rtropp

Thanks Lawrence and Thomas and for all the likes.
 
Well I've been busy, busy busy…  Lower, topsail and topgallant yards are all rigged.  I find rigging, as I mentioned before, to be a task I enjoy doing so once I start it’s hard to stop.  The yards were rigged following Chuck’s directions and so far no problems.
 
Well no real problems just one little glitch happened when I went to rig the starboard side topsail buntline which is supposed to be run through a block hanging from the aft most cross tree.  When I went to run it though low and behold there was already a line in there.  What had happened was when I rigged the topsail yard jeer which is run through the block below the cross tree right in front of the buntline’s block the holes in the two blocks must have lined up perfectly and I failed to notice that the jeer line went through both blocks. After a few WTF's and some deconstruction everything was put in order.
 
Parrel added to the top sail yards
 

 
 
Lower yards rigged and topsail yards added
 

 
 
Braces rigged and topgallant yards added.
 
 

 
 
 
As a side note, the more lines I add I start to understand why lions have a hard time hunting zebras.  Looking through all these black and white lines it’s hard to tell which is in front of which.

your build looks very nice.  
I felt the same way about the basswood, soft and fuzzy.  The copper plates will hide much of it.  I switched to Boxwood after completing the hull and deck.  I wish I had switched sooner.
Richard

I also would like to keep the wood look.  I started experimenting with powdered water soluble dye. It adds the color but still leaves the wood grain.  I will experiment to see how dark I can go and still have the wood grain show.  
I also have ebony but until I get a worktable set up in my shed I hesitate to use it.
I will experiment more when I finish the belaying pins and move on to the cannon. 
 
Richard.

Nice work Richard, the belaying pins look great.  I also like your idea of the mesh clamped to the vacuum hose, that should save me from digging around on the bottom of the shop vac anymore.

Looking good Richard! Thanks for sharing! 

Well done, Richard! Your belaying pins look very good! I already did the "stress test" with mine and I am convinced they will hold up fine once they have to support the lines 
 
Thomas

Sunday, busy Sunday...
 

Masking and painting.
 

Marking the waterline
 

Black on black...yeah, I could have been smarter, but I can see it, even if the camera does not. I wanted lots of black to cover any problem gaps in the copper, just in case. Probably silly, but oh well. Paint is cheap.
 

A little hello to the person who smashes the ship apart one day.
 

Sanding this down was no fun, I hated how it flexed. Ugh!
 

Paint is such wonderful stuff!
 

Some more progress to share. I won't narrate much as I'm sure you all know what I'm up too...any questions just ask.
 
I am now seven weeks in on this project. I've worked almost every weeknight for an hour or two, and many hours each weekend. I do not know if my pace is fast or slow, but I'm enjoying it.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

The wood is so soft my clamps keep marring it. I sand that out, but I'm losing volume as a result. Bah.
 

 

Hi again, and thank you all for your  likes !!
Today was not so much time for the ship, so I made only the first of the straight levers, and the soldering form of course. The method is the same as before, and I could manage to set the first set of levers together for a first fitting test. Everything looks fine, when all levers are done I can make some changes at the soldering forms to complete the whole sets.
 



 
Best regards
Gerhard
 
 

First of all, thank you for your so many likes
 
Some may wonder, how to make such a soldering form, here comes the explanation. This form is meant to solder the large parts from the photo, shown at the foreground.

 
The printed paper sheet glued to a piece of 2mm plywood, I use common glue stick for such things.

 
Inner part of the form with one of the outside parts behind it

 
First outer part cut and grinded to correct shape

 
Center part of the soldering form with first cutout. This cutouts are important to "copy" them to the outer parts of the form!

 
All 3 parts of the form, pinned together. The pinholes are needed, the brass parts will be held here in position, even the different axles will be placed here in the levers.

 
The form with all cutouts made, see the narrow spots on the outer form parts.

 
The finished form, closed with M3 bolts, ready for soldering.

 
Next will be the soldering of the levers, hope for your interest.........
 
Regards
Gerhard

Hi All,
 
More progress on the forward cant frames.  The below photos show the from frame "t" forward.  I am very pleased with the results.
 

 
Note the West Indian Boxwood chocks from a sample piece of wood courtesy of D'Lumberyard.  The framing template also lines up with the aft edge of frame t. As you can tell, there is still some fairing to be done, especially at the belt line where the frames are far too thick at this stage.  That majority of that fairing will likely come from the inside.
 

Here is the port view.  You will note that I still have to trim the top timbers.  They will get their final sizing when I do the final sanding. 
 
In a future post, I will show a close up of the footings of the forward cant frames.  This area is a bit complicated - and was a challenge to do.  It all makes perfect sense now.  I am speaking of the area where the forward deadwood, lower apron and keel come together as an assembly to receive the frame feet.
 
I will also do a step-by-step of a frame assembly.  Ed speaks about developing processes that will ensure success.  While I follow those from the book, I have individualized mine to meet my skill and comfort level.  When I deviate from the process, thats when the work quality decreases...  Interesting observation...  G

Mike Y,  thank you for your kind words.  I enjoy writing this log and glad you and others enjoy it.
 
This week, I have made steady, but slow progress on the Naiad.  I am about 90 hours into the build and still get in about an hour a day.  Its mostly in 20 minute blocks that I get to work or after the kids go down, so I am either distracted or tired.  But thats what it is and if I want to build, then I need to accept it.
 
Below are photos through frame s.  You will note that some of the cant frames now require two chocks each.  You will also note that the top timber is no longer the reference point for setting up the frames.  The maximum height  of breadth is used to do the intial placement of the frames at this point.  I simply fair the outside aft edge of the frame to the maximum height of breadth and line it up with the upright jig.  Once the glue has set, I use the frame template to make sure I am on track.
 
 
 
Spacers are added after the frame has set.  Using a triangle, I make sure the frame is perpendicular to the keel and aligned with the base drawing. 
 
The photo makes the frames look skewed on the port side, but they are actually in balance.  You will also note that there is a lot of wood still left between the upper and lower heights of breadth.  This will be faired after I install the gun port sills.  I dont want to thin them too much prior to this.  I will simply fair to the moulded dimension of the sills at that time.  I am tempted to cut the gun ports in now, but Ed advises against that.  I think it has a lot to do with alignment at the top timbers.  So, I will wait...
 
I purchased a set of mini cabinet scrapers that I use to fair the inside.  Again, everything is rough at this point.  As we all know, once you take it off, you cant put it back...  I expect to be done with the bow cant frames by the end of the week and will begin the stern transom and cant frames after that.  I have developed a pretty good rythm with building frames and use a just-in-time approach as Ed describes in his book, Naiad.  I find that building each frame one at a time is not the most efficient way to go, but it does lend to better quality for me and also allows me to keep the pieces all together. 
 
More next week.  Thanks for reading. Gary

106 hours into this build.  I have now completed the installation of the forward cant frames.  This is frame "p" forward.  I am pleased with the results and will hold of on further fairing and finishing until all of the frames are installed.  
 

 

 
I am now turning my attention to the transom and the aft fashion piece.  This area presents another challenge and is well described in the book, Naiad.  Since I dont own a mill, all of the work is done the old fashion way.    I had to redo the transom pieces I made earlier in the build since these were cut a hair short of the aft fashion piece where they need to dado in. Boy, close up photos are no fun. 
 

 
The pieces actually look better in person...  The goal here is to get fashion and filler pieces 1-4 to be on the same vertical plan.  The aft fashion piece will then have dados in it to accept these pieces.  Once complete, there will be considerable fairing to get to the finished product.
 

 
Above are the verticle templates used to align the fashio pieces.  I marked the afp on these uprights as well as all the intersection points.  

by the way, do you have a build log?
Richard

That is good to know,
Since the Syren is my first kit, I am trying to build it as described.  But, as my skills improve I am considering rebuilding... just to see if I really have learned anything. On the rebuild I may omit the quarter badges so nice to know it has some basis in history.
 
Richard.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 156 – Channel Deadeyes 2
 
The first picture shows one of the 16” (.222” actual) deadeyes with its three holes drilled.  This was done in the milling machine using a four jaw centering chuck and a calibrated rotary table.
 

 
To retrace the steps, the rotary table with the chuck was first centered in the lathe, by eye in this case.  The x-axis feed was then locked to prevent me adjusting it by mistake.  The y-axis was then moved so the drill would be off center by one-half the deadeye radius – then also locked.  The next picture shows the setup ready to receive a deadeye.
 

 
A dowel was placed in the chuck to set the deadeye height, to help level the deadeye for drilling, and to prevent me dropping deadeyes into the abyss.  This is smaller in diameter to avoid fouling the jaws.  In the next picture a deadeye has been placed and the chuck jaws tightened.
 

 
In this picture the nib left after parting in the lathe is being filed off.  This side of the deadeye was then sanded.  The other side was sanded and polished in the lathe.  The next picture shows a hole being drilled.
 

 
The holes are 1.1 times the diameter of the 5” (circumference) lanyards, in this case 5”/3.14 or 1.6” (.022” actual).  They are spaced at 120 degrees using the graduations on the rotary table.  To keep the small drill from skating on the curved deadeye face, the bit is chucked short and the hole is started with very light pressure using the Sherline® sensitive drilling attachment – an indispensable tool, shown before in these posts.   The table is then rotated 120 degrees for the next hole.  The next picture shows how this side of the deadeye was then polished using a Scotchbrite® wheel..
 

 
The next picture shows the 16” channel deadeyes just after removal from the Tung oil jar.
 

 
These were first dyed using a saturated water solution of Van Dyke® crystals.  This non-fading vegetable dye is made from black walnut husks.  As long as there are undissolved crystals in the jar, the solution is saturated and will remain at a constant maximum concentration.  I hope to use diluted solutions of this later to dye hemp rigging. 
 
Some readers will know that I am not a fan of dyes – for two reasons: most solution dyes are aniline based and will fade on exposure to light, and secondly solution dyes remain soluble after drying and therefore can smudge and run if wetted.  I have not relented.  This natural walnut dye should never fade and finishing the deadeyes with Tung oil will prevent later smudging. 
 
I considered dyeing these black using India Ink, but after comparing decided to go with the walnut, which I believe is a more realistic color.
 
I used oil diluted with 50% mineral spirits and expect 2 or 3 more dips on these before getting the desired polish.  That will consume 2 or 3 days before these are ready to be bound on the channels.  This should allow time to make the chain, bindings and preventer plates – and to prepare the channels.
 
There are other sizes to make as well.
 
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 155 – Channel Deadeyes 1
 
The next major task on the model is to fit out the channels with deadeyes, chains, bindings and backing (preventer) plates.  You may notice in these posts that some of the terminology diverges from what most of us are used to – namely British RN usage.  I am trying very hard to use 19th Century American terms, gleaned mostly from texts from the period.
 
So, the first step is to make the 16” chain deadeyes for the fore and main mast lower shrouds.  There are 24 of these required at this stage.  For dimensions of this type of rigging component, I am relying largely on James Lees book, unless other specific references can be found.  The deadeye dimensions thus used are thickness slightly larger than half the diameter and holes located at one-half the radius.
 
In the first picture, a square of boxwood has been chucked in the lathe, partially turned to the 16” (.222”) diameter, and rounded at the end.
 

 
I tried Castelo and pear for these but ultimately went with the harder European Boxwood – from a stock of slightly off-color material that I have and designate as Boxwood ‘B’.  This left a minimum of fuzz and chips on the turnings.  The cutter in the picture was rounded on both sides of the center for the 16” deadeye rounding.  The brass stop on the cross-feed lathe rails was used to set the depth of cut.  In the next picture, the rounding on three deadeyes has been cut and the cut point for the fourth located.
 

 
The deadeye thickness was set with the z-axis calibration wheel on the lathe.  After the first three deadeyes are finished and parted off, the cutter will be indexed for the next three from the fourth cut shown.  Three is about the maximum for this unsupported turning.  In the next picture the grooves for the iron bindings (strops) are being cut using another special cutter sized to fit the iron ring.
 

 
These grooves were centered and cut to depth by eye.  The next step was to sand and polish each deadeye before parting as shown in the next picture.
 

 
This was done with sanding and polishing sticks.  The polished deadeye was then parted off as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The last picture shows three parted off deadeyes.
 

 
The nibs left from the parting will be removed in the drilling step – to be described in the next post.
 
 
Ed

I made some good progress over the long weekend.  
 
 
 

Wood filler trenails
 
 

I find the knowledge that copper plates will hide all my planking sins reassuring, though I'm still trying to do things correctly.
 

 

 

Here you can see me applying the wrong sort of wood stain.  Happily it's an area yet to be sanded, and one to be covered in paint and then copper in any case.   So far in the project I've cut myself twice, bleed on the ship once (above), glued my fingers together a few times and glued my fingers to the hull for 40 minutes once.  The worst mishap so far was burning the side of my little finger on the plank bender, that one ended the day's session and smarted for a few days after.
 
 

Late last night I closed up the starboard side.  A happy milestone.   Much sanding to follow!
 

I'm close on the port side, but after a marathon Sunday session I decided not to rush things.
 
So, that's where I'm at.   I'm really looking forward to finishing this stage up.  I've enjoyed it, but I want to add some color soon!
 
 

More slow progress. Binder clips are now in my top five tools!

More slow progress, I've been working long hours and finding at best an hour per night so little to show today I'm afraid.
 
 

 

 

 
 
 

Some weekend progress:
 

 
I keep finding things that looked good only hours earlier suddenly looking quite off in the photo or on the bench after a little detachment.  My sweep ports are terribly uneven for example, yet no one port seemed off when I made it.    Sigh.
 

 
Clamping the transom.
 
 

 
It looks better in person, happily.
 

 

 

Vic: the big 100+ page color instructions that came in the box that you are on chapter two of IS the practicum.
 
Mikiek: I thought mine were okay, but now I'm mid way through planking the gun ports and I've noticed bad things. I have an asymmetry of height, my port side is perhaps 1mm lower, and so plank 2 and 3 are shaped differently on either side. I think my best option is just to carry on and sand them even on plank 7. Im not thrilled about it at all.
 
I've also changed my mind about the wood. I find what is supplied is so soft that it's frustrating to work with. When wet it takes impressions easily from very light clamping, and will break apart without provocation. When dry, it's difficult to finish because it's so soft it's almost fuzzy. It is not a friendly material to work with.
 
Some progress pictures:
 

 

 

 

 

Turns out I had some of those stern pieces askew, so today I broke it all apart and set them again, this time with temporary filler blocks at 3 points per piece to ensure everything is properly square. This is a learning experience. I also faired the hull some more.

Lots of progress today. I've finished carving my gun ports and sweeps. I found carving with a sharp blade much easier the sanding, and far less messy. It's not 100% faired yet, especially on the inside, but I'm close. I then started on the stern assembly:
 

 

 

 
I have found my Dyson hand vac to be one of my favourite ship building tools!

Mike:  There are no notches for the masts, they will have to be drilled.  I expect I will make a tenon that is narrower then the mast base, and drill that diameter.  I expect it will be in my filler blocks, which I think is a good thing, as they are solid hardwood and not the cheap ply of the bulkhead former.
 
The wood in general is not impressive.  The ply for the bulkheads and BF is cheap, it splinters, it's pretty fragile and compared to the other other kit I've delta with (Amanti Fly) it's definitely inferior.  The decks and hull plank are all basswood or lime.  There are no hardwoods or exotics in the kit, aside some walnut for dead-eyes.   
 
Despite this, what you are buying when you purchase this kit, first and foremost, is excellent instructions and plans, plus the materials you need all in one box.  Like any kit, you can improve on it with better materials.  As a beginner, I'm very happy with the kit.  I can see where they found some economies, but I'm certainly getting my money's worth in the education in shipbuilding that this project is giving me (Thanks Chuck!). I've read enough build logs to know that a fantastic looking ship can certainly be built with these parts, I know the quality limiter will be me.  I'm not overly concerned about the quality of the ply, it's internal and I've improved it with glue and blocks.  
 
Here's my progress for the day.  I added the port side lower gun port interior rail, and started sanding the forward portion of it.   
 

 
James