el cid

Well - I'm 90% done with my ratlines.  I'm not posting a photo, because the last shroud I've done seemed markedly different in appearance than the other three.  I've been staring at it for a while, and it finally dawned on me why it seems so different...the fact is, my technique seems to have improved over the last three sets of shrouds.  This final one seems to have less noticeable distortion of the side shrouds...giving it a more symmetrical, and narrow, appearance versus the other three sets that I've completed.
 
Sigh...CRAP.  My eye is magnifying the difference...and it's bugging me.  So, the question is whether I redo it/them...which would require redoing both sides...or whether I live and learn, and simply move on with the next steps in the build?  I don't know why I'm being so hard on myself...this is my first wooden ship...and it can't be perfect.  (Perfect fell by the wayside a LONG time ago)
 
But -  a couple of things I might do different....
 
1. The miniature rope seemed too heavy (at least for me with the tension I had on th shrouds - which might not have been enough to keep them from distorting as I tied the ratlins)...I used Chuck's recommendation of 0.008" rope....but I found that pulls or pushes the shrouds - depending on whether the ratlin is too taught or slack...it's a maddening balance of ratlin tensile strength versus the vertical taughtness/resistance in the two shrouds you are connecting.  I would use smaller gauge rope/thread next time.
 
2. I was think of using a hairclip (flat duckbill clip) stylists use to hold curlers in ladies hair...I imagine putting these on the shrouds above and below the area you are applying the ratlins might help you keep them more aligned.  Just a thought...
 
Moving on...or am I?  (conflicted...)

I've pointed out more than once that Petterson makes no claims about technical accuracy, and that he is documenting specific models.
 
The objections here, come from discussions where someone asks for rigging references and Petterson gets thrown in with  with Lees, and etc..
The distinction is important.
 
I love Petterson's books.  Particularly the first one.  I go to them all the time.  They are very good for showing how 99% of the lines run..  Particularly on the three mast ship..

Not to question the (obviously correct) observations above, I want to say something in response.
We tend to read Peterson as an historical guide to rigging, in line with others mentioned above: Lees, Biddlecom, Anderson Underhill and a large number of contempory literature on rigging or (near) academic studies into this field.
 
Peterson himself does state other intentions of his book: 
"As a professional illustrator and an amatuer modelmaker I have, along with many others, often found it so difficult to find detailed information about ships [..]. This is particularly true when it comes to the rigging of ships, particularly the rigs of smaller craft."
"My first book was intended to help modellers to understand  a three masted ship rig" [..]
"This [second] book is not intended to be an academic contribution to the field of maritime historical research; as a visual study based solely on three models it is rather intended as an accessible guide for the enthousiast and model shipwright" [..] "I hope that the illustrations will be an inspiration to other modelmakers"
 
All quotes [with minor left outs] from the introduction of his second book on fore-and-aft craft. Peterson himself clearly states the limited historical reliability of his drawings, and also states that an historical study was not his intention. Complaining that his work does not match the historical standards sounds to me as as someone eating dinner at my table  complaining that it is not French haute cuisine :)
 
Jan
 
 
 
 

'U' class Submarine heading up the Tay to HMS Ambrose Dundee's Submarine Base
W/C 13” X 10”
Jim

Early in the morning on Sunday 10 May 1719 HMS Worcester, HMS Flamborough and HMS Enterprise anchored off Eilean Donan and sent a boat ashore under a flag of truce to negotiate. When the Spanish soldiers in the castle fired at the boat, it was recalled and all three ships opened fire on the castle for an hour or more.The next day the bombardment continued while a landing party was prepared. In the evening under the cover of an intense cannonade, a detachment went ashore in the ships' boats and captured the castle against little resistance. According to Worcester's log, in the castle were "an Irishman, a captain, a Spanish lieutenant, a serjeant, one Scotch rebel and 39 Spanish soldiers, 343 barrels of powder and 52 barrels of musquet shot."The naval force spent the next two days and 27 barrels of gunpowder demolishing the castle.
13” X 10”
Jim

FINISHED 
300 work hours
Oct. 2018-March 2019
 

I agree with Druxey’s comments.  By way of example I purchased some enamel paint mixed to the recently identified Victory colours, and the tonal range of the tan / salmon pink / [insert your own description here!] under different lighting conditions is extreme. You can see why it has received such varied reviews from the public.  The enamel is only 5% gloss, so low sheen, however I then put a satin varnish on the samples and the tonal range changes yet again as it reacts to light - last photo.
 
The black is also that identified by the scientists and is a very dark charcoal grey.
 
Gary
 

One has to also look at the alternatives the men had and how the conditions were on land then and there. Crews main recruited from the lower echelons of society - being an agricultural labourer could be equally bad and depriving, if you had a bad landowner. And it was even more difficult to escape, if you were a serf. Serfdom wasn't lifted around Europe until the middle of the 19th century or even later.

And if you were lucky enough to be in Britian's Royal Navy, you had one of the first real guaranteed veterans' pension systems to look forward to. In those days, that was a huge benefit.

With the possible exception of the American sailor during he American Revolution, seagoing pay could be very lucrative. In merchant ships the crews often were paid  by the cargo. A successful voyage made for good money all around. The same has already been said about prize money on warships. Privateers almost never had a problem signing a crew if the right captain was involved. I think the whaling industry was also done in much the same manner. The more whales the larger the payoff. There was more than one man who after a few voyages was able to buy some land of his own to farm or start up a small store or whatnot to provide a more comfortable existence for himself and his family.
 
The big exception was as I already said, the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress had little or no money to pay crews and throughout the war years struggled to fill ship rosters. Sometimes the ship sat at anchor for months trying to get a crew together. There were no shortages of seamen or men willing to go to sea. But the privateers paid better and also out numbered the Continental ships,especially in he last few years of the war. Some Continental sailors, and officers for that matter, were never paid the monies owed to them from serving in the Continental Navy.
 
By the same token it has been said that  the Colonial sailor was also an independent spirit and did not take kindly to rough handling by officers or captain. Even the noted short tempered and tough task master John Paul Jones admitted that he at times had to go to great lengths in dealing with Colonial sailors.He was not always successful.  

Well it's been about four years since I have touched Victory and she's been wrapped up safely in bubble wrap and plastic the whole time.  I suffered some medical setbacks requiring a few surgeries and afterwards just couldn't seem to get my Victory mo-jo going again and followed a few other pursuits.    For some reason, recently I've been glancing over at the bubble wrapped bundle on the shelf and the unused tools, paints and assorted parts still sitting in the box...and feeling the build desire well...build.
 
I took the wrappings off her today, and damn, I'm much further along than I remembered...and she's beautiful!  It will take me a while to get the shipyard back together the way I want it and then I can get back to work on her.  I'm jazzed but also a little intimidated by all the skills and lessons I have to re-learn.  Thank goodness I have my fellow Victory builders and their wonderful logs to fall back on!
 
More to follow!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick (I'm baaaaaack!)

Finally she's a sail boat, almost, still fine tuning to do and buoyancy to organise. 
 



It's getting crowded on the centre board case
 

A destroyer patrols Scappa Flow in moonlight during WW1
Approx 18" X 9" on Mount board
Jim

Sorry I don’t have any. However you have planted a seed!. So far it is a period I haven’t really looked at, so you never know.
jim
Fishing on the Grand Banks
jim

Every ship would be different depending on the "owner" be it Navy or commercial, the Captain, and the crew.  And then one has to take into consideration life on land at the time.  Things were a bit harsher and harder back then.

I was not happy with the clumsy skylight which came with the kit, and so weren't some of my Dutch forum friends.
Decided to make one from scratch.
I made a small cage from 3x3 and 2x3 walnut. On top strips of 0,5x3mm.
The window frames I made from styrene, which I painted black, the skirting are styrene as well, painted brownish.
 
The window frames on top I made from photo-etch scrap material.
 
 
 
And some merciless macros.
 
 
 

nThanks for the question, hope this helps. My total knowledge about this effect is well below the marine engineers level of expertise but the concept makes a lot of sense.
 
The larger servo, the one on the left moves the center rudder and pulls/pushes the sled simultaneously so that all 3 rudders track together. This is the normal, no effect configuration. Note that all the tiller arms are pointing in the same direction so the sled just acts as an extension of the larger servo arm. The smaller servo does not turn (until the Lurssen effect is desired) thus the outer rudder arms pull/push as if they are being controlled by the larger serve. So they track in a straight line AND while turning. Normal operation for 3 rudders.
 
Now the Lurssen effect. The faster the boat goes the deeper into the water the stern sinks. Note the parallel with hulls that are designed for racing. At low speeds the hull is deep in the water but at speed they are almost riding on the prop only. The S-Boat hull is optimized for up to 20 knots for a long cruising range so the smaller servo is not turned as the outer rudders would drop the efficiency of the boat. Now at higher speeds the stern lowers in the water and the nose comes up dropping the efficiency so the smaller servo is activated to move the outer rudders away from the center line. This changes the way the water moves under the stern and lifts the stern up and the nose back down for a more efficient configuration.
 
When the boat turns at speed steering by the large servo still keeps the movement of the outer rudders in sync with the main rudder. So if it is a turn to starboard at speed, as an example, the starboard outer rudder increases its angle from the center line and the port outer rudder lessens its angle from the center line thus maintaining the effect through the turn. The starboard side of the boat wants to sink into the water further, in this example, as the boat turns. So the starboard outer rudder deflect s the water more than the port outer rudder does thus lifting the starboard side of the hull out of the water more than the port side making the turn more efficient.
 
Very difficult to explain in words as I am not 100% fluent in the dynamics but the principle makes a lot of sense. It allowed a hull which was optimized for around 20kts (normal cruise speed) to be very efficient at attack speed of around 40kts. A lot easier to alter the shape of the water going under the stern than change the shape of the stern. 😊

Hospital Ship UGANDA with a Chinook Helicopter unloading casualties off the Falkland Islands In 1982 while a Royal Navy WESSEX awaits its turn 
W/C 16” X 11”
Jim

After installing gudgeons and pintles the rudder got also a spectacle plate (made from cartridge paper) and eyebolts for emergency steering and securing the rudder.

The following painting of the outer hull was even more cumbersome than expected - mainly because I used a much too stiff masking tape for the first side. With a better tape the second one was a bit easier. I used tree paint covers and countless corrections and I still see flaws every time I look at the build. However I keep telling myself that all those imperfections add to the 'handmade' quality of the model. The paints are Admiralty water based paints, with 15% white in the yellow ochre and about 5% white in the dull black. The black looked rather grey on the brush but I like the finished paint.

The upper part of the rudder was painted as well and all the lower hinges touched up with copper paint.

The inner part of the side galleries and the cabins were 'grey washed'. I used white with just a little bit of black in order to get as close as possible to the impression on the pictures of Victory.

After touching up the gun port frames with red and provisionally hanging the rudder it was time for a photo session.


 



seen from a distance, the paint looks ok


 



the captain, inspecting the newly hanged rudder, is dwarfed by the ship


 


 

I have finished the staysail rigging. I am a bit behind on the rope coils, so before I make a start on the yards, I'll play around with making up a set of different type of rope coils to see how they fit and look. But that will be the subject of my next update. For now just a few photo's on how she is coming together. I'm genuinely still amazed I got this far and still loving the look of her every time I walk into the shed.
Looking at the chapter where the yards are being rigged it ain't going to get any easier from here.....lol
Here are some photo's...

Sometimes it is a photograph that sparks an idea. Or something I read about and try to 'illustrate'it.
 The previous ones of low flying a/c were commissioned by an enthusiast who had seen the actual event.
 He supplied photos of the locations, I also 'google earthed' it. Using photos of a/c from the squadrons, and where practical inserting the side numbers, serials, etc. I would say, half the fun is the research. Well actually that’s wrong one third, the fun is the research. Another third, the painting. And the last the look on the 'commissioner's' face.(so far I’ve been lucky, they have liked them!) 
When I started the wreck, I knew I wanted a square rigger, a lifeboat and a Tug. I wasn’t sure about the composition so painted the 'setting' first.(see pic). After looking at it for a while, I put in the ship, then the lifeboat then finally the Tug. I thought about a Rocket Rescue Unit from the cliffs but decided not to. 
Jim

No particular shipwreck, but everything is based on many similar events.
16” X 11” w/c 

The history part is intended. I also try to depict little known maritime events, and the humbler work a day vessels. You didn’t mention the end product of all that Hay. With several hundred thousand horses in London, it had to be moved. A lot of it went back to the farms it came from as fertilisers, not the most popular cargo!?
jim

One seldom thinks about Hay, but within all industrial City's or Port's that become crowded populate centers, Hay is the fuel that kept the Draft Animals working. Without that hay the citizens would need to move back into a rural setting, industry at a large scale would have disappear, replaced by the local Black Smith, Millers, Harness Makers and a few others there to support the rural needs, there would have been few laborers because the majority would be working on small holdings to feed themselves and selling only in small units. Hay is what fed and supported early industry. Like your work, surprising how that work reveals History seldom considered, is that your unspoken intent or is it one heck of a good accident. Looking forward to your next offering.
 
 

Lower Thames
Dredger and a Hay Barge.
16.5” X 11.5” watercolour 
jim