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Moonbug

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Everything posted by Moonbug

  1. Moonbug
    Good observation Marktime - I'm using the proper size, and the same fabric as the other sails. But maybe there's an opportunity to 'roll' it a little cleaner to furl it so it's not quite as bulky. The good news is - by rigging it down prior to furling, I should be able to loose it, and re-try it at some point without it being too much of a struggle. We shall see. - Bug
  2. Moonbug
    Good morning, Pushing through the running rigging - on to the main mast. A bit more complicated parrel on this guy of course. Like the others, it's bound in the front of the mast with two looped ropes running through one another and secured. This apparently gave the rig the opportunity to loosen and tighten - which I suspect is needed to get over the rope wraps around the main mast itself. Hoisted with two lines attached to the yard, then up through the crow's nest and through the two sheaves. The line that secures the parrel is dropped down and secured at the base of the mast with a coil of rope. This initial coil of rope is a bit haphazard - but gave me an inspiration for what will be most of the rope coils of the ship. As it's an aged "working" ship, I'm going to go with "messy coils" instead of the clean and uniform look of the coils on the San Juan. Hopefully this will give it an underway look and not appear disorganized. As with the other sails and yards, I fully rigged the main sail before furling it. I followed closely the Pastor diagrams, and this was super fun. It did however - for the first time - make me second guess my choice of furling the sails for a few moments. So I included a few photos of the sail down before it was finally furled. You'll notice in the one shot a bottle of white "Scenic" glue. I used this a lot when I did train sets, etc. It's a diluted white glue that - as it turns out - works wonderfully for coiled ropes, and other types of rigging. It's not thick, and provides what is ultimately a very delicate adhesion. However, it dries very clear and does not appear to discolor the rigging after it dries. Finally, somewhat regretfully, I furled the sails. You'll also notice in the last photo that I have the rear deck raised. I'm going to figure out a small rigging system to be able to raise and lower that as needed. Obviously not something that was on the original vessel. *laff*
  3. Moonbug
    Looking good my friend. Another option for your window coverings may be lighting diffusion material or gels for photography / videography. It's relatively inexpensive and can be found at camera stores or websites. It also comes in a very wide variety of thickness and "cloudiness" so may have several options. Here are just a couple examples of what I have in my equipment room. -Bug
  4. Moonbug
    Good afternoon Don, On the holes in them masts / sheaves: It's clear in several areas that the tops of the fore and mizzen masts are sheaves - either added on top or built into the mast. It wasn't as clear for the topsail, but I assumed so for consistency, as well as the fact that it likely made it much easier to hoist the yard. Great question. It's definitely not easier, and can be a bit tedious, particularly when you're rigging single blocks together to form a pulley. I do it because one of the references that I've referred to is the 15th Century Mataro Model discovered in a church in Spain. Even though it's just a model - it's a pretty accurate model from that time frame, so it's been the inspiration for aspects of the Santa Maria and other ships of the time - based on the fundamental lack of information of the time. At any rate - in Xavier Pastor's book, he references several Mataro aspects and how his perspective may or may not differ. While Pastor goes with traditional blocks, I've chosen the Mataro version here: Thanks! - Bug
  5. Moonbug
    Good morning, Wrapped up the rigging on the topsail. Pretty basic stuff here. I drilled a hole in the topsail mast, then took a 2mm dowel, filed out grooves, and cut off a piece as a pulley / sheave. My parrel is much more basic than the other masts of course. Then the yard is hoisted through the sheave. The rest is your basic yard / sail rigging.
  6. Moonbug
    Thanks Don, appreciate the comment. And thanks marktime - no pressure. -Bug
  7. Moonbug
    Thanks Popeye, Marktime! Marktime - Good eye! Yes, you're correct. That was a definite challenge for sure - they are indeed a bit bigger than should be. At the same time - the clews sewed into the sails are a little larger than they should be also. So it's become a matter of toggles that stay put in the clews, as well as stay a reasonable size compared to the blocks. And my fat fingers were a little factor as well. :-) Those toggles are going to be something I take another look at though during the "finishing touches" phase. - Bug
  8. Moonbug
    Good morning Matt - concur with Mark - particularly with regard to the coloring / aging. Very nice. - Bug
  9. Moonbug
    More Rigging - the Foremast. Rigging the masts (somewhat out of order) based on Pastor's book required a bit more preplanning. I did quite a bit when I laid out where the rails and cleats would go, but there was still some interesting challenges when it came to rigging in and around each of the masts. It also got a little sketchy in terms of furling the sails. So my methodology was to rig them down, then actually use the rigging to raise them, then furl them. Challenging, but fun. I created the parrels for the foremast, then attached and raised it using the pulley I built at the top of the foremast. Which I then tied off on the railing of the foredeck. I'm going to go back and put a coil of rope every place a rig is tied off, but I went ahead and did this one now so I could get an idea of what the coils would look like. I attached the bridles and bowlines to a ring. There is some indication that these were attached to blocks instead of rings in some cases. In fact, there is a bit of conflicting information - about a 50/50 split on either rings or blocks. Probably a captain's choice. But this captain thinks that the rings look good - and I like the differentiation. The other thing I liked is the sheets and tacks attached to the clew with little toggles. Loved the way this ended up and looked. It also provided me with some great flexibility when it came to actually rigging the sails. Then here are some generic shots of the rigging, first with the sail down - then after it had been furled.
  10. Moonbug
    And as an added bonus, a shot of the shipyard. Notice to the right, is my 11 year old daughter's little car kit. She enjoys hanging out with Dad working as well. I've started her addiction early...
  11. Moonbug
    Good evening ladies & gents. Here are a few photos of updates to the rigging on the bowsprit. Nothing super mysterious here, just following the illustrations from Pastor's book.
  12. Moonbug
    Thanks Joe, I really appreciate the comments. I've contemplated many times investing in some of the power necessities - particularly a lathe and a drill press. There's definitely a trade off with using the basic tools. I don't get the same uniformity that I otherwise wood, and that I see a lot of. But at the same time, I also feel like I get a distinctive "hand crafted" look that ultimately appeals to me. So what was at first a limitation based on space / economics, etc, became a style that I now rather enjoy. Thanks again for checking out the log! - Bug
  13. Moonbug
    Hey John, just catching up. SUPER surprised and how nice and clean your work is... NOT. ;-) Great work as always. You've almost convinced me to go completely scratch on my next build. -Bug
  14. Moonbug
    Them's some mighty nice doors you have there. Any chance you can come by my house, I'm in need of an upgrade. -Bug
  15. Moonbug
    Nice looking work Joe - particularly with the deck planking. I ran into the same issues (of course) during my Swift build - in that it represents what is essentially a fictional vessel. I used that as an opportunity to make some necessary adjustments to the AL kit - as well as include a few embellishments that may have steered beyond what a small Pilot Boat of the time may have had. Incidentally - I also had to manufacture a few parts and change the rigging around, as (as you have found) AL's kit wasn't particularly intuitive in some areas. - Bug
  16. Moonbug
    Thanks Marktime! I'm working on the fore now, and definitely trying my best to duplicate the tackle, etc for hoisting. I've mounted the sails as though they were full, then I'm trying to use the tackle to furl them. A bit tricky, and definitely not smooth - but gives me a little check to see if I'm on the right track when they're furled. Next up is the main (realizing I'm rigging out of the typical order) - but here are a couple other shots of the knighthead as a teaser.
  17. Moonbug
    Good afternoon Ian, Just now stumbling upon your build. Very nice indeed. I'm envious of your skill with the drill press & other tools. I'm looking forward to continuing to follow it. Additionally - really love the idea of using your grandfather's rule to build some of the deck fixtures. What a classy touch! - Bug
  18. Moonbug
    Here is a look at some of the mizzen rigging that I've done recently. Well, first - here are the sails. I soaked them in tea to color and age them. I wasn't sure at the time if I was going to have them down or furled. Had I gone with the former, I'd have likely evened out the color a bit more. At any rate, I've since decided this will be my first build with fully furled sails. It should also be noted that I've removed the weird, ugly green "rope" that AL loves to use on their sails - and replaced it with more natural looking ropes. Even furled, they should be a bit more accurate. I created the parrels on my own. I'll likely rough them up a bit later during the final detail phase. I've rigged the parrels using Pastor's method - looping the rigging then securing it with two blocks and securing it to the ship via railing. Similarly, after going back and forth on several different methods of securing the standing rigging for the mizzen and foremast, I settled on two blocks. This is outlined in several places, but it is certainly not definitive. It does however fit the time period, so I'm comfortable with it. Then finally, the rigging on the ends of the mizzen. The ropes tied off to the deck will ultimately be masked a bit with coils of rope.
  19. Moonbug
    Hello all, Been working steadfastly on rigging, and in particularly hauling the yards. Always fun for me, as I relish the details. I'll have photos soon, I promise. :-) Also - this is the first time I've decided to rig with the sails completely furled, so that's presenting it's own little challenging bits. - Bug
  20. Moonbug
    Nicely done Popeye, well "winged"! - Bug
  21. Moonbug
    Hello Shipcarpenter, Just now coming across your build. Very nicely done. Great job on the small fixtures, and a very interesting take on the finishing. Congratulations on a fine build! - Bug
  22. Moonbug
    Btw, Marktime - I still often go back and refer to your build. Always a bit bummed that I can't scroll through the original build log. :-) - Bug
  23. Moonbug
    Thanks for the warm comments everyone! And yes Daniel, it's often my favorite part. I get lost in those little details sometimes. As you must also - clearly. In fact, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't bother me (too much) when I work for hours on a tiny piece only to over-sand it and have to start over. :-) Btw - love seeing the Colorado crowd growing! - Bug
  24. Moonbug
    I decided that the stern lantern on the Santa Maria was an opportunity for me to get a little more elaborate than was likely actually on the ship. I started by having Chuck send me one of his Stern Lantern Kits so I wouldn't have to manufacture the little bits on my own. Then I stained and prepped the pieces. I put the basic pieces together, then started the modification process. I based my idea on a lantern I saw from one of the Russian model builders. I used thin wire and wrapped to pieces together to create a "roped" look, then filed down and flattened one side. I glued these pieces to the corners of the lantern. I painted and rubbed the lantern black, and used parts of brass nails to create the door handle and hinges. Then I chopped off the ends of straight pins and mounted them on the top of the lamp to create "pillars" that extend above the lamp. Finally, I used a 3mm wide brass strip and filed it down to create the cross on the top.
  25. Moonbug
    Thanks Popeye and Kostas! I've been traveling a bit again lately, but ready to get back to the shipyard soon! - Bug

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