AnobiumPunctatum

Thanks for all the likes.
 
I thought I'd take practice run at the knee of the head, here is my first attempt, some of the joints are not as tight as I would like so another one will be made.
 
Ben

I've also fitted the fore topgallant shrouds and backstays. These were done in similar fashion to those on the main mast.
 
This concludes all the standing rigging apart from the Guy Pendants Falls. These have been partially rigged and will be finished off when the Spritsail Yard is fitted.
 
Here are a couple of pics of the completed standing rigging :
 

 

 
 Danny

Mast Trucks
 
I'd previously turned the mast trucks, now I've drilled four 0.3mm holes in each to simulate the sheaves for the flag halliards :
 

 
A couple of pics of the trucks fitted :
 

 

 
 Danny

Jib Stay
 
The jib stay starts on the Traveller. It's seized to the ring between the starboard side of the shackle and the hook :
 

 
Then it passes through the upper sheave on the starboard side cheek block on the topmast head :
 

 
It finishes by being tied to the starboard topmast backstay above the deadeye :
 

 
 Danny

Thank you again for the very kind comments Nils, Greg, David, Christian, Allan, Russell, Carl, John and Robin. They are all appreciated .
 
Russell, I get my rigging line from Syren Ship Models.
 
John, when I bought the rigging line Chuck hadn't started making right-handed line (I believe he does now). Besides, small ships such as Vulture were sometimes rigged left-handed so I took a bit of licence here .
 
Fore Topgallant Stay
 
Before the fore topgallant stay can be fitted the treble block for the stay and the topgallant Bowlines needs to be slipped over the end of the jibboom. I've used a treble block rather than a triple thimble collar, first because this setup was used on some ships of the period and second because it's easier .
 
I did however make a two thimble collar for the spritsail yard lifts :
 

 

 
The topgallant stay is fitted to the topgallant mast in similar fashion to those on the main and mizzen masts. It passes through the middle hole in the treble block at the end of the jibboom and finishes with a thimble which is lashed to the starboard side of the fore preventer stay heart block using a collar :
 

 

 
 Danny

Thank you very much.
 
I finally finished treenailing this side.   I am glad that is over.   I tried my best to take pictures of the treenails really close.  I had to mess with the settings of the camera to get the best shot.   But at least you can see the shape and detail.  They are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  But it does the trick.  Remember these are #78 holes.  
 
Interesting though...the last two photos are identical shots except I changed the settings.  On my camera I changed from Fluorescent to outdoor....on a setting and look at the color difference.  Freaky.  I could swear that both are representative as well.  Its funny the tricks your eyes play on you.  Only after seeing them side by side does it get so clearly different.  I couldnt even tell you which is better.  After looking at both for so long it all just blends together and gets confusing.   I think I like the third one down the  best and wont change the settings again until my kids steel the camera and screw up how I set it up.  Then I have to start all over again.  
 
I hope this helps.
 
Chuck
 

 

 

 

I was asked to take a photo from the bow "right-side-up", so folks can see the run of the planks there.   I hope this will do the trick.  Let me know if there is any other questions.
 
Chuck
 

 

The small cutter is a fill-in project when I can't work on the Echo Section or now Chuck's Cheerful.  Every once in a while I'll add another strake of planking.  The dip in the last strake will disappear when the next plank goes on. The next few planks will be critical.
Maury

Hello,
 
now the beams for the quarter deck are ready and at there place.
 

 
 
 
When I'm right, there are no carlings and ledges to be build for the quarter deck.  But a lot of knees
In the NMM I saw, that here stanchions are only under every second beam. Is there a special order under which? 
 
And the great question with the cannons is not solved till now. Did really no one knows anything about this? 
 
At least I'm building as I think it could have been. An other question in this case is, did they store the accessories for the cannons also in the cabins, or in the hold?
 
Many thanks in advance,
Siggi

Thank you all for the comments and likes.
 
Here is a small update.
Alexandru

The rabbbet is easy...just make sure to align it in the center of the spine.  I had to wait for more timber for the keel and stem parts.  I bought three 5/16 (rough finish) pieces of box wood from Lumberyard.  It has a lot of grain, a few knots and was bowed and warped.  Nothing like the quality I was used to from Hobby Mill.  I stacked and weighted the pieces and after ten days, they flattened out a lot. 
The stem pieces and keel were thicknessed to 7/32" (.219"), cut on the scroll saw and finished with the oscillating sander, disk sander and sanding sticks.  A lot of trial and error when you cut them like this.  Since the stem and keel are .22" vs the .24" of the spine, I used a piece of card stock (manilla folder material) under the pieces while gluing to the spine.  Clamped while setting.  I'll take off the patterns, finish with wipe-on poly and be ready to set the bulkheads.
Maury

Work was interrupted by a visit to the in-laws last weekend, but I am moving forward. I have a deadline; I would very much like to complete this model by the end of February, as we will be travelling for most of the month of March and I would hate to leave this log, and project, hanging unfinished.
 
Unfortunately, following the work CaptainSteve and Matt has influenced me to do more than I initially intended, so we will see. I have gone from not even intending to include masts, to now wanting sails and wrapped oars. This is not good for my agenda.
 
Here is where the launch stands today.
 

 
Oars are carved with first staining. I think I will do one more coat, then wrap them. These took less time than I expected, perhaps two hours for all of them. Masts are carved and stained, with brackets attached. They are not glued in, though.
 
The metal work I was so agitated over is done, to my acceptance if not my satisfaction.

I found that the small drill bits I purchased for this project from ModelExpo do not drill through brass, even chucked into my cordless drill. This threw me for a loop as I could not pin/nail anything in place. So for the mast partners, I shaped the brass strip, then nipped off the heads of four nails (viva la France!) and glued them in place to simulate the effect. I then painted the partners with black model paint and weathered them with brown pastels. I glued them in place, and they look well enough to me.
 
As for the pintles/gudgeons, I went to a hardware store and bought compatible lengths of brass tubing and rod, then used these to make the basic structure by wrapping brass sheet carefully around the tubing using pliers. It is not perfect, but it represents the form well enough for me. They ended up slightly oversized from the plans, but I can live with that. I painted them as I did the mast partners.
 
Again because of the drill problem, I glued these onto the model. This meant I needed a good flat surface to clamp onto, so I did not add the nail heads as I did the mast partners. Now that they are solidly attached, I will scrape some paint off to provide a good gluing surface for nail heads, then carefully repaint the final result and weather with pastels. Again, good enough for me if not for a real craftsman. I do not like metal and am glad to be past this part.
 
Okay, not quite. The tiller is shaped and stained, and I will soon be attaching it with brass strip handled as for the mast partners.
 
Next up: 
- Staining and wrapping oars
- Shaping & staining spars
- Cutting & finishing sails. I am leaning toward displaying spars lowered, with furled sails, as I do not find the shape of the raised sails very attractive. This lets me show detail and full rigging without full sails.
 
I have no idea if I can complete all this in the next two weeks, but deadlines can be marvelous things for focusing one's attention.

The upper deck is completely framed.

I have been working on both models and wanted to show the finished square tuck and Cheerful.  I am just about done with the planking but will be doing a tech session next Tuesday night at my club meeting.  So until then I wont be getting more done.  I may however move ahead and start treenailing.   I have only five strakes left as you can see and its killing me that I cant just finish it up.  But a week will go by really quick.
 
Chuck
 

 

 
 
 
 

Thank you, Dan. That helps me a lot

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 110 – Cabin Deck
 
Anything to avoid metal sheathing.  Actually, not much can proceed on the main deck until the framing of the poop and forecastle has at least begun, so this week I have been working on the cabin deck facilities.  The poop beams cannot be installed until all of that work is finished.  In the first picture the poop deck beams have been made, cut to length and pinned in place.
 

 
The cabin deck partitions have to be cut out around these beams so having them pinned in place is a prerequisite for the partition work. 
 
The next picture shows the first steps on the partitions.
 

 
The breast beam has been glued in with pillars on either side of what will be the "grand entrance" to the cabin deck level. The central section of this beam will later be cut out so people don't have to crawl into the cabin deck.  The beginning of the paneled partition shown is the forward bulkhead of the captain's day cabin with his bookcase cabinet pre-installed – but paneled doors not yet carved.
 
We do not know what all these facilities looked like on Young America, so this is all creative design on my part – but typical of the period and the class.  Some of these ships were very elegant in décor, because the few passengers carried were probably quite wealthy.  I am using black walnut to simulate old mahogany for all the paneling and furnishings.  Otherwise it is all going to be fairly Spartan.
 
The first semi-indulgence in elegance is the double, curved entrance staircase from the main deck.  The starting block is shown in the next picture.
 

 
The panels to the right are representative of the final paneling finish.  The next picture shows the perimeter walls of the cabin areas at the sides. 
 

 
The central "salon area" was open with tables and places to sit.  Modeling of this will be limited to preserve the view into the lower regions.
 
In the next picture the bannister of the staircase is being sanded to size after the treads, the balusters and the lower part of the rail were fitted. 
 

 
There will be a cap rail to cover the mortise holes for the balusters. 
 
The next picture shows the paneling of the fore and aft partitions in progress.
 

 
The panels are built up using thin strips on an underlying thin sheet of walnut. The port panels are incomplete in this picture. 
 
 In the next picture the capping rail on the staircase has been fitted but not yet trimmed, the paneling of the starboard wall completed and door hardware installed.
 

 
The captain's cabin was traditionally on the starboard side, close to the exit to the main deck.  In this arrangement his day cabin doorway is right outside the stairs.  The last picture shows the inside of the captain's cabins from above.
 

 
The day cabin in the center of the photo has a table, built-in bench and the book cabinet.  It is quite small.  A doorway to the left leads to his sleeping quarters.  Only his dresser is in place as yet.  In addition to the captain's palatial space, there are six other cabins for passengers and the mate.  All are quite small.  There will also be two small cubicles aft – a toilet and a storage space.
 
The crew space on these ships was a large cabin on the main deck – to be constructed much later.
 
Metal sheathing has begun, but has been held up waiting for some .002" brass.
 
Ed

Thanks for the comments Christian, Carl, Ed, Maury, Alex, Mike and Greg. Much appreciated as always.
 
 
Christian - 1050 long (from tip of Bowsprit to tip of Driver Boom) x 740 high x 355 wide.
 
Jib Net
 
This is one of the fiddliest parts to make on the whole ship. It took me 2 1/2 days.
 
It starts by making the two spreaders from English Box. Then the two Horses were threaded through the holes in each end of the spreaders and an eye seized into the inboard end of each horse :
 

 

 
To tie the netting together I constructed a simple Jig :
 

 
Five double lengths of the netting were hitched around one spreader :
 

 
Then the tedious work of tying together every 2nd pair of the longitudinal netting began. The first couple of rows didn't turn out too well under magnification, but look OK to the eye :
 

 
Two days later (I had to wait for the glue to dry on the seizings before continuing on the next row) the second spreader was hitched to the free end :
 

 

 
The net fitted to the bowsprit. The forward ends of the horses attach to the eyebolts in the sides of the cap :
 

 

 
The aft ends of the horses are attached via lanyards to an eyebolt in each knighthead :
 

 
 Danny

Thank you again John, Nenad, George, Druxey and Eamonn.
 
 
Eamonn, I hope you're kidding .
 
Jibboom Horses
 
The jibboom horses are the equivalent to the Footropes on the other yards. They are knotted every 2 scale feet, which takes a bit of careful doing to get them spaced evenly. There is a small eye in the forward end which loops back on itself and then around the forward end of the boom :
 

 

 
The aft ends are passed around the boom aft of the cap and have two seizings to fix them :
 

 
To get the horses to hang naturally I dampened them and attached a couple of clamps about 1/3 of the way in from each end until they dried:
 

 
 Danny

It's interesting to see how many of you speaks German.

Hello,
 
I need some help from the experts. When looking at Lavery's plan for the wardroom in his Bellona book, it's looking quiet easy. In reality it is't so.
 
When I arrange the cannons as usual, it would look so:
 

 
The large paper in the middle is the pantry, the small stripe the bulwark and the scribing on it , the doors.
 

 
Lavery had the muzzles of the cannons within the gun ports. That would look so:
 

 
I arrange the pictures so that you could better see the difference. The small wood stripes are the outline of the cabins.
 

 
When I lower the cannon muzzles down, I could earn 5 mm/ 25 cm more. But also then is the passage between the pantry and the cabin only 75 cm in reality. The smallest part of the open space would be nearly 2,60 m wide. There is just enough space for a table and benches on both sides. 
 
What I did't like on these two versions is, that the cannon muzzles rest against the port lids.
 

 
Or did they store the cannons at the walls? But then is there no more space in the cabins. It is't very high there under the beams. 
 

 
The cabin in front of the bulwark at Lavery's plan I would skip. I think Lavery used the decks plan and did't think about the fact, that the walls there rapidly go inside. Also is the decks plan at the bulwark 10 mm broader then my ship and also the body plan and so Lavery's plan. 
 
Many thanks in advance,
Siggi
 
 
 
 

Really wonderful as allways. Each time I read in your wonderful log I am impressed.
 
Please can you give me the dimensions of your fully rigged model (Length over all and Height).

Bee-ootiful, Ed!
 
Your comments on 19th century paint are interesting. I agree that oil based paints dry to a glossy finish, but the addition of turpentine as drying agent will tend to flatten the finish somewhat. Without drying agents in the paint, the film would take weeks if not months to polymerize, i.e. 'dry'. I imagine that the shipyard would have used some turpentine in their paint mix.

This is an awesome project - in every sense of the word!
 
I actually attended Webb Institute for my NavArch degree - so this post is very interesting to me, given that it is a unique insight into the design and construction of one of Webb's ships.
 
I would highly recommend contacting the school regarding your project (if you haven't done so already.) Even if it is a little late for trying to compile any research on the ship that they may be in a unique position to offer, they would at a minimum be interested (and likely inspired!) by your dedication to re-constructing the ship in miniature ('building a model' does not seem to carry enough weight!) and would love to see it! If you like, I can fish out the contact for the person that kind of heads up the volunteer group that focuses on the history of Webb and his projects. 
 
There was a model of Young America at the school (of course) but it didn't stand out as anything other than a model of the ship. Had something of your caliber been there, it would have engaged me for hours inspecting the details of the construction! I'm not at all suggesting yours should be there; just contrasting the caliber and attention to detail of the only other model of YA I am personally familiar with.
 
This is a great project I am really looking forward to following your progress, even if I am showing up to the project a little late.
 
Regards - Ben

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 109 – Pin rails/Hawse holes/paint
 
Since the last post, the four long pin rails were made and installed.  The first picture shows one being pinned in position.
 

 
These fit up under the main rail and are glued and bolted to the toptimbers.  Paint was filed off these first.  The rails are cherry.  Most of the main deck natural wood structures will be of this species - slightly darker than pear.  The pin hole drilling was aided by the right angle drill in the picture.  The wood blocks help keep the rail up until the pins are in.  In the next picture the rail is ready for glue.
 

 
Before the hull could be painted, scuppers and hawse holes needed to be fitted.  In the next picture the hole for the smaller of the two hawse openings is being drilled out.
 

 
These openings are parallel to the keel on the lines from the chain tube openings on the main deck.  They slant down to emerge at the correct position on the outside.  Small pilot holes were drilled then enlarged to fit metal tubes.  The tubes are shown in the next picture.
  

 
After fitting, they were epoxied in, sanded off flush and rounded off.  They will eventually get painted red.
 
All of this was in preparation for painting the hull below the planksheer.  This consumed most of the time since the last post – reminding me why I prefer not to paint models.  My father used to say painting covers a multitude of sins – until it dries.  He was right as usual.  This is especially true with gloss finishes.  The next picture shows the finished starboard side.
 

 
The paint is fluid artist’s acrylic, thinned and applied in several coats over acrylic sanding sealer, then rubbed out when dry between coats.   Why gloss?  I may be wrong, but I do not think flatting agents for paints were invented until the 20th century.  I am sure in 1853 the paints were linseed oil and lampblack – or white lead for the white. Definitely gloss but probably not this smooth.   In any event, the hulls of these clippers were usually finished as smooth as practical given their size.
 
The last picture shows the view from the stern.
 

 
The planked area below the black on this side will be metal sheathed – once I get comfortable with the paint finish.  The planking on the port side extends only a few strakes below the channels – no sheathing required.
 
 
Ed

Hello,
 
while I brewed yesterday a good stoud for the workers, they painted the back of the upper gun deck.
 

 
I build the door for the side galleries after the plan, it's in reality 1.35 m high! Behind that door it goes a real step down. It's only something for artist and nothing for me 
 

 
And because the gun deck is now ready, I made the official pictures. 
 

 

 
When I saw the first picture, there comes the question, what did you do against dust. 
 
Regards,
Siggi