AnobiumPunctatum

Nice fix, Jürgen

Yard Lifts
 
The Yard Lifts are used to square the yard. They don't carry a lot of the weight, which is done by the Jeers, so they seem a little flimsy. The main and fore lifts are of 3" rope, and the mizzen are a mere 1.5" (diameter).
 
The pics should tell the story of how they are rigged :
 

 

 

 

 
 Danny

Once again thanks for the comments George, Greg, Skybolt, Michael, Ben and Kees .
 
Mizzen Mast Cleats
 
There are six cleats to be fitted near the foot of the Mizzen Mast. These would have been considerably easier to fit before the mast was stepped .
 
To mass produce the cleats I tack glued about 10 (some spares) pieces of 5mm x 1.5mm x 0.8mm pieces of english box together. When dry I filed them to shape :
 

 

 
Then I dropped the unit into Isopropyl for half an hour and seperated them :
 

 
The hard part was gluing them to the mast with the shrouds getting in the way a bit :
 

 
 Danny

Gaff
 
I made the Jaws for the Gaff from Swiss Pear for a bit of contrast. This pic shows the jaws after gluing to the spar and before rounding off :
 

 
After shaping, and with card bands, eyebolt, blocks and parrel fitted :
 

 

 

 

 
I turned and drilled the Parrel Trucks on the lathe. They are 1.5mm in diameter :
 

 
The Throat Halyard block is supported in a sling which goes over the bolsters in the mizzen top :
 

 
The Parrel is knotted on one side of the jaws, goes around the mast and back through the hole in the other side. A stopper knot finishes it off :
 

 
The Peak Halyard rigging. A double block hooked to the mast cap is used to lead it downward :
 

 

 
The falls of the two halyards belay to the cleats :
 

 
 Danny

Jeers
 
With the arrival of the rigging thread I was waiting on I could now finish off the Jeers on the fore and main masts.
 
These start with a double block on one side. It reaves through the large jeer block under the Top on one side, through the block in the centre of the yard, back up through the other block under the top, and finishes with another double block :
 

 
The tackle of the jeer falls. This is the main mast :
 

 
And the fore mast :
 

 
The falls of the tackles go through the sheaves in the Jeer Bitts and belay around the Bitt Rail :
 

 
 Danny

Really wonderful progress, Lee

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 116 – Bow Decoration
 
Young America's bow decoration is interesting for a number of reasons.  Each side is different.  Just aft of a billet decorated with greenery, the carved figures rest mostly on the waist planking and partially on the base of the billet.  There were no headboards, so it is not clear how these were mounted on the original ship – much less how to mount them on the model -  due to the angle between the two surfaces.  Also, unlike the gilded stern decoration, the figures at the bow were painted in natural colors.  All this, like many other aspects of the ship, is based on Bill Crothers research.
 
After some unsuccessful attempts to fashion a wood base in the angle, I finally decided to sculpt these as six separate pieces, then fit them together on the bow.
The first picture shows the initial figures, sculpted with MagicSculpt® on wax paper taped flat on the pattern sheet.
 

 
The figures are quite small.  The starboard side features a female figure – presumably Liberty – with a shield flanked by draped flags.  On the port side an American Eagle is substituted for the female figure.  Below is the sculpted female figure before any post-hardening refinement.  The points on the flag staffs are thumb tack points.
 

 
The next picture shows some refining of the sculpture using a very small chisel.
 

 
In the next picture the fragile greenery has been lifted off the waxed paper, laid on the billet and touched with a drop or three of thin CA.
 

 
 
Refinement of the greenery was done after being glued on.  In the next picture the three port figures have been fitted and glued on with CA.
 

 
The figures were set into soft sculpting material placed in the angle between the billet and the side, than pushed into a fit.  Some modification of the parts was needed for this.  The sculptures must leave clearance for the square bowsprit to slide in and out.  Excess material was removed.
 
After attachment, the figures were primed with thinned flat black enamel.  The entire hull was given one last coat of acrylic paint and the figures were painted using acrylic gouache.  The next picture shows the starboard decoration.
 

 
The next picture shows the port side.
 

 
The greenery is actually brighter with light highlights than shown in the photos.  The next picture, from dead ahead, shows both sides.  Photos like these and closer ones were very helpful in judging the paint job and suggesting improvements.  The model went back and forth a few times for these.
 

 
The acrylic gouache used for painting the figures dries dead flat, causing an almost two dimensional appearance in the photos – especially in the close ups.  I may give these a coat of semi-gloss medium, perhaps the acrylic sanding sealer I used over the stern lettering.
 
Speaking of that, I received the second order of dry transfers, so I was able to correct the letters that were photo shopped in the last post.  The last picture shows the repaired letters – unadulterated.
 

 
This picture was taken before the final repair on the C.  After repair the dry transfer letters were given a coat of diluted sanding sealer.   I am also quite happy with the final black finish on the hull – shown in this picture.
 
With all this work done, the lower framing was given a last coat of wax, so the model should not have to be inverted again, I hope.  This will allow me to get on with work on the upper deck – cabins, etc.
 
Ed

Really wonderful progress, Lee

Thanks once again Carl, George, Mark, Grant, Janos, Crackers, Christian, Nils, Greg and Mhegazi and also for all the "likes" .
 
Truss Pendant Tackles
 
The Truss Pendants prevent the yards from pulling away from the masts in a forward direction. There is one on each side of the mast.
 
Work begins by stropping a thimble in each one. The line turns around the yard and is seized back to itself :
 

 
Then each line is passed around the mast and through the thimble in it's opposite number. I've only temporarily tied the yard through the jeer blocks to prevent it from dropping - I'm awaiting some more suitable size rigging thread from Chuck :
 

 
The falls for each tackle have a double block at their ends. The tackle passes through this block and through a single block with a hook stropped to it. The strop is long enough to clear the bitts. This hooks into an eyebolt at the foot of the mast. This is the fore tackle :
 

 

 
And the main tackle :
 

 
 Danny

Metal stove, sailor room and 7th deck beam
 
With pre-blackened thin copper sheet, metal stove was remade. In this work, wood mold was used and the metal parts was joined with CA glue. The blackened result looks better than previous one. The sailor room was built between main mast and hatch. Metal hinges for the door and window were simulated with copper strip just for decoration.
 
Cheers, Lee

The port side is done and treenailed. I also made the horse shoe plates for the stem and keel plate at the stern.  These were laser cut from laserboard.  I painted and glued them on.  They have little holes cut through them as you can see.  The beauty of that is after gluing them with yellow glue and placing them on the model....a little bit of glue seeps through the holes and forms a nail head.  But if you dont want to do that,  you can drill through the holes with a #78 bit and insert some 28 gauge wire as bolt heads.  ....Or   just leave it as is.  I will be drilling and inserting the wire as bolt heads later on.  Also all of the fancy molding is in position that I want to add at this point.   Now its time to thin down the bulwarks inboard.  FUN ....FUN!!! 
 
Chuck
 

 

 

 

 

 

Maury, Thanks,  but ....No,  not at all.  Whats the point of that?   In reality they were let into the keel by about half their thickness.   At least according to Lavery and Goodwin.  Its a detail that wont be seen at all and its a difficult task.  These are just glued right on.  They would still stand proud of the surface of the keel and stern post.
 
Goodwin states that the fish plates and horse shoe plates were about 1" thick and let into the wood by 1/2".  They were fastened with copper bolts from one side through to the other.   
 
What did they do later when hull's were plated?  There is no real source as to how it was done.  It makes sense that they would simply let them into the wood by the full thickness. But I have never found any hard and fast source about it.  They werent let in completely on the Victory and she was plated.  But I would like to add two points.  Just so folks know where my head is at with such minutia.  I get asked a lot about some of these details and this is actually one of them.
 
I have no record that Cheerful was actually plated anyway to add another complication.  I imagine at this time most ships were but I am not sure if it was reserved for larger vessels only.  I have never seen a period cutter model plated and havent read that in general they were not, saying that I would not have plated this model anyway.
 
In addition,  that is such a small detail that I am not real worried about it either way.  When I weigh the pro's and con's..even the best model builders have trouble doing this.  I have seen some attempts by the best and it still looks sloppy to me. I applaud them trying but in reality dont understand why they would even try.  I would rather bend a bit on the accuracy here if its actually the case and opt for a cleaner crisp look.  Something that was regularly done by contemporary ship modelers.  Not every detail has to be executed.  Just my thoughts as I look for another excuse not to make any more rope today.  So please excuse the longer response as I procrastinate a bit more.  Sometimes I laugh softly to myself when I see the level of detail some builders insist on trying to put on their models.  Just my opinion.
 
Having said that.  I made the mistake of adding up the number of treenails on this hull.  Its about 6500.   I drilled 6500 holes.  So although I am a bit crazy as most non-modellers tell me,  I think there are even a few others that have gone a bit further off the deep end.   I am not there yet.
 
So Maury..... long story short.  Thats a ride on the crazy train I am not willing to take just yet.   But knock yourself out and give it a try.
 
Chuck

Wonderful figurehead, Dan.

Hey all,
 
Well the internal fairing is pretty much completed so I released the hull from the build board, so I can start external fairing and will also help to complete the internal as I can hold the hull in my lap and be able to access parts that the buildboard made difficult.
I see a lot of sanding in my future!
 
Ben

Everything below the wale,   I did include the garboard......... I actually have a second planking draft that is slightly different and shows 21....this one is just more clear  to post,  not to confuse the situation.  There are also two deck plans.  All original but with slight differences.   The important thing to note however is that they are identical in showing no steelers and the one drop plank.
 
When I started planking,  I had two versions of my own plans ready to go....I found that after doing the math,  the 20 strake scheme was a perfect match to fit 3/16" wide planks mid ship in two belts.   Once the hull was lined off and I divided into two belts, below.   Each ten plank belt divided up into perfect 3/16" wide strakes at the center bulkhead.
 

 

 
The break at the square tuck divided the hull perfectly with ten strakes in each belt.   Whereas the one that showed 21 strakes would need a funky smaller fraction.    Its a lot easier to rip 3/16" wide planks and its a standard wood thickness to buy,  so I went with that one.
 
As a side note....I added the drop plank and the first two strakes in the first belt before I lined off the hull.  It just made it easier to do the lining off.  Thats why you can see them in the picture while I lined out the hull.

Just finished planking the port side.  I added the stern post.   Now to treenail the port side and add the molding...   It feels good to have it all planked.  It will feel even better when the treenailing is done.   I was getting tired of seeing the hull without its stern post.  I think it really makes a difference at this point.   At least from the starboard side.
 

 

 

 

 

WoW !!!
Such a stunning contrast from the black, to the buffed copper, and then the open frames.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 114 – Cabins, Brass Sheathing
 
With the forecastle essentially complete, I returned to the interior of the cabin deck.  The first picture shows the cabins on both sides completed.
 

 
The poop deck framing has been installed back to the last cabins.  The curved wood block that will serve as the base for the circular seat and paneling is set in place.  This will close off the aft end of the cabin deck, separating it from the stern framing and the helm.  Note also that the double doorway into the cabin deck has been cut – once the poop framing was done.
 
I also started work on the main deck cabin.  The starboard fore and aft wall panel is being constructed in the next picture.
 

 
The panel was made first from individual planks.  It has to follow the sheer of the deck.  In the picture the 4X4 plate that will support the roof rafters is glued on and 4X4 studs are being attached.  The next picture shows the framed wall in place for a trial fit.
 

 
The doors and windows have been framed on the inside.  In the next picture they have been cut out.
 

 
The exterior walls will be white.  I will do this painting before fitting the natural wood framing of the doors and windows.
 
This has all been a nice diversion from the brass sheathing of the hull, but I did not want to proceed further with details on the main deck without finishing the lower hull to minimize the need to upending the model.  The next picture shows the stamping tool for embossing nails on the brass plates.
 

 
This was discussed in some previous posts.  The area on the right is used to stamp every plate.  The single row stamp to the left is used for the top dress course.  It needs a row of nails added at the top.
 
The plates are cemented down with contact cement, with the indentations up to simulate nails hammered into the plates.  These should more correctly be called sheets.  They were very thin.  Being nailed over a felt underlay would have left a decidedly quilted appearance.  In the next picture, a plate has been cemented and is being rolled down.
 

 
This improves the bond with the contact cement, presses down the edges, and flattens out the indentations.  Glue is applied to one plate and its place on the hull at a time.  This is necessary to have glue on the overlaps.  Excess cement that can be seen on installed plates in this picture is easily removed later.
 
The last picture shows this work completed.
 

 
The brass is very shiny.  It will dull with time, but I helped it along with some buffing with a Scotchbrite disc in a rotary tool – just enough to dull the glare a bit.
 
Work on the bottom framing can now be completed – adding any missing bolts, blackening the copper wire bolts, final poolishing and applying wax finish.  It may also be time for the stern lettering.
 
 
Ed

Thank you Carl, David and George.
 
Figurehead
 
My figurehead arrived the other day . This was carved by Janos - a brilliant job as usual, and something I don't have much talent at .
 
The only thing I really had to do was fit it - this took the best part of 2 hours, as I had to CAREFULLY cut the slot between it's wings to fit around the stem :
 

 

 

 

 
All done .
 

 

 
 Danny

Thanks muchly Christian, Greg, John, Carl and David .
 
Jeer Tyes
 
The jeer tyes support the lower yards. These would have been a fair bit easier to fit before raising the Topmasts   .
 
Two 20" single blocks, one each side, are double stropped with very long strops :
 

 
A cleat each side of the mast supports the strops. TFFM suggested the following method of making the cleats to allow the lashings for the strops to be fitted more easily, but after I'd done them this way I think it would have been easier to make them in one piece. The small "feet" at the top were a real pain to fit afterward, and a needle treader can be used to pass the line through one-piece cleats with a minimum of fuss :
 

 

 
The lashings take a little while to fit, as there are six turns around the mast for each (there are supposed to be seven, but I made the lashing line a bit too short   ).
 

 

 

 
The strops should be long enough for the blocks to sit beneath the tops by about half their length. The yard will sit at the level of the futtock shrouds when they are rigged :
 

 
 Danny

Thank you too Nils, Frank, George and Pat.
 
Topsail Sheet Blocks
 
These are a Shoulder Block. The Lift blocks are seized to them as well. Here are a few pics of a carved sheet block :
 

 

 
My method of seizing the two blocks together. Note the gap in the strops to allow the lashing to pass through :
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 Danny

Blocks fitted to the Lower Yards
 
An overview of most of the main yard. There are 23 blocks in total. The Fore yard is virtually identical except for it's length and diameter :
 

 
The central portion showing the Jeer Block (top), the Quarter Blocks (lower inner) and the Clueline blocks (lower outer) :
 

 
One of the four Stirrups (not yet adjusted and stiffened). Note the three turns around the yard :
 

 
The Leechline block (inner) and one of the four small Tricing Line blocks. The Yard Cleats have also been fitted :
 

 
The Topsail Sheet/Lift blocks fitted :
 

 
And the Yard Tackle block (inner violin block) and the Brace block :
 

 
Here is a list of all the blocks for the main yard (the fore yard is the same) :
 
Jeer Blocks - 1 x 20" single plus 2 x 20" single Jeer Tye Blocks fitted to the mast. These blocks are double stropped.
Quarter Blocks - 2 x 14" single
Topsail Sheet Blocks - 2 x 12" Shoulder
Yard Tackle Blocks - 2 x 15" Violin
Clueline Blocks - 2 x 9" single
Lift Blocks - 2 x 9" single
Buntline Blocks - 4 x 8" single
Brace Blocks - 2 x 8" single
Leechline Blocks - 2 x 7" single
Tricing Line Blocks - 4 x 6" single
 
 Danny

Progress of deck
 
Thank you Nils and friends as always.
 
Deck beams were added one by one with related fittings. Up to now, 4th deck beam, carrick bitt pins, fore companion way and coaming have been installed. Standards for bitt pins and windrass spindle will be added after upper deck planking.
 
Cheers, Lee

Thanks Mick,
 
in the moment I am more working on my other model. I did not find a solution for the fore cant frames until now.

This is a few photos of the anchor, pump and ship bell.