Bill97
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Back from the west coast and planning to do some work in the shipyard today. Hope all is going well for everyone. Will read over the blogs to see if I missed anything. Will post new updates on my build soon.
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Got some work completed since my last update. Finished all the ratlines on the foremast and now working on the lower ratlines on the main mast. Also putting some time into the lifts and buntlines on the mainmast yards. Once I finish an area and I am satisfied with it I add a touch of white glue to the knot and trim excess. Decided to remove the four fife rails abreast of the main mast. The belay pins molded into the Heller fife rail were just too short on the underside and fragile for me to snug a thread too. Using my little knife I carefully cut them away from the inside of the ship, careful to knot snag one if the many lines already present in that area. I then cut pieces of Evergreen to match the size of the fife rails, marked and drilled holes for the same number of belay pins as on the original pieces. I then cut and glued into each of the holes small lengths of the same wire I have been using to make all my eyebolts. After dried I cut all the wire ends even at a little more than 1/16”, painted the new fife rails black, and carefully glued them back in place. Now I have much stronger fife rails. Not sure you can see them in the photo. This is something I will definitely remember to do on my SR when I am early in construction. Celebrated my 70th birthday yesterday! That is a bunch! Going to be leaving the ship yard again for a few days. Heading to California for a visit with family and friends and the Pacific Ocean. Downloaded Master and Commander audio book on my iPad to listen to during my flights. Seen the movie several times but not read or listened to the book.
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As I am putting in my buntlines and leach lines I realize, I think, I need to have decided on my sail application first? If I understand the purpose of the lines, they are to attach to the bottom of the sail to help the crew furl and unfurl the sails from down on the deck. The assembly instructions have me tie a knot in the line that prevents it from passing through the block on the yard and the other end to it’s appropriate belay point. At the belay point I am tying them off and applying a touch of diluted white glue. If I was planning to add sails furled, unfurled, or somewhere in between, these lines should not stop at the block on the yard but instead continue on through the block to the foot of the sail? I am guessing in actual use on a ship the buntline is pulled snug to the block when there is no sail and the extra line is wrapped at the belay point? Then when a sail is in use the line is loosened from the belay point and the other end is pulled through the block and attached to the sail? If that is the case and I decided to add sails, regardless of furled or unfurled, I will need to redo these lines? I don’t have adequate line wrapped at the belay point. Another reason to leave sails off. 😊
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Like those ideas Ian. I do think I will try to change them to the larger thread when I start the sheets. Stay tuned.
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That is the thing Ian. Do you think it will be oblivious to others? Will the lines appear out of proportion if I leave them. Really what would you do?
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Ian it off my .35 mm spool. Do you think it would look it would look to thin for the sheets and tack compared to other rigging on the ship? Attached is a photo of my .35, .45, and .55. The top .35 is what I used for the sheets. Would you go through the effort of replacing them with larger thread for the .1 or .2mm I can gain?
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Finished the upper ratlines on the port side of the foremast, and now working on the SB side. For some reason these ratlines seem more time consuming, probably not. Also completed the lifts and buntlines on the spritsail and spritsail top sail. I also spent what seemed like a lot of time fine tuning the foremast topgallant yard by adjusting the stays and backstays to get it as straight as I could. Since it is so thin I was not able to reinforce it with a wood or metal rod so it is very flexible. It was much like tuning a piano wire I am sure. A little more here, a little less there, and so on. Once I was satisfied I finally applied some white glue at the attachment points. I had a big discovery this weekend and will have to give some thought to best way to correct. Way back at the beginning of my model when I was installing the decks I put in the main sail sheet, main sail tack, and fore sail sheet because some of the belay points are on a different deck. At the time I was, and I will admit this, ignorant of the different thread (rope) sizes. Now that I am somewhat wiser I am aware that the thread I used way back then is far to small for this application. Ian in the spread sheet you indicate the appropriate size for these lines is several sizes bigger than I used. I think I have a .35 mm thread here. I have got to change that out to a bigger size.
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Ian I need you to start your’s and be about 2 months ahead of me so I can follow in your foot steps 😊
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Ian I actually have not rigged any of the cluelines or sheets. I am going through rigging the lifts, buntlines, and braces throughout the ship, then I will determine the clues and sheets once I make my final decision about the sails. Yes I am doing the ratlines on my he futtock shrouds. Just had not done them yet in the photos. Not sure how close I am to the SR. Seems like I still have a lot to do on the Victory. One thing I know I am going to miss when I start the SR is all the MSW friends I have relied on in building the Victory, and all the available books and references (Longridge). I have done a great deal of time searching for guidance, but since the SR no longer exists guidance is very limited, as is the number of builders of the SR here on MSW.
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This is kind of an embarrassing question but I give up, I can’t figure it out. Many months ago I attached the spritsail yard and spritsail topsail yard to the bowsprit. Prior to attaching the spritsail topsail yard I rigged the blocks and horses to the yard. I have two blocks near the center of the topsail yard that I attached what I assume are halyards maybe to be used in the later rigging. I am now working on rigging the spritsail yard and spritsail topsail yard with the lifts, braces, etc. I keep looking at these two blocks under the topsail yard with the bundled up thread and wonder what are they intended for? I read through this section in Longridge but cannot figure it out. Would anyone have any idea what I might have been thinking/planning? 🤔😀
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Landlubber Mike's technique for furled sails
Bill97 replied to Landlubber Mike's topic in Masting, rigging and sails
Thanks Keith. So nice of you to say. Glad you were able to find it. I have started to lean in that direction. -
Dave it is just the piece of lined stiff card positioned behind the shrouds. Follow the line with the knots and don’t pull it to tight so I don’t distort the fall of the shrouds. And then a touch of diluted white glue once I am satisfied.
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Ratlines, ratlines, ratlines! Some may think I need to be on medication, but I actually enjoy tying ratlines. There is just something about the repetition and uniformity of the knots and precise rows I find peaceful.
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Landlubber Mike's technique for furled sails
Bill97 replied to Landlubber Mike's topic in Masting, rigging and sails
Thanks Keith. I really don’t want to put up a full ship of unfurled sails because I want to display the details of the build. I will need to either leave the sails off or come up with a doable plan for attachment of what represents furled sails. -
Landlubber Mike's technique for furled sails
Bill97 replied to Landlubber Mike's topic in Masting, rigging and sails
Not sure if any of you still visit this blog since it is several years old, but if so I have a question? I am building the Heller HMS Victory. I plan to furl all my sails and am reading different post on MSW about how to best make my furled sails. One thing I notice consistently is that most of the examples I find are done with the yard not on the mast yet. I have already attached all the yards and completed the initial attachment rigging of each. How difficult do you think this process would be with the yard already in place. I can already see that attachment of the completed sail will involve threading around already in place lines like the foot ropes, etc. -
Ian there is a YouTube video titled: Fighting Top to Keelson: Saving the Mainmast of HMS Victory You May have seen it. It is a video about engineers carefully removing the main mast for restoration. The painting I am referencing is shown right at the beginning.
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This is an interesting painting of the HMS Victory going into battle I saw on line. What I find interesting is the deployment of the sails. Would this have been the case from time to time? There are no sails on the top gallant yards. The topsails appear to be unfurled and the lower sails appear to be in a partially furled position. Can’t really figure out what is going on with the mizzenmast sails. Also appears the sail on the gaff is partially unfurled. This could be a depiction I try to capture with my sails.
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I have absolutely no idea why my auto correct substituted “aromatherapy be near” into my comment. 😀 That is what I get for hitting submit before I proof read what I type! Can’t even remember exactly what I intended to type.
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Lifts and buntlines completed for the foremast! I am thinking I need to start on the ratlines on my foremast. As I rig these different lines I am finding that I am getting them aromatherapy be and near the shrouds, especially the ones that belay to the shrouds or futtock shrouds.
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Gaff rigging completed to include Throat Haliard, Peak Haliard, mizzen topsail braces, mizzen topgallant braces, and Vangs! Heller definitely did not plan on the need for extra cleats. I am having to fabricate them from old parts. Still have ti do the ensign haliard which I don’t have a complete grasp on yet.
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Thanks Ian
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Ian I was looking at them just yesterday., along with Daniel’s brass parts for the supports. Trying to decide when to put them on. I know they are going to be tough to paint a susceptible to being bent once added to the ship. I looked through the Heller box to see what parts I still have left. There are not many. I have the boats and davits which I have already painted. I have the four anchors which I have already painted, I have the lanterns which are not painted, and I still need to make the rails using Daniel’s brass stanchions that go on the mast tops. Again with them I am trying to decide when it will be safe to add them. Ian I have a question I need your help with. I plan to make all my sails but have them appear stowed or furled. If I do that what do I do with the lines (I think the clewlines and buntlines?)? I assume they would still be attached to the sail for when the crew wanted to unfurl the sail. I noticed for your build you left the sails off. In that situation did you just not rig those lines? Left them off?
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Veszett I actually thought the same thing after I took those photos. I did loosen the lifts to make it a bit more straight. Thanks
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Hey Dave, leaving the eyelets I made bare metal was a decision I made early on to leave all the metal parts I added bare instead of blackening. I left all of the brass etched parts I got from Daniel bare metal as well and use brass polish to highlight them. I like the visual interest the bits of metal here and there adds to my model. I think if I had blackened all the metal parts, the extra time and effort spent, as well as the expense, would have been in time forgotten by me and ignored as being just black plastic pieces supplied in Heller’s kit.
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Today, July 24, 2022 I reached the total length of my HMS Victory with the installation of the Driver Boom to include the parral, horses, guy pendants, and topping lifts.
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