Glen McGuire

They are already accustomed to a lot of colorful language coming from the house during these builds, so they might appreciate that new hum! I was in Boston the past few days retrieving my SIBs from the ship model show after it concluded at the USS Constitution museum. Olha Batchvarov, who is a superb ship modeler with a great youtube channel, took part in the show/competition and put together a very nice video highlighting many of the models in the show. If you want to take a look at it, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1sGeEI7xfo&t=10s Winter is an interesting time to visit the Charleston Navy Yard, where the USS Constitution is docked. All the yards, top masts, top gallant masts, royal masts, and things above are removed from the ship and you can find some of them lying around the yard. It's a great opportunity to have an up close look and get a real perspective on how large they are. Plus, some of the rigging is still attached, which is helpful to me for the stage I'm at with this build. Here are a few pics I took while wandering around the area. The first is either the main yard or the fore yard. The jogger gives you a good idea of how long and large the yard actually is. The Constitution museum is the boxy gray building in the background on the far left. There was a discussion earlier in this build log about the slings that hold up the main yard and the fore yard. The question was whether the rope was eye-spliced or looped around an iron ring. Fortunately for me, the sling was still attached to that main (or fore) yard so it gave me the the opportunity to take a close look at how it was configured. As you can see in the pic below, the rope for the upper part of the sling is looped around an iron ring with a throat seizing. The rope for the lower part of the sling is double-stacked around the yard and another iron ring. This is basically the way I configured my slings (except I did not double-stack the rope for the lower part), so I feel good about what I've done. Here's a trailer holding some assorted smaller yards and what I believe is the gaff (painted black) because it has that block in the middle which I would think is for a lift. The next couple of pictures are helpful for what I was working on right before I left for Boston - the saddles and single-row parrels (single-row meaning one row of trucks) for the top gallant yards. There were 2 things I was trying to figure out from the BlueJacket instructions. First, the drawing showed 2 eyebolts, but I was not sure exactly where they belonged. Second, I could not tell from the drawing if the single-row parrels had ribs in between each truck. Based on these pictures, the answer is no. WOOHOO!! I was not looking forward to making 50 more of those tiny things! And then there's this. It appears to be a freshly painted section of the bulwark including the gun port. I can't see them cutting out a section of the actual bulwark on the ship and inserting this, so I'm not sure what it's purpose is. Maybe it will be put in the museum? And finally, some very large timbers lying around. I'm curious to know what's in store for these giants, but there was nobody around to ask.

Uh, that would be me - the world's worst fisherman. 😠

Those penguins are AMAZING, Gary! I am so jealous!!!

Thanks to everyone for the kind words on the parrel. The biggest challenge was making 1 of those dang ribs and then trying to make 30 more that were identical. So don't look too closely at them as I don't think I quite achieved 6 sigma in my process variation. In the middle of it all, I started thinking about @Ian_Grant and the way he's been using 3-D printing on his WW1 Battle Cruiser Restoration. Hmmmm!

I went back and reviewed other build logs and I can see where some rig the truss pendants just as you describe. When I read the description and look at the picture from the BlueJacket instructions, I still don't see the the rigging going upwards to the mast top and then back down. But what you describe makes sense, so I will go back and see if I can reconfigure what I've already done. In the meantime, I got the main lower yard hung (which means I will need to reconfigure 2 sets of tackle) and started work on the fore topsail yard. The topsail yards are hung with different rigging than the lower yards. Rather than a sling, the lower yards have a double block in the center of the yard with 1 line tied off above the crosstrees and the other running through 2 single blocks on each side of the mast just below the trees and then down to the deck. Here's the picture from the instructions. The yards is secured to the mast with a parrel which includes a double row of trucks. I assume these trucks act as rollers to facilitate the yard being raised or lowered. I'm using 2mm beads for the rollers with the dividers made from 1mm thick basswood. Here's the fore topsail yard hung with the parrel in place. And the front view.

I'll take "Things you won't hear in Texas" for $200, Alex.

Hey Henry! Thanks for the explanations on the sling and the truss pendants. That makes a lot of sense. I've been trying to follow the BlueJacket instructions as close as I can and they seem to read a bit differently, unless I am interpreting them wrong (which is a distinct possibility!). For the sling, the instructions say, "Set up over masthead, brought down through hole in foretop, and set up to sling thimble on yard with a lanyard." Throughout the instructions, thimbles seems to be interchangeable with bullseyes. I did not have any bullseyes large enough for this application so I decided to fashion brass rings as a substitute. Unfortunately, there were no pictures of the sling in the instructions to help. Regarding the truss tackle pendants. I really had a hard time interpreting what the instructions were saying, and that's even with a picture! As I mentioned above, I must have read it a hundred times trying to figure it out. Here are the instructions and the accompanying picture. "Seize a thimble into one end of a 8" rope which is wound around the yard at the parrel cleats. Then pass the end of this rope through the thimble of its counterpart. A block takes the rope down to the foot of the mast." I'm not 100% sure, but I believe I matched what the instructions were telling me to do. Perhaps there are multiple ways to rig the trusses depending on the timing of the construction or restoration?

Amen to that, JC! The SIB work has definitely prepared me for drilling tiny holes in things and threading line in hard to reach places! You are probably right, Keith. I don't see any other logical way to accomplish that. Yes! What I would give for some detailed photos with labels, etc! I read the BlueJacket instructions about 100 times, then I study bunches of build logs with lots of great pics ( @xken and @KurtH have build logs that have been incredibly helpful), but I always seem to need a shot from a different angle to help me figure out exactly what to do. 😃 The truss pendants in particular!

Time to hang the first lower yard, which will be on the fore mast. It's a somewhat complex trio of items that hold the yard in place (at least complex for me trying to figure it all out). There's a sling that is composed of connected rings. The bottom of the sling is wrapped around the middle of the yard. The top of the sling wraps around the top of the mast top. The way I understand it, the purpose of the sling is to be the primary weight bearer of the yard. Although I'm not sure how it gets disconnected when the yard is lowered. The second item of the trio is the jeer blocks which are used to raise and lower the yard. There are 4 jeer blocks in total. The lower ones (seen below on either side of the sling) are double blocks that are attached to the yard inside the parrel cleats. The upper blocks will be added later and are attached to a sling wrapped around the mast top. The third item in the trio are the truss pendants which hold the yard against the mast. One end of the pendant is seized to a bullseye. The line is wrapped around the yard, runs behind the mast, thru the bullseye on the other side and then is seized to a block where another line takes it to the deck. And here is the yard in place. Below I've highlighted the sling which holds up the yard. Here's the full set of jeer blocks in place. The upper jeer blocks are triples. Here are the truss pendants in place. And here's what the whole thing looks like without all the red circles. This process will be repeated for the main and mizzen lower yards.

Stunning work, Gary. As usual!

Welcome aboard from a fellow Texan!

Very nice lines. Well done.

I think the trim is black, but a weathered or faded black. Really nice job on the LULA lettering, Keith. I've got a feeling that was a whole lot more difficult to do than it looks.

I call BS on that, Bryan! I've seen your work and it is high quality with great attention to detail. Don't underestimate yourself! Thanks, Mark. I could not solder a lick before I started ship modeling a few years ago. I continue to be amazed at how many different skills you have to learn to be able to do this hobby!!

Well Pat, in the absence of Bundy here in central Texas, I settled for a few tots of Ol' Sailor Jerry's fine spirits! Glad you are checking in, Carson! Slowly but surely the team here is gettin' it done!! And now on to the studding sail booms (I always thought they were called yardarms but I seem to have been mistaken about that). There are 8 yards that have studding sail booms - The lower 3 on the fore and main masts, and then the 2nd and 3rd lowest yards on the mizzen. The crojack yard is not so equipped. The booms are offset forward at a 45 degree angle to the vertical plane of the yard as it hands from the mast. Each boom is held in place by passing through 2 rings called studding sail irons. The inner iron looks like a figure 8 with a portion of the bottom cut off forming a saddle that rests on the yard. The outer iron is a simple ring attached to a rod bent at a 90 degree angle that feeds into a hole in the end of the yard. I used brass tubes and wire for my irons. I started with brass tubes of various inside diameters. Of course none of them quite matched the diameter of my booms, so I had to drill out each of them to fit. The rings below are for the fore mast yards. Next, I cut pieces of brass tube in half to make the lower half of the inner iron that will rest saddle-like on the yard. Next step - soldering the top and bottom half of the inner irons together. Next, I soldered a small piece of brass wire to each ring for the outer irons. Here's a closeup of 1 pair of irons dry-fit (before I bent the wire on the outer iron). Here are the foremast yards with the booms and irons in place and the irons painted black. And a final closeup. The fat end of the boom will be lashed to the yard, which is next on my to-do list.

I'm with Keith on this.

Fantastic build, Bryan! Everything is very clean and looks top notch. The crew was a nice added touch, too. Well done, sir!

I am very sorry to hear about the passing of your friend, Rodney. My sincere condolences to you and family.

Y'all better send a gorilla along with that gorilla glue. I ain't getting near that bull in his current mood! Can't wait to see those newly painted longhorns and the ferris wheel that your niece is working on!

I have reached a major milestone on this project - all of the standing rigging is complete! WOOHOO!!! The stays are taut (all 52 of them) and the masts are straight and aligned. That calls for another round! Next up is attaching the stuns'l booms to the yards, which means it's time to cozy up to the soldering iron.

I believe that the medium blue-gray would fade to a more pale gray as the ships aged. So if you want a brand new look, I'd go more with the medium blue-gray. But if you want a more aged or weathered look, I'd go pale gray. My 2 cents.

I think they should be called Flemish Longhorns rather than horses. But what do I know! As far as the crow's feet, the BlueJacket plans don't call for those so I didn't install them. Thanks, Keith. My goal was to make them look as good as yours on your Tennessee.

Well, I took another look at the mast and spar diagram and realized the lower 3 yards on each mast have these little mini-foot ropes on the ends. I did a quick search and found that they are called Flemish Horses. Hmmm. Had not heard of them before. So I did a quick add.

Well, I got to the end of my rope on this project. Literally. I ran out of cord for the stays, so I had to order more from BlueJacket. While waiting for the new line to arrive, I circled back to the yards and installed all the foot ropes. I've seen some people use thread for the stirrups and others use small eye pins. I particularly like the way the foot ropes look on @Keith Black's Tennessee so I decided on eye pins.

The engine room looks great, Keith. Well done!