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Fantastic Don - What a good process. Looks like you can get very consistent output like that. That's always my downfall. Nice looking hooks but no two are the same size.
 
What was the size of the tubing you used? Looks like the tube ID needs to be about the same as the OD of the bit?

Here is the process for making eyebolts and hooks, please remember this not my idea but one I found here and I don't remember the gentleman's name:
 

Lay wire on jig insert drill bit and pull down on the bit
 

Keep bending and turning the wire over the bit leaving a slight overlap
 

move the wire around and bend it down on the bevelled edge, this lines the eye up with the shaft of the bolt
 

sorry for blurry picture, my left hand was a little shaky today. This a finished eyebolt
 

to make a hook lay the eyebolt flat on the jig
 

insert bit and bend the wire up
 

turn bolt back around to bevelled edge of jig and make a slight bend
 

cut the excess wire off and you have a eyebolt. 
 

 This picture shows the hook we just made(on the left) and some other sizes I've made. The bronze hooks and eyebolts are for the gun carriages on my Pegasus
 

 a clearer picture of the jig, easy to make and easy to use
 
Hope this is useful
 
Mike: I forgot to answer your question about the rigging rope The rope does not compare to Syren, nothing does,but the rope supplied is quite adequate and I won't be exchanging it out. I used the Syren rope for the anchor as it was a little bigger, which I thought looked better.

Don - if you have time some pix would be great. I'm about to start rigging Arrow and there are calls for hooks and of course none supplied.

len: Thanks, hope it helps someone
 
Mike : Thanks. The tool is clamped in a vise then using an appropriate sized drill bit you bend the wire around it. I can post some pictures if you want

Looks really sharp Don. How does the kit rope compare to Syren?  How do you use the hook tool?

That was an interesting update Don, very nice detail.
 
Len

I'm finishing up the masts.  The plans call for boom rests on both the main mast as well as the fore mast.  This is similar to what was found on "Hannah", "Chaleur" and "Gaspee".  "Sultana" and "Halifax" had boom rests on the main mast only, the sails on the fore masts being loose-footed.  As you can see from the pictures, Chaluer's fore mast boom rest was quite a way up the mast compared to  Independence.  The rest is only 3' 8" above the deck on  Independence, while the main is 6' above the deck.  By contrast, Hannah's fore mast boom rest is 5'6" above deck , according to Hahn's plan.  So while it would be okay to have booms on both the main and the fore masts, the boom rest on the fore mast should be raised significantly higher.  I'm leaning toward no boom rest on the foremast, with a loose-footed fore sail.  What do you all think?

Chaleur      
Hannah     

The masts and sprit are done except for the boom rests.  Rigging soon!

The window framing, hatching and casework I will make out of wood piece by piece. Slow, meticulous and a pain in the rear but that is simply model building. As for all the decorative pieces in between the windows, I do not know. The ones provided were cast in metal and as with most kit fittings, they are not the greatest so even my modest carving abilities should be able to produce something at least on par with what I had. I am considering making molds to cast my own resin pieces but with the scale being what it is, I do not think I could really make a mold that would hold good detail. Unless a better idea comes to me, I plan on just carving my own pieces to the best I can.
 
Haha! Yeah Michael you are right I do stay fairly busy. I enjoy way to many things that there is just simply not enough time for all of them! It is a blessing and a curse as I get to enjoy many things and am rarely bored but I have to prioritize and let go of many areas of interest for the sake of sanity! These last two years have really allowed me a lot of free time for models with the Admiral in graduate school and a clinical internship so I am left to fend for myself a lot. Also a few things like the train are on hold till I finish setting up the new room for it. I am reaching the limits though of what I have time and energy for so I am starting to pick just a few of my favorite hobbies and concentrate more on them. Being a jack of all trades is fun but I think I have reached a stage in my life where it is time to start mastering a couple. 
 
The puppy is starting to take care of herself though I wish the potty training would hurry up! Those occasional libations just make everything a little less stressing. Speaking of, I think it may be time to pour a glass and settle in to see what the next stage will be. 

After another long break I've decided to get my feet wet once again. I've recently picked up an early Sergal Sovereign of the seas kit. This is I assume at least early 80's judging by the box art and the fact most parts have to be cut out and are not laser cut or pre cut. From what I have read a lot of people were disappointed with the later releases from the rebadged mantua sergal version as it had laser cut plywood deck planking and gun port cutouts as this early version doesn't. There is also no balsa in this kit. 
 
This ship has been on a list a mile long for me to build purely due to the ornamentation and what she represented in the future of the three decker warships. So having seen it for sale nearby, whether it was the old or new version I had to grab it! 

Hey everyone, I hope you are all enjoying the weekend. Thanks to all for stopping, for your likes and comments.
 Today's update is showing the catheads and anchors. I realise it is a bit early for the anchors but I couldn't resist the urge to see how they would look, they can be easily removed if required.
 

This is a practice cathead, just to get the fit, angles and dimensions right. This is just 6 x 6 mm basswood, the final product is made from 6 x 6 mm rosewood. The holes and simulated sheaves were made on the mill using a 1 mm end mill cutter.
 

 
I am just showing for those who haven't done this before how I install the anchors. A line is put through the eye on the cathead pulled through, doubled over itself forming a loop, wrapped around itself(three times in this case) and then fed through the loop 
 

Pull both ends to tighten seizing 
 

 Then move seizing up into place
 

 There is a hook stropped to the double block. The line is then fed through block and sheave in cathead and finally belayed to a cleat. The rope around the anchor shaft has a thimble seized in it. Rope is wrapped around the shaft and belayed to the kinighthead.
 

I didn't care for how loose the line through the cathead and block was so I painted the line with diluted pva glue and added the tweezers for weight
 

This is the final result. The anchor rope is from Syren that has been dyed from tan to brown. All other rope used is kit supplied, The hook on the block needs some touching up...as does some of the other some of the other paint by looking at these close ups
 

And a shot from inboard
 

 Finally a picture of the tool I use to make hooks with. I found this here on MSW some time ago and I can't remember the fellow's name but I surely thank him as it works great.

Great Cabin interior is complete! Built the tables and benches this morning and after finding some airline tube for an aquarium while out buying toys and treats for the puppy I managed to finish up the lantern this evening. While it is a little oversized for the scale, I am rather happy with it as I am working in only about an inch of space!
 

 
In this picture I am holding the stern windows in place. This was the template that came with the kit however, this is not the configuration I will be using. I will modify this to have a 6 window layout with two of those spaces acting as doorways to the balcony. I just wanted to see how much visibility I would have of the interior when it is closed in. I think with the light in there I will be able to see plenty.
 
By the way, the light does flicker to simulate a flame and not just a steady light.
 
Next I am moving upward to the Admiral's Cabin. To do this I need to install the false main deck which covers the entire length of the ship. So before that happens I need to blacken in spaces below gratings or plank them, (yet to be decided), and also install a conduit through all the false decks for the wiring to come out the bottom. This is kind of a crucial step in that once I start planking in this cabin, I do not want to take off this deck again so I need to make sure there is nothing else that needs to be below it. More to follow soon though I may use this as a stopping point to go back and do some more rigging on La Couronne. I will see how quickly the plans for the next steps take shape in my mind.
 

Rudder on 

Welcome Sjors, good to have you with us and don't worry, you are not too late as this is a slow moving build. Glad you brought that popcorn machine with you, I think people are starting to get hungry.
 
The curves at the stern of S.R. have been much more interesting to build than I was expecting. The hull goes from a nice smooth gentle curve quickly into a rather extreme narrow curve on the last two frames. This has caused some interesting challenges and shapes in my planking. The more I complete the more I believe that once done, everything will look alright but till then?.... 

Small Update. I have been working on the rudder craving. Metal work to follow...

Stunning work Jason, your finishes even stand up to close/macro camera views.  That is a very nice shade of blue and complements your choices of wood very nicely - she will be one sweet model when completed.
 
cheers
 
Pat

I've done that as well......and it works particularly well with the second planking.   it melds the plank well at the turn.
 
I hope you make provision in regards to visibility........you don't want to go all out,  only to close it up,  never to be seen  

I got a lot done tonight and the great cabin takes on more life! Exterior bulkheads are up, doorways to the quarter galleys cut in and built a couple of bench/storage lockers. Next up I am going to try to build a table and a couple of benches and then I will be ready to run the wires to the lights. I plan on trying to design a couple of small hanging lanterns for the lights to go in. I bought flickering LEDs in hope to simulate candle lighting. We shall see. 

Light bleed through is another reason why I am building the interior walls before planking the hull. Once the walls are in place, I plan on sealing off any and all cracks/gaps in the wood work and then I will paint the backside that will be in between the planking layers black. That is what I do on model buildings for my railroad that have lights and it seems to work great. Last thing I want is to turn on the lights and have a glowing ship!

I have not tried the meet in the middle approach but it might be something worth trying.
 
As for being able to see inside the cabins, S.R. has large rows of windows on her stern that will allow people to look inside. Combined with the LED lights that I will be placing inside you should be able to see most of the details fairly well. The real challenge to see inside will come when/if I decide to case her when she is done. Being able to get up close and look will make things easier but if you are several inches away due to the case, I do not yet know how well you will be able to see the interior. I will play around with this as the build progresses and for the next couple of years this will not really be an issue!

EJ,
For some reason I had forgotten, or missed that you will add LED's. That is an area that certainly requires much forethought. Any "leaking" lights would be unfortunate indeed once you could not go backwards. Great idea. The other builders whom I have seen here adding lights seem to be very successful indeed. Adds a huge extra dimension to a ship. Good luck (:-)
 
PS: your SR is looking quite good so far....
 
Cheers,

I have always planked from the keel up on the lower hull. The upper hull I usually do first from the lowest wale up. (See my La Couronne build log) On S.R. I had to do it a little different though due to the extensive modifications to the cabins. With needing access to the interior to run wiring and to install the bulkheads and furniture, I had to hold off on the planking. While I do see the advantage of starting from the top down in that you can hide screw ups on the bottom of the ship, if your layout is drawn in properly and you take your time, either way works fine. I do think that if I was trying to do the planking in a single layer I would go from the top down.
 
Thanks for the compliments Popeye! Hopefully they will only look better as they go! The best part of modeling the interior is no one really knows what it looked like. There are a few sketches of the interior dimensions and layout but as far as decorations and the actual furniture I have not yet found anything. So here I can definitely take creative liberties and design the spaces as I think they possibly could have looked.

Completed the canons. I originally planned to get the ones from the syren company but ... budget budget.
At the end, I am pretty happy with the result reached with the one from the kit.

Dennis,
 
Don't know how I missed this one. Now following along as well. Yes super nice deck work indeed.
 
Cheers,

thanks Dave..........wind burned???   up here we can't seem to lose the wind........man!  you ought to see it out there right now.......winds reaching up to 50 MPH!!!!!   I gotta go back to work this week end,  and the forecast is calling for snow flurries and rain......STINK-O!!!   glad you like the build so far.......I hope you still do,  once I'm done what I'm about to do     wish me luck!
I know I'm late.......I don't get out much,  what can I say!