Ed Ku20

Making the Jib Sail The Jib is the first sail I’m going to make that is not installed using a boom, a gaff or both. It is held entirely by its rigging lines. It sits above the jumbo jib sail and is connected by the jib stay to the bowsprit. Like the jumbo jib, the jib sail is attached at the top to the jib stay using hanks. The cloth strip stitches have a different “V” pattern unlike the previous sails that I installed. 1. Sewing the Sail – The jib sail was made using the same procedure as with the others. I finished the sail by sewing split rings at the three corners. Attach a 3/16” single block to the top ring for the halliard. I was worried about how to attach the forward lower corner to the bowsprit. I could not find any information about the actual connection point. I ended up simply inserting the ring on that corner into the shackle for the jib stay. Below: Jib Sail paper template and sail cloth with fabric markings made for sewing Below: Single block seized to the top ring for the halliard 2. Hanks –Attach the hanks at each cloth strip stitch point. I made another batch of split rings for the hanks. See the end of post #61 in case you missed the write-up for the process. Below: Jib Sail ready to install. Note the “V” shaped pattern for the strip stitching. Hanks are installed. 3. Install Jib Sail & Stay – The jib stay has not been permanently seized to the bowsprit yet while waiting for the following steps to be completed. a. Thread the jib stay rope through the hanks on the sail. When done, I used my plastic clips to hold it up high on the stay for the next step. b. Double seize the stay to the shackle. Get the stay tight without pulling the mast out of position. c. Insert the sails forward corner ring into the shackle next to the jib stay. Since my jib sail is set to the starboard side of the jumbo jib sail, I placed the ring starboard of the jib stay. d. Insert the mini-bolt and nut to complete the shackle assembly. I waited until the sail was finished before gluing the nut permanently Below: Port & Starboard views of the Jib Sail and Jib Stay attachment point on the Bowsprit 4. Jib Halliard – The Jib Halliard holds the top of the sail up. Tan 0.021” rope is laced between three 3/16” single blocks at the fore mast head. The top two blocks were attached to the long links during pre-rigging. The fall on each side must run through the fairleads on the front of the large trestle tree spreader. Below: Two views of the Jib Halliard at the fore mast head. Note the three blocks attached and the tan line running through the fairleads (eyebolts). The seized heavy black rope is the top of the Jib Stay which is shackled to the Jib Stay Bail a. The rope on the port side forms a pendant with a 1/8” single block at the end. The tackle below starts at the bottom of the pendant block and runs down to a 1/8” single block on the main rail (just forward of the first shroud). Use an S-hook to attach the block to the eyebolt. The tackle fall ties off to itself with a clove hitch Below: Jib Halliard port side; this is the end of the pendant and start of the tackle Below: Jib Halliard port side; lower end of tackle S-hooked to eyebolt on main rail. Note the clove hitch tied off just above b. The rope on the starboard side runs straight down where it is belayed at pin #16 on the main rail. 5. Jib Sheets – There are two Jib Sheets; one on the port side and the other on starboard. The jib sail can be rigged to be on either side of the jumbo jib, depending on the wind direction. The windward side hangs loose and the leeward side is pulled tight to hold the “clew“ corner down (lower aft corner). I’m rigging my sails so the windward side is on the port. a. The tight sheet is on the starboard side with the sail. A 0.021” black line is seized to the split ring at the clew corner of the sail. It forms a pendant to which a 1/8” single block is seized on the other end. A 0.021” tan line starts at the eyebolt just aft from the anchor pad on the starboard railing. It runs through the block and back down to belaying pin #12. Below: Jib Sheet on the “tight side”. I pre-rig most of this rigging before attaching the sail b. The loose sheet is seized to the same split ring but is laid over the jumbo jib stay to the port side. The lower tackle is belayed to pin #11. It is rigged the same as the starboard sheet, but left loose so it doesn’t pull down on the jumbo jib. Below: Jib Sheet on the “loose side” 6. Jib Downhaul – Install the Jib Downhaul with 0.008” tan line. This rope is attached to the split ring at the top corner of the sail. The downhaul runs down to a 3/32” single block attached to the 2nd eyebolt from the end of the bowsprit. This block was attached during pre-rigging a while back. From the block it runs down the bowsprit, thru the fairlead at the tip of the bow and is belayed at pin #2. This line is left a little loose. Below: Jib Downhaul seized to the top corner split ring Below: Jib Downhaul 3/32” block S-hooked to the bowsprit Below: Jib Downhaul runs thru a fairlead (eyebolt) and is belayed at pin #2 Below: The Completed Jib Sail

How I Made Rope Bundles for Laying over Belaying Pins Hey, I'm no expert and this is my first build. I’m sure there are a lot of ways to make rope bundles. I looked at several on-line and came up with something that worked for me. However, I will admit, I’m still tinkering with the procedure. Hope this is a helpful starting point to other newbies like me. First, I made a simple jig. Making the jig 1. Find a suitable scrap piece of 2x4 in the wood bin. Some people use plywood. I like the way the 2x4 raises the work off the table a bit more, so I can get my hands all around the jig. 2. Put 2 small nails in the top of the wood block close to the edge. I set mine 19/32” apart. I started with 1/2“ but, I widened them a little because the wrapped end was not reaching the deck. 3. Cut the heads off both nails 4. Smooth down the edges of the nails with a metal file 5. Make a small narrow cut in the bottom edge of the board to place & hold the starting end of the rope. I also made a second cut 90 degrees left of the bottom nail to hold the wrapping end. Using the jig 1. I cut a piece of rope about 8 inches long. Insert the starting end into the cut near the bottom nail to hold it in place. Wrap the rope around both nails about 3 or 4 times. Finish by going around the bottom nail, over the top of the rope coil. Tuck the loose end into the cut in the left edge of the jig to hold it in place. a. For light weight rope (0.008” thread) wrap 5-6 times b. For medium weight (0.021”) wrap 3-4 times 2. Lift the rope coil with a prying tool to the top of both nails to make space underneath for the next step. 3. Wrap the excess rope end around the rope coil, near the bottom end about 4x. Put an overhand knot in the last turn and resecure it in the notch on the left side. 4. Place some CA glue on the wrap from step 3 to hold the knot. Also put glue where the starting end passes through the wrapped area to secure it. 5. When dry, pry the rope coil off the nails 6. Trim both loose ends. Leave a little bit of the end coming off the wrap. Trim the starting end flush with the coil to hide it from view. 7. Trim off the loose end from the rigging line that is secured around the belaying pin. You need to make room for the coil of rope. 8. Place the unwrapped end over the belaying pin on the ship 9. Put a dab of glue between the belaying pin and the rope to hold it at the top. Place more glue on the side of the pin rail and under the rope coil and pull the other end down over the rail while holding with tweezers until the glue dries.

They actually are all the matching size. Working left to right, 1, 2 & 4 are 0.021" lines. The 3rd one over is the main topsail clewline. That is a 0.008" line and I made the rope bundle from the same .008 size. The fall lines may appear to be smaller because they are stretched a bit tighter and I used some CA glue to hold them in place. That stuff tends to absorb/spread up the line and also makes them look darker. In other places there are a couple of lines that are 0.028" thick. I used the 0.021 for those rope bundles because the 028 doesn't fit as well around the belaying pin.

I've enjoyed putting them together. I have to credit Per for encouraging me to start a build log. I wasn't too sure of what I was doing at the beginning. But I gained more and more confidence as I moved along. I'm happy to hear that my efforts will help someone else. Bob, I hope you get back to working on your Bluenose. It's a beautiful ship. In fact, I'm thinking about traveling to Lunenburg to see Bluenose II. I expect to be finished before then, but would love to see the ship and that little seaside town!

Make & Install the Main Sail 1. Make the Sail – The Main Sail is the largest sail on the ship. After completing the jumbo jib and fore sails, I was ready to make the main sail. I used the same sail making process as with the first two. Like the fore sail, the Main sail has two “reef bands”. I had to tape together 2 sheets of tracing paper to cover the size. I used an large sheet of paper for the paper template. Below: Paper template for the Main Sail; The tracing paper template can be seen to the left Below: Finished sewing the Main Sail including the two reef bands Below: Inserting the split rings on the corners of the Main Sail 2. Lacing the Sail to the Boom & Gaff – first the aft end of the sail is connected to the Clew Band near the end of the boom using the split ring that was sewed into the corner. The 0.008” Buff thread is used for the lace. I threaded a needle and inserted a lace through the sail at every point where the strip line came to the bottom of the sail. I attached the top of the sail to the end of the gaff using a few stitches to sew it onto the eyebolt at the bottom of the end cap. Then I laced the top of the sail to the gaff in the same way as the boom. a) Problem! At this point I test fitted the gaff – sail – boom assembly on the main mast. I discovered that it was too tall! It was going to be too close to the crane for the throat halliard to fit. I was so far along; I didn’t want to start over on a new main sail. So, I decided I would try to rip out the hem/seam at the top of the sail and fold it over an extra half inch and resew the hem. This actually worked! I cleaned up the edge with scissors and ironed everything nice and flat. I thought it looked just as good as before when I was done! 3. Attach the Main Boom/Gaff to Mast – Both the Main boom and gaff use Parrel Beads to attach to the main mast. I used 0.021” tan line to thread the beads onto the boom/gaff. I only glued the knot on one side and left the extra rope uncut on the other side, in case I needed to remove them for any reason. Below: Parrel Beads holding the Main Boom. These allow the boom to move around the mast without excessive wear Below: Parrel Beads holding the Main Gaff 4. Tie Mast Hoops to Sail – The parrel beads now held the boom & gaff to the mast. I held the gaff in position temporarily with a plastic clip while tying the mast hoops. I used the same process to attach the sail to the hoops. About a half inch space was provided between each one. Only the bottom one was double hooped. Below: Main Mast Hoops tied to the main sail In my posts on pre-rigging, I covered the Main Sail in detail. I don’t want to bore everyone with more of the same. I will give a brief explanation here and mostly show pictures of the completed rigging. I covered the Main Boom in post #50; including Boom Sheet, Crutch Tackles, Topping Lift and Quarter Lifts. I covered the Main Gaff in post #51; Throat Halliard & Peak Halliard. View these posts for details like block sizes, rope thicknesses and belaying pin numbers. I will start with the Halliards, because that is what I did next to get the main gaff attached. If anyone has questions or would like more details, please just let me know. 5. Main Throat Halliard – This rigging holds up the fore end of the gaff. This was completely pre-rigged and is the same as the fore gaff. There are three parts; what I call the primary tackle, straight fall to the deck, a pendant and lower tackle on starboard. a) Main Throat Halliard – Primary Tackle that holds up the Gaff (view from starboard & view from port) b) Main Throat Halliard – Straight fall to deck on port side c) Main Throat Halliard – Pendant & Tackle on the starboard side (view of upper end & view at the rail) 6. Main Peak Halliard – This rigging holds up the back end of the Main gaff with an array of ¼” single blocks. Like the Throat halliard, there are three parts. Parts two and three for the Peak Halliard are the mirror image of the Throat. I also made up most of the Peak Halliard during pre-rigging. Be sure to thread both ends of the halliard line through their respective fairleads (eyebolts) on the trestle tree spreader a) Main Peak Halliard – Array of blocks on top of the Gaff; note the ropes passing through the fairleads on the spreader on the way down to their belaying points b) Main Peak Halliard – Fall for rope running straight to the deck on starboard side c) Main Peak Halliard – Tan pendant rope spliced to double block on lower tackle on port side (behind ratlines) 7. Main Boom Sheet – I pre-rigged the Main boom sheet earlier (see my post #50). The main boom sheet holds the boom down toward the deck. Together with the Crutch Tackles on either side, this is one of the most impressive riggings on the ship, in my opinion! The big triple block under the boom sheet band sets everything else up. Below: The fully rigged Main Boom Sheet; tied off on starboard bitt 8. Boom Crutch Tackles – These two tackles on either side of the sheet keep the boom from moving from side to side. These were also pre-rigged and detailed in post #50. Below: The fully rigged Main Boom Sheet & Crutch Tackles before rigging is tightened up 9. Main Boom Topping Lift – The topping lift holds up the aft end of the Main boom. There are three parts to this rigging. a) The black pendant that starts at the shackle on the main mast cap; b) lower tackle at the end of the boom; c) “Fall” rope that is belayed at the pin #26 on the starboard boom jaw a) Main Boom Topping Lift – top of upper pendant showing black line shackled at main mast cap b) Main Boom Topping Lift – Lower tackle at end of main boom lacing between sheaves on boom end and blocks c) Main Boom Topping Lift – A “horizontal fall” runs across the boom and is belayed at the main boom jaw Below: Main Boom end viewed from off the stern showing topping lift 10. Main Boom Quarter Lifts – There are 2 of these. One on each side of the main sail. These were made in pre-rigging. There are three parts. But the tackle is at the top and the pendant is at the bottom of this rig. a) Quarter Lifts – Upper Tackle is S-hooked to the brass U bracket under the trestle tree b) Quarter Lifts – Lower pendant is S-hooked to the quarter lift band on the main boom (that's the topping lift running through the fairlead just behind the band) c) Quarter Lifts – Fall from upper tackle is belayed at pins #30 & 31 (#31 is the farthest on the right) NOTE: In the above picture of the belaying pins on the port side of the main rail, I started making some rope bundles. I am hanging these over the belaying pins where falls from the rigging above have already been belayed. I plan to do a quick post on how I make these in the next one up. 11. Tighten up all the lines, secure them to their belaying pins and add rope bundles. Knot & glue the lines through the parrel beads. I also permanently rigged the Flying Backstays It took me 86 actual build hours over 36 calendar days to complete the three sails closest to the deck. Each of these having its own boom. Below: Main Sail Complete! a) Underside of the Main Boom; b) Looking at the aft deck; c) Three lower sails with booms are finished)

Make & Install the Fore Sail & Make New Bilge Pumps! Before I started working on the Fore Sail, I decided that I had to do something about my Bilge Pumps! I used the Britannia metal ones from the kit. They were very misshapen and looked bad! Below: The original Bilge Pumps I tried to find something that was ready-made to purchase, but I couldn’t find the right scale or anything that resembled the ones on the blueprint plans. So, I decided to try my hand at some minor kit bashing and make my own. I was inspired by what CPDDET (Dave) did with the metal pumps he bashed on his lathe. Very impressive work! But I don’t have a tool like that (yet!). Therefore, I decided I needed to do something with wood. I started with a 3/16” diameter dowel and drilled out the center with a 3/32” bitt. I cut off two ½” lengths for the pipe. Then I took a scrap piece of thicker sheet wood that had the right height and used the jeweler’s saw to rough cut the shape. Drilled a hole in the center. I did a bunch of hand sanding to get it somewhat to the shape in the plans, although slightly larger. I glued the dowel onto a circle of thin birch sheet wood for the base. Finally, I bent some brass strip into a couple of U’s to simulate the brackets for the plunger handles. I painted the whole thing with Testors black enamel paint. A long way from Dave’s work, but I’m much more satisfied with this, compared to what I started with above! Below: My new “bashed-up” Bilge Pumps! FORE SAIL 1. Make the Sail – The Fore Sail is quite a bit larger than the jumbo jib. But, the process for making it is the same. The big difference is that the fore sail has two “reef bands”. These required setting up the sewing machine to make a zig-zag stitch to simulate the bands. This took some extra practice runs and adjusting to get the width and thread tension right. After the bands are stitched, some 1” long threads are poked through all along the band at each point where a seam crosses. I glued these down with some fabric glue to keep them flat against the sail. Below: Paper template for the Fore Sail Below: Finished Fore Sail with the two reef bands. Also, a close-up of the reef bands & cloth strip lines 2. Lacing the Sail to the Boom & Gaff – first the aft end of the sail is connected to the band on the boom using the split ring that was sewed into the corner. The 0.008” Buff thread is used for the lace. I threaded a needle and inserted a lace through the sail at every point where the strip line came to the bottom of the sail. I attached the top of the sail to the end of the gaff using a few stitches to sew it onto the eyebolt at the bottom of the end cap. Then I laced the top of the sail to the gaff in the same way as the boom. Below: Fore Sail laced to the Fore Gaff 3. Attach the Fore Boom to Mast – The U-shaped fitting on the end of the boom needs to be connected to the gooseneck shackle at the bottom of the fore mast. It was a bit tricky holding everything steady while I threaded a mini bolt & nut onto the fittings. But, finally success! Below: Fore Boom attached to Gooseneck fitting. Also note the double set of mast hoops getting tied to the mast 4. Tie Mast Hoops to Sail – First I needed to connect the gaff jaw to the mast using the “Parrel Beads”. I bought a bag of these beads (100 ct) from Modeler’s Central. I held the gaff up temporarily with a plastic clip while tying the hoops. a) I cut a bunch of 4” long pieces of thread for the mast hoops. b) I used a large needle to insert the 0.008” Driftwood thread through the forward side of the sail, close to the edge, for tying the mast hoops. I started at the top and allowed ½” between each hoop per the plan. c) I placed a dot of CA glue on the knot and trimmed the ends off once it was dry d) The plan says to use double hoops on the bottom two spots, but I only had enough hoops to double the bottom one! Below: Parrel Beads hold the gaff jaw to the fore mast and mast hoops are all tied in place 5. Fore Throat Halliard – This rigging holds up the fore end of the gaff. There are three parts. There is the primary tackle that hold up the gaff. The port side has a straight fall to the deck. The starboard has a pendant and a tackle. a) Tackle holding the gaff – during pre-rigging I put together the pair of blocks that attach the gaff to the fore mast crane. I ended up replacing the two “long hooks” with shorter ones, because there was not that much height in between, causing the blocks to almost be touching. I used the 0.028” heavy tan rope for the primary rigging on this tackle for these large blocks. i) A 9/32” triple block is attached with an S-hook to the link on the Crane on the fore mast. A ¼” double block is laced below it. 2 hooks connect the double block to the 2 eyebolts on top of the gaff jaws Below: Fore Throat Halliard primary tackle attached to the crane b) Fall for rope on port side – This side of the .028 rope runs straight down to the deck. What’s different about it is that the line passes through a ¼” single block that is S-hooked to an eyebolt glued to the deck right next to the mast. I pre-rigged this entire assembly earlier. After the block, the line goes to belaying pin #7 at the bottom of the fore mast. Below: Single ¼” block next to the fore mast (just left of the anchor chain box) c) Pendant & Tackle on the starboard side – A pendant is seized to the top of a 1/8” double block that begins the lower tackle. At the main rail is another double block that is S-hooked to an eyebolt adjacent to Pin #18. The tackle run begins at the bottom of the upper double block with a 0.021” tan line spliced underneath. Below: Double 1/8” block at the top of the starboard tackle Below: Double 1/8” block at the main rail next to belaying pin #18 6. Fore Peak Halliard – This rigging holds up the back end of the fore gaff with a complex array of blocks. Like the Throat halliard, there are three parts. But the Peak halliard is the mirror image of the Throat. I also made up most of the Peak halliard during pre-rigging. a) Blocks & Tackle on top of the Gaff end – When the fore mast and gaff were made, we set-up 3 brass bands with eyebolts on the mast and 2 on the end of the gaff. During pre-rigging I stropped 5 - ¼” blocks with S-hooks for attaching to these positions. I again used the 0.028” heavy tan rope for the primary rigging on this tackle for these large ¼” blocks. The blocks were simply unhooked from the eyebolts and set aside after pre-rigging. i) Important Note: The two rope ends that exit the upper and lower blocks on the mast pass through the eyebolt fairleads on the front of the trestle tree spreader. I did not seize the top rope to their lower blocks until NOW so that these lines could be threaded through their respective fairleads. Below: Peak halliard upper tackle blocks installed b) Fall for rope on starboard side – The rope end from the upper block on the mast runs straight down to the deck. This mirrors the Throat halliard, except it’s on the opposite side of the mast. The 0.028” rope passes through a ¼” single block that is S-hooked to an eyebolt glued to the deck next to the mast. I made up this block during pre-rigging and left it laying on the deck, hooked to its eyebolt. During installation, I threaded the rope end thru the block and belayed it to pin #8 at the bottom of the fore mast. Below: Straight run to deck on the starboard side to belaying pin #8 c) Pendant & Tackle on the port side – The rope end from the lower block forms a pendant that is seized to the top of a 1/8” double block that begins the lower tackle. This is the block that cannot be seized until the assembly is installed and this line is threaded thru its fairlead. The lower tackle looks just like the Throat halliard set-up only it’s on the opposite side. At the port side main rail is another double block that is S-hooked to an eyebolt adjacent to Pin #17. The tackle run begins at the bottom of the upper double block with a 0.021” tan line spliced underneath. Below: Sometimes you have to get creative! Notice the ship is on the floor in the background so I can use my helping hands to rig the upper pendant to the lower tackle for the Peak Halliard Below: Lower tackle for the Peak Halliard, showing upper & lower double blocks hidden behind the ratlines Below: Peak Halliard, showing lower double block of the tackle & belaying pin #17 on main rail 7. Fore Boom Sheet – I pre-rigged the fore boom sheet earlier. I did not discuss it in my pre-rigging post, so will provide some details here. There is a lot going on with this sheet in a very small amount of space! Let’s take it in pieces. a) The upper double block – there are two 3/16” double blocks. The upper one is connected to the bail on the boom sheet band using a brass wire link. The bottom of this block has 0.021” tan rope seized to the strop around the block. The tan rope runs down to the lower block and is then laced through each block twice. b) The lower double block – the black stropping line on the lower block is formed into a slightly longer than normal loop on the bottom. A “pin” made from a kit eyebolt connects this block to the ring on the boom sheet buffer. c) Fairlead Shackle & Pin – I made the fairlead from a short slice of 1/16” diameter brass tubing. I tied a length of 0.021” black line around the tubing on one end and around the eyebolt “pin” on the other. Next, I slipped a shackle through the ring on the buffer. While holding the shackle upright with tweezers, I slipped the eyebolt pin through the holes in the shackle with the strop loop sandwiched in between! d) Tying off the Sheet – the tan rope comes off the upper block, through the fairlead tube and is tied off at belaying pin #21 on the fife rail bar. e) I recommend that all of this be done in pre-rigging so you have room to get access to the deck! All I had to do to finish the rig, was connect the link to the sheet bail and tighten up the line at the belaying pin. Below: The completed fore boom sheet. There is another view in the pic covering the Topping Lift just below 8. Fore Boom Topping Lift – The topping lift holds up the aft end of the fore boom. a) The topping lift starts at the metal link on the front of the main mast just under the trestle tree. An S-hook is eye spliced to a 0.021” black line. The S-hook is connected to the link. At the end of this pendant a 1/8” double block is stropped and seized. The pendant is eye spliced to the block. Below: Topping Lift black rope is S-hooked to the plate/link on the main mast b) Another 1/8” single block forms the bottom of the tackle with the double block above. This block is stropped on both ends. The .021” tan rope that makes the tackle is seized to the top of the single block. A long S-hook is stropped to the bottom of this block. The seized tan rope runs up to the double block, back down and up again. The long hook is attached to the eyebolt on the end cap for the fore boom. Below: Double block at the top of the tackle run is connected to the end of the pendant Below: Single block S-hooked to the end of the fore boom (note also, another view of the boom sheet is visible) c) The fall from the upper double block is tied off on the Fife Rail Bar, per the blueprint plans. Wrap it around the starboard corner. Below: Fall from the upper double block is shown tied off at the fife rail post on the corner 9. Fore Sail Downhaul – The downhaul is used to pull the sail/gaff down when it is not being used. A 0.008” line is seized to the eyebolt at the bottom of the endcap on the gaff. The rope is kept loose. I made a coil of rope at the lower end and tied it around the middle of the fore boom. I used a few touches of CA glue to hold it in position. Below: View of the Fore Sail Downhaul where it is seized at the gaff and also attached at the boom on the other end 10. Tighten up all the lines and secure them to their belaying pins. I applied some CA glue to the gooseneck shackle and then cut off the excess part on the end of the bolt Below: The completed fore sail!

Nice job Dave! You got the top of the shackle really thin. I know that it takes a lot of patience to do that much filing! Get ready....you're going to need a bunch more of these little babies for the rest of the rigging! Keep up the good work! Ed

Make & Install the Jumbo Jib Sail As explained in my previous post, I started with the jumbo jib sail because it is small. So, I was able to practice my new found sewing skills without wasting a lot of sail cloth material! Please refer to this previous post #61 for the full procedure I use to make all the sails. 1. Sewing the Sail – I used some cloth remnants my wife had laying around to practice on before trying to sew on the actual sail material. This sail is fairly simple compared to some of the others. The strip lines run parallel to the long edge on the aft of the sail. Unfortunately, I was so focused on making the sail I didn’t get any pictures of what I did on this one! [Refer to post #61 for the full details & pictures on sail making] 2. Attach the Hanks – the “hanks” hold the sail to the jumbo jib stay. I use split rings made out of the Artistic Wire to simulate the hanks. I made a hole with a needle in the sail at every point where the strip line came to the top of the sail. I opened the split ring slightly and pushed an end into the hole. Below is a picture of the jumbo jib sail and boom at the start of the rigging process. Three lines were “pre-rigged” earlier: the inhaul tackle (already attached to the boom), jumbo jib boom sheet (shackled to its horse and left lying on the deck) and the topping lift (set aside with the rest of the pre-rigged lines). 3. Lacing the Sail to the Boom – first the aft end of the sail is connected to the band on the boom by the split ring I sewed into the corner. Then, the Bluenose plans show two ways to lace the sail to the boom. I chose the continuous line method. It is simpler and allows you to tighten/loosen the tension on the sail. I used the thread I purchased to substitute for the 0.008” tan rigging line for the lace. I threaded a needle and inserted a lace through the sail at every point where the strip line came to the bottom of the sail. Below: A pretty good picture showing the jumbo jib laced to its boom. One of the "hanks" is showing too Below: In case someone is interested, this is the thread I used to replace the Model Shipways 0.008". The "Buff" was used for the lacing above. I used a lighter weight "All Purpose" thread to stitch the sails on the sewing machine - color is called "Natural" which is very close to the sail color. 4. Jumbo Jib Halliard – this piece of rigging holds the sail up by the top corner. Before we attach the sail to the jumbo jib stay, the halliard needs to be ready to connect to the sail. During pre-rigging I attached a pair of 3/16” single blocks to the eyebolts under the iron gate on the fore mast. An S-hook was stropped to the blocks. We also need to strop another 3/16” single block to the split ring stitched to the top sail corner. This is easier to do while the sail is off the ship. Once the above steps were completed, I attached the sail to the JJ Stay. a. Attach Jumbo Jib Sail to the Jumbo Jib Stay i. Disconnect the jumbo jib stay from the jumbo jib stay bail and thread it through the hanks on the sail. Use plastic clips to hold the sail up off the deck while I seize the stay to the JJ Bail. ii. The stay is double seized to the jumbo jib stay bail that was installed back in post #56. I got the stay as tight as possible without bending the mast. Below: Jumbo jib stay double seized to the brass JJ stay bail b. Set up the rigging for the JJ Halliard i. Tan 0.021 rope runs between the upper 3 halliard blocks. I estimated the amount of rope required then cut & strung it thru the blocks. All the rigging lines were left somewhat loose until all the rigging for a sail under construction was finished. Only then did I tighten/secure each line. Below: the 3 blocks at the top of the jumbo jib sail halliard ii. The rope on the port side runs straight down to the main rail where it is belayed to pin #13 iii. The rope that runs down the starboard side ends with a pendant about half way down. A 1/8" Sgl Blk is seized at the end of it. The lower tackle rope starts at an eyebolt just forward of the last deadeye. An S-hook is seized to the end of the tackle rope and goes up to the pendant block, then back down toward the deck where it is tied off to itself with a clove hitch. iv. This was my first clove hitch. I found an awesome website that shows you how to tie every conceivable hitch knot: https://www.animatedknots.com/hitch-knots Below: JJ Halliard, Starboard side, Lower tackle. And next pic is a close-up of the hitch knot! 5. In-Haul Tackle – Now that the jumbo jib sail can be held up by the hanks & halliard, it’s time to attach the boom. I put together all the rigging for the in-haul tackle during pre-rigging. This is a complex piece of rigging that holds the forward end of the JJ Boom to the wood block on top of the bowsprit. Here are my steps for completing the rigging. a. Way back when we made the bowsprit a horse was bent into shape out of brass wire and inserted into a pair of holes on top of the bowsprit just forward of the Samson Post assembly. At the time this horse was not supposed to be glued down until now! The first step is to remove the horse and insert it thru the pair of U-shaped staples under the end of the boom. The chain on the in-haul is already pre-rigged so, the first link is in the aft staple on the end of the boom. b. The chain is attached to a shackle and then a pair of blocks are laced together with 0.021” tan rope. One of those blocks is attached to an eyebolt that was inserted during pre-rigging into the top of the bowsprit, part way under the bitts of the Samson Post. The rope is tied off to one of these bitts. I also tied off the end of the sail lacing to the horse. I could not figure out how to keep the sail from sliding up the boom. There is no band for attaching a split ring. I never found any information about how to do this, so I just improvised! Below: Close-up of the In-Haul Tackle and fore end of the JJ Boom 6. Jumbo Jib Boom Sheet – I decided to do the sheet next because I knew the access would be tight for connecting this rigging. This is a great example of the advantage to pre-rigging what you can before the rest of the rigging and sails are in the way. I had left the horse in front of the fore mast loose. So, during pre-rigging I was able to get the shackle and bolt inserted before securing it to the deck. Right now, I just had to finagle the shackle on the upper block into the sheet band bail under the end of the boom. Then it’s just a matter of tightening up the lines. I waited until all the JJ Sail rigging was completed before making the final tie-off on belaying pin #6. Below: Close-up of the Jumbo Jib Boom Sheet rigging 7. Jumbo Jib Boom Topping Lift – The topping lift holds up the aft end of the boom. This was pre-rigged. a. The rigging starts with a brass wire hook that attaches to the brass link/plate that was inserted into the mast under the iron gate and spreader. The hook is eye spliced to a black 0.021” rope. The rope stops about half way down forming a pendant with a 1/8” double block at the end of it. Below: Topping Lift uses a brass wire hook that is attached to the link on the mast to hold the black pendant Below: The upper pendant ends with a double block that begins the lower tackle b. A tackle made from tan 0.021” rope runs between the upper 1/8" Double Blk and another 1/8" Single Blk at the lower end on top of the JJ boom. The Single Blk is attached with a long brass hook to an eyebolt on the end band of the boom. The tackle run starts with a seized loop on top of the lower Blk, then up thru the Dbl Blk, down thru the Sgl Blk, back through the Dbl Blk. c. The fall from the upper block is belayed at pin #5 Below: Topping lift is connected to the boom end cap with a long hook. The fall can be seen belayed to pin #5 at the base of the fore mast below. Also notice the split ring sewed into the sail is bolted to the band on the boom. 8. Jumbo Jib Sail Downhaul – the Downhaul is used to pull the sail down to the deck when required. This is made from some thin 0.008” tan thread. a. The downhaul begins with a seized loop attached to the same split ring at the top corner of the sail where the halliard is connected. I just seized this in place on the ship. The line hangs loosely & runs down to a block near the forward end of the boom b. A 3/32" Sgl Blk near the boom is seized to a 1" long black rope that's seized to the jumbo jib stay bail. The loose end of downhaul runs through this block and is tied off on the Samson bitt. The post used for the in-haul and for the downhaul is determined by the side the sail is set. Below: The 1” long rope with the block that is sticking up is for the Downhaul line. (Please refer back to the first picture of the JJ Stay seizing above, to see how the downhaul is tied off to the starboard bitt) Below: Finished Jumbo Jib Sail on boom (taken later after the Jib Sail was installed in front of it)

Time to Start Making Sails So, it’s time to start sewing sails! The last time I sewed anything was to put a button on a shirt and that was a long time ago! I didn’t think that experience would be much help toward this endeavor. My wife got a sewing machine as a wedding gift. In the past 40+ years, I know she’s made a few things, but it’s not something she would say she has any expertise in. When I told her I needed to sew sails for this model I’ve been building, she pointed toward the corner of the basement and ‘said there’s the machine…good luck!’ She did show me how to perform some basic functions. Being an analytical type of guy, I found a PDF of the original manual for our sewing machine model. Between my one lesson with my wife, studying the manual and practicing on some scrap material, I gained enough confidence to try making my first sail. I’ve mentioned numerous times that I’ve relied quite heavily on the website of Suburban Ship Modeler’s Bluenose build. I have to give his website a ton of credit for helping me through this first ship build. He described the exact same experience I had when it came time to sew sails. He mentioned two things that made a lot of sense to me. First, he purchased some extra sail cloth material from Model Shipways! Sounds like a great idea…check, did that! Second, he said he started on the Jumbo Jib Sail because it is small compared to the main sail or fore sail and if you messed up, you could start over without wasting a lot of material. It took me 3 tries to get something that I felt was acceptable. Between what I learned from SSM and from my own trials & errors, here is the method I ended up using to make my sails. Each sail I made; I got a little bit better. For me, getting the size of the sail just right is the hardest part! MY PROCEDURE FOR MAKING SAILS 1. Preparing the sail cloth – Wash, dry and iron the sail cloth before starting to work with it. The cloth will shrink quite a bit and you will get rid of a bunch of initial frayed edges. 2. Make a Tracing Paper Template – for each sail I made a paper template to get the size right. There are differences between the plans and the size/shape of my ship. Start out by laying tracing paper over the blueprint plans. I marked each corner and a point in between the long side of the sail. Use a ruler to draw lines between the marks to create the outline. On some sails you have to trace any curved lines. Below: Making the template on tracing paper from the plans. I started highlighting the outline of the sail on the plans to make it easier to see 3. Make a Paper Template Using Carbon Paper – Next, I use the tracing paper template on top of a piece of copy paper with carbon paper sandwiched in between to make a paper version. Paper clip the 3 layers together. For the larger sails, I had to tape some paper together to make it big enough. I used a ruler & my ball tip stylus to draw lines between the marks to create the outline on the paper. Cut out the paper template. Position the paper in place on the ship for the sail. Adjust the size as necessary to fit the boom, gaff or stay line. The hardest thing is to get the paper sail properly in position. Below: Looking left to right; Completed paper template, Carbon paper, Tracing paper template taken from plans 4. Mark the Sail Cloth – transfer the paper template marks to the sail cloth using a fabric marker. Use corner point and mid-point dots to provide positioning of straight lines with a ruler. Use the fabric marker to complete the outline from the paper template. Next, I make a second line approximately 5/32” outside of the main outline. This is for folding and sewing the hem. Make a 3rd outer line for cutting out the sail cloth about 3/4“ from the 1st line. Below: Sail cloth outlined with the fabric marker and cut out around the third outline 5. IMPORTANT: be sure to place the marker lines on the “display side”. The excess cloth for the hem should fold over to the “non-display side”. My display side is the Port Side, so the hem needed to be on the starboard side. 6. Cut out the Sail – I use a rotary cutting tool to cut around the 3rd outline edge. This cut doesn’t have to be perfect. Cut a notch in each corner for folding the hem. 7. Sewing – Fold over the hem line toward the starboard side. Pin the cloth between the 5/32” line and the outside edge. Make sure there is enough clearance for the sewing machine “foot”. I used a “natural” color thread because I didn’t want my stitches to stand out too much. I thought darker thread would show mistakes too easily. Start stitching on the sewing machine. Run forward then reverse to secure each end. Use a short stitch length to maintain the proper scale on the ship. After one side is stitched, cut off the extra cloth real close to the hem stitch with sharp scissors. Move on to the next side and repeat for each edge. Below: Hem on the edge of the sail after cutting off the excess cloth from near the hem 8. Sewing Strip Lines – Sails on ships do not come in 1 huge piece of cloth. Strips of cloth are stitched together. The plans show the pattern for these stitches on each sail. Use the same stitch type to put in the strip lines across each sail. I drew in the strip lines with the fabric marker following the pattern in the plans. I started just inside the hem. I made the strip lines about 3/8” apart. Below: Sewing the strip lines along the fabric marker lines 9. Reef Bands – The main & fore sail also have 2 reef bands each. I read that these are used to shorten the sail in rough weather. I ran this right over the strip lines. I used a zig-zag type stitch to make the wider looking railroad track pattern. A 1-inch-long rope is inserted through the sail along the reef band. These are inserted where the strip line crosses the reef band. I use a darker “Driftwood” thread for these to get a little more contrast. I used some fabric glue to hold the ends flat against the sail. I also used fabric glue around the hem line & corners to secure the stich ends. This also helps prevent fraying at the ends of the cloth, which seemed to happen quite easily. Below: Completed reef bands stitched over the strip lines 10. Corner Brass Rings – Hand sew a small brass ring in almost every corner of the sail for attaching the halliards and sheets. Check the plans to see where they are required. There are a few corners that are not attached this way. Below: Hand sewing in the brass corner rings. Note the ropes inserted into the reef band 11. Hanks – hanks hold the jib sails to the stay rigging lines. I used small rings made from the Artistic Wire. See the separate section below for the procedure I use to make them. Attach them to the long side of the sail by making a hole along the edge with a needle and slipping the hank into the hole. Below: Hanks attached to the Jib Sail 12. Finishing touches – Trim any loose threads. I iron the sail again to get it flat and smooth. Use a wet cloth or sponge to remove any leftover fabric marker. Your sail is now ready to rig to the ship! Below: The completed Fore Sail, including reef bands and corner rings PROCEDURE FOR MAKING SPLIT RINGS USED FOR HANKS & CORNER RINGS 1. Start with a length of 3/32” brass tube, a length of .025” brass wire and some pliers 2. Wrap the wire around the 3/32” brass tube real tight 3. Slip the coil of wire off the tube and cut it up one side with flush cut wire cutters 4. You will end up with a bunch of split rings. I then file the ends smooth and bend them into a neat ring shape My next post will be specifically about making and installing the Jumbo Jib Sail.

Hi Jim, I'm going to follow your Rattlesnake build. I am about a month away from completing Bluenose I, Canadian fishing schooner from Model Shipways. If I do, it will end up taking me 2 years to complete it. Rattlesnake is on the shelf for my next build. I'm looking forward to digging into your build log to learn the "do's and don'ts". Did you purchase any practicums for your build? Thanks, Ed

Completing Topmast Shrouds & Stays I’m working extra hard to get caught up with my posts. Currently, I am almost done with the sails! Only 3 more to go. I would like to complete the finished build log at the same time as I finish my Bluenose! High-Level Pre-Rigging Plan steps 10. GLUE the TOPMASTS permanently 11. Fully Rig the Topmast Shrouds & Lifts (Topmast shrouds come before stays in the order at the top of both masts) 12. Install all the Lower & Topmast Stays, except jibs (Pullback, Main Topmast and Flying Backstays) 13. Install Ratlines for Topmasts Now that the lower mast shrouds have been fully rigged, we can move on to the Topmasts. I had attached the mast hoops to the topmasts in pre-rig step 6. I tied a slice of rubber band to the topmast to hold the mast hoops in place. This must be done before attaching the topmasts. Now it’s time to glue the topmast into the trestle tree assembly on the lower mast. The fit for the topmast on both the fore and main was pretty snug for me. With the topmasts set in place, all I had to do was add a few drops of CA glue in the joints around the trestle trees, iron gates and mast caps. Futtock Shrouds There is one more thing that needs to be done, and I wish I had done this earlier. The “Futtock Shrouds” need to be added to the main mast. These are 4 pieces of brass wire that start as eyebolts above the trestle tree on the main mast only. An eye needs to be formed in the top of the wire. Then the wire end goes through the large spreader in the holes I made when the spreader was built. The wires are bent toward the mast and then around the U-shaped hoops in the futtock band. This was a more difficult task to accomplish at this point in time due to all of the other stuff that is now in the way. But I managed to get them installed. Although I accidently pulled out one of those u-shaped pieces while twisting and pulling on the futtock wires! In hind-sight, I should have added these when I finished the trestle tree. “Note to self” for future builds? Below: Futtock Shrouds added to the main mast trestle tree Attach Topmasts and install shrouds/spreaders Fore Mast Spreader Lifts 1. I started with the Fore Mast. Here the shrouds are called “Spreader Lifts”. Lanyards are used to attach these spreader lifts to the eyebolts on the wood spreaders. 2. Use the medium weight 0.021 black line. Loop this rope through the eyes on the Spring stay bail at the top of the mast cap. I determined the length required to go from the eyebolt to where the lanyard will begin. 3. I made a seized loop on one end of the rope and used some fine wire to temporarily attach it to the eyebolt at the length required for the lanyard. Then I laced the other end through the eyebolt and seized that end in place on the mast. 4. A lanyard connects the loop end to the eyes on the spreader. I started by tying a knot to the eyebolt. Then laced the 0.008” tan rope around 2 – 3 times and tied it off on the eyebolt with another knot. The same steps were used to tie the lanyard on the other side. 5. The port side was installed the same way Below: Port & Starboard Spreader Lifts prepared for adding ratlines 6. Ratlines are attached between these 4 lines (P/S) similar to the lower shrouds Below: Port side ratlines attached. The top was seized to hold it snug to the eyebolt Below: Starboard side same as the port 7. Attach the final topmast shroud on the fore mast. This starts at the top of the mast and runs through the brass clip at the ends of each large spreader, ending at the smaller deadeye on the main rail. Below: Seizing the fore topmast shroud Below: Fore topmast shroud lays over the shoulder that was carved at the top of the fore mast Below: Shroud passes through the brass clips on the large spreader tips Below: The fore topmast shrouds are laced to the small deadeyes on the main rail Main Topmast Shrouds 1. The Main topmast shrouds are the same as the fore mast with a couple of exceptions a. All 4 shrouds start at the top of the mainmast b. The lanyard is a little longer c. A Sheer pole is added for the main mast only d. Ratlines only go about half way up the topmast 2. Use the 0.021 black line. Loop the lines around the top of the topmast and seize them together. I did this off the ship and made the hole just wide enough to slip it over the gilded ball & truck. An eye splice is used on the lower end of each line. A lanyard ties the loop end to the eyes on the spreader. The lanyards connect the lower eye splices to the eyebolts on the spreader 3. Make & install a Sheer pole in the same manner as with the lower shrouds. 4. Ratlines are attached between these 4 lines (P/S). I put in 13 ratlines to get to the same height as shown on the plans 5. Attach the final topmast shroud which runs through the clip at the ends of each large spreader and ending at a deadeye near the deck. Same process as with the fore mast Install Pullback Stay, Main Topmast Stay and Flying Backstays According to the kit plans there is a specific order to the stack of ropes at the top of each topmast. Here is the order with the highest one being at the top of the list and then working down: Rigging Order at the Top of the Fore Topmast 1.) Pullback Stay (highest one) 2.) Balloon Jib Stay 3.) Topmast Spreader Shroud Rigging Order at the Top of the Main Topmast 1.) Flying Backstays (highest ones) 2.) Main Topmast Stay 3.) All 3 Topmast Shrouds Now that both of the topmast shrouds and ratlines have been completed, we can install the next layers of stays at the top of both topmasts. It’s very important not to pull the masts out of alignment with the installation of these stays. At the same time these lines help keep the masts in place as we continue with the rest of the rigging. Balloon Jib Stay – This stay runs from the top of the fore topmast to the end of the bowsprit. A seized 0.028” black line is prepared off -ship for slipping over the ball & truck. It ends at the front band on the bowsprit where it is connected with a shackle. I did not permanently attach this because we have to slip the Hanks onto this line when the balloon jib sail is installed Pullback Stay – The Pullback Stay runs from the top of the Fore Topmast to the link on the Main Mast Cap. A seized 0.021” black line is prepared off-ship for slipping over the ball & truck on the fore topmast. An eye splice is connected with a tan 0.008" lanyard to the small link on the side of the main mast cap. Main Topmast Stay – Similar to the pullback stay, the main topmast stay runs from the top of the main topmast to the fore mast cap. A seized 0.021” black line is prepared off-ship for slipping over the ball & truck on the main topmast. An eye splice is connected with a tan 0.008” lanyard to the small link on the side of the fore mast cap. Below: Pic of the Stays between the fore and main masts and also the Balloon Jib Stay Below: Closer picture of the stays between the fore and main masts. Also the upper pendants for the Flying Backstays Flying Backstays – These are a lot more complicated than the other stays we’ve installed. There are two of these, one each on the port & starboard sides of the main boom. There are 3 parts to each one. a. Upper Pendant - The Flying Backstay starts as the highest rope above the band on the top of the main topmast. Use one long black 0.028” line that is seized together to form pendants on the port and starboard sides. An eye splice is connected to a 5/32” double block at the end of these lines. b. Middle Tackle - A tackle is rigged with tan 0.021” line. At the lower end of the tackle a 5/32” single block is double stropped with an S-hook on the bottom side and the tan rigging line seized to the top side. This line is laced between the single block and the double block on the upper pendant. The fall goes to belaying pins 44 & 45. c. Lower Pendant - A short piece of black 0.021” rope forms another lower pendant. It has the S-hook attached at the top. The bottom end is connected to eyebolts that are glued to the deck. I seized the eyebolts to the bottom end of this pendant and glued this rig to the deck by the eyebolts. I slipped the S-hook out of the tackle block and left the lower pendant laying on the deck. I coiled up the tackles, labelled them and set them aside. The upper pendants were coiled up and left hanging at the top of the mast so I could work on the main sail more freely. Below: The tackle & lower pendant rigging at the aft part of the ship for the Flying Backstays This concludes the “Pre-Rigging” and Shrouds stage of my build. Next up is making and installing the sails. As each sail is installed there are pre-rigged ropes and new rigging that is connect to the sails that will be permanently set in place. This is the final stage of my build!!

Dave, I have dividers, but they are not digital. I have not found the need to use them very often. I have an Incra 6" precision ruler that I use all the time.

Completing Lower Shrouds & Deadeyes High-Level Pre-Rigging Plan steps 5. Rig the deadeyes for the lower shrouds 6. Install Sheer Poles, Ratlines & Running Lights for Lower Masts Here are the steps I used to install the Deadeyes on the lower shrouds. 1. Prepare the kit provided deadeyes a. First step is to cut the heart-shaped deadeyes from their laser cut sheet wood. Some modelers buy 3rd party deadeyes. I used the ones from the kit. There are two sizes. 18 Large Oval Deadeyes are found on 3/32” Thick set “E”. A set of 6 smaller 1/16” are found on “F”. These are for the topmast shrouds. I prepped both at the same time. b. A groove was filed around the outside of all the deadeyes. I learned that without this it is difficult to keep the shroud from slipping out of the deadeye. c. Finally, the deadeyes were stained using Minwax Natural. This is the same as I used on the chainplate deadeyes that were attached to the railings quite a while back. Below: Oval Deadeye pinned down to cork board to cut the groove with a file 2. Rig the oval shaped deadeyes to the shrouds a. A “Lanyard” is used to lace the deadeyes together. It is important to maintain the same distance between them so they all look even when done. The kit instructions suggest a wire jig. I took some of my Artistic Wire and twisted them to make this jig. I carefully measured the distance and bent the 4 wire ends at a 90-degree angle. I added a little extra length so that there is room to tighten the lanyard and end up with the correct height. Below: Pic of the first shroud getting lined up using the wire jig Below: Here is a later pic from the topsail shroud that shows the jig more clearly! b. The shroud is wrapped around the upper deadeye and I used plastic clips to hold it in place. The shroud is wrapped with seizing in two places. The space in between will be where the “Sheer Pole” is tied in place. Keep this space level and consistent across the deadeyes. c. My seized wraps got better as I went. I got the best results by counting the number of rows in the wrap. I first tied an overhand knot tight to keep the thread tight against the top of the deadeye. I left one end of the seizing rope long and the other end shorter. The long rope I wrapped 4 more times going up and then 5 times back down. I tied the longer line that was used to wrap with an overhand knot with the short end when I got back to the bottom. I kept this knot facing the center of the ship to help hide it. d. The knot was secured with a small bit of CA glue to make sure it did not come apart. The jig was removed. I let the glue on that one dry while I worked on the next one. Then I snipped the loose ends off Below: Seizing finished on one of the deadeyes 3. Lacing the “Lanyards” on the deadeyes a. When I first looked at how to lace the lanyards, I thought it looked very complicated. But, it’s actually pretty simple. The plans call for 0.008” line. I never used the kit supplied .008”. It seemed really flimsy. I bought some spools of thread from the local fabric store that looked to be about the same weight. I always use beeswax on all my rope. For one thing, it helps the lines stick together while you’re tying them. b. Start out by making a wall knot in one end of a length of the line. I apply a touch of CA and snip off the loose end. c. Then, looking at the pair of deadeyes, insert the other end through the right-hand hole in the upper deadeye from the back and pull it until the knot is flush with the deadeye. d. Now go in the front side of the right-hand hole in the lower deadeye. Next come through the back of the middle hole in the upper, down to the middle hole in the front of the lower. e. Come up to through the back of the left-hand hole of the upper and back down to the front of the hole on the lower left-hand side. So you’re always working upper to lower; lower to upper; right to left f. Now comes the tricky part. You are supposed to wrap the end around the bottom seizing, just above the top deadeye. I tied it off in the back to hide the knot. g. Finish off with a touch of CA to hold the knot. Snip off the loose end when dry. Below: Completed deadeyes with their lanyards 4. Installing the Sheer Poles and Ratlines a. I read that Bluenose sometimes had ratlines across 3 shrouds and at other times all four. Personally, I think that ratlines = sailing ship! They are a significant feature of a sailing vessel. A lot of modelers install 3. I decided that I wanted to go across all four shrouds! Even though that means tying a bunch more knots!! b. The first thing that needs to be done is to install the “Sheer Poles”. This is a metal bar that is tied to the shrouds just above the deadeyes. It sits in the space between the two seized ropes on the shrouds. I made these from a length of brass rod. I painted them with black enamel. Once dry, I tied them to the shrouds with black thread and secured the knot with a dot of CA glue. Below: Sheer Pole installed between the seizing ropes on the shrouds c. Installing the ratlines is simply a matter of tying over 550 knots! I don’t know if the knots are technically called a half hitch? I quickly got into a good technique for tying them. I was able to make 6 ratlines per hour, once I got going! Here are some tips: i. Start from the bottom and work up ii. Tie each knot the same way to keep them looking consistent iii. Take the vertical distance between ratlines off the plans. I used a small ruler and checked that they were even, after completing the row iv. I waxed a long piece of thread and then cut a batch of 12 – 15 lengths at a time v. Be careful to keep the tension between the knots consistent so the shrouds are not pulled or pushed unevenly vi. Once a row is in place, I checked to see if they were level (also periodically checked with an actual level) vii. Apply some CA glue to hold the knots. The CA also helped to stiffen the lines and make the whole assembly feel more secure viii. Once I had about 5 or so done, I would go back and trim the excess off the ends Below: Ratlines installed on port foremast shrouds Below: Reached the top of the lower shrouds with ratlines. Ends not trimmed yet. 5. Construct & Install the Running Lights a. The running lights on Bluenose were made with lanterns that were attached to a back board. The back board was painted green for the starboard and red for the port side. These were tied to the shrouds on the fore mast. b. The lanterns are provided as cast pieces in the kit. These need to be cleaned up and painted. c. The backboards are made from strip wood. I took the measurements off the plans and found suitable size pieces of strip wood in the kit. These were cut to size and sanded to round off the corners. I drilled a couple of pairs of holes with a pin vise and inserted some fine wire to tie them to the shrouds. They were painted with black, red & green paint as can be seen below. Below: Running lights ready to be attached to the fore mast shrouds Below: Port side running light is red Below: Starboard side running light is green

Miscellaneous Pre-Rig Steps Before Lower Shrouds & Deadeyes are Installed High-Level Pre-Rigging Plan 3. Pre-rig the Spring Stay, Jib Stay and Jumbo Jib Stay on the lower mast caps 4. Pre-rig blocks, fairleads, eyebolts on lower masts, bowsprit & deck for sail halliards/downhauls. 5. GLUE the LOWER MASTS (Not the topmasts, to leave room to work on lower shrouds) Spring Stay – can be permanently attached at this time. Use 0.028 Black rope. Seize the fore end to the spring stay on the fore mast cap. Seize the aft end to the spring stay on the main mast cap. These must be seized in place. I cut the rope longer then needed and use some small plastic clips to hold the ropes together while wrapping the seizing. Sorry for the out-of-focus pic below. That top rope is the spring stay! Below: close-up of the foremast end of the spring stay in process of seizing. The other end was similar. Notice the miscellaneous blocks I attached here and elsewhere around the ship as part of pre-rigging. Jumbo Jib Stay – cannot be permanently attached until the Jumbo Jib Sail is attached. The stay must be slipped through the “Hanks” (brass wire split rings) on the edge of the sail, when it is time to be rigged. However, we can pre-rig this stay to the top of the lower mast head. Here are the steps I used: 1. There are 2 ropes for the jumbo jib stay. Start with the upper rope, which is called the “Bridle”. Use 0.028” black line. Cut a sufficient amount based on the plans and some rough measurements. 2. The bridle wraps around the fore mast just above the trestle tree. Only about 1 inch of rope is required between the trestle tree and the end of the bridle. It rests on either side of the iron gate on the front of the trestle tree. The top of the rope that wraps around the mast must be served. 3. The two rope ends are connected with eye splices to a shackle. I made up a shackle using my usual procedure (see post # 27 in this topic) Below: My hand crafted shackle and the mini-bolt and nut used to close the open end 4. The lower end requires us to make a custom piece of hardware called the Jumbo Jib Stay Bail. This is a brass saddle that straddles the bowsprit and is anchored to the deck. According to the plans, it is attached to the deck using 2 shackles. I did not see how I could make this very well, so I made mine a little different. a. I cut a piece of the kit supplied brass strip and bent it in a U shape so it fit around the bowsprit while sitting on the deck. b. I soldered a short piece of brass tubing on top. I filled the gaps between the tube and the strip with solder to simulate the shape shown in the plans. See pic below c. I replaced the shackles on the bottom ends with 2 pieces of 0.032” brass rod. I soldered these so they formed pins that could be inserted into the deck to hold the bail in place. d. I used some brass enamel paint on the finished bail to cover the solder. e. I used the pin vise to make holes on either side of the bowsprit and glued the bail down Below: completed Jumbo Jib Stay Bail 5. I made an eye splice on one end of a 0.028” length of black line for lower rope #2. This was inserted into the shackle at the end of the bridle. The entire rig was coiled up and labelled for later. Jib Stay – this too cannot be permanently attached until the Jib Sail is attached to it. This one is pretty simple. The upper end of the stay is seized to a shackle. The shackle connects the stay to the jib stay bail at the top of the fore mast. Later it will be seized to another shackle on a ring near the end of the bowsprit. For now, it is coiled up and labelled for later. Lower Masts – glued in place. Theoretically, the masts do not need to be glued at all. The rigging should hold them in place. But this being my first model ship, I decided to make sure they were well secured and unable to move around while I’m doing the sails and rigging.

Jonathan, thanks for your encouragement to keep doing my documentation. At one time in my former career, I developed technical training materials and was a corporate trainer. So, I actually do enjoy doing this stuff!

Pre-rigging the Lower Mast Shrouds: In the last two posts I covered "High-Level Pre-rigging" Step #2: Booms & Gaffs. On to Step, #3: Pre-rig both the fore & main lower mast shrouds. FYI, here is a partial re-print from my plan that I covered in Post #46. My High-Level Plan for doing Pre-Rigging 1. Work from the Deck upward (booms then gaffs). And inside-out from masts to railings 2. Pre-rig the running rigging (sheets, tackles, lifts) on the Main Boom, Fore Boom, Jumbo Jib boom, Main & Fore Gaffs. Temporarily rig the boom or gaff to the mast, one at a time. Make the rigging lines for each spar and on the deck. Remove the boom/gaff, coil up and label each rig. 3. Pre-rig the lower mast shrouds at the top. Coil them up for later. 4. Pre-rig the Spring Stay, Jib Stay and Jumbo Jib Stay on the lower mast caps. Coil for later. And continuing… The shrouds hold the masts up from the port & starboard sides of the ship. Some of the heaviest ropes are used for this on the ship. The ropes are “served” where they wrap around the top of the lower mast head. Serving minimizes the wear & tear on the shrouds from rubbing against the masts. Serving is basically wrapping a smaller rope around a larger rope to create a sleeve around it. I bought the Syren Serve-O-Matic to make this job easier. You don’t need this tool to wrap thread around the shroud, but it makes it go a lot faster and produces a nice tight & clean appearance. Here are the steps I used to pre-rig the Shrouds: 1. Measure the amount of 0.028 black rope required, add some extra for seizing around the deadeyes later, and then cut. As always, apply beeswax. 2. Find the middle of the line, measure how far the serving is required and tag it there (I tie a small piece of thread on either side of the middle) 3. Use the Serve-O-Matic to serve the rope in the measured area 4. Wrap the rope around the lower mast above the Trestle Tree 5. Remove the mast from the ship and secure it in the rigging jig. Seize the 2 ropes together. The lines then run down between the spreaders 6. Coil the pair of lines up for use later LOWER SHROUD SEQUENCE: First wrap lines 1 and 2 around the mast, seize them together. I started with the starboard side. Then do the same with 1 and 2 on the port side. Shroud 1 should always be the first one facing the bow. Alternate sides. Repeat the same sequence for 3 and 4. Shroud 4 should be the last line facing the stern on both sides. Below is my sketch showing the sequencing of the shrouds: 1 & 2 are the same line wrapped around the mast and then seized to make two shrouds. 3 & 4 are similar. I installed 1 & 2 on the starboard side first. Then alternate them as shown below. Serving the rope on the Serve-O-Matic. The excess line is coiled up on either side. There is a handle on the right side for turning the rope while you hold the thread with your left hand. Below: The completed shroud after serving Below is the fore mast held in my rigging jig with some wire while I seize the two lines. When done the lines are threaded into the space between the spreaders and the brass rod. Alternate sides with each pair of shrouds. The below pic was taken later when I was installing the ratlines. But this is a good view of the 4 shrouds sitting in their position in the trestle tree. If I were to do it over, I would have stopped the serving rope a little shorter then I did so there was more space for another ratline or two.

I need some help from someone who has completed the sails on Bluenose I. I cannot find any details on how to attach the lower forward corner of the Jib sail to ring 2 on the bowsprit. I know hanks hold it to the jib stay and there is a downhaul running through a block nearby. Should I use a corner ring on the sail and slip it into the shackle that holds the jib stay??? Appreciate any expert advice! Thanks!

Pre-rigging the Main Gaff & How I Make S-Hooks How I Make My S-Hooks A lot of S-Hooks are used on the ship. If you are interested in a method for making them, I thought I would share mine. First off, you have to purchase a pair of round nose pliers. I did not buy them until later. I was trying to use needle nose pliers and having all kinds of trouble because the loop was not round and it was too big! Since I had so much difficulty to start, I thought there might be other newbies out there struggling like I was!! So, here is how I do it now… 1. Cut a ¾” piece of the 0.025” Artistic Wire to begin. Grasp one end in the pliers. You can increase the size of the loop you want by moving the position deeper into the plier. Push the wire around the nose of the plier until it is almost completely around, but not quite. Pic #2 shows what it looks like after bending in my new favorite pliers. Bending the wire to make the first loop: After the first loop formed: 2. I then switch to the type of pliers shown below. Place the loop end into the tip of the pliers so it is laying in the grooves with the loop almost touching the side of the pliers. Press the loop side down gently on something hard. I use a small piece of red oak wood. This bends the loop so it sits straight on top of the rest of the wire. Wire in position in the regular pliers: Bending the loop end back to center it over the straight part: After bending the first loop back: 3. Place the straight end back in the round nose pliers and using your fingers, push the wire back the opposite direction of the first loop. You will end up with the following. Wire back in round nose pliers positioned to make the second loop: After the second loop is formed: 4. Cut the excess off right where it reaches the first loop with flush cut wire cutters. Adjust the loops a bit more as needed to get the loops the size and shape you require. This method was such an improvement that I re-made most of my previous s-hooks! Completed S-Hook and the straight end that was removed: Pre-rigging the Main Gaff The Halliards on the gaffs are two of the most complex riggings on the ship. In a previous post I mentioned that I need to draw the rigging set up to visualize what I need to do and to get the details right. This was especially true here. Perhaps you don't need this to do your rigging, but it helped me! All the cross-outs for the belaying points were caused by the error in the blueprint plans (see notes in step 1) as I was trying to figure things out. Here is a pic of my sketch for the Fore/Main Throat Halliard: 1. The Main Throat Halliard holds up the fore end of the Main Gaff. It attaches to the Crane at the top and has a long run of rope that drops straight down to the deck on the port side. The starboard side forms a pendant that connects to a tackle that attaches to the main rail. [I believe the belaying pin identified on the Belaying Plan in the kit blueprint is incorrect for this rig. Belaying pin #23 should be “Main Throat Halliard” not “Peak”. Peak should be on #22. It has to be this way in order for the fairleads (on opposite sides of the trestle tree) to work properly for the Main Peak Halliard!] Here are the notes from my rigging plan… a. Working down from the Crane -> Link -> Triple Block -> Double Block -> two long S-hooks -> two eyebolts on the gaff jaws. This line needs to be long enough to cover all the Blocks involved b. Tackle Side: on the starboard side, comes more than halfway down to a 1/8" Dbl Blk that is roped to another 1/8" Dbl Blk below it which is connected to an eyebolt on the main rail. The free end is tied off to belaying pin #34 on the main rail. c. Straight Side: On the port side of the ship, the halliard line runs straight down to the deck, right next to the main mast. A 1/4" Sgl Blk is hooked to an eyebolt on the deck, and the line passes through the Blk and gets tied off to belaying pin #23 on the fife rail. Stropping the triple block at the gaff jaws with long hooks: Stropping the 2 double blocks for the tackle rig: Seizing the double block to the end of the halliard pendant: Completed Pre-rigged Main Throat Halliard; Finished Throat Halliard labelled and secured until needed for final rigging step: 2. The Main Peak Halliard holds the aft end of the Main Gaff. This too is one of the more complex rigs on the ship. 6 blocks need to be stropped and prepared for this rig. a. Preparing the Blocks: 4 - 1/4" Sgl Blks are attached to bands on the main mast using an S Hook that is seized to the Block. 3 - 1/4" Sgl Blks are attached with 0.021 black rigging line (called "Bridles") to the gaff. These lines loop around the gaff, the cleats keep these lines from slipping. The Blocks should move freely on the black bridle lines. The bridle assembly sits on top of the gaff. b. At this point the ends of the rig are the mirror image of the Throat Halliard. c. The peak halliard line is 0.021 tan rope. Run this thru both sets of Blocks first. Start w/ the lowest Blk on the mast and zig-zag bottom to top. This line needs to be centered in the blocks with enough line to cover the distance. d. Both ends of the halliard need to run through the fairleads on the ends of the spreader e. Tackle Side: this is the end that exits the lower block on the mast bands. The upper pendant is rigged the same as the Throat Halliard, between the 2 - 1/8" Dbl Blks. Except this time, it's on the Port side railing. The loose end will be belayed to pin #35 when final rigging is completed. f. Straight Side: On the starboard side of the ship, the halliard line runs straight down to the deck, right next to the main mast. A 1/4" Sgl Blk is hooked to an eyebolt on the deck, and the line passes through the Block and gets tied off to belaying pin #22 on the fife rail. g. Storing the rig for later: When done, I left the blocks and halliard on the gaff. I removed the blocks on the mast and left them hanging from the gaff. I did not connect the upper block on the tackle to the halliard line. This was necessary so we can thread the halliard through the fairlead on the spreader at the time of the final rigging. On the straight side, I did not attach the lower block to the deck. I left it hanging loose at the end of the halliard so this line could also be threaded through the fairlead. I used my jig to seize the "bridles" to the gaff behind each cleat: A Sneak Peek at the completed rigging on the Main Peak Halliard:

I've got another new post ready as I'm catching up on work that has been completed. Pre-rigging the Main Boom 1. While the boom was loose, I attached two pieces of rigging that can remain on the boom throughout. First, I attached the 2 Footropes. These are made with 0.008 black rigging line. They are connected using eye splices. They run from the eyebolts on the boom sheet band to the eyebolts on either side of the end band. 2. Second, was my first piece of real running rigging; the Main Boom Tackle. This is attached under the boom. This also can be done off the ship. Both the footropes and this entire assembly can be left on the boom when completed. I have a few pictures of the stropped blocks that were required. As this was very early on, the process I used was a bit different than what I described above. This rigging consists of a single & a double block that are attached on the fore end with a Hook and the aft end with an S-hook and a link to a band. The line gets tied off at the eyebolt on the port side of the main boom jaws. I have a few good pics that show how I made this. Below: Aft end of main boom tackle showing link -> hook -> seized double block Finished Main Boom Tackle. It actually gets tied off at the eyebolt on the port side jaw near the mast, not the cleat as shown below! 3. I then “temporarily” attached the main boom to the mast. We have to be able to remove the booms & gaffs to attach the sails later on. I inserted some fine picture hanging wire through the holes at the end of the gaff jaws to hold it to the mast while doing the pre-rigging. 4. Then I pre-rigged the Quarter Lifts. There are 2 of these. One on each side of the main sail. This needs to go next in the order to hold the boom up at the proper angle for rigging the Main Boom Sheet and 2 Crutch Tackles. The Quarter Lifts start with a pair of double blocks, S-hooked to the U-shaped shackles under the main mast trestle tree. The upper “Tackle” is made with tan 0.021” rigging line, secured to a single block and is laced to the double block. The “Fall” (end of the rope that gets tied off on the deck) from the trestle tree is tied off at belaying pins 30 & 31. The single block at the lower end of the tackle run is connected to a “Pendant” (typically the first piece of rigging at the mast, to which rigging tackles are attached; but in this case they are reversed). The pendant is made with black 0.028” line and has eye splices at both ends. These are attached to the Quarter Lift Band rings on the boom with an eye splice. Below: Top view of upper tackles with S-Hooks to shackles under the trestle tree. At the bottom are the tops of the black "Pendant" ropes. Quarter Lifts attached to the sheet band using regular hooks (not S-hooks) 5. I could work on the Main Boom Sheet next since the quarter lifts were holding up the boom at the correct angle. This rigging uses 0.021 tan line and 3 large blocks. At the boom is a Triple Block that is attached to the bail under the main sheet band. I used a split ring to connect it to the bail. There is not a lot of distance from the boom to the deck. So, stropping had to be kept tight. Next, a double block is attached to the main sheet buffer that we glued to the deck a long time ago. I used a link to connect this block to the buffer ring. The tan rope is laced between these 2 blocks. The fall end of the line coming off the triple block runs down thru a single block just forward from the boom sheet buffer, on the deck. The line gets tied off on either one of the port or starboard Bitts on the deck. I detached the hook from the sheet bail and left this rig laying on the deck for final completion later. Below: Main Boom Sheet is tied off to the starboard Bitts. 6. There is a Crutch Tackle on the port and starboard sides of the sheet. They keep the boom from moving side to side. There are 2 blocks on each side. A double block is attached using a split ring, to the sheet bail. It is laced to a single block that is attached with an S-hook to an eyebolt on the railing. When complete, I detached these from their split rings and left them hanging off the back of the ship. Below: Port side Crutch Tackle 7. Finally, I pre-rigged the Main Boom Topping Lift. This holds up the aft end of the boom. This looks like a really complicated piece of rigging, but isn’t too bad since you are starting to get the hang of things now! Here are the details straight from my rigging plan spreadsheet: a. Starting at the top. Eyebolt on main mast cap -> Shackle -> Long pendant using 0.028 Black line -> Eye splice -> S-Hook -> 3/16” Single Block b. Working up from the boom. At the Main Boom an 0.021 tan rope starts at the eyebolt on the top end of the boom. Working up: Eyebolt -> Shackle -> Eye splice -> thru the 3/16” Single Block in a. -> Eye splice -> 1/8" Double Block c. A 2nd tan rope starts at the next eyebolt inboard from the end of the boom. Working in: Eyebolt -> Shackle -> Eye splice -> Thru Double Block -> Around outer sheeve -> Back to Block -> Down to the next sheeve in -> Out bottom of sheeve and across the boom -> through fairlead -> Belayed at pin #26 on starboard side of the main boom jaw When completed, I disconnected the lower tackle and rolled up the upper pendant and left it on the mast. I left the lower tackle hanging on the boom. I don’t have any original pics of the topping lift. These are current pics as I attached this rigging permanently during installation of the main sail. Below: Upper pendant of the Topping Lift is connected to the lower mast top band with an eye splice to a shackle Lower end of topping lift with tackle lacing through blocks and sheaves at end of main boom Fall end of the tackle runs down the boom and is tied off at a belaying pin on the boom jaw

Hi Dave, I found an LED Magnifier light at Walmart for $35 that works great for me. It's called a RoHs 5X Magnifying LED Desk Lamp. It clamps to the desk or bench. But, I ended up drilling a hole in the holder and running a screw into the hobby desk. I didn't trust it to stay put otherwise! The only problem is, I can't find it on their website anymore. Maybe something to do with the supply chain issues? It is made in China! Maybe you can find it elsewhere. Here is a picture of it... Ed

Begin Pre-Rigging for the Masts, Booms & Gaffs There are various types of rigging on Bluenose. I needed to break these down by what I could do off the ship (pre-rigging) and on the ship after the masts were set in place. Here is what I found. 1. Standing Rigging – these are the heavier black ropes that hold up the masts. This includes the Shrouds that hold the masts from the sides. They also hold the ratlines. Stays are ropes that hold the masts in the fore and aft direction. 2. Running Rigging for Spars – these are typically the tan rigging lines that control the Spars (booms and gaffs). These can be pre-rigged. This includes the following: a. Boom pre-rigging – 2 Boom Tackles, 3 Boom Sheets, 3 Tackles; 2 Crutch & 1 Inhaul, 3 Topping Lifts, 2 Quarter Lifts b. Gaff pre-rigging – 2 Throat Halliards, 2 Peak Halliards 3. Running Rigging for Sails – These tan rigging lines control the sails. These have to wait until we make the sails. No pre-rigging can be done. 4. Miscellaneous – Ratlines are horizontal lines tied between the shrouds like rope ladders. Footropes are used on the main boom & bowsprit. 5. Mast Rigging Hardware – there are a number of blocks, s-hooks, shackles, etc. that can be pre-rigged on the masts There are different pieces of hardware that you either have to make yourself or are supplied in the kit. Blocks are supplied in the kit. They come in a variety of sizes and there are numerous ways to rig them. Many builders purchase higher quality blocks elsewhere. I decided to use the ones supplied in the Model Shipways kit. I found these to be of decent quality and look good after some filing and staining. I will probably consider something fancier on my next build. Rope lines are also supplied in the kit. Many builders replace this as well. I decided to use what was provided. I think I will definitely upgrade the rope next time. The standard stuff frays easily and knots come undone. They require lots of beeswax and glue. S-Hooks, Shackles, Split Rings, Links & Deadeyes are some of the other items required. I will cover these later. Start Pre-rigging The blocks need to be stained before using them. I tested a couple of different stains and settled on Minwax “Natural”. This enriched the color of the wood without making them too dark. I just poured a little stain in a jar top and placed the blocks in batches by size, into the stain. I rolled and pushed them around for a couple of minutes to allow the stain to penetrate and cover them evenly. Then removed them to a paper towel to absorb the excess stain. Let them dry overnight and poured them back into their Ziplock bags. I continued this process until all of them were stained. I started the pre-rigging step with the running rigging for the spars. I discussed the order and rationale for this in my previous post. I started with the Main Boom, since I made that one first. I don’t have pictures of how I made every line of pre-rigging. I have some examples here below. You will be able to see the completed rigging lines in the upcoming posts. Some of the pre-rigged lines are coiled up, labelled and left on the ship. You can see these in many of my pics. Others are removed, labelled, coiled up and set aside as shown in these pictures. Pre-rigged Lines for Booms & Gaffs: I used 3 jigs for most of my rigging. I mentioned the first one with the building of the bowsprit. I purchased the Syren Serving Machine. I use this to serve rope and make eye splices. Most serving is required for making the standing rigging, especially the shrouds. Jig number two I made myself. I built a homemade “helping hands” using a piece of red oak board, a couple of alligator clips and some electric wire. I’ve used this jig more than any other. The 3rd jig is just a small square of cork board, t-pins and straight pins for stropping blocks. This also got a ton of use. Serving Machine: Homemade Helping Hands: Block Stropping Jig How to Strop a Block - Stropping is simply wrapping a length of medium weight black or tan rope around the block. I tried several methods for tying the line before I developed a technique of my own. Here is my typical block stropping process. · Pin the block on the cork board through the sheave hole/s · Place a T-pin or two for an empty loop, S-Hook, etc. at one or both ends depending on the requirement for this rig · Cut a 3 – 5-inch length of medium (0.021”) black rope for the strop. Sometimes tan is used. · Make a loop and lay it around the block · Make a strong tight knot in the loop around the block. I normally place the knot at the end if only the one other end is in use. If both ends are in use, place the knot on the side. · Dab CA glue around the strop knot. Be sure to get glue between the strop & the wood block, otherwise it will slip out of the knot. Had this happen a few times! · After drying, trim the loose ends off with a sharp hobby knife blade · After the blocks have been stropped, I use my “helping hands” jig to seize the other lines that are rigged to & through the blocks. Stropping a double block with hooks for Fore Gaff Throat Halliard: There are numerous types of block configurations. Some need hardware like s-hooks or split rings attached. Some require open loops seized on one or both ends. I had some trouble with s-hooks that were seized to blocks being to long for the space allotment on the ship. To remedy this, I stropped the hook directly to the block. On my next build I plan on using 3/0 fly tying line for seizing. I used regular thread on this build, which was perhaps too heavy. But, it’s too late to change it up now! This post is getting too long. I will cover the actual pre-rigging of the spars in the next post.

Wow! Looks awesome Dave. I knew you would come up with something special.

Rigging Planning and Pre-Rigging As I’ve done for the most part throughout this build, I followed the process outlined by Suburban Ship Modeler. He decided to do what many shipwrights do…pre-rig as much rigging as possible before mounting the masts on the ship. The advantage to doing it this way is you can get around the mast or spar more easily and at better angles. You don’t have to reach around or through existing rigging lines. You can seize lines off the ship. The disadvantage is you need to use more rigging line because you can’t precisely measure the length required for each line. Unfortunately, SSM does not explain too much about how he decided what can be pre-rigged or the order for doing the pre-rigging. So, for this part I followed my own instincts. Here was my thought process. My General Rigging Plan 1. Rigging Spreadsheet – I created an Excel spreadsheet identifying every rigging line on the plans. (Below there is a pic of one page to show you what this looks like) I made columns showing the line name, line type, color, size, high point start and attachment method, end point methods. I also attempted to determine what could/should be pre-rigged ahead of time. I spent a lot of time doing this but I didn’t end up using it as much as I thought I would. However, it was a great learning tool that prepared me for the task ahead. I did make labels for each line from this. I attached the label to each line after making them. What I ended up doing/using the most was a sketch of each line before I began making it. I needed a visual picture to figure out how to actually set-up the stropping of each block, seizing for each line, the length needed for each line, etc. 2. Attach all the blocks, shackles, links, etc. to the masts, booms, gaffs and even the rails and decks with the masts off the ship 3. Attach as many of the rigging lines as possible to the masts, booms, and gaffs 4. Make each line with extra length, and either coil the lines up or leave them loose so they can be removed from the ship and stored until I needed them later 5. Tag each line with a label based on the rigging spreadsheet 6. When running pre-rigging is done, mount the lower masts to the ship. Topmasts were mounted later. 7. Install the shrouds and attach them to the deadeyes on the hull. 8. Install the rest of the standing rigging (this varied depending on the line, more on this later) 9. Install the Ratlines 10. Install the running rigging for the booms & gaffs 11. Install the running rigging for the sails at the time when I make each one Sample of a page from my Rigging Spreadsheet: My High-Level Plan for doing Pre-Rigging 1. Work from the Deck upward (booms then gaffs). And inside-out from masts to railings 2. Pre-rig the running rigging (sheets, tackles, lifts) on the Main Boom, Fore Boom, Jumbo Jib boom, Main & Fore Gaffs. Temporarily rig the boom or gaff to the mast, one at a time. Make the rigging lines for each spar and on the deck. Remove the boom/gaff, coil up and label each rig. 3. Pre-rig the lower mast shrouds at the top. Coil them up for later. 4. Pre-rig the Spring Stay, Jib Stay and Jumbo Jib Stay on the lower mast caps. Coil for later. 5. Pre-rig blocks, fairleads, eyebolts on lower masts, bowsprit & deck for sail halliards/downhauls. 6. GLUE the LOWER MASTS (Not the topmasts, to leave room to work on lower shrouds) 7. Rig the deadeyes for the lower shrouds 8. Install Shear Poles, Ratlines & Running Lights for Lower Mast shrouds 9. Install the Spring Stay only. All 3 Jib Stays need to be loose to thread the sail HANKS on. 10. Install mast hoops for topmasts 11. GLUE the TOPMASTS permanently 12. Fully Rig the Topmast Shrouds & Lifts (Topmast shrouds go before stays in the order at top of mast) 13. Install all the Lower & Topmast Stays, except jibs (Pullback, Main Topmast and Flying Backstays) 14. Install Ratlines for Topmasts 15. Finally, complete the rigging associated with each sail. Complete all rigging one at the time when I connect each sail to its boom and gaff, then the ones without spars. Next Step: Pre-rigging the Booms & Gaffs I began pre-rigging the booms & gaffs. I will explain what I did and the order in which it was done in future posts. I took me over 100 hours and 40 calendar days to complete this pre-rig step. This does not include study time! The shrouds and standing rigging will be covered after the running rigging on the spars.

Thanks Bob! I think that falls under the category of "even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then"!! I kind of stumbled into that method through a lot of trials and errors.

Thanks Guys! I create these construction notes for my own use before I start building each stage. They are based on the information I find from other builders and my interpretation of the plans. When finished, I modify them slightly to make them easier to follow from the readers perspective. I'm glad to hear that they will be useful to you and hopefully other shipwrights! Dave & Per, you've both been a big help to me. So, thanks. Per, I am deleting the original posts for these entries that I had posted as Status Replies by mistake. From what I've read on the Forum, a moderator has to delete the empty shells that are left behind. It will take me a few more days to clean them all out. When I'm done, can you help me delete these empty posts? Thanks.