FriedClams

Work continues on the running rigging for the main and mizzen yards.  I was thinking about ratlines while struggling to get all the running rigging in place.   With ratlines, I kind of get in a rhythm and the more I do, the easier it gets.  I find the opposite true here.  The more running rigging I do, the more lines are in close quarters and the harder it becomes to route them correctly and avoid tangles and interference with other lines.
 
Two examples.  First, on the lift lines for the main mast yards, I did not notice until after I had tied them off to their belay pins that I had routed a couple of them through the foot ropes on the top sail yard.  I also managed to do this same clever thing on the top gallant yard.  Ugh!

 
So I had to remove and replace the foot ropes for both of those yards.  Here's the corrected main top sail yard.

 
 
Second example.   With braces form the main mast yards routing to the stern and braces from the mizzen mast yards routing forward, some things got a bit messy and adjustments had to me made.  In the pic below, the red arrows follow the mizzen top gallant yard brace running from the yard arm to a double block secured to the main top mast and then down to the deck.  According to the instructions, the double block should be attached to the main mast top head where the green arrow points to.  However, when I put the double block up that high, it caused the forward running brace from the mizzen top gallant to interfere with the rearward brace from the main mast top gallant yard (green circle).  So I had to move the double block low enough to keep the braces clear of each other.   

 
 
There were a few more similar complications, but those were the easiest to illustrate.  After I got all that sorted out, I grabbed pretty much all the clips I own and fixed them to the ends of all the lift and brace lines.  This put everything under tension so I could make adjustments and get all the yards parallel with each other on both the longitudinal and vertical axis.  
 
 
 
 
Here's a side view with all the lifts and braces tied off.  All of them except one!  The brace for the main lower yard extends rearward and is supposed to be tied off to a boomkin protruding outside the ship at the stern.  I kept whacking it with fingers, arms, tweezers, snips, etc, so I decided to leave it off till I get the gaff and spanker boom in place.  That is why the main lower yard in the pic below is a little off kilter.
 
 
 
You will also notice that my mizzen upper stays got sad and droopy on me.  But that will be an east fix after the gaff and spanker boom are done.

 
 
I love this perspective from the bow showing off the symmetry and interplay of the running rigging.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      

Dang, Keith.  Prayers for you and Maggie.

Keith, thanks for the update. I know it can be hard to share stuff like that and it's thoughtful of you to worry about US! Certainly the "it's your model" rule applies and no comments were intended as criticism, just ongoing discussion of the modeling process. It is and will be a fantastic model! I know it'll be extra hard on you trying to prepare for Maggie's welfare while you're under the knife, so hang in there. We're all pulling for you.

Sorry to hear that Keith. Hang in there.
 

I may as well get into this....... five years ago I had a stent put in my abdominal aorta while undergoing an operation repair an aneurysm that at the time measured 6.4 cm. I've been going for Ultrasound testing annually since the operation with the aorta measuring 5.9 cm every year till my last visit on Tuesday. They think and I stress thy think I've developed an endoleak and the sack is currently measuring 6.4 cm, so we're back to where we were five years ago. 
 
 I have a CT scan scheduled for April 30th to verify the above. I might not have a leak or I could be about to blow? They almost lost me on the operating table five years ago and now, here we are five years later and I'm five years older and I sure don't heal any faster now.  If I do in fact have a endoleak I will require surgery, when that surgery takes place is anyone's guess but I would hope it would be sooner than later. I won't know anything for sure till the 30th. 
 
 Having said the above, I've put Lula on a fast track to get as much done as possible prior to the 30th and that's while doing things around the house to help ensure Maggie's current and future welfare. I wouldn't have said anything but future actions regarding Lula might lead some of you to scratch your heads wondering about my motives behind certain decisions.  
 
  Keith

Really looking good Keith.  Agree with Eric re the 'wooding' of the view forward - still looks ()no pun intended) great though.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Thank you, Eric. Yes, it's a milestone I've looked forward to reaching for what seems like a long time.
 
 I only have the one photo of Lula. The view through the starboard side windows suggest to me they were individual windows and the spacing between the windows suggest that there were only three. That's my interpretation, I could be dead wrong but this is what we're gonna roll with as I need to jump into overdrive on this build. More later regarding that at a later time.   

Keith, I have a question: do you have a photo of Lula from the front? The only one I can recall is the one from the starboard rear quarter, but you of course have far greater knowledge of the resources you're working from.
 
The reason I ask, is that I'm interested in the idea that Lula had separate windows (whether three or four) on the forward wall of the pilothouse. Typical riverboat practice (which I'll openly acknowledge does not preclude any other practice) was to leave the forward "window" as either a full open area or with a bare minimum of visual interference (for example, no posts between windows). For obvious reasons of visibility. To my eye, when I look at your rear-quarter image, looking through the side windows, it kind of looks to me like Lula has the standard wide-open forward pilothouse. Like these examples on two other river ferries:


So I'm just curious about your approach here, with the open acknowledgement that I may well be wrong in Lula's case because you know her far better than I do. Regardless, it's really fun to see her superstructure move toward its final shape!

Thank you to everyone for the comments and likes.
 
 Speaking of comments, you guys sure were worried about Captain Bill. If any of you had figured out who his famous uncle was you wouldn't be so worried about his ability to withstand the rigors of ship life. 
 
 It was time get some walls up.

 
I was trying to build the pilot house where it could be lifted free but alas it wasn't to be. The walls are glued to one another but not glued to the floor plates as of yet. 

 
 I won't glue the pilothouse down till all the trim, roof, door, and Lula's name have been added 

 
 I think Lula the car ferry only had three windows on the forward wall. If I had only put in three windows there would have been a lot of blind spots so I put in four, what the heck. 
 
 I've added some curve to the top plates but I think a little more is required, 

 
Captain Bill is gonna be snug as a bug. 

 
 Thank you for the support and for following along.
 
   Keith

New York may be the same latitude as Naples, but they don't have there the Alps to keep the winds from the North Pole away 🥶 ... reminds me of a Christmas there many decades ago, when we had -30°C due to the chill-factor.

I felt those winds, brings to mind an old sailing term about  brass Monkeys.  
And the reason they went exstinked in Manitoba  , I think.   He will be plenty warm enough,  fire on, if no keg in the corner, maybe,  a wee flask in his pocket to keep the chill off . 
 Lol.,great work Keith,      
Knocklouder. 

You haven't felt the northers blowing down the Palisades in January. Dress appropriately or turn into a popsicle.

Nah, if he piloted on the Missouri River, nothing New York can throw will faze him.

Poor old Captain Bill looks very cold out there in the open, Keith! 🙂
 
John

Thank you to each of you for your comments and likes.
 
 Meet William R. Waterman, Lula's new captain/pilot. He was born in Hudson, New York in 1826. I had interviewed with a couple of men before William's interview but something didn't seem right about the way they stood behind the wheel.  But Captain Bill is a natural, seems to know a lot about New York Harbor and has captained sternwheelers on the Missouri and Ohio so I hired him on the spot!. But something kept nagging me about Captain Bill's name, it sounded familiar and when I questioned him about it he said he had a famous uncle but didn't or wouldn't go into details?  Captain Bill said he would see to the crewing of Lula, so be it. I'm sure they'll come drifting in one by one over the next couple of weeks.

 
  The figure for Captain Bill was one of the Holden late 19th century British naval figures with gaiters requiring me to carve away most of the uniform. It's very hard to see any remaining uniform at normal viewing distance. 
 
 I'm not just messing about with figures, I'm also building the pilothouse walls. I've almost got the stern wall done and moving next to the fore wall. 

 
 Thank you again for your support and for being part of the journey.
 
   Keith

Me 'ats off to you!!  Amazing and delightful, Keith

Thank you, Paul.
 
 Thank you, Lynn.
 
 If I glued em on I think I could easily get five on my thumbnail.  I know the stool isn't pretty but making something pretty with simple hand tools this size is impossible for me at this stage of my modeling development. If I had a six year old running around the house I'd order a 3D printer in a heartbeat! 

Wowzer!  And I thought my stuff was tiny... but yours are teensy!  Way to go!

Keith, it’s been fun to look at the photo of the real Lula and find the things you’ve been pointing out. Great work!

Thank you, Pat. 
 
 Thank you, Lynn. 
 
 Thank you to everyone for your comments, likes, and for following along. 
 
I never thought I'd be making furniture for the Flea family.   I can almost put five of the stools on my thumbnail. The legs are .0315 inches square, the seat is .15 x .175 inches and height is .225 inches. Amazingly enough, it's pretty robust for being as small as it is. I need to lower the stool height to .175 inches for a bit more clearance. 

 
The chart table is .30 inches wide x .20 inches deep, .25 inches tall at the front and .40 inches tall at the rear. The chart table legs are temporary, more later. The figure is one I randomly reached in and grabbed and is there for definition of space and scale. The port side of the chart table is not painted as that edge gets glued to the interior wall.

 
The figure is one I randomly reached in and grabbed and is there for definition of space and scale.
 
 The pilot house is a crowded affair, the real Lula didn't have a stove so there would have been a little more room.  

 
Regarding the chart table legs, they are temporary but necessary for being the correct height once I glue it to the stern wall. If you look closely at the original Lula photo below through the PH door you can see the stool under the starboard side corner. For the stool to be in that position there couldn't be legs on the chart table, it had to have been wall mounted. And it makes sense because this would then have allowed the stool to be stowed under the CT and would have been completely out of the way.   
 
For the interior sheeting I'm using is Midwest Products .015625 inch birch plywood, the same material I used for the chart table and stool seat. It'll be easier to install vs planking and will give just a tiny bit more room. Because of the limited view and once painted white, one won't be able to tell what sheeting was used for the interior walls. When I've glued the chart table to the stern wall the legs will be removed.
 
 Now that all the pilot house interior elements are made it's time to start making the walls and adding windows. I'm pretty excited to reach this point because the pilot house is Lula's crown.

 
 Thank you again to everyone for your support.
 
   Keith

Wow, you've done so much since I was here last!  She's looking amazing.  Love all the intricacies, and your historical detail that goes along with your build!

She is really looking great Keith, a lot of well crafted unique detail.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Thank you, Eberhard. I'm just going with an all white interior though I do need to test acrylic felt tip pens. They sound counterintuitive to my small brain but you and others have mentioned them so I need to quit being so bullheaded and purchase a sample lot to test them for myself.  
 
 Thank you, John, I agree. 
 
 Thank you, Glen. No alcohol onboard Lula, period! Not even a beer with lunch. I want a cold sober crew push/towing that pile driver I worked so hard on building. 
 
 Thank you, Rick. 

This is such a great build Keith!!
You are doing a magnificent job!!
Rick

If I gotta choose between the rum keg and the chart table, I'll take my chances with blind navigation!    
 
Exceptional work, Keith!  Such a cool project and so well done!