JerseyCity Frankie

Hi all. Recently, after finishing my miniature model of "Dorade" I started on my new model, a 1/192 scale model of the 54m long schooner "Ingomar". Built in 1903 and designed by Nathaniel Herreshoff, Ingomar was one of the fastest and most successful racing schooners of its day. Such is the beauty of this boat, that it has been recreated now by Graafships; the only problem being that the person funding the project, unfortunately ran out of money and only the hull has been built. The hull is currently for sale. Hopefully someone rich enough will buy the hull and complete the project; thereby creating a modern full size version of this beautiful ship. Any rich people out there?
 
Anyhow, back to my model! Given the small size of the hull (13 cms approx), I agonised about what sort of material the hull should be built from. Whatever I chose had to be structurally strong enough to be cut into small enough strips to simulate the frames, etc. Also, the fact that the full sized ship was steel framed, basically meant that I couldn't use wood. Much to my distaste, I reluctantly settled on plasticard to build the keel and hull! I've always shied away from plasticard, but this time, it was the only logical choice. I will paint the hull's frames and keel later to make it look like it authentic.
 
The hull will be built with as much of the internal accommodation as possible installed in the hull and visible through large cutaways of the hull and exposed deck beams.
 
I hope you enjoy the photos. More photos will follow as work progresses.

Hi everyone
 
Well, tonight I finished building the bent frames! It's a tedious job, but the effect is worth it in the end. At least now, Ingomar's hull finally looks like it's taking shape.
 
What's even more important is the fact that I was able to remove the hull from the building jig and build a working stand for her to sit upright in. The hull looks a bit rough around the sheer line, but that's only because it requires trimmimg, sanding etc.
 
The next job will be to do the planking and then cut out the sides of the hull so that the interior accommodation can be viewed. Long way to go, no doubt.
 
I hope you enjoy the photos.

Happy Easter everyone!!!! I hope all of you that celebrate Easter have a wonderful festive season. To everyone else, have a great day, too.
 
Here are the latest photos of Ingomar. I've used platicard strips to simulate the frames, which, as you can see, look reasonably convincing. Once the side of the hull is completely "framed" using this method, I'll then set about selectively framing up the other side of the hull, whilst leaving large parts of that side of the hull unframed; thereby resulting in large open areas to view the internal accommodation. The trick is to make sure that the hull remains structurally rigid once it is removed from the jig. Afterall, leaving too much open on one side of the hull could result in a warped hull. So, it's always a balancing act, but the rewards are worthwhile.
 
Anyhow, hope you enjoy the photos. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.
 
Cheers!

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02488/flag_2488242b.jpg
 
I wish I could tell you more about this image. Its said to be a flag flown at tTrafalgar from the San Ildefonso. Further its said to have been flown over St Paul's Cathedral during Admiral Nelson's funeral.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02488/flag_2488242b.jpg
 
I wish I could tell you more about this image. Its said to be a flag flown at tTrafalgar from the San Ildefonso. Further its said to have been flown over St Paul's Cathedral during Admiral Nelson's funeral.

At the most basic level I think its important to think about the thickness of the material you use to represent the lines on the ship. On an actual ship there were scores of different diameter line in use, a different thickness for different applications in the rig. Its hard to find good examples of this concept in photos, either of model or on full sized ships, since the subtle differences in diameter are lost when you view the 'big picture" of the entire rig.
The rule of thumb is that the greater the forces involved, the thicker (and thus stronger) the rope in use has to be. So the shrouds and the stays are very thick in comparison to the lesser running rigging that doesn't come under as much strain. And there is a spectrum of stains involved in any ship rig and your task will be to try to understand what each individual line is used for and thus how much strain it is under and this will determine the thickness of each line. 
A very broad rule of thumb, one that has exceptions, is that the higher up in the rig a line is working, the thinner the rope it is made of.
On your model you should be employing at the very least three different diameters of line, preferably six or eight.
My advice is to start acquiring all the thicker thread you can find out there. its fairly easy to find thin thread but the intermediate and heavier threads are a challenge.

Brady, in Kedge-Anchor, 1847, has mats and chafe gear all over the ship and specifically mentions covering the lanyards on the shrouds with mats. Specifically sword mats. Relevant passage on pages 129 and 235 of my copy. Here is a quote from page 129: ..." (Sword mats) are...the breadth of the dead-eye, and long enough to take in both-the lanyards are laced inside. They are hardly ever used on topmast rigging; they look heavy, and are of no use, except on the foreward shrouds and backstays."......

I would caution that actual sail twine used to sew on a bolt rope is not nearly as thick as even the finest of sewing threads would appear in scale. Modern sail twine is just a bit thicker than dental floss and although I imagine it was considerably thicker "in the old days" before nylon, it could not be sewn through any fabric if it was as thick as even the thinest rope.
Having said that, I do like the way an actual sewn seam or line of stitching puckers the fabric a little, it tend to impart a texture to the fabric that adds to the organic look of a sail, even if these puckers themselves are out of scale.

Found the link to this print on reddit.com  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Regulus_under_attack_by_British_fireships_August_11_1809.jpg
 
Its an image from the Battle of Basque Rodes of April 11th 1809 ( Its the anniversary!)  and it depicts Cochrane's fireships attacking anchored French ships in the Basque Roads.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Basque_Roads
 
 
Of interest to me was the appearance of what appear to be signal lanterns seized into the mizzen shrouds in triangular patterns port and starboard on the anchored French ship. I have never seen this practice demonstrated anywhere else, its new to me and I figured it could be of interest to others as well.
There is a lot of great rigging detail in this print.

Found the link to this print on reddit.com  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Regulus_under_attack_by_British_fireships_August_11_1809.jpg
 
Its an image from the Battle of Basque Rodes of April 11th 1809 ( Its the anniversary!)  and it depicts Cochrane's fireships attacking anchored French ships in the Basque Roads.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Basque_Roads
 
 
Of interest to me was the appearance of what appear to be signal lanterns seized into the mizzen shrouds in triangular patterns port and starboard on the anchored French ship. I have never seen this practice demonstrated anywhere else, its new to me and I figured it could be of interest to others as well.
There is a lot of great rigging detail in this print.

Found the link to this print on reddit.com  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Regulus_under_attack_by_British_fireships_August_11_1809.jpg
 
Its an image from the Battle of Basque Rodes of April 11th 1809 ( Its the anniversary!)  and it depicts Cochrane's fireships attacking anchored French ships in the Basque Roads.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Basque_Roads
 
 
Of interest to me was the appearance of what appear to be signal lanterns seized into the mizzen shrouds in triangular patterns port and starboard on the anchored French ship. I have never seen this practice demonstrated anywhere else, its new to me and I figured it could be of interest to others as well.
There is a lot of great rigging detail in this print.

Found the link to this print on reddit.com  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Regulus_under_attack_by_British_fireships_August_11_1809.jpg
 
Its an image from the Battle of Basque Rodes of April 11th 1809 ( Its the anniversary!)  and it depicts Cochrane's fireships attacking anchored French ships in the Basque Roads.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Basque_Roads
 
 
Of interest to me was the appearance of what appear to be signal lanterns seized into the mizzen shrouds in triangular patterns port and starboard on the anchored French ship. I have never seen this practice demonstrated anywhere else, its new to me and I figured it could be of interest to others as well.
There is a lot of great rigging detail in this print.

I often wonder about the same thing. failing a LOT of Brails, I can't imagine how this could be achieved. I can imagine four or even five brails with their lead blocks but the blocks would be noticeable sitting out there on the stay, they would appear in the etchings.  In order to get a man to be able to bundle the sail up close to the stay, he would need one of those knotted footropes as one sees on jibbooms to stand on. With nothing to stand on, I can't imagine the sailors able to get a neat furl on or be expected to survive the task nine time out of ten. 

....

Thanks

I have only found one picture of a fog buoy in use so far - boxy with the cruciform structure with floats at the end would seem to generate the splashing and noise as described in this picture.
 
http://www.ilnprints.co.uk/Vintage-Transport-Prints-Vintage-Warship-Prints/c338_74/p1230/Warship-Trailing-a-Fog-Buoy-1912/product_info.html
 
Several sources describe it, but perhaps none so eloquently as this:
 
HMS Naneric 3 July 1918 Convoy Mid-Atlantic

"6.0 dropped fog buoy"

(Poetry to the rescue)

"A fog-buoy was a marker float, towed on the end of a fine wire or rope, from the stern of each ship (except the last) of a line in close company, in fog. In line ahead (each ship following in the wake of another) the standard distance apart was 2 1/2 cables, or 500 yards. If the visibility was less than that distance, then the ship ahead streamed (= let out) a fog-buoy to a distance of 500 yards, and the ship astern kept the buoy abreast its bridge. Thus you knew that you were the right distance astern of your next ahead. The buoy consisted of a cross of wood, about 4 feet long, and 3 feet wide, in the form of a crucifix, towed, as it were, from the short, head, end. The cross arms were to prevent it from turning over, while at the foot end was a scoop, made of galvanized sheet iron/steel, which threw up a plume of water, readily visible. But the fog-buoy would not "guide you through the haggard night" in fog - you really would be unlikely to see it even if it was alongside you, no more than 25 yards away: darkness plus fog means adopting some other formation. But "squattering" exactly describes the buoy's motion, jerking, jinking, tunnelling through the waves."
http://www.kipling.org.uk/naval2.htm

Hi Ron -
 
As Remco says, you have to start with some pretty wide stock to get the proper spiled shape for the final planks.   And with clinker planking you don't have the freedom to make adjustments the way you do with carvel hulls.
 
I found it incredibly useful when I was building the hull of the Thames River Skiff to cut each plank shape out of cardstock before committing to wood.  I generated a lot of scraps, but learned where the difficulties were going to be and what wierd shapes I needed to get a fair hull with even and consistent reveals from plank to plank.
 
Best holiday wishes to you and yours.
 
Dan

Thanks, Keith, and Martin, for your comments--you're right, the admiration and inspiration we get (not to mention knowledge gained) from those who work at the highest level is often what drives us to do more, and better, than we ever could on our own.
 
 
Today's minor update:
 
As much as I've rhapsodized about the joys of my little cutter, I'm also feeling a little burnt out!   I didn't spend very much time on it today.
 
But I did decide that it would be better to do the gunwales before the thwarts, just in case I need "elbow room" while gluing the gunwales on, without the thwarts in the way.  (I do try, at least sometimes, to think ahead!)  In anticipation of that work, I also determined that the apron at the stem needed to be cut down from where I initially had it-- 
 

 
 
The gunwales need to be 1 1/2 inches thick, by two inches wide.  Using my rotary tool "thickness sander" I roughly sanded some stock down to approximately 1/16th inch square (about 3" x 3" in scale), wet and heated it, to set the curve. The piece on the left I have started sanding down to final thickness--
 

 
 
The next photo shows the difference between the rough form, and final thickness.   There's also a pretty significant kink in the curve of the un-sanded piece, but I think it will disappear by the time it gets down to its final dimensions.  In the background you can see I also had to re-glue the starboard rising piece.  It had come loose on some of the frames.  This is not a good thing--some earlier varnishing of the interior may have compromised the gluing integrity on the frames-- 
 
  
 
 
I think I am going to stain the gunwale black.  I'll do this before I glue them on.   The other pieces that attach to the gunwale--the breasthook, and a piece and some angles at the transom-- willI also be stained, but not the washboard.   The port gunwale has been sanded to the correct thickness, but not yet the width.  The starboard is still rough--
 

 
 
And that's it for now.
 
Ron

The following sequence shows the way I have made the rope Gaetan.
whirl end with threads twisted I added the arrows to remind myself of the correct turn

spinner end ready to rotate

The beginning of the rotation of the spinner end

Notice the three twisted lines at the centre of the span

The rope unhooked at the spinner end

the finished spin at the whirl end

The cut rope on the bottom is the same rope that was used for the original test that was laid up left handed and too loose the bottom rope was unwound and rewound using the drill and resetting for the right hand lay,  the bottom rope is still not perfect as it is unraveling a little so the equal tension is not quite right yet

the two coils of rope to show the progression of the method that I am getting a little better at.

 
Michael
 
 

Thanks Guys, really enjoying the deck...  Adding another 4 hours to log...
 
I am wondering about gangway and skylight.  Is it most realistic if decking goes underneath or do they sit on top of the decking like most other deck fixtures such as windlass?
 
Thanks for looking and Merry Christmas and holiday season to all. Happy crafting..  Ollie

The Halifax has six small 3-pounder guns on deck. On a 1:80 scale they will be very small, so I started work on one of the carriages to see if it is feasible.Well, it is   That's a 5 eurocent coin for reference
 

Here's a overview of the work that has already been done.
 
The keel and bulkheads were sawn from 3mm plywood (by hand with a fretsaw). The decks are made of 1mm plywood. I use high-quality birch plywood.
 

 

 
A dry-fit of the bulkheads. So far I'm satisfied with the result
 

 
A dry-fit with the decks.
 

 

21:00 And first hand of first phase of first side of hull planking is finally over.
 
Why it is impossible to attach files from android with Opera app. ? With froyo 2.1. fabric inteerenet app it is slow slow slow
 
Sorry, pictures will be shown later when family battle for laptop finish. What do you think: who will be a winner of that battle? And most important question : when ? And another question : how much computers are enough for four members family? Ahh ... never ending story of our life.
 
23:00  Laptop is fortunately captured, pictures successfully transferred  from FB and here is today progress vrom different angle view.
 
Obviously. there is much work left to do with sanding and filling to get proper shape, especially in transition area between hull and the plank. But first, to finish another side of ship at same way. I think this is important to achieve symmetry as much is possible 
 
But she began to look powerfull ( or dreaming ?)
 
side wiew
 

 
front wiew
 
 

 
from down
 

 
 
and the nicest view - from up
 
 

 

Jay,
I have those pics for you.
It looks like the bentinck shroud legs are middled through a thimble eyespliced into the shroud, the splice served.  There are 4 legs, the center pair are not actually shroud legs but they look like a long seizing, frapped, between the middle futtock shrouds and the bentinck shroud thimble.  The other 3 legs have a thimble spliced into each end with a frapped seizing attaching them to the futtock stave. The shroud legs are served their entire length.
 
The lower end of the bentinck shroud is seized around a heart with a throat and four round seizings.  The lower heart is stropped double with two eyes. The eyes are held with a pin through an eyebolt in the waterway.  The lanyard starts with an eye splice in the upper heart and the end is hitched round the shroud at the throat seizing end the bitter end seized to one of the parts of the laniard.
 
Also visible in the photos is the attachments of the catharpin legs.  You can also see that the bentinck shroud is served where there may be chafe from other rigging.
 
Hope this info helps.
 

The flat spiral coils in question are known as Flemish Coils and they do have a place on sailing vessels. They are used in places where there are a combination of factors: a long line that needs to be stowed yet instantly available if needed and no good place to hang them, they are also best in places where there is a lot of foot traffic as they are the only type of coil that can be trod upon without ruining them. They are in fact deigned to be walked over although it is likely not encouraged. The yacht your building would have had a large crew which would mean every space on deck would see a lot of foot traffic. Also with no bullwarks there aren't too many convenient places to hang a round coil and keep it off the deck so the Flemish Coil is your only answer. Some long lines are flaked down in figure eights as suggested, but they make a larger "footprint" on the deck and when accidentally kicked they lose their shape and their ability to run without fowling becomes suspect. The Flemish Coil does soak up water and hold it against the wooden deck and that is bad for the deck so if the vessel is not underway the coils would be made up and hung off the deck. The Flemish Coil's precise form takes a lot of effort to get right and they do look "fancy" and on a working vessel they are considered "yachty"-a pejorative term- but you will see them at any marina being used as the best way to keep the long ends of docklines from cluttering up the docks making them unsafe to walk upon. Picture the tackle on a cannon: the lines are long and they can't be made to pins on the bullwarks so they are either gasket coiled and hung on the gun itself or they are Flemished on deck. Incidentally the Flemish coil is always laid in a clockwise direction with the bitter end at the center.

The flat spiral coils in question are known as Flemish Coils and they do have a place on sailing vessels. They are used in places where there are a combination of factors: a long line that needs to be stowed yet instantly available if needed and no good place to hang them, they are also best in places where there is a lot of foot traffic as they are the only type of coil that can be trod upon without ruining them. They are in fact deigned to be walked over although it is likely not encouraged. The yacht your building would have had a large crew which would mean every space on deck would see a lot of foot traffic. Also with no bullwarks there aren't too many convenient places to hang a round coil and keep it off the deck so the Flemish Coil is your only answer. Some long lines are flaked down in figure eights as suggested, but they make a larger "footprint" on the deck and when accidentally kicked they lose their shape and their ability to run without fowling becomes suspect. The Flemish Coil does soak up water and hold it against the wooden deck and that is bad for the deck so if the vessel is not underway the coils would be made up and hung off the deck. The Flemish Coil's precise form takes a lot of effort to get right and they do look "fancy" and on a working vessel they are considered "yachty"-a pejorative term- but you will see them at any marina being used as the best way to keep the long ends of docklines from cluttering up the docks making them unsafe to walk upon. Picture the tackle on a cannon: the lines are long and they can't be made to pins on the bullwarks so they are either gasket coiled and hung on the gun itself or they are Flemished on deck. Incidentally the Flemish coil is always laid in a clockwise direction with the bitter end at the center.