BANYAN

Looking good Mark, be ready for final assembly before you know it. My best wishes to Janet for her surgery and a speedy recovery. regards Pat

Hi folks, well it is time for another well overdue update. Thanks all for looking in and the likes; much appreciate the interest and comments. Nice to see you back Mike. I have now trialled a couple of methods for fitting the yards in such a confined space. My solution is that after rigging the yard completely, I form the parrels off the model and hold them temporarily with the electronics micro-clips you can see in the photos below, lower the jeer blocks, fit the slings, fit the parrel then raise the yard into position.. i will post more detail when I get to this stage. I form most of the blocks etc, as shown below, off the yard then rig them into place when all are complete. I am at the stage of rigging the stirrups - I think the photos show the process with sufficient detail to not provide further comment here. When the stirrups are dry I will slide the blocks, tackle pendant, brace pendants etc into place (over the stirrups. When all are in place I will trim the draw rope and seizing, then reeve the foot rope. More photos of that stage to follow. The other photos show some of the detail of the process and final fit. cheers Pat

They're nice looking PE fitting Greg. This will make the build really pop. cheers Pat

Nice neat fit Dashi - looking very good. cheers Pat

Perseverance and experimentation will find you a solution you can work with Ulises; I am sure you will overcome this mishap and it is great to see you haven't given up on it. cheers Pat

Keith depends on the scale and the modellers preference, or how real you want to keep it. For smaller scales I simply use a clove hitch and trim the ends with nail clippers where the curve allows you to get close, then a dab of 'flat' varnish to hold the hitch. For larger scales (1:48 and up) I might be tempted to form an eye and seize to the shroud at either end - but that is a lot of work and would depend on the level of actual practice you wish to achieve. other modellers may have a different approach, especially if building to museum quality. cheers Pat

I won't complain about 'fiddly bits' ever again - impressive! cheers Pat

Those photos can be both a boon and a bust Sometimes it is useful to see some issues that are not readily visible so that you can fix them, but they also can make your work look more slip-shod than it actually is Don't worry i think your doing a spot-on job (you must have those shipwrights and riggers well trained) cheers Pat

Casey, I use Testor's Dull Cote (flat) on my lines all the time - it has been on some of my rigging for over 12 years now with no problems evident at all. I mainly use it on knots and coating the stays etc (standing rigging) as it partially 'fills' the lay of the rope and imparts a sort of tarred finish which is the objective on standing rigging. However, me purists or those building museum quality models might not recommend this though. cheers Pat

Thanks for the link Tom, I hadn't seen that before - quite interesting. cheers Pat

Hi folks, to get back the the key discussion here, I think it prudent (for the time being) to ignore the technical definition of what exactly is a "transom" and concentrate on whether a tiller support was fitted (and when). Once this has been determined, its naming convention can be sorted later? Only a suggestion! Druxey, I agree WRT hard fact, but I think this discussion was not trying to establish hard fact for the existence of the Tiller Support but whether such a device was a possible fit (at some stage) as implied by "interpretation of several cited log/ entries, and the curved device shown on one of the draughts - that latter part is fact as it is drawn there - but what is it? That part can only remain conjecture unless hard evidence is found. I think (correct me if I am wrong) that Dashi is trying to establish what this was, but we may never be able to truly determine that, but could arrive at some very real possibilities? Similar to the yet to be fully resolved issue of whether Endeavour was fitted with bumpkins/boomkins? I don't think there is any harm in postulating as long it is recognised that is simply a postulation? The log text cited by Dashi, indicates that Cook had been experiencing troubles with the tiller for some time and that he set his armourers and carpenters to work to try and resolve the issue; and with some success in NZ. This included fixing the iron work, including the 'braces' (still to be defined). From my naval experience, fitting a 'jury' rig to overcome a design deficiency, or temporarily fix damaged equipment, is not unheard of (and probably acceptable back in those days also), and if the fix proved satisfactory to the task, could be formally submitted as a design change and eventually included in the ship's official drawings and if necessary, also updated in the related technical documentation. This approach forms the basis of my interpretation of the cited text. What I am suggesting, and is only one possible interpretation of the cited text, is that Cook may very well have contrived a jury rigged support for the tiller (in addition to fixing transom timbers, metal work etc) to overcome the issues he was experiencing, and that on his return to England, submitted the results of this "fix' in his reports to the Admiralty. This may then have been formally included in the 1771 refit (and may therefore be the basis of the drawn curved shape in the draught - it may also have been a steering compensation device, or even a combo of both - we will probably never really know?). Cook was the type to try new or different things, and such a support would certainly have assisted in bearing the load of the tiller arm. As an example of Cook's willingness to try different solutions, there is a Parkinson drawing (I think it is Parkinson) which suggests that at some stage he also rigged a spare spar across the transom to provide additional flexibility to the working of the mizzen/driver (let's not deviate on that discussion here though ). In summary, I am suggesting that Cook must have tried several options to resolve the many tiller issues he cites in his log/journal. From what I have been able to determine, I do not think a tiller support was fitted in the 1768 refit, but it is possible that some form of tiller support may very well have been contrived as a jury rigged fitting during the voyage, and later formally accepted and fitted during the 1771 refit. One interpretation of the cited text infers a 'fix', but at best, the statement is a little ambiguous in that it does not directly state it was a tiller support, but it also does not eliminate it. Therefore I submit that we should not ignore it? Ranging shots complete; fire for effect cheers Pat

Nicely documented technique Thanasis; thanks for taking the time to share. cheers Pat

Niiiice! This will be an interesting and challenging build Greg. With or without torpedo nets? The real question though - will you ever come back to wood? cheers Pat

Mark those scroll sanders are great. I saw a tip on here some time ago which I am not sure if you have seen. the tip suggested glueing wood backers to the sanding strip to prevent round-over of the sanded piece. cheers Pat

Nice work Alan, those frame steps look very neat. cheers Pat

Nice work Dave, coming on a treat. The woldings look very neat. cheers Pat

I would like to echo the choice/suggestions made by a few members for models of ships dating to the "transition" period (steam/sail). Any model would need to meet the interests of many rather than the few to be commercially viable, so I will stick to a selection where there are ample NMM plans, some contemporary reference books, and included multiple ships in the vessel Class to allow some personalisation/customisation by the builder. My selection meets these criteria while still offering interest to builders from several nations as these vessels were resold or built for more than the RN. - Gun Despatch vessels of the Arrow, Vigilance or perhaps the Albatross Class (Crimean War plus period). - Good wood quality, resin and PE rather than mixed metal, and brass or resin cannon (with appropriate detail) etc. - Perhaps two versions of each kit (one for beginners, POB, with lower quality materials etc and another for more experienced builders, POF, with better quality wood, options for higher quality materials and fittings etc. - Scale 1:60 or 1:64? (1:48 would be nice but rather large to display for many) - Good plans and instructions essential - especially for rigging as practices throughout this period varied and evolved. - Laser cut or CNC milled parts (not die stamped etc); consider planking templates (spilling method). If this path were taken, an author may also be inspired to produce some sorely needed reference material using builds of these kits for pictures etc, and collate the contemporary materials such as Peake, Paasche etc. This period sadly lacks modern reference books in the vein of the "Construction and Fitting of ..." etc books. Sorry if I have strayed into another area here. cheers Pat

Oh boy that is small; you've achieved great detail for something so tiny Piet. I look forward to this diorama. cheers Pat

Hi Russ, nice little model. cheers Pat

Very neat work as usual Danny. I particularly like the effect of having the cut-through for detail of the hatch and grating as it shows their construction very nicely; something not shown very often or if at all. cheers Pat

I really look forward to your updates and missed last week's contribution but, this has more than made up for it. Ditto Greg's remarks. cheers Pat

I hear you Alan (re time) - I am retired and still find it hard to devote a lot of time - but still I do get in more hours than I did when working Great recovery on the stern wood. cheers

Hi Dashi. Another interpretation of that wording "for the want of which the Tiller..." could also imply that a transom had not been formally fitted to Endeavour in the 1768 refit and that he was now fitting one (running improvement so to speak) as a result of the constant tiller issues; and this improvement was then formally amended into the plans of 1771? cheers Pat

Sjors, Shaking off the holiday "pace" can be difficult cheers Pat

Beautiful work Dave - geez I am peeved I missed your log until now. That is an inspirational carving and sculpting effort which really enhances the build. cheers Pat