jbshan

There's a lot of interesting (and not so interesting ) reads on the TAMU site.

Here's a view into the waist with qtrdeck ladders, boarding ladders, pumps and companionway, also the sternsheets of the boat.
 

Here's a shot of the deck blocking for bitts, hatches, pumps and companionway to under the quarterdeck.
I'm doing individual planks so need landing areas for the ends and edges of the plank.

A couple of pics of details:
 
The binnacle with the tin captain:

 
A view of the aft of the deck with tiller, binnacle, companionway, quarterdeck and waist ladders and the elm tree pumps:

 
The bows with bowsprit, jibboom, spritsail yard and anchors with cables;

 

I'm getting a bit out of sequence now, but this is another item of deck machinery that I can cover fairly concisely.
Windlass:
The basic design I got out of John Harland's small book, 'Capstans and Windlasses', I think, at least there is a similar one in there.

The barrel is made from four pieces of maple glued up to get the required diameter.  This helps keep it straight and stronger, also less likely to split.  It's all octagonal, with a straight section in the middle and tapering toward the ends.  Notches for the pawls are cut with a tiny chisel (homemade) at the end of the straight section, and sockets for pulling bars from there out.  Where the barrel passes the riding bitts is a narrow section acting as bearings in sockets cut in the bitts and the clamp.

In this front view you can see the standards clearly, both those on the riding bitts and the larger ones on the bitts that hold the heel of the bowsprit.  Between the bowsprit bitts and the barrel of the windlass are two more posts, these have the pawls in their after face.  With the pawls working, you would pull down and aft on a bar, pulling in the cable.  Loosen up tension on the bar and the pawl slips down keeping the barrel from freewheeling backwards.  There is one more crossbar, it will have belaying points for the headsail halyards, etc.

Back to an after view, you can see the pawls in their final form and the thumb cleats atop the riding bitts.  The cable would be permanently wound around here, lashed up off the barrel in a large circle when not riding to anchor.  Stoppers would do much of the work of holding the cable when anchored.  The gun is there to check clearances.  The pins used for dry fitting will be smaller headed and blackened in final assembly.
You can see a mockup bowsprit stub in place.  This will have small foredeck platforms P&S to access swivels located over the rail here.  You can also see the timberheads and how they insert into the structure.  There will be more on those perhaps later.

To blow these up, open in a new tab or window.  I then see a magnifying glass with a '+' inside, or use the prompt under 'view' for zoom + or -.
 

 
Here's about the next one in sequence.  I took it to show the transom and stern lights but it will serve to show the planking process.
First, having faired the blocking on the exterior, I put one strake of swiss pear along the bottom of the port openings.  Using a batten to line this up makes this strake go in nicely.  Next were the two strakes between the ports, again of swiss pear, then one more full strake.  I held the strakes between the ports just to the edge of the openings in the blocking.
The black strakes of plank are ebony.  It is evil stuff.  Next time I would use walnut or some other dark wood if I wanted the contrast in color.

Here is a closer view of the square tuck stern.  The planking is fairly straightforward here, though the photo is kind of blurry.  The tafferail area is backed with some scrap 1/32" plywood and planked horizontally with swiss pear.  The stern lights I will deal with in their own section.  Below that is the counter, curved inward and set by a block that I think shows in one of the earlier pics.  Below that is the tuck area that I planked diagonally, lower outboard rising to the center line.  [edit: The stern post is applied on top of the plank.]
I think you can see that I have left the top molding for the stern lights and the ends of the tuck long, later to be brought down flush, either to the side plank or to allow the bottom plank to run by and be in turn sanded back flush.  There will be short horizontal pieces of plank outboard of the stern lights added before that area is brought back flush with the side.

Here's about the earliest one, clamping a batten for the sheer.  The top and bottom blocking for the ports is in.  The kit is the standard 'egg crate' construction.  It is a square tuck stern so pretty simple back there.
I learned building Niagara by Model Shipways to block in the ports between the frames.  It locates them securely and really stiffens things up.  I ran battens for the top and bottom lines of the ports then measured for locations fore n' aft.  One each side needed the frame to be cut right out, about midships.  The third back needed the frame cut, but had blocking adjacent on the fore side to support the edge.  The forward ports had to be at an angle because of the curve in toward the bows and that angle had to be allowed for.
I make the blocking proud of the frames, then sand back to a smooth surface.  The blocking makes putting in the port lining much easier later on.  This vessel has the plank basically following the ports, but I would think this method would help with those where the plank does not line up, and easier than trying to measure each port out and cut already installed planking.
I may remember more as we go but this is it for now on these pics.

I have a series of pics taken while work was in progress which illustrate techniques I have not seen in other logs.  I also have not seen, even after a search of the site, this particular model.  I would be happy to post these pics, with comments of course, in sequence if others think it would be helpful.
 
Past this point, I have built tops.  There is also a scratch-built yawl, visible on deck, done in a novel manner.

Don't know how you do it - pics usually make things look bad, not good.

Wow, Darrell.  It was worth the 5 days.  As you weave your spider's web or bird's nest of lines, you may find as a friend of mine told me once, the routing of a line may change to avoid chafing on a line that is already there.  Not doing all the running rigging may make this less important, but some of the lines need to pass through the shrouds, for instance, to get to their belay point and he said the old boys would choose a path for it so it wouldn't chafe.

Darrell, some folks that don't put sails on make a coil of line to hang at the point where the sail would normally go.

BOWSPRIT SHROUDS
 
Just a quick update as I go through the plans and pick up some things that I misses at the bow. I installed the bowsprit shrouds.  I used a .025 black rope with a blackened black hook seized to one end and hooked to an eyebolt on the side of the hull.  The other end was lashed to a bullseye. I had to make up another batch of cherry bullseyes on my mini lathe (see previous post). I seized a .012 tan lanyard to the bullseye and wound it to the bullseyes lashed to the bowsprit.
 
Another tedious endeavor.  The Bowsprit/jib is a very complicated place with ropes and lines going in every direction.  The good news is that I believe I have completed all of the rigging up front and as far as I can tell, no line is rubbing up against its neighbor.

Wow, Darrell.  It was worth the 5 days.  As you weave your spider's web or bird's nest of lines, you may find as a friend of mine told me once, the routing of a line may change to avoid chafing on a line that is already there.  Not doing all the running rigging may make this less important, but some of the lines need to pass through the shrouds, for instance, to get to their belay point and he said the old boys would choose a path for it so it wouldn't chafe.

BELAYING FOREMAST STAYS AND RUNNING RIGGING
 
With the course yard in place, it was time to finally time to “tie up some loose ends” – actually, a lot of loose ends.
On the Foremast Back Stays, from top to bottom:
 
1.      Royal Back Stay – Seized to top of the mast and belayed to a tackle hooked to waterway eyebolt.
 
2.      Top Gallant Backstay – Seized to mast and belayed to deadeye on channel
 
3.      Topmast Backstays (2) – Seized to mast and belayed to deadeye on channel
 
On the Foremast Running Rigging, from top to bottom:
 
4.      Royal Halliard – belayed to the lower stave
 
5.      Royal Clew Line – tied off at end of the royal yard, left slack, and belayed to the lower stave
 
6.      Royal fixed lift – tied off at top of mast and end of royal yard.
 
7.      Royal Sheets – tied off on end of t’gallant yard, routed through block in shrouds, and belayed to pin rail on deck.
 
8.      Top Gallant Tye – wound around t’gallant yard and seized to a tackle attached to lower top.
 
9.      Top Gallant Lift – Tied to end of t’gallant yard and routed through block in shroud and belayed to lower stave.
 
 
10.  Top Gallant Clew – Tied to end of t’gallant yard, left slack, routed through block on yard (held with a knot) and belayed to pin rail on deck.
 
11.  Top Sail Lift – Tied to end of top sail yard and routed through block in shroud and belayed to tackle on lower top.
 
12.  Top Sail Clew Lines – I seized the blocks with the clew lines to the top sail yard, but have not figured out what to
do with them.  Per the plans, they run to blocks lashed to the course yard and back up to the seized block on the top sail yard.
 
On the Bowsprit, all routed through holes in the chock rail and belayed to pins in the forward pin rail
 
13.  Jib Stay Halliard
 
14.  Outer Jib Stay Halliard
 
15.  Inner Jib Stay Halliard
 
16.  Fore Stay Halliard
 
17.  Spritsail Yard Lift
 
18.  Top Gallant Stay Leads
 
 
 
Still to do (or figure out)
 
1.      Top Sail Sheets,
 
2.      Course Sheets.
 
3.      Course Clew lines.
 
I am not sure this is correct.  It is the best I could do in my interpretation of the plans. I have not completely decided to do with the buntlines, reefs, and leechlines – except to eliminate them. By adding the clew lines and sheets, I have at least added some of the running rigging for sails that will not be added to the ship
.
Here is a series of photos that show you where I am at presently.  The steps in this post took a solid 5 days to complete.

I use Elmer's white glue, but whatever you use, the glue needs to soak in to both surfaces for a good bond.  Any sealer between layers of plank might interfere with that.

Darrell, some folks that don't put sails on make a coil of line to hang at the point where the sail would normally go.

Port lids should be about twice the thickness of the outer planking, Mike.  Outer layer would match the hull planking, tumblehome, any wale or thicker plank present where the opening crosses, to make the outer surface smooth when the port is closed. 
The inner layer would be set back or held back a bit to make a rebate to fit inside the port lining.  Reference the destructions for your Niagara model.  Oops, your Niagara won't help.  Goodwin, Construction and Fitting will help, if you have it.
Also try this:
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/7390-gun-port-lids/
The pics show how thin the lids are, also one or two show the lip formed by the port lining.

A lot of what we do is to simulate things we know should be a particular way, but it's just too darn small.

A note:
Because of circumstances outside our control, none of the wiki links I have may have used in my writings are operable.  From here forward, I will post pictures along with the messages.

I am currently working on the Model Shipways model of Philadelphia, of 1776.  You can check some of the other much more comprehensive build logs on this site to see the construction sequence.
I am at the point where I will soon be mounting the deck panels.  The after corners of the fore deck have an ogee-shape cut into them, as does the replica at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, as does the original at the Smithsonian.  Why, my devious mind asked, what is the purpose of this, it doesn't make sense to have this shape simply sticking out unsupported, but was finding no satisfactory answer.  One of my correspondents gave me a link to a Doctoral thesis posted on the Texas A&M website, by John Bratten.  The link is: http://nautarch.tamu.edu/Theses/abstracts/bratten.html  In his paper, he prints small versions of plans developed by the Smithsonian from the original vessel.  These include a view of the structure supporting the decks.  Except for the foremost frame, there are lodging knees at the ends of the fore deck beams, and the ogee shape covers the knees pertaining to the after beam.  Problem solved.  There will be one pair of lodging knees on my Philadelphia.
Additionally, although I won't be putting them in, there are pillars on the centerline of each fore deck beam, down to the keelson, the middle deck rests on large baulks of timber under the beams, while the after deck seems to have need of no extra reinforcement beyond the beams.  It was apparently at least intended to have this at a higher level to allow guns to fire over the top of the bulwarks, but this was cancelled and the deck installed at a lower level.  The dissertation is almost 350 pages, so there is a lot there for the interested student.

I am currently working on the Model Shipways model of Philadelphia, of 1776.  You can check some of the other much more comprehensive build logs on this site to see the construction sequence.
I am at the point where I will soon be mounting the deck panels.  The after corners of the fore deck have an ogee-shape cut into them, as does the replica at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, as does the original at the Smithsonian.  Why, my devious mind asked, what is the purpose of this, it doesn't make sense to have this shape simply sticking out unsupported, but was finding no satisfactory answer.  One of my correspondents gave me a link to a Doctoral thesis posted on the Texas A&M website, by John Bratten.  The link is: http://nautarch.tamu.edu/Theses/abstracts/bratten.html  In his paper, he prints small versions of plans developed by the Smithsonian from the original vessel.  These include a view of the structure supporting the decks.  Except for the foremost frame, there are lodging knees at the ends of the fore deck beams, and the ogee shape covers the knees pertaining to the after beam.  Problem solved.  There will be one pair of lodging knees on my Philadelphia.
Additionally, although I won't be putting them in, there are pillars on the centerline of each fore deck beam, down to the keelson, the middle deck rests on large baulks of timber under the beams, while the after deck seems to have need of no extra reinforcement beyond the beams.  It was apparently at least intended to have this at a higher level to allow guns to fire over the top of the bulwarks, but this was cancelled and the deck installed at a lower level.  The dissertation is almost 350 pages, so there is a lot there for the interested student.

A note:
Because of circumstances outside our control, none of the wiki links I have may have used in my writings are operable.  From here forward, I will post pictures along with the messages.

Here's a view into the waist with qtrdeck ladders, boarding ladders, pumps and companionway, also the sternsheets of the boat.
 

Nice and neat, Darrell.  If you're not a plastic surgeon you must be a weaver.

Nice and neat, Darrell.  If you're not a plastic surgeon you must be a weaver.