Blue Ensign

Main topmast backstays 4½" line(0.57mm) For this I am using Morope 0.6mm. The interesting feature of the backstays is the 'D' shaped splicing arrangement where it fits around the masthead. Forming the 'false' splice The bar is served with a good length of excess serving line which will used to cover the required length down the stay. With the 'bar' ca'd to the stay the individual legs are then served. The unstained served stay. The completed stay on the masthead, any imperfections in the serving join will hopefully be covered by the stay collars of the Topmast stays. The backstays will not be fastened off until much later in the build to allow for better access. One point to note with backstays is that the kit allows for two pairs of Main Topmast backstays and has the number of deadeyes along the channel for this. The ffm has only one pair of backstays indicated for the main Topmast. I had slipped betwixt two stools here and had to retro-fit an additional pair of backstays to the Main Topmast. B.E.

Main Topmast stays Having fitted the Foreyard truss and jeer tyes I can now return to the topmast stays. Topmast Preventer Stay Starting with the Preventer stay that lies below the topmast stay. The lead block for this stay which attaches to the Fore mast below the hounds was covered earlier. (p92) Requirements. 4" line.(0.50mm) 14" long tackle block.(5.55mm) 7" block (2.77mm) with 3" strop(0.38mm) hooked to port side of the mast tackle 2½" line (0.30mm) 0.45mm Syren line has been used for the Topmast Preventer stay. A mouse has also to be fashioned for the stay, my method is covered on p85 so I won't repeat it here. Trial fitting the position of the mouse. ..and the completed mouse after 'treatment' With the stay fitted around the masthead it is lead thro' the lead block beneath the Foremast hounds and the Long Tackle block is seized in. The other half of the tackle, a 3mm single block, has a hook fashioned from an eyebolt ca'd into the base, around which the strop is secured. The tackle line (I have used Syren 0.20mm line) is secured thro' the strop at the top end of the block. This is a little simplification but the space between mast and bitts is very tight and the detail won't ultimately be visible. Trying to catch the hook on the eyebolt proved to be a testy little exercise, as did the hitching the falls, which managed at every turn to snag on each and every fitting of the foc'sle. How many of us with total concentration, having finally got a line threaded thro' an awkwardly placed block pulled on the end with a sense of relief, only to find that the excess has snagged on a gun dismounting it from the carriage. At this stage of rigging very soft hands are required, with a pause after each small movement of line to check there is no snagging. Main Topmast Stay 0.63mm Syren line for the Topmast stay. A repeat exercise for the Topmast Stay, just needed to tweak the Fore top rail height to allow a clear run the lead block around the masthead. The completed masthead with stays in position. Lead of the stays. Long tackle block falls of the Topmast stays, Preventer stay to port. (Temporarily secured at present) Note: The Backstays are fitted over the shrouds before the Topmast stays are rigged. B.E.

Fitting the Fore Yard I am fitting the Fore yard at this point to maximise the finger space behind the mast to rig the Truss Pendants. Requirements. Small thimbles, (2). 4" line, (0.50mm ). 24' long (114mm). (4) 8" double blocks,(3mm). 2½" strop hooks,(1mm). 2" tackle line (0.25mm). 96' long.(457mm) Attaching the thimbles and pendant line to the yards is fiddly but not difficult with the yards off the model, but fitting once the yards are in place can turn into a very frustrating exercise. There are details of fitting the pendants in the ffm. Lees, and Longridge's Anatomy of Nelson's ships, which I think is the clearer description, and drawing. The truss pendants are temporarily fixed to the eyebolts to mark the point where the blocks will be attached. Fixing the pendant block. Starboard tackle rigged. Next up the jeer tyes 7" line (0.9mm) (4)12" double blocks ( 4.76mm) (2)hooks, 2½" tackle line (0.30mm) Conveniently Syren do both 0.88mm and 0.30mm line. According to ffm 60' (scaling to 12")of jeer tye line is required. This works out pretty spot on. Tye threaded thro' the jeer blocks. Jeer tyes (but wrong side of the yards at present.) This shot shows the completed jeers tyes and truss pendants. Before I rig the Jeer tye falls I will return to fit the Topmast stays. The tackle for these are fitted inside the jeer falls, between the bitts and mast and are best dealt with first. B.E.

Mizen Topmast Stay This can now be conveniently fitted. I covered the trial rig of this stay back on p92 of the log about half way down the page, so I won't repeat all the detail here. In summary I have followed Steel's version involving thimbles strapped around the Mainmast below the hounds, a thimble spliced into the Topmast stay which is hauled taut with a lanyard between it and the lower of the mast thimbles. The downside of rigging this method is that because of the thimble spliced into the stay end it has to be rigged in reverse with the splice around the topmast head being completed last. The upside is that trying to secure the lashing to an eyebolt at the Mainmast foot,(the ffm alternative), even more tricky, is avoided. Stay secured with a lanyard between the two thimbles. The other end of the stay is secured to the Mizen topmast with an eye and is served around the masthead. A little more tricky this as it has to be done on the model as the other end is already secured. Serving in progress. An eclectic arrangement of clamps makes the process easier. Secured around the masthead. Mizen Topmast stay completed. Before I move onto the Main Topmast Stays it may be worth considering whether it would be better to rig the Fore yard first. I am thinking particularly about the truss pendants, tricky little beggars, the securing of which requires as much finger room as possible behind the mast. B.E.

Rattlin' down Ratlines 1" line (0.13mmø) Fore and Main. ¾" line (0.09mmø) Mizen. To try to maintain a differential I have gone with Coats cotton No.50 thread which has a 0.15mm ø for the Fore and Main Ratlines, and Morope 0.1mm ø for the Mizen. The Mizen shrouds were quite testy given the relative thinness of both shroud and ratline with greater risk of distortion which I tried to minimise by fitting every fifth line and then infilling. For several of the rows I found it necessary to fix the central hitch with pva and then re-do the outer hitches to counter a slight inward pull on the shrouds. The lines were then painted with diluted pva to stiffen them to counter further any tendency to inpull. Things move along much quicker with the Main and Fore Topmast shrouds, but I find the process very tiring on the arms, neck and back, so to this end I use folded towels to lift my elbows to a more comfortable position - it helps. Fortunately there are no ratlines involved with the T'gallant shrouds. Holding the line while the first hitch is applied. I use a simple template to fix the initial run of lines. Completed Fore topmast shrouds Completed Main Topmast shrouds. 06/08/2016 B.E.

Completion of Topmast Shrouds Rigging now tidied up, well as far as my failing eyesight allows, lanyards secured, Sister blocks and Futtock staves attached. Topmast Futtock staves. - 2½" served line - 0.3mm at scale. For these I used 34 gauge copper wire (0.20mm ø) served with 0.1mm line.Ca was applied along the wire beneath the serving line. These staves are only 10mm long at scale. Sister blocks secured to Mizen topmast head. and also to the Fore Topmast head. Looking tidier now. Before I start ratlin' down two things I need to attend to:- The first - re-fixing the Swivel mounts and swivels to the tops, The Swivels are removable, just sitting on pins in the base. The second - attaching the shroud cleats. These are courtesy of Syren. At present they are secured to the shrouds only with a spot of ca. the lashing is yet to do. The rear of the cleat I modified by cutting a groove to better fit the shroud, and I also shortened the aft side of the cleat. Not sure yet whether to blacken the cleats. Onto Rattlin' down now. B.E.

Pegasus Topmast Rigging The Main topmast is set into place and as with the lower masts the pendants of tackles are the first to go over the mast head. These are served 3" (0.38mm ø)line with thimbles spliced in and a cut splice around the masthead. I am using 0.4mm Morope. The topmast sits snugly on its fids and the cap is a good fit so no glue is being used. The Fore and Main topmast shrouds are 4½" line (0.57mm ø) I am using 0.63mm Syren. Starting with the starboard pair of shrouds the serving point is marked for second shroud, the first shroud is served overall. Quite a trick business attaching the deadeyes to the served shrouds, they fight against the turn around the deadeye and prove very difficult to pierce with a needle. The subsequent shrouds are a lot easier to turn in. lanyards 2½" line,(0.30mmø) - I am using Syren 0.30mm. ratlines 1" line (0.13mmø) A potential problem if using the kit provided topmast cross and trestletrees is that there is little room if you are serving the topmast shrouds. Sister blocks - These specialised blocks are fitted between the first and second shrouds. I have fashioned mine from two 4mm single blocks flattened at the ends and glued together, and then further tweaked. The bottom sheave of the sister block takes the Topsail yard lifts The kit plans don't feature this item but indicate a single block seized to the topmast shrouds. Mizen topmast shrouds 2½" line (0.3mm dia line) 5" deadeyes. 2mm. Lanyards 1½" line ( 0.2mm dia line) There are two pairs of shrouds required each side, but the aftermost one is the topmast backstay. The foremost shroud is served overall. The kit arrangement shows two topmast backstays set up with deadeyes hooked into eyebolts just forward of the Quarter Badge. Lees indicates the use of a stool or a deadeye plate bolted to the ships side. The ffm (Standing rigging plan) indicates a single backstay for which the addition of a small stool fitted at drift rail height aft of the Quarter badge is required. I used a deadeye plate fixed to the hull forward of the Quarter Badge, a lot less fussy than a mini stool and a little more secure. The backstay won't be secured for some time yet, but a deadeye stropped to a hook that attaches to the deadeye plate eye will be used. There are sister blocks to be fitted between the first and second shrouds. These were fashioned from some 1mm square boxwood strip, they are pretty small measuring only 7mm long x 0.75mm thick. To assist with the adjustment of the tiny deadeyes for the Mizen top which seem to twist in their orientation I devised this simple tool comprising three pins set into an old paint brush handle to realign the holes. Once I have fitted the Fore Topmast shrouds I will tension the lines, tie off the loose ends, and make look a little more shipshape. B.E.

Having sidetracked a little I now return to the Topmast rigging, looking further at the stays, which are not fitted before the shrouds etc; but the run and any leads need to be established now. Main topmast Preventer stay Main Topmast Preventer - 11" block - 4.36mm -0.5mm line I am using Syren 0.45mm line, the Preventer stay lies below the Topmast stay. Steel refers to use of a thimble (Narrative) and a block (Rigging table) as the lead for the Preventer stay. I have decided to use a block. This is fitted below the hounds on the foremast using served line and fitted as per the topmast block on the Fore masthead. Note the clear line size difference to the Topmast stay which runs down the port side from above. Another trial fit of both stays is required to ensure a clear run thro' the catharpins down to the fixing eyebolts aft of the foremast. Mizen Topmast Stay 3" line (0.38mm line) I will use Morope 0.4mm. There seems to be a range of options for the lead of this stay, and it can be a little confusing, so forgive me if I bore you as I write this stuff down - it helps clear it in my mind. The ffm notes several arrangements but opts for a thimble stropped below the hounds, a further thimble spliced into the stay end which is set up with a lanyard to an eyebolt at the mainmast foot. On my Pegasus, and I suspect others, this presents a real problem of access at this stage to this very confined space to make any sort of competent lashing. According to Steel:- THE MIZEN TOPMAST-STAY reeves through a thimble seized in the bight of the collar that lashes at the fore part of the mainmast, close up to the bibs; a thimble is then spliced in the ends of the stay, which sets up through another thimble (with a laniard) that is spliced in another collar, lashed round the mast as the former, just below the catharpins, with the top-burton-tackle cats-pawed to the laniard. *If with a long pole-head, the same as a topgallant-mast. * My Pegasus is fitted with a normal pole- head (1/5th the length of the topmast) Steel's method looks interesting but involves a little more work to achieve; two stropped thimbles around the mast, a spliced thimble in the stay end once the line has been passed thro' the higher mast thimble above the catharpins, and a lashing between that and the lower mast thimble. ...and Lees Lees doesn't mention this specific method at all, indicating a simpler thimble arrangement (post 1773) whereby the stay is set up with thimbles and a lashing either to the main masthead or an eyebolt in the maintop aft crosstree. From a model makers view this is the least troublesome. I find it puzzling that Steel writing in 1798 only mentions the more complicated method, and also Lever writing in 1811 a similar method. Modern writers such as Lees and Marquardt seem to favour the simpler methods post 1773 which is the era of Pegasus but only just (1776) I couldn't resist having a trial go at the Steel method, as he is the contemporary source. The thimble lashed to the Main mast below the Bibbs, and a thimble is spliced into the stay end once it has passed thro' the lead thimble. This means that the stay will have to be fitted in reverse with the splice around the Mizen mast head being done last. The lower thimble below the catharpins. Not easy to photograph but this shows a line to represent the lanyard that secures the stay. I was concerned to check that the lashing arrangement didn't foul the catharpins. Run of the Topmast stay is clear, and with the mast thimbles already in place I think I will go with the Steel method. The temporary rigging can now be taken down and the process of topmast rigging begin. I think I will start with the Mainmast which will provide a reference to getting the other two masts aligned. First up the tackle pendants. B.E.

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.