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Ferrus Manus

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  1. Ferrus Manus
    I got the fore shrouds done a couple days ago, and I am now working on the yards. In order to complete the rope coils for the fore shrouds, I need to go to the model shop and get medium thickness tan thread, as well as medium brown thread for other stuff, namely the yard lashings. I also need cleats.
  2. Ferrus Manus
    I have gotten started with the fore shrouds. Getting the eyebolts to stay in their holes was a challenge, but it worked out fine. I have not taken pictures of the rope coils I made and affixed to the main shrouds, but they did get done.
  3. Ferrus Manus
    That's interesting, because I have been trying specifically to take my time and put more effort into the smaller details on this one. I can't sacrifice quality on a model like the Reale, even though I don't think I can get it to truly professional standards.
  4. Ferrus Manus
    I managed to get the rest of the standing rigging done on the main mast today, minus rope coils.
  5. Ferrus Manus
    I added the shrouds after getting the tackles done. The ship is now becoming a "rat's nest" at least temporarily. The work I have done on the aft shrouds has corrected the two issues I talked about earlier. In other news, I made my first proper seizing using Olha Batchvarov's technique. The reason this is my first is I can't seem to get my small line to do this. I would like to get at least most of the rest of the main shrouds done tomorrow.
  6. Ferrus Manus
    I did a simpler version of this. I chose to go with the logic of the actual shrouds and both hook and belay to the chain itself. This was the result: I think it's not bad. The noticeable curve in the mainmast and now-excessive forward rake will both be rectified by putting in the aft shroud pair first.
  7. Ferrus Manus
    It seems as though you belayed the runner on an eyebolt directly aft of the chainplate and the lanyard on a cleat to the fore.
  8. Ferrus Manus
    The work on the masts continued today. I took both masts out, assembled and installed their calcets, and put them back in to see how they looked. I fixed up the calcets beforehand by puttying over the ugly indentations. I ran sandpaper over the entirety of the mast assemblies to make my life easier down the road, to my great satisfaction later. Painting the masts was actually not that hard because of my sanding. Now, on to the second issue: This might be the first and only time I have actually agreed with Heller's instructions regarding rigging. This is how Heller sets up the forward shroud: If I remember correctly, 72Nova used a simpler double block tackle without the runner. I think the runner and tackle is more effective for this job because the crew has more control over the tension on the mast. Instead of any change in tension of the double block tackle being applied directly to the mast, it instead has to travel through another block/tackle system first. The only issue is where to belay the standing end of the runner. I can do this one of two ways. I can either make a hook and hook the line onto the uppermost chain link with the line for the lower double block, or I can run the line through the hole and belay it on the eyebolt that attaches to the hull. The problem with this is that the line would foul on the hole and the chain. So, option 1 it is.
  9. Ferrus Manus
    Today's work involved the setting up of the starboard chainplates, exactly as was done on the port side.
  10. Ferrus Manus
    Last bit of weekend work on the Reale. I cut down 16 of my eyebolts (6 pictured) and saved the rest for use as the metal toggles for the upper blocks of the shrouds. After that, I slid the last links of the chains/blocks I had prepared earlier today onto the eyebolts. I proceeded to tie the standing ends of the halyards onto the blocks and anchor everything down into the holes I drilled. Nothing looks as bad in real life as it does in pictures. I only finished the port side today. There are two chainplates that lead to something other than normal shrouds on each side, so 4 in total. The first shroud pair is actually some sort of running whip-and-tackle stay that involves a single block and two double blocks, the standing end of which is not the chainplate. The chainplate anchors the bottom double block. The fifth chainplate from fore anchors the bottom double block for one of the two parrel tackles. You can see these differences in the pictures. Neither of these rigging elements are shown in the painting, but I think something related to a parrel line belays just forward of the main mast. The next job is the anchoring of all the starboard chainplates.
  11. Ferrus Manus
    The only other work that needs to be done on the hull that isn't related to rigging is the ladders and the swivel guns, both of which I have elected to save until after the rigging is completed. That means it's time to start working on the masts. Making and dry-fitting the masts was easy: Fitting out the masts will be less easy. This is mostly because of how Heller believes the shrouds work. In the outer catwalks are a grand total of 16 holes. Heller says these holes are for eyebolts that serve as anchors for the shrouds. The issue is the fact that the slightest gust of wind against the mainsail would tear up the shrouds on the windward side. This is why I have a better idea. My idea is to widen the holes and anchor 16 lengths of chain into the hull itself via eyebolts, and connect the other ends of the chains to the bottom blocks of the shrouds. I recognize the fact that most builders use blackened brass strips to make chainplates for this.
  12. Ferrus Manus
    The finished canot: The only thing I found frustrating about the canot was the fact that the metal glue I bought specifically for use on the anchor I made worked arguably worse than super glue, which is itself abysmal for metal-on-metal connections. I had to abandon the second set of anchor arms for that reason. The canot will be placed on the gallows angled inward toward the center line, which makes sense for lowering and raising the boat. Heller claims the canot is actually meant to rest on the forward portion of the center catwalk. This makes no sense for two reasons: 1. this makes the catwalk unusable, especially during combat engagements. 2. the Landstrom book claims that both boats were usually towed (which makes sense for the era) and could optionally be raised onto the gallows when not used. I have seen some modelers make a second set of gallows specifically for the canot. I do not believe this was on a Reale model specifically, but large galleys were so standardized by this point that I don't think it would matter.
  13. Ferrus Manus
    The canot is painted in the same colors as the caique: There are still a few things to be painted, and then it's on to the hull details.
  14. Ferrus Manus
    I made the frames for the canot in the same way as the caique. There are 18 frames grand total, the same number as there are in the caique.
  15. Ferrus Manus
    I am getting a good start on the canot. The canot will be getting the same treatment as the caique, with a few exceptions. While one of the thwarts is braced as though there was going to be a mast, there is neither a mast step nor partners. Even then, this boat will be stowed on the gallows, so a mast and its equipment would rest on top tied down to the thwarts. The canot is slightly longer than the caique, but only has six oars. No anchor is provided so I will be making my own, more reasonably sized one.
  16. Ferrus Manus
    Now, it would be reasonable to believe that the anchor aboard the caique would actually be some kind of spare/maneuvering anchor for the ship. However, I used it anyway even considering its excessive size. One would wonder, with the anchor stowed in the bow, how this boat would possibly remain level in the water. It must weigh almost half a ton. This is the finished caique: Apart from the anchor and its line, I put two mooring lines on the thwarts, and put in the rudder. The tiller looked sad, so I replaced it. I intend to do the same with the canot, which I might start tonight.
  17. Ferrus Manus
    Could this be the first nef wreck ever found?
  18. Ferrus Manus
    The positions of the oars on the thole pins: I quickly realized the infeasibility of having the oars sitting on the thwarts, owing to how their size and how many there were. Had they been sitting on the thwarts, the boat would have been unsailable. The other thing I wonder is why a ship's boat that's only slightly larger than a pinnace would need twelve oars? I could see a ship's launch requiring twelve or more rowers, but not this. I would say 3 pairs would be sufficient, but both the kit and the Landstrom book agree on twelve for the caique and six for the canot. The oars are positioned at an upward angle in relation to the waterline.
  19. Ferrus Manus
    I finished the rigging of the caique today. I knew before starting work on the stay sail that I had failed to make stay hoops out of rope before rigging the stay. The way I solved this was to tie loops around the stay and a sewing needle (five of them) and then pull the sewing needle out. I also made rope coils for the entire thing. The one issue I have consistently experienced is with the red paint on the exterior. It keeps coming off onto my fingers, at which point I rub it onto various parts of the rigging. It has not been that much of an issue, however. The caique has twelve belayed lines and associated rope coils. Because of the positioning of the sails and rigging, it isn't feasible to have the oars sitting on the thwarts, so I will put them on the thole pins as though they were in use. The way I got the stay sail to billow was to put a tiny dot of glue on the starboard fore upper deadeye, and allowed the sail to rest on that, as shown in the pictures. The rudder and anchor, and maybe some moorings lines, are still in order.
  20. Ferrus Manus
    I proceeded to belay all of the mainsail's lines.
  21. Ferrus Manus
    This morning, I put the rigging lines on the sail, before gluing the sail itself to the spritsail yard with wood glue. This is the result:
  22. Ferrus Manus
    This is what the finished rigging of the spritsail yard looks like, without rope coils: I cut the sail out of silkspan, and placed it onto the yard/mast to get a general idea of what it will look like. Like a gaff sail, you can rig a spritsail in any number of ways. As this is a ship's boat, I will likely only attach it at each of the four corners of the sail. This is owing to the fact that a ship's boat would have to set and take down rigging quickly to be stowed aboard the ship. Shallops at least sometimes went on voyages longer than the jobs a ship's boat would perform would require (John Smith's expedition, Mayflower's shallop, etc) and in those cases, it would make sense to have the sail attached to the mast at the head of the sail. Modern reconstructions use mast hoops and an otherwise flying rig. The head and peak of the sail will have both uphauls and downhauls, and the two lower corners of the sail will belay to the thwarts. I drew in the sections of the sail with pencil, then stained the sail in black coffee until it was the correct color. I took advantage of how damp the sail was by forming it to the yard (this boat is on a port tack) with rigging spools as weights. This is the finished billow: Mind you, nothing is attached to anything as of right now. The lines on the sail will be set to keep the billow as intact as possible. I am thinking I might use wood glue to attach the sail to the two ends of the spritsail yard, before belaying any rigging.
  23. Ferrus Manus
    I have completed the initial mounting of the spritsail yard onto the mast using a standing truss, and rigged the forward tackle. My problems with unwanted rotation around the yard's longitudinal axis will be solved with the tension applied by the peak halyard. The raising of the yard tensions the forward tackle, which straightens out the yard.
  24. Ferrus Manus
    The rest of the standing rigging: I now have a name for the caique: Elise Royale. Reale, as in a flagship commanded directly by a nation's monarch, seems to have no direct translation to English, at least not that I'm aware of. I have a few ideas for what the name of the canot will be. I am unaware as to whether or not ship's boats ever had names of their own in this era, but we can only hope. I am sure that if names existed for ship's boats in this era, they would have fallen completely out of use by the time of the classical age of sail.
  25. Ferrus Manus
    These are the smallest deadeyes I have ever rigged, and so far, I am happy with the first one. the entire deadeye/lanyard system is smaller than the width of my index finger. Deadeyes are very simple and easy to rig, and they scale down very well.

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