qwerty2008

yes, I was afraid of that.  I did some divider measurements (which I should have done instead of eye balling it) of a buoy in an article in Ships in Scale volume XXI number 3 May/June 2010.  I compared the length of the buoy to the height of a gun port.  The article is about making anchor's and is where I got the plans for the anchors I made.  The HMS Warrior (the ship in the article for which the anchor's were made), carried 24 pounders on her lower gun deck, as did Victory.  With a caliber of 5.84 inches, using a formula of 6 times the diameter of the shot, a 24 pound gun port is about 35 inches, just short of 3 feet.  Using that measurement, in photo above and the diorama photo in the article. it looks like the buoy is somewhere between 4 to 4-1/2 feet, or 1-1/2 times the height of the port.  I placed a 3/4"X1/2" piece of scrape in place of the 1" buoy I made and it looks way better in proportion.  I am going to make new buoy's 4-1/2' or just over 3/4".
 
Thank you for your input, it is very helpful to get other views and suggestions!!

OK.  I didn't get any suggestions about puddening the anchor ring so,I am going with my hunch that it wasn't done with a chain.
 
HOWEVER, I do need input on if I made the anchor float to big?  It looks OK, I guess, needs painting to simulate the tar it would have been coated with, but other wise I think it is fine.  What do you think?  Oh, it is 1 inch long, so six feet on real ship.

Six feet seems awfully big for a buoy
I have attached a picture showing the HMS Victory's anchor buoy which appears to be around 2 to 3 feet tall.

Six feet seems awfully big for a buoy
I have attached a picture showing the HMS Victory's anchor buoy which appears to be around 2 to 3 feet tall.

Ordered some gold 5mm Times Roman dry transfer letters from Letraset in the UK a month ago - they just arrived yesterday and I wasted no time getting Constellation's name installed on her stern.

The clear coat hadn't dried so the hull looks a little glossy.

I have shaped the keel bulb and decided how to make up the extra weight, I will be making a smaller weight that will be attached between the fin and bulb.
   I ordered the servos, they should be arriving sometime before the end of the week.
 
 
 
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I have shaped the keel bulb and decided how to make up the extra weight, I will be making a smaller weight that will be attached between the fin and bulb.
   I ordered the servos, they should be arriving sometime before the end of the week.
 
 
 
.-..  .  -..-  -  ..  -.

I have some photos of my progress.  ALL of the rigging I am going to do is done.  The photo of the whole ship does not include the spreaders or it's rigging, nor the bumpkin stays.  I need to ask a question here to see if anyone knows weather or not I need to add "pudding" to the anchor rings?  As this ship used chain in place of rope, I suspect the chain would wear away the rope wrapping on the anchor ring pretty quickly I  would imagine.  I suspect the rope wrapping on the ring was needed when a rope was used to reduce wear on the rope where in rubbed on the ring?  The measurements on the anchor plans were reduced from 3/16th to 11/32 scale.  I made a previous set of anchors that were too small, ah well, I can always use them on my USS United States when I build her.  I will start her when I begin rigging my Columbus.

Thanks Vivian. I'll definitely need some kind of excuse for building another one-- historical accuracy will do just fine! 
 
For once I actually got as much done as I planned: mounting holes drilled in the keel, final stern section of the keel added, and eight more floors cut out. They still need to be sanded and pinned though.
 
For the last piece on the keel, I tried a slightly different method of attachment. Instead of trying to cut another hook scarf joint, I drilled the two pieces and fitted them with 0.037" dowels, and a bit of wood glue.
 

 
After drilling the mounting holes in the keel, I did a dry fit of the 16 floors that I've made so far. If you squint really hard and use your imagination, it kinda sorta looks a little like a ship! It helps that the photo's a little fuzzy. 
 

 
A better view of how much remains to be done:
 

Today I finally got into my Man Cave for a bit. The last week saw zero modelling activity as I was fighting a bug I caught at work. I didn't miss any time just felt like crap for 5 days!
 

 
I took some time to figure out how the hull should lay in relation to the seas. I took some advice from McCaffery's book page 124 Ships in Miniature (display and care) and figured I would put the ship in on an angle in the bottle. Also once it's built, I'll put it heeled over and off center to create tension and give the viewer a sense of movement of the ship. Also in this picture I laid out the template to show how to center the hull in relation to the size/length the fir had to be cut.
 

 
Above just a close up of what I am referring to, to get the swells and waves right, and what the seas are going to look like close to the hull if ...  I get my carving right!
 

 
I must have cut out at least 8 templates, to figure out what the contour of the inside of the bottle shape actually is? Note to self ... bottles are anything but round and flat inside!
 

 
I scored two specialized drill bits for drilling holes through masts and yards from my local model supplier. Tamiya came through big time for me. These drills cost me $18.88 for two bits. Yikes!
 

 
Below is a close up. I don't dare remove this drill till I need it as it's really small and Murphy's law is... I'll loose it before I even need it. BTW who is Murphy anyway?
 

 
Next two shots are of some ultra fine fly tying tread I got from the Fishing Hole. I'll use it for running rigging, stays, etc.
 

 

 
So there you have it. Tomorrow I'll head out to purchase one specialized Dremel conical bit, (the one size I actually need I don't have) to start the carving process. I have everything else I need so "time to start carving," and making a big mess, with saw dust and chips in the Cave! Today more planning of how I am going to pin all four pieces of wood together in the bottle using a string and pin technique.
 
Jeff

Here is a photo I took on the Pride of Baltimore II showing a rope stropped block with a becket. This block has a becket on the bottom, the part with the shackle through it holding it to the ringbolt in the deck.  On your model the becket is larger than the one shown and is the part that is fitted around the boom.
 
The rope grommet which IS the Strop was made large enough to fit around the block AND have enough material left over to form the two seized eyes on either side of the block. In this case the strop was served and leathered to keep it from chafing. The seizings which formed the eyes were done with a lighter colored line and show up well in the photo. Metal thimbles are set into the seized eyes but this is not always done.
 
On your model you will have to make up some sort of loop of line appropriately thick enough for your strop, and long enough to go around the block, the spar on one side of the block and the small eye on the other. Making the seizings to form the eyes should present no trouble.

Here are some pictures of a full size block that I made aways back, it only has one eye but to make a second eye you would just need a larger loop of rope and seize the eye around the boom first then seize the second around the block.



 
To seize start from the eye end and make a loop as shown,

then begin wrapping (if on a block wrap towards the block) around the rope being seized,

once you reach the end of your seize pull the end through the loop created earlier.

then pull the loop tight until the loop disappears inside the seize,

and lastly cut the ends off.
 
 
Lextin.

Here are some pictures of a full size block that I made aways back, it only has one eye but to make a second eye you would just need a larger loop of rope and seize the eye around the boom first then seize the second around the block.



 
To seize start from the eye end and make a loop as shown,

then begin wrapping (if on a block wrap towards the block) around the rope being seized,

once you reach the end of your seize pull the end through the loop created earlier.

then pull the loop tight until the loop disappears inside the seize,

and lastly cut the ends off.
 
 
Lextin.

I have been slack lately, not looking forward to the lazy jacks.
 
I have sorted them now and I can now lower the sails properly. The video is a little bit dodgey as the camera kept trying to auto focus but it's ok. Once all the running rigging for the tops'ls is done I think it will be smoother and more controlled too.
 

Thank you Mark,
are surely ventilation ports/small loading ports.
This is a small ship and the cannons are placed only in the same deck/level where is located the cabin with the windows, so the ventilation ports results under that one.
In the attached drawing there is a detail of an ancient colour drawing of a venetian xebec.
On it can be clearly see the above discussed ports placed under the windows.
more progress:
-I made the windows for the gunners (no photo to show).
-I made again the drawing of the stern (a neverending story ).
The one showed is the stretched version, with bigger height in order to match the sloped stern wall (hope the english terms are good).
the light green window is the fake one, since it contain partially the rudder.
The stern of the "Beata Vergine" has the Virgin Mary painting instead of a fake window.
I attach another painting, of unkwon origin, which show clearly the type of hull of the ship that I am building.
The type of sails and rigging are different, but the hull shape is the same.
Is interesting to note how the stern shape of the ships in the painting matches the one that I am building.
 

All bulkheads in place and as you can see the deck is dead level because it will be my my reference point when it comes to motor and oar rack installation.

The African Sepili hardwood I cut on my converted tile saw. The saw was a lot cheaper than a small or hobby size table saw all I had to do was a bit of blade modification.

The motors, ESC and battery finally showed up yesterday after being in transit for two months. The motors are 75 to1 reduction which should make the speed of the oars just right.

I've been working on routing the braces below deck so they don't tangle and interfere with each other;  so they don't obstruct hatches and other operations, like the rudder; and in a layout that I can service the system when needed through the planned hatches without having to tear up the deck.  That's the plan for this spaghetti puzzle I've been working on.
  Fore & Main brace diagram showing how braces are routed below decks.
The port-side main brace will be rerouted so it doesn't obstruct the planned after hatch.
 
The gray riding bit beyond the winch servos is the brace fairlead bitt, for want of a better name.
The fairleads mounted on the winches keep the braces on the correct flange of the drum, the eyes on the bitt turn the braces to their through-deck destinations.
 
View from aft.  The bitt is made of white pine.  The knees are glued and screwed to the deck, not the servo-tray.  The cross beam is just screwed to the knees.
 
Red arrows point out through-deck fairleads of brass tubing.  Amidships are the foremast brace fairleads, and outboard are the crossjack fairleads.
 
On either side aft are the main brace fairleads, and forward (left) are the main tops'l yard brace fairleads.
 
The fore brace and the fore tops'l yard braces from inside the hull.  The foremast winch is on the right of the image.  The other winch operates the main and mizzen braces.

Thank you all for the kind words :-)
 
By now, this build was incorporated into my big Victory build as it developed into a test for several features over there.
 
Please refer to this link to see the whole documentation full of drama, blood and gore :-)
 
                                          #634                         
 
Here some teasers:
 

 

 

 

 

 
Cheers, DAniel

Pride got out of the house for a bit, being displayed at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's Model Expo.

 
This got me wanting to get something done on her so maybe next time she can actually sail.  One job is finally figuring out how to handle all those over-lapping sails.  For the expo I installed a test set-up in Constellation which, though it needs some adjustment, looks like it'll work.
 
I'm using a large "sail-arm" servo for the main sheet, which will be rigged as shown below to look more prototypical.
 

 
This arm will also move a pair of sheet arms that will handle the rest of the fore-n-aft sails.  When the sail-arm is centered, every thing is sheeted out.  Moving port or starboard will sheet in the main either way, but will only move one sheet-arm, sheeting those sails to that side while leaving the other sheets slack.
 

 
Here's the test rig installed in Constellation
 
 
 
I haven't decided if I'll use an arm or winch servo to handle the squares, but I'm leaning towards a winch, mainly because I have a couple of spares.  I'm also considering putting the main sheet on a separate servo for better balance and control.  I may put all the running stays on that servo as well.

Hey Shipmates!
 
Still at it. Tons o stuff going on round here. Sorry for the delay.
 
Okay now LEE is moving along slow but sure.  I made my first grating from walnut and cherry. I found a 4 inch table saw and I used the blade kerf and a small rip fence to make the slats. Turned out nice, not perfect but nice.
 
  As I was fairing my frames.....ugg, I would take breaks and build this or that for the ship.  I went with an older style windless as LEE was built hastily and by folks who did not have all the proper tools. I turned the barrel from maple. The pawls are of walnut as are the supports. I made the rings by sawing thin slices of brass tube then sanding to the proper size.
 
Although there is no record LEE may have had a small boat.  I almost went with a canoe but found no evidence of any involvement of local Native Americans. I did do some looking in to boats built around that time. This is an educated guess as to what it might have looked like. Fast to build and able to navigate shallow waters.  I used thin cherry to build up a bread and butter hull.  The keel, stem, and stern post are of Walnut and the interior is maple, as are the oars. Again I wen to brass tube to make the oar locks.
 
More to come my friends!!  Having a blast.  I think once LEE is built I will have acquired the needed skill to attempt a kit,,,,but we shall see.
 
 
Chief Going Deep!!     
   

Given the wealth of targets on this forum, I loaded some more shot - now nearly 2 kg on board and total weight of the boat is 3.8 kg; exactly the nominal weight of the RL-boat divided by 32 to the power 3. Seems the hull shape is pretty good to drawing.
 
By the way - I was given the drawing set of this 1905 boat by Fred Huygen, who unfortunately passed away a couple of weeks ago. He built many per-war Model Dutch submarines including Cornelis Drebbel , a beautifull oar powered sub from the 1760s and O-13 - still on patrol, for which he built the model for a TV documentary about her disappearance off the Danish coast in 1941. Both my subs were inspired by Fred's work. Yesterday was a large submarine meeting in Cologne, and we missed him.
 
Back to the present. The pic below shows the wet testing of the boat to determine the volume of the dive-bag. The stern is lying in a container of water, and using the transmitter and some kitchen scales. I could determine the dive tank is only 120 ml. That's much less than the 300-400 I need to get the boat anywhere near the waterline when not submerged. I thus ordered some more of the tough plastic sheeting to try make a bigger one.
 

 
The shot is pretty much distributed to have the boat level under water (keeping a reserve bag of 250 gram shot in place of the dive tank - which I can reduce if I manage to make a bigger one. As seen in my bath, the boat lies a bit deep and not perfectly level. It's pretty stable though.
 

 
I took both my boats to the world famous submarine day in Cologne, unfortunately my K-XVIII refused to dive after a nice round on the surface - pump seems to have failed or developed a control glitch. And with so many large (5 foot or more), and FAST subs in the water I was not comfortable trying my small boat with its minute reserve buoyancy. Rather do some more bath work! However here were some of the visitors.
 

 

 

 

Thanks. Vivian.
 Here are some pictures of the main hatch. I tried to keep in mind the practicalities of a hatch which would have to be manhandled by a brace of sailors. The overall shape is that seen on the Mataro Nao. The individual sections of the hatch could be lifted by two men. Bear in mind that the overall scale of the model is approximately 1:64.
Cheers, Dick

I have made some progress on the railing and got the port side hammock cranes installed with some temporary netting in place.




 
 
Lextin.