigged is pretty much chock full of rigging. There would be not enough room for a sailor to pass through easily. It can be done, but it is actually much easier to go up the outside via the futtock shroud ratlines and over the rim of the top.

Regards,

Henry

Falconers Dictionary of the Marine states mast coats are heavily tarred.

Regards,

Henry

Figures like these are more like heraldic supporters than mounts.  They are designed to fit up against the ships side and bottom and give some support against the hull tipping over.

For the first picture, the tail of the sea horse (or sea Pegasus, I don't have a name for these) fits under or against the keel with the horses mane against the ships side.

In the second picture, the tails of the dolphins (yes, those are heraldic dolphins) rest against the hull.

For the third, the dogs backs go against the hull.

Dogs are an interesting choice for ship supporters. Although those look really nice.

Regards,

Henry

Bill,

I have set up my brace in a similar fashion.  I cut in a sheave hole just aft of the ledge for the backstay. It comes through on the aft side of the kevel.  The standing end of the brace will be spliced on to that eyebolt that is just forward of the quarter gallery on the top plank strake. But, now looking at the angle your brace takes, I see that I might have mis-placed that sheave hole.  The lead of the brace will lie directly on the back stay ledge. I may have to shift the sheave hole forward like you have it.

Regards,

Henry

You are correct, Allen.

12 hours ago, SteveA said:

I have an old Revenue Cutter kit that I work on occasionally, the AL Dallas kit now discontinued.  Anyway, the instructions and plans make no mention about rigging the anchors.  The only clue is from the picture on the box.  It looks like the anchors are loosely secured around the Bowsprit Bitt and then through the grating.  The anchor is also lashed to a railing stanchion and the fluke is secured to the Bowsprit Bitt.  Does this seem like a reasonable way to rig the anchors?

It has been my experience in the USN that nothing is to be secured to a life rail stanchion. They are much too lightly constructed to hold any considerable weight.  In fact, we were always taught to not even lean against them while underway.  I have personally seen life rail stanchions go by the board when struck with a heavy object in a high sea state.

About the most we ever attached to them would be a temporary light line for an awning or something similar.

Regards,

Henry

I read somewhere (forgive me, I can't remember the reference) that at one time a quick release was built into a stopper mechanism attached to the cat head timber.  The stopper was released by striking the release mechanism open with a maul by a sailor at the inboard end or on top of the cat head timber.  Similar to the way a pelican hooks works today.

Henry

5 hours ago, Ian_Grant said:

Not an expert, but any given rope or wire stay with say nothing attached along its length will sag in a catenary curve. No real stay on a real ship is a straight line. These old-time ships with braces attached far from the ends of the stay would have to result in distortion of the stay; having the stay remain undisturbed would require the stay's tension force to hugely exceed the sideways pull exerted by the brace if the sail is drawing. I'm trying to think of an analogy but I'm drawing a blank right now .....

I hear what your saying Ian, and it makes sense, but I have never seen a stay on any ship I have been on with any discernable sag to it.  It may in fact be there, but it is very hard to see.  Those stays are pretty tight. Same with shrouds.  Now running rigging is a totally different story. Catenary curves abound.

Regards,

Henry

Bill,

There is no need to have those braces ramrod straight tight so that they distort the stays.  Just snug is perfectly fine. And depending on which way the wind is blowing, one side is always going to be more taut than the other. It is usually the windward brace that takes most of the strain.  One would assume that it would be the leeward brace that is keeping the yard pulled around, but the force of the wind is actually working to fling the windward yardarm around and the windward brace works harder to keep the yard from coming further around. Under a breeze, if you were to let fly both braces the yard would immediately try to brace further around.

Regards,

Henry