Chuck

They were attached the same way you did the other flags. The penants and flags that flew off the masts were in fact attached to un through sheaves in the ball trucks. These are the caps on the tops of each mast. They were belayed in the tops usually to a shroud cleat or to the rail in the top. Hope that helps. Chuck

That looks great. Yes the top frame pops up a bit. Your planking run looks real good. Proceed as shown in those photos. Chuck

Thanks for the kind words. I actually have thought about it...but its one of those ...where do I find the time.......things. I am sure I will get around to it at some point. Chuck

Looks fantastic....Dont forget to check out these photos of the pinnace in the NMM museum. This is the pinnace I based the kit on for teh most part. http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/gallery/image/5287-london-517/ You will notice a few changes or omissions that I made to keep the kit more simplified. If you have any questions at all please let me know. Chuck

Tom The three bobbins should spin independently to twist the three strands first. Thats what the Byrnes ropewalk does. You cant make rope unless the three strands are twisted first and then afterwards you twist those three strands together in the opposite direction. Its the opposing tension that keeps rope from unraveling. Otherwise you are not making rope. You are just twisting three strings together and using glue or something to keep them from untwisting. With those machines its just all done at the same time. Without the initial twisting there is no way on the planet that the rope wouldnt unwind afterwards. I am sure those three bobbins are actually spinning independently to put the initial twist into each thread before they are laid up into rope. Its the only way you can make rope. As far as I know anyway. Chuck

Those machines do twist the initial strands separately as that is the way all rope is made. The key is to adjust the speeds so that initial twist are the correct amount in comparison with the turning of all three strands together in the opposite direction. I like the feel of the manual machines better because this can be adjusted to suit where as the machines make this difficult to feel and adjust. You have to finish a whole spool before you find out that the rope has the correct opposing tensions. To harden the rope I dont do anything elaborate. I just stretch about a 2 foot section of the rope at a time before I cut it free from the rope walk. I stretch it for just a fraction of second. Then I cut one end free and pull it lightly. I dont pull too hard or I will break my machine on the other end of the ropewalk. Just a quick light stretch. You will "feel" when its enough. In fact...if after cutting the rope free from one end of a manual machine it kinks up or it unravels....thats the sign that the tensions are not correct. If they are correct the line will not kink up or unravel at all. Its a pleasure to cut a length of rope free and see it just sit there without kinking or twisting. Thats when you know the opposing tensions are perfect.

My guess is that when you glued the pieces together the lower parts of the stem were not assembled at the correct angles. The scrph joints are tricky and the pieces should be assembled over the plan to get the proper curve in the stem. It also depend on how much of the laser char you sanded off. If not enough char was removed to get a nice tight fit...the creep could have made teh entire assembly slightly larger. All of these factors will compound to make the piece oversized...in addition, measure your plans scale bar to see that it is printed at the correct scale. You plan may also be too small. It could be tons of things actually...the laser parts could be off as well. Great start either way. Chuck

Thank you Druxey. I just made some .062 rope yesterday. So I just ran down to the shop to cut the ends off with a sharp fresh blade. You can see that there is no unraveling at all. This is a six strand rope. Initially my six strand rope did unravel and it took me months to adjust my twisting and ratios before i got it just right. I do fear that those who initially bought my larger rope may experience some unraveling, but once you get the tension correct and the hardening correct you wont have any issues. I have since stopped using an automated machine like the ones offered and have reverted back to using my hand held version. The rope is manually twisted and then hardened afterwards. None of my rope will unravel now that I have the ratios correct. After making thousands of feet of rope in just a few months I began to get a feel for the tension in the line. I believe that this "feel" can only be ascertained by making the rope by hand and getting accustomed to what the right "feel" of tension and spring I can sense while holding the end of my rope walk and the line. I also examine the lay of the rope and have a sense for what is correct now. I also do this when twisting the initial individual strands. Its a matter of feeling that it is correct. Last month I brought my rope walk into my club meeting and made a 21 foot length of .045 rope in about 10 minutes. It initially started out as three strands of thread that were 26 feet long. After twisting the individual strands...they were now just 20 feet long. Give or take. After twisting all three strands together the line was lightly waxed and then hardened. This stretched the rope to 21 feet long and as soon as I finished it up...I cut the rope in half with a sharp blade to show how the rope would not unravel... It is absolutely possible. Chuck

The plastic stuff in kits is treated and thats why it wont unravel. Same is true for the natural stuff. But not all laid rope will unravel. If properly hardened after laying it up it certainly wont unravel. My rope wont unravel at all. If you use a sharp...sharp blade this is especially true. Using a dull blade may make the ends start to frizz up a bit. My larger ropes may unravel a little bit, but not too much. I have since created a method to ensure that doesnt happen. The smaller sizes will not unravel at all....The key is getting the opposing tensions in balance. If you dont wind the three strands initially enough times then it is most likely the final rope will unravel. That is usually the mistake that is made. When I first started making rope, that was the case. But I kept increasing the amount of twist in the initial strands until I was doing it four times as much. Each time I increased it....the rope unraveled less. Also remember not to over twist all three strands together. That will cause kinking in the final rope. You must through trial and error strike the correct balance in the tension. Chuck

Nope....its definitely wrong...I dont understand how they can print those wrong every time.... Download these and print them out. Remember to make the page scaling "none" in adobe before you print it out. That is what they keep doing wrong. That is why it always prints too small. Chuck framingplan1.pdf framingplan2.pdf framingplan3.pdf framingplan4.pdf sternframingsyren.pdf framingplan5.pdf framingplan6.pdf

Thats a tough question Sam. I searched but in the end just left it out of the kit because I couldnt find a definative answer. But the typical jack would be safe. Chuck

Looking great Sam. I love how this little kit offers so much diversity. There is so much you can do with it. Yours is especially unique and really a treat to look at. Chuck

Please do join the group and dont hesitate to ask me any questions. It is a fun project. Chuck

Basically the planking....<ost folks will buy the kit because its not expensive and small and that alone doe not make it a beginner kit. But often times they think that. Planking a small boat hull like that is much harder than planking a larger hull. The bends and angles required make spiling and shaping the planking a must. This is something that beginner builders can not fudge. Yes the hull is painted but you will see see the run of the planks inboard and using such thin planking material it doesnt leave much room for sanding out errors. Filling any gaps may also be seen inboard. Basically it is the proper planking expertise that makes it an advanced kit. Especially at the small 1/4" scale. That being said. Its a great teaching tool to learn proper planking and with only a few strakes per side they can be ripped off and done over many times. For example, My local club is building the Pinnace kit and we are using it to teach more advanced planking techniques. Some of our members have ripped off the planks three and four times. You will learn how to properly shape a garboard strake and where to place its forward end. Dont let it scare you. Give it a try but if you have never planked a small boat like this before, you should expect some new things to pop up while doing so. Again...read all of the logs on this site as suggested. Chuck

Thats a loaded question...It really depends on the original thread brand and material you use. In addition...it will also depend on how tightly you lay up the rope. There are many factors. The best way is to just find a bunch of thread and experiment. Experiment with various timing to control the tightness of the lay. Chuck

Fantastic looking photos...wonderful stuff. Merry Christmas!!! Chuck

To all who knew Eddie I am very sad to report that Eddie passed away earlier in December. Please join me in sadly offering his family our condolences. Eddie was a wonderful model builder and will be missed on MSW. Rest in Peace Eddie!!! Chuck

looks good but go thinner with the cap rail....a little more oatboard and a little more inboard. The thinner the better. Chuck

Its coming together very well. Fine work.

Dont buy the paint set...just buy the three colors you mentioned there....

Yes you can get a good spray-on matte fixative but it can be expensive. A good alternative would be to use any hairspray you can find. Its cheaper and basically the same stuff. If you find one with a UV protection it will actually help prevent the ink from fading. This is what I use. Spray a light coat first and then apply to more heavier coats. But dont soak it as the ink will probably spread. Chuck

Looking good Augie. Should you choose another treenail pattern remember to still go small. Anything larger than a #78 drill bit would probably be too large and historically inaccurate. Although it is a matter of personal taste. Going with Bob's pattern is also not accurate so its just a matter of going with what you like. You dont want the model to look like it has the measles. But thats a long way off. Try a few tests on some scrap first. Chuck

Thats really coming together Rusty, Very clean and the wood colors look very good. Chuck

Almost there Ryland. That looks very good. You have achieved a nice run of those planks. Chuck

Augie, The planking is looking really good. One thing to watch is when you are ready to place the second layer of the wales (both of them) on top of the first layer. If your planking run isnt identical at the stern where the planks run off the hull, dont just follow that first layer with the wales. Make some adjustments on one side or the other so the wales are even port to starboard. Should they not be even it will cause you some problems when trying to get the quarter galleries built and the PE decorations on. The same is true at the bow when it comes time to make the headrails much later. Try and measure down from the cap rail on both sides after taking the measurements from the plans. You have a bit of wiggle room there if you need to adjust them to make them even. Just giving you something else to worry about!!!! and I hope you find it helpful. Chuck