Mirabell61

David,
 
never question your own confidence in your work
 
Nils

Deadeye tackle on the mizzenmast shrouds
 
 
its the first time I`m making use of deadeyes instead of turnbuckle shroud spanners. Having to look for the right thread diam. in relation to the deadeye sheaveholes, so the rearside counterknot at the beginning  does not rush through the the predrilled hole when tightening the tackle.
 
The deadeye spacing distance is made repeatable by using spacer two easy removeable clamps after the zeising is put on the upper deadeye shroud cords
 
 
Nils
 
 
 
 
 
 

where do I begin..........this project was to be well under way by now,  but the way thing panned out,  it has had a very rocky start.   I had thought of the concept during the build of the M&M fun ship,  and my idea was to build three ships.......one of them was to see if there was a market for such a thing.   during all this time,  I've come up with a few more ideas,   so I am going to do them with different ideas......three different concepts,  and see which one works best.   as the title implies,  they will have a holiday theme.....being careful not to offend anyone.   it is my hope that everyone enjoys the construction and creative aspects.
 
we turn the dial of the way-back machine back to December of 2012........I was planning on starting it then.   I had cut the keel parts for two of them,  and the ribs for the first one.  my plan was to begin at this point.  the hulls of these boats will be modeled,  based on the Billing's kit Boulogne Etaples.  the hull parts were traced from the parts panels........sadly,  the panels did not survive the tracing of the rest of the parts.   I had begun to assemble the first keel.
 

 

 
I had made up the stern parts for all three,  but did not use them all.   to save money on wood,  I purchased a 4' x 4' square 3/16 oak plywood panel,  later to be stripped out and used for the rest of the parts.   I ended up making another stern part for the third keel,  so it would be of the same thickness.
 

 

 

 
the project stopped for a while.........until May of this year.   I assembled the keel for the second ship,  but not much else.
 

 
it was not long after this picture was taken,  that the plywood was purchased.........and stripped out a bit later than that.   a couple of weeks ago,  the admiral asked me about them,  suggesting that I should get busy on them,  if I want them for the holidays.   of course,  I laughed........and told her that they would not be done this year,  perhaps next season would be more realistic.  the panels were traced out last week......and the parts were cut out this past Tuesday.   at this point,  two of the hull frames are assembled,  and the third is on the slip.   I should have an update on this build soon.
 
and.......what's life without a few chiggers in it.   things have been rather hectic around the house lately.......we are about to make a move to the third floor of our apartment house........purely a financial move.  so I may be a bit silent here and there,  until these hulls are planked,  and we can get past the crazy stuff.   I can clear my mind of all these ideas......but the most important thing,  to finally get this project of the ground and on the move     I had such a good time with the M&M build,  that I really wanted to get into another one.   it was so easy to come up with this concept......and the directions that these ships can take,  is endless.   for the moment,  the directions will not be brought into it......the construction of the hulls will come first..........but I will mention that the deck layouts will be different to suit their subjects.   this is big.........an armada of holiday vessels.......I hope you enjoy what is to come.
 
 

Thank you gents. I like how it's coming together, but that's not to say I haven't made some mistakes! Previous modeling experience helps me recover from them.
 
I got the waterline figured out, then masked and painted the 'red lead' below. 
 
Next up, getting the centerboard finished. That will complete the hull, then it's on to the deck details (YES).
John
 
 

Thank you Remco, John and Allan.
 
OK Remco - you asked for it :
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
There are four supports Allan. They work fine at the moment, but as I get into the smaller sizes I'll remove a couple of them and replace them between a couple of the existing ones. BTW - this jig came with the Masting Package.
 
  Danny

Bibs
 
The Bibs were made next and fitted. As with everything else on the masts the sizes are all proportional to the mainmast :
 

 
The Mizzen Mast has a very abbreviated pair of Cheeks :
 

 
Trestle Trees
 
The Trestle Trees took quite a bit of working out to get them spaced correctly. Unlike the earlier volumes of TFFM there are almost no detailed scale drawings of the various parts needed for the masts, and everything has to be calculated :
 

 
  Danny

And thank you too Geoff and Jason.
 
Cross Trees
 
The Cross Trees are the Top supports that run athwartships. All the work in cutting the rebates was done on the Byrnes saw, and the tapers were done on the disc sander :
 

 

 
  Danny

Hi Peter,
 
have not heard of you quite some time, nice that you dropped in...
 
yes, those two lower Yards will have slings as well as two jeers blocks. Asume that once hoisted into Position These two Yards remain rigged at that Elevation, so the sling just secures for the worst case.
I thought that rigging the shrouds would be quite a bit easier, but there is such a lot to be watched out for, like masts alignment, mizzen is 3° oblique Position, deadeyes must be in horizontal row, etc..., and seizings required everywhere, I must say hat off to those who managed to get this rigged up in the propper way.
 
Of course you are right, ist going to take some months to get through I suppose...
 
Nils

Looks very good Peter,
 
I may look up your rigging pics for cross reference now and then
 
Nils

Hi grsjax,
 
I remember and registrated with interest that fellow member Dan Vadas once mentioned that the detergent   Isopropyl Alkohol   would  help work for removing wooden CA glued parts, in the Joint, so why not remove those nasty already cured CA flakes from the fingertips, but I did not try it out yet. What I find is more serious is how to explain to your wife how you managed to get some CA Drops onto your second best trousers. Can These ever be removed ?, I do`nt think so. rubbing on the Cloth only gives a spot lighter shade of blue on the jeans
 
 
Nils

Deadeye tackle on the mizzenmast shrouds
 
 
its the first time I`m making use of deadeyes instead of turnbuckle shroud spanners. Having to look for the right thread diam. in relation to the deadeye sheaveholes, so the rearside counterknot at the beginning  does not rush through the the predrilled hole when tightening the tackle.
 
The deadeye spacing distance is made repeatable by using spacer two easy removeable clamps after the zeising is put on the upper deadeye shroud cords
 
 
Nils
 
 
 
 
 
 

After installing the sling and the lifts the next task were the buntlines.
 
I had only one end of them attached to the foot of the sail. The loose end was now thread through the block on the yard, the dedicated blocks under the top, through the upper of two single blocks stropped together head by head (similar to a shoe block) and back to the top and yard. This arrangement with the ‘shoe block’ is according Lees. A line leads to the lower part of the shoe block, hanging under the yard but close to the deck, with both ends belayed according the plans on the forecastle rails. I used a short end just fixed with a rolling hitch and a long end with a coil of line for working the whole arrangement.
 
The lose end of the buntline - after threading it through its block on the yard - was brought below the furled sail and then discreetly fixed around the yard as the correct fixing to the foot of the sail was impossible now. This should be overlooked.  
 
The last line was the clue line. It was installed according to the kits plans.
 
Sheets and braces of the lower yards will be among the last things to be fixed as they will hinder the access to the deck too much otherwise.
 
 

Sling and lifts installed, the loose end of the double buntline still hangs over the sail.
 
 

The black clip holds the free end of the buntline, while the red in the middle ground hangs on the lower of the two blocks stropped together.
 
 

The incorrectly fixed end of the buntline.
 
 

Clue lines belayed on the bitts
 
 

Some adjustment of the sling is done
 
 

Scary work without safety line
 
 

The fore top starts to look businesslike.
That pin above the cap waits for the next task: Fore topsail yard with sail.

The fore topgallant sail was reduced in size by 30%. This is the same amount as on the main topgallant sail. On future projects I will probably reduce all furled sails by 40% but here I will stick to the slightly larger variant to keep the proportions.
 

The sail maker is already working on the fore topgallant sail
 

The fore topsail is one of the largest sails. It was therefore again reduced in size by 40%. Then it was bent to the yard and the yard brought to the foremast in a similar way as the main topsail yard. A buntline was again installed in addition to the rigging according to the kit’s plans. I was running out of space on the bitts as more and more rigging lines were belayed on it and I decided to finish all the running rigging of the foremast before coiling up the lines.
 

Fore topsail ready to be bent it to its yard
 
 

Detail of the fore topsail
 
 

Ready to furl
 
 

Parrels and ties installed
 

Running rigging finished (for now, braces will follow later)
 
 

Hi Nils
 
Your Pegasus is really taking off!
Regarding slings: I would hold the two largest yards – main and fore yard – with slings. I did the same on my Pegasus after consulting my external brain (Lees).
 
 
Weeks?
You must be running in some kick down-over boost-afterburner-mode! Mere mortals as me need months if not years.
 
Take care, excessive speeds may be dangerous
Peter

Deadeye tackle on the mizzenmast shrouds
 
 
its the first time I`m making use of deadeyes instead of turnbuckle shroud spanners. Having to look for the right thread diam. in relation to the deadeye sheaveholes, so the rearside counterknot at the beginning  does not rush through the the predrilled hole when tightening the tackle.
 
The deadeye spacing distance is made repeatable by using spacer two easy removeable clamps after the zeising is put on the upper deadeye shroud cords
 
 
Nils
 
 
 
 
 
 

Now I'm trying to improve the head and since the parts from the kit are either unfit or missing, most of them were made from scratch. Still, the head is not as it should be, but it will do. 
 

 

 

 

 
 

Looks like I have the same problem as you, Alistair. I was not aware that the opening for gratings in the gun deck and opening for stairs in the quarterdeck overlap each other, so now it is not possible to place the stair right. Well now it's too late to do something about it. Guess the next build will be from a scratch, then I will be able to make just my own mistakes
 
 

 
 
Anyway I've rebuilt the companion top to make it narrower and its base was tapered. 
 
 

 

Thanks guys, much appreciated. A small update: 
 
 

 

It has been some time since my last update and with a little time off of my feet I've been able to do little things here and there on Arethusa.
 
I have begun making masts....first time in oh, about 5 years!  I'm following my method I wrote about in the downloads section some years ago.
 
Here are some photos showing the major steps.  My only process change has been to use a plane to remove material instead of the rasp/file originally shown.




 
On the hull - I touched up the anti-fouling paint and hull sides, made some little scroll art at the bow names, and applied Dullcoat over the outer hull.  It is the first time I've used Dullcoat and I am happy with the results.  The shininess of the acrylic paint is gone and hull details are more clearly visible.  One odd and funny (to me!) aspect of the photos - you may see what looks like scupper run-off 'weathering'.  It isn't.  What you are seeing are reflections from clear, highly glossily packing tape I used to seal the 'work stand' box. 



 
On the deck I finished painting the checker boards.  I've deviated from my 'pristine' modeling approach by applying a semi-transparent paint layer to those details and the deck battens.  I think it gives appearance of worn painted boards and battens.  Also worked on were attached the windlass brakes and connecting links.  Luckily I hadn't glued those down yet - I found one of my soldered joints to have broken.




 
And a final photo showing the two lower masts.  The masts have been tapered and cut to length, only requiring flats and rebates where a host of spar related hardware goes.

 
Cheers,
 
Elia
 

Wonderful !
 
Nils

Thank you Mates. 
 
Today I set up my airbrush and applied some paint to the hull. It came out OK, and I kind of like the slightly irregular surface. I didn't want it to look like a smooth plastic hull. Well, no problem there!
 
Next up, I need to establish the water line and apply red lead paint.
John
 

Thank you Bob. I'm really finding out just how challenging this hobby can be.
 
Today I installed the rudder and cut out the scuppers. I think the hull is almost ready for paint!!
John
 

John,
 
the hull Looks great so far, the "Puritan" sure has very nice lines I like
 
Nils

I really like that cradle you built.  Looks like it provides great support.