VinceMcCullough

Gorgeous work, Savo!

Oops! I just blew the photo up more an saw the rod that I think you are referring to. I agree, probably for life lines.

Thanks for this. I was just preparing to rig the anchor on my own topsail schooner model (Marine Models’ Virginia Privateer) and studying my references. It helps to clarify some of my questions. 
 
An additional reference that I would recommend is “The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War 1600-1825” by Peter Goodwin. There is a good discussion of stowing anchors on page 54.
 
Vince McCullough

I have created a sort of “third hand” for seizing shrouds around dead eyes. I take a small alligator or binder clip and tie a piece off line to it. Cut the line long enough to go up and over the mast head plus a bit more, which you will tie around a small weight. I have used both nuts and fishing sinkers for this.  So you end up with a piece of one with a weight on one end and a clip on the other.
 
To use this, fit the shroud around the deadeye, fasten the clip to the running end and run the line over the top. As the weight hangs down from the top, it will tension the should, holding it in place around the deadeye. Make your seizing, remove the clip, And cut any excess shroud away. Use the same third hand line on the other shrouds.
 
Vince

I have created a sort of “third hand” for seizing shrouds around dead eyes. I take a small alligator or binder clip and tie a piece off line to it. Cut the line long enough to go up and over the mast head plus a bit more, which you will tie around a small weight. I have used both nuts and fishing sinkers for this.  So you end up with a piece of one with a weight on one end and a clip on the other.
 
To use this, fit the shroud around the deadeye, fasten the clip to the running end and run the line over the top. As the weight hangs down from the top, it will tension the should, holding it in place around the deadeye. Make your seizing, remove the clip, And cut any excess shroud away. Use the same third hand line on the other shrouds.
 
Vince

Peter
 
since you have a lathe, I’d do it the other way around. Start with a piece of square stock, shape the top to the appropriate dimensions and then turn the rest of the mast to the required round cross section. To make this easier you might want to plane the portion to be turned down to an octagon.
 
Vince

Peter
 
since you have a lathe, I’d do it the other way around. Start with a piece of square stock, shape the top to the appropriate dimensions and then turn the rest of the mast to the required round cross section. To make this easier you might want to plane the portion to be turned down to an octagon.
 
Vince

Since the broken one is plastic, try replacing the broken spokes with a bit of Evergreen or Plastruct styrene rod and paint as required.  Then mount the wheel so that the broken spokes are at the bottom.  I doubt it will be noticeable.  
 
Even if you don't replace the broken ends of he spokes, they might not be noticeable if mounted at the bottom of the wheel.
 
Vince

Since the broken one is plastic, try replacing the broken spokes with a bit of Evergreen or Plastruct styrene rod and paint as required.  Then mount the wheel so that the broken spokes are at the bottom.  I doubt it will be noticeable.  
 
Even if you don't replace the broken ends of he spokes, they might not be noticeable if mounted at the bottom of the wheel.
 
Vince

Since the broken one is plastic, try replacing the broken spokes with a bit of Evergreen or Plastruct styrene rod and paint as required.  Then mount the wheel so that the broken spokes are at the bottom.  I doubt it will be noticeable.  
 
Even if you don't replace the broken ends of he spokes, they might not be noticeable if mounted at the bottom of the wheel.
 
Vince

One possible solution: put a temporary weight on the end of the gaff, such as an alligator clip or other clamp to give it some heft, and then raise the gaff by the halyards to the desired position.  Then put a small spot of glue on the inner face of the gaff where it intersects the jaws, and let it rest against the mast until the glue dries completely.  Then CAREFULLY remove the weight, as any substantial torque on the gaff will break the glue joint.  This should hold it in the desired position.  
 
A second approach: drill a small hole into the gaff between the jaws, insert a small piece of brass wire and glue it in place. Drill a matching hole in the mast at the level where you want the gaff to hang and insert the end of the wire protruding from the gaff into the hole. Add the parrel, and  tension the halyards, which will bend the wire.  The wire should hold he halyards tight.  
 
Vince McCullough

Congratulations on finishing, Dave!  Ship modeling is an exercise in persistence.  The model looks fabulous!
 
Vince

Congratulations on finishing, Dave!  Ship modeling is an exercise in persistence.  The model looks fabulous!
 
Vince

Oops! I just blew the photo up more an saw the rod that I think you are referring to. I agree, probably for life lines.

The “rod” above the yard looks to me like a stuffing sail boom.
 
 

Looking great, Dave!

I just heard from his wife, Juanita, that Harry Ohanian passed away from metastatic prostate cancer this morning at 11:20. He had been under hospice care at their home in Florida for several months.
 
Harry was a long-time member of the NRG and of the Washington Ship Model Society, which he led as skipper from 1999 through 2000. He and I co-chaired the 2001 NRG conference, which may well have been the first conference of any kind to be held in Washington DC following the attacks of September 11.
 
Harry is survived by his wife, his son John and daughter-in-law Lori and two granddaughters.

This gets a little difficult to describe, but here goes ...
 
The weight of the paddle box itself is carried by three beans: two “paddle beams” that run athwartship, and a “spring beam” that connects the outer ends of the paddle beams. The paddle beams sit under the forward and aft ends of the paddle box and the spring beam sits under the outer “face” of the box. 
 
The paddle decks, sometimes called wing decks, are forward and aft of the box, and are usually triangular in shape.  Like the paddle box, the paddle decks are supported by a series of atwartship beams. A fender beam mounted on the end of these beams forms the outer edge of the paddle decks. The fender beams join into the spring beam by scarf joints, producing a smooth transition from the fender to the spring beam. 
 
The paddle decks were often perforated using either gratings or perforated steel plate. This allowed water to drain from the decks and, more importantly, to go UP through the perforations when the ship was struck by a wave or heeled enough to submerge the paddle deck.
 
The stays aided in supporting the decks against the impact of the water.  Without them the paddle decks could be torn off by the force of water trapped under the falling paddle decks.
 
BTW, I learned most of this while researching and developing plans for a civil war blockade robber. The plans will be included with a book that will be published in the near future.

Ilhan
 
The deck beams could be either angles or I-beams, but I would bet on I -beams. The blockade runner I’m working on used I-beams constructed of steel plate sandwiched between a pair of angles on the top and bottom.
 
Your plans look great, and it looks like a sweet little steamer. Are you using a CAD program or drawing by hand?
 
Vince

The three volumes are all different. One covers misting, one covers rigging and one covers sail, oar and block making.
 
Vince

I just heard from his wife, Juanita, that Harry Ohanian passed away from metastatic prostate cancer this morning at 11:20. He had been under hospice care at their home in Florida for several months.
 
Harry was a long-time member of the NRG and of the Washington Ship Model Society, which he led as skipper from 1999 through 2000. He and I co-chaired the 2001 NRG conference, which may well have been the first conference of any kind to be held in Washington DC following the attacks of September 11.
 
Harry is survived by his wife, his son John and daughter-in-law Lori and two granddaughters.

I just heard from his wife, Juanita, that Harry Ohanian passed away from metastatic prostate cancer this morning at 11:20. He had been under hospice care at their home in Florida for several months.
 
Harry was a long-time member of the NRG and of the Washington Ship Model Society, which he led as skipper from 1999 through 2000. He and I co-chaired the 2001 NRG conference, which may well have been the first conference of any kind to be held in Washington DC following the attacks of September 11.
 
Harry is survived by his wife, his son John and daughter-in-law Lori and two granddaughters.

I just heard from his wife, Juanita, that Harry Ohanian passed away from metastatic prostate cancer this morning at 11:20. He had been under hospice care at their home in Florida for several months.
 
Harry was a long-time member of the NRG and of the Washington Ship Model Society, which he led as skipper from 1999 through 2000. He and I co-chaired the 2001 NRG conference, which may well have been the first conference of any kind to be held in Washington DC following the attacks of September 11.
 
Harry is survived by his wife, his son John and daughter-in-law Lori and two granddaughters.

I highly recommend the Foran and Underhill books. Foran is a good introduction to working in brass to build entire brass models, which are mostly aircraft. He is fantastically creative. He does not, if I recall, use silver soldering in his book, instead relying on soft solders. 
 
Underhill is specifically focused on ship modeling, and has useful tips on how to fabricate the small but complicated parts that we need. He speaks about silver soldering, using an alcohol lamp and a blowpipe. Today you can use butane torches and silver solder paste, which are a lot easier.
 
 

I highly recommend the Foran and Underhill books. Foran is a good introduction to working in brass to build entire brass models, which are mostly aircraft. He is fantastically creative. He does not, if I recall, use silver soldering in his book, instead relying on soft solders. 
 
Underhill is specifically focused on ship modeling, and has useful tips on how to fabricate the small but complicated parts that we need. He speaks about silver soldering, using an alcohol lamp and a blowpipe. Today you can use butane torches and silver solder paste, which are a lot easier.