coxswain

mates,
 
Thanks for all of your very nice posts and likes !
 
Frank (Riverboat) SO nice to see you active again - we've missed you on your build logs! - welcome back indeed. thanks as well for your continued visits, and super nice compliments. 
 
Buck - You're the best always - Thank You
 
Frank - this is the lathe that I have. For longer yards see note.

Hi Mates,
 
I had mentioned that I slightly tweak Chuck’s (Syren) already super excellent blocks. This how I do it. The changes are very subtle, but for me make it worth it.
 
1) enlarge the pre-drilled holes (I’m sure most of you already do this anyway)
 
2) using the same drill bit I now angle it to “round out” and deepen the pulley look further.

 
Using a file I add grooves to the upper and lower edges

 
Using a small sanding block I sand the four side edges a bit inward.

 
Last bit I just started “now” after going to Chuck’s site to order more rope I saw his new blocks that included the four pins that attach the two block sides together. Hmmm – that looked so great.
 
Granted his blocks are larger but nonetheless wanted to add that look as well.
 
Using a tiny drill bit just drilled eight holes.

 
Here are some comparisons. AGAIN absolutely NOT implying anything at all missing regarding Chuck’s super perfect blocks down to the smallest scale.

 
 
This pic is a perfect example of how amazing his super small blocks actually are without any of my obsessive tweaks (;-)

 
PS: whatever these are called I have to pull them all off. Again a novice with rigging when I made those it did not occur to me to be sure that ropes will be able to loop through – well they can’t – did not leave enough space grrrr.
 

 
Cheers,

Update;
 
Moving onto lathing the yards. First looked for dowels that had visible rings, in order to better replicate the yards looking as if they came from in scale real trees.

 
Example of sailcloth and initial stitching, as well as first turned yard. It looks thinner than 8mm – but it is as Corel sized it.

 
Returned to sewing center to finish up the sails. I’m so glad that I met Ivy – she was awesome. I did the cuttings. She (thankfully) did all of the machine work. The resulting stitching, and the hemming is 100% her great work. She also used an industrial steam iron to fold the double hems, then perfect stitching. Came out so well.
 
All of the following photos highlight her great work. Sewing center also had perfect cutting tools
 

I used an unbleached cotton muslin, that has those little black specks here and there - adds to the unrefined look too the sailcloth IMO - Last two are how I decided to add the reinforcement to the lower main sail. Copied what I saw on the 1/10th - As always thanks for dropping by
 
Cheers,

Russ – Thanks for your kind words much appreciated – thanks for dropping by as well.
 
B.E. Noted – I am now on your page understanding your posts, thanks. Eventually I may need to add these. I did actually follow how you included these on you last build.
PS: I’m still learning the vocabulary (:-)
 
======================
 
So moving forward to the sails.
 
Karl thanks SO much for your log sail measurement details. Super helpful indeed.
 
Frank I have decided to follow your sail presentation – I will also furl all lower sails, and have reduced the sail sizes per your log suggestions.
 
Karl and Frank your build logs will also continue to be invaluable when it is time to add blocks, rig the yards and sails all together.
 
Monday the sails get started in earnest; I go to the sewing center for stitching.
 
Cheers,
 

Denis – thanks, yes that does now look as it should. Also thanks for your continued support and kind thoughts.
 
Yup sails keep me up at night J  Would definitely add a big “bang” to this project.
 
EJ – just a thought; I had difficulty trying to properly scale the euphroe block threads taught. A bow seemed to always stay visual coming from each side of the blocks
 
I went from Chuck’s  .018 to his .012 and that helped a bit. But the real solution was to use a routing bit and add indented grooves to the blocks themselves. This allowed the rope bends to be better hidden within the block.
 
Now when pulled the ropes take on a better scaled toughness through the blocks to their respective shrouds.

Cheers,

EJ,
 
Thanks for your nice comments – Yes your advice is well taken. This happens to be something that I have the foresight of understanding. Most of the standing rigging won’t be secured until much latter.
 
I also assume that I will need “reaching room” when attaching yards, sails, and required running rigging. It is my goal to complete the Vasa in 2017.
 
============================
 
And then move backwards to 840 AD or thereabouts (Oseberg) I will, for that one, leave several sections open, including part of the deck, and the hull on one side – making visible construction details that would otherwise be all covered up. So the extra work will be with wood. An area that I like to work with.
 
Probably won’t add the sail, nor its simple rigging, but instead truncate the mast for a partial display. So it will be just basically a hull model.
 
I was just going to ignore this one (too big1/25th scale) but have reconsidered this in hindsight.
And so many actual photos of the Oseberg are available making the structural accuracy easier to replicate correctly.
 
Below is a replica of the Gokstad detail view– (the Oseberg was built as a burial shrine). But these two give great insight into their construction. Oseberg is the full view photo.
 
 

Hi Mates,
 
He are some updated full views as of today. Always thanks for dropping by.

Karl,
 
Thanks for responding - I was wondering about that detail in the mizzen sail.

Baskerbosse – thanks for your insights as well as taking the time to post- Very interesting. Your Vasa knowledge is appreciated.
 
Karl – may I ask for your assistance? I’m at the point where I need to decide on the sails. I want to try making some, and then decide if they will (in my case) improve on this build.
 
I have been looking at yours and Frank’s logs for ideas and help.
 
May I ask how you added that great detail? – see your photo. -Thanks in advance Karl -you are always so helpful.
 
Mates, as always thanks for your likes and visits.
 
Cheers,

Hi Mates,
 
Minor update, in a diff area, I’m still waiting to receive needed ropes from Chuck (snail mail –grrr J  )
 
So installed one of the anchors. Positioning will evolve as will - how they are attached.
 
Found a jpg that visually showed how to attach the rope.

 
Used Landström’s drawings as my guide from his The Royal Warship VASA.
 

 
Some general pics
 

 
Here are the new tools that I now use to make the needed rings. This has thankfully evolved from my early attempts at making these rings. Now so much easier. Using aluminium 
tubing that is much softer than brass - though I do like this tool for brass works very well. Both tools found on eBay. 

 
 
Also working on making needed Euphroe blocks (Thanks EJ for your help on this)
 
Cheers,
 
 

Buck - you have had one beer too many THANKS so much - that said (;-) your detailed work is so over the top. Enjoy everyone from buck's log (I need to share). You have been one of my visions
indeed. I hope to realize your detail work eventually - probably not !! 

You know, every time I look at you detail shots, I have to wonder if I should take up origami or beer drinking instead! Your build gets more stunning with each change and addition. Fantastic work Michael!

I added the boom foot ropes and then moved on to the davits (still waiting for hooks to get in stock) detailing the sheave axles with square nuts.
Here is the boom foot ropes.
 

 
I used a brass strip to make the nuts due to it's strength this small and drilled a .020" hole to receive the #8 pin shaft.
 

 
I decided to use rope for the spreader rather than the white wood brace shown in contemporary pictures.
 

 
Once the davit arms were rigged a single block was seized at the futtock brace with a double block at the of the single lift rope. The line was rigged through a single block with a hook engaged on a hook on the deck and seized at the rail with a belaying pin.
 

 
Here is an overview of where I am at until I get the 3mm hooks to complete the rigging. Now to sort out my next steps which may be finishing up the gunports and other hull details.
 
 

Finished up all the bracing lines and then added the mizzen boom and spanker. Here are some details pictures of the various attachment points for the bracing. Once all are in place there is a real beauty in the symmetry of the geometry of the lines relating to each other. I have to admit I had to do some real detective work to sort all of this out due to the lack of detail in some cases on the plans. Speaking of the plans, a warning for those who follow the plans show two different locations for the "Sheet stop chocks" which impact the location of the spanker boom guys. Not sure which is correct; but I build the Spanker boom first months ago and when rigged to the mizzen realized the two different locations. I am leaving mine to the rear and not tear up the work already completed. This will also impact the rigging of the Vangs as well.
 


 


 

Here is an overview with bracing in place.

The following show some of the boom and spanker rigging which again required some detective work and common sense. 

Here I am using a spring clip that I filed the teeth off off so as not to mark up the wood to hold tension on the rigged blocks. These are also handy when seizing blocks to hold the line in place on the block until seized. Also the double blocks are set at 1 inch on center with tension.

Here is the use of common sense when rigging the triple block. I first rigged it with the lines feed in sequence across the block and then when tying off and adding tension the block angled severely to one side which I thought looked awkward. So I re-rigged it adding the third line to the center hole which put the tension in the center of the block and leveled it off.    

Here is a better picture showing the use of the temporary brace line to adjust the centering of the spanker between the topping lift lines.

I am now waiting for Chuck to get more 3mm hooks in place before I can finish the boom rigging and the studding sail booms on all the yards.
 
Here are some personal observations I made while rigging lines: 
I tie my own rope and use 100% cotton for the lines and rope seizing thread. Cotton absorbs the glue mix for a stronger joint.
If too much glue is applied to a knot, touch the excess glue with a damp Q-tip and it will wick away the excess glue.
When tying knots whether in blocks or belaying pins, wet the lines with clean water and a Q-tip within an 1-1/2" of the knot location. This takes out the spring in the rope for easier manipulation especially at belaying pins.
Use 50/50 mix of white glue and water applied to the tied knot and line. Let glue dry and glue will result in a clean cut with no fraying. Also the line will remain flexible with this glue mix. If in doubt apply the glue mix a second time; better safe than sorry and the glue dries clear.
If you screw up just soak the 50/50 glued knot with water using a Q-tip and pick the knot apart with a pointed pick. This cannot be done with CA glue. Don't ask how I know this.
Only use CA on the end of a line to form a hard needle end for easier indexing in blocks. Once CA has set on the end cut the end at an angle to form a point for indexing. This is the only use for CA when rigging line.
All blocks are drilled with a 1/32" drill before being rigged. Kit supplied blocks can be shaped with sanding and grooves filed with a triangular needle file centered on the holes.
Complete the same operation on all masts working from bow to stern, top to bottom and from the center out whenever possible. This reduces the risk of breaking things.
If using magnification glasses you will have no peripheral vision; be aware of where parts are in space before starting.
File the ends and gripping surfaces of tweezers to tie small knots. Test by picking a thread off of working surface. You need to be able to grab a piece of seizing thread.
Always double check what you are about to rig to see if you should have done something else first. For example adding a block to an eyebolt that will be needed to be rigged later on.
 
Now to rig the foot lines on the boom and move on until hooks are available which Chuck indicated should be this week.
 
 
 
 
 

Joshua, here you can see the use of the 50/50 glue mix on these lift lines tied off at the belaying pins.
 

 
One of the advantages of making your own rope is that you can have coils all over the deck while glue dries.
 

A milestone attained! Masts are in place with all the yards having their lift and halyard lines tied off. 

 
Now back to the bowsprit and starting there to add the braces for all the yards and more rope making. Once back to the mizzen I will then add the spanker and boom since I still have to rotate the ship end for end while working on each side.

Hello again! It might have taken a while, but I had fun with it! I finished the outer hull planking. I think I enjoyed it more this time because I had a better idea of what I was doing. Anyway, here are the pictures.
 

Well, I'm still planking the outside of the hull. I have two strakes left to do on either side. I've tried and tried again a few spiling techniques, most with unsatisfactory results. I think that at this scale some of them don't work as well, such as the tape method. I settled on my own way that has worked fairly well. It is similar to the tape method in only one way, which is instead of lying the tape on he hull with no side bending, you lie a wide strip of wood. Being wood, it would be very hard to edge bend. You clamp it in place on the hull, run a compass at the edge of the plank that fits into the bow or stern and cut along that line so that the plank fits in the rabbet when it is done. Make sure to thin the plank at this point. Now lie the plank back on the hull, WITHOUT the end in the rabbet  but still making the plank end directly below the above strake, not necessarily following the curve of the bow or stern. Make sure that there is space between the top edge of the wood strip and the bottom edge of the above strake. Double check that the space continues the whole length of the plank you are attempting to create, from bow or stern, all the way to the last bulkhead that the plank rests on. At this point, you should have a strip of wood on the hull that from a side view looks curved, but in actuality it is running its natural course along the hull. It should form a light U shape. Then run a compass along the edge of the strake, drawing that line onto the wood strip. Cut the wood strip on that line and test the fit. You may soak it for a few minutes and clamp in place. Once dry, mark where each bulkhead is on the plank. Now, with a divider, measure the width of the plank at each bulkhead and transfer that to the plank. Connect each transferred point on the plank with a line. Cut near the line and test fit again. Fine tune, add pencil on he bottom edge to simulate caulk, and finally glue. 


 
I will show you what I mean by the whole "strip on the hull making a U shape" in photos once I finish with the outer planking. Nearly there!
Until next time,

Hello again! It's been a few weeks since I've updated my log and thought it time to do so again. First, I added the cockpit flooring. That was just glueing the supports and short planks in place.

Then was figuring out and adding the mounting system. Kurt recommended using t-nuts for that. 
I then located and drilled a hole on either side of the keel, one below the fore deck and one below the aft. I then aligned that hole and drilled it in to the filler block. Taking into account the thickness of the base of the t-nuts, I layered the wood so that when the t-nuts were installed they would sit flush with the base.

I then glued them on to their respective places and used a screw to keep them aligned.
 
After that, I lined off the hull and started planking. I have thinned the ends of the planks that for into the rabbet and beveled the underside of the planks for a tight fit. I also used a number 2 pencil to add 'caulk' to the underside of each plank. I first soaked the planks and clamped them to the hull to dry. I noticed that the field made small debts in the planks that way. A lake water and a bit of sanding makes it not noticeable, but since then I've used little balsa tabs as spacers to take the dent. So far I have finished the sheerstrake on both sides. I have noticed that although the planks above the Wales aren't spiled, they do vary in width. Thanks for looking in!

 
 

Had a busy weekend but also got in some good hours in the shipyard and manged to finish up the second set of planking on the port side and start on the second set on the starboard. Moving along nicely. 

It's actually surprising that no one has excavated down to the remains for samples to analyze. It would be very hit and miss as there is no guarantee what parts were buried but it is possible to find paint pigments to determine what colors were used if you happen to get a piece of wood that was painted and still has those pigments intact. Long shot at best and probably not going to happen due to the costs involved. Better hope is for some unknown painting or book of record to turn up with the information.
 
While I have a few minutes, here is a quick update on the planking process. Slowly creeping forward, still a lot to do.

I haven't made my mind up about this completely yet, but at first I was liking this muted grayish blue from Versailles, as the primary blue, with ultramarine accents on select areas of the stern quarters and tafferal:
 

I think the gilt work shows up really nicely against this color.
 
But, then, I saw this model and it got me to thinking about the way this brighter, light blue plays against the yellow ochre:
 

 
I really like this as a primary combination, where most of the panel framing would be in this yellow ochre, while reserving the gilt work for the large and important figurative carvings and certain essential accent carvings, i.e. anything that directly references the sun, or the Sun King, himself.  In this scheme, I would still use Ultramarine blue as a secondary, accent color.  This second approach may or may not be accurately reflective of what was being done at the time, but artistically, I just like it.

Tom,
 
Thanks for the nice words and good luck to you on your own build! As to the power supply, my lights work off of a 9volt battery. I bought a small push button switch to control them and I plan on mounting them in or on the display base. Exact method will be determined when I actually build the base. For now I have just made sure to leave myself plenty of extra wire out the bottom so I don't end up to short. 
 
Now to the update. I got the first row of planks and wales on the starboard side this week and today I worked on the beakhead bulkhead. Gun ports framed, bowsprit hole shaped and test fitted and the beakhead deck planked also. Now to start laying out the next run of wales and planks.
 
Enjoy the pictures!

Port side gun ports are in place, hull is sanded and ready for the second planking! 
 
Started working on the stern below the cabin balconies. Framed up the stern ports and planked up to the balconies with the finish layer.
 
Going to take a break on her for a little while now before I really dive into the second planking. There is a lot of it but the second layer tends to go faster than the first and once I get going on it, I like to see it to the end. So before that I want to work some more on La Couronne as she is nearing completion. I may push to finish her up before I return to this log so it may be awhile before there are any new progress pics on here.
 

 

 

Sjors, I use piping for a lot of storage. Wood strips, dowels and model railroad track all have their tubes out in the garage. That is originally what I was using for my ship wood as well until I got this cabinet.
 
I meant to post this a couple days ago but I did finish up the starboard side gun ports and more sanding. She is starting to look good on that side now. The port side is also well underway and I am hoping to have the ports finished up in a couple more days and then more sanding on that side. Once both sides are where I like them I will build out the stern and the 2nd planking will start. If I can manage it at work, I am hoping to get a 4 day weekend this weekend and should be able to get in some long build days. 

Progress continues on the gun port framing. 3 hours of build time tonight have left me with 3 ports left to go on the starboard side. Should have them done tomorrow and then more filler and sanding. There are lots of imperfections but the filler and the sanding should be light at this point so no big stress there. I will have pictures later this week when there is something to actually see.
 
To all my S.R. scholars, I am in need of guidance. On the stern at the aft gun ports, does the transom remain flat and the just the balcony supports curve or does the transom follow the curve of the balcony supports. I have seen it both ways and am wondering if anyone knows how this should look. Below are pictures of the area in question. On the drawing the transom appears to be flat and just the supports curve. On the model, and I have seen this on a few of them, the transom itself takes on the same curve as the supports. I am quickly approaching a point where I need to make the decision on how to frame and plank this area so any input would be greatly appreciated.

On this model it shows the transom curving with the balcony supports.