Blue Ensign

A moment to pause - and a little back tracking. Before I begin topmast rigging a moment to check whether any other attachments are required to the lower masts, before I make life more difficult for myself. There are in fact several lead blocks best put into place at this point or indeed earlier. There are lead blocks/thimbles required for the Main topmast, and T'gallant stays, and the Mizen Topmast. A look at the overall rigging plan is a good idea. Oh Dear! Much earlier in the build I had fitted a thimble in a span to the aft trestletrees of the Fore top to take the lanyard for the Main T'Gallant stay. Span as fitted. Unfortunately now I come to fit the block for the Main Topmast stay I find it fouled the lead to the span which is too short to sit above the Topmast lead block. 14" block for the Main Topmast stay seized around the Foremast head as per Steel. THE MAIN-TOPMAST-STAY reeves through a single block, strapped with a long and short leg; the short leg has an eye spliced in it, and fastened round the foremast-head above the rigging; the long leg goes round the mast, and through the eye of the short leg, and is turned back and seized The span had to be removed but this presents a difficult problem for replacing the span as access to the aft trestletrees is not now available. Fortunately there is a cheat mentioned in the ffm where-by a served length of wire is formed into the span the legs of which are glued into drilled holes in the trestletrees. Trial fitting of the replacement span - 0.5mm brass wire served with 0.1mm line. The completed span with a temporary Main Topmast stay and T'Gallant stay in place. I needed to temporarily fit the Topmasts and T'gallant masts to check the clear run of the lines, and at this point I recognised an error that had been staring me in the face for some time. Note: There is a major error on the ffm standing rigging plan. The Main T'gallant stay (17.6) is shown leading to the Foremast head rather than the Fore topmast head. The narrative in the book however is correct, but I note that at least one build has this line leading incorrectly. This is what Steel has to say: Main T'Gallant stay THE MAIN-TOPGALLANT-STAY reeves through a block fastened to the fore-topmast-head, has a thimble turned in the end of the stay, and sets up to a thimble in a span, made fast to the trestle-trees of the fore-mast, with a laniard cats-pawed to the top-burton-tackle, or a handspec: in small ships, termed a Spanish-windlass. CATSPAW, for hooking up shrouds, &c. Lay the end of a rope, or fall, over the standing part and middle of the bight, then turn it three times over both parts, and hook the tackle through both bights. This shows the correct run of the upper Mainmast stays. It is necessary to check the clear run of the Main T'gallant stay thro' the block at the masthead down to the span - it need to miss the Fore top cap. I still have to fit the lead block or thimble for the Main topmast preventer stay, and decide on the fitting I will use for the Mizen Topmast stay. B.E. 12/07/2016

Euphroes and Crowsfeet This is pretty small stuff and the kit supplies 0.5 brass etch Euphroes with a ring one end to attach the tackle block and eight holes contained within an overall length of 10mm.(Fore and Main) The Mizen is smaller with seven holes and a length of 9mm. The ffm indicates a greater number of holes but contained within a shorter length. These are the scale requirements Fore and Main - 16" long (6.35mm) - 11 holes Mizen - 12" long (4.76mm) - 8 holes 2½" thick. (1.0mm) 3"(1.19mm) wide at wider end and 2"(0.80mm) at narrow end. Euphroe tackle 4" single blocks 1.58mm) Strop 1' 6" long (7.14mm) Crowsfeet ¾" line 0.1mm ø line. I make Euphroes by laminating three strips of thin boxwood. The required number of holes are drilled as close together as possible along the strip and a narrower strip is glued to this and the holes redrilled. A third strip is then glued and the holes taken thro' The narrower central strip forms the groove around which the Crowsfeet will be stropped. The Euphroe can then be sanded to shape and thinned down . For the Mizen Euphroe 10mm length is the smallest I could get it containing the eight holes, but I think it looks ok on the model. Stropping the Euphroe - for the tackle blocks I am using Syren 3/32" blocks with 0.20mm strops. Securing the stay block temporarily and getting the process started is a fiddly exercise. The Crowsfeet consist of a long length of Morope 0.1mm line. I roughly measure the required length by taking lengths of one distance between the top and the Euphroe and doubling up the number of passes thro' the Euphroe, that is 16 lengths, with a bit added on. Better to be too long than too short on this exercise. Crowfeet rigging underway. There are three tricky problems associated with rigging Crowsfeet. 1) Getting the crowsfeet nice and taut. 2) Avoiding pulling the stay out of alignment. It is one of my pet niggles to see the stays at an unnatural angle against the pull of the tackle. 3) Avoiding snagging the long length of line on the model as your concentration is engaged on feeding and pulling the line thro' the top holes and Euphroe. This can cause some serious damage to delicate fittings. Completed, I have used a temporary line to hold the Mizen Stay down to counter the pull of the Euphroe. Now the tricky bit, release the tension and the crowsfeet lose their tautness. Attempts to take up the Crowfeet slack results in a distortion of the stay. After fiddling about without a satisfactory result, to cut a long story short I rove and re-rove the Crowsfeet several time before I got something I could live with. A little bit of tweaking the line and painting with diluted wallpaper paste seems to have done the trick. Here's the photo's. The Fore top Crowsfeet. The Main Top Crowsfeet. The Mizen Top Crowsfeet. I am now fairly satisfied with the result.The stays remain all but free of any distortion which is one of my main aims in rigging crowsfeet. I think I can now move on (finally) B.E.

Mast top Rails For these the kit provides brass etched stanchions, which I think look rather thin and are not a good fit into the pre- milled slots in the top. My inclination is for plain wooded stanchions topped with a rail into which they are mortised. I have used 1mm square boxwood strip for the stanchions, and 2mm stuff for the rail. The completed Maintop rail; fairly simple to make but quite delicate, I will need to be careful once I actually fit the rails. Old Bob the Topman carries out an 'elf n'safety check on the Mizen top. Height seems about right. Rails ready for painting. I am yet undecided whether to attach netting. Onto Euphroes and Crowsfeet. B.E.

Rigging the Jeers. Another interesting exercise in block stropping. These are the tackle requirements:- 20" (7.93mm)single blocks double stropped with 7"(0.88mm) line. 3" (0.38mm) lashing around the masthead. I will be using JB models 7" Pearwood blocks,(that I had in stock) slightly under scale on paper but look good in reality, and they match the yard block. For the strops 0.88mm line looked too heavy so I have used Syren 0.63mm. For the lashings I will use Morope 0.4mm line. The first task is to the gauge the overall length required for the strop. A single strop is made with temporary seizings which allows the block to hang just below the top and the eye of the strop just below the lashing cleat. With that established the length is doubled (on my build this works out at 145mm)and a ring formed using a false splice. To this end I unravel 2/3mm of each end of the line soak it in pva blend the two ends together and roll between my fingers until combined and then coat a little more pva over the join. Once set I sit the block on the centre of the length secured with a tiny spot of ca. The ends are then brought together around the block in the grooves which are smeared with a little pva. The seizings are then applied using 0.1mm line. The next stage will be to lash the strops to the masthead. Jeer Lashing I find this quite a tricky exercise to get the lashing tight and without overlaps of the previous turns. Seven turns of Morope 0.4mm line are required. A needle helps here to thread the line thro' the strop eyes. The job is made much easier without the topmasts and caps in place. Nearly completed. I use a length of line thro' the jeer block and secured to the bitts to maintain the block at the correct drop beneath the top and give some tension to tighten the lashing. Completed Maintop lashing. Jeer cleats (on masthead) I had previously made and applied these as per tffm and as shown on Victory. These are the closed type of cleat, but during removal to increase the slot size I decided to modify them to an open version stop cleat perhaps more applicable to a small sixth rate. I also took the opportunity to beef up the security of the cleat by inserting a pin thro' the cleat into the masthead. B.E.

Thank you Guys, your support spurs me on. Restoration of the Masting and Rigging log is now up Jeer rigging, only eight months worth to go Regards, B.E.

Moving on, the question is where next. Could be the Euphroes and Crowsfeet, the Rails and stanchions on the tops, or the raising of the Topmasts. The Topmasts are easily put into place, and as is my practice no glue is involved, they are held snugly in place by the fids and the caps. I could create a problem for myself by fitting the Crowsfeet at this stage in relation to rigging the lower yards, and the rails and stanchions are high risk of snagging; these can be dealt with later. So, before the topmast shrouds are rigged I think it wise to fit the jeers whilst the maximum access is available. B.E.

Fore and Main Futtock shrouds Returning to the Fore top. The deadeye strops are completed, the hooks blackened, and the Futtock shrouds attached. The Fore and main Topmast Futtock shrouds are 4½" line (0.57mm ø at scale) I am using Syren 0.63mm ø line. My approach is to attach the line to the lower shrouds first and then tauten the line thro' the hook attached to the futtock strap and seize. Futtock Ratlines 1" = 0.13mm ø I don't intend to attach the futtock ratlines at this stage lest the pull of the Topmast Shrouds pull them out of alignment. This completes the lower standing rigging. B.E. 02/07/2016

Topmast deadeyes I am using the kit provided deadeye strops and futtock plates but I need to decide on the deadeyes. I am concerned to get a proportionate look to the deadeye sets, something the kit provided deadeyes fail to do, and all are oversize. The deadeyes for the Fore and Main tops need to be smaller than the channel deadeyes but larger than the Mizen top deadeyes for which I fitted 2.5mm ø Amati ones. The Fore and Main Top deadeyes are 7"ø = 2.77mm at scale. Syren's 3mm deadeyes would fit the bill, but they have a slightly different profile and look compared to the Amati versions already in place on the channels. I have decided to modify Amati 3.5mm deadeyes (actually nearer 3.7mm) by devising a jig and reducing the size to 3mm. It's simply a case of sanding around the deadeye until it fits into the 3mm control holes. From left to right - Syren (3mm), Modified Amati (3mm), Standard size Amati deadeye. Now satisfied with the overall scale balance. I think I now need to consider the Catharpins before I fit the Futtocks. Catharpins. Oh how my heart sinks when it comes to Catharpins, such tricky little beggars to make involving precise lengths of served line with an eye splice each end seized to the shrouds. According to Steel the line is 3½" circ, scaling to 0.44mm ø. One of the problems in making things like Catharpins is avoiding an over-scale look particularly where the eye splices are made and in respect of my particular build there seems very little room between the shrouds to accommodate both Catharpin and futtock shroud seizings. The Catharpins for the Foremast are a mere 35mm in length including the eyes, and those for the Mains a fraction longer. My initial experiments using 0.25mm line served with 0.1mm line proved to be an exercise in frustration and too testing a procedure for both my eyes and patience. Of course I could simply seize lines between the opposite shrouds, but that is too much of a simplification at 1:64 scale. So I revert to a cheat by using 0.5mm dia brass wire served with 0.1mm line. Much easier to form the eyes and apply the serving, and much easier to gauge the required lengths. Once in place there is very little to indicate the origin of this item of rigging. Completed Catharpins on the Mainmast B.E.

Progressing the Fore top fittings. The blocks beneath the Fore top are now completed. The toggles holding the blocks in place have been replaced with boxwood versions. A little cramped for space between the battens. A couple of additions best done at this stage; two eyebolts in the aft rim of the top to attach the lead blocks for the Fore T'gallant Braces. Also seen in this shot an eyebolt in the aft top above the starboard trestlestree to take theT'gallant yard tye fall block. These are small cleats fashioned from some brass eyebolts. These are also fitted on the Fore and Main tops to secure the outer tricing lines to the yard tackles. Not sure they are entirely necessary as the lines could be secured around one of the deadeye strops. The cleats can be seen in place on this shot. Now have to decide on the deadeyes for the topmasts. B.E.

Blocks beneath the Tops This is the approach I made to stropping and fitting the blocks beneath the tops. I start with the inner block on the Fore Top. This is a single block to take the Sprit Topsail brace line. I am using 0.4mm Morope for the strop and I firstly form the eye to take the wooden toggle used to secure the block. Once formed and secured with fine line the eye is painted with diluted pva to stiffen. With the eye formed and strop in place and secured with the toggle I mark the line below the top where the block will be seized. The swivel gun mounts have been removed temporarily and will be re-fitted once the top deadeyes have been fitted. I have use bamboo for the toggles but this is not satisfactory and will be replaced with boxwood section. I use a spot of ca to secure the strops around the block, and where the line ends meet below the block I secure with ca and trim with a scalpel when dry. The strop is then fed up thro' the slot in the top and is secured with the toggle. A tiresome business this but one that has to be done before fitting the Futtock shrouds. Still only another (14) to go. B.E.

Fore and Main top fittings - Blocks beneath the tops I apologise in advance for the following ramble on the question of blocks beneath the tops, but there is an element of confusion and variation and something I need to settle in my mind and record as a prop to my failing memory before I can attend to the Futtocks, There are three slots drilled in the tops each side both fore and aft to take the strops of the lead blocks which carry the Leech and Bunt lines which are held in place by wooden toggles. Had I thought about it earlier I would have fitted these blocks before I attached the tops to the mast. There are small differences in the block sizes but for all practical purpose an 8" block (3mm at scale will suffice.) The kit plans show two singles each side both fore and aft for the Main Top (Buntline and Leech) For the Fore Top, two single outer blocks plus a double for the inner. The Singles are for the Leech and bunts and an * inner Double for the Spritsail and Sprit topsail yard braces. * This accords with what Lees says as appropriate from 1773 The kit arrangement is logical but does indicate the use of only one bunt line, which I'm not sure would be the case. The ffm summary - my understanding Fore top Outer Double Block - Outer sheave, - Leech lines (one per side) Inner sheave - Spritsail Yard Braces.(18.12) Middle double block - Buntlines (two per side) Inner block - single block to take *sprit topsail yard braces. (15.41) * The ffm doesn't list a Sprit Topsail yard, although Steel lists it in his tables, and mentions the single block - see below. Lees however comments that from around 1773 both the spritsail and Spritsail Topsail brace lines were carried thro' a double block, but this is not reflected in Steel's narrative, dated 1794 which one presumes would have incorporated such changes taking place some twenty years earlier. Main Top Outer sheave of outer block - leech lines (22.8) Middle double block - Buntlines (22.9) This begs the question why three slots in the Main Top when only two suspended blocks seem to be required, and why a double outer block when there is only one Leech line? Steel does refer to a double block in relation to the Main sail Leech lines, but what then is the extra sheave used for? This what Steel writes on the subject SPRITSAIL-YARD. BRACES AND PENDENTS. The eyes of the pendents are spliced in one end. They go over the yard-arm, and the brace reeves through the single block spliced in the other end, connecting them with a double block, made fast under the fore-top, and then leads through another, made fast at the aft part of the top, and down to the breast-work at the aft part of the fore-castle, and the standing part is made fast to the stay-collar. SPRITSAIL-TOPSAIL-YARD. BRACES have an eye spliced in one end, that goes over the yard-arm on each side; the other end leads through a block made fast to the underside of the fore top, from that through another block, made fast under the aftside of the top, and down to the aft-part of the forecastle, and is there belayed. THE FORE-SAIL LEECH-LINES reeve through the spritsail-brace-block, under the top, then through the block upon the yard, and the standing-part makes fast with a clinch to the upper bowline-bridle; the leading-part then reeves through a double-block, at the aft part of the top, and upon the forecastle. BUNTLINES reeve through the leg and fall-block, and through a double-block at the aft part of the top; then through a double-block under the fore part of the top, and through the blocks upon the yard, and lead down the fore side of the sail, and clinch to the cringles in the foot. The fall reeves through the leg-block; the standing-part makes fast round the breast-rail, and the leading-part through a sheave-hole in the breast-work, and belays round the rail. THE MAINSAIL LEECH-LINES reeve through the block upon the yard, and the outer end makes fast with a clinch to the upper bowline-bridle. The leading-part reeves through the double-block at the forepart of the top, and through a double-block at the aft-part of the top; a single block is turned into the lower end, and a whip-fall reeved through it. The standing-part makes fast to the breast-rail, and the leading-part through a block under the breast-rail, and belays round the rail. BUNTLINES reeve as for the fore-sail, and lead forward upon the forecastle. My plan For the Fore Top Outer double block - to take Spritsail brace lines (inner sheave) and (Single) Leech line (outer sheave) Middle double block -to take (two) Buntlines Inner single block (2.5mm)- to take the Sprit Topsail brace lines, if I decide to fit a Sprit Topsail yard which I think is perhaps appropriate to the period. For the Main Top Outer double block - Leech line Middle double block - Buntlines. Onto stropping some blocks now. B.E.

Fitting out the mast tops With the lower mast standing rigging completed I now need to look at the mast tops. There are blocks to be secured beneath the tops and the deadeye strops and futtock shrouds to be secured. I start with the Mizen top which is the easiest because there are no lead blocks beneath the top. I am concerned here only with the Futtock plates and shrouds, and the topmast shroud deadeyes. These are the scale requirements: Futtock shrouds 3½" line - (0.44mm ø line) 5" deadeyes - 2mm at scale. Mizen Futtock ratlines ¾" = 0.1mm ø line. The kit supplied deadeyes are nominally 3mm (Closer to 4mm) and the strops over large for the Mizen. There needs to be a differential between the lower mast and Topmast deadeyes and between the Topmasts deadeyes for the Mizen and the Fore and Main Topmast shrouds. Here's a comparison photo of the kit provided deadeye/strop and the more in scale version I prefer. I have used 2.5mm deadeyes and modified channel chainplates for the strops. The kit provided hooks for the futtocks are also a tad too large for the Mizen and I have used Chuck's 3mm black plastic ones, coupled with Morope 0.4mm ø line. Rigging these Mizen futtocks proved a tad more tricky than I had thought. Initially I attached the hooks to one end of the line, fitted the hook into the futtock strap and seized the other end to the futtock stave and shroud. It proved difficult to get sufficient purchase on the futtock lines to get them taut without pulling the Mizen Shrouds out of line, something that looks so bad on a model, and I was not at all happy with my attempt. So, I first fitted temporary catharpins to counter the pull on the Mizen shrouds, removed the Futtocks, and reversed the procedure. It seemed to work better attaching the lower end of the futtock to the stave and Mizen shroud first and then feeding the line thro' the eye of the hook once connected to the strap, which can then be tightened by degrees and seized. Catharpins Steel does not list this addition for the Mizen Shrouds, and the ffm also omits them, (possibly on the grounds that they may interfere with the Gaff.) Lees indicated their fitting on the Mizen as with the Fore and Main. For the present I will leave them off. B.E.

Ratline application I have decided to dye the ratlines on Pegasus rather than leave them as a contrast to the shrouds as is currently the practice on Victory. A side effect of this is to give the impression that the line is finer than it is. which is no bad thing. I am starting with the Mizen shrouds, and as a guard against shroud distortion I am fixing every fifth ratline and then infilling. I am finding that doing clove hitches is not that much more time consuming than simple overhand knots, but adjusting the tension between the shrouds is not quite as easy. Topman Bob is sent up to prove the work whilst Commander John Hamilton Gore casts a critical eye over proceedings. Moving onto the Mains next....... Main shroud ratlines Same old same old ... except there are some variances thrown in to confuse. Steel says... that the first six ratlines from the futtock stave downwards and from the deadeye upwards are omitted from the first and last shrouds. Lees says .. after 1773 the first six ratlines and upper six ratlines started from the second shroud forward and finished at the second shroud from aft: the remainder covered all the shrouds. Presumably Steel was the source of his declaration, but where the precise date of 1773 comes from is not clear. The kit plan shows the ratlines carried across to the foremost shroud, but only every fifth line carried to the aftermost shroud (swifter) I have decided to follow the Steel arrangement, which is my default position in the absence of any more compelling evidence. Having rattled down the shrouds I noticed a little pulling in of the outer shrouds which was addressed by slackening off the hitches on the outer forward shroud, stiffening up the line with diluted pva and re-applying the hitch. This was then sealed and trimmed. The intervening hitches were checked and then the same procedure was applied to the aft outer shroud to eliminate any convex curve. With the lower rigging completed I can now turn my attention to the tops. B.E.

Futtock Staves So this is a good time to fix the Futtock Staves which will determine the available space for the ratlines. They are positioned as far below the top as the masthead rises above it. The stave should be of served 4" line (0.50mm ø at scale) For model purposes I prefer something a little more rigid than line; the kit suggests 1mm ø brass wire, which is a little over scale, but the problem is finding something that is rigid enough to withstand the pull of the futtocks but fine enough to look in scale. David Antscherl (ffm) used drawn down bamboo which would have been only 0.6mm dia at 1:48 scale, although the serving would give additional support. I have also gone with Bamboo drawn down to 1mm for the Fore and Main shrouds and 0.9mm for the Mizen,which is the smallest I could get without the damned thing snapping given the length required. The staves were served with Morope 0.1mm ø line. Diluted pva was smeared along the stave below the serving line. In the ffm (and the kit instructions) the staves are attached to the outside of the shrouds, but on balance I think most British ships had them on the inside of the shrouds which is the method I have adopted. It is a tad easier to fix them to the outside, but I think they sit better on the inside and the futtocks lie better. Attaching the staves seemed to take an inordinate amount of time. They are blackened and the ends trimmed after painting with undiluted pva. Onto ratline trials now, overhand or clove hitch, clove hitch or overhand? we shall see. That Ratline business. 1½"line (0.19mmø) for the Main and Fore shrouds, and 1" (0.13mm ø) line for the Mizen. A trial spacing and knotting of the Ratlines was undertaken on the Mizen shrouds. I firstly wanted to check whether the overhand knot or the (accurate) clove hitch will look the best given the scale. No point having accuracy if the scale effect looks too bulky. The top three lines are the simple overhand knot, the bottom three a clove hitch (apart from the first left hand ) Having trialled the spacing I have decided on 13" which equates to 5mm. 15" spacing - 5.95mm (6mm) My topman Bob seems to agree with the 5mm spacing, 6mm was just too much of a stretch. I have used Syren 0.2mmø line (.008 for you imperialists) which is a good fit for scale on the Main and Fore shrouds, a tad over-scale for the Mizen 1" line, but it looks ok to my eye. So decision made, Clove hitches for the knots, and a 5mm space. I've never used the card with parallel lines drawn as a guide for the ratlines system, preferring to use my eye and a 5mm spacer to check progress. B.E.

The lower shrouds have now been tidied up and the lanyards secured. Only diluted pva has been used here to allow removal if required. The Bobstays have also been attached by their lanyards using 0.25mm ø Morope. A few photo's to mark completion of this stage of the build which is now in its seventh year, although I hasten to add that there have been long intervals when little was done to progress the build. I will next be looking at the Futtock staves and ratlines. B.E.

The Fore Shrouds 7" circumference line (0.88mmø) as per the Main shrouds is used. 0.4mm ø Morope for the Lanyards, and 0.1mm for the seizings. Configuration of shrouds. These consist of three pairs each side plus a single spliced making seven shrouds each side. Both the kit and the ffm plan follow the same arrangement. The ffm however suggests that the 'single' spliced shroud should go over the masthead first after the Burton Pendants, whereas the kit plan indicates the 'singles' are last over the Masthead, although they show a simplified seizing around the mast head rather than a cut splice. My understanding is that singles were called 'swifters' and were always last over the masthead with a cut splice, this is the arrangement I have followed. Fore shrouds completed but yet to be made taut by securing the lanyards. Fore Stay 9½" circ cable = 1.2mm ø line -I am using Syren 1.14mm line. 13" closed heart = 5.2mm. lanyard 3½" (0.44mmø) Mouse = 3.42mm ø L =1.25mm The Fore and Fore Preventer stay collars were made and attached to the Bowsprit a fair way back in the build. To recap these are open hearts, not the closed versions as supplied with the kit. They are scratch built of boxwood. In the intervening time Chuck has produced some fine 5.5mm and 7mm hearts both open and closed which would have saved me the trouble. Close-up of the Fore stay mouse. and the secured heart and lanyard. Fore Preventer Stay 6" circ cable = 0.76mmø 10" closed heart = 3.96mm. Lanyard 2½" circ (0.31mmø) Both these stays are made as the Mainmast versions. Mouse = 2.28mmø L = 0.79mm For this stay I have used Morope 0.80mm ø line, and one of Chuck's 7mm hearts reduced in size a little. Fore preventer mouse. Lanyard fitted but yet to be secured. The lower standing rigging now all in place, but requires some tidying up. B.E.

Attaching the Main Preventer Stay Main Preventer Stay Heart 11" (4.4mm) lanyard 3" (0.38mm)seizings 1.0mm. The Preventer has already been prepared complete with mouse so there only remains to fit it over the masthead and down thro' the Main Stay. The closed heart is attached as on the Main Stay. I have used a Syren* 5.5mm heart which is only a fraction oversize but importantly looks right. *These hearts supplied by Chuck really are an excellent idea, and save a lot of fiddling around. 0.4mm Morope is used for the Lanyard, which in respect of the Preventer Stay needs to be tied off because the job would get far more difficult once the Fore Shrouds are in place. I find tying off the lanyard quite tricky as the free end should be lashed to the adjacent turn to finish. It is so tempting to expend the excess by turns around the middle of the lanyard set up, which is a far easier option. I use a small clamp to ensure that the Collar of the Preventer Stay doesn't ride up over the shrouds whilst I am fitting the lanyards. The completed lanyards. The seizings will be dyed but the lanyards will be left natural. I now need to prepare and fit the Fore Shrouds. Regards, B.E.

Rigging the Main/Preventer Stays - cont'd I note that in ffm the Main stay passes through the eye on the Port side both for stays, but I recall from my Victory building that Longridge shows the eye for the Mainstay on the Starboard side and that for the Preventer on the Port side. I don't know how significant this is, and I have seen examples of both arrangements, but I intend to have the mouse on the Port side for the Main Stay, and Starboard side for the Preventer Stay. The completed Mouse unpainted. A close-up of the Mouse in place on the stay. At 1:64 scale I am quite pleased with the effect, this is many times the actual size of the Mouse. The other end of the Stay A 15" heart (5.95mm)is attached to the lower end of the stay seizing 1½" (0.19mm) Commencing the throat seizing on the heart. Seizings completed. It helps to have a third hand for this sort of stuff. Lanyard attached. The lanyard is of 3½"circ line (0.44mm ø at scale) This is from Steel; The ffm indicates 2" which seems a little fine or is maybe a misprint. The lanyard will not be tied off until later in the build. I now need to step the Foremast before the Main Preventer Stay is fitted. B.E.

The Main Stay This is the largest stay on the ship at 10" circ equal to 1.26mm ø at 1:64 scale. Syren supply line in 1.37mm and 1.14mm diameters, so do I go high or low? we are only talking 0.1mm difference in the diameter either high or low. I have decided to go high at 1.37mm David Antscherl mentions in ffm that the Main Stay in addition to the serving down beyond the mouse was also served where it passes by the Main mast to prevent premature wear. This sounds reasonable but I've yet to find a contemporary model where this is apparent. I have opted to have the preventer stay running below the Main Stay not least because it lies better that way. Having served the lines I turn my attention to the Mouse. Mouse -Main Stay L = 1/3 circ of stay = 3.96mm ø = 3 x ø of stay =4mm. To make the Mouse for the Main Stay I used styrene tubing; a length of 3.2mm ø tubing inserted inside a length of 4mm ø tubing. This gives me the required external diameter whilst having an internal hole that fits the served stay. The Mouse is formed using files and fine sand paper. Trial fit on the stay. Imparting the weave. The mouse is painted with ca and with the net stretched over and secured sufficient weave effect is achieved at scale. The Main Preventer Stay is of 7" cable (0.88mm ø) which is the same as the shrouds. Mouse - Preventer Stay L =1/3 circ of stay = 2.77mm ø = 3 x ø of stay =2.64mm The Preventer stay and Mouse are prepared as the Main Stay, and the next post will cover installation and attachment of the hearts. B.E.

Completing the Lower Main shrouds. The Main Lower Shrouds have now been installed. Here a close-up of the seizings before staining. The 0.1mm Morope line is ideal for the serving having good definition, is as fine as is available so as not to oversize the finished line, and is completely fuzz free. The downside is it only comes in 4-5 mtr lengths, takes an inordinate amount of line to serve the shrouds, and it is a pain to transfer to a spool without having to unpick a tangled mess, part way thro' the process. Starboard side run.The lanyards which are also Morope (0.4mm) will remain loose until much later in the build. One problem I have found is that having served all the centre sections of the shroud pairs the space in the lubber hole is very crowded and the aft crosstree of the Main top cramps the aftermost pair of shrouds. Still the beauty of rigging the shroud pairs properly is that they are easily removed for adjustment, at least. On the subject of serving the centres of the shrouds; as the pairs move rearwards the line of the served section below the hounds appears shorter because each successive pair sits atop the previous one. On a scale model I think this can look a little untidy if the length differences are too great or uneven so I have sought to reduce the difference somewhat by adding an extra mm length of serving to each successive pair. The next stage will be to make the Main stays and step the Foremast. B.E.

The Main Shrouds These are of 7"* circ line scaling to 0.88mmø * Note: there is a typo error in my copy of ffm Vol 1V (p50) which indicates 10" line for the Fore and Main Shrouds. The kit Mainmast shroud configuration differs a little from the ffm Vol 1V layout. The book version shows a single foremost shroud cut spliced around the masthead, followed by four pairs of shrouds. (nine in total each side) Aft of these are a single Topmast Backstay and a single T'gallant Backstay. The kit version shows four pairs of shrouds, (which obviates the need to splice around the masthead) three standing Topmast backstays, a T'gallant Backstay,and a Flagstaff stay. I have followed the kit arrangement . Steel indicates three topmast backstays. For the first pair of shrouds serving is required for the full length on the foremost shroud, and for a scale eight feet on the second and subsequent shrouds. This serving business. On the model this is the longest section of serving required. I have used 0.1mm Morope and it took around 5mtrs of line to complete the job. Unfortunately the supplied lengths of Morope 0.1mm just fall short of the required length for a continuous run. The line will be dyed after completion. Trial fitting the served shroud. One of the downsides of serving the full length of a shroud is that it tends to stiffen and kink the line. I find that the line needs a little tensioning before fitting to straighten it out. Tensioned and dyed the line is now ready for fitting. To recap I am using Amati 3.5mm deadeyes which actually measure around 3.8 -3.9mm. near enough to the 4mm scale required for a 10" deadeye. (The kit supplied deadeyes are over-scale at 5mm+) With the shroud served it is formed around the false masthead and seized. I have used 0.1mm morope for the seizing. Turning in the deadeye. I like to set the first one up with a distance that suits my eye and then match the others to it. For the first (served) shroud I have slightly deepened the deadeye groove. At this scale I don't bother too much with the throat seizing which will be hidden anyway by the lanyard excess. Having set the deadeye at the required distance I use some thin line to secure the 'throat' with a simple overhand knot, but which allow for minor adjustment in the position. The lanyard is of 3½" circ line which scales to 0.44mm ø line. I am using Morope 0.4mm. It did not prove to be a problem securing the served line with its additional bulk around the deadeye. Final tensioning will be done once the set have been fitted. B.E.

Wow thank you Guys, such generous comments I'm beavering away on the Masting and Rigging recovery but it's going a bit slower than the first part, loads of photo's to find and resize. B.E.

That is very, very, nice work Thomas, puts my fudged efforts around the side tackles to shame. That's an interesting little cheese making device you have there😊 B.E.

Nice work Christian, looks like there is room aft of the boomkins for seats of ease, but if you're including the discharge pipes you'll need to check there is free access thro' the headworks. B.E.

At this point before the Mainmast is glued into place I need to consider any other attachments that may be better done with the mast off the model. I have in mind the Mizen Topmast Stay. The lead for this stay allows for several options, David Antscherl (Vol1V) has opted for a lead thimble stropped below the Mainmast hounds.I have decided to opt for the arrangement whereby an eyebolt is fixed thro' the aft crosstree of the mainmast top and a thimble /lanyard arrangement is used to secure the Mizen Topmast stay. So the Mainmast is fixed; using pva there is time to view from all angles to ensure that the mast is set square to the centre line. I like to set the model on the floor so I can view it directly from above. What do you think Wills does it pass muster? The Mizen Stay is now attached by its lanyard. 2½" (0.3mm)lanyard. So for the present this is as far as the Mizen Standing Rigging is taken. I will next deal with the Main Shrouds. B.E.