John Allen

done deal good luck with the build plans seem above average. John

Don, How are the instructions compared to Mamoli or Mantua. Like my pork with a dry rub, and a white BBQ sauce, Oh and 2 bottles Grolsch will make it just right Nice looking ship, sails with or without. John

Very sorry for your loss. J

Roll Tide, The funk is natural I laid off a build for 5 months had the time but every now and then you need to recharge also prevents you fro being careless when you really don't want to be there at the time. My daughter bought a Mamoli Victory on ebay (finally in the rigging stage) all the decks were warped probably due to heat maybe from an attic, instead of using them as a blueprint and cutting new decks (I even had the material) I soaked and soaked used heavy weights to flatten thought it would be okay. They caused a problem through out the build process had to deviate from plans to hide some glaring errors. I can see the problem they caused probably the master scratch builders on this site can spot them right away. That said it will turn out okay. I should have walked away and left it then cut new decks at a later date. Sorry for the convoluted response hang in there you'll do good things may your would be bent, lay in place, and and splinters be a bad Memory. John

Craig, I soak the wood in a PVC tube capped at one end for between 1 hr and 6 hours depending on the woods hardness. I use 4 different cans in graduated sizes from a small tomato paste can up, cut cheap hurricane candles to size (gets hot sometimes I touch it twice to make sure I got burned the first time) SEE PICS CAN ALSO BEND LATERALLY. Its always worked well bends quick, the only time wood has splintered is when I got in a hurry. John

Scott, Thanks for the response have wanted to due this for a long time. John

Am in the 50% stage of rigging my Victory and looking to begin ordering lumber for a Maori war canoe and a Polynesian double hull using the Holukea as a template. That being said earlier GRSJAX responded to a post advising Polynesian canoes were constructed from Koa wood and gave me a lead on a vendor in Hawaii. Was going to paint like the Holukea but changed my mind and am going with Koa wood to stay in somewhat historical boundaries. Dashi replied to an earlier post and got me interested in the Maori War Canoe and noted those were built from Totura wood. I will build the Maori canoe first noting the single hull and it has a large amount of decorative carving and will note be as easy as it looks, Since I have never carved anything but a turkey and butchered that on more then one occasion it ought to be interesting. 1. I have a good vendor for Koa thanks to GRYJSX in Hawaii. 2. Now to the gist of my ramblings I contacted Rod with Forest HoldingsTimber Mill in Tauranga New Zealand, and was quoted a price of $ 57.00 plus export and packing fees. Was this a fair price for a piece of Totura 2"x 4"x 36" am willing to to purchase to stay within historical context instead of using another wood and painting or staining. Totura seems fairly rare only grown in that area from my research and the price seems reasonable. You good folks from that are please respond with advice or another vendor. Thanks John

Really double check how they were stored. My daughter bought a Mamoli HMS Victory on e-bay as a gift. She was happy she got it at a great price. All the decks were warped, some lumber, hardware and rigging had walked off. (discovered at a later date) Said nothing to her thinking I could fix damage. Never could totally take the warp out of the decks, which affected the planking and what I can see as imperfections in the build. Should have taken the time to cut new decks. That being said do not get those big eyes I'm getting a deal. There could be dead falls hiding in the bushes. John

Giampiero Absolutely breathtaking craftsmanship par excel-lance Kudos the one of best I have seen on this site Specifically your small detail work, cannot believe the working hinges on a scale of 1-10 I would rate your ship at a 12 Kudos 12 times over John

Thank you 2 more good suggestions, will be playing with all this date to see which one I am most comfortable with and works best. Thanks to all John

Thanks to all for responding to my dilemma, good suggestions. Will take all under advisement. Thanks John

I am having trouble with the mainmast stay on Victory. No problem with rigging and blocks but when I start the zig zag sequence the first 2 look good but when I continue I am having trouble with them pulling together. I held them in place then tied with clove hitch that did not work, then had trouble holding them in place trying a wrapping. I gave up after my 4th try and loss offa mile of line. I am missing something maybe lack of experience? checked the sight and could not find a detailed monkey see monkey do. Could not find a u tube rigging for dummies! Appreciate any wisdom from the masters.

I must absolutely love rigging or be a masochist one. HMS Victory first shrouds and ratlines not acceptable looked bad, cut every one out. Completely reinstalled all (how many knots in 2 sets of shrouds and ratlines) That being said, I enjoy the rigging most of all even after all that.

John, Sorry about the Jim. That is what I needed, I was using the wrong terminology when googling. You just made life easier, the sun is shining, the birds are singing. Thank you for the assistance. John

Jim, Thanks for the link pasted twice but it brought me to the hovercraft, potato patch, zombies and catamarans. Try again I did not start at the center and I see that that caused my problem. I think Thanks John

Tadusez, Thanks for the reply, I have the Mamoli Victory they supplied triple blocks instead of hearts. Great pics thanks for the reply. I assume the sequence may be the same not sure. Thanks again. John

Rigging for dummies question, Have searched the forum & internet for reeving sequence for triple blocks, specifically Mamoli HMS Victory triple blocks for mainmast and foremast stays. Tried sequence as in deadeyes but does not work out any one have an illustration or a monkey see monkey do a 5 year old can understand. Have had no problem in the past for a triple block pulley system. Sign sober but baffled John Grant are you out there

Grant, Thanks for the comment. After snapping the tops off the 3 masts she is living on borrowed time. Mamas baby can do no wrong. At least repairs were fairly easy, versus having to redo the masts, shrouds and ratlines. Mamas baby or not we would have had a cat gumbo and I would just suffer the consequences later. Thanks John

I am not a carpenter, sculpter, shipwright, and maybe fall into the category of novice modeler wanna be. If painting I found Elmers wood filler easy to work with, dries quick & hard sands easy and paints well. Unless there is something I do not know about this product that's bad. John

Scott, Thanks for the kind comment. I'm glad I chose to re-do all makes a big difference Thanks again john

Making a cat Gumbo, the little darling knocked over Victory snapping off the tops of the 3 masts. Got extremely lucky and was able to repair by inserting brass pins and putting back in place minus having to do some re-rigging. If you see last posted pic Mizzen shrouds looked horrible cut all those out and re-did those too. (how many knots in ratlines time 6 redos? All that being said futtock shrouds and catharpins went well. Can finally start rigging albeit 3 months late. Footnote the boss rescued the cat from the pot, and said the blankest will be on the couch

Shihawk, Harbor Freight has a 4" table saw for $ 37.00. I know the purists will scoff at the saw but its cheap enough to play with and you can upgrade later. I bought a 2 inch cuttoff saw for $ 29.00 and it worked just fine for, nice clean cuts. At the time some said it wasn't precise enough. Go cheap, upgrade later. John

I was remiss in not mentioning the submarine USS DRUM, which is beside the Alabama and visitors can walk thru it. This is quite a large memorial park worth visiting if you are in the Mobile area. www.ussalabama.com/

Battleship Alabama BB60 Converted to a museum Mobile Alabama. In the early 70s looong time ago we (Alabama Marine Police) had an office on the second deck in the old officer quarters. We had to rotate on call 48 hrs at a time. I roamed all thru the old girl from the bridge down to the engine room. When they got it ready for the public we were evicted. Thanks for the memory John Allen retired Alabama Marine Police Stationed Dauphin Island, Alabama

Archjofo, I believe you have built what I can only call a ship that belongs in a museum. Well done KUDOS 12 times over