David Lester

Good Morning,
I'm now getting very close to the finish line for the running rigging. I've been working my way through it, step by step without any real problems (except for a couple of my own making.) The plans are excellent and it really couldn't be more straightforward.
 
Boom and gaff -


 
The lifts -

Many times when I return to the model, I look at what I did previously and think "Were you on drugs? What were you thinking?"  In this case, for reasons I don't understand I had placed the lower yard lift blocks near the aft side of the mast cap and not the fore side. So I had to fix that in situ, but otherwise smooth sailing.

Clews, tacks, sheets and bow lines all added next - 

I'm now working on the braces. The spritsail yard braces are in place and here are the blocks attached to the main stay for the lower fore braces -

I did run into a complication with the spritsail yard braces that a bit of foresight on my part would have avoided. One of the nice things about well drawn plans is that they show each component of the rigging in isolation so it's quite clear where each line originates, its path and where it terminates. However, this also makes it easy to forget that in actuality you end up with a tight concentration of lines and blocks in a very small area, such as under the mast top.
 
In the picture below, you can see that the spritsail brace (#49) runs through two blocks underneath the mast top. They are actually double blocks which the brace shares with the clew line #29 in the second picture.

 

I had previously attached the clew line and belayed it and as a result those two blocks no longer had much range of movement. When I went to add the brace, it was almost impossible to thread it through the second block. The area was dense with shrouds, futtock shrouds and many other lines running down. It was difficult to even find the block, let alone identify the clear path through it. I tried approaching it from the front and from the rear, but the same problem arose either way. In the end I cut the clew line, freeing the blocks and then I could manipulate them sufficiently to get both the brace line through as well as the new clew line. 
 
All I needed to have done was either not belay the clew line until after I had the brace line in place or possibly have added the brace line much earlier in the process and just let it rest there until I was ready to fully install it later.
 
Just a minor frustration that I will take note of for the future.
 
Other than that, the running rigging is progressing very easily (largely due to the excellent drawings) and when the braces are complete, it will be done. Then all that remains is to add rope coils, the anchors and the boat and to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office!
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

Good Morning,
Time for an update. I have pretty much finished the standing rigging. I don't really have too much comment to make as it all went very routinely.
 
Topmast shrouds in place -

Ratlines - I have always used black thread in the past for the ratlines, but the instructions here called for natural thread to be stained afterwards. Does anyone know why that would be? Is natural thread inherently better for ratlines than black thread? In any case, I decided to give it a go. I used India ink to colour them.

I decided to try to make my own mouses (mice?) for the forestays. I started with a 1/8" dowel and drilled about a 1mm hole into the end of it. Then I started paring the wood away with an xacto knife, sanded it smooth and then cut it off.
 



Once I was happy enough with the tension, I glued and trimmed all the lines -




 
So next up is the lower yards.
 
David
 
 
 
 

Good Morning,
I'm now getting very close to the finish line for the running rigging. I've been working my way through it, step by step without any real problems (except for a couple of my own making.) The plans are excellent and it really couldn't be more straightforward.
 
Boom and gaff -


 
The lifts -

Many times when I return to the model, I look at what I did previously and think "Were you on drugs? What were you thinking?"  In this case, for reasons I don't understand I had placed the lower yard lift blocks near the aft side of the mast cap and not the fore side. So I had to fix that in situ, but otherwise smooth sailing.

Clews, tacks, sheets and bow lines all added next - 

I'm now working on the braces. The spritsail yard braces are in place and here are the blocks attached to the main stay for the lower fore braces -

I did run into a complication with the spritsail yard braces that a bit of foresight on my part would have avoided. One of the nice things about well drawn plans is that they show each component of the rigging in isolation so it's quite clear where each line originates, its path and where it terminates. However, this also makes it easy to forget that in actuality you end up with a tight concentration of lines and blocks in a very small area, such as under the mast top.
 
In the picture below, you can see that the spritsail brace (#49) runs through two blocks underneath the mast top. They are actually double blocks which the brace shares with the clew line #29 in the second picture.

 

I had previously attached the clew line and belayed it and as a result those two blocks no longer had much range of movement. When I went to add the brace, it was almost impossible to thread it through the second block. The area was dense with shrouds, futtock shrouds and many other lines running down. It was difficult to even find the block, let alone identify the clear path through it. I tried approaching it from the front and from the rear, but the same problem arose either way. In the end I cut the clew line, freeing the blocks and then I could manipulate them sufficiently to get both the brace line through as well as the new clew line. 
 
All I needed to have done was either not belay the clew line until after I had the brace line in place or possibly have added the brace line much earlier in the process and just let it rest there until I was ready to fully install it later.
 
Just a minor frustration that I will take note of for the future.
 
Other than that, the running rigging is progressing very easily (largely due to the excellent drawings) and when the braces are complete, it will be done. Then all that remains is to add rope coils, the anchors and the boat and to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office!
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

Hi Dave,
I can't answer your questions specifically, and personally, I don't worry about such things too much as I tend to paint my models. However, have you discovered Tom Lauria's series of youtube videos. They're all excellent, but he has one specifically on choosing and finishing wood so that it mimics the real thing, yet keeping the grain in scale for the model. He also feels that the finish is an important part of scale and that even a too thick coat of varnish can look over scale. One area where I have adapted his technique to a degree is on my decks. I like my decks to be gray, and as he shows, a good effect can be achieved by using watered down acrylic paint, rather than stain, to get the colour you want and then rubbing it with a paper towel. It gives a very nice look with a soft sheen. Even a lowly basswood deck can look ok with this technique. Here is my Niagara:
 
 
That's black, white, a little brown and a little yellow mixed into a very watery mixture, then rubbed with a paper towel. I think it gives a fairly natural representation of a real deck.
David
 
Here's the link to Tom's video:
 
 

Hi Dave,
I can't answer your questions specifically, and personally, I don't worry about such things too much as I tend to paint my models. However, have you discovered Tom Lauria's series of youtube videos. They're all excellent, but he has one specifically on choosing and finishing wood so that it mimics the real thing, yet keeping the grain in scale for the model. He also feels that the finish is an important part of scale and that even a too thick coat of varnish can look over scale. One area where I have adapted his technique to a degree is on my decks. I like my decks to be gray, and as he shows, a good effect can be achieved by using watered down acrylic paint, rather than stain, to get the colour you want and then rubbing it with a paper towel. It gives a very nice look with a soft sheen. Even a lowly basswood deck can look ok with this technique. Here is my Niagara:
 
 
That's black, white, a little brown and a little yellow mixed into a very watery mixture, then rubbed with a paper towel. I think it gives a fairly natural representation of a real deck.
David
 
Here's the link to Tom's video:
 
 

Hi Dave,
I can't answer your questions specifically, and personally, I don't worry about such things too much as I tend to paint my models. However, have you discovered Tom Lauria's series of youtube videos. They're all excellent, but he has one specifically on choosing and finishing wood so that it mimics the real thing, yet keeping the grain in scale for the model. He also feels that the finish is an important part of scale and that even a too thick coat of varnish can look over scale. One area where I have adapted his technique to a degree is on my decks. I like my decks to be gray, and as he shows, a good effect can be achieved by using watered down acrylic paint, rather than stain, to get the colour you want and then rubbing it with a paper towel. It gives a very nice look with a soft sheen. Even a lowly basswood deck can look ok with this technique. Here is my Niagara:
 
 
That's black, white, a little brown and a little yellow mixed into a very watery mixture, then rubbed with a paper towel. I think it gives a fairly natural representation of a real deck.
David
 
Here's the link to Tom's video:
 
 

Hi guys, thanks for all your comments. Just getting to them now, as I have been away for the week at the Habitat for Humanity Canada national conference. (I'm the local affiliate chairperson.) It felt both good and unsettling at the same time to be meeting again in a large group.
 
Tom - I have noticed the boat you're referring too. Maybe next time.
Derek - I am definitely using black ratlines next time too.
Thanks again,
David

Good Morning,
Just a brief update this morning. I've attached all the yards -
 
Lower yards - jeers and trusses


For the trusses, I used these small cast bullseyes from Bluejacket. I'm a big fan of them and I like to keep a supply of them on hand. They come in several different sizes, but I really like the smallest ones - 1/16" inch - because they're easy to use and never look over scale.

They blacken easily and just need a small amount of cleanup. (Of course when all is said and done, you can't even see them on the trusses, but at least I know they're there.)
 
Parrels and ties on the topsail yards -
 

 
Ties on the topgallant yards -

There isn't really too much to explain about my methods. I just added each according to the plans. It was all pretty straightforward and free of problems.
 
I've started working on the boom and gaff. The completion of this build is actually within sight; then I will turn my attention to Agamemnon in earnest.
 
Thanks again for likes, comments etc. Very much appreciated. 
 
David
 
 
 
 

Good Morning,
I'm now getting very close to the finish line for the running rigging. I've been working my way through it, step by step without any real problems (except for a couple of my own making.) The plans are excellent and it really couldn't be more straightforward.
 
Boom and gaff -


 
The lifts -

Many times when I return to the model, I look at what I did previously and think "Were you on drugs? What were you thinking?"  In this case, for reasons I don't understand I had placed the lower yard lift blocks near the aft side of the mast cap and not the fore side. So I had to fix that in situ, but otherwise smooth sailing.

Clews, tacks, sheets and bow lines all added next - 

I'm now working on the braces. The spritsail yard braces are in place and here are the blocks attached to the main stay for the lower fore braces -

I did run into a complication with the spritsail yard braces that a bit of foresight on my part would have avoided. One of the nice things about well drawn plans is that they show each component of the rigging in isolation so it's quite clear where each line originates, its path and where it terminates. However, this also makes it easy to forget that in actuality you end up with a tight concentration of lines and blocks in a very small area, such as under the mast top.
 
In the picture below, you can see that the spritsail brace (#49) runs through two blocks underneath the mast top. They are actually double blocks which the brace shares with the clew line #29 in the second picture.

 

I had previously attached the clew line and belayed it and as a result those two blocks no longer had much range of movement. When I went to add the brace, it was almost impossible to thread it through the second block. The area was dense with shrouds, futtock shrouds and many other lines running down. It was difficult to even find the block, let alone identify the clear path through it. I tried approaching it from the front and from the rear, but the same problem arose either way. In the end I cut the clew line, freeing the blocks and then I could manipulate them sufficiently to get both the brace line through as well as the new clew line. 
 
All I needed to have done was either not belay the clew line until after I had the brace line in place or possibly have added the brace line much earlier in the process and just let it rest there until I was ready to fully install it later.
 
Just a minor frustration that I will take note of for the future.
 
Other than that, the running rigging is progressing very easily (largely due to the excellent drawings) and when the braces are complete, it will be done. Then all that remains is to add rope coils, the anchors and the boat and to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office!
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

Hi Dave,
I can't answer your questions specifically, and personally, I don't worry about such things too much as I tend to paint my models. However, have you discovered Tom Lauria's series of youtube videos. They're all excellent, but he has one specifically on choosing and finishing wood so that it mimics the real thing, yet keeping the grain in scale for the model. He also feels that the finish is an important part of scale and that even a too thick coat of varnish can look over scale. One area where I have adapted his technique to a degree is on my decks. I like my decks to be gray, and as he shows, a good effect can be achieved by using watered down acrylic paint, rather than stain, to get the colour you want and then rubbing it with a paper towel. It gives a very nice look with a soft sheen. Even a lowly basswood deck can look ok with this technique. Here is my Niagara:
 
 
That's black, white, a little brown and a little yellow mixed into a very watery mixture, then rubbed with a paper towel. I think it gives a fairly natural representation of a real deck.
David
 
Here's the link to Tom's video:
 
 

Good Morning,
I'm now getting very close to the finish line for the running rigging. I've been working my way through it, step by step without any real problems (except for a couple of my own making.) The plans are excellent and it really couldn't be more straightforward.
 
Boom and gaff -


 
The lifts -

Many times when I return to the model, I look at what I did previously and think "Were you on drugs? What were you thinking?"  In this case, for reasons I don't understand I had placed the lower yard lift blocks near the aft side of the mast cap and not the fore side. So I had to fix that in situ, but otherwise smooth sailing.

Clews, tacks, sheets and bow lines all added next - 

I'm now working on the braces. The spritsail yard braces are in place and here are the blocks attached to the main stay for the lower fore braces -

I did run into a complication with the spritsail yard braces that a bit of foresight on my part would have avoided. One of the nice things about well drawn plans is that they show each component of the rigging in isolation so it's quite clear where each line originates, its path and where it terminates. However, this also makes it easy to forget that in actuality you end up with a tight concentration of lines and blocks in a very small area, such as under the mast top.
 
In the picture below, you can see that the spritsail brace (#49) runs through two blocks underneath the mast top. They are actually double blocks which the brace shares with the clew line #29 in the second picture.

 

I had previously attached the clew line and belayed it and as a result those two blocks no longer had much range of movement. When I went to add the brace, it was almost impossible to thread it through the second block. The area was dense with shrouds, futtock shrouds and many other lines running down. It was difficult to even find the block, let alone identify the clear path through it. I tried approaching it from the front and from the rear, but the same problem arose either way. In the end I cut the clew line, freeing the blocks and then I could manipulate them sufficiently to get both the brace line through as well as the new clew line. 
 
All I needed to have done was either not belay the clew line until after I had the brace line in place or possibly have added the brace line much earlier in the process and just let it rest there until I was ready to fully install it later.
 
Just a minor frustration that I will take note of for the future.
 
Other than that, the running rigging is progressing very easily (largely due to the excellent drawings) and when the braces are complete, it will be done. Then all that remains is to add rope coils, the anchors and the boat and to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office!
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

Good Morning,
I'm now getting very close to the finish line for the running rigging. I've been working my way through it, step by step without any real problems (except for a couple of my own making.) The plans are excellent and it really couldn't be more straightforward.
 
Boom and gaff -


 
The lifts -

Many times when I return to the model, I look at what I did previously and think "Were you on drugs? What were you thinking?"  In this case, for reasons I don't understand I had placed the lower yard lift blocks near the aft side of the mast cap and not the fore side. So I had to fix that in situ, but otherwise smooth sailing.

Clews, tacks, sheets and bow lines all added next - 

I'm now working on the braces. The spritsail yard braces are in place and here are the blocks attached to the main stay for the lower fore braces -

I did run into a complication with the spritsail yard braces that a bit of foresight on my part would have avoided. One of the nice things about well drawn plans is that they show each component of the rigging in isolation so it's quite clear where each line originates, its path and where it terminates. However, this also makes it easy to forget that in actuality you end up with a tight concentration of lines and blocks in a very small area, such as under the mast top.
 
In the picture below, you can see that the spritsail brace (#49) runs through two blocks underneath the mast top. They are actually double blocks which the brace shares with the clew line #29 in the second picture.

 

I had previously attached the clew line and belayed it and as a result those two blocks no longer had much range of movement. When I went to add the brace, it was almost impossible to thread it through the second block. The area was dense with shrouds, futtock shrouds and many other lines running down. It was difficult to even find the block, let alone identify the clear path through it. I tried approaching it from the front and from the rear, but the same problem arose either way. In the end I cut the clew line, freeing the blocks and then I could manipulate them sufficiently to get both the brace line through as well as the new clew line. 
 
All I needed to have done was either not belay the clew line until after I had the brace line in place or possibly have added the brace line much earlier in the process and just let it rest there until I was ready to fully install it later.
 
Just a minor frustration that I will take note of for the future.
 
Other than that, the running rigging is progressing very easily (largely due to the excellent drawings) and when the braces are complete, it will be done. Then all that remains is to add rope coils, the anchors and the boat and to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office!
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

Good Morning,
I'm now getting very close to the finish line for the running rigging. I've been working my way through it, step by step without any real problems (except for a couple of my own making.) The plans are excellent and it really couldn't be more straightforward.
 
Boom and gaff -


 
The lifts -

Many times when I return to the model, I look at what I did previously and think "Were you on drugs? What were you thinking?"  In this case, for reasons I don't understand I had placed the lower yard lift blocks near the aft side of the mast cap and not the fore side. So I had to fix that in situ, but otherwise smooth sailing.

Clews, tacks, sheets and bow lines all added next - 

I'm now working on the braces. The spritsail yard braces are in place and here are the blocks attached to the main stay for the lower fore braces -

I did run into a complication with the spritsail yard braces that a bit of foresight on my part would have avoided. One of the nice things about well drawn plans is that they show each component of the rigging in isolation so it's quite clear where each line originates, its path and where it terminates. However, this also makes it easy to forget that in actuality you end up with a tight concentration of lines and blocks in a very small area, such as under the mast top.
 
In the picture below, you can see that the spritsail brace (#49) runs through two blocks underneath the mast top. They are actually double blocks which the brace shares with the clew line #29 in the second picture.

 

I had previously attached the clew line and belayed it and as a result those two blocks no longer had much range of movement. When I went to add the brace, it was almost impossible to thread it through the second block. The area was dense with shrouds, futtock shrouds and many other lines running down. It was difficult to even find the block, let alone identify the clear path through it. I tried approaching it from the front and from the rear, but the same problem arose either way. In the end I cut the clew line, freeing the blocks and then I could manipulate them sufficiently to get both the brace line through as well as the new clew line. 
 
All I needed to have done was either not belay the clew line until after I had the brace line in place or possibly have added the brace line much earlier in the process and just let it rest there until I was ready to fully install it later.
 
Just a minor frustration that I will take note of for the future.
 
Other than that, the running rigging is progressing very easily (largely due to the excellent drawings) and when the braces are complete, it will be done. Then all that remains is to add rope coils, the anchors and the boat and to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office!
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

Good Morning,
I'm now getting very close to the finish line for the running rigging. I've been working my way through it, step by step without any real problems (except for a couple of my own making.) The plans are excellent and it really couldn't be more straightforward.
 
Boom and gaff -


 
The lifts -

Many times when I return to the model, I look at what I did previously and think "Were you on drugs? What were you thinking?"  In this case, for reasons I don't understand I had placed the lower yard lift blocks near the aft side of the mast cap and not the fore side. So I had to fix that in situ, but otherwise smooth sailing.

Clews, tacks, sheets and bow lines all added next - 

I'm now working on the braces. The spritsail yard braces are in place and here are the blocks attached to the main stay for the lower fore braces -

I did run into a complication with the spritsail yard braces that a bit of foresight on my part would have avoided. One of the nice things about well drawn plans is that they show each component of the rigging in isolation so it's quite clear where each line originates, its path and where it terminates. However, this also makes it easy to forget that in actuality you end up with a tight concentration of lines and blocks in a very small area, such as under the mast top.
 
In the picture below, you can see that the spritsail brace (#49) runs through two blocks underneath the mast top. They are actually double blocks which the brace shares with the clew line #29 in the second picture.

 

I had previously attached the clew line and belayed it and as a result those two blocks no longer had much range of movement. When I went to add the brace, it was almost impossible to thread it through the second block. The area was dense with shrouds, futtock shrouds and many other lines running down. It was difficult to even find the block, let alone identify the clear path through it. I tried approaching it from the front and from the rear, but the same problem arose either way. In the end I cut the clew line, freeing the blocks and then I could manipulate them sufficiently to get both the brace line through as well as the new clew line. 
 
All I needed to have done was either not belay the clew line until after I had the brace line in place or possibly have added the brace line much earlier in the process and just let it rest there until I was ready to fully install it later.
 
Just a minor frustration that I will take note of for the future.
 
Other than that, the running rigging is progressing very easily (largely due to the excellent drawings) and when the braces are complete, it will be done. Then all that remains is to add rope coils, the anchors and the boat and to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office!
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

Good Morning,
I'm now getting very close to the finish line for the running rigging. I've been working my way through it, step by step without any real problems (except for a couple of my own making.) The plans are excellent and it really couldn't be more straightforward.
 
Boom and gaff -


 
The lifts -

Many times when I return to the model, I look at what I did previously and think "Were you on drugs? What were you thinking?"  In this case, for reasons I don't understand I had placed the lower yard lift blocks near the aft side of the mast cap and not the fore side. So I had to fix that in situ, but otherwise smooth sailing.

Clews, tacks, sheets and bow lines all added next - 

I'm now working on the braces. The spritsail yard braces are in place and here are the blocks attached to the main stay for the lower fore braces -

I did run into a complication with the spritsail yard braces that a bit of foresight on my part would have avoided. One of the nice things about well drawn plans is that they show each component of the rigging in isolation so it's quite clear where each line originates, its path and where it terminates. However, this also makes it easy to forget that in actuality you end up with a tight concentration of lines and blocks in a very small area, such as under the mast top.
 
In the picture below, you can see that the spritsail brace (#49) runs through two blocks underneath the mast top. They are actually double blocks which the brace shares with the clew line #29 in the second picture.

 

I had previously attached the clew line and belayed it and as a result those two blocks no longer had much range of movement. When I went to add the brace, it was almost impossible to thread it through the second block. The area was dense with shrouds, futtock shrouds and many other lines running down. It was difficult to even find the block, let alone identify the clear path through it. I tried approaching it from the front and from the rear, but the same problem arose either way. In the end I cut the clew line, freeing the blocks and then I could manipulate them sufficiently to get both the brace line through as well as the new clew line. 
 
All I needed to have done was either not belay the clew line until after I had the brace line in place or possibly have added the brace line much earlier in the process and just let it rest there until I was ready to fully install it later.
 
Just a minor frustration that I will take note of for the future.
 
Other than that, the running rigging is progressing very easily (largely due to the excellent drawings) and when the braces are complete, it will be done. Then all that remains is to add rope coils, the anchors and the boat and to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office!
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

Good Morning,
I'm now getting very close to the finish line for the running rigging. I've been working my way through it, step by step without any real problems (except for a couple of my own making.) The plans are excellent and it really couldn't be more straightforward.
 
Boom and gaff -


 
The lifts -

Many times when I return to the model, I look at what I did previously and think "Were you on drugs? What were you thinking?"  In this case, for reasons I don't understand I had placed the lower yard lift blocks near the aft side of the mast cap and not the fore side. So I had to fix that in situ, but otherwise smooth sailing.

Clews, tacks, sheets and bow lines all added next - 

I'm now working on the braces. The spritsail yard braces are in place and here are the blocks attached to the main stay for the lower fore braces -

I did run into a complication with the spritsail yard braces that a bit of foresight on my part would have avoided. One of the nice things about well drawn plans is that they show each component of the rigging in isolation so it's quite clear where each line originates, its path and where it terminates. However, this also makes it easy to forget that in actuality you end up with a tight concentration of lines and blocks in a very small area, such as under the mast top.
 
In the picture below, you can see that the spritsail brace (#49) runs through two blocks underneath the mast top. They are actually double blocks which the brace shares with the clew line #29 in the second picture.

 

I had previously attached the clew line and belayed it and as a result those two blocks no longer had much range of movement. When I went to add the brace, it was almost impossible to thread it through the second block. The area was dense with shrouds, futtock shrouds and many other lines running down. It was difficult to even find the block, let alone identify the clear path through it. I tried approaching it from the front and from the rear, but the same problem arose either way. In the end I cut the clew line, freeing the blocks and then I could manipulate them sufficiently to get both the brace line through as well as the new clew line. 
 
All I needed to have done was either not belay the clew line until after I had the brace line in place or possibly have added the brace line much earlier in the process and just let it rest there until I was ready to fully install it later.
 
Just a minor frustration that I will take note of for the future.
 
Other than that, the running rigging is progressing very easily (largely due to the excellent drawings) and when the braces are complete, it will be done. Then all that remains is to add rope coils, the anchors and the boat and to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office!
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

Good Morning,
I'm now getting very close to the finish line for the running rigging. I've been working my way through it, step by step without any real problems (except for a couple of my own making.) The plans are excellent and it really couldn't be more straightforward.
 
Boom and gaff -


 
The lifts -

Many times when I return to the model, I look at what I did previously and think "Were you on drugs? What were you thinking?"  In this case, for reasons I don't understand I had placed the lower yard lift blocks near the aft side of the mast cap and not the fore side. So I had to fix that in situ, but otherwise smooth sailing.

Clews, tacks, sheets and bow lines all added next - 

I'm now working on the braces. The spritsail yard braces are in place and here are the blocks attached to the main stay for the lower fore braces -

I did run into a complication with the spritsail yard braces that a bit of foresight on my part would have avoided. One of the nice things about well drawn plans is that they show each component of the rigging in isolation so it's quite clear where each line originates, its path and where it terminates. However, this also makes it easy to forget that in actuality you end up with a tight concentration of lines and blocks in a very small area, such as under the mast top.
 
In the picture below, you can see that the spritsail brace (#49) runs through two blocks underneath the mast top. They are actually double blocks which the brace shares with the clew line #29 in the second picture.

 

I had previously attached the clew line and belayed it and as a result those two blocks no longer had much range of movement. When I went to add the brace, it was almost impossible to thread it through the second block. The area was dense with shrouds, futtock shrouds and many other lines running down. It was difficult to even find the block, let alone identify the clear path through it. I tried approaching it from the front and from the rear, but the same problem arose either way. In the end I cut the clew line, freeing the blocks and then I could manipulate them sufficiently to get both the brace line through as well as the new clew line. 
 
All I needed to have done was either not belay the clew line until after I had the brace line in place or possibly have added the brace line much earlier in the process and just let it rest there until I was ready to fully install it later.
 
Just a minor frustration that I will take note of for the future.
 
Other than that, the running rigging is progressing very easily (largely due to the excellent drawings) and when the braces are complete, it will be done. Then all that remains is to add rope coils, the anchors and the boat and to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office!
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

Good Morning,
I'm now getting very close to the finish line for the running rigging. I've been working my way through it, step by step without any real problems (except for a couple of my own making.) The plans are excellent and it really couldn't be more straightforward.
 
Boom and gaff -


 
The lifts -

Many times when I return to the model, I look at what I did previously and think "Were you on drugs? What were you thinking?"  In this case, for reasons I don't understand I had placed the lower yard lift blocks near the aft side of the mast cap and not the fore side. So I had to fix that in situ, but otherwise smooth sailing.

Clews, tacks, sheets and bow lines all added next - 

I'm now working on the braces. The spritsail yard braces are in place and here are the blocks attached to the main stay for the lower fore braces -

I did run into a complication with the spritsail yard braces that a bit of foresight on my part would have avoided. One of the nice things about well drawn plans is that they show each component of the rigging in isolation so it's quite clear where each line originates, its path and where it terminates. However, this also makes it easy to forget that in actuality you end up with a tight concentration of lines and blocks in a very small area, such as under the mast top.
 
In the picture below, you can see that the spritsail brace (#49) runs through two blocks underneath the mast top. They are actually double blocks which the brace shares with the clew line #29 in the second picture.

 

I had previously attached the clew line and belayed it and as a result those two blocks no longer had much range of movement. When I went to add the brace, it was almost impossible to thread it through the second block. The area was dense with shrouds, futtock shrouds and many other lines running down. It was difficult to even find the block, let alone identify the clear path through it. I tried approaching it from the front and from the rear, but the same problem arose either way. In the end I cut the clew line, freeing the blocks and then I could manipulate them sufficiently to get both the brace line through as well as the new clew line. 
 
All I needed to have done was either not belay the clew line until after I had the brace line in place or possibly have added the brace line much earlier in the process and just let it rest there until I was ready to fully install it later.
 
Just a minor frustration that I will take note of for the future.
 
Other than that, the running rigging is progressing very easily (largely due to the excellent drawings) and when the braces are complete, it will be done. Then all that remains is to add rope coils, the anchors and the boat and to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office!
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

Some more photos...
 
Besides from things being quite small (Speedy is a neet little ship) I would say that compared to the other kits I have, it was very easy to put all the masts together. Everything goes faster with clear instructions and alot of prefabricated parts that dont need much finetuning.

Mizzen shrouds
 
The kit plan for the mizzen on Duchess has just three shrouds on each side, one pair and a swifter - a single shroud eye spliced round the masthead. Port and starboard singletons were sometimes fashioned from a single line cut spliced round the masthead, but eye splices were also commonly used according to Lees so I stuck with the kit plan. I used 0.50mm dark line (3 X Mara #70) with the middle 70mm of each pair served and an equivalent length served on the swifters. I used Mara #150 for the serving. The front shrouds on the main and fore masts were served along their full lengths, I think to protect the courses, but as there is no equivalent sail on the mizzen the extra serving is not necessary.
 
I covered shrouds extensively in my Speedy log (eg here for seizing deadeyes, here and the next few posts for rigging the shrouds).
 
However there were a few differences which I'll cover. First, unlike Speedy I decided not to construct each mast in its entirety before starting the rigging. On Speedy I had to rig each shroud on the model, because with caps and topmasts in place it was not possible to slip shrouds over the mastheads. On the Duchess I can fit shrouds temporarily, measure where I want the deadeyes, then take the shrouds off the model to fit the deadeyes in comfort. Also, I don't bother gluing lower masts in place, preferring to adjust shrouds and stays until they are secure and properly aligned.
 
Like lots of people I usually struggle to get deadeyes to line up neatly, so I thought I'd try a slightly different method involving a variation on the pins in a stick method. Instead of dealing with the deadeyes one set at a time I tried the whole channel in one go. I figured it was best to try it out on the mizzen first with its modest three shrouds. I started with a small piece of 2mm wood sheet in which I drilled three holes corresponding to the lowest holes on the three deadeyes on the channel. With pins in these holes I drew a line parallel to the line of pins at the distance I wanted the upper deadeyes:
 
With the board pinned through the lower deadeyes I marked the point at which each shroud would cross the upper line:

With holes drilled in the upper line, pins inserted and deadeyes fitted it was easy to mark where each shroud wrapped round the bottom of each upper deadeye. I tied a short length of light thread at this point then removed the shrouds from the model. I should add that I was able to use the same jig for the port side - I just had to remove the pins and reinsert them from the other side of the board.
 
To seize the upper deadeyes I used the same method I described for Speedy. The mizzen deadeyes are nominally 3mm but actually measured 3.4mm. However I used a 3mm drill bit to start the process as this ensured a good tight fit when I inserted the deadeye. I'll just include a couple of photos to show the start of the process.
 
1) Wrap the shroud round the drill bit, with the crossing point opposite the thread marking the bottom of the deadeye:
 
2) Use a fine needle to stitch the seizing (I used Mara #100) through the crossing point - actually through both parts of the shroud to ensure the seizing won't slip:

The throat seizing can then proceed in the normal way, after which the deadeye is inserted, two round seizings added, everything trimmed and the leather cap simulated with raw sienna acrylic paint. 
 
The big question - did this process produce level deadeyes? Did it b*****y! Just as uneven as usual...
 
...however, I soon discovered the big advantage of using Gutermann Mara - it's very flexible. This meant I had sufficient scope in tightening the lanyards to get the deadeyes more or less level. I used 0.30mm line for the lanyards, spun up from three strands of Mara #150:

I'll leave the lanyards unfinished until I'm ready for final tightening all round.
 
On to the main next.
 
Derek
 

Thanks for the likes!
 
Added a couple photos of progress from last month showing the first layer of planking.
 
I found the utility knive method Chris uses to be quite effective with always having a sharp blade and taking multiple light cuts and firmly holding a steel ruler to guide the cuts. It seemed to work even without soaking the planks or just very brief soaking.
 
I'm not onto the second layer of planking and will add more of those photos soon too and be all caught up to where I'm at currently.

Finally some progress.... did a couple of mistakes on the bowsprit but this will have to do.

Port side anchor installed. I will be adding rope coils.
 

 
 

Hello Everyone,
 
It’s Friday night and I just finished up the starboard side ratlines. First let me say… ratlines were a challenge on this first build, probably because I messed up the order of rigging. The starboard side turned out much better than the port as I learned the techniques and got better tweezers (wow what a difference they make). Lots of imperfections to be sure, but lots of learning took took place and I made notes for the Rattlesnake coming up.
 


On to the anchors. 😀

Tom, your CWM is looking wonderful. That white edge is a nightmare to paint. My wife almost had me committed before I was finished. Yours isn't looking too bad, but I just could not get a decent job. In the end I painted some paper white, cut it into strips and glued it on. That worked really well and it was completely undetectable what I had done.
 
I agree with John - I think you've nailed the bulwarks colour. It's a hard colour to get just right.
David