Blue Ensign

Studding booms. I thought I had these terms clear in my mind but when I came to check my various references I found the terms used a little confusing. Steel refers to: lower Studding booms, Main and Fore top booms, and Main and Fore T’gallant booms. David Antscherl refers to Fore and Main studding sail booms (Vol 11 12.3) and to the Lower yard studding sail booms and Upper studding sail booms (Vol 1V) The given dimensions are: Main and Fore Lower Booms (fit on Channels and Hull) L=30’ 6” with a ø of 6” at scale =145.24mm. ø 2.38mm The Main topmast booms (fit on the Main lower yard) L = 27’ ø 5⅞” at scale =128.5mm. ø 2.33mm Fore topmast boom (fit on the Foreyard) L= 24’ 2” ø 5” at scale= 115mm. ø 1.98mm The Main T’gallant boom (fit on the Topsail yard) L= 19’ 9” ø 4” at scale = 94mm. ø 1.6mm The Fore T’gallant boom (fit on the Fore topsail yard) L =17’ 6” ø 3½” at scale= 83.34mm. ø 1.4mm From Steel: PROPORTIONAL LENGTHS OF BOOMS. Lower studding-sail booms, 5/9 of the main-yard. Top studding-sail booms, 1/2 the length of the yards they go on. PROPORTIONAL DIAMETERS OF BOOMS. Studding-sail booms, one inch to every five feet in the length. Qtrs 1. 2. 3. 4. 40/41 11/12 5/6 2/3 I intend to have the Yard booms a natural finish to contrast with the blackened yards and have used Ramin dowel for the purpose. I couldn’t quite get my head around the proportions given on kit plans but they seemed a little short in length and over-scale with no differential between the booms on the lower and Topsail yards as far as diameter is concerned. The kit doesn’t include the Lower Studding booms which fit along the Channel line, but a view could be taken that the studding sails were set flying on a small vessel such as a sloop, and were rigged without booms. The lower studding booms hook onto the Channels, or in the case of the Fore boom into an eyebolt just forward of the channels. According to David Antscherl the Fore studding boom was kept inboard when not in use. Quite where these 30’ booms would have been kept is debatable; lashed to the spare masts on the gallows, or secured along the waist rail perhaps. When it came to making the booms that fitted on the Fore topsail yard the dimension were quite fine with an inner ø of 1.4mm and outer of 0.9mm. Great care and a soft touch was required to taper to these diameters, and it took four goes to make the two booms. The other sizes presented no problems at all. I couldn’t quite make my mind up about the colouring of the lower booms, black, or natural to match the yard equivalents. I made a couple of mock ups to check the effect.... On balance I decided to go with natural, but it’s not set in stone and the colour can be easily changed. So here is the completed set. The lower booms have a ferrule and hook attached to the inner end. The yard booms. Note the relative fineness of the booms to their respective yards. I used Ronseal Medium Oak brushing wax to colour the booms. One consequence of re-scaling the yards and booms is that the provided brass etched Stunsail boom brackets and rings will be too large and will have to be modified (if possible) or scratched replacements made. I will look at these next. Stunsail boom brackets and rings Things to consider about boom irons. The inner boom ring was set 1/3rd of the length of the boom in from the end of the yard. The kit provides a continuous ring to slide over the yard but in practice these were half rings bolted to the yard at an angle of 45⁰ between the yard top and foreside. On my build anyway they will have to be cut to fit the reduced size spars. The outer boom rings at the yard arms are of a heavier gauge etch and it was obvious that they are way oversize partly due to my meddling with the scale of the yards. They have a diameter in the clear of 3.3mm. Breadth 1.26mm. and Thickness 0.7mm with no adjustment for the differences between lower and topsail yards. How does this compare with the Steel proportions at 1:64 scale. Main topmast booms :- Hole diameter 2.5mm Breadth 0.93mm thickness 0.25mm. Main T’gallant boom :- Hole diameter 1.6mm Breadth 0.60mm thickness 0.25mm. Fore topmast booms :- Hole diameter 2.0mm Breadth 0.75mm thickness 0.25mm Fore T’gallant boom :- Hole diameter 1.4mm Breadth 0.50mm thickness 0.25mm. Boom ring trials I always look for the simplest way to replicate what I want whilst achieving a result which is satisfactory to my eye. For the purpose of this exercise I will be using styrene tubing, and the now surplus brass etch footrope stirrups, although flattened brass wire would do as well. The tube is drilled and a trimmed stirrup is ca’d in the hole. A slice is cut off and filed down to the correct thickness. I use double sided tape to hold the ring in position. The completed yard set. Two sizes of styrene tubing were used and the holes filed to allow passage of the booms. The relative sizes of the revised boom rings against the provided brass etch items either end. The brass etch inner boom rings are a better size needing only minor adjustment of the boom ring to fit. The yard ring will be cut to suit the yard diameter. This is as far as I can go at present with the outer boom rings until I come to fit them; at which point I can determine where the crank in the stem needs to be made. B.E.

Topsail Yards Here’s what Steel has to say:- Topsail-yards, being trimmed sixteen-square, are rounded, and planed smooth and fair from the first quarter on each side the middle to their outer ends, and a sheave-hole cut from the upperside, its length within each outer end, for the reef-tackles. In some merchant-ships, holes are cut within the cleats, for the topgallant-sheets, but it is better avoided, as it weakens the yard-arms. Topsail-yards have stop-cleats nailed on the foreside of the yard, once the diameter on each side the slings. Those within the arms, on the fore and after sides of the main and fore topsail yards, three inches to every yard in the length, and mizen topsail yards two inches and a quarter within their outer ends, or arms. Lengths Main-topsail-yard, 5/7 of the main-yard. 39’ 6” = 188mm 8¼” dia = 3.27mm Fore-topsail-yard, 7/8 of the main-topsail-yard. 35’ = 166.7mm 7⅛”dia = 2.82mm Mizen-topsail-yard, 2/3 the main-topsail-yard. 26’ 4” = 125.4mm 5½” dia = 2.18mm Kit dimensions Main Topsail L = 183mm (-5mm) dia 6mm Fore Topsail L = 164mm (-2.7mm) dia 6mm Mizen Topsail L =127mm (+1.5mm) dia 4mm I will be using 4mm Walnut square stock for the Fore and Main Topsail yards, and 3mm for the Mizen. Detail variations from the kit Plan. Stop cleats rather than sling cleats Sheave holes in yard arms for reef tackles, The first job after marking out the position is to mill the slots for the *sheaves and drill through the square section. It has to be done at this stage as it would be far more difficult, if not impossible, once the yard is tapered and rounded towards to the arms. * David Antscherl indicates additional sheaves in the Topsail yards for the T’gallant sheets and clues(Vol IV p122) but Steel whilst indicating outer sheaves for the reef tackles, differs in opinion regarding the inner sheaves. In some merchant-ships, holes are cut within the cleats, for the topgallant-sheets, but it is better avoided, as it weakens the yard-arms. Sheaves are not shown in the drawings of the yards in Steel’s work. Having started to cut the inner sheave I changed my mind and filled it in. The next stage is the usual cutting of the mid section eight square. This is done by eye as there is little point trying to mark the sections on 4mm square stuff given the thickness of even a fine pencil lead. The Mizen Topsail yard is made out of 3mm square stock, getting pretty fine now. A new ‘V’ jig is required for this smaller section stuff. Sorry about the state of it but I use any old bit of stuff lying around for jigs. The white plasti-card strip with the yellow tape is an earlier jig to get the shape of the gangplanks against the waist rail. One of the knock on effects of reducing the scale size is that the etched Stuns’lyard straps for the Topsail yards are now too large. The face ring had to be detached from the straps and filed down after sticking to the yard arm, the straps were then added. Not 100% sure about these at the moment, reducing the scale of the yards maybe makes the straps look over scale. I may have to re-think this. An idea of the difference between the 'as made', Main Topsail yard and the kit plan can be seen in this shot. The final additions to the Topsail yards are the stop cleats at the slings and yardarms. These are quite small at scale measuring only 4mm x 2mm x1mm. I cut them over- scale, glued them to the yard with pva and then pared and shaped them on the yard. Next up the Spritsail yards and T’gallants....... Spritsail Yard. From Steel:- Length of Spritsail-yard, the same as the fore-topsail-yard. (166mm at scale) Diameter of Spritsail-yard, the same diameter as the fore-topsail-yard. (4mm dowel) Sprit and sprit-topsail yards have stop-cleats nailed on their undersides; the spritsail-yard once the diameter on each side the slings; the sprit-topsail-yard half the diameter on each side: those at the arms one inch and a half within their outer ends, to every yard in the length; and they nail on the fore and after sides, contrary to those at the slings. Spritsail and Sprit- topsail yards. I made the spritsail yard from 4mm Walnut dowel, it is 14mm shorter than the kit plan. The only comment I would make about the kit plan is that it shows the sling cleats horizontal to the Bowsprit, when according to Steel they should be below the spar. I also used stop cleats as per the Topsail yards. The arrangement for the Spritsail Topsail is similar; it is the same size as the Fore T’gallant yard and at 105mm is 10.5mm shorter than the kit plan. Steel suggest that eyebolts and ferrules are attached to the yard arms. Lees omits them. I’m undecided at present. Fore and Main T’ gallant Yards From Steel:- Topgallant-yards, royal-yards, cross-jack-yards, mizen-yards, sprit and sprit-topsail yards, studding-sail and driver yards, are trimmed eight-square, sixteen-square, and then rounded, and planed fair and smooth from end to end throughout the length. Topgallant yards, main and fore, mizen yards, sprit and sprit-topsail yards, have their arms fitted with a ferrule-hoop, and sprig-eye-bolts, as the topsail yards. Main and Fore T’gallant yards I used 3mm walnut dowel for these yards. The Fore T’gallant is 11mm shorter than the kit plan but the Main T’gallant is the same length. It is interesting that David Antscherl indicate that the T’gallant yards were eight square for the centre portion of the yards where as Steel indicates that they were rounded from end to end. Lees also indicates that the yards were eight squared by reference to being the same as the Topsail yards in construction. On this occasion I have gone with Steel not least because eight squaring 3mm stuff is a tad tricky. Bar clamps are a useful tool to hold yards for painting. So the basic yards are complete. Here’s the full mast and yard set. It has taken seven months to do this part of the build and I’m not really finished yet. There are the Studding booms to make and all the fittings to be added to the yards. B.E.

Driver Boom or no Driver Boom? Well it all depends.... David Antscherl states that the Driver boom didn’t appear until around 1790, and uses the contemporary model of the Atalanta 1775, which only carries a Gaff, to support this view. I can’t find any confirmation in Lees about the introduction of the Driver Boom, but a table in his book called 1773 establishment Admiral Penrose’s manuscript. For a 14 gun sloop shows only a Mizen Gaff. The kit plans include both Gaff and Driver, but of course Fly whose operational career exceeded that of Pegasus by some twenty-six years may well have had a Driver Boom fitted at some time during her life. So for my Pegasus there will only be a Mizen Gaff. Now to size:- The kit Driver Gaff is 115mm including the jaws which equates to 24.1’ The suggested 4mm diameter dowel is way over scale equating to a 10” ø spar. The 1:48 scale drawing of the Gaff (Vol IV fffm) scaled up = 28.75’ The Penrose Table gives the size as L = 23’ 10” dia 6⅝” Lees gives the proportional length of the driver boom as same length as the main topsail yard with a diameter of ⅝” per 3’ in length. The gaff being ⅝ the length of the driver boom. This equates to 24.7’ with a ø of 5.1” Steel writing in 1794 lists a Driver Boom with a given length of 39’ 6” with a ø of 7⅛” The gaff is given as 22’ but under the ⅝ rule should be 24.7’ I have decided on a 24’ Gaff scaling to 114mm, with a ø of 2.62mm. The construction The tricky part of Gaff making are the jaws; the kit does provide them out of walnut ply (part112) but there were certain simplifications and scale issues that necessitated a scratch replacement. I made replacement jaws out of a bit of boxwood. The scarphs have yet to be tapered and fined down at this point. The gaff requires a taper towards the inner end to take the scarph of the jaws, 19mm at scale, and a sheave cut into the outer end. A bevelling is also required on the inner face of the jaws to allow for the topping of the Gaff. The Gaff was made using 3mm Walnut dowel. Note the greater length of the scarph for the jaws. Once the jaws have been fixed in place the scarphs can be fine tuned and the iron bands affixed. These are self adhesive vinyl lining strips. The Gaff is completed by the addition of an eyebolt and Ferrule in the outer end and an eyebolt atop the jaws for the throat halyard. A trial fit to the mast. I like to go over the iron bands with a black/grey mix so they stand out a little from the black painted spar. Needs a little more shaping out of the Gaff jaws to fit around the mast. Contrary to the kit plans the holes to take the parral line should be set in the outer faces of the jaws not the top as shown. The inner face of the jaws are grooved to take the line. I’m fairly satisfied with the overall look for length and scale, back to the Topsail Yards. B.E.

Footrope Stirrups Brass etch is provided for the stirrups which are intended to fit into holes drilled along the underside of the yard at the appropriate intervals. These are a convenient and effective way to represent the stirrups and allow for the easy positioning of the footropes ... but they are a simplification. In practice the stirrups made of served rope were wrapped around and nailed to the top of the yard, and allowed to hang below the back of the yard by around three feet. I have previously used line for the stirrups stiffened with wallpaper paste but the main issue is getting a neat eye splice thro’ which to feed the footrope. Before I progress further I intend to do a bit of trialling with the etched versions by applying a serving using 0.1mm line, and attaching to the yard by bending the insert pin 90 degrees and fixing in the back of the yard. Footrope trials This is my attempt to improve the look of the brass etch stirrups used to carry the footropes (horses) The stirrups should be of 0.45mm dia line and the horses 0.32mm dia line. 0.5mm is suggested by the kit for the horses. My first modification is to fix the stirrups to hang behind the yard rather than beneath it. This is a source of some irritation to me, how would the crew man the yards if the foothold was directly beneath the yard and they had to lean over the yard.. This is achieved by the simple expediency of bending the fixing pin 90 degrees, fitting in a hole in the aft side of the yard. The next stage is to serve the brass stirrup to give the appearance of rope. I used 0.1mm Morope. A small height gauge is used to mark the length of the next stirrup. Even allowing for the fact that I have only roughly done the serving it quickly became apparent that the end result would not be satisfactory, far too heavy with a dia of nearly 1mm. A further complication was that the eye of the stirrup would need enlarging to allow for serving otherwise the eye was closed up by the line. The decision is quickly made not to use the etched stirrups, but they will come in for stanchions perhaps. The etched stirrups at 13mm should be about the right length for scale (32¾”) yet to my eye they seemed to hang too low both in the actual and on the plans. I sent my Topman up to check the arrangement and he was rather left hanging. Tom is a good scale height at about 5’ 7” and I think the stirrup length will stand a slight reduction of a few mm to allow Tom a foothold. Revealed in all its glory, my very Heath Robinson yard support. Ugly, quick to make, even quicker to dispose of, yet surprisingly effective. I will now revert to my original method of using stiffened line for the stirrups and work out an approach for the eyes. At scale these will be pretty small which may rule out thimbles but eye splices or false eye splices in my case are an acceptable alternative. Onto Plan B. This is what Steel has to say: HORSES go over the yard-arms with an eye in their outer ends, and stop against the cleats, and hang about three feet below the yard. To keep the horse more parallel to the yard, it is suspended, at proper distances, by ropes, called stirrups, that have thimbles or eyes spliced in their lower ends, through which the horses pass; they are four on each side, and hang three feet below the yard, and the upper ends are opened, plaited, and fastened to the yard with three round turns and nails. The inner ends of the horses have a thimble turned in, with a throat and round seizing; they lash to the yard, on the opposite side of the cleats, with a laniard that passes round the yard and through the thimble. The revised trial uses line for both the stirrups and horses. Here I am using 0.5mm Amati line for the stirrups. A false eyesplice is firstly made in the end. As the splice is made a section of brass rod is inserted thro’ the hole to keep it open. The outer first stirrup is fitted with the line wrapped three time around the yard and sealed with pva The second inner stirrup is fitted with a bar through the two eyes to check the levels and the stirrups are then painted with diluted wallpaper glue to impart the necessary stiffness. Once dry the footropes can be threaded thro’ and positioned. The acid test... can Tom maintain a foothold. Yes he can. I’ve always left the stirrups and footropes ‘untarred’ on my builds but according to David Antscherl (Vol IV) both were of tarred line. To gauge the look I blackened the line using Dark Jacobean wood dye which is my usual method. The jury is still out on this for me at present as I’ve been unable to find clear photos on contemporary models or clear source information. I did however find an interesting comment in 18th Century Rigs and Rigging (Marquardt) regarding the Stirrups. To maintain an equal distance of about 3 feet from the Upper side of the yard (Falconer mentioned 2 feet below) each horse ran through two or three stirrups.... This makes much more sense to me and certainly fits in with my arrangement above which work out at a scale 25” below the yard and 37” from the top line of the yard. The difference compared to the plan drawings can be seen above. So method tested and trial over for me. I will be using line with ‘false’ eye splices for the stirrups. The drop as above will be less than indicated on the kit plans. Not yet decided about the colour, but that can wait. Now I’m happy with how to go about it I will return to making Topsail yards. B.E.

Not much to say about the Fore yard, same as the Main yard but 7/8th of the length which gives a scale length of 230mm. The kit by comparison is shorter at 217mm = 45.56’ (Steel 48.5’) The Cro’jack yard according to Steel is 35’ = to a scale 166mm with a diameter of 71/8th” = to 2.82mm. The kit gives a length of 155mm using 6mm diameter dowel. According to Lees between 1745-1830 the yard was sixteen squared for a quarter of the length. Steel says Topgallant-yards, royal-yards, cross-jack-yards, mizen-yards, sprit and sprit-topsail yards, studding-sail and driver yards, are trimmed eight-square, sixteen-square, and then rounded, and planed fair and smooth from end to end throughout the length. The kit plans show the Cro’jack eight squared for the first quarters. I am using 4mm square section and will adopt the sixteen square central section. With 4mm square stock marking the sections using the 7.10.7 rule goes out of the window and the eight square followed by sixteen square is done by eye. Even so I found it very difficult to get a clean sixteen side cut on a 4mm square section So with the basic yards made, before I start to add the detail I need to check that the proportions look right on the model. A metal pin is temporarily inserted in the aft face of the yard to both hold the yard whilst painting and to check the fit on the masts. The eight square section on the Main yard. The Fore yard; I can see the eight square needs a little more faying into the arms. The proportions look ok to my eye so I can now move onto the yard fittings. Completing the lower yards. In conjunction with making and tapering the lower yards, other attachments need to be borne in mind. Sling Cleats This is what Steel has to say. CLEATING OF YARDS. The sling-cleats, nailed on the foreside of main and fore yards, are once and a quarter the diameter of the yard in length, with a shoulder one-third its length. The breadth one-fourth the length. The thickness two-thirds the breadth, and nailed once the diameter on each side the slings. They are made of elm. I made mine from boxwood strip milled to the correct thickness and then finished by hand using a scalpel. The gap between the shoulders of the cleats is 3mm scale each side of the yard centre. Sling cleats are appropriate for the Fore and Main Yards but contrary to what is shown on the kit plans the Cross- jack yard has Stop Cleats. Cross-jack-yards have stop-cleats nailed on the foreside of the yard half the diameter on each side the slings. Those at the arms one inch and a half within their outer ends to every yard in length, and nailed on the fore and after sides. (Steel) The Three lower yards in the raw. The stop cleats at the yard arms are pretty much as shown on the kit plans. The Stunsail yard brackets, or straps as they are more properly called. Parts 183/184 provided with the kit extend some 4½ scale feet along the yard (22mm) which is way too long. I couldn’t see any mention of shortening them in the blurb but the plans show these as 10mm in length each side, which is more in keeping with the given ratio indicated by Steel. one inch and a quarter in length to every three feet of the yard This equals 9mm on my yards. The binding straps are strips of self adhesive Vinyl lining tape. The basic yards finished. There are other attachments yet to do but these will come later. B.E.

Moving onto the Lower Yards. As with the masts my first task is to check the kit given dimensions against Steel, and make my own drawing for the yards. When I say drawings I don’t mean those wonderful computer based drawings, for me a pencil, ruler, and graph paper has to suffice. As a general observation I find many kit spars over heavy and those of Pegasus also need a little slimming down. I will start with the Main yard as all others relate to it. The Main yard itself is a given proportion of the Mainmast in length (8/9ths) The main yard is given by Steel as 55’ with a 12¼” ø.This equates to 262mm at scale with 4.86mm ø. The kit dimensions are 270mm with a 6mm ø, not too far out as it happens. I shall be using 5mm square stock and because the yards are to be blackened my choice of timber is a little greater. For these spars I am going with Walnut and hopefully will get a clean octagonal central section. I thought about using the mill to form the eight square section but in the end decided to go with the ‘V’ jig and mini plane using the 7.10.7 system of marking. This gives 1.45mm divisions in from each face edge. 1.5mm is close enough. I started with a test piece before committing to the full length spar. A mini plane is used to form the eight sided section that extend from the centre of the yard one quarter along each side. The shape is finished and the octagon has fairly well defined sides, better than I can achieve with softer woods like limewood. There is also better rigidity, don’t want any flex in the yards. The mini plane is then used to both taper and form the round on the remaining length of the spar before turning it on the lathe. I find my Proxxon Wood lathe very useful but if it has one drawback it is the restriction on the working length it can accommodate. Fine for most jobs but by the addition of a spare lathe bed the length can be extended to around 30” The overall length of the baseboard is 36”. The yellow tape marks the working length of the basic unit; here the tailstock is moved back onto the extension to take the Pegasus Main yard which is 262mm plus holding pieces either end. The majority of turning will be done on much shorter lengths so for convenience the lathe will be re-fixed on its original base board for most of the time. So the task of producing the ten spars begins............ B.E.

Having no truck with the trucks One teeny item that has bugged me a little are the trucks at the mast head. The kit provided items are walnut discs with a hole in the centre, something like the trucks off a gun carriage. I modified these by sticking them to some 1.5mm boxwood which was shaped around the disc. The sheaves for the Flag halyards were drilled using a 0.4mm drill. Under high magnification they look like bread baps that weevils have gotton to but they look ok at their true size of less than 5mm. The result is a truck with a little more shape and an arrangement that allows threading of the halyard. Masts – all but done at last The mast caps will be painted once the masts are in place, but won’t be fixed until the shrouds are over the heads. Similarly the cleats for the jeers will be fixed to the masthead once the shrouds are in place. Topmast heads. All assembled. The masts won’t be put into place until I have made all the yards and done a final check of anything I need to attend to on the decks. B.E.

Topmast Caps and Trestletrees I had the same issues with the topmast caps as I did with the lower caps; too narrow, too short, and too deep, so replacements were made from boxwood. Brass etched eyelets have been used for the eyebolts beneath the cap. Fortunately the kit Trestletrees/Crosstrees looked ok and it was a relief not to have to make replacements for these delicate items. Need a little gentle cleaning up at this point before painting. The only change I made was to drill sheaves in the aft end of the Fore topmast trestletrees to take the Main T’Gallant bowlines. Bolsters were added which give a little greater stability to the fragile cross trees. T’Gallant Masts. It can be a little tricky working out the relative sizes of the T’gallant masts from Steel, not least because the mast finishes not in a head but a Pole mast. The Pole masts come in three sizes , stump, Common , and Long, and each as you may expect has a specific ratio to the mast. The T’gallant excluding the polehead should be ½ the length of the respective Topmast, but measured from where to where? From the block to the masthead, or to the stop of the hounds. Looking at the mast plan drawings provided by Steel for a 36 gun Frigate, it is possible to work it out by a process of elimination. The topmast is measured from the base of the heeling (excluding the block) to the stop of the hounds. Half of this length is the length of the T’Gallant mast from the heeling to the stop of the hounds. I have decided upon a Common Polehead which is7/18ths of the T’gallant mast measured from the heeling to the stop of the hounds. There are three sets of sheaves to be cut thro’ the T’Gallant hounds and Pole head. This is best done with the mast in full square section. A 0.6mm bit is used. For additional strength with such fine masts I have used Beech 4mm square section. The mast was then turned in its entirety including the Square heeling,octagonal hounds, and common pole head. The trucks are made separately and will be fitted later. A little more cleaning up and painting and the masts at long last will be completed. B.E.

Still fiddling with topmasts There has always been a slight niggle in my mind about the varnish on the topmasts. I used a coloured water based varnish which took several coats to obtain the density of colour required, but gave an almost plasticky appearance to the mast, not perhaps so apparent in photos. During handling and fitting of the cap some of the varnish was scuffed and peeled off. So as I was about to colour the spare topmasts just completed I thought I would start again and the varnished sections of the completed topmasts have been stripped back to the bare wood. I tried various methods of producing a finish that would satisfy my eye but couldn’t get there without excessive grain and flecking showing through. So defeated I have reverted to paint, mixing up a shade using Humbrol enamels. 50% No 94 with 30% No 26, and 20% No 24. added. So the spare topmasts are completed and fit neatly on the gallows, and the revised main topmast length, as per Steel, now allows the Fish Davit to cross the Foc’sle. I decided to fit short pins on the underside of the masts to fit into the gallows top and recess of the Foc’sle rail. This arrangement allows for easy removal for the time when I need to work on the rigging, but otherwise keeps them secure. Many of the Foc’sle modifications I have made can be seen here. The spare masts have been fully detailed with the square and octagonal sections and the top rope sheaves are cut through. Onto the T’Gallant masts. B.E.

Re-visiting the Caps. I was a little too enthusiastic in milling the width dimensions for the Fore and Main caps, so the overhang is insufficient to accommodate eyebolts fixed to the underside, and also looks feeble in relation to the topmast which it has to support. This is what Steel has to say about cap dimensions Main cap, in length, to be four times the diameter of the topmast, adding three inches. The breadth to be twice the diameter and two inches added, and the depth four-ninths the breadth. Fore cap, in length, to be four times the diameter of its topmast, adding two inches. The breadth to be twice the diameter, adding one inch, and the depth four-ninths the breadth. Mizen cap, in length, to be four times the diameter of its topmast, adding one inch. The breadth to be twice the diameter, and the depth four-ninths the breadth. Relating this to Pegasus we have:- Main mast Cap Length; 4 x 6mm (dia of topmast) + 1mm = 25mm Breadth: 2 x 6mm + 0.8mm = 12.8mm Depth: 4/9th of 12.8mm = 5.68mm I tweaked the Steel dimensions a fraction to suit my eye, so the final dimensions of the Main cap work out at. Length: 22mm. Breadth; 12.5mm. Depth; 4.9mm Fore Cap. Length; 4 x 6mm + 0.8mm = 24.8mm Breadth; 2 x 6mm + 0.4mm = 12.4mm Depth; 4/9th of 12.4mm = 5.51mm. On a practical level, on the model the caps are pretty much the same, the Fore cap is slightly smaller. The main difficulty in making these caps lies in the forward hole for the mast. The square mortise for the masthead tenon is a doddle on the mill. The mast hole takes a 6mm drill, too big to fit in my smaller drills so I have to rely on my cranky old bench drill with a much larger chuck. After the pure joy of using the Proxxon Mill, this is going from the sublime to the Gorblimey. Even so having not been switched on for several years it grumbled into life and managed to stay centred for the short journey thro’ the cap. Here’s the differences between the kit supplied cap, my first attempt, and the new enlarged cap. In Place, here the Fore cap. Now looks like it could hold the topmast against the rigours under sail. Apart from a little light finishing the caps are now done. Onto the spare topmasts..... B.E.

Completing the Mizen Top - The final work on the mill. The Crowsfeet holes around the rim are drilled, with the increased size of the top I have gone for 25 holes. Because the top didn’t fit in the dividing head it was necessary to secure it thro’ the square hole and lightly hold it whilst drilling. Marker holes were also drilled for the aft rail stanchions. The top prior to painting. And painted. Plenty of room thro’ the lubber hole for access. A few shots of the masts in place. Something that has been of slight concern to me has been the relationship between the respective heights of the Fore, Main and Mizen Tops. Even tho’ I have followed the Steel dimensions, the Main top looked a little high in comparision to the Fore and Mizen. I used the rigging plan in Vol IV (tffm) to strike a parallel between the respective heights of the top and masts caps of the three masts, and there was a scale difference between the plan and the model. I have reduced the length of the Main mast by 20mm, and it now looks better to my eye. I think I made the Fore and Main caps a little too narrow, these will be remade. The Mizen top now looks far better in relation to the other two. B.E.

Scratching a new Mizen Top. Decision made, a new Mizen top it has to be. I will keep the Fore and Main tops as they are not too far out on dimensions. The trick is to make the Mizen match the other two as far as possible; it would be an opportunity to redress some of the detail on the new top, but not at the expense of making it stand out as too different from the other two. So my approach is to make a copy of the original only of the correct proportions. It is fairly easy to draft a new top, Steel is quite expansive on the subject of the dimensions. I am using some 3mm boxwood sheet with the cut out plan glued to one side. The square hole is cut out on the little miller. The top side is planked with 0.6mm x 3.4mm boxwood strip. This shot clearly shows the size difference between original and new. The rims are added and the Futtock slots drilled out on the miller using a 1mm bit. The Trestle/Crosstrees took longer to make than the top with the need for accurate cutting of slots, but the miller again made things a lot easier. The basics completed, the next post will show the finished article. B.E.

The Mizen Top The prime consideration with the Mizen top for the kit builder should only really be getting the angle right on the trestletrees so that the mast top sits parallel to the waterline rather than the rake of the mast. If only... my progress has come to a grinding halt because of what looks like a scale error in the kit plans. The provided trestle and crosstrees are the same section dimensions as the Main and fore, which effectively reduces the Lubber hole on the significantly smaller Mizen top to an almost non existent gap. The relationship between the size of the Mizen top to the other two looks very suspect. The Steel dimensions for these are relative to the diameter of the Topmasts. The given Topmast diameter is 7¼” The depth of the trestletrees is ½ of the topmast diameter, and the thickness ⅔ of the depth. From this we derive a scale thickness of 0.95mm. as opposed to 3mm as provided in the kit, but to simply reduce the width of the trestletrees would create problems with the pre cut notches. Using the kit dimensions of 4mm dowel for the topmast would produce a 1.3mm thick trestletree. I then looked at the size of the mast top. The dimensions simply don't relate to Steel. For instance the breadth of the top is given as ⅓ the length of the topmast. The topmast is 26' 9" ergo the breadth of the top should be 42.5mm @ 1:64 scale. Applying this ratio to the kit plans we have a topmast length of 123mm (excl the pole head) ⅓ of which = 41mm., the kit provided top has a width of 33mm. The next step was to re-draw the three tops by reference to Steel and this is the result. The Mizen now looks in better proportion to the other two. Fortunately in practice the provided Fore and Main tops are not that far out. The undersize of the Mizen is plain to see and explains why there is effectively no lubbers hole with the kit arrangement, or for that matter space to fit the chocks for swivels on the Mizen. I have checked several of the plans in my AotS collection and they all seem to conform to Steel. The trestletrees and crosstrees obviously have to be adjusted but the top dimensions look a whole lot better to my eye. I am now faced with the choice of either sticking with the kit part and perhaps tweaking it by reducing the thickness of the trestletrees where they show within the square hole, or scratching a replacement. This is something I didn’t expect to be doing in a kit of this quality, but no matter how long I prevaricate I know that ultimately I won’t be able to live with the kit part. B.E.

Mast Tops The kit provided tops are a reasonable scale match to the dimensions given in Steel, although they will stand a little tweaking and refinement. There is a small issue; at the fore of the mast top is a small rectangular cut out which David Antscherl comments is appropriate after about 1775 for the lower yard slings to pass through. Lees however dates this to 1802: two holes were cut on either side of the centre, fore side of the topmast to take the slings of the lower yards. Both crosstrees were visible in the square hole during this period. Steel makes no mention of this aperture writing in 1798. I have planked over the Walnut top from the kit with 3.4mm wide Boxwood planks with a thickness of 0.6mm. To maintain a reasonable overall scale thickness the underside is left plain but is sanded down and scribed with the planking. The pre formed Walnut kit rim is somewhat over scale in terms of thickness 1.45mm against 0.5mm true scale (Steel gives the thickness at 1”.) The planking is cut away to receive the rim which then reduces it to better proportions. The Tops planked and with the station timbers (battens) that radiate across the top fixed in place I have followed Steel but made slight adjustments to allow for the top sizes. On the Fore and Main tops I have used 1.5mm wide strips and on the Mizen 1mm strips. These battens should taper down a little from the rim to the square hole. I have allowed myself a small simplification by not extending the battens across and rebated into the rim. On the subject of the rim the kit plans indicate sixteen 1mm ø holes be drilled around the rim to take the crowsfeet. Steel shows 23 such holes in the plan for a 36 gun Frigate. I did check the drawings in the 20 gun ship Blandford where Peter Goodwin shows 24 holes in the Main top. I have gone with 21 on the Fore and Main Tops and 15 on the Mizen. Here the Fore top is secured on the Dividing head to drill the holes around the rim. The 0.5mm dia drill is held in a pin vise in the collet of the miller. The crowsfeet were very fine lines ¾” circumference at full scale equating to 0.09mm ø at 1:64. The kit indicates using 0.1mm ø line which is fair enough but the 1mm ø holes are oversize. If using 0.1mm line go for the smallest hole that the line fits thro’ 0.4mm ø will do it but 0.5mm ø allows for slightly easier threading. One feature that Steel mentions are chocks for fixing swivel guns fitted each side of the tops with holes for the gun supports between the slots for the futtock plates. Made from a bit of boxwood square section the swivel chocks are grooved on the underside to fit over the battens. A metal plate will fit over the top to take the swivel supports. I have included them on the Fore and Main tops but they look a little too much on the much smaller Mizen top so I am undecided at the moment whether to fit them. The next stage will involve cleaning up the tops and working out where the slots for the blocks beneath the tops are to be positioned. This has to be done in conjunction with the crosstrees. Fitting the Trestletrees/ Crosstrees. Starting with the Fore Mast Something to consider... Because I completed the mastheads with the bands and battens before adding the Trestletrees they would not fit over the mast head which means that they can’t be assembled together with the mast top before fixing to the masthead and cheeks/Bibs. Soooo... the forward cross trees are glued to the trestletrees together with the chock and the assembly is then slid into position along the cheeks/bibs. The aft crosstree is then glued into place. – well it is after a slight hiccup of one of the arms breaking off at the mortise. Took a little fettlin’ to get the assembly to sit square on the cheeks/bibs, but got there in the end. And set aside to dry overnight. With the ‘trees’ all set the bolsters can be fixed and then attention can turn to the mast top. At this point I need to digress to consider the rigging of the Main T’Gallant Stay. The kit plan has this seized to the strop of the lead block for the Main Topmast stay which is secured around the Fore Topmast head. This is the method indicated by James Lees, and one that sorely tempted me. From Steel:- 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. This is the method suggested and favoured by David Antscherl (Vol IV) and is also the method used by Longridge on his Victory.It is unfortunately the most complex method involving both serving and splicing the legs of the span around the Trestletrees with a thimble seized in the bight of the span. 0.4mm ø scale line is appropriate. Ideally the span needs to be attached before the top is fixed to the trees, but at 1:64 scale the length of each arm of the span including the thimble is around 15mm, not much to do a lot of detailing. A trial (and a small cheat) is called for to ensure no nasty surprises later. I doubled some 0.15mm ø line before serving down to the point where it disappears between the bolsters and the top. With the thimble seized in the bight, the separate strands of each leg below the serving can be taken either side of the trestletree to be tied beneath. Having done the span I’m not sure that the legs are long enough to clear the large 5mm block to be strapped around the masthead to take the lead for the Main Topmast stay, so it will have to be re-done. Crucially using this method I will be able to get to attach it even with the mast Top fitted. Still it gave me an opportunity to use my little serving machine courtesy of Shipahoy Models. Sequence is everything in rigging, I can’t really fix the 5mm block until the shrouds are fitted as it will impede the passage of the shroud pairs over the masthead. I find that shrouds are more easily made up off the model and slipped over the head. So both the Span for the Main T’Gallant, and the lead block for the Main topmast stay will be fitted later. Back to the top. Fixed temporarily in place the line of the cross trees can be marked to assist the drilling of the slots for the blocks. In positioning the slots the station timbers have to be borne in mind. This exercise proved more than a little tiresome, quite difficult to get three holes per side let alone slots given the smallness of the tops; hanging them from eyebolts under the cross trees is a much less frustrating option. (but where would be the fun in that) I console myself with the thought that once the strops are passed through the tops and the retaining pegs are in place any deficiency in the cleanness of the slots will be hidden. (well that’s my excuse) Work will now continue to complete the Main and Mizen tops. B.E.

Detailing the Lower Mast heads Although the kit plans include representations of the iron bands that support the masthead, they do not include the masthead battens which are a simple addition to make, if a little fiddly to fit over the bands. As with everything Naval there is a set proportion for these items. The iron bands are 3” wide scaling to 1mm wide. As I am painting the mastheads these are made of card as I did with the woolding hoops. There are eight battens on the masthead and according to Steel the battens run from the stop of the hounds extending ⅗ up the head. The breadth is ⅛ of the mast ø and the thickness ½ of the breadth. I do note however that in the Swan book and on Remco’s MSW exemplary masts the battens look to extend higher than ⅗ up the head. When I trialled Steel’s proportion on the Foremast head they didn’t look as good so I fitted slightly longer ones which suited my eye better. I have used some 0.8mm x 0.5mm boxwood strip for the purpose. These are very fine at 1:64 scale and I broke a few cutting the slots on the underside to fit over the ‘iron’ bands, but got there in the end. Styrene strip would be a good alternative for this job if the Masthead is to be painted. There are two cleats that fix to the sides of the masthead thro’ which the jeer tye lashing are secured, these are yet to be made. Mast Caps In the end I decided I couldn’t live with the kit provided versions and made a couple of replacements. Over the years I have collected bits of old boxwood, this particular doner must be forty years old. Firstly I needed to cut it into useable strips on the table saw, for marking and finishing on the little miller. Cutting the square mortise in the mast cap to take the masthead tenon. The completed cap for the Foremast. At this point the topmasts have been also varnished and painted. Next job up is to fettle the Trestle/crosstrees which I have decided to keep, and make the mast tops. B.E.

Fore and Main Topmasts I had a play with the Topmasts making the spares for the Gallows but these are the ‘working’ versions. Firstly the stats. Main Topmast Length o/a 37’ 6” (178.6mm) Diameter 11¼” (4.5mm) Head of Topmast 4” for every yard of height = 50.00” (19.84mm) Hounds ⅗ of Topmast head (11.90mm) Round Block 1/7th length of lower masthead = (6mm) Heeling 2x length of block = (12mm) Fore topmast Length o/a 33’ 4” (160mm) Diameter 11¼” (4.5mm) Head of Topmast 4” for every yard of height = 44.44” (17.63mm) Hounds ⅗ of Topmast head (10.57mm) Round Block 1/7th length of lower masthead = (5.27mm) Heeling 2x length of block = (11mm) I have used these proportions with 6mm square stock. The Main and Fore Topmasts work out at considerably less than the kit plan lengths. Fore: 178mm, (Steel 160mm) Main: 192mm,(Steel 178mm) On the kit plans the Topmasts are simplified and lack such features as the Block and the Toprope sheaves. The sheaves are cut on the miller using a 0.8mm milling bit, although they can be done by hand using a scalpel. Here the lower Port side Toprope sheave set into the block. The upper Toprope sheave set in the starboard eight square section. Again this is an area where the kit arrangement is simplified to accommodate the use of dowel throughout the masting of the model. Forming the hounds on the Topmasts. The final operation is the drilling of the Fid hole in the Heeling. The Wooden fid has a length of 9mm, a depth of 2mm, and width of 1.5mm. In practice I used some 1.5mm square boxwood strip. The masthead of the topmast is not reduced to its final height until I do the T’gallant masts. Trial check of the topmasts in place. I hope to use the kit crosstrees/ trestletrees but the caps will have to be re-made. The Topmasts will be sealed with thinned varnish then a little more fine sanding before varnishing and painting. Making Topmasts is a tricky operation not least because at any time the mast can be ruined by a slip, voiding all previously completed sections. B.E.

Re visiting the Topmasts I have Re -drawn the topmasts for Pegasus based on Steel. I am Starting with the Mizen as this is the smallest of the set. These are the stats for those interested. Mizen Topmast Length o/a 26’4” (125.5mm) Diameter 7⅜” (2.9mm) Head of Topmast 3½” for every yard of height = 30.72” (12.2mm) Hounds ⅗ of Topmast head (7.32mm) Heeling = 7.0mm The Mizen is formed into a pole mast above the hounds based on 3½ x the length of the hounds (7.32mm) = 25.6mm. I have taken the o/a length of the Mizen set up as 125.5mm – 12.2mm (calculated masthead were a T’gallant to be fitted) + 25.6mm (pole mast) = 138.9mm, lets call it 140mm from Heel to Truck. Things to know about the Mizen Topmast. There is no Round Block beneath the Heeling. The Pole mast above the hounds on my build is a Common Pole head, there are longer and shorter versions. For kit purposes I am starting with 4mm square limewood. In forming the topmast consideration also has to be given to the Lower mast Cross and Trestletrees, and the mast cap. The provided mastcap is a tad on the small size. A square mortise should be cut to take the tenon on the lower masthead rather than the suggested round hole. It is a simple matter to square off the masthead mortise but the round forward hole for the topmast is too small to allow passage of the mast at around 3.8mm ø, and enlarging the hole would leave an unrealistically narrow margin around the edge. The provided cap is also too deep at 5mm. 3.5mm looks better, and accords with Steel. A new mast cap was milled out of an old boxwood rule. The difference in dimensions is clear to see. Within the overall length of 140mm there is a square heel, an Eight square section, a further tapering octagonal section at the hounds, and a pole above the stop tapering to around 2.0mm diameter beneath the truck. This has to be accommodated within an overall length of less than six inches. Having the Proxxon lathe helped a lot. A sheave is required in the Eight square section of the topmast for the topropes, and a fid hole in the heel. These were formed on the Mill. Testing the fit of the cap and the mast between the trees. Sheaves for the Running rigging. There is a confusion regarding the position of the sheave for the Mizen Topsail yard Tye. Vol IV ffm (p24) suggests it is located half the diameter of the Pole head below the tenon at the pole head. (p116) says that the Tye is taken up the front of the mast and through the sheave below the hounds. To confuse matters further the photo on the facing page appears to show the Tye passing thro’ a sheave set into the hounds of the topmast. The rigging plan drawing supplied with the book also supports this arrangement. Looking for corroborative evidence Lees has a drawing (p5) showing a Mizen (1773) with the sheave tho’ the hounds. Marquardt, Eighteenth century Rigs and Rigging says that The practice of fitting Tye sheaves in the topmasts of large ships was discontinued before the turn of the Eighteenth century, but were found on smaller ships right thro’ to the 19th century. I made the decision to place the sheave in the hounds, not least because the extra width accommodates cutting of the sheave better. The Toprope sheave in the heeling and the sheave for the topmast Tye in the Hounds can be seen in this shot. I am hoping to utilise the kit crosstrees/trestletrees to save me the effort of making them, but they are simply mocked up at this stage. One other sheave hole is noted on the Polehead; cut 1½ times the pole head diameter above the stop this is for the Mizen Staysail Halyard. P188 however indicates that the Mizen Topmast Staysail halyard reeves thro’ a block seized to the Mizen Topmast on the starboard side above the rigging at the hounds. Lees does mention a hole in the mast just above the rigging where no T’Gallant mast is carried, but given the fineness of the Pole Head I will opt for the block. Onto the ForeTopmast.... B.E.

Completing the basic masts. The Main mast I constructed earlier, but to recap I redrew the masts taking into acount the proportions given in Steel. The Foremast From Steel this scales to 267mm with a masthead height of 37mm. 8mm dowel is provided for the mast as per the Mainmast. This is in truth somewhat over-scale equating to a 20” diameter mast at the partners. Steel gives the mast diameter at 16⅜” To avoid problems of seating I am sticking with the 8mm dowel, and basing the Quarter tapers from the Foc’sle deck. As with the Main mast the square head is milled first and the taper then applied using the wood lathe. The Cheeks after 1773 extended down the mast ⅔ of the distance between the stop of the hounds and the partners. On the model this equates to a length of 153mm. somewhat longer than those indicated on the kit. Where the Bibs join the hounds is faked by scribing the line. Six wooldings are applied to the Foremast, but working out the spacing needs to be done carefully. I start with marking the woolding just below the Hounds, and the one just above the bottom of the cheeks. These are represented by 6mm wide tamiya tape applied to the mast. The intervening space is then centred, another woolding is marked, and the centres either side of that one marked. I thus end up with five evenly spaced wooldings between the hounds and the cheek ends. The final woolding can then be applied the even distance below. The Mizen Mast. This is the most straightforward of the lower masts, no cheeks and only one woolding. It also has the most rake so the top line level of the hounds/bibs needs to be checked carefully. From the partners (Upper deck) to the mast head is 48’. The scale equivalent is some 8.6mm longer than the kit plans. The diameter of the mizen at the partners is 12” equivalent to 4.76mm at scale so the 6mm dowel is somewhat oversize. I have gone with this but have applied the taper at the quarters from the QD and it looks good to my eye. As with the other masts Ramin was substituted for the kit walnut dowel. The hounds/bibs were re-made using boxwood sheet. Although some contemporary models show several wooldings on the Mizen, (the Atalanta shows four) and Lees suggests three, David Antcherl shows only one on the Mizen just below the hounds.This accords with the details contained in Steel. To save myself some work I have decided upon just the one. A few pics to show the overall state of play as of today. The basic masts are now complete and I can go back to finishing the Mastheads and progress to the Mast tops and Trestletree/Crosstree assembly. B.E.

Wooldings – working out a strategy at 1:64 scale. I have reached the point where I need to attend to this part of dressing the masts. I haven’t woolded a mast since around 1990 and the years have taken a toll on my eyes and dexterity, so the exercise proved somewhat frustrating with more than a few re-starts. I use Dr Anderson’s method as indicated in his Rigging of ships book. This is also the method advocated by David Antscherl in his Swan book. 2½” circ line is appropriate which scales to 0.3mm dia line. I will be using 0.25mm dyed Amati line for the purpose. Much of my rigging will be done using Morope but for this particular exercise natural fibres are more easily manipulated, lie better, and trim more easily without the application of ca to prevent unravelling of the line. Woolding hoops I had initially decided upon using 1mm square boxwood stringing reduced to 0.6mm profile. Soaked in warm water and manipulated between the fingers I managed to get a reasonable success rate as far as the curved sections between the cheeks, but the application at 1:64 scale proved very testing, both in the sense of getting clean lines and keeping the ca off the masts and wooldings whilst fitting. I came to realise that to persevere with the stringing method would prove a very long and frustrating exercise with perhaps variable results in the end. I did think about styrene as I had used on the Bowsprit, but the glue issue would be the same and it would then present a tricky paint job on the hoops. My revised method now consists of using strips of thin card taken from a Manilla folder. More easily applied, conforms to the required shape, and stick easily using pva. It is also a near colour match to the masts. The conformation around the hoops can be seen here. The completed hoops prior to varnishing. It has taken a full day to woold and hoop the Mainmast. A few completion insitu shots. Back to constructing the Foremast.... B.E.

I have started to construct the Main mast in accordance with the dimension given by Steel, but I am bedevilled by the warping of the Birch dowel I have. I am pressing on with a trial mast to gauge how it might look, and to fine tune my approach to the construction. The overall length has been cut to Steel’s dimension and tapered as directed. The quarters are marked on a card to constantly check the taper. The Main Lower mast is too long to fit between the chuck and tail stock so I have to reverse it to complete the work. With the taper done, the mast head is formed using a scalpel to square off and taper the head. The Cheeks which on the revised plan are 20mm longer than on the kit plan are cut from some boxwood sheet, and the mast is squared off where they fit on the sides. A first check to gauge the height from the partners The white card gives a comparison with the kit height of the mast from the partners. Effectively with Steel’s measurements the difference is a mast head height equivalent. There is definitely a warp in the dowel but I will progress the mast a little further by adding the cheeks and bibbs, and marking the woolding positions. The search carries on for some warp free dowel. In my seemingly endless quest to find some straight stuff I ordered Ramin dowel from Westbourne Model Centre, and glory be when it arrived it was true. Pale in colour, fine of grain, just what I required. On the basis of why keep a dog and bark yourself I had used the time whilst waiting practising forming the square sections on dowel using my new milling machine . Milling square profiles out of dowel worked a treat, far less hit and miss than doing it by hand as on my test piece. With the dowel cut to length and tapered again by reference to the Quarters, the final part was to form a tapered flat on the sides to take the Cheeks. Tamiya tape was used to mark the outline of the cheeks on the mast for flatting off. The cheeks were cut from boxwood sheet and pva’d to the mast. The top line of the hounds need to be cut horizontal, allowing for any rake of the mainmast and to keep the Main top level with the waterline. There is only a very slight rake to the kit mainmast so adjustment is minimal. The Bibs. On the kit the Bibs are pre shaped walnut ply and in fact combine the upper part of the cheeks ie the Hounds and the bibs. In reality the cheeks thickened out at the top to form the hounds which were then scored to take the bibs which are extensions to support the trestletrees. I cut a simpler shape of combined bib/hounds out of boxwood sheet and scored and marked the pattern to indicate where the bibs attached. These were then simply glued at the hounds top level. Tamiya tape is used to check the positions of the wooldings with the mast in place. This is not far off the scale depth of the wooldings which at 12” is equal to 5mm. The next stage will be to varnish the masts and begin what I suspect will be the long process of attaching the woolding hoops. B.E.

The Lower Masts The masts on Pegasus as per the plan are ok, but lack a bit of refinement and may be a tad heavy. There are things that can be done to tweak them a little and give them a slightly better authenticity. If you want to see what Swan masts should look like you need look no further than Remco’s fine build on MSW. I hasten to add that I don’t think I will get anywhere close to his standard of artistry, but I hope to improve things over the basic kit arrangement. I had intended to make the lower masts out of lime wood dowel but with the lengths involved the dowel seemed a bit flexible, and I wasn’t sure that it would remain straight and true. I re-ordered some birch dowel, still ok for colour but a bit stronger. In the meantime I will play with the lime wood to work out my strategy. The ground rules according to Steel The Main mast height is determined by adding the length of the lowerdeck and extreme breadth together, the half is the length of the main-mast. The Foremast is 8/9th of the Main Mast height The Mizen mast is ¾ of the Main mast height. The head of the Main and Fore masts is calculated as 5 inches to every yard of the mast's length. The head of the Mizen-mast, and Main and Fore topmasts, 4 inches to every yard of the length. Steel gives in his tables the length of the masts and the diameters at the partners. Dimensions for a Sloop of 300 tons. Foremast Steel given length 56.0' scale equivalent @1:64 266.7mm Kit Plan 269.0mm Main Mast Steel given length 63.0' scale equivalent @1:64 300.0mm Kit Plan 303.0mm Mizzen Mast Steel given length 48.0' scale equivalent @1:64 228.6mm Kit Plan 252.0mm Mastheads Kit Plan Fore 7' 9" 36.9mm 39,0mm Main 8' 9" 41.7mm 42.0mm Mizen 5' 4" 25.4mm 29.0mm For the kit model the mast height above the partners is the important dimension as the below decks length is not to scale. The partners are taken at the Upper deck level First job will be to draft out a modified mast plan and see how it looks in a mock up. Re-drawing the lower masts. The main mast From Steel the mast height is given at 63’.0 with a dia of 18⅜” so I have an overall scale height of 300mm. The diameter scales to 7.3mm slightly less than the provided 8mm dowel. I have decided to accept this slight discrepancy and stick with the 8mm ø dowel. The mast is divided into quarters from the partners using the ratios 60/61. 14/15. 6/7 . This effectively gives a taper from the partners at 8mm to 6.85mm at the stop of the hounds( bottom level of the masthead). The masthead on the basis of 5” per yard of the masts length scales to 63 ÷ 3 x 5” = 8’ 9” at scale =42mm. This is marked on the plan. The masthead is interesting because it is wider athwartships than in the fore aft direction. The lower end of the head is the same as the 3rd quarter athwartships ie 6.85mm. The fore/aft width is ¾ of the partners dia = 6mm. at scale. The Upper end of the head is 5/8th of the partners dia =5mm. The hounds which effectively are the top part of the cheeks are given at 2/3 the length of the masthead equating to 28mm. The Cheeks. According to Lees post 1773 cheeks came 2/3 way down between the hounds and the partners and were half the mast ø in width at the bottom end. I have taken this to mean the distance between the partners and the Stop of the Hounds. Checking with the cheek lengths on the kit plan they don’t seem to meet any of the criteria given by Lees Front Fish. Lees mentions masts being made with a front fish from around 1773, the length is taken from the stop of the hounds to within a foot or two from the upper deck. Fishes aren’t shown on the Atalanta model, and David Antscherl doesn’t include them in his tffm books. However I have seen them on contemporary models, some quite a while earlier than 1773. The jury is still out on this one The Wooldings , according to Lees smaller ships had an average of six on the mainmast, five on the foremast, and three on the Mizen. The ffm indicates seven on the mainmast six on the Foremast and none on the Mizen. I note that contemporary models show both examples, with the Swan models showing three on the Mizen. I am inclined to go with six on the Main mast, five on the Foremast and I’m leaning towards three on the Mizen, but no need to make that decision just yet. The wooldings were of 12” in depth = to 5mm at scale with hoops top and bottom of 0.6mm depth. So with the plan drawn I can mock up a mast to the given dimensions and see how well it satisfies my eye. Time to cut some wood. B.E.

Spare Topmasts These were also done earlier in the build as they rest upon the Gallows and Foc'sle rail of the ship. The topmasts are the most complicated masts to make because tapering rounds, square, and octagonal sections are involved. Two spare topmasts are required to fit on the gallows so making these seems a good place to start. I will be using 6mm square stock to make the masts, and then round off and taper for the main length of the mast. Steel’s ratios Main Topmast = 3/5th of lower mast Fore Topmast = 8/9th of Main Topmast Mizen Topmast = 5/7 th of main Topmast Steel’s given dimensions Fore 33’ 4” (158.75mm at scale) Kit plan = 178mm Main 37’ 6” (178.59mm at scale) Kit plan = 192mm Mizen 26’ 9” (127.39mm at scale) Kit plan = 124mm* *Plus pole mast 51mm. Looking at the kit mast plans two things strike my eye immediately. Firstly there is no block below the heeling, and between the heeling and the Lower mast cap the profile of the topmast is shown as square but of a narrower section than either the heeling or the round section above it. The heeling is built up using spare strip to turn the round into a square. In terms of the various ratios of one part of a mast to another the kit dimensions are at variance with the Steel data:- The Block = 1/7th the length of the Lower Masthead The Heeling = Twice the length of the Block. The Hounds = 4/5th the length of the Head. The Head = 1/10th of the Mast Length The first action is to redraw the masts to take into account the shape differences, and then transfer the dimensions to the square stock. A ‘V’ jig is very necessary for mast making. I think it is easier to make topmasts using square stock, rather than try to square off dowel or build it up to represent the square and octagonal sections. The lines are transferred to the square strip and the mast is then formed using scalpel and chisel blades to form the octagon shapes. Fitted in the lathe the round tapering part of the mast is formed. The non round areas are clear of the chuck and protected where the round starts. At this point I introduce my second new toy... I know absolutely nothing about Milling and Milling machines but youtube and a little book with the catchy title of The Milling Machine got me started sufficiently to cut the toprope sheaves in the masts. Cutting the toprope sheaves in the block using a 1mm straight bit. The completed masts in the raw. Sheaves cut for finishing. Head of masts with the hounds shaped. Completed spare Topmasts. I have not made masts to this level of detail before and making the spare topmasts has allowed me to work out the best approach to take. Not sure these two are good enough for the actual masts, but practice makes perfect and eventually I may even replace these spares on the gallows as my skill level hopefully improves. A word on the timber. I am using Lime wood, I like this because it is virtually grain free, carves very easily, and being of a whitish colour allows for a colour finish of choice. The main downside of Lime is that it is fairly soft and can be more difficult to get a sharp edge on say octagonal profiles. I did look at Beech as an alternative; a little harder, a reasonable colour, but too grainy for the scale involved. I don’t like mahogany because of the dark colour which doesn’t appeal and would require painting rather than varnishing to get a paler colour I seek. I will use mahogany for the yards as they are blackened. I quite like and have used Birch dowels previously for lower masts but it is not supplied in sufficient square section sizes to make topmasts. In place on the Gallows Just to see the effect, a boat I made for Pickle but did not use. B.E.

The beginning In preparation for the masting I have invested in a brand new toy. My old Mantua wood turning lathe died on me a while ago, but this proxxon is in a different class, quiet, smooth, and a pleasure to work with. The Bowsprit A good place to start, not least because until the gammoning is fixed I can’t complete the headwork finishing touches. It is also a good exercise to get into mast making. Bowsprit Modifications I have put aside the provided walnut dowel in favour of Lime wood which I can colour to suit myself. Having achieved the basic spar dimensions the bowsprit has to be squared at the outer end, rebates cut to take the Bees, and the tenon for the cap cut. BEES The kit provided Bees are simple Walnut affairs with slots to take the Fore topmast and preventer stays. There is no mention of the Bee blocks that sit beneath the Bees and contain the sheaves for the Fore topmast stays. Steel is quite expansive on the subject of the Bowsprit fittings, and I followed his lead. The Bowsprit Cap I dispensed with the provided cap because the holes for the bowsprit and Jib Boom were central to the cap and made no allowance for the Jack Staff. Bowsprit caps were slightly wider on the starboard side of the mortise for the bowsprit and hole for the Jib boom, to allow for this. I scratched a cap from an old boxwood ruler courtesy once again of Mr Rabone. The main complication for the cap holes is that they have to follow the stive of the bowsprit so the holes have to be angled at the correct degree so that the cap sits vertical to the keel when viewed from the side. Angled inserts were put in the vice to give the correct stive before drilling. The kit instructions rather gloss over this simply saying that the Cap should be 90 degrees to the keel, but as the provided piece has pre drilled vertical holes it would present a problem in then trying to angle the holes without eating excessively into the surrounding woodwork. The scratched cap, bees, jib saddle, and Woolding hoops. I made the hoops from styrene strip for this particular woolding as all will be painted black. This feature does not appear in the kit instructions. The Jackstaff in place now you can see why the cap is wider on the Starboard side. There is no provision in the kit for a Jackstaff. At the other end the Gammoning cleats have to be fitted. To mark their position a temporary line is fed thro’ the slot with the line restrained at the aft end of the slot. The line has to be vertical to the keel. The faces of the cleats are angled to meet the run of the line. Jib Boom I cut this from 4mm Lime wood square stock because the inner end of the boom should be octagonal, the remainder of the boom was then rounded on the lathe and the necking formed at the end. In shaping Octagons it helps to make a little ‘V’ jig to hold the timber section in the right position for planing Two other points not indicated on the kit plans; there should be sheaves set into the boom at the inner and outer ends and a hole at the inner end to facilitate the heel lashing. The Jib boom is blackened from the inner end to the cap and thence varnished. This shot also shows the woolding of the Bowsprit and the lead cover for the spritsail yard slings. With the Jib boom completed the bowsprit is fixed and the gammoning applied. Bowsprit Gammoning 0.6mm dia line is used for the Gammoning; it is important to ensure that enough line is taken to complete the turns and frapping. In the case of my Pegasus I allowed 40” to complete the job. In applying the gammoning to Pegasus there seems to be a difference in the application of the frapping between the Longridge account for Victory and the Antscherl account for rigging a Swan. With Longridge the frapping is taken around the outside of the gammoning and is then seized to itself. With Antscherl the frapping goes around and then crosses between the two verticals of the gammoning before being hitched through the last two turns. Steel makes reference to cross turns of the frapping so this is the method I have adopted. When all the turns are passed, and hove tight, they are frapped together in the middle, by as many cross turns as are passed over the bowsprit, each turn hove tight: the end of the gammoning rope is then whipt, and seized to one of the turns. The frapping increases the tension; and adds to the security acquired by the purchase. The Gammoning is Morope line which has great definition but is a little more time consuming to work with. Rather than buy black line for the standing rigging I prefer to dye it myself using Colron Jacobean dark Oak wood stain which gives a more scale black and over time fades to a dark brown/black, more in keeping with Stockholm Tar. Fitting of the Bowsprit and up to this stage was actually done earlier in the build as it needed to be done before the Headworks were completed (see posts 73-75 in the first part of the build) As I fiddled around the Bowsprit area much later in the build I suddenly realised I had forgotten to fit a Bowsprit saddle, the fairlead that carries some of the rigging lines from the jib. It wasn't too problematical even at that stage to retro fit, but would have been better fitted at this point so I include here as an amendment. A card template to gauge the fit over the Bowsprit and a suitable bit of Boxwood out of the scrap box to make the saddle. The Saddle sits just forward of the Bowsprit Gammoning. B.E.

Index of subjects PEGASUS Masting and Rigging LOG INDEX SUBJECT PAGE Post No. SUBJECT PAGE Post No. Masting and Rigging Index Part Two Four 111 Bowsprit Modifications 112 Fore yard Jeer Tye falls. Seven 204 Spare Topmasts 113 Main Yard completion 205 The Lower Masts 114 The Crossjack Yard 206 Wooldings – 116 The Gaff 207 Bibs 115 Topmast Yards 208 Mizen Topmast 114 Parrels 209 Fore and Main Topmasts Five 121 Main Topmast Yard. Seven 210 Detailing the Lower Mast heads 123 Mizen Topsail Yard Eight 211 Mast Tops 124 Topmast Tyes. 212.214 The Mizen Top dimensions? 125 Main yard clue garnets 216 Scratching a new Mizen Top. 127 Main Course Buntlines Mk11. 217 Re-visiting the Caps. 130 Foreyard clue garnets 218 Topmast Caps and Trestletrees 132 Main Sheets. 219 mast head trucks 133 Yard Tackle Pendants and falls 220 Lower Yards. 134 Yard brace pendants 221 Footrope Stirrups 136. 146. Main Brace Falls 223 Driver Boom or no Driver Boom? 137 Fore and Main T'gallant yards 225 Topsail Yards 138 Main T'gallant Shrouds and stay 226 Studding booms. 140 Lashing the Studding Booms 228 Stunsail boom brackets and rings 140 Bowsprit and Jib rigging 229 Block stropping - 142 Jibboom 230 Fiddle blocks 148 Bowsprit Horses 231 Rigging Attachments for the Bowsprit. 149.151. Jib Stay 233 closed hearts Five 150 Anchor rigging 234 Stays, Collars, and hearts. Six 154 Adorning the Cat head 236 Yard tackle pendants 155 Main Stay - tackles. 237 Topsail sheet block 156 Anchor buoys 238 Rigging the Foreyard 157 The Spritsail Yard Eight 239 Swivel gun mounts for the Tops 158 Mizen Topsail Yard Braces Nine 242 Pendants of Tackles 159 Vangs 242 Stepping Masts Mizen shrouds 161 Main Sheets 243 The Mizen Stay. 162 Main Brace Falls 243 The Main Shrouds 170 Main Tack 243 The Main Stay 172 The Fore Sheets 244 The Fore Shrouds 176 The Fore Tacks 244 Futtock Staves 178 Stanchions,misc items 245 Ratline application Six 180 Swinging Studding Booms 245 Fitting out the mast tops Seven 181 Making Ensigns. 246 Topmast deadeyes and Catharpins 186 Fitting Ensigns 247 Fore and Main Futtock shrouds 187 A base for Pegasus 261 Rigging the Jeers. 192 Thoughts about Pegasus 271 Mast top Rails 193 Completion Photo's Ten 286 Euphroes and Crowsfeet 194 Pegasus Topmast Rigging 196 Topmast Ratlines 199 Mizen Topmast Stay 200 Fitting the Fore Yard 201 Main Topmast stays 202 Main topmast backstays 203

Masting and Rigging of Pegasus. This is my opening post of the reconstructed log covering the Masting and rigging stage of my Pegasus Build. It was originally started on 29th January 2013. Throughout the mast making phase I refer to Steel and make comparisons with the kit dimensions. B.E.