GGibson

Appreciate the encouraging words, Mustafa! Thank you, sir!

So, got to the point where I had to make a decision on my Bluenose sails. Do I put sails on it, do I try to make furled sails, or do I put as much rigging on as I can without sails? For the past year or so, in anticipation of this decision, I have gone back and forth with this decision. I have read countless articles on furled sails, I have watched NRG workshops on how to make sails and furled sails, read and re-read multiple MSW forum topics on sails, and have been marveled at much of the work others have done in creating their sails, whether it was for a Bluenose or for a different ship. On my three previous ship builds, I prepared sails. Albeit much simpler than what the Bluenose requires, I thought I did “ok” with the sail process. In prepping for the Bluenose sails, there was also much thought about the type of material to use. After reading about many variations, I was pretty much sold on using silkspan. It seems to be thin enough to best resemble actual sails at the scales we are mostly building at, whether we are going with full sails, furled sails, square sails or sails on schooners. So, I got some silkspan! Almost everyone who has provided feedback on the “sails or no sails” argument for the Bluenose have sided on the “sails” side. The Bluenose, with its full sails on display, just looks… majestic! So, I had to give it a try. Practiced a bit first on making the balloon jib sail, as it is about the smallest of them all. To sew hems/edges or not to sew. With no access to a sewing machine, that decision was the easiest one I had to make. In short, it didn’t work well and I struggled. I promise, on the ships that I have waiting up on the shelf… the Santa Maria, the Constitution, the America…, I will make a much better attempt at sails. But, for this Bluenose, I am going to finish it without sails. I have seen at least one picture of a completed Bluenose without sails, and the contrast of the black standing rigging and the lighter colored running rigging is pretty cool in its own right. So, please don’t judge me too harshly, but I am completing this Bluenose without sails. With that said, here’s how I did it… RUNNING LIGHTS Before I get to the running rigging, a quick note about the running lights that were added. Using some of the 3/64” stock sheets I had, I cut two small shelves for each of the running lights to be placed on. (Hadn’t used the Lego blocks since doing the deck buildings!) Painted the two Brittania castings black with their center lenses red and green. Red one goes on the port side, green running light on the starboard side. Drill a couple small holes on either side of each shelf in order to tie to the forward shrouds, each about 4-5 ratline lashings up from the sheer pole. Pretty straight-forward. The Model Shipways Bluenose Instruction Manual, beginning on Page 31, has a decent explanation of how each of the sails should be installed, as well as how various lines and blocks are attached, where they set in the rigging, etc. I will follow those guidelines. Somewhere I read a recommendation to work front to back, starting at the bow. Back in late April/early May, I did as much of the prep rigging as I could, getting the various masts and spars ready to be placed on the ship. I’m learning now, though, that there were a few lines that didn’t get made before now. At the bow, two of those lines are the balloon jib halliard and the jib halliard. BALLOON JIB The balloon jib halliard and downhaul line were not terribly complicated. At the top of the foremast, hook a 1/8” single block with an S-hook on one side to the mast, with the other side of the block laced with 0.017” tan halliard line. When rigging without sails, this tan line needs to be long enough so that the halliard block is brought down close to the bowsprit, back up to the upper block and then belayed at pin #14 (2nd pin from the stern). The downhaul line is seized to a 1/8” single block that is reeved with the halliard line. That 0.009” downhaul line runs through a 1/8” single block that is attached to the very end of the bowsprit and is then belayed to pin #1 at the stern. The sheets for both the balloon jib sail and the jib sail can either be removed with the sails or they can be left lying on the deck. For now, at least, until I get everything else rigged and all of the belayed and coiled ropes that I do want displayed placed on the ship, I am leaving the sheets off. JIB The jib halliard and downhaul rigging were a bit more complicated than the balloon jib sail. The 1/8” single block at the end of the bowsprit was shown in one of the pictures above (the 2nd block from the end). Two (2) 3/16” single blocks with S hooks are prepared that will be connected to the two long links on either side of the jib stay bail at the top of the lower fore mast. I didn’t connect the S hooks to the links right away, though, as it would be easier to reeve the blocks with the fall line without them connected. Another 3/16” block is also prepared, this one with the 0.009” seized on one side. Since the halliard block on this jib will also be pulled down with the downhaul attached, similar to what we did with the balloon jib, we want to have sufficient 0.009” line attached so that it will go through the downhaul block at the end of the bowsprit and then belayed to pin #2 at the stern. Another 1/8” single block is prepared with a 0.017” tan line attached on one side and a 0.013” line on the other. The 0.013” line needs to be long enough for it to run from the block, which will sit about half the distance between the trestle tree and the rail, down to the rail, through a 1/8” block that is connected to an eyebolt just forward of the 1st shroud, back up through the single becket block and the tackle falls back down and ties to itself towards the rail with a clove hitch. The 0.017 line needs to be pretty lengthy, as it goes up through the fairlead, through the starboard-side block at the trestle tree, down through the halliard block which, without its sail, is pulled down close to the downhaul block on the bowsprit, back up through the port-side trestle tree block, through the port-side fairlead, and belayed to pin #16 on the starboard side. Whew! One issue I am seeing with these halliard blocks being pulled down is that the long halliard lines are twisting a bit, and not running as “parallel” as I’d like them to be. I pulled the line back out and tried to get as much of the twist out of the rope as I could, but a bit concerned in keeping them from getting twisted again as I reeve them back through the various blocks. Something for me to watch as I move towards the stern. JUMBO JIB The rigging associated with the jumbo jib sail will be the first time I am placing one of the five (5) spars on the ship, inn this case the jumbo jib boom. The instructions say that, without sails, one should set the boom in the crutch and, similar to what we did with the jib halliard, bring the jumbo jib halliard block down low. The fore end of the boom was connected to the traveller block using the inhaul tackle U-shaped bras piece and some more of the same chain I used to replicate the anchor chain. The jumbo jib sheet line was run from the aft end of the book down to the horse on the deck and then belayed to pin #6. The jumbo jib topping lift starts at the fore masthead using black 0.013” line to a block, then 0.009” through 1/8” double blocks and belayed to pin #5. There is also a jumbo jib stay (not sure if mentioned prior) using 0.017” black line that runs from the foremast to the fore end of the jumbo jib boom just in front of the traveller block. The downhaul is also connected to that jumbo jib stay bail. FORE BOOM & FORE GAFF Since, without sails, the fore boom and fore gaff are positioned so close together, I am discussing both at same time, and the pictures I took reflect that positioning, so… here goes. The instructions for no sails state to rest the boom in its crutch and to lower the gaff on top of the boom with the hoops stacked. The gaff and boom should be lashed together with short lines. First off, then, was to secure the end of the boom to the foremast’s gooseneck piece. Ran into a bit of an issue here, though. Probably made the gooseneck a bit too big, which causes the fore boom to sit away from the foremast just enough that it is too long to comfortably rest on the crutch. And I did not think I could remove and remake the gooseneck at the base of the foremast without destroying that base, so… I decided to raise the foreboom slightly off the crutch, which in turn also allows for a better display of the fore boom sheet and its connection to the fife rail. Also connected the topping lift rigging, running from just below the main mast trestle tree to the end of the fore boom. After the adjustment on the above-mentioned hiccup, I thought the fore boom looked pretty good. Next up was to connect the fore gaff just above the fore boom with the fore mast hoops in between. Although I did a lot of pre-rigging on the fore gaff previously, I needed to finish a few things and prepare for hooking the gaff to the fore mast, so I stuck it in my little “extra hands” clips to make sure I had all the lines ready before getting the gaff on the ship, as well as to get the thread and parrel beads ready at the jaw to wrap around the fore mast. There are two sets of rigging for the fore gaff, the throat halliard and the peak halliard. The throat halliard runs between a triple block on the mast and a double block on the gaff. One end of the line from the triple block goes straight down to a block on the deck and then belayed to Pin #7. The other end of the line from the triple block runs to another set of double blocks on the starboard side, which are attached to the rail with an eyelet and belayed to Pin #18. The fore peak halliard was a bit more complicated, as the rigging line was run from the belay at the base of the mast at Pin #8, through the block on the deck, through the starboard side spreader on the trestle tree, and then weaved (if that’s an appropriate term here) alternately through the three mast blocks and the two blocks attached to the fore gaff, then back down through the port side spreader to a similar set of blocks and line as the throat halliard finish, except on the port side, with the belay at Pin #17. Here are a series of pictures I took after-the-fact showing those connections. STAYSAIL RIGGING Another issue I had some difficulty understanding clearly was the rigging for the staysail, whether it was going to be with sails or without. I wasn’t quite sure how the peak halliard was to be rigged, and I had seen previous build logs doing it differently than others. So, I went to the best source I could find – the Bluenose II, Saga of the Great Fishing Schooners book by L.B. Jenson which was lent to me by a fellow local modeler, and I have referred to frequently in this Bluenose build. Mr. Jenson’s description of how the staysail halliard should look is below. The Model Shipways instruction for the staysail rigging plans without sails stated to bring the peak halliard block to the foremast and hook it to the throat halliard and to remove the sheet and tack. Although I posted this picture above with the fore gaff rigging, you can see in the picture below the staysail peak halliard coming down from the top left and hooking to the staysail throat halliard. You can also see on the lower left side of the picture the foresail sheet lines (port and starboard) hooking to the throat halliard block, as well, since the sails are down. Also, a couple quick pictures of the belay ropes on the port and starboard sides of the fore mast. Don’t think I have mentioned before, but my plan is, once I get all completed with the rigging and belaying, to come back on all the belay pins and place some rope hanks and coils so that the belayed ropes look complete. MAIN BOOM & MAIN GAFF The placement of the main boom and gaff and associated rigging was a lot like what we did for the fore boom and gaff. Positioned the main boom jaws around the main mast and tied the parrel beads in order to secure the boom against the mast. Had a nice piece of foam that worked well in holding the main boom in place while tying the jaws to the main mast. Worked on positioning the main sheet and boom crutch while the boom rested on the crutch, but quickly discovered that once everything was rigged, the boom sheet was really squished, with the blocks on the boom and the boom sheet buffer super close to one another and it just didn’t look good. So, like I did with the fore boom, I raised the main boom a bit higher off the crutch, and the main boom sheet and boom crutch tackles looked much better. We’ll go with that! A whole bunch of the pre-rigging work for the main boom topping lift was done earlier. So just needed to connect the rigging at the aft end of the main boom to the main mast cap. And, actually, I should say that I placed the main boom topping lift before completing the boom sheet and boom crutch tackles so that all three lines could be tighten snuggly. I waited on placing the quarter lifts on the main boom until I had placed the main gaff at its lowered position, as the lines would get in the way of the main gaff placement and I would be sure to snag something and…. break. The main gaff rigging was very similar to what I did for the fore gaff. First things first, I secured the jaws to the main mast above the mast hoops, inserting a few parrel beads to fill the space in front of the mast. Each of the three parrel bead connections look pretty sharp on this ship. I tied a temporary line to the end of the main gaff, running it up to the top mast in order for it to stay in roughly the position it would sit parallel to the main boom. The main throat halliard was strung similar to the fore throat halliard. There did, though, seem to be an issue with what was shown on the belay plan in the instructions since the belays for both the throat halliard and the peak halliard were on the same side of the ship as the tackle falls. So, I changed the main throat halliard belay to Pin #23 and the main peak halliard belay to Pin #22. The peak halliard setup, you guessed it, was similar to what was done with the fore mast setup, too. Don’t remember if I mentioned this earlier, but without sails and the gaffs pulled down, I needed to make sure I had plenty of line to get from point A to point B. For the rigging done without the topsail, I hooked both the main topsail halliard and the main topsail sheet that would have been hooked to the sail to the main masthead above the peak halliard blocks. Once I had the main boom and main gaff placed and secured with the needed rigging, I then completed the aforementioned quarter lifts, port and starboard. I also placed the flying backstays. I had previously attached the eyebolts and short black line into the deck close to the transom, as it would have been difficult to place them now. Two black 0.027” lines were run from the top mast to each side of the ship, ending with double blocks. Tan running rigging is then hooked to the black line attached to the deck and falls to belaying pins #44 & #45. Finally, I tied the lazy jack line (both port and starboard), running from about halfway up the respective quarter lift lines, seized at that point, and running down to the lazy jack loops that were placed on the main boom when I initially prepped the main boom with its bands, eyelets and cleats. Pictures of the main boom and main gaff were taken after all of this was pretty much completed. I am sure I have forgotten to run some rigging somewhere and have undoubtedly not explained much of the rigging that I have done very well. But, as someone else mentioned in their completed Bluenose build log, once you get to this rigging part and putting up sails (or in my case, not putting up sails), it many times gets difficult to rig AND to document, and suddenly… you’re done! With that said, I do have to complete the rope hanks at each of the belay pins and some rope coils to be placed on the deck, and I also must get the flags made and get their halliards up on the ship, so not done done, but we are getting close. I will, of course, also go around the ship and see if I really have missed something. But, for now, here are a few shots of my no-sails Bluenose. As always, I appreciate the all the peek-in’s, likes, comments and criticisms.

Nice work, Dan!

Looks really good, Ed! Sorry for the old topic on something you did a while back, but I am lovin' the look of all those rope coils! What size of rope are you using for these on the Rattlesnake? 👍🏆 EDIT: Oops! Found your rope-coil-making post on #177! Nice little jig, makes sense!

I think I'm going to need bigger pots!!! 🤣🤣🤣 And my wife thought my homebrew kettles back in the day were stinky! As usual, Jon brings the historical receipts! 👍🏆

Oh, dang. That would be a bit disappointing to get there and see that the masts and rigging had been removed for work! Were you able to tour on the ship and the various decks, anyways? Definitely need to put a Boston trip on my must-do list before I start my own Constitution build!

I actually sent her an email a few weeks ago asking the same question. (By the way, she has always been very quick to respond to questions, whether by email or on her YouTube.) It is her story to tell in detail, if she desires, but let's just say that she decided to leave MSW and concentrate on her YouTube site. A subscription to her YouTube channel is well worth it! 👍🏆

Be careful what you wish for, @dputzler! LOL Jon has ALL the resources! 👍 Speaking of which, though, Jon, been meaning to ask you... Have you had many of those plans from the USS Constitution Museum reprinted in larger formats at like Kinkos or other places? Any issues with doing that? I assume that makes them more "readable" and useful.

Not surprised that Mustafa noticed it! Ha! I continue to be amazed at both of your skills and your attention to details, gentlemen! Which is why I am following you both with great awe. Carry on, guys! 🏆

Nice work on your Sailing Pram, and some good adjustments on the fly. And... this is your build log, and your new actual sailing vessel has a lot to do with your understanding of what you have in your model shipyard. Post your picture here! 👍🏆 Carry on!

Nice rail work, Ed! 🏆 I know I am late to the game in following your Rattlesnake build, but this is the first I've noticed how you've got your ship strapped down on the foam cradle! Like you're hauling all of your earthly possessions cross-country in the back of a pickup! Love it! 👍👍🤣

Coming along nicely, Dan! Great work! 👍

Ahhh very good! We have a local shipbuilders' group here in the KC metro. I've only been a part of the group for a few years, but several veteran members have a ton of knowledge they share. We meet the 2nd Sunday afternoon of every other month in KCMO. Next meeting is (I believe) this Sunday, Sept 8. I missed the July meeting, so need to verify. It doesn't conflict with a Chiefs game, so think that's a good date. If it ever works out for you to join us for meetings, we'd love to send you details and have you join us! Keep that in mind!

Your portable toolbox design looks pretty cool! Impressive! To where in Kansas did you move? I'm in a KC 'burb on the Kansas side.

OK, so... mind if I jump in on this wipe-on poly thread and ask a question? I've read internet articles regarding the general comparisons between wipe-on poly (polyurethane) and polycrylic. Do experienced model shipbuilders have a preference? Certainly, the most striking difference is that polyurethane is oil-based vs. polycrylic, which is water-based, right? With that, I have read that wipe-on poly might leave a bit of an amber tone, which would not be good on a white hull, for instance. Polycrylic, on the other hand, goes down clearer, which is great for lighter colors or for unstained decks, but can supposedly make darker colors appear a bit murky. Thoughts on what to use when?

Actually, Chuck, was killing time waiting on some glue to dry on my Bluenose, and started looking at the Model Shipways parts list for my Constitution. There are a whole bunch of blocks listed of various sizes! They also have a lot of bullseyes. Any thoughts on doing those?

After druxey's mention of a "ruling pen" to assist with sail seams, I had to do a bit of homework on this little tool, since as a relative newbie in all of this, I was unfamiliar. Found this website which seems to do a pretty good job of describing. I'm bookmarking and going to get an education... Quick Guide: How to use a Ruling Pen — Jeea Mirza

That's a sharp-looking tool. Andrew!! 😁 I may need a new tool! <shrug>

I had not seen this latest SS Klondike II scratch build of yours before, John! How'd I miss this?!? Will follow this one, as well, obviously!

I have a supply of both the light and medium texture silkspan tissue from Sig Manufacturing. SIG SILKSPAN TISSUE - Sig Manufacturing (sigmfg.com)

Thanks, Bob! Appreciate the kind words! If we both need inspiration on which way to go, we need look no further than @John Ruy's recently completed Bluenose. He did some awesome sail work to finish his ship! 🏆

Thanks, Mustafa! Always trying to attain the quality of work I see from many of you other guys that continue to inspire me and help to push myself to do better. Appreciate your time, sir!

Wow! It's been almost a full two months since I've posted any kind of build log update. I've been in the shipyard here and there over that time, in between a few trips, having all the grandkids for a week's activities here, watching the oldest granddaughter prepare for and then head to her first year away from her home at college some 8-9 states away, and just some general summertime tinkering around the house. Anyways, thought I'd get a small update in. And I took only a few pictures and hardly any detailed notes on these last activities. After getting the lower shrouds placed, it was time to tie in what seemed like a thousand ratlines! Like everyone else does when placing ratlines, I made a lined template in order to have some relatively consistent spacing. I also used some 0.81 brass rods, blackened them, and placed the sheer poles at the base of each set of shrouds. Once you get into a routine of tying clove hitches, it goes pretty well. I would do about 4-5 rows at a time, then hit the knots with a spot of glue and once dried, clip the excess 0.009" line from each end. Then another 4-5 rows, etc., etc., etc... As I said earlier, did not take many notes as I was preparing and installing a lot of the standing rigging, but I will go through what was done fairly quickly. There are several MSW Bluenose build logs that have great detail on their rigging procedures. I relied on them heavily and encourage others to do the same. Spring Stay - Runs from the main mast's spring stay bail to the fore mast's spring stay bail. I used 0.027" black line. Jib Stay - Runs from the fore mast cap to the bowsprit. I used 0.019" black line. Jumbo Jib Stay - Runs from the fore mast to the jumbo jib stay bail. I wish I would have realized way back when I first inserted the bowsprit that this jumbo jib stay bail would be wrapped and secured around the bowsprit. At this point, it was way too difficult for me to come up with anything like that, so I "settled" for shaping a 0.81" brass rod piece so it fit around the top of the bowsprit and was secured into the deck underneath. It's the best adaptation I could come up with. I used 0.027" black line. At this point, it was time to drop the top masts into their places. They still fit snuggly, and with the iron fids in place, it did not seem like the masts needed any additional glue. Main Top Mast Shrouds and Fore Mast Spreader Lifts - The main top mast shrouds run from the top of the mast down to lanyards that then connected to the spreaders. The fore mast spreader lifts run from a band about a third of the way up the top mast down to lanyards that are connected to the fore mast spreader. I used 0.019" black line for the shrouds and 0.009" light beige line for the lanyards. I then tied ratlines to each of the shrouds and spreader lifts, but only did about a dozen ratlines on the main mast shrouds, reaching about a third of the way up the top mast on each side, using 0.009" black line again for the ratlines. Pullback Stay - Runs from the top of the fore mast to the main mast cap. Still having a bit of difficulty shaping a shackle like how John Ruy explained he did his, so I simply used a small jump ring to connect to the bowsprit. I used 0.019" black line. Balloon Jib Stay - Runs from the top of the fore mast to the end of the bowsprit. I used 0.027" black line. Main Mast Top Stay - Runs from top of main mast to fore mast cap. I used 0.019" line. Flying Backstays - Two sets of backstays run from the top of the main mast to either side of the stern transom. The main runs start from the main top mast using 0.027" black line. They run down to a 5/32" double block. This block is then laced with a 5/32" single block using 0.013" light beige line. The single block is connected with a "S" hook to a 0.013" black line tied to an eyebolt on the transom. The beige line then falls to a belaying pin on the rail. I have not permanently secured the top of these backstays to the main top mast or the fall line to the belay pins at this time, as I fear they would get snagged and be in the way when I work on the remainder of the running rigging and the main boom. So, the lines will come down from the main top mast as I do that work. I am going to see if I can get some running lights placed on the two sets of foremast shrouds. Then it is time to get the running rigging that I prepped months ago attached where it belongs on this Bluenose! Those of you who have followed my progress (or lack thereof) on this Bluenose (thank you, by the way!) may recall that I have wrestled with how to finish my Bluenose... with sails, without sails, or furled sails. And I have leaned each of the three ways multiple times over the almost-two years I have worked on her. Well, stand by for my decision...! Thanks to all for taking the time to read, comment and criticize! Appreciate all of the support, whether it's been your input here or my peeking in on your own Bluenose build logs and having one of those "Oh, yeah!" epiphanies. Thanks!

Interesting to hear that they are editing your posts/pictures over on SoS. I didn't think comparison of products or being critical of products was allowed on SoS! A post of mine back in May 2013 was edited by SoS admins because I made a contrast, ironically, between Syren deadeyes and another company, which I mentioned by name... apparently a no-no. Keep doing what you are doing, Chuck! Being successful! 🏆 I'll be ordering a bunch of these new blocks and deadeyes in due time... Thanks, Chuck!

Thanks for the pictures and links, Peter. I believe I had seen his build log previously, but did not bookmark it. Thanks for the reminder. And, in the FWIW category, I prefer the painted hull look... <shrug> 👍