gak1965

@Jared, you might consider strengthening the spreaders a bit. I glued a strip of brass on the underside before painting. It's not obvious and it kept things from breaking on more than one occasion.

I was a microbiologist as an undergrad, and my PhD is in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. I left the lab in the mid '90s to do computational work full time.

Thanks - appreciate the compliment. I tend to find that my hands start to shake after a certain amount of very fine work even without COVID, although it is annoying that I am still testing positive. With that said, a short update. I finished the remaining sheets and clews on the mizzen royal and skysail yards. And, I've started dealing with the spanker. I've mounted the spanker gaff and boom. The gaff has both the throat and the peak halyards fully mounted. I've also put in the topping lifts, but I'm not going to mark them as done because I have to put in the tackles that connect to the live ends. So, the list: mizzen yards: 5 Jib halyards: 4 lifts: 10 Jib downhauls: 4 sheets: 8 Staysail halyards: 2 clews: 8 Staysail downhauls: 2 halyards: 4 Spencer gaff: 2 1 Braces: 30 24 topping lifts: 2 1 Stun'sl booms on hull: 2 vangs: 4 2 Stun'sl booms on yards: 12 Spanker boom: 1 Davits: 4 sheets: 2 Boat tackle: 4 Topping lifts: 2 Decals: 3 Spanker gaff: 1 Gilded balls on mast trucks: 3 peak halyard: 1 Fairleads on shrouds: 8 Throat halyard: 1 vangs: 2 ensign halyard: 1 Change: -3 (only 1 throat halyard, not doing 2 outhaul sheets) - also adjusted topping lift to spanker boom, and throat halyard to gaff) -8 (spanker gaff, Spanker boom, peak halyard, throat halyard, 2 clews, 2 sheets) Net = -11 Remaining items: 63 As always, thanks for looking in, and for the likes and comments. Regards, George

Yeah, the case for my Niagara cost more than the kit. It was a little over $500 for the wood pieces (Bluejacket) plus the cost of the glass/plex and the poly. That said, there is a lot of work out into these things, it's nice cherry wood and it seems safer and more secure...

Thanks again for all the well wishes! I was back to work (from home obviously) last Monday but I am still testing positive 9 days later which is rather annoying. Still grateful for having a mild case, despite the long testing tail. Between COVID and the dreadful weather I've had some time to work. So, current status. The mizzen top and topgallant sheets (the chain ones), their tackles the and associated clews are mounted on both sides. The royal and skysail sheets and clews are mounted on the starboard side only. I have lines made but have only installed the royal clew as my hands were starting to shake. Not ideal when there are lines and yards everywhere. While on virus themes, as I was stropping blocks with some wire, just how much they resembled bacteriophage T4, an E. Coli virus that was a common genetic research organism while I was an undergrad and grad student. (Photo CC-BY from Wikipedia) Anyway, I doubt current students bother with this sort of thing since we only used it because we couldn't sequence or synthesize DNA, but it amused me nonetheless. The list: mizzen yards: 5 Jib halyards: 4 lifts: 10 Jib downhauls: 4 sheets: 8 2 Staysail halyards: 2 clews: 8 2 Staysail downhauls: 2 halyards: 4 Spencer gaff: 2 1 Braces: 30 24 topping lifts: 2 1 Stun'sl booms on hull: 2 vangs: 4 2 Stun'sl booms on yards: 12 Spanker boom: 1 Davits: 4 sheets: 2 Boat tackle: 4 Spanker gaff: 1 Decals: 3 throat halyard: 2 Gilded balls on mast trucks: 3 peak halyards: 1 Fairleads on shrouds: 8 topping lifts: 2 outhaul sheets: 2 vangs: 2 ensign halyard: 1 Change: +0 (Nothing Added!) -12 (6 clews, 6 sheets) Net = -12 Remaining items: 74 As always, thanks for the likes and for looking in. George

Thanks guys, I appreciate the well wishes! Saturday and Sunday we're pretty bad, mostly fever, headache, and body aches with a sore throat and occasional cough. Fortunately none of the bad symptoms (shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, poor oxygenation, mental confusion), plus I'm relatively young (well, I'm 58, that sure as heck seems young now whatever I might have said 15 years ago) and had received the initial series, plus like 3 boosters. I was waiting on the new vaccine, thinking it made more sense to wait a couple of weeks and get the up to date one in September rather than in March, but that may have been a miscalculation. Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose. As I was researching the reentry to society rules on the CDC website, I found the formal difference between mild, moderate, and severe, and I definitely wound up in the mild category. So far my wife and my younger kid (who was visiting us) are clear, so, fingers crossed, it's only me. If the fever continues to stay away tomorrow, I can start moving out of my isolation some (while masking) and can ditch the mask early next week. That may mean access to my workbench later this week, so we shall see. Regards, George

Friday, I had mounted the starboard side chain sheets, set the blocks on the starboard clews, and was thinking I was going to be on a roll. However, after being a NOVID for all this time, I now have it, so likely going to be a gap before much in the way of additional progress. Regards, George

From the Boston Daily Atlas (underline mine): Her heavy standing rigging is of four stranded, patent rope, made to order of the best Russian hemp, and varies from 10½ to 8 inch. The running rigging is principally of Manila hemp. Her iron work is the same as that in general use, but stout in proportion to the other details of her rig. She has chain topsail sheets and ties, and iron trusses and futtock rigging. Looks like you are good to go.

Thanks @douglaspbrown! Well, back from Boston, where I was one of many gray haired men helping move adult children. My younger daughter is out of college - she (now) works in Boston rather than goes to school there - but I have to say that many of the parents of the students moving in on that same day were alarmingly young, at least to me. We had our kids relatively late (we were both 33 and 35 when they were born), but seeing so many mid-40's parents taking their kids to college definitely makes one feel one's age. Anyway - build logs aren't supposed to be philosophical treatises, so, progress. All of the square yards are now bent; having installed the mizzen royal and skysail yards, along with their halyards and lifts. All the yard blocks are installed, including the blocks that have six of the eight clews (the ones that use tackles - the top, topgallant, and royal) with their associated lines, but not with the actual clew blocks yet. The not yet done anything with clews are the lines clogging the deck that you can sort of see in the second photo which I will deal with as I add the corresponding sheets. I've also added the remaining 4 trucks that are used as fairleads. The ship as a whole. At some point I will move this to a location more conducive of good pictures, but for now this will have to do. So, the list: mizzen yards: 5 Jib halyards: 4 lifts: 10 Jib downhauls: 4 sheets: 8 Staysail halyards: 2 clews: 8 Staysail downhauls: 2 halyards: 4 Spencer gaff: 2 1 Braces: 30 24 topping lifts: 2 1 Stun'sl booms on hull: 2 vangs: 4 2 Stun'sl booms on yards: 12 Spanker boom: 1 Davits: 4 sheets: 2 Boat tackle: 4 Spanker gaff: 1 Decals: 3 throat halyard: 2 Gilded balls on mast trucks: 3 peak halyards: 1 Fairleads on shrouds: 8 topping lifts: 2 outhaul sheets: 2 vangs: 2 ensign halyard: 1 Change: +0 (Nothing Added!) -12 (2 yards, 2 halyards, 4 fairleads, 4 lifts) Net = -12 Remaining items: 86 As always, thanks for looking in! George

Here are a couple more It's a beautiful model. Interestingly, it is really nice looking but is rather light on the running rigging. It has the halyards, lifts and braces, and the sheets, but dispensed with the clews, staysail outhauls and halyards, bunt and leech lines and associated blocks, and the footropes. Amazing how beautiful a model you can make with just the basics.

So, I am in Boston helping to move one of my kids, and these were in the hotel (a residence inn in Charlestown, just off Constitution Wharf. Donald McKay and some of his ships: And a very nice model of the Flying Cloud, which my photo does not do justice. Regards, George

Sorry, misunderstanding. I built a model of the PoB II, not the ship. As a result, I have a set of plans and I was looking at my model and whilenI put stuns'l irons on the square topsail, I didn't see any irons on the mainsail, so concluded that they just lashed the ringtail boom.

I've built the PoB, no obvious irons in the plans on the main boom (and these are based on the actual ship, so no guessing). Must just be lashed with the top raised like a stuns'l yard

Yeah, same here, even though I keep reading that it wasn't standard, and that the yard was mainly there to foot the topsail. Supposedly, the way to tell is if the yard has footropes (no footropes, no sail bent), but that isn't likely to be resolved with the data we have available. Just from Model Shipways, standard blocks. At this point the Syren blocks would be beautiful blocks in a sea of mediocrity. Supposedly they shipped yesterday. I can mount the remaining yards and their lifts and halyards (without the halyard tackles) and then work on making the stuns'l booms until they arrive. As it is, I'm off to Boston tomorrow to help one of my kids move (all of 1.5 blocks, but she needs to keep all of her stuff overnight in a truck because her old lease ends on Thursday and the new lease doesn't start until Friday, and the insanity of Boston rentals is that there is no way to start early or extend a day. The upshot of which is that I will have some enforced 'no build' time for the blocks to reach me. Geirge

Crikey. And I see the royal stuns'ls as well. Those watersails look dangerous to me, catch a wave and rip off the booms, and do goodness knows what other damage. Of course you'd only set them for light winds, so when there is a lesser chance of waves... I wonder if there was a ringtail iron or if they just lashed a short spar onto the spanker boom and gaff. The Butterworth painting doesn't show it, so I guess I'll leave it for now.

One last weekend update. I've added the mizzen top yard and the mizzen topgallant yard, with the halyards and lifts for all three (including the course). I can't do the chain sheets and the associated clews until the double blocks arrive, hopefully soon. In the interim, I'm going to add any missing blocks for the braces, and work on the stuns'l booms. As can be seen, I've test fitted the spanker boom (it needs stuff added to it), but it's at least out of the way now. Ship as it currently appears: BTW, for the cognoscenti out there. I was looking at the Boston Daily Atlas article (http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/News/BDA/BDA(1851-11-04).html) that @ClipperFan and others have pointed out, and it lists the lowest yard on the mizzen as a crossjack. I've seen indications online that it's called a crossjack (a) only if it carries a sail, (b) only if it doesn't carry a sail, and (c) regardless of whether it carries a sail. The article doesn't talk about the specifics of the sails that it carries - except to say that it carried sails peculiar to clippers: royal (!) stuns'ls, staysails, watersails, and a ringtail. Was it common for clippers to carry a sail on the crossjack? The Butterworth painting shows a sail, but Crothers says it was unusual. For royal stuns'ls are those just the stun'sls footed on the topgallant stuns'l boom? In Anatomy of the Ship for the Constitution those sails are called topgallant stuns'ls, but did the lingo change? I would have thought a ringail would require a set of booms similar to a stuns'l boon on the spanker boom and gaff, but there is nothing there. And watersails? What I've seen described is some kind of stuns'l that sounds like it hangs from the stuns'l boom mounted on the hull and dropping nearly to the water. I'm not planning on putting on sails, but has anyone even heard of such a thing? Anyway, the list: mizzen yards: 5 2 Jib halyards: 4 lifts: 10 4 Jib downhauls: 4 sheets: 8 Staysail halyards: 2 clews: 8 Staysail downhauls: 2 halyards: 4 Spencer gaff: 2 1 Braces: 30 24 topping lifts: 2 1 Stun'sl booms on hull: 2 vangs: 4 2 Stun'sl booms on yards: 12 Spanker boom: 1 Davits: 4 sheets: 2 Boat tackle: 4 Spanker gaff: 1 Decals: 3 throat halyard: 2 Gilded balls on mast trucks: 3 peak halyards: 1 Fairleads on shrouds: 8 4 topping lifts: 2 outhaul sheets: 2 vangs: 2 ensign halyard: 1 Change: +0 (Nothing Added!) -14 (2 yards, 2 halyards, 4 fairleads, 6 lifts) -2 (corrected to 8 sheets and 8 clews) Net = -16 Remaining items: 98 As always, thanks for looking in. Regards, George

BTW, this clears something up for me. There are 6 sheets of plans in the POB kit, and I was kinda baffled as to why they were labelled sheets 1-4 of 4 and 1 - 2 of 2. It makes sense now, as the 4 sheet segment has the framing, overall views, belaying plan, and the running rigging on the yards, and it's what must have been the plans for the solid hull ship (says 1979, revised 1982 and copyright 1994). The 2 sheet set are the additions for the POB model (bulkheads, false keel, planking pattern, counter, etc.) Labelled 1993 and copyright 1994, both sets by Ben Lankford. Historical research and design never stop moving do they. Regards, George

Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, so another update. First, made the spanker boom and gaff: Everything painted black. Top to bottom spencer, spanker gaff, spanker boom, mizzen yards. Two yards prepped with foot ropes and key blocks skysail (above) and course (below): And first mizzen yard bent: The free ends of the lifts (or more to the point their tackles are not yet fully in place, so I can't knock them off the list, but coming. One thing I found out is that I am going to hit a wall after the mizzen top yard because (deep sigh) I don't have enough 1/8 double blocks. More on order, not sure when they will arrive. If I finish the top yard before the extras arrive, I guess I'll work on the stuns'l booms. So, the list: mizzen yards: 5 4 Jib halyards: 4 lifts: 10 Jib downhauls: 4 sheets: 8 Staysail halyards: 2 clews: 10 Staysail downhauls: 2 halyards: 4 Spencer gaff: 2 1 Braces: 30 24 topping lifts: 2 1 Stun'sl booms on hull: 2 vangs: 4 2 Stun'sl booms on yards: 12 Spanker boom: 1 Davits: 4 sheets: 2 Boat tackle: 4 Spanker gaff: 1 Decals: 3 throat halyard: 2 Gilded balls on mast trucks: 3 peak halyards: 1 Fairleads on shrouds: 8 topping lifts: 2 outhaul sheets: 2 vangs: 2 ensign halyard: 1 Change: +8 (shroud fairleads) -1 (mizzen course yard) +0 (corrected 8 sheets and 10 clews, not other way around) Net = +7 Remaining items: 114 For some reason my list keeps growing every time I add things to the ship. I feel like Achilles, perpetually unable to catch the tortoise. Hopefully, no more major additions, and I should be able to get one more yard, 4 lifts, 1 halyard, and maybe some stuns'l booms if the new blocks take some time. Thanks for looking in! George

It is defined in the general notes in sheet 4 of the '94 plans, but sheesh; add the extra 2 letters and be clear.

Absolutely amazing!

Rick, My 1994 revision of the plans label the sails as you describe (see photo, sails labelled 1-4), and the belaying plan uses the same terms (although it annoyingly uses sts'l for staysail which I originally interpreted as stuns'l). The belaying plan uses those terms and I belayed the downhauls to the 4 pin rail in the stem, and the halyards to the fore fife rail. No sails, so no sheets. Not sure what your older version of the plans show. If they disagree I'll DM you the pin locations on the '94 plans Regards, George belayed the jib

Thanks Vlad, it does feel like I am getting close to the end, although despite my current work, I have to add to the list of things to do with no items removed. So, the mizzen yards are built. Photo below shows them, and I put some rulers in the frame to indicate size. These are way smaller than the main and fore (the skysail yard is only 2.5 inches wide). I wound up buying some extra 1/8 and a package of 1/16 inch dowels to make the topgallant and royal/skysail yards respectively. The 1/16 yards will be useful for the stuns'l booms as well, as the 5/64 (7.5 inch at scale) dowels were too large for all but the main course yard. This way, I'll have less to shave off and will be more likely to make better formed booms. Anyways, "iron bands" and eyebolts done, cranes in place, iron sheet blocks built and attached and jackstays in place; ready to paint. The black yard is the main spencer boom, just need to put it on once the mizzen yards are in place. So, the list. I realized that I forgot the mizzen halyards, so the list is now: mizzen yards: 5 Jib halyards: 4 lifts: 10 Jib downhauls: 4 sheets: 10 Staysail halyards: 2 clews: 8 Staysail downhauls: 2 halyards: 4 Spencer gaff: 2 1 Braces: 30 24 topping lifts: 2 1 Stun'sl booms on hull: 2 vangs: 4 2 Stun'sl booms on yards: 12 Spanker boom: 1 Davits: 4 sheets: 2 Boat tackle: 4 Spanker gaff: 1 Decals: 3 throat halyard: 2 Gilded balls on mast trucks: 3 peak halyards: 1 topping lifts: 2 outhaul sheets: 2 vangs: 2 ensign halyard: 1 Change: +5 (mizzen halyards) -0 (nothing off the list Net = +5 Remaining items: 107 [sigh] Well, the braces (24) will go quickly once the yards are in place. And, once painted (and with the foot ropes in place, it was only about 2 weeks to clear what is basically 37 items (yards, halyards, lifts, clews, and sheets) for the main, so maybe not too long before we see yards on 3 masts... Thanks for looking in, George

Welcome from a 58 year old. But still years from retirement, I'm afraid... George

There is always a minor disaster and once you are finished no one will notice. On my Niagara my drill caught a line and ripped the jibboom in half (while rigged). Took hours to repair but no one notices. On the Flying Fish I accidentally yanked a sheet tackle out of the deck, and in the process (a) failed initially to reinstall it, (b) drilled a new hole only to accidentally CA glue a drill bit attached to my pin vise into the deck, and then (c) break both sheets and the yard truss holding it to the mast removing the pin vise and drill bit. Despite all that, I doubt anyone would know if I didn't tell them. Consider this the modeling equivalent of how Amish quilters supposedly put intentional mistakes in... Regards, George

So having gone to the museum and now toured the ship, I was talking to one of the crew and it turns out that they didn't damage a prop, they lost a prop. They were motoring into the harbor, engines start sounding really bad. After they dock a pair of them dive to have a look, and the prop is just missing. Still, interesting tour of the ship. And some cool things in the museum which has an exhibit on the USS Michigan (1843) including her bow and a model as well as various other artifacts: a decoration from the cabin on a coast guard cutter.. Other models: And a classic iceboat