jbshan

Mike I just posted more on your section gunbay thread.

I tried to find a pic. Cotton padding is good, there were blankets and perhaps a thin mattress or pad involved also. Starting with pic 2, where you have the rolled hammocks, tie a line around one end, holding it tight, run a lashing up the length, tucking under at each crossing. Tie off at the other end. Fold in half, tying the ends together with excess line. There should be, if you're cunning, a crossing of your lashing right at the fold so it shows nicely. I'll try to get a pic of mine tomorrow, I didn't find anything online for you.

Mike, if the hammocks were longer than the stanchions, they could be laid on a slant or even stacked flat. Since the purpose was to protect the hammocks from the weather (except when used as a barrier against musket shot) you certainly could use a covered hammock rail. Your second pic actually doesn't look too bad. You could also have one corner or end opened up to show the hammocks inside and only have to make a few, the rest merely 'stuffing' under the cover.

Mike, here's a pic of my hammock rail on a guns display. The hammocks are 4 ft. X 6 ft., rolled up with blankets inside, doubled over so about 3 ft. long, and the resulting 'sausage' lashed into a bundle that is (in this instance) stood upright inside the netting. I learned that it was called netting whatever the material, net or canvas. This material much expanded was on my club's wiki page, but I had to remove the page as the price was getting exorbitant.

I did one of these ages ago. It's a pretty little boat. Mine had blocking forward of the forward bulkhead. The 'plank' ended at that bulkhead. The blocking must stand proud of the bulkhead sufficient to continue the line of the planking, without being itself sheathed. Check before you trim that blocking too far down so you won't have to build it back up to match the plank.

One of our members needed whip antennas for a destroyer model. His son had left his drum set behind when he moved out. The wire brushes from the drums provided long straight wire that wouldn't bend easily.

The holes in gratings should be maximum 3" square. This is so the crew's heels won't get caught as they traverse the gratings. Prototypically, the spacing might vary a bit to make the slats come out even, but keeping that maximum in mind at all times.

Dilute white glue and gentle stroking until set?

Looks good. I was suggesting pencil for the seams, but at the next smallest scale, where you couldn't do panels. If there were more rows of reef points, there might (would) be a panel/strip on the after side, just to give more support along the reef line. You could add a panel right on top of the large panels you have now. There are other panels added for reinforcement, as well as many books showing where they go. Yah, the bolt ropes are a problem, as well as having to make too large stitches, scale stitches would disappear except in really large scales.

The blade and backer don't meet parallel, unless there is a cam I don't see. Your curve might go off at an angle.

One place you can do fairly inexpensive and perhaps free, and it will last a long time and many different model vessels is books. The online used market is pretty good, all those old guys passing and their wives wanting to sell the books, and some places have really good library loan programs to locate the unusual titles. You don't need the pristine copy still in the original wrapper, so should be able to find good quality for a fraction of original.

Your carpenter only patches up short lengths which do not need bending, or can be 'carved' to fit the gap made by an enemy ball. For a better repair, you go to a friendly yard in India or you anchor and build repair facilities sufficient to get home.

Charlie, I think you would be safe in using the elevating screw in your time frame (1818-1825). I wouldn't rely on what sort may or may not have been used in a kit. Who knows where they may have gotten their information, and a European prototype may not fit an American/British vessel. The Americans were casting their own by 1812, so were not reliant on captures to arm their ships. I don't know if this is pirated, but try this: https://sites.google.com/site/shipwrightsfaq/smf-researchnotes/smf-RN-Carronade

Carronades came in during the Late Unpleasantness between the American Colonies as then were and Britain. By the 1780s they were becoming numerous on RN ships. The earliest ones were on trucked carriages, with trunnions on the middle of the barrel and quions at the rear for elevation. The latest ones had a lug on the bottom for a pin to hold the barrel to a sliding mount and the elevating screw at the rear. Additionally, the later ones had an extended muzzle to take the blast farther from the rigging when firing through the bulwarks between the shrouds. That may help you date any barrel/mount setup you encounter. Lavery, 'Arming and Fitting' covers these details.

Maybe I should define some of my terms: Floor- hull frame timber that crosses the keel, equal on each side P&S. First Futtock- hull frame timber that does not cross the keel, and in early times did not even contact the keel. Scarph- Two meanings, 'giving scarph to', where joints of adjacent timbers are staggered so not to line up along the hull, A joint between two timbers involving hooks, tapers, coaks, etc., where one continues the line of the other. Chock- a triangular-shaped piece of wood bolted to and inset into the join between two timbers, in lieu of 'scarph' definition 2, reinforcing what otherwise would be a simple butt joint.

Wayne mentions Dartmouth of 1655, wrecked in 1690. What we have left of her is a section of framing and plank near the keel toward the stern. The original keel is not included, as it was replaced earlier, in 1678, and there is a t-shaped timber taking its place. We don't know which of the frames are floors and which are futtocks, because they all end short of the center line at this timber. They all have a two inch or thereabouts gap between them, no distinction there, either. During the repairs, the floors, which would have ended in this area, and the futtocks, which were cut off to allow this timber to be inserted, wound up being indistinguishable. In those times 'scarph' meant that a joint in one timber would be placed alternately with joints in adjacent timbers, without any contact, just that the joints were staggered and the joints were said to 'give scarph' to each other. By the time Dartmouth was repaired, 1678, or at least wrecked, 1690, supposing another large amount of work being done to her, chocks were used to reinforce the joints between floor and 2nd futtock and first and third futtock, but since we have only the repaired area, it cannot be said they were used in original construction, only that they were in use. Ensor, in 'Restoration Warship' has Lenox built with chocks at the heads of floors and futtocks, but also connecting the heels of the first futtocks across the keel. This was in 1677, the year before Dartmouth's repair, and Ensor thoroughly researched and had contracts available, so can probably be relied upon. Models of the time were built in a stylized version of actual framing and do not resemble actual practice, with only very rare exceptions where the purpose of the model was to demonstrate actual practice.

One gent took a stock kit of a destroyer (USS Kidd, I believe) and turned it into a multiple blue-winning model by adding features and detail. That's pretty epic.

Not surprising that first futtock doesn't contact the keel, Allen. Somewhat earlier, it wouldn't even contact the floors. Some traditions (Dutch and earlier English) set up the floored frames, then plank, then come back and scribe/fit the first futtock frames, spacing them between the floors. You (and Lenox) are in a transition between the 'no contact' period and the double sawn and bolted frames of the later 18th century.

Thanks for the article, Chuck. Mr. Rogers collected ship models and had them repaired/restored as needed. Sometimes the records are a bit scanty, especially as there were 200 years between their origin and his acquisition, then repairs he instigated. Fair American was assumed to be period work, until the almost chance discovery of a letter detailing the work done on her in the 20th century at Rogers' behest. We must be careful and thorough.

Eric, I like that look also. The scale of the model will partially determine what is best. Smaller scales will only need the pencil lines, medium scales could use the glued panels (had you thought of drawing in some of the detail with pencil here also?) while large scales could have more or less sewn construction.

All the shrouds and burton pendants go over the lower mast head and trend toward the sides. The shrouds go down to the channels and deadeyes, the pendants hang loose, perhaps lashed to a shroud to secure them. After the pendants and shrouds, the stays go around the masthead but are held higher up by cleats and go forward, encircling but not in contact with the upper mast. There is an excellent series of books by David Antscherl about building your class of ship, using the Swan class as example.

I've had not just seams open up a bit, but strakes develop a crack or shake within the wood itself. Winter's a killer of wooden models.

Brian/pshrynk, sometimes in here the 'lazy' looking for information give the impression that they are 'looking for somebody to write their dissertation for them'. A certain caution on the part of the answerer can develop from that. Keep on asking questions. That's how we learn and grow in skills and knowledge.

You do have to watch out for those 'collectors' prices', Richard. Once you get into that market as opposed to the reader's market the prices can get a bit silly.

Online booksellers, which are mostly clearing houses for others' lists, sometimes have used copies of books we want in good, usable condition (shop books) for relatively inexpensive prices. Two are abebooks and alibris.