Gregory

Here are the Main Top Sail and Top Gallant yard arms joining the rest of the "family".
 
Mizzen Top Sail and Top Gallant to go.

Thank you all for the likes.
 
Stern Post
 
While most of the keel parts were glued on a flat surface, this proved problematic for the stern post.  With the rising wood protruding and the stem taper, the assembly is no longer flat and it is difficult to proceed the same way. To keep the stern post perfectly vertical, centered and aligned to the stem, I rather used squares to keep the whole assembly vertical and aligned. See photo.
 

 
I applied a couple thin coats of WOP on the completed assembly.  I show  close-ups of the stern and stem below (note the knee of the head finally glued on).  
 

 
After application of WOP the wood got a bit darker than expected.  Does WOP have a limited shelf time when opened? In the past I have used nitrocellulose sealer.  This is great stuff. It does not change the wood color, gives a nice satin finish and dries almost instantly (70% of the content is VOC!). It is however a pretty nasty chemical and it is hard to find (banned in North-America?). I got mine from the UK many years ago but nowadays suppliers will not ship this abroad.  I find WOP a good alternative.
 
Building Board
 
This has been covered by others and I essentially followed their foot steps.  The MDF boards I could find in hardware stores were not flat. I resorted to a melamine board and glued my plan with repositionable spray glue.   It is now time to work on the frames. Stay tuned. 
 
 
 

The shrouds were installed next.  The starboard shroud is always placed first and are they are installed from fore to aft.  Because this ship has an odd number of shrouds, the first shroud is single; the rest are double.  The first shroud is served its entire length, protecting it from the lower sail.  The starboard and port first shrouds are secured to each other with a cut splice, just as was done with the pendant tackle. 


The remaining paired shrouds are served where they could be chafed: the center 20-25%, based on the ship being rigged.  I cut a two foot piece of line and marked the midpoint and 10% the length of the shroud on either side of the midpoint, in this case 1.2”.  This is the area that was served.  The doubled shrouds were secured with a throat seizing tight to the mast head.  The lower ends of the served portion of the shrouds should be level when they are installed.  This means that the throat seizing is not exactly in the middle of the served section, but offset enough to allow this to occur.  You can see this in the next picture.  The aft shroud seizing is slightly longer than the fore.

The shrouds were installed, alternating starboard and port, taking care to stack them neatly.  The topmast is temporarily installed in the following pictures.
 
The next step was to attach the upper deadeyes to the shrouds.  The distance between the upper and lower deadeyes is a constant.  The easiest way to ensure this is to make a spacer jig.  You will actually need ten, five for each side.  The picture shows two jigs.  The one on the left is made by soldering the two wires together.  The other one uses twisted wire.  The prongs go through the two inner deadeye holes.
 

I started by inserting the prongs through the upper holes of the lower deadeye and bent the wire around the back of the deadeye to prevent it from coming out.  Next, I wrapped the shroud around the upper deadeye and adjusted the shroud length so that the upper deadeye could be threaded onto the jig.  These shrouds are cable laid (left twist), so the short end of the shroud went on the aft side of the shroud.  If the shrouds were rope (right twist), the short end would be on the fore side.  I secured the shrouds to the deadeyes with alligator clips.  I find it important to leave the model alone for several hours at this point.  This allows the rope to stretch and helps prevent sagging in the future.

The upper deadeyes are secured with three seizings.  A cross seizing was placed where the shroud crossed over itself next to the deadeye.  I  marked the location of the cross seizing on both sides of the shroud and removed the deadeye.  If left in, the loop is too big.  After making the cross seizing, the deadeye was reinserted and the middle and end round seizings were added.  The drawing shows a round seizing. 

And the picture illustrates the relative location of the seizings, using white thread to make it easier for you to see.

Brown paint was used to represent the leather cap at the end of the shroud.

The shroud lanyards were installed next.  They are considered running rigging and are not tarred.  A knot was tied at the end of the lanyard and it was inserted through the back of the upper deadeye in the foremost hole.  After reeving it through the deadeye, excess line was kept for tying off.  Once they were done, the lanyards were gradually tightened, making sure the mast was straight.  Just like with the shrouds, I gave it a few hours to allow the line to stretch.  To tie off the lanyard, the rope was passed between the shroud and the deadeye (below left) and looped under the last line of the lanyard (below right).  The lanyard was wrapped around the shroud a few times and finished by inserting it under the last loop.

The thing I love about MSW is that you can ask questions of Chuck (Syren)  or Chris (Vangard) and they take time from their busy days to answer.

We are constantly expanding our range of accessories. We have now created more categories of accessories sets for model ships. In particular, we have added new sets for model rigging and sails.
Many of these sets were created based on your orders and suggestions. And more will be added.
 
Categories of complete accessory sets can be found HERE
Here as an example you can see part of rigging and sails accessories on Cutty Sark 1:75 for kit by Billing Boats.

Yes,  yes I have.  However, as long as it took to get the first round of planking done, I'm not really thrilled about the prospect of repeating the process.  My thoughts this morning are to try the stain first.  If I like the way it looks, great.  If not, covering the hull with the planking material provided in the Constructo kit may be preferable to painting..
 
P.S.  your signature phrase, “Indecision may or may not be my problem.”
― Jimmy Buffett  Made me LOL!
 

Hi All,
Small update:
 
Completed Deck width repair issues Triple checked overall Hull alignment All Decks look and fit much better.
Port Side, Bulkhead #7 out of symmetry by 0.5mm (Mid Bulkhead) to 1.0mm (Bottom Bulkhead. Two laminations 0.5mm X 4.0mm glued and faired into bulkhead.
Much better, I could see the discrepancy, it was really bugging me.... 🙂
(Planking Strake Port and Starboard to double check and all seems o.k.)
 
So, I don't know if I'll do too much more today.
 
Things to do next:
Bow "Filler Blocks "Play" with Deck Planking - "Off Ship"  
Cheers....HOF.
 
Photos:
 
 
 
 
 

Exactly, my USNavy experience was 4 years as a junior officer working as a Naval Reactors Engineer.  Yes, the famous or infamous “NR.”  All experience was with submarine reactor plants:  S1W, S2W, S3/4W and after Bettis Reactor Engineering School, S5W.  I also spent time at the D1G prototype so am familiar with that plant too.  I was disappointed when cost considerations required abandonment of nuclear surface ships other than the large carriers.   I know little about Savannah’s plant except that it was a pressurized water reactor.
 
There has been a significant development that could change the economics of nuclear ship propulsion;  the “life of the ship” core.   As you know refuelings were costly, complicated, and lengthy and were originally required every couple of years.  The navy now uses technology to produce reactor cores that do not have to be refueled during the vessel’s expected lifetime.
 
While this might cause the navy to eventually take a look at other combatants,  the business model for merchant shipping is a race to the bottom when it comes to cost.  This would preclude hiring the highly educated and trained crews that have and still do man the US Navy’s nuclear powered ships.
 
Roger

Unfortunately my skill at trying to sand an even taper without causing any bevelling was a bit limiting so I found a better way of tapering the channels using my Proxxon milling m/c and placing a 0.5mm thin strip of walnut under the outer edge of the channels and then machining one side. I then turned over the piece and then placed a 1mm strip under the outboard edge and then machined another 0.5mm off the othe side outer edge, tapering down. This gave me taper from the inner edge of 2.7mm down to 2mm. This is probably over scale slightly but I didn't want to go any thinner as I was concerned about still maintaining some strength in the piece. Hopefully the brass pins will also add a bitof strength.
 

               I have had a few issues of securing the Caldercraft deadeyes in the past but have decided to persevere with their chain plates and fit them onto the channels before fitting the channels to the hull as I am hoping now will be more accessable. As for fitting the channels to the hull I drilled right through from front to back and sharpened the ends of the brass rods and with a good tap with a small hammer penetrated the hull . I still need to remove some more material from the inside surface of the channel so that the channels will sti perpendicular to the mast , at present they are sitting square to the hull/tumblehome and don't look right.. II am considering using 5min epoxy resin to secure the brass pins into the channels and hull but just using UPV for the wooden parts. Although I have douple check the positions but still worry if they ever needed to come off again............
        I am waiting on mantua channels brackets to arrive as there are not enough brackets that came with the kit so want them to all look the same.
 
   
 
 
 

It’s just a pre- announcement of a ‘copy’ being pieced together now by some Chinese hack. 😳
 
I just read it as well (as a guest, I was kicked out long ago). Interesting how some members are complimentary while the staff and admins work hard to disparage Chuck at every turn. This comment by a member “ I emailed Chuck with updates and progress pictures and found him to be very personable, interested and encouraging. A much more personal investment of his time and interest than one might otherwise expect from the head of a commercial venture.“ must have really hurt.
 

Model shipways also has some new blocks which are made from pear and look quite similar to the ones that Vanguard used to supply. Not as good as the Syren blocks, but they do have the smaller sizes you are looking for.

Thanks Thukydides - I was planning to follow your excellent advice. I installed the PE for the hammock cranes, then put a line through to check alignment, this proved surprisingly fiddly, so I fully rigged the hammock cranes as I’d probably find it difficult to do so once the shrouds were fitted. 
 
Adder’s hull is now complete except for the anchors so onto masts, yards and rigging… 
 
Photos of the finished hull below: 




With Alert. Perspective is deceptive, Alert and Adder’s hulls are almost identical in length. 

I receive a quarterly magazine from the Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Department at the University of Michigan. As might be expected published by a university it is heavily slanted towards current issues and  research.
 
Advances in Naval Architecture are often incremental.  Marine Engineering on the other had as undergone a series of distinct changes:
Introduction of Steam Propulsion
Compound Steam Engines
Steam Turbines
Diesel Engines
Unmanned engine rooms/ direct bridge control
Gas Turbines (Naval Vessels)
Nuclear Power (Submarines)
 
Each of these technologies did not emerge fully developed.  For example, the first steam turbines were connected directly to the ships propellers.  A machine that operates best at high speed was attempting to drive one intended to run at low speed.  It took 15-20 years to adopt the geared cross compounded system used by the US Navy during World War II.  The machinery in United States is the end point of this mature steam turbine technology.
 
When I went to school, Marine Engineering involved designing a unique steam plant to fit within the confines of a hull designed by the Naval Architects.  The switch to diesel engines for propulsion of much of the world’s merchant vessel tonnage and gas turbines for naval vessels changed all this.  The Naval Architects sometimes joked that marine engineering had become a “catalog punching job.”
 
Marine Engineering I now back in the news with a lot of questions to be answered.  Among these are:
 How to eliminate residual oil fuels
How to best utilize hydrogen as a fuel
Electric propulsion and hybrid electric propulsion
Even Nuclear merchant ship propulsion and sail assist
 
These ideas are obviously not all applicable to large ships traveling long distances and some are maybe just Pie in the Sky, but the point is that United States’ machinery is seriously out of date and pollution from shipboard commerce is now considered to be a major environmental problem.  Even if her owners could strike a deal with KFC to burn their used frying oil in their boilers, major changes to her machinery would be required with the possibility of completely new power plant.  This alone would probably preclude her return to service.
 
Roger
 

I don’t think so. There is also a lot of support for you there. 
 
The description of how you make and prepare your gratings shows again what I mean in my last post. I can prepare the gratings with my small CNC-mill and build the jig following your really good description. Thanks very much.

Thanks for the posts guys - it helps to have more than one set of eyes on the problem.
 
I decided to proceed with the lower transom installation and then see how the windows look before taking any other action.
 
In the meantime I am finishing up the yard arms - only four more to go.

I think you are doing more than an outstanding job with this kit beauty or for the ship modeling world. Everyone may know my opinion for that matter! 🙂

Tom, I like Chuck's method because it incorporates the round up. That might be possible on the mill but it's above my pay grade.

Continuation: Equipping the mizzen topgallant yard - Vergue de perruche
After the small mishap, as reported, I have now made a new mizzen topgallant yard and fully equipped it. This means that the topgallant yard chapter can be put to bed until it is installed on the model.
Here is a picture of the finished mizzen topgallant yard. 

And another picture with the tye.

 
The next picture shows different yards of the French corvette in size comparison. In the center you can see the mizzen topgallant yard. Above it is the mizzen royal yard and finally the middle section of the main yard is shown below.
 
The next step is to equip the royal yards with the necessary rigging elements. Then I'll finally have finished fitting out the yards.
To be continued ...
 

I thought Chuck would beat me to it, but check out the grating kits at Syren Ship Model Co.
I have never known him to use anything else of late.  The instructions he provides covers his method.

Yeah, but he'd be a lot faster making the next 50. 😉

Your gratings are always so nice, Chuck.  These, and the comings, look terrific!

Not an exact answer to your question but the US Navy’s Ordinance Instructions include a detailed inventory of equipment to be carried aboard ships’ boats.  You can find copies on the internet.  The list is quite extensive and differs for different boat types.  It also depends on how you intend to display the boats on your model.  For example, the mid Nineteenth Century US Navy did not stow a lot of equipment in boats when aboard ship.  Spars were stowed in hammock boxes atop bulwarks and sails kept below decks.  The ordinance instructions also specify the various petty officers responsible for loading particular pieces of gear prior to the boat’s launch.
 
It was also US Navy practice to designate one boat as a “lifeboat,” usually a seaworthy type; a cutter or a whaleboat.  The purpose of this boat was to recover a man overboard.  This would have been hung in davits for quick launch and equipped differently than boats stowed on board.
 
It is a common misconception that the primary use for boats stowed on board was to save the ship’s crew in the event of shipwreck.  The reality is that these boats were workboats carried to assist the ship in restricted waters and/or to extend the ship’s mission.  Unless hung in davits, launching was a major shipboard evolution not done quickly.  There was ample time to bring items needed from elsewhere in the ship.
 
Roger

There is clearly a (small) market for Transatlantic ships. Indeed, my wife and I are going to do the QM2 crossing from Southampton to NYC just before Christmas this year as a 60th birthday bucket list thing. But, as you say, it's pretty niche, and we had no trouble finding cabins. I get it's winter (well, we depart on Dec 14, so technically fall), but a 7 day voyage with a sheltered balcony was under $1500 (US) per person. Not exactly cheap, but not bad for transportation, room, and board for a week, and it doesn't suggest that high demand is pushing up the price. Nor would I imagine going on a second crossing, so it's niche without a lot of repeats.
 
The SS United States is pretty clearly past her sell by date. If an American (or other) firm wants to muscle into Cunard's market they might as well build a completely new ship. The population that is even aware of her existence is not increasing, and while her lines are pleasing, naval architecture has advanced in the last 73 years. And anyway, the hull of a ship is the cheapest part, there is no real savings to be had reusing it, and probably a major cost penalty to make modern equipment fit into spaces it wasn't designed for. 
 
Regards,
George

Further, SS actually stands for Steam Ship as opposed to MV for Motor Vessel, or SV for Sailing Vessel.
Some other designators:
TS  Training Ship
RV  Research Vessel
CS  Cable Ship
MT  Motor Tanker
MY  Motor Yacht
GTS  Gas Turbine Ship
NS  Nuclear Ship
 
Regards,
Henry

It woul be a lot of fun to make a build log of your kit there.
I love your ideas and how open you share your knowledge. Without this I was not able to finish the frame design for my Alert. I also learned a lot to continue with my Sloop Fly. Thanks for that.