el cid

Isn't it really great when someone takes the time to explain something rather than telling us to go look in " $200 Book " ..
This epitomizes the true worth of these forums..

Looking good!   Just got my first shot today.  One of my sons is married to a pharmacist, so she has been on the lookout for me.  They had 35 doses at her pharmacy that had to be administered today or tomorrow or they would be spoiled, so I rushed in & got`er done.
No ill effects.
 
Mark

So you guys are the ones responsible for the disappearance of all the antique boxwood rules and scales!  
 
Time was, one could scrounge around and amass a collection of traditional boxwood scales and a nice classic folding carpenter's rule without a lot of trouble. Then they started disappearing. I recalled someone said people were buying them because they wanted the boxwood they were made of. I was skeptical, but I'm not skeptical any longer. Realize that the boxwood rules and scales you're cutting up for modeling stock may well be worth a lot more than you think. Not so much plain old "rulers," but be aware of what you've got in your stash. Leave some for those of us who have a use for them.  
 

https://garrettwade.com/product/antique-architects-folding-rule
 
 
 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_904792
 

https://www.antiquesboutique.com/antique-barometers-instruments/set-of-architect-s-scale-rules/itm30452#.YGPHTVVKgdU
 
 
 

Nope, don’t give up, just start in a small bit. I’ve just found nearly all my CA has gone off and is pretty much useless, so I’m taking the weekend off awaiting new CA and having a few beers. You can do this. 

Anyone ever hear of Captain Charles Noble?
 
The amount of brightwork (metal) on a ship depended upon the crew and the officers. I was Engineering Officer on a small minesweeper - the "flagship" of the squadron. The crew kept all the brass piping, engine valve covers, gauges and such in the engine room polished. It was their doing, not mine, because they took pride in their engine room. Of course, since we were bolted to the pier most of the time, polishing brass was about all the watch crew had to do.
 
When I went aboard the cruiser (another flagship) most brass was painted. The Captain was a no nonsense man who was commanding a ship of war. After 12 years on cruisers he could drive the 15,000 ton ship like a sports car! The awnings were gray and the metal was painted gray. We got a new XO who wanted to polish all the brass and paint the piping in a rainbow of colors (not the standard navy engineering colors). I was on the bridge when the XO was explaining his plans to the Captain. "Rodney," the Captain said, "you want to turn my ship into a circus boat!"
 
Then that Captain left and we got a new Captain who had spent most of his career commanding a LMD (large mahogany desk). I'm not sure he knew the difference between the pointy end and the blunt end. I don't think he ever took the conn. The XO talked him into making changes, and pretty soon our circus boat was decked out with white awnings, McNamara's lace, and polished brass. The XO went around with a pocket knife scraping paint off of everything looking for brass. Woe be it to the Division Officer who had painted brass!
 
So, to be "historically correct" you would have to model a particular year and know how the officers and crew wanted the brass to look.
 
PS: Ever been in port after a bunch of ships "blew stacks to clear out the soot? White awnings don't stay white very long. There is a reason they were usually gray.
 
PPS: Captain Charles Noble insisted that the brass galley stack on his 1850s English merchantman stay brightly polished. To this day the galley stack on ships is called the Charley Noble.

I can tell you from personal experience that every piece of brass on my signal bridge was polished all the time.😧
 
Regards,

Allen,
 
My drawing of the stunsails was based upon Darcy Lever (The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor, page 65) drawings and text for topmast studding sails (the drawing is for a topsail schooner). The line nomenclature is directly from Lever. The "loose footed stunsail" drawing you posted is based on drawing number 352, and if you read Lever's text you will see that he does not use the term "loose footed." He refers to it as a stunsail that is "set flying" without a boom. In fact, Lever doesn't define "loose footed" in his "Dictionary of Sea Terms." Biddlecomb (The Art of Rigging) also does not say anything about "loose footed" sails, but he does mention stunsails without booms as "flying." I suspect the term "loose footed" may not have been in use in the 1700s and early 1800s and may be a more modern term
 
However, the drawings you posted are not from Lever, but are from Lees (The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War, page 116) and are relatively new (1979). He uses the term "loose footed" with respect to Lever's "flying" stunsail drawing.
 
Harold Underhill (Masting and Rigging the Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier, page 125) refers to a "loose footed spanker" that had no boom.
 
John Leather (The Gaff Rig Handbook) defines "loose footed" as the bottom of the sail not laced or "bent" to a boom with rope bands or robands. In contrast it is common for a gaff sail to be laced (to the upper gaff and to the lower boom. But there is a fore and aft rig in which the bottom of the gaff sail is unattached to a boom, and it is called "loose footed" and "boomless gaff sail." Of course the the tack and sheet are attached to something, otherwise the canvas would just flap in the wind.
 
****
 
Note the difference between a stunsail boom and a stunsail yard. Stunsail yards are the spar the the head (top) of the sail is bent (laced) to, and it is not attached directly to anything but is hoisted by the halliard. Or, as in figure 352 the foot (bottom) of the "flying" stunsail is attached at the clews to an unattached yard that has a guy to haul it down. The yards are essentially free to swing on the halliards and guys.
 
The booms are definitely attached to the course, topsail and topgallant yards, or in the case of the lower stunsail the (swinging) boom is attached to the hull, typically in the channels. The booms are held to the yards with irons and there are several ways to rig them with the booms stowed or extended. In some cases the booms were permanently attached to the yards, and on some ships they were stowed below (to reduce tophamper weight) and hauled aloft when the stunsails were set. In all cases except the "flying yard" the foot of the stunsails were attached to the booms with tacks (outboard clew) and sheets (inboard clew).
 
 

 
 
 

rraisley,
 
"Loose footed" means the foot (bottom side) of the sail is not laced to a yard, spar or boom. The two "cringles" allamyed refers to are rope loops at the lower corners of the sails where the handling lines are attached (tacks and sheets).
 
Typically stunsails were laced to a stunsail yard at the top and loose footed at the bottom.
 
Stunsail booms were attached to the regular yards, sometimes on top, sometimes below, and sometimes forward of the yard, depending upon the country, period and whether it was a naval ship or merchant ship (nothing about sailing ship rigging is simple one size fits all).
 
A halliard ran through a block at the end of the stunsail boom or upper yard, through a block at the mast and down, and was used to haul up (lift) the stunsail yard . The lower outer corner (tack) of the upper sunsails ran through a block at the end of the sunsail boom on the yard below and then to a purchase below. The lower inner corner or sheet was attached to the inboard end of the lower boom and then ran down below. The downhaul line was attached to the stunsail yard at the top of the sail, ran down through a block at the lower outboard corner and then down to below. It was used to pull down the sunsail yard and sail. Depending upon how high up in the rigging the stunsail was set these lines either terminated at the lower mast top or at purchases on deck.
 
Stunsails on the course (lowest and largest square sail on the mast) were hauled up to the end of the stunsail boom with the halliard as shown for other stunsails. However the lower outboard tack ran to a block at the end of a stunsail boom rigged to the side of the hull (not shown), usually at the channels where the shroud deadeyes were attached. The tack then lead inboard. The sheet ran inboard to spread the bottom of the sail.
 
I have been wading through rigging plans for topsail schooners and have posted sail diagrams, definitions and some other information here:
 
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/25679-topsail-schooner-sail-plans-and-rigging/?do=findComment&comment=787759
 
It is focused on topsail schooners but there is a discussion and drawings of stunsails that you might find useful. There are also general diagrams of sails and rigging and explanations of terms.
 
Since you are making a model of the HMS Victory you would do well to get a copy of "The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War 1625-1860," James Lees, Naval Institute Press, Conway Maritime Press Ltd., London, 1990. It is a very detailed book, although it can be frustrating because the author often uses undefined terms and assumes the reader already is familiar with the subject.
 
Another very useful book for the ship modeler is Wolfram zu Mondfeld's "Historic Ship Models," Sterling Publishing Co., New York, 1989. It is a more general book about all aspects of sailing ship models but it has a wealth of knowledge and definitions of many of the obscure nautical terms relevant to wooded ship construction.
 

After 40 or so years of building wooden ship models, this question came to mind this morning.    How do you lay your deck planks?   
This may be a loaded question, but the reason it came up in my mind, I was looking at a build log and the deck houses, coamings and such were fixed in place before the planking was laid.   I have done this myself, but never seem to get the planks to end up perfectly even port and starboard.  I have tried a few scenarios over the years, and each seems to have advantages and disadvantages.  
 
Currently  I usually lay in three or four strakes of planking starting at the center line and working outboard.     Once the first few strakes are in place I can mark and cut out pieces of the deck at the locations of the hatch and other openings and then fix these coamings, etc. in place before adding the balance of the deck planks.  
 
Alternatively I have laid in the binding strakes first which mark the edge of the hatch openings, but it is a touch more demanding in getting these strakes exactly the same distance from the center line and then there is the situation of filling strakes in between so they are all the same width and fit neatly between the binding strakes.    Even so I like this method for ships with a lot of hatch openings, but not so much for fishing schooners or other vessels with numerous cabin openings and not so many hatch openings.  
 
For large ships, the orlop or  platform decking  is a different situation as the planks are not continuous across the tops of all the beams so have not been as much of a concern.
 
 If anyone has other methods that have been successful for them  I would love to hear about them in my never ending quest to learn more.    
 
I am not suggesting there is right way or a wrong way, I am just curious as to how others go about this and why.
 
TIA
 
Allan

I use this micro-saw:
 
https://www.umm-usa.com/catalog/tools_JLC.html
 
Tiny mitre box is also useful.
 
HTH,
 
Keith

Gentlemen, in defence of the company, I buy a lot of kits from Jotika/Caldercraft. They are a great company and their kits are, in my opinion, a great value. It's a small company and can barely keep up with the demand for their current line-up of kits and other products. The weakness of the UK pound is giving them great leverage these days and they are shipping as fast as they can. Compounding the production pressures, issues with Brexit are adding a level of complexity and administrative effort. 
 
All this means they are very busy with the kits they already produce. There is enough variety in their line-up to make most builders happy for several lifetimes and I suspect very few people have built all their kits.
 
I don't want to start a big discussion on this point. I just think we should encourage our favourite companies in this fragile industry and give them the benefit of the doubt. It is surprising to me to see that, on the one hand we want traditional companies to thrive, and then on the other we make disparaging remarks about those same companies. 
 
If others are developing new kits, that's great news. I just don't see the need to make discouraging remarks about our friends. 
 

Gary, I also served in minesweepers; USS Exploit MSO 440 and USS Affray MSO 511. Also with CO MINEDIV 121. 
Wooden ships and Iron men!
 
Regards,

Sperry,
I can't testify as to what a wooden sailing ship really sounded like at sea but I can tell you what it sounded like on the wooden ocean-going
minesweepers I served aboard. The engine noise was there, of course, but not terribly loud. In moderate to rough seas, below decks, the
noise of the waves pounding against the hull was a booming sound accompanied by some creaking and groaning of the ships structure.
Someone had drawn a vertical pencil line across two overlapping beams in the berthing compartment and it was fascinating to watch that
line separate and come back together again as the ships hull flexed. Lying on the bow in calmer weather, looking down at the bow wave,
one could only hear the wind and the hissing of the water as the bow cut through. Below decks, drifting at sea, the sound of the sea was
a gently slapping against the hull - very pleasant and relaxing. Up on the bridge a humming could be heard from the wire rigging on the
mast plus the flapping of the canvas cover over the pilot house. Not a square rigger for sure but nice anyway. Thanks for the memories
and I hope I gave you some idea of what it was like.
 
Cheers,
Gary

Aside from the obvious creaking wood, flapping canvas, wind whistling through the lines, squeaky blocks, and the rush of the waterline, there would be the inevitable sound of vomiting, flatulence, belching, and profanity.  

From the “Nelson Period”On Boats were often trimmed with a distinctive color as a way to recognize them at a distance.  They might be mentioned in logs as the red cutter or the green launch, etc.  This does not mean that the entire boat was painted this color, just an identifying strake.  As Bob says, the rest of the boat would have been painted white.
 
The instde of the boat was often painted “drab,” a mixture of burnt umber and white, or “lead” grey.  “straw” color was permitted for the interior of US Navy Boats in the mid 1800’s.
 
Thwarts and floor boards were left unpainted.
 
Paintings of US Navy Boats in the 1850’s show exteriors painted black.
 
Roger
 

To tag onto the thread, any thoughts on whether or not a boat interior would also be painted? I suspect not the floor boards, but what about the ribs and interior of the hull planking?
 
Thanks ahead,
 
Keith
 
 

None of us are expert on everything (or anything maybe). I only responded because I had the referenced book (Sumrall) on the shelf next to me when I read your post.
 
Cheers,
 
Keith

None of us are expert on everything (or anything maybe). I only responded because I had the referenced book (Sumrall) on the shelf next to me when I read your post.
 
Cheers,
 
Keith

None of us are expert on everything (or anything maybe). I only responded because I had the referenced book (Sumrall) on the shelf next to me when I read your post.
 
Cheers,
 
Keith

None of us are expert on everything (or anything maybe). I only responded because I had the referenced book (Sumrall) on the shelf next to me when I read your post.
 
Cheers,
 
Keith

Third in the 'Marina Raskova' series. Minesweeper T114 torpedoed with heavy loss of life.
W/C 14” X 10”

Soviet Catalina sighting a lifeboat from 'Marina Raskova' and two minesweepers, sunk in the Kara Sea with heavy losses. w/c 16” X 11”

After seeing C Coyle's build log for his 12 footer, I am inspired to post some pictures of my 16 ft Peterborough cedar strip; didn't know we were "allowed" to post non-model builds. I made it from the book "Canoecraft" by Ted Moores, which contains lines for several different canoe designs. I picked the Peterborough as a good type for casual paddling at the cottage, since we already had a 16 ft kevlar Prospector for trips in the back country and his 17 ft "Redbird" design is too long to hang on our garage ceiling without interfering with the opening of the door!
 
Shout out here for the Canadian Canoe Museum which is located in Peterborough. Haven't been there in a while but they have a great collection.
 
This canoe was made in the days before digital cameras, but I just this minute took some photos of the old photo album and they seem to have turned out ok. I remember the first day I had my tablesaw out in the driveway, busily ripping six gorgeous 17 ft knot-free western red cedar 1 x 6 planks into 3/4" x 1/4" strips and in doing so creating  a monstrous pile of sawdust under the saw as my blade kerf was 1/8" so one third of each plank became sawdust. My neighbour, after watching for a while, came over to ask just what it was I thought I was doing and was amazed to hear I proposed to make a canoe. I then used my router table to cut beads and coves into the strips' edges. When assembling, the strips are tacked to the forms cove side up, making it simple to run glue along inside the cove before pressing in the bead edge of the next strip above.
 
I thought it would be a great woodworking challenge but making the hull was basically tedium. If you enjoy gluing endless strips, or sanding cedar with its attendant dust, or better yet sanding epoxy resin with even more horrible dust, canoe building is for you! I did enjoy adding the ash trim and making the seats once the hull was completed.
 
The Peterborough is a good canoe for light paddling. Doesn't have the volume or the high stems for a long canoe trip, and the first time I sat it on my neck with the deep-carved yoke a friend donated the top of my head was pressed against its bottom! Very uncomfortable and not to be portaged...later changed the yoke to a shallower design but never carry it far. It weighs in the 68lb range I would guess, much heavier than our kevlar canoe which is another reason not to trip with it.
 
Anyway here are a few random shots of various stages. My talented wife painted the West Coast Native loons each side of the bow, taken from an art book we had. God we were young then 🙂
 

 
Dust everywhere! Adding the gunwales with fiberglass on exterior sanded, but it looks dull until you wet or varnish it.....

 
Making the seats which were later laced with leather "bootlace".

 
The Admiral working on the art, with the hull cleaned but not yet varnished.

 

 
Completion shot beside the old townhouse.

 
First launch; Meech Lake QC.

Although I did not end up using this, I did I believe produce a good simulation of the canvas covering by using tissue paper

In Mariposa we referred to this as "cosmetic snow." Not a lot, to be sure, but I like winter, and I don't feel like we've had a proper one unless I get at least one decent snowfall. Like some fruit trees, I need a certain amount of cold set to feel well-adjusted and productive for the coming spring and summer.