Keith Black

Brian, thank you. I'm sure I would enjoy all aspects of rigging if I felt more confident in my knowledge and my abilities. In what little I've done so far I've learned there are subtleties when performing each rigging task. Each task has a set of correct sequential steps that make working in tight spaces possible, knowing those steps only comes with experience. Hopefully by the time I reach the foremast I'll be able to go with the flow and enjoy each task as they present themselves. It was a good day to work on the ship but then everyday is a good day. Even though there's snow on the ground it's melting rather nicely. We've had a Robin hanging about for the better part of a week. Spring will get here, none too soon.

Thank you, Pat Brian, 12 inches is too short and 24 inches to long, 15 to 18 inches? Maybe someone who knows will jump in and educate the both of us. That would make the spacing for the model .14/.15 inches thereabouts. I may have to increase the spacing to .20 inches out of necessity even though that would be wrong to scale. It's going to be another exercise in making my fingers do things they don't want to do. I couldn't resist putting the yards on to see how everything looks. Thank you everyone for the likes.

Kirby, will you be posting a photo of the bed in your son's room?

BrianK, Lynn, Eberhard, Gary, and Keith, thank you for the nice comments and that you to all for the likes. The mizzen mast is almost ready for the yards to be added and rigged. The last remaining task is the ratlines, oh, what fresh hell will this turn into. I don't find ratlines to be aesthetically pleasing. I know they're a necessary evil but I think they disrupt the harmony created by the vertical shroud lines. Having said that, I'm not adding ratlines to the topgallant shrouds. Peterson's book depicts the topgallant shrouds without ratlines. I've seen several models without them and they don't appear in the H and H photos of the Tennessee. I'm going with 'less is more' and leaving them off the topgallant shrouds. Of course, I will be adding ratlines to the topsail shrouds so it's more teaching old fingers new tricks. Once again, thank you to all for following along. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Roger, I think he's going to be taking it to college with him.

Trond, I've never bought clamps (actually, I'm rather clamp poor) but I would suppose you can buy clamps at most hobby supply houses. I have a few clamps but I use clothes pins a lot. For what you're doing I'd think clothes pins would be ideal.

Grey, welcome to MSW. Stow your gear below and enjoy your stay.

GB, welcome to MSW.

Casey, welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

Lynn, very very nice. Well done, buddy.

Any more and you'd be clamping the clamps.

Baltimore Clippers seem to be the exception regarding mast rake. Most other ships employed a 3 to 7 degree rake.

Casey, welcome to MSW. As you can see there are many willing to help answer questions that you might have. I suggest you introduce yourself in the new member section, see the link below. https://modelshipworld.com/forum/3-new-member-introductions/

Simon, the blocks look really good, very nice.

That just blows my tomato.

Jimmy, she turned out great. A really swell looking model. I like the looks of her a lot, well done!

Gene, if you would like to take on a half hull project the NRG (MSW's parent organization) sells a half hull kit. See the link below. https://thenrgstore.org/products/half-hull-planking-project

John, I don't know if you've see this but it's a great vid about a ship saw. If you want to skip the first part regarding replacing there keel, the bit about the saw is 7 min, 42 sec into the clip.

Siggi, that's true during calm weather but what about those times at night in heavy weather when it's as black as the ace of spades and footing is/was even more treacherous?

Gene, welcome to MSW. I'll be 75 shortly, one's never too old to join in the fun. I model not only for the fun but I think it helps keep me mentally alert and I know it helps keep my fingers more nimble than they would be otherwise.

John, welcome to MSW. Make yourself comfortable and enjoy your stay.

Thank you to all for the likes, thank you for sharing my small triumph. Thank you. Phil. Brian, thank you for the compliment and the vote of confidence. Thank you, Lynn. I didn't put things away for a spell. I have to stick with working out a problem otherwise I just stew. Thank you, Glen. Mark, thank you for your support. Thank you, Roger and thank you for the suggestion. The method I'm using (securing the shroud lines with a cinch knot) isn't difficult and it's positive. There's no chance of failure unless a line is cut. By the way, I'm using Gutermann poly thread for all the lines. The only thing really missing using a cinch knot to secure the shroud lines is the shroud line tails. I'm quite willing to make that compromise achieving the results seen in the photos I posted earlier.

Lynn, very nice. I'll have to start calling you the 'Coppertone Girl'

To my dear friends and MSW family members Mark, Glen, Brian, Simon, Chief Mark, Gary, Keith, Eberhard, Rob, Pat Banyan, and Tom Black, THANK YOU! I can't say thank you enough and I am truly blessed and touched by your kindness and support. 3.0 was a success! Well, I've got one pair done, only 91 more pairs to go but who's counting! But at least I know I can do this and make the deadeyes and lanyards look acceptable. The process isn't exactly kosher but because the size is so small you really can't see what's going on. I think what I've been able to accomplish is a pretty good representation of the real thing considering the scale. The deadeyes are .48 inches edge to edge, at scale that would put the top deadeye at a sailors throat level. If the deadeye were any higher, I think it would have been difficult tying the lanyard tail to the shroud line? I didn't whip the shroud lines, it's impossible for me. I dare say Eberhard could pull it off but he's an exception to the rule. Pat Banyan shared the 'zip seizing' method of whipping. I tried it but everything is just too small to make it work and look okay. So I just used a clench knot to join the sound line to the top deadeye and to the topsail mast. As I said, it ain't kosher but it's hard to tell the difference at normal viewing distance. So now it's on to more of the same, hopefully. The fool that I am can make almost anything once. The key is being able to make the some thing a multitude of times and for each one to look the same. Again, thank you. Keith