capnharv2

So let me bring you up to date on this build. As you can see from the pictures I got to adding the Lintels and stopped.
 
For reasons I cannot explain I did not notice that my templates were out of scale and I added the lintels before the sills. And to add more salt to the wounds I also had rotated the lintels 90 degrees.
 
So now 4 years latter I am revising much of my work. ( I guess I should mention that during those 4 years real life got in the way. I moved and changed jobs a couple of times.)
 
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 225 – Bowsprit Standing Rigging
 
Foot Ropes/Lifelines
 
Footropes from the bowsprit cap out to the end of the flying jibboom allowed crew to work along the jibbooms on tasks like furling and bending outer jibs.  Because of the inclination of the bowsprit these ropes were knotted along their length to prevent slipping.  There was a single stirrup supporting the center of the foot rope.  The first picture shows a prefabricated, 3½" footrope ready to be installed. 
 

 
The forward end of the rope is eye spliced, as are both ends of the short stirrup.  Both these eyes have lashing thread tied to the eye.  The lower end remains unspliced.  The eye at this end will be formed with the rope in place so the length can be set.
 
In the next picture the port footrope and its stirrup have been lashed to eyebolts along the spar and the attachment to the cap is being formed.
 

 
The weight of the surgical clamp suspended from the center holds the stirrup straight so the foot rope length can be set.  The lashing thread at the cap is passed through the eyebolt and tied to the rope where the eye splice will be made.  The loose rope end is threaded through itself at that point to form the eye which is then glued.  The alligator clip is clamping the eye splice while the glue dries.  The lashing at the cap will then be completed.  The next picture shows an eye splice lashed to an eyebolt.
 

 
The next picture shows an all-too-typical tangle of clamps and thread ends during the process.
 

 
In this picture, lifelines from the knightheads out to an eye in the top of the cap band may be seen.  These are secured like the footropes with spliced eyes and lashings.
 
The last two pictures show the completed standing rigging of the bowsprit.
 

 
More standing rigging lines will be added later, but these will be components of the foremast structural rigging.  There will also be various running rigging lines added later – mostly those associated with jibs and staysails.
 

 
All of this bowsprit rigging could have been done before the lower masts, since with the fore stay attached to the knightheads, it is independent of those structures.  However, the bowsprit should be rigged before the fore topmast, so its stay can be secured and tensioned with the bowsprit rigging in place.
 
Next: the fore topmast.
 
Ed

MORE PROGRESS.....
This is a fairly special morning for me in terms of progress posting.  
I spent the day yesterday working on capping off the rails.  We all know the feeling, right?
I took a couple of early shots before I set about working on the beginning of developing the spar deck.

 

 

Thanks for posting the reference cards Geoff. That falls under "why didn't I think of that"???
 
Better yet, why am I not doing this now?
 
Harvey

Hi Dilbert,
 
Similar one, also at 1/24: 130 pounds

.... continued.
 
I CA glued tubing together to make the cowl for a small pipe, and also used it for the braces :


 
Not sure what this assembly is (nothing unusual there ) :


 
Quite a few small ventilators, the reel and a viewfinder :

 
An overview of all the fittings glued to the superstructure. I've also fitted the PE railings and 0.2mm wire handrails :


 
Final assembly for this section is the aft Mast, all CA glued together. At the moment it's dry-fitted, I'll spray paint it before final fitting :



 
  Danny

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 223 – Bowsprit Standing Rigging 2
 
Martingale Backstays
 
The first picture shows the two prefabricated martingale backstays with hearts attached, secured to eyebolts on the lower end of the martingale.
 

 
These are of 40 lpi copper chain, simulating smaller 74 lpf chain as mentioned earlier and as used on the inner martingale stay in the last part.  They were pre-measured before attaching the eyebolts and heart shackles at the ends.  The temporary "backstay" tensioning thread is still in place.  The backstays will be secured to hearts anchored to eyebolts on the catheads.  The heart on the starboard cathead is shown below.
 

 
The next picture shows the lanyard on the port backstay threaded up and the stay being tensioned. 
 

 
The starboard stay has been installed and the two are being adjusted to provide tension on the inner and outer forward stays and to pull the martingale into a side-to-side vertical position.  The next picture shows the installed backstays with the temporary tensioning thread removed.
 
 
 
The next picture shows the hearts on the starboard side. 
 
 
 
The lanyards on both sides remain unsecured so that final tension adjustments may be made later when foremast stays are installed.  After those final adjustments, both the loose lanyard ends will be seized to their mates and clipped off.  The last picture shows a pair of these seizings on one of the bowsprit backstays before clipping off the excess seizing thread.
 

 
 
 
Ed
 

I spent some time rigging the studding booms, and I really like the results. The time taken was well worth the results.
 

 

 
I them moved on to rigging the small boats in their davits. After checking photos of the restored Constitution I realized that the gripes were leather straps. I then found in my automotive stash some goatskin leather that was used in cars seats. This leather is very thin and supple and after cutting 1/16" strips they were slightly stretched to set. Then brass rings were glued to each end after being cut to the length needed. 
 

 
Next I added the attachment points per the plans with eyebolts and rings as needed. For the sake of clarity in photographing the brass rings have not been darkened yet. Since I used the spreader rope the upper strap ends were attached to the end of the spreader rope.
Here are images of the results showing the three boats in various views.
 

 

 

 

 
Here is an overall stern side view.
 

 
Now back to finish up more details like rope coils for the belaying pins.
 

Work continues with the fabrication of the lower rail.  Compared to the main rail, this is duck soup.  Only one size of profile cutter is necessary.  The shape is determined by the same expansion drawing that was done with the main rail.  In the pictures you can see pin holes for securing it in place.  The head beam and cross piece were removed to facilitate fitting.
 

 

 

 

 
The first photo shows the mortices marked on the various structures.  I started with the fan-shaped grating behind the head beam.  As Atalanta had four seats of ease, only six ledges were required.  If there were only two seats of ease, then eight ledges were installed.  Each piece was marked since they would be stored away until the entire head was completed (or for photos).  This provides, along with the pins, a lot of structural stability for the head assembly.  At this point, the rest of the ledges and the small carlings for the seats of ease were constructed.
 

 

 

 

 

 
The false rail is a decorative board located on top of the main rail.  It screens the aft seats of ease, so it must have been the preferred location for doing one's duty.  The pictures show it set on top of the mail rail but it has not been finish sanded at this point.
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

I think I finally broke the code on making the dimensional stars having no success finding the right sizes. First I made a CAD drawing of the three sizes needed; 5/32", 3/16" and 1/4". I spray glued the paper pattern to a .005" brass sheet and then glued both to a 1/32" piece of plywood for support while sawing them out. I started with a pin in the large size but a pin would be too large for the smaller sizes so I then used .020" brass rod for the holding/locating pin in the center of each star. Each star was flood soldered with Staybrite solder after the perimeter was filed clean after sawing. Once painted the paint will be allowed to set before final filing and finishing up. I photograph the stars to see what needs tweaking since the human eye cannot see that fine. Her is a sequence showing the process and the final drilling pattern that will make the second set much easier to saw out. 
 

 

 

 

 

Here are the first set of stars and once all are to this stage and the paint has really set they will be fine tuned under magnification with a small file.

New drill hole pattern for the second set that will make it easier sawing.

 
Now onto the second set and finishing up some rigging now that I have hooks.

Thanks Pat. They're not really mods - I've built the guns the way the instructions show. Here are the finished guns before painting :
 




 
And after painting :
 


 
  Danny

The Funnel Guards fitted. I made an error initially - I had the wrong one on the aft funnel and had to cut it off and replace it. You can see the mistake on the two arms at 10:00 and 2:00 on the rear part of the forward funnel, they should go to the edge of the funnel but I'd cut them too short. Oh well .....


 
Once they were painted the mistake wasn't so obvious :


 
The aft funnel has been glued to the superstructure. There are four small boxes surrounding the funnel - there should be one more 1/2 the size of the smaller ones, but after spending 20 minutes making it I breathed a little heavily and ..... no doubt I'll find it one day years from now, unless my dog has eaten it .
 
NOTE - The large pipe with the "rabbit-ear" cowl should NOT be fitted yet, despite what it shows in the instructions. I followed instructions and had to remove it again later . The AA gun platform has to go on first, and the bottom of the pipe sits on that (see post in next page).
 

 
The horrors of Macro Photography :

 
I've also finished all the pipes and supporting rods on the forward funnel. The two pipes are 0.3mm nickel-silver tubes, the rods are 0.2mm wire :


 
An overall view of the main superstructure to this point. A couple of coats of Testor's Dullcote are yet to be applied :

 
  Danny

If you're looking at rigging complexity, the Rattlesnake has 3 masts, the Niagara has 2. I suspect the Niagara would be easier to rig.
 
Also, running rigging is simplified if you don't have sails. An interesting trade in complexity would be Niagara with sails vs. Rattlesnake without.
 
Hope that helps,
 
Thanks,
 
Harvey

If you're looking at rigging complexity, the Rattlesnake has 3 masts, the Niagara has 2. I suspect the Niagara would be easier to rig.
 
Also, running rigging is simplified if you don't have sails. An interesting trade in complexity would be Niagara with sails vs. Rattlesnake without.
 
Hope that helps,
 
Thanks,
 
Harvey

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 219 – Bowsprit Assembly
 
Before assembling the two main spars that make up the bowsprit, I wanted to get as much of the detailing done as possible while the individual spars were still easy to handle and grip.  In the first picture, three of the four sheaves have been made and temporarily fitted into the Jibboom/Flying Jibboom.
 

 
These were turned to the specified sizes in brass and are shown here held in place by lengths of copper wire.  The picture also shows the bands on this spar drilled for eyebolts.  In the next picture, the ironwork and sheaves have been blackened and permanent copper wire bolts have been driven through the spar to hold the sheaves.
 

 
The picture also shows the martingale that will be covered in the next part.  The next picture shows one of the wooden, fore topmast stay cleats being glued to the side of the bowsprit.  The stool for the jibboom may also be seen.
 

 
The jibboom is secured to the bowsprit with a hinged "bale" that surrounds the upper spar.  This is connected to a larger iron band around the bowsprit.  The fabricated ironwork is shown in the next picture.
 

 
The next picture shows both the stool and the bale.
 

 
The lower part of the bowsprit band was drilled and nailed into the bottom of the bowsprit.  As will be seen in the last picture, the underside of this band is hidden over the stem billet.  The next picture shows the assembly fitted out with all required eyebolts.
 

 
Since none of these eyebolts are connected using soldered shackles, all could be permanently secured at this stage.  The method for making these from twisted copper wire was discussed in an earlier post.  The last picture shows the bowsprit temporarily fitted into the hull.
 

 
 
This picture was taken just after finishing the assembly, including the ironwork, with a diluted solution of Tung oil.  The assembly is almost ready for permanent installation.  It will be held down with an iron gammoning strap just forward of the knightheads that will bolt to the stem below the figureheads.
 
The martingale that will be suspended below the bowsprit cap will be covered in the next part.
 
Ed

Thanks for the comment Pat - I'm getting the hang of cutting the edges with a bevel where needed. That makes for tighter joins. I also use my straight-edge on any straight section over 1mm long - this prevents any joins from having a slight gap top or bottom.
 
I've made the Forward Funnel which has turned out really well. The thin angled band under the top section went on with no problems. I glued it a couple of millimetres at a time :


I thought the angled deflectors at the top would have been problematic, but the accuracy of the printed parts made them really very easy to fit :

There is a lot of Pipework surrounding the funnel, which I'm working on at the moment. There's also a lot of PE to come.
 
Here's an overall pic of where I'm up to at the moment. The Sub-assemblies haven't been glued on yet - I'll complete each one before I fit them permanently :

 
  Danny

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.
 
 
 
 
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 216 – Bowsprit Cap
 
The bowsprit cap is a heavy balk of timber that is mortised on to the end of the bowsprit to support the jibboom.  It sits vertically, so the mortise for the bowsprit tenon and the round opening for the jibboom must be cut through the cap at a 20 degree angle corresponding to the angle of the bowsprit.  But first the cap must be cut out and the angles of the top and bottom faces shaped.  In the first picture, the outer lines of the shape and the centers of the openings have been laid out on a Castello plank,
 

 
Some additional work, permanent center lines for the openings, for example, is required on the drawing shown in the picture.  Once the overall piece was cut and the rounded ends shaped square on the sander, the beveled ends were sanded off as shown in the next picture.
 

 
This was done with the sander table angled at 20 degrees.  Some hand shaping is required where the straight side meets the curve of the ends to avoid under cutting the straight sides.  The angle of the bevel varies from 20 degrees at the apex to 90 at the side.
 
The cap is surrounded by an iron reinforcing band.  To fit the shape, this must be curved as shown below, so it will lay tightly on the cap when fitted.
 

 
The band may be seen on the drawing.  The copper strip shown in the picture was bent progressively with pliers to the shape shown.  It was then test fitted as shown below, curved for the other end of the cap, and further adjusted until a good fit was achieved.
 

 
After fitting, the band was soldered to form a ring and fit over the cap as shown below.
 

 
The band was then set aside so openings in the cap could be bored using a milling bit.  The mill setup I used is shown in the next picture.
 

 
A dead center has been mounted in the drill chuck to center it over one of the center marks on the piece. This was done before boring each of the two holes.  Two 18" holes were then bored as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The ¼" milling bit scales to 18" at 1:72.  A 3/16" bit would be used at the 1:96 scale.  After boring, the lower hole was filed to a square mortise to fit the bowsprit tenon.  After fitting the tenon, the cap was set up for gluing as shown below.
 

 
The square was used to check the vertical face and the side of the cap when it was glued.  The last picture shows the iron band fitted to the cap and blackened.
 

 
The band was secured using some thin CA, but will be well anchored in position when the rigging eyebolts are added through drilled holes into the cap.
 
Ed

Small setback, my ships wheel assembly got knocked to the carpet, and, well, my dachunds think anything I drop is food, so...... one wheel got crunched before I could get it away from the dog, lol dont know how to delete this photo

Very kind words. Thank you very much
 
And final look and color of upper side of Jolly boat
 

 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

You noticed very well ... two hotheads in family
 

John, Great to hear from you. I just like to share some of what I am learning for those that may be in the same boat as I am being a detective and sorting out what is meant by the plans and assembly instructions which lack enough details for the inexperienced ship builder like myself. Knowledge and experience not shared is a real waste. As for time being retired I make my own schedule unless interrupted by commissions.
 
As for the Stearman it was started as a commission for Fine Art Models, http://www.fineartmodels.com/Welcome.html 
visit their site if you are not familiar with them. Great cars, ships and planes; they just sold my prototype Sopwith Camel. Anyway it came to a screeching halt and put on hold due to a sticky divorce. Once finished with ship building I plan to finish it it for myself. Here are a couple of pictures of where I ended up. The engine needs parts duplicated and fuselage rigged up once assembled. Keep in mind this was built to come apart for production duplication. Now I just need to decide how I want to finish it up. Maybe like the Sopwith being half covered. 

 

Check back now and then and keep up the great work you are doing!
 
 

I have just finished up the main mast yards which were pretty much a repeat of the foremast. But After checking around I thought I would better explain the rigging of the trusses in more detail for the benefit of others that may be as confused as I was at first trying to understand the plans and my inexperience as a ship builder. The pictures are self explanatory and the most difficult part was the rigging of the truss block above the fighting top.
Here are the royal and top gallant yards in place.

Here I am setting the topsail yard.

I found that setting a long strip on the fighting top rail flush to the rail's back edge I had a great reference for setting the yard in space both up and down as well as fore and aft while the glue set on the locating pin inserted in the mast.
 

Here is the sequence showing the rigging of the course yard truss based upon what I think the plans were trying to explain.
 

 


 

 

 

 


Now on to the mizzen mast yards and then all the yard brace lines before adding the mizzen boom.
 

Last thing done on the carriage, elevator screw is set into place. And I could grind the bottom of the hull to shape, just raw at the time, but enough to set the bow and stern blocks to the frames, and then grind all to final shape.

 

 
Thank you all for your interest
Regards
Gerhard