mikiek

For scheduling reasons we are having Thanksgiving tomorrow so I got to work on the stand for the case today. Pretty much finished except for putting on a few coats of varnish. Didn't have time for it to dry and since the display will be parked in the dining room I didn't want it smelling like  like varnish during the meal tomorrow. Maybe later. Here's what I ended up with.
 

 

Had to fit some shims in there - probably should have stained it so it's not so obvious. However the stand surface is smaller than the footprint of the case so it'll all be covered up. One good thing about the pedestal with the case.
 
I had ordered some metal legs from Amazon and since I have Prime I had expected them to arrive yesterday. Instead I got an email saying delivery would be postponed - no date specified. So I cancelled that and in a panic took off to Home Depot. I must say what I ended up with is much more elegant than the metal hairpin legs. Pricier too. But Dang It, this is my first major build, it took over 2 years - SO THERE! 
 
Well here she is folks, parked in her new home.
 

 

 

I'm liking it so far.
 
 

Evening, 
Thought I would share an update prior to the holiday travels. 
Heading to Massachusetts for dinner with the parents and one of my 2 sisters. The good thing, my brother in law is a modeler.
So we'll basically talk "shop" all thru dinner. 
 
 
In dealing with the main rail and all that jazz.......I'm moving on. 
It is what it is and I'm throwing my hands up on it, but NOT on this build.
I'll adjust to my best ability.
 
With that said.
I started putting the gun ports framing in. 
Pretty simple. They should sand up nice. 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
I let these sit for a few days before sanding. 
They sanded up nice and flush in between the timberheads. 
 

 
 
 

 
 
I've seen this jig in other builds.
Its simplicity is staggering. 
Measured out the area of the gunport from the plans and made some blocks the same size. 
 
Easy peasy!
 
 

 
 

 
 
Happy Thanksgiving everybody!   
Be safe!
 
Tom E
 
 
 
 

The hold and the orlop deck are now populated (except for support columns which have to wait until the deck is permanently attached to the hull)
 

Hey Bob - thanks for looking in. That turned out to be my #1 goal. What I call a restoration rather than a refit.
 
I will admit it was real tempting to tear down to the deck and build her again. New ropes, better hardware, you know the drill. But this is a kit that was probably purchased in the 30's. Adding all the contemporary parts wouldn't do it justice.

Sails are taking longer than I thought. I don't have many flat surfaced items or small weights to hold the hem down while the glue dries. So it's load the hem  up with wire and/or rope. Fold the hem over (twice). Squirt some glue into the hem. Weight it down with something flat and wait for the glue to set - about 30 minutes.
 
As I mentioned earlier I was able to pull the little fittings out of the hull and will be able to re-use them. I thought this was going to be a difficult step but it turned out quite easy.
 

The fitting.
 
Tie
Tie a granny knot at the end of a rope

 
Thread the rope thru the fitting.

 
Glue the fitting to the hull. I'll take the ropes and feed them thru the faux deadeyes and tie them off.

Also darkened the sail up some. They look even darker in real life.

Thank you for your honest opinion Per. And I agree, the sails need some roughing up. However as I look at the next set I will be working on, I don't see any other option but replacement. The wire has torn thru the hem in many places, it corroded and that got into the material and there are holes.  Actually they are not as light as the picture makes out. And I believe I can still darken them some more. I've been considering that. With you in agreement I will move forward with that. Darker and maybe some even darker splatters.

Well maybe not as difficult as I thought. I was able to pull the metal fittings out of the holes - 70 year old glue.  So I should be able to figure something out now.

Visible progress! Almost have the rear mast back in place - with sails and a clean deck underneath. A big improvement however a little sterile for my taste.
 

 

 
Got one problem and I knew this was coming when I snipped the shrouds. This pic pretty much shows it all.
 

 
There used to be a line from the lower 'deadeye' that went over the channel and into the small holes below. I assume they were fastened with a big granny knot on the backside, while there was still access to the inside of the hull. Now there is no access, but I need to do something similar. Tie a rope to the bottom of the 2 deadeyes. Run the rope into the hole. Tie the rope off somehow and keep good tension the whole time.
 
Ideas?

I think I am going to try out this method for sails. I'm trying to not strip down the entire mast in one shot. Even with pix, I'll never get it put back together the same way. So I have this upper sail - sorry, I don't know the names of the fore/aft sails - ready to put back on. But it will require an attachment to the end of the gaff on the lower sail (spanker?), so I really need to remove the lower sail. This one is laced on to the gaff and mast so the replacement will need holes in the hem
in addition to wire & rope.
 
Speaking of wire, having that in the hem is a very cool idea. It can be bent around to really give the sail some shape. No droopy sails.
 
The boom and gaff were fastened to the mast by something that almost looks like tape. Maybe a touchup later in life. Don't know if they even had tape 70 years ago and if they did would it still be holding today? At any rate I'm going to have to do something different to hold the boom & gaff to the mast. I think the scale is too small to try a parral so I guess it'll just be a loop of rope around the mast.

Tape?
 

So the spanker is off and I've made a pattern so I can cut a new one.
 
Compare old sails vs replacement. I feel like I need to take the new one and rub it around in the dirt.
 

Nice fix.

Nice fix.

More pix with a different camera. Not a lot better, but I still get to flood this thread with pix.
 
I'm at a point where I am having to think up things to do. I believe all the tasks are done. Added the rudder chain. Got the tiller and boom rigging done, although I kinda bashed the design in the plans. I just couldn't do it that way. I even started the boat name using dry transfer stickers but I ran short one "A". More on order and I will probably paint over what you will see in the pix and try again. Those decals ain't easy.
 
Got out the compressor and began blowing as much junk as I could off. Found that some make up brushes are very good at brushing lint/dirt around without doing damage to things. They are very soft and come in all sorts of shapes & sizes. Got quite a set at Walmart today.
 
Also ordered the display case today. This one is going to my dad's. Back a few months when Joel passed I said I was dedicating the completion of the build, particularly the rigging to him. So at some point I will put together a few words in his memory. If you have anything you'd like to add on his behalf be thinking about that. We'll figure out how/where to publish it.
 
Well here's a few more pix.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Found a good way to eyesplice for stays. Since they are served it's pretty easy.
On a serving machine put one end of your rope with at least 3/8" inside the clip so that it is not served. I do this left side to right so this end is in the left clip. Serve about 1/2"-3/4" starting at the left clip moving right.
 

 

 
 
Put a spot of CA at the end of the serve cut the thread, tie a half hitch and CA that. Take rope out of machine. Trim the left end so there is 3/8" unserved rope. Unravel the end of the rope all the way to where the serving starts.
 

 
Fold the rope over at the half way point of the serving. Where the serving starts and ends should be together now, you should have a loop of served rope and the unfrayed end should overlay.
 


 
 
Now for the cheating part. Put some CA on the unfrayed strands and then twist them around the other side of the rope. You may need to do this twice but when complete all the unfrayed strands are now glued to the other side and you have a served loop.
 

 
Clip the served loop into the left clip on the serve machine. Pull the rope tight and clip rope into the right clip. Take your serving thread and tie a half hitch right where the two served ends meet. The idea here is you are going to serve over the unfrayed rope that is now glued to the other end. This will cover up any messyness from the fake eyesplice. Serve a few inches or so and you should be ready to add your mouse.
 

 

 

Niagara in her new room. I have some  legs on order and will put them on a platform that the case can sit on. Hope it all gets here before Thanksgiving. The Admiral won't be happy if we have to share the dining room table with a boat.
 
Had to take pix from the side as from straight on the flash gave too much reflection. The protective paper is still on the back. If it was another color I might consider leaving it on.
 
About time to change this title to FINISHED!!!
 

 

 
 

Niagara in her new room. I have some  legs on order and will put them on a platform that the case can sit on. Hope it all gets here before Thanksgiving. The Admiral won't be happy if we have to share the dining room table with a boat.
 
Had to take pix from the side as from straight on the flash gave too much reflection. The protective paper is still on the back. If it was another color I might consider leaving it on.
 
About time to change this title to FINISHED!!!
 

 

 
 

Thank you Lee - for now I'm going with some of those metal harpin legs. Not as nice as your suggestions but I needed something fast.

Lee - believe it or not  have found a relativley safe way to transport the boat. I use one of those foam holders, I think MicroMark sells them. Cradles the hull firmly then I pile towels or blankets all the way around that. Of course you do need a SUV.
 
The boat didn't roll or even tilt and was in perfect condition at my destination. And I used to hear horror stories of major destruction during transport.
 
Jim - that's the plan. Build a frame of 2x4s and fix the legs to that. Then set the case on top.

Mickgee - Thank you. I've always felt like the cases add a little something to the final look.
 
Don - I guess we both have a decision coming up.  What's next? I've got several smoldering on the bench but nothing I would call my main build.

I've been having a debate with myself as to whether or not to show individual rigging components as I complete them. So far I have not and I suspect I'll regret not doing that. Could be a good reference in the future. Quite a lot has been done and quite a lot is left to finish. Thought I would at least post a few progress pix. Everything is show together but nothing is actually together yet.
 
It was 101 degrees today. Same yesterday. The poor little portable AC in the garage is working its tail off and just barely making it tolerable. It's 82 out there a little after midnite.
 
Well, here's proof I am getting things done:
 

 

 

 

 

 
I'm wondering about all those lines at the masthead. They don't want to lay flat. Maybe it would be better to take them off and then rope by rope glue them back in a stack.
 
Have not even looked at the bow spars yet

Here's one for the experts. This is easily drawn on the plans. Implementation is another story. The course yard sling is basically a loop of rope that goes around the mast head then somehow magically passes thru the top and down to a thimble to which it is lashed.
 

 

 
There is no place for it to pass thru the top
 

 

 
The right opening would be where the top mast foot sits, but when the top mast is stepped the hole is filled. The only option I see is thru the holes a little further out. This is not what the plans show. Any ideas?

A very nerve wracking couple of minutes while drilling holes in the keel. Shoulda done that a LONG time ago. There's a sign that you're close to done.
 

 
To anyone out there with a Niagara kit - built or on the shelf. Did your kit come with a stand? The instructions reference one, but I sure didn't get one.
 

More pix with a different camera. Not a lot better, but I still get to flood this thread with pix.
 
I'm at a point where I am having to think up things to do. I believe all the tasks are done. Added the rudder chain. Got the tiller and boom rigging done, although I kinda bashed the design in the plans. I just couldn't do it that way. I even started the boat name using dry transfer stickers but I ran short one "A". More on order and I will probably paint over what you will see in the pix and try again. Those decals ain't easy.
 
Got out the compressor and began blowing as much junk as I could off. Found that some make up brushes are very good at brushing lint/dirt around without doing damage to things. They are very soft and come in all sorts of shapes & sizes. Got quite a set at Walmart today.
 
Also ordered the display case today. This one is going to my dad's. Back a few months when Joel passed I said I was dedicating the completion of the build, particularly the rigging to him. So at some point I will put together a few words in his memory. If you have anything you'd like to add on his behalf be thinking about that. We'll figure out how/where to publish it.
 
Well here's a few more pix.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

I tried again to get some pix. Brought the boat in the house. Put it up against a blank wall, Used the flash every time. I'm still not happy with the outcome. My one last try will be with a different camera. Here's a few of the ones that came out better.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep in mind this is only the standing rigging and maybe 1/2 of the running rigging - sheets, halyards and braces. But I think it is enough to give the general impression. Can't imagine how busy the thing would be had I added all the lines for sails. Maybe even too much.
 
Left to do:  rudder chain, tiller and boom rigging, trim loose ends of ropes, clean the deck (dust bunnies), name on sides & stern.
 
Regarding the last item. I tried some dry transfer decals with minimal success. Seems like that would have been the easiest way. I found some lettering that I liked - good font, good size. But they just don't transfer very well. Of course it is hard to hold the boat at the right angle, hold the transfer sheet still, then burnish the lettering. I'm wondering if a sort of 'name plate' would work where I take a strip of wood, paint it, apply the letters then glue that on the boat.  Gonna need something like decals for this - painting is out of the question.
 

Niagara in her new room. I have some  legs on order and will put them on a platform that the case can sit on. Hope it all gets here before Thanksgiving. The Admiral won't be happy if we have to share the dining room table with a boat.
 
Had to take pix from the side as from straight on the flash gave too much reflection. The protective paper is still on the back. If it was another color I might consider leaving it on.
 
About time to change this title to FINISHED!!!
 

 

 
 

If possible sand or lightly file the pieces before gluing.