Stockholm tar

With the mastcoat in place the mast provided made for a reasonably good fit, but to aid in its location I cut a slot in its heel, which secured it over the keel piece. I then tapered the mast from about half-way up its length using a small modelling plane, being careful to take just a thin sliver off with each stroke, and finishing off with a fine-grade sandpaper. (Btw, it is important to always have a sharp blade in the plane which, I find, also tends to reduce ’catching’.) This procedure took a little while, but I didn’t want to give the mast too much of a taper – and I think it resulted in a nice-looking spar. The kit’s topgallant mast was also, to my mind, a little on the thin side and I wanted to both beef it up and lengthen it. I therefore substituted my own from a suitable piece of dowel. Both the topgallant and the lower mast were made of similar dimensions to those given for the Alert, in the AOTS book.
 
Because of the above changes I was unable to use the ’cross trees’ and mast cap from the kit but I had decided to replace these in any case as, from my point of view, they were too small. Both parts are in fact the same, with similar-sized holes drilled for the lower mast and topgallant mast. Initially I attempted to adapt them but, when endeavouring to drill out one of the holes to enlarge it to take the head of the lower mast, it split in half – so that was that, I had to scratch them! The replacements turned out reasonably well, with separate ’trestle trees’ and ’cross trees’, into which the lower and topgallant masts fitted snugly, the lower ’cross tree’ structure resting on a pair of bibbs either side of the mast. I refer to them as ’cross trees’ and ’tressle trees’, but this is really a misnomer as they do not seem to have been fitted on cutters at this date. The structure I made more resembled an oblong-shaped ’box’, open at the top and bottom, with an off-center division passing between the two masts reflecting their differing circumferences.
 
Cutter lower masts and topmasts were in one piece at this date, hence the separate upper mast is referred to as the topgallant. The topgallant mast was also fidded abaft, or behind, the lower mast which meant that backstays were not normally required and could therefore dispensed with. Standing and running backstays were only fitted to the lower mast.  As a further historical note, Sherbourne was very likely one of the last of her type to have this masting arrangement. From around 1780, cutter masts followed the practice on larger ships, with which we are perhaps more familiar, and were rigged with a lower mast and longer topmast, complete with proper crosstrees, trestle trees, bolsters, and backstays. There are also some differences with the shrouds. On Sherbourne these terminate just above the position of the gaff (fitting over a shoulder or stop) rather than going as far as the doubling, but with the later rig the shrouds passed around the lower masthead. The number of yards and their hoisting arrangements also differ from later practice, but more about these later, except to say that pins were inserted into the masts to take the yards when fitted.
 

 
The after side of the lower mast head was fitted with eyebolts to take the blocks for the throat and peak halliards and the boom topping lift, and stops were fitted in various positions for some of the rigging, such as the forestays when they they are fitted. At the base of the lower mast, I fitted a saddle around the aft side of the mast on which the boom jaws rest, whilst below them five cleats were equally spaced around the mast, to take the falls of the running rigging which might be belayed there. I’m not quite sure yet what all of these lines will be but, as I mentioned before, there is an overall lack of belaying points – so I think providing a few more will be an advantage. The cleats were painted black, as were the crosstrees, caps and masthead, whilst the mast itself was stained a reddish brown.
 
The topgallant mast, as mentioned, was a replacement. As with the lower mast, this was carefully tapered at its upper end, and given a snug fit at the heel to fit the crosstrees and mastcap. Not immediately obvious to the eye is the fid, made made fom a small cut-off nail, which passes through a hole drilled through the heel of the mast, and which rests on the upper edges of the ’trestle trees’. As mentioned it is not that noticeable, especially as the whole assembly is painted black – but at least I know it’s there! Just below this is the sheave hole for the toprope, the rope itself being made fast to an eyebolt on the port side of the mastcap. There is a corresponding eyebolt on the starboard side, for the toprope block.
 
At the upper end of the mast there are again stops for the rigging, and at the very top I fitted a truck. This was not provided for in the kit, but I think any mast looks unfinished without one! This was easy to make, being merely a suitably sized piece of dowel rod, with rounded edges and a small capping on the top. Four small holes, two on each side were then drilled, which will take the flag halliards when they are rigged. The topgallant mast was finished off similarly to the lower mast, with the lower end and masthead being painted black, and the spar itself being stained a reddish-brown colour. The masts were then lightly treated with beeswax.
 
I decided to glue the topgallant mast to the lower mast before stepping them as one unit – and in the process completely forgot about how I was going to fit the mast hoops, since they would not now of course, fit over my nicely-made crosstrees! This actually didn’t prove to be such a disaster, when I gave it a little more thought, and the problem was satisfactorily resolved as I will mention later.
 
I opted to glue the mast in place, with a smear of glue around the partners at deck level, and with a spot on the heel where it fits over the keel piece. The actual stepping of the mast went quite smoothly, and it made a close fit. To locate the cut out in the heel onto the keel piece, I had made a small pencil marks on the mast at deck level, which showed the fore and aft position. By slightly twisting the mast this way and that, as I pushed it home, I felt the heel ’lock’ in place. The mast was pretty much vertical in the athwartships plane, according to my homemade plumbob gauge, although to be sure I put some gentle pressure against the top end of the mast whilst the glue dried. The rake fore and aft was, of course, fixed by the kit design.
 

 
We now come to the boom. The dimensions, from the AOTS bible, called for a spar of 62’ in length, which works out to a model length of 27.62 cm. This was not much longer than the length given in the kit instructions, but again I opted to make my own spar, it being a little thicker at 9.2 cm at it’s maximum girth. Both ends are tapered from this point, approximately a third of the length of the boom from the mast. The sides of the boom at the mast end are then chamferred, to fit the jaws. Since the kit supplied jaws would, of course, no longer fit the thicker boom (but which I otherwise considered suitable) I first split them in half, shaped the tail end to fit, and then glued them to the spar on either side. Finally, I drilled a hole in each side at the tail end of the jaws, to take a couple of belaying pins for the mainsail brails. With the boom thus shaped I painted both ends black, including the jaws, and gave it a beeswax finish.
 
Fittings include: a preventer tackle beneath the boom, consisting of two double blocks fixed to two widely-spaced eyebolts, the fall of the line rove between them coming off of the after block, and being belayed to a small cleat on the side of the boom; two stops on top of the spar at its after end, between which the upper double sheet block strop is fastened; a sheave hole for the mainsail clew outhaul, which also belays to a small cleat on the boom; an eyebolt on top of the spar at the aft end, for the topping lift; another eyebolt, near the jaws, for the tack of the mainsail; there is also a small cleat for the ensign halliards.
 
Having finished all these fittings, it was then time to fit the boom to the mast. The mast end would rest, and be glued to, the boom saddle and I would further secure it (as with the yards) by a pin positioned in the mast. The aft end, however, could still move if not fixed so I decided, since the sails would be furled, to make a boom crutch. I had no reference for this (other than more modern ones I have seen) so I made it out of two simple, substantial-looking cross pieces, with a pin through them where they cross. I have it in mind that they fold when not in use, and can be stowed away. It is simply glued to the deck, behind the two lockers, but it made for a stable support for the aft end of the boom.
 

 
Two jobs remained to be done. The first was to fit the parrels, connecting the jaws to the mast, and here I opted to use the black parrel beads supplied with the kit. Then it was simply a case of tying a length of black rigging thread to one end of the jaws, through the hole already drilled, threading on the requisite number of beads required for it to pass comfortably around the mast (being careful not to make it too tight) and fastening the other end of the thread to the opposite jaws. A small touch of glue on the knot would prevent it from untying.
 
There was one other small job to do before the boom was finished. I thought a small footrope at the after end, overhanging the taffrail, might look the part. This was made from a length of black rigging thread, with simple overhand knots tied at intervals, and fastened to the spar. I fitted another stop to anchor the inboard end, the outer being fastened by a simple loop over the boom.
 
Next time: Some items of rigging, the gaff, and the mainsail.

With the mastcoat in place the mast provided made for a reasonably good fit, but to aid in its location I cut a slot in its heel, which secured it over the keel piece. I then tapered the mast from about half-way up its length using a small modelling plane, being careful to take just a thin sliver off with each stroke, and finishing off with a fine-grade sandpaper. (Btw, it is important to always have a sharp blade in the plane which, I find, also tends to reduce ’catching’.) This procedure took a little while, but I didn’t want to give the mast too much of a taper – and I think it resulted in a nice-looking spar. The kit’s topgallant mast was also, to my mind, a little on the thin side and I wanted to both beef it up and lengthen it. I therefore substituted my own from a suitable piece of dowel. Both the topgallant and the lower mast were made of similar dimensions to those given for the Alert, in the AOTS book.
 
Because of the above changes I was unable to use the ’cross trees’ and mast cap from the kit but I had decided to replace these in any case as, from my point of view, they were too small. Both parts are in fact the same, with similar-sized holes drilled for the lower mast and topgallant mast. Initially I attempted to adapt them but, when endeavouring to drill out one of the holes to enlarge it to take the head of the lower mast, it split in half – so that was that, I had to scratch them! The replacements turned out reasonably well, with separate ’trestle trees’ and ’cross trees’, into which the lower and topgallant masts fitted snugly, the lower ’cross tree’ structure resting on a pair of bibbs either side of the mast. I refer to them as ’cross trees’ and ’tressle trees’, but this is really a misnomer as they do not seem to have been fitted on cutters at this date. The structure I made more resembled an oblong-shaped ’box’, open at the top and bottom, with an off-center division passing between the two masts reflecting their differing circumferences.
 
Cutter lower masts and topmasts were in one piece at this date, hence the separate upper mast is referred to as the topgallant. The topgallant mast was also fidded abaft, or behind, the lower mast which meant that backstays were not normally required and could therefore dispensed with. Standing and running backstays were only fitted to the lower mast.  As a further historical note, Sherbourne was very likely one of the last of her type to have this masting arrangement. From around 1780, cutter masts followed the practice on larger ships, with which we are perhaps more familiar, and were rigged with a lower mast and longer topmast, complete with proper crosstrees, trestle trees, bolsters, and backstays. There are also some differences with the shrouds. On Sherbourne these terminate just above the position of the gaff (fitting over a shoulder or stop) rather than going as far as the doubling, but with the later rig the shrouds passed around the lower masthead. The number of yards and their hoisting arrangements also differ from later practice, but more about these later, except to say that pins were inserted into the masts to take the yards when fitted.
 

 
The after side of the lower mast head was fitted with eyebolts to take the blocks for the throat and peak halliards and the boom topping lift, and stops were fitted in various positions for some of the rigging, such as the forestays when they they are fitted. At the base of the lower mast, I fitted a saddle around the aft side of the mast on which the boom jaws rest, whilst below them five cleats were equally spaced around the mast, to take the falls of the running rigging which might be belayed there. I’m not quite sure yet what all of these lines will be but, as I mentioned before, there is an overall lack of belaying points – so I think providing a few more will be an advantage. The cleats were painted black, as were the crosstrees, caps and masthead, whilst the mast itself was stained a reddish brown.
 
The topgallant mast, as mentioned, was a replacement. As with the lower mast, this was carefully tapered at its upper end, and given a snug fit at the heel to fit the crosstrees and mastcap. Not immediately obvious to the eye is the fid, made made fom a small cut-off nail, which passes through a hole drilled through the heel of the mast, and which rests on the upper edges of the ’trestle trees’. As mentioned it is not that noticeable, especially as the whole assembly is painted black – but at least I know it’s there! Just below this is the sheave hole for the toprope, the rope itself being made fast to an eyebolt on the port side of the mastcap. There is a corresponding eyebolt on the starboard side, for the toprope block.
 
At the upper end of the mast there are again stops for the rigging, and at the very top I fitted a truck. This was not provided for in the kit, but I think any mast looks unfinished without one! This was easy to make, being merely a suitably sized piece of dowel rod, with rounded edges and a small capping on the top. Four small holes, two on each side were then drilled, which will take the flag halliards when they are rigged. The topgallant mast was finished off similarly to the lower mast, with the lower end and masthead being painted black, and the spar itself being stained a reddish-brown colour. The masts were then lightly treated with beeswax.
 
I decided to glue the topgallant mast to the lower mast before stepping them as one unit – and in the process completely forgot about how I was going to fit the mast hoops, since they would not now of course, fit over my nicely-made crosstrees! This actually didn’t prove to be such a disaster, when I gave it a little more thought, and the problem was satisfactorily resolved as I will mention later.
 
I opted to glue the mast in place, with a smear of glue around the partners at deck level, and with a spot on the heel where it fits over the keel piece. The actual stepping of the mast went quite smoothly, and it made a close fit. To locate the cut out in the heel onto the keel piece, I had made a small pencil marks on the mast at deck level, which showed the fore and aft position. By slightly twisting the mast this way and that, as I pushed it home, I felt the heel ’lock’ in place. The mast was pretty much vertical in the athwartships plane, according to my homemade plumbob gauge, although to be sure I put some gentle pressure against the top end of the mast whilst the glue dried. The rake fore and aft was, of course, fixed by the kit design.
 

 
We now come to the boom. The dimensions, from the AOTS bible, called for a spar of 62’ in length, which works out to a model length of 27.62 cm. This was not much longer than the length given in the kit instructions, but again I opted to make my own spar, it being a little thicker at 9.2 cm at it’s maximum girth. Both ends are tapered from this point, approximately a third of the length of the boom from the mast. The sides of the boom at the mast end are then chamferred, to fit the jaws. Since the kit supplied jaws would, of course, no longer fit the thicker boom (but which I otherwise considered suitable) I first split them in half, shaped the tail end to fit, and then glued them to the spar on either side. Finally, I drilled a hole in each side at the tail end of the jaws, to take a couple of belaying pins for the mainsail brails. With the boom thus shaped I painted both ends black, including the jaws, and gave it a beeswax finish.
 
Fittings include: a preventer tackle beneath the boom, consisting of two double blocks fixed to two widely-spaced eyebolts, the fall of the line rove between them coming off of the after block, and being belayed to a small cleat on the side of the boom; two stops on top of the spar at its after end, between which the upper double sheet block strop is fastened; a sheave hole for the mainsail clew outhaul, which also belays to a small cleat on the boom; an eyebolt on top of the spar at the aft end, for the topping lift; another eyebolt, near the jaws, for the tack of the mainsail; there is also a small cleat for the ensign halliards.
 
Having finished all these fittings, it was then time to fit the boom to the mast. The mast end would rest, and be glued to, the boom saddle and I would further secure it (as with the yards) by a pin positioned in the mast. The aft end, however, could still move if not fixed so I decided, since the sails would be furled, to make a boom crutch. I had no reference for this (other than more modern ones I have seen) so I made it out of two simple, substantial-looking cross pieces, with a pin through them where they cross. I have it in mind that they fold when not in use, and can be stowed away. It is simply glued to the deck, behind the two lockers, but it made for a stable support for the aft end of the boom.
 

 
Two jobs remained to be done. The first was to fit the parrels, connecting the jaws to the mast, and here I opted to use the black parrel beads supplied with the kit. Then it was simply a case of tying a length of black rigging thread to one end of the jaws, through the hole already drilled, threading on the requisite number of beads required for it to pass comfortably around the mast (being careful not to make it too tight) and fastening the other end of the thread to the opposite jaws. A small touch of glue on the knot would prevent it from untying.
 
There was one other small job to do before the boom was finished. I thought a small footrope at the after end, overhanging the taffrail, might look the part. This was made from a length of black rigging thread, with simple overhand knots tied at intervals, and fastened to the spar. I fitted another stop to anchor the inboard end, the outer being fastened by a simple loop over the boom.
 
Next time: Some items of rigging, the gaff, and the mainsail.

With the mastcoat in place the mast provided made for a reasonably good fit, but to aid in its location I cut a slot in its heel, which secured it over the keel piece. I then tapered the mast from about half-way up its length using a small modelling plane, being careful to take just a thin sliver off with each stroke, and finishing off with a fine-grade sandpaper. (Btw, it is important to always have a sharp blade in the plane which, I find, also tends to reduce ’catching’.) This procedure took a little while, but I didn’t want to give the mast too much of a taper – and I think it resulted in a nice-looking spar. The kit’s topgallant mast was also, to my mind, a little on the thin side and I wanted to both beef it up and lengthen it. I therefore substituted my own from a suitable piece of dowel. Both the topgallant and the lower mast were made of similar dimensions to those given for the Alert, in the AOTS book.
 
Because of the above changes I was unable to use the ’cross trees’ and mast cap from the kit but I had decided to replace these in any case as, from my point of view, they were too small. Both parts are in fact the same, with similar-sized holes drilled for the lower mast and topgallant mast. Initially I attempted to adapt them but, when endeavouring to drill out one of the holes to enlarge it to take the head of the lower mast, it split in half – so that was that, I had to scratch them! The replacements turned out reasonably well, with separate ’trestle trees’ and ’cross trees’, into which the lower and topgallant masts fitted snugly, the lower ’cross tree’ structure resting on a pair of bibbs either side of the mast. I refer to them as ’cross trees’ and ’tressle trees’, but this is really a misnomer as they do not seem to have been fitted on cutters at this date. The structure I made more resembled an oblong-shaped ’box’, open at the top and bottom, with an off-center division passing between the two masts reflecting their differing circumferences.
 
Cutter lower masts and topmasts were in one piece at this date, hence the separate upper mast is referred to as the topgallant. The topgallant mast was also fidded abaft, or behind, the lower mast which meant that backstays were not normally required and could therefore dispensed with. Standing and running backstays were only fitted to the lower mast.  As a further historical note, Sherbourne was very likely one of the last of her type to have this masting arrangement. From around 1780, cutter masts followed the practice on larger ships, with which we are perhaps more familiar, and were rigged with a lower mast and longer topmast, complete with proper crosstrees, trestle trees, bolsters, and backstays. There are also some differences with the shrouds. On Sherbourne these terminate just above the position of the gaff (fitting over a shoulder or stop) rather than going as far as the doubling, but with the later rig the shrouds passed around the lower masthead. The number of yards and their hoisting arrangements also differ from later practice, but more about these later, except to say that pins were inserted into the masts to take the yards when fitted.
 

 
The after side of the lower mast head was fitted with eyebolts to take the blocks for the throat and peak halliards and the boom topping lift, and stops were fitted in various positions for some of the rigging, such as the forestays when they they are fitted. At the base of the lower mast, I fitted a saddle around the aft side of the mast on which the boom jaws rest, whilst below them five cleats were equally spaced around the mast, to take the falls of the running rigging which might be belayed there. I’m not quite sure yet what all of these lines will be but, as I mentioned before, there is an overall lack of belaying points – so I think providing a few more will be an advantage. The cleats were painted black, as were the crosstrees, caps and masthead, whilst the mast itself was stained a reddish brown.
 
The topgallant mast, as mentioned, was a replacement. As with the lower mast, this was carefully tapered at its upper end, and given a snug fit at the heel to fit the crosstrees and mastcap. Not immediately obvious to the eye is the fid, made made fom a small cut-off nail, which passes through a hole drilled through the heel of the mast, and which rests on the upper edges of the ’trestle trees’. As mentioned it is not that noticeable, especially as the whole assembly is painted black – but at least I know it’s there! Just below this is the sheave hole for the toprope, the rope itself being made fast to an eyebolt on the port side of the mastcap. There is a corresponding eyebolt on the starboard side, for the toprope block.
 
At the upper end of the mast there are again stops for the rigging, and at the very top I fitted a truck. This was not provided for in the kit, but I think any mast looks unfinished without one! This was easy to make, being merely a suitably sized piece of dowel rod, with rounded edges and a small capping on the top. Four small holes, two on each side were then drilled, which will take the flag halliards when they are rigged. The topgallant mast was finished off similarly to the lower mast, with the lower end and masthead being painted black, and the spar itself being stained a reddish-brown colour. The masts were then lightly treated with beeswax.
 
I decided to glue the topgallant mast to the lower mast before stepping them as one unit – and in the process completely forgot about how I was going to fit the mast hoops, since they would not now of course, fit over my nicely-made crosstrees! This actually didn’t prove to be such a disaster, when I gave it a little more thought, and the problem was satisfactorily resolved as I will mention later.
 
I opted to glue the mast in place, with a smear of glue around the partners at deck level, and with a spot on the heel where it fits over the keel piece. The actual stepping of the mast went quite smoothly, and it made a close fit. To locate the cut out in the heel onto the keel piece, I had made a small pencil marks on the mast at deck level, which showed the fore and aft position. By slightly twisting the mast this way and that, as I pushed it home, I felt the heel ’lock’ in place. The mast was pretty much vertical in the athwartships plane, according to my homemade plumbob gauge, although to be sure I put some gentle pressure against the top end of the mast whilst the glue dried. The rake fore and aft was, of course, fixed by the kit design.
 

 
We now come to the boom. The dimensions, from the AOTS bible, called for a spar of 62’ in length, which works out to a model length of 27.62 cm. This was not much longer than the length given in the kit instructions, but again I opted to make my own spar, it being a little thicker at 9.2 cm at it’s maximum girth. Both ends are tapered from this point, approximately a third of the length of the boom from the mast. The sides of the boom at the mast end are then chamferred, to fit the jaws. Since the kit supplied jaws would, of course, no longer fit the thicker boom (but which I otherwise considered suitable) I first split them in half, shaped the tail end to fit, and then glued them to the spar on either side. Finally, I drilled a hole in each side at the tail end of the jaws, to take a couple of belaying pins for the mainsail brails. With the boom thus shaped I painted both ends black, including the jaws, and gave it a beeswax finish.
 
Fittings include: a preventer tackle beneath the boom, consisting of two double blocks fixed to two widely-spaced eyebolts, the fall of the line rove between them coming off of the after block, and being belayed to a small cleat on the side of the boom; two stops on top of the spar at its after end, between which the upper double sheet block strop is fastened; a sheave hole for the mainsail clew outhaul, which also belays to a small cleat on the boom; an eyebolt on top of the spar at the aft end, for the topping lift; another eyebolt, near the jaws, for the tack of the mainsail; there is also a small cleat for the ensign halliards.
 
Having finished all these fittings, it was then time to fit the boom to the mast. The mast end would rest, and be glued to, the boom saddle and I would further secure it (as with the yards) by a pin positioned in the mast. The aft end, however, could still move if not fixed so I decided, since the sails would be furled, to make a boom crutch. I had no reference for this (other than more modern ones I have seen) so I made it out of two simple, substantial-looking cross pieces, with a pin through them where they cross. I have it in mind that they fold when not in use, and can be stowed away. It is simply glued to the deck, behind the two lockers, but it made for a stable support for the aft end of the boom.
 

 
Two jobs remained to be done. The first was to fit the parrels, connecting the jaws to the mast, and here I opted to use the black parrel beads supplied with the kit. Then it was simply a case of tying a length of black rigging thread to one end of the jaws, through the hole already drilled, threading on the requisite number of beads required for it to pass comfortably around the mast (being careful not to make it too tight) and fastening the other end of the thread to the opposite jaws. A small touch of glue on the knot would prevent it from untying.
 
There was one other small job to do before the boom was finished. I thought a small footrope at the after end, overhanging the taffrail, might look the part. This was made from a length of black rigging thread, with simple overhand knots tied at intervals, and fastened to the spar. I fitted another stop to anchor the inboard end, the outer being fastened by a simple loop over the boom.
 
Next time: Some items of rigging, the gaff, and the mainsail.

With the mastcoat in place the mast provided made for a reasonably good fit, but to aid in its location I cut a slot in its heel, which secured it over the keel piece. I then tapered the mast from about half-way up its length using a small modelling plane, being careful to take just a thin sliver off with each stroke, and finishing off with a fine-grade sandpaper. (Btw, it is important to always have a sharp blade in the plane which, I find, also tends to reduce ’catching’.) This procedure took a little while, but I didn’t want to give the mast too much of a taper – and I think it resulted in a nice-looking spar. The kit’s topgallant mast was also, to my mind, a little on the thin side and I wanted to both beef it up and lengthen it. I therefore substituted my own from a suitable piece of dowel. Both the topgallant and the lower mast were made of similar dimensions to those given for the Alert, in the AOTS book.
 
Because of the above changes I was unable to use the ’cross trees’ and mast cap from the kit but I had decided to replace these in any case as, from my point of view, they were too small. Both parts are in fact the same, with similar-sized holes drilled for the lower mast and topgallant mast. Initially I attempted to adapt them but, when endeavouring to drill out one of the holes to enlarge it to take the head of the lower mast, it split in half – so that was that, I had to scratch them! The replacements turned out reasonably well, with separate ’trestle trees’ and ’cross trees’, into which the lower and topgallant masts fitted snugly, the lower ’cross tree’ structure resting on a pair of bibbs either side of the mast. I refer to them as ’cross trees’ and ’tressle trees’, but this is really a misnomer as they do not seem to have been fitted on cutters at this date. The structure I made more resembled an oblong-shaped ’box’, open at the top and bottom, with an off-center division passing between the two masts reflecting their differing circumferences.
 
Cutter lower masts and topmasts were in one piece at this date, hence the separate upper mast is referred to as the topgallant. The topgallant mast was also fidded abaft, or behind, the lower mast which meant that backstays were not normally required and could therefore dispensed with. Standing and running backstays were only fitted to the lower mast.  As a further historical note, Sherbourne was very likely one of the last of her type to have this masting arrangement. From around 1780, cutter masts followed the practice on larger ships, with which we are perhaps more familiar, and were rigged with a lower mast and longer topmast, complete with proper crosstrees, trestle trees, bolsters, and backstays. There are also some differences with the shrouds. On Sherbourne these terminate just above the position of the gaff (fitting over a shoulder or stop) rather than going as far as the doubling, but with the later rig the shrouds passed around the lower masthead. The number of yards and their hoisting arrangements also differ from later practice, but more about these later, except to say that pins were inserted into the masts to take the yards when fitted.
 

 
The after side of the lower mast head was fitted with eyebolts to take the blocks for the throat and peak halliards and the boom topping lift, and stops were fitted in various positions for some of the rigging, such as the forestays when they they are fitted. At the base of the lower mast, I fitted a saddle around the aft side of the mast on which the boom jaws rest, whilst below them five cleats were equally spaced around the mast, to take the falls of the running rigging which might be belayed there. I’m not quite sure yet what all of these lines will be but, as I mentioned before, there is an overall lack of belaying points – so I think providing a few more will be an advantage. The cleats were painted black, as were the crosstrees, caps and masthead, whilst the mast itself was stained a reddish brown.
 
The topgallant mast, as mentioned, was a replacement. As with the lower mast, this was carefully tapered at its upper end, and given a snug fit at the heel to fit the crosstrees and mastcap. Not immediately obvious to the eye is the fid, made made fom a small cut-off nail, which passes through a hole drilled through the heel of the mast, and which rests on the upper edges of the ’trestle trees’. As mentioned it is not that noticeable, especially as the whole assembly is painted black – but at least I know it’s there! Just below this is the sheave hole for the toprope, the rope itself being made fast to an eyebolt on the port side of the mastcap. There is a corresponding eyebolt on the starboard side, for the toprope block.
 
At the upper end of the mast there are again stops for the rigging, and at the very top I fitted a truck. This was not provided for in the kit, but I think any mast looks unfinished without one! This was easy to make, being merely a suitably sized piece of dowel rod, with rounded edges and a small capping on the top. Four small holes, two on each side were then drilled, which will take the flag halliards when they are rigged. The topgallant mast was finished off similarly to the lower mast, with the lower end and masthead being painted black, and the spar itself being stained a reddish-brown colour. The masts were then lightly treated with beeswax.
 
I decided to glue the topgallant mast to the lower mast before stepping them as one unit – and in the process completely forgot about how I was going to fit the mast hoops, since they would not now of course, fit over my nicely-made crosstrees! This actually didn’t prove to be such a disaster, when I gave it a little more thought, and the problem was satisfactorily resolved as I will mention later.
 
I opted to glue the mast in place, with a smear of glue around the partners at deck level, and with a spot on the heel where it fits over the keel piece. The actual stepping of the mast went quite smoothly, and it made a close fit. To locate the cut out in the heel onto the keel piece, I had made a small pencil marks on the mast at deck level, which showed the fore and aft position. By slightly twisting the mast this way and that, as I pushed it home, I felt the heel ’lock’ in place. The mast was pretty much vertical in the athwartships plane, according to my homemade plumbob gauge, although to be sure I put some gentle pressure against the top end of the mast whilst the glue dried. The rake fore and aft was, of course, fixed by the kit design.
 

 
We now come to the boom. The dimensions, from the AOTS bible, called for a spar of 62’ in length, which works out to a model length of 27.62 cm. This was not much longer than the length given in the kit instructions, but again I opted to make my own spar, it being a little thicker at 9.2 cm at it’s maximum girth. Both ends are tapered from this point, approximately a third of the length of the boom from the mast. The sides of the boom at the mast end are then chamferred, to fit the jaws. Since the kit supplied jaws would, of course, no longer fit the thicker boom (but which I otherwise considered suitable) I first split them in half, shaped the tail end to fit, and then glued them to the spar on either side. Finally, I drilled a hole in each side at the tail end of the jaws, to take a couple of belaying pins for the mainsail brails. With the boom thus shaped I painted both ends black, including the jaws, and gave it a beeswax finish.
 
Fittings include: a preventer tackle beneath the boom, consisting of two double blocks fixed to two widely-spaced eyebolts, the fall of the line rove between them coming off of the after block, and being belayed to a small cleat on the side of the boom; two stops on top of the spar at its after end, between which the upper double sheet block strop is fastened; a sheave hole for the mainsail clew outhaul, which also belays to a small cleat on the boom; an eyebolt on top of the spar at the aft end, for the topping lift; another eyebolt, near the jaws, for the tack of the mainsail; there is also a small cleat for the ensign halliards.
 
Having finished all these fittings, it was then time to fit the boom to the mast. The mast end would rest, and be glued to, the boom saddle and I would further secure it (as with the yards) by a pin positioned in the mast. The aft end, however, could still move if not fixed so I decided, since the sails would be furled, to make a boom crutch. I had no reference for this (other than more modern ones I have seen) so I made it out of two simple, substantial-looking cross pieces, with a pin through them where they cross. I have it in mind that they fold when not in use, and can be stowed away. It is simply glued to the deck, behind the two lockers, but it made for a stable support for the aft end of the boom.
 

 
Two jobs remained to be done. The first was to fit the parrels, connecting the jaws to the mast, and here I opted to use the black parrel beads supplied with the kit. Then it was simply a case of tying a length of black rigging thread to one end of the jaws, through the hole already drilled, threading on the requisite number of beads required for it to pass comfortably around the mast (being careful not to make it too tight) and fastening the other end of the thread to the opposite jaws. A small touch of glue on the knot would prevent it from untying.
 
There was one other small job to do before the boom was finished. I thought a small footrope at the after end, overhanging the taffrail, might look the part. This was made from a length of black rigging thread, with simple overhand knots tied at intervals, and fastened to the spar. I fitted another stop to anchor the inboard end, the outer being fastened by a simple loop over the boom.
 
Next time: Some items of rigging, the gaff, and the mainsail.

With the mastcoat in place the mast provided made for a reasonably good fit, but to aid in its location I cut a slot in its heel, which secured it over the keel piece. I then tapered the mast from about half-way up its length using a small modelling plane, being careful to take just a thin sliver off with each stroke, and finishing off with a fine-grade sandpaper. (Btw, it is important to always have a sharp blade in the plane which, I find, also tends to reduce ’catching’.) This procedure took a little while, but I didn’t want to give the mast too much of a taper – and I think it resulted in a nice-looking spar. The kit’s topgallant mast was also, to my mind, a little on the thin side and I wanted to both beef it up and lengthen it. I therefore substituted my own from a suitable piece of dowel. Both the topgallant and the lower mast were made of similar dimensions to those given for the Alert, in the AOTS book.
 
Because of the above changes I was unable to use the ’cross trees’ and mast cap from the kit but I had decided to replace these in any case as, from my point of view, they were too small. Both parts are in fact the same, with similar-sized holes drilled for the lower mast and topgallant mast. Initially I attempted to adapt them but, when endeavouring to drill out one of the holes to enlarge it to take the head of the lower mast, it split in half – so that was that, I had to scratch them! The replacements turned out reasonably well, with separate ’trestle trees’ and ’cross trees’, into which the lower and topgallant masts fitted snugly, the lower ’cross tree’ structure resting on a pair of bibbs either side of the mast. I refer to them as ’cross trees’ and ’tressle trees’, but this is really a misnomer as they do not seem to have been fitted on cutters at this date. The structure I made more resembled an oblong-shaped ’box’, open at the top and bottom, with an off-center division passing between the two masts reflecting their differing circumferences.
 
Cutter lower masts and topmasts were in one piece at this date, hence the separate upper mast is referred to as the topgallant. The topgallant mast was also fidded abaft, or behind, the lower mast which meant that backstays were not normally required and could therefore dispensed with. Standing and running backstays were only fitted to the lower mast.  As a further historical note, Sherbourne was very likely one of the last of her type to have this masting arrangement. From around 1780, cutter masts followed the practice on larger ships, with which we are perhaps more familiar, and were rigged with a lower mast and longer topmast, complete with proper crosstrees, trestle trees, bolsters, and backstays. There are also some differences with the shrouds. On Sherbourne these terminate just above the position of the gaff (fitting over a shoulder or stop) rather than going as far as the doubling, but with the later rig the shrouds passed around the lower masthead. The number of yards and their hoisting arrangements also differ from later practice, but more about these later, except to say that pins were inserted into the masts to take the yards when fitted.
 

 
The after side of the lower mast head was fitted with eyebolts to take the blocks for the throat and peak halliards and the boom topping lift, and stops were fitted in various positions for some of the rigging, such as the forestays when they they are fitted. At the base of the lower mast, I fitted a saddle around the aft side of the mast on which the boom jaws rest, whilst below them five cleats were equally spaced around the mast, to take the falls of the running rigging which might be belayed there. I’m not quite sure yet what all of these lines will be but, as I mentioned before, there is an overall lack of belaying points – so I think providing a few more will be an advantage. The cleats were painted black, as were the crosstrees, caps and masthead, whilst the mast itself was stained a reddish brown.
 
The topgallant mast, as mentioned, was a replacement. As with the lower mast, this was carefully tapered at its upper end, and given a snug fit at the heel to fit the crosstrees and mastcap. Not immediately obvious to the eye is the fid, made made fom a small cut-off nail, which passes through a hole drilled through the heel of the mast, and which rests on the upper edges of the ’trestle trees’. As mentioned it is not that noticeable, especially as the whole assembly is painted black – but at least I know it’s there! Just below this is the sheave hole for the toprope, the rope itself being made fast to an eyebolt on the port side of the mastcap. There is a corresponding eyebolt on the starboard side, for the toprope block.
 
At the upper end of the mast there are again stops for the rigging, and at the very top I fitted a truck. This was not provided for in the kit, but I think any mast looks unfinished without one! This was easy to make, being merely a suitably sized piece of dowel rod, with rounded edges and a small capping on the top. Four small holes, two on each side were then drilled, which will take the flag halliards when they are rigged. The topgallant mast was finished off similarly to the lower mast, with the lower end and masthead being painted black, and the spar itself being stained a reddish-brown colour. The masts were then lightly treated with beeswax.
 
I decided to glue the topgallant mast to the lower mast before stepping them as one unit – and in the process completely forgot about how I was going to fit the mast hoops, since they would not now of course, fit over my nicely-made crosstrees! This actually didn’t prove to be such a disaster, when I gave it a little more thought, and the problem was satisfactorily resolved as I will mention later.
 
I opted to glue the mast in place, with a smear of glue around the partners at deck level, and with a spot on the heel where it fits over the keel piece. The actual stepping of the mast went quite smoothly, and it made a close fit. To locate the cut out in the heel onto the keel piece, I had made a small pencil marks on the mast at deck level, which showed the fore and aft position. By slightly twisting the mast this way and that, as I pushed it home, I felt the heel ’lock’ in place. The mast was pretty much vertical in the athwartships plane, according to my homemade plumbob gauge, although to be sure I put some gentle pressure against the top end of the mast whilst the glue dried. The rake fore and aft was, of course, fixed by the kit design.
 

 
We now come to the boom. The dimensions, from the AOTS bible, called for a spar of 62’ in length, which works out to a model length of 27.62 cm. This was not much longer than the length given in the kit instructions, but again I opted to make my own spar, it being a little thicker at 9.2 cm at it’s maximum girth. Both ends are tapered from this point, approximately a third of the length of the boom from the mast. The sides of the boom at the mast end are then chamferred, to fit the jaws. Since the kit supplied jaws would, of course, no longer fit the thicker boom (but which I otherwise considered suitable) I first split them in half, shaped the tail end to fit, and then glued them to the spar on either side. Finally, I drilled a hole in each side at the tail end of the jaws, to take a couple of belaying pins for the mainsail brails. With the boom thus shaped I painted both ends black, including the jaws, and gave it a beeswax finish.
 
Fittings include: a preventer tackle beneath the boom, consisting of two double blocks fixed to two widely-spaced eyebolts, the fall of the line rove between them coming off of the after block, and being belayed to a small cleat on the side of the boom; two stops on top of the spar at its after end, between which the upper double sheet block strop is fastened; a sheave hole for the mainsail clew outhaul, which also belays to a small cleat on the boom; an eyebolt on top of the spar at the aft end, for the topping lift; another eyebolt, near the jaws, for the tack of the mainsail; there is also a small cleat for the ensign halliards.
 
Having finished all these fittings, it was then time to fit the boom to the mast. The mast end would rest, and be glued to, the boom saddle and I would further secure it (as with the yards) by a pin positioned in the mast. The aft end, however, could still move if not fixed so I decided, since the sails would be furled, to make a boom crutch. I had no reference for this (other than more modern ones I have seen) so I made it out of two simple, substantial-looking cross pieces, with a pin through them where they cross. I have it in mind that they fold when not in use, and can be stowed away. It is simply glued to the deck, behind the two lockers, but it made for a stable support for the aft end of the boom.
 

 
Two jobs remained to be done. The first was to fit the parrels, connecting the jaws to the mast, and here I opted to use the black parrel beads supplied with the kit. Then it was simply a case of tying a length of black rigging thread to one end of the jaws, through the hole already drilled, threading on the requisite number of beads required for it to pass comfortably around the mast (being careful not to make it too tight) and fastening the other end of the thread to the opposite jaws. A small touch of glue on the knot would prevent it from untying.
 
There was one other small job to do before the boom was finished. I thought a small footrope at the after end, overhanging the taffrail, might look the part. This was made from a length of black rigging thread, with simple overhand knots tied at intervals, and fastened to the spar. I fitted another stop to anchor the inboard end, the outer being fastened by a simple loop over the boom.
 
Next time: Some items of rigging, the gaff, and the mainsail.

With the mastcoat in place the mast provided made for a reasonably good fit, but to aid in its location I cut a slot in its heel, which secured it over the keel piece. I then tapered the mast from about half-way up its length using a small modelling plane, being careful to take just a thin sliver off with each stroke, and finishing off with a fine-grade sandpaper. (Btw, it is important to always have a sharp blade in the plane which, I find, also tends to reduce ’catching’.) This procedure took a little while, but I didn’t want to give the mast too much of a taper – and I think it resulted in a nice-looking spar. The kit’s topgallant mast was also, to my mind, a little on the thin side and I wanted to both beef it up and lengthen it. I therefore substituted my own from a suitable piece of dowel. Both the topgallant and the lower mast were made of similar dimensions to those given for the Alert, in the AOTS book.
 
Because of the above changes I was unable to use the ’cross trees’ and mast cap from the kit but I had decided to replace these in any case as, from my point of view, they were too small. Both parts are in fact the same, with similar-sized holes drilled for the lower mast and topgallant mast. Initially I attempted to adapt them but, when endeavouring to drill out one of the holes to enlarge it to take the head of the lower mast, it split in half – so that was that, I had to scratch them! The replacements turned out reasonably well, with separate ’trestle trees’ and ’cross trees’, into which the lower and topgallant masts fitted snugly, the lower ’cross tree’ structure resting on a pair of bibbs either side of the mast. I refer to them as ’cross trees’ and ’tressle trees’, but this is really a misnomer as they do not seem to have been fitted on cutters at this date. The structure I made more resembled an oblong-shaped ’box’, open at the top and bottom, with an off-center division passing between the two masts reflecting their differing circumferences.
 
Cutter lower masts and topmasts were in one piece at this date, hence the separate upper mast is referred to as the topgallant. The topgallant mast was also fidded abaft, or behind, the lower mast which meant that backstays were not normally required and could therefore dispensed with. Standing and running backstays were only fitted to the lower mast.  As a further historical note, Sherbourne was very likely one of the last of her type to have this masting arrangement. From around 1780, cutter masts followed the practice on larger ships, with which we are perhaps more familiar, and were rigged with a lower mast and longer topmast, complete with proper crosstrees, trestle trees, bolsters, and backstays. There are also some differences with the shrouds. On Sherbourne these terminate just above the position of the gaff (fitting over a shoulder or stop) rather than going as far as the doubling, but with the later rig the shrouds passed around the lower masthead. The number of yards and their hoisting arrangements also differ from later practice, but more about these later, except to say that pins were inserted into the masts to take the yards when fitted.
 

 
The after side of the lower mast head was fitted with eyebolts to take the blocks for the throat and peak halliards and the boom topping lift, and stops were fitted in various positions for some of the rigging, such as the forestays when they they are fitted. At the base of the lower mast, I fitted a saddle around the aft side of the mast on which the boom jaws rest, whilst below them five cleats were equally spaced around the mast, to take the falls of the running rigging which might be belayed there. I’m not quite sure yet what all of these lines will be but, as I mentioned before, there is an overall lack of belaying points – so I think providing a few more will be an advantage. The cleats were painted black, as were the crosstrees, caps and masthead, whilst the mast itself was stained a reddish brown.
 
The topgallant mast, as mentioned, was a replacement. As with the lower mast, this was carefully tapered at its upper end, and given a snug fit at the heel to fit the crosstrees and mastcap. Not immediately obvious to the eye is the fid, made made fom a small cut-off nail, which passes through a hole drilled through the heel of the mast, and which rests on the upper edges of the ’trestle trees’. As mentioned it is not that noticeable, especially as the whole assembly is painted black – but at least I know it’s there! Just below this is the sheave hole for the toprope, the rope itself being made fast to an eyebolt on the port side of the mastcap. There is a corresponding eyebolt on the starboard side, for the toprope block.
 
At the upper end of the mast there are again stops for the rigging, and at the very top I fitted a truck. This was not provided for in the kit, but I think any mast looks unfinished without one! This was easy to make, being merely a suitably sized piece of dowel rod, with rounded edges and a small capping on the top. Four small holes, two on each side were then drilled, which will take the flag halliards when they are rigged. The topgallant mast was finished off similarly to the lower mast, with the lower end and masthead being painted black, and the spar itself being stained a reddish-brown colour. The masts were then lightly treated with beeswax.
 
I decided to glue the topgallant mast to the lower mast before stepping them as one unit – and in the process completely forgot about how I was going to fit the mast hoops, since they would not now of course, fit over my nicely-made crosstrees! This actually didn’t prove to be such a disaster, when I gave it a little more thought, and the problem was satisfactorily resolved as I will mention later.
 
I opted to glue the mast in place, with a smear of glue around the partners at deck level, and with a spot on the heel where it fits over the keel piece. The actual stepping of the mast went quite smoothly, and it made a close fit. To locate the cut out in the heel onto the keel piece, I had made a small pencil marks on the mast at deck level, which showed the fore and aft position. By slightly twisting the mast this way and that, as I pushed it home, I felt the heel ’lock’ in place. The mast was pretty much vertical in the athwartships plane, according to my homemade plumbob gauge, although to be sure I put some gentle pressure against the top end of the mast whilst the glue dried. The rake fore and aft was, of course, fixed by the kit design.
 

 
We now come to the boom. The dimensions, from the AOTS bible, called for a spar of 62’ in length, which works out to a model length of 27.62 cm. This was not much longer than the length given in the kit instructions, but again I opted to make my own spar, it being a little thicker at 9.2 cm at it’s maximum girth. Both ends are tapered from this point, approximately a third of the length of the boom from the mast. The sides of the boom at the mast end are then chamferred, to fit the jaws. Since the kit supplied jaws would, of course, no longer fit the thicker boom (but which I otherwise considered suitable) I first split them in half, shaped the tail end to fit, and then glued them to the spar on either side. Finally, I drilled a hole in each side at the tail end of the jaws, to take a couple of belaying pins for the mainsail brails. With the boom thus shaped I painted both ends black, including the jaws, and gave it a beeswax finish.
 
Fittings include: a preventer tackle beneath the boom, consisting of two double blocks fixed to two widely-spaced eyebolts, the fall of the line rove between them coming off of the after block, and being belayed to a small cleat on the side of the boom; two stops on top of the spar at its after end, between which the upper double sheet block strop is fastened; a sheave hole for the mainsail clew outhaul, which also belays to a small cleat on the boom; an eyebolt on top of the spar at the aft end, for the topping lift; another eyebolt, near the jaws, for the tack of the mainsail; there is also a small cleat for the ensign halliards.
 
Having finished all these fittings, it was then time to fit the boom to the mast. The mast end would rest, and be glued to, the boom saddle and I would further secure it (as with the yards) by a pin positioned in the mast. The aft end, however, could still move if not fixed so I decided, since the sails would be furled, to make a boom crutch. I had no reference for this (other than more modern ones I have seen) so I made it out of two simple, substantial-looking cross pieces, with a pin through them where they cross. I have it in mind that they fold when not in use, and can be stowed away. It is simply glued to the deck, behind the two lockers, but it made for a stable support for the aft end of the boom.
 

 
Two jobs remained to be done. The first was to fit the parrels, connecting the jaws to the mast, and here I opted to use the black parrel beads supplied with the kit. Then it was simply a case of tying a length of black rigging thread to one end of the jaws, through the hole already drilled, threading on the requisite number of beads required for it to pass comfortably around the mast (being careful not to make it too tight) and fastening the other end of the thread to the opposite jaws. A small touch of glue on the knot would prevent it from untying.
 
There was one other small job to do before the boom was finished. I thought a small footrope at the after end, overhanging the taffrail, might look the part. This was made from a length of black rigging thread, with simple overhand knots tied at intervals, and fastened to the spar. I fitted another stop to anchor the inboard end, the outer being fastened by a simple loop over the boom.
 
Next time: Some items of rigging, the gaff, and the mainsail.

With the mastcoat in place the mast provided made for a reasonably good fit, but to aid in its location I cut a slot in its heel, which secured it over the keel piece. I then tapered the mast from about half-way up its length using a small modelling plane, being careful to take just a thin sliver off with each stroke, and finishing off with a fine-grade sandpaper. (Btw, it is important to always have a sharp blade in the plane which, I find, also tends to reduce ’catching’.) This procedure took a little while, but I didn’t want to give the mast too much of a taper – and I think it resulted in a nice-looking spar. The kit’s topgallant mast was also, to my mind, a little on the thin side and I wanted to both beef it up and lengthen it. I therefore substituted my own from a suitable piece of dowel. Both the topgallant and the lower mast were made of similar dimensions to those given for the Alert, in the AOTS book.
 
Because of the above changes I was unable to use the ’cross trees’ and mast cap from the kit but I had decided to replace these in any case as, from my point of view, they were too small. Both parts are in fact the same, with similar-sized holes drilled for the lower mast and topgallant mast. Initially I attempted to adapt them but, when endeavouring to drill out one of the holes to enlarge it to take the head of the lower mast, it split in half – so that was that, I had to scratch them! The replacements turned out reasonably well, with separate ’trestle trees’ and ’cross trees’, into which the lower and topgallant masts fitted snugly, the lower ’cross tree’ structure resting on a pair of bibbs either side of the mast. I refer to them as ’cross trees’ and ’tressle trees’, but this is really a misnomer as they do not seem to have been fitted on cutters at this date. The structure I made more resembled an oblong-shaped ’box’, open at the top and bottom, with an off-center division passing between the two masts reflecting their differing circumferences.
 
Cutter lower masts and topmasts were in one piece at this date, hence the separate upper mast is referred to as the topgallant. The topgallant mast was also fidded abaft, or behind, the lower mast which meant that backstays were not normally required and could therefore dispensed with. Standing and running backstays were only fitted to the lower mast.  As a further historical note, Sherbourne was very likely one of the last of her type to have this masting arrangement. From around 1780, cutter masts followed the practice on larger ships, with which we are perhaps more familiar, and were rigged with a lower mast and longer topmast, complete with proper crosstrees, trestle trees, bolsters, and backstays. There are also some differences with the shrouds. On Sherbourne these terminate just above the position of the gaff (fitting over a shoulder or stop) rather than going as far as the doubling, but with the later rig the shrouds passed around the lower masthead. The number of yards and their hoisting arrangements also differ from later practice, but more about these later, except to say that pins were inserted into the masts to take the yards when fitted.
 

 
The after side of the lower mast head was fitted with eyebolts to take the blocks for the throat and peak halliards and the boom topping lift, and stops were fitted in various positions for some of the rigging, such as the forestays when they they are fitted. At the base of the lower mast, I fitted a saddle around the aft side of the mast on which the boom jaws rest, whilst below them five cleats were equally spaced around the mast, to take the falls of the running rigging which might be belayed there. I’m not quite sure yet what all of these lines will be but, as I mentioned before, there is an overall lack of belaying points – so I think providing a few more will be an advantage. The cleats were painted black, as were the crosstrees, caps and masthead, whilst the mast itself was stained a reddish brown.
 
The topgallant mast, as mentioned, was a replacement. As with the lower mast, this was carefully tapered at its upper end, and given a snug fit at the heel to fit the crosstrees and mastcap. Not immediately obvious to the eye is the fid, made made fom a small cut-off nail, which passes through a hole drilled through the heel of the mast, and which rests on the upper edges of the ’trestle trees’. As mentioned it is not that noticeable, especially as the whole assembly is painted black – but at least I know it’s there! Just below this is the sheave hole for the toprope, the rope itself being made fast to an eyebolt on the port side of the mastcap. There is a corresponding eyebolt on the starboard side, for the toprope block.
 
At the upper end of the mast there are again stops for the rigging, and at the very top I fitted a truck. This was not provided for in the kit, but I think any mast looks unfinished without one! This was easy to make, being merely a suitably sized piece of dowel rod, with rounded edges and a small capping on the top. Four small holes, two on each side were then drilled, which will take the flag halliards when they are rigged. The topgallant mast was finished off similarly to the lower mast, with the lower end and masthead being painted black, and the spar itself being stained a reddish-brown colour. The masts were then lightly treated with beeswax.
 
I decided to glue the topgallant mast to the lower mast before stepping them as one unit – and in the process completely forgot about how I was going to fit the mast hoops, since they would not now of course, fit over my nicely-made crosstrees! This actually didn’t prove to be such a disaster, when I gave it a little more thought, and the problem was satisfactorily resolved as I will mention later.
 
I opted to glue the mast in place, with a smear of glue around the partners at deck level, and with a spot on the heel where it fits over the keel piece. The actual stepping of the mast went quite smoothly, and it made a close fit. To locate the cut out in the heel onto the keel piece, I had made a small pencil marks on the mast at deck level, which showed the fore and aft position. By slightly twisting the mast this way and that, as I pushed it home, I felt the heel ’lock’ in place. The mast was pretty much vertical in the athwartships plane, according to my homemade plumbob gauge, although to be sure I put some gentle pressure against the top end of the mast whilst the glue dried. The rake fore and aft was, of course, fixed by the kit design.
 

 
We now come to the boom. The dimensions, from the AOTS bible, called for a spar of 62’ in length, which works out to a model length of 27.62 cm. This was not much longer than the length given in the kit instructions, but again I opted to make my own spar, it being a little thicker at 9.2 cm at it’s maximum girth. Both ends are tapered from this point, approximately a third of the length of the boom from the mast. The sides of the boom at the mast end are then chamferred, to fit the jaws. Since the kit supplied jaws would, of course, no longer fit the thicker boom (but which I otherwise considered suitable) I first split them in half, shaped the tail end to fit, and then glued them to the spar on either side. Finally, I drilled a hole in each side at the tail end of the jaws, to take a couple of belaying pins for the mainsail brails. With the boom thus shaped I painted both ends black, including the jaws, and gave it a beeswax finish.
 
Fittings include: a preventer tackle beneath the boom, consisting of two double blocks fixed to two widely-spaced eyebolts, the fall of the line rove between them coming off of the after block, and being belayed to a small cleat on the side of the boom; two stops on top of the spar at its after end, between which the upper double sheet block strop is fastened; a sheave hole for the mainsail clew outhaul, which also belays to a small cleat on the boom; an eyebolt on top of the spar at the aft end, for the topping lift; another eyebolt, near the jaws, for the tack of the mainsail; there is also a small cleat for the ensign halliards.
 
Having finished all these fittings, it was then time to fit the boom to the mast. The mast end would rest, and be glued to, the boom saddle and I would further secure it (as with the yards) by a pin positioned in the mast. The aft end, however, could still move if not fixed so I decided, since the sails would be furled, to make a boom crutch. I had no reference for this (other than more modern ones I have seen) so I made it out of two simple, substantial-looking cross pieces, with a pin through them where they cross. I have it in mind that they fold when not in use, and can be stowed away. It is simply glued to the deck, behind the two lockers, but it made for a stable support for the aft end of the boom.
 

 
Two jobs remained to be done. The first was to fit the parrels, connecting the jaws to the mast, and here I opted to use the black parrel beads supplied with the kit. Then it was simply a case of tying a length of black rigging thread to one end of the jaws, through the hole already drilled, threading on the requisite number of beads required for it to pass comfortably around the mast (being careful not to make it too tight) and fastening the other end of the thread to the opposite jaws. A small touch of glue on the knot would prevent it from untying.
 
There was one other small job to do before the boom was finished. I thought a small footrope at the after end, overhanging the taffrail, might look the part. This was made from a length of black rigging thread, with simple overhand knots tied at intervals, and fastened to the spar. I fitted another stop to anchor the inboard end, the outer being fastened by a simple loop over the boom.
 
Next time: Some items of rigging, the gaff, and the mainsail.

With the mastcoat in place the mast provided made for a reasonably good fit, but to aid in its location I cut a slot in its heel, which secured it over the keel piece. I then tapered the mast from about half-way up its length using a small modelling plane, being careful to take just a thin sliver off with each stroke, and finishing off with a fine-grade sandpaper. (Btw, it is important to always have a sharp blade in the plane which, I find, also tends to reduce ’catching’.) This procedure took a little while, but I didn’t want to give the mast too much of a taper – and I think it resulted in a nice-looking spar. The kit’s topgallant mast was also, to my mind, a little on the thin side and I wanted to both beef it up and lengthen it. I therefore substituted my own from a suitable piece of dowel. Both the topgallant and the lower mast were made of similar dimensions to those given for the Alert, in the AOTS book.
 
Because of the above changes I was unable to use the ’cross trees’ and mast cap from the kit but I had decided to replace these in any case as, from my point of view, they were too small. Both parts are in fact the same, with similar-sized holes drilled for the lower mast and topgallant mast. Initially I attempted to adapt them but, when endeavouring to drill out one of the holes to enlarge it to take the head of the lower mast, it split in half – so that was that, I had to scratch them! The replacements turned out reasonably well, with separate ’trestle trees’ and ’cross trees’, into which the lower and topgallant masts fitted snugly, the lower ’cross tree’ structure resting on a pair of bibbs either side of the mast. I refer to them as ’cross trees’ and ’tressle trees’, but this is really a misnomer as they do not seem to have been fitted on cutters at this date. The structure I made more resembled an oblong-shaped ’box’, open at the top and bottom, with an off-center division passing between the two masts reflecting their differing circumferences.
 
Cutter lower masts and topmasts were in one piece at this date, hence the separate upper mast is referred to as the topgallant. The topgallant mast was also fidded abaft, or behind, the lower mast which meant that backstays were not normally required and could therefore dispensed with. Standing and running backstays were only fitted to the lower mast.  As a further historical note, Sherbourne was very likely one of the last of her type to have this masting arrangement. From around 1780, cutter masts followed the practice on larger ships, with which we are perhaps more familiar, and were rigged with a lower mast and longer topmast, complete with proper crosstrees, trestle trees, bolsters, and backstays. There are also some differences with the shrouds. On Sherbourne these terminate just above the position of the gaff (fitting over a shoulder or stop) rather than going as far as the doubling, but with the later rig the shrouds passed around the lower masthead. The number of yards and their hoisting arrangements also differ from later practice, but more about these later, except to say that pins were inserted into the masts to take the yards when fitted.
 

 
The after side of the lower mast head was fitted with eyebolts to take the blocks for the throat and peak halliards and the boom topping lift, and stops were fitted in various positions for some of the rigging, such as the forestays when they they are fitted. At the base of the lower mast, I fitted a saddle around the aft side of the mast on which the boom jaws rest, whilst below them five cleats were equally spaced around the mast, to take the falls of the running rigging which might be belayed there. I’m not quite sure yet what all of these lines will be but, as I mentioned before, there is an overall lack of belaying points – so I think providing a few more will be an advantage. The cleats were painted black, as were the crosstrees, caps and masthead, whilst the mast itself was stained a reddish brown.
 
The topgallant mast, as mentioned, was a replacement. As with the lower mast, this was carefully tapered at its upper end, and given a snug fit at the heel to fit the crosstrees and mastcap. Not immediately obvious to the eye is the fid, made made fom a small cut-off nail, which passes through a hole drilled through the heel of the mast, and which rests on the upper edges of the ’trestle trees’. As mentioned it is not that noticeable, especially as the whole assembly is painted black – but at least I know it’s there! Just below this is the sheave hole for the toprope, the rope itself being made fast to an eyebolt on the port side of the mastcap. There is a corresponding eyebolt on the starboard side, for the toprope block.
 
At the upper end of the mast there are again stops for the rigging, and at the very top I fitted a truck. This was not provided for in the kit, but I think any mast looks unfinished without one! This was easy to make, being merely a suitably sized piece of dowel rod, with rounded edges and a small capping on the top. Four small holes, two on each side were then drilled, which will take the flag halliards when they are rigged. The topgallant mast was finished off similarly to the lower mast, with the lower end and masthead being painted black, and the spar itself being stained a reddish-brown colour. The masts were then lightly treated with beeswax.
 
I decided to glue the topgallant mast to the lower mast before stepping them as one unit – and in the process completely forgot about how I was going to fit the mast hoops, since they would not now of course, fit over my nicely-made crosstrees! This actually didn’t prove to be such a disaster, when I gave it a little more thought, and the problem was satisfactorily resolved as I will mention later.
 
I opted to glue the mast in place, with a smear of glue around the partners at deck level, and with a spot on the heel where it fits over the keel piece. The actual stepping of the mast went quite smoothly, and it made a close fit. To locate the cut out in the heel onto the keel piece, I had made a small pencil marks on the mast at deck level, which showed the fore and aft position. By slightly twisting the mast this way and that, as I pushed it home, I felt the heel ’lock’ in place. The mast was pretty much vertical in the athwartships plane, according to my homemade plumbob gauge, although to be sure I put some gentle pressure against the top end of the mast whilst the glue dried. The rake fore and aft was, of course, fixed by the kit design.
 

 
We now come to the boom. The dimensions, from the AOTS bible, called for a spar of 62’ in length, which works out to a model length of 27.62 cm. This was not much longer than the length given in the kit instructions, but again I opted to make my own spar, it being a little thicker at 9.2 cm at it’s maximum girth. Both ends are tapered from this point, approximately a third of the length of the boom from the mast. The sides of the boom at the mast end are then chamferred, to fit the jaws. Since the kit supplied jaws would, of course, no longer fit the thicker boom (but which I otherwise considered suitable) I first split them in half, shaped the tail end to fit, and then glued them to the spar on either side. Finally, I drilled a hole in each side at the tail end of the jaws, to take a couple of belaying pins for the mainsail brails. With the boom thus shaped I painted both ends black, including the jaws, and gave it a beeswax finish.
 
Fittings include: a preventer tackle beneath the boom, consisting of two double blocks fixed to two widely-spaced eyebolts, the fall of the line rove between them coming off of the after block, and being belayed to a small cleat on the side of the boom; two stops on top of the spar at its after end, between which the upper double sheet block strop is fastened; a sheave hole for the mainsail clew outhaul, which also belays to a small cleat on the boom; an eyebolt on top of the spar at the aft end, for the topping lift; another eyebolt, near the jaws, for the tack of the mainsail; there is also a small cleat for the ensign halliards.
 
Having finished all these fittings, it was then time to fit the boom to the mast. The mast end would rest, and be glued to, the boom saddle and I would further secure it (as with the yards) by a pin positioned in the mast. The aft end, however, could still move if not fixed so I decided, since the sails would be furled, to make a boom crutch. I had no reference for this (other than more modern ones I have seen) so I made it out of two simple, substantial-looking cross pieces, with a pin through them where they cross. I have it in mind that they fold when not in use, and can be stowed away. It is simply glued to the deck, behind the two lockers, but it made for a stable support for the aft end of the boom.
 

 
Two jobs remained to be done. The first was to fit the parrels, connecting the jaws to the mast, and here I opted to use the black parrel beads supplied with the kit. Then it was simply a case of tying a length of black rigging thread to one end of the jaws, through the hole already drilled, threading on the requisite number of beads required for it to pass comfortably around the mast (being careful not to make it too tight) and fastening the other end of the thread to the opposite jaws. A small touch of glue on the knot would prevent it from untying.
 
There was one other small job to do before the boom was finished. I thought a small footrope at the after end, overhanging the taffrail, might look the part. This was made from a length of black rigging thread, with simple overhand knots tied at intervals, and fastened to the spar. I fitted another stop to anchor the inboard end, the outer being fastened by a simple loop over the boom.
 
Next time: Some items of rigging, the gaff, and the mainsail.

With the mastcoat in place the mast provided made for a reasonably good fit, but to aid in its location I cut a slot in its heel, which secured it over the keel piece. I then tapered the mast from about half-way up its length using a small modelling plane, being careful to take just a thin sliver off with each stroke, and finishing off with a fine-grade sandpaper. (Btw, it is important to always have a sharp blade in the plane which, I find, also tends to reduce ’catching’.) This procedure took a little while, but I didn’t want to give the mast too much of a taper – and I think it resulted in a nice-looking spar. The kit’s topgallant mast was also, to my mind, a little on the thin side and I wanted to both beef it up and lengthen it. I therefore substituted my own from a suitable piece of dowel. Both the topgallant and the lower mast were made of similar dimensions to those given for the Alert, in the AOTS book.
 
Because of the above changes I was unable to use the ’cross trees’ and mast cap from the kit but I had decided to replace these in any case as, from my point of view, they were too small. Both parts are in fact the same, with similar-sized holes drilled for the lower mast and topgallant mast. Initially I attempted to adapt them but, when endeavouring to drill out one of the holes to enlarge it to take the head of the lower mast, it split in half – so that was that, I had to scratch them! The replacements turned out reasonably well, with separate ’trestle trees’ and ’cross trees’, into which the lower and topgallant masts fitted snugly, the lower ’cross tree’ structure resting on a pair of bibbs either side of the mast. I refer to them as ’cross trees’ and ’tressle trees’, but this is really a misnomer as they do not seem to have been fitted on cutters at this date. The structure I made more resembled an oblong-shaped ’box’, open at the top and bottom, with an off-center division passing between the two masts reflecting their differing circumferences.
 
Cutter lower masts and topmasts were in one piece at this date, hence the separate upper mast is referred to as the topgallant. The topgallant mast was also fidded abaft, or behind, the lower mast which meant that backstays were not normally required and could therefore dispensed with. Standing and running backstays were only fitted to the lower mast.  As a further historical note, Sherbourne was very likely one of the last of her type to have this masting arrangement. From around 1780, cutter masts followed the practice on larger ships, with which we are perhaps more familiar, and were rigged with a lower mast and longer topmast, complete with proper crosstrees, trestle trees, bolsters, and backstays. There are also some differences with the shrouds. On Sherbourne these terminate just above the position of the gaff (fitting over a shoulder or stop) rather than going as far as the doubling, but with the later rig the shrouds passed around the lower masthead. The number of yards and their hoisting arrangements also differ from later practice, but more about these later, except to say that pins were inserted into the masts to take the yards when fitted.
 

 
The after side of the lower mast head was fitted with eyebolts to take the blocks for the throat and peak halliards and the boom topping lift, and stops were fitted in various positions for some of the rigging, such as the forestays when they they are fitted. At the base of the lower mast, I fitted a saddle around the aft side of the mast on which the boom jaws rest, whilst below them five cleats were equally spaced around the mast, to take the falls of the running rigging which might be belayed there. I’m not quite sure yet what all of these lines will be but, as I mentioned before, there is an overall lack of belaying points – so I think providing a few more will be an advantage. The cleats were painted black, as were the crosstrees, caps and masthead, whilst the mast itself was stained a reddish brown.
 
The topgallant mast, as mentioned, was a replacement. As with the lower mast, this was carefully tapered at its upper end, and given a snug fit at the heel to fit the crosstrees and mastcap. Not immediately obvious to the eye is the fid, made made fom a small cut-off nail, which passes through a hole drilled through the heel of the mast, and which rests on the upper edges of the ’trestle trees’. As mentioned it is not that noticeable, especially as the whole assembly is painted black – but at least I know it’s there! Just below this is the sheave hole for the toprope, the rope itself being made fast to an eyebolt on the port side of the mastcap. There is a corresponding eyebolt on the starboard side, for the toprope block.
 
At the upper end of the mast there are again stops for the rigging, and at the very top I fitted a truck. This was not provided for in the kit, but I think any mast looks unfinished without one! This was easy to make, being merely a suitably sized piece of dowel rod, with rounded edges and a small capping on the top. Four small holes, two on each side were then drilled, which will take the flag halliards when they are rigged. The topgallant mast was finished off similarly to the lower mast, with the lower end and masthead being painted black, and the spar itself being stained a reddish-brown colour. The masts were then lightly treated with beeswax.
 
I decided to glue the topgallant mast to the lower mast before stepping them as one unit – and in the process completely forgot about how I was going to fit the mast hoops, since they would not now of course, fit over my nicely-made crosstrees! This actually didn’t prove to be such a disaster, when I gave it a little more thought, and the problem was satisfactorily resolved as I will mention later.
 
I opted to glue the mast in place, with a smear of glue around the partners at deck level, and with a spot on the heel where it fits over the keel piece. The actual stepping of the mast went quite smoothly, and it made a close fit. To locate the cut out in the heel onto the keel piece, I had made a small pencil marks on the mast at deck level, which showed the fore and aft position. By slightly twisting the mast this way and that, as I pushed it home, I felt the heel ’lock’ in place. The mast was pretty much vertical in the athwartships plane, according to my homemade plumbob gauge, although to be sure I put some gentle pressure against the top end of the mast whilst the glue dried. The rake fore and aft was, of course, fixed by the kit design.
 

 
We now come to the boom. The dimensions, from the AOTS bible, called for a spar of 62’ in length, which works out to a model length of 27.62 cm. This was not much longer than the length given in the kit instructions, but again I opted to make my own spar, it being a little thicker at 9.2 cm at it’s maximum girth. Both ends are tapered from this point, approximately a third of the length of the boom from the mast. The sides of the boom at the mast end are then chamferred, to fit the jaws. Since the kit supplied jaws would, of course, no longer fit the thicker boom (but which I otherwise considered suitable) I first split them in half, shaped the tail end to fit, and then glued them to the spar on either side. Finally, I drilled a hole in each side at the tail end of the jaws, to take a couple of belaying pins for the mainsail brails. With the boom thus shaped I painted both ends black, including the jaws, and gave it a beeswax finish.
 
Fittings include: a preventer tackle beneath the boom, consisting of two double blocks fixed to two widely-spaced eyebolts, the fall of the line rove between them coming off of the after block, and being belayed to a small cleat on the side of the boom; two stops on top of the spar at its after end, between which the upper double sheet block strop is fastened; a sheave hole for the mainsail clew outhaul, which also belays to a small cleat on the boom; an eyebolt on top of the spar at the aft end, for the topping lift; another eyebolt, near the jaws, for the tack of the mainsail; there is also a small cleat for the ensign halliards.
 
Having finished all these fittings, it was then time to fit the boom to the mast. The mast end would rest, and be glued to, the boom saddle and I would further secure it (as with the yards) by a pin positioned in the mast. The aft end, however, could still move if not fixed so I decided, since the sails would be furled, to make a boom crutch. I had no reference for this (other than more modern ones I have seen) so I made it out of two simple, substantial-looking cross pieces, with a pin through them where they cross. I have it in mind that they fold when not in use, and can be stowed away. It is simply glued to the deck, behind the two lockers, but it made for a stable support for the aft end of the boom.
 

 
Two jobs remained to be done. The first was to fit the parrels, connecting the jaws to the mast, and here I opted to use the black parrel beads supplied with the kit. Then it was simply a case of tying a length of black rigging thread to one end of the jaws, through the hole already drilled, threading on the requisite number of beads required for it to pass comfortably around the mast (being careful not to make it too tight) and fastening the other end of the thread to the opposite jaws. A small touch of glue on the knot would prevent it from untying.
 
There was one other small job to do before the boom was finished. I thought a small footrope at the after end, overhanging the taffrail, might look the part. This was made from a length of black rigging thread, with simple overhand knots tied at intervals, and fastened to the spar. I fitted another stop to anchor the inboard end, the outer being fastened by a simple loop over the boom.
 
Next time: Some items of rigging, the gaff, and the mainsail.

Alec, My own fault for bringing the work into the lounge to rather than building alone like a hermit in the garage.
 
Anyway, the taffrail was soaked and bent to shape. The kit suggests 4mm walnut but I thinned it down to about 3mm for aesthetics. The lower profile rail was also added from some leftover strip from the capping rails rather than using the brass in the kit. The rail was fattened up by laminating to a 3mm-ish thick piece of walnut. The tape on the stern windows protect them from fogging by the CA glue needed to fix this hard to bend piece quickly. This needed some sanding along the underside and edges with these painted over.

 
Finished result with taffrail painted and decorative rails added. Some of the carvings need a touch up and The side figures will be left until the rest of the hull fittings are finished as they will take a battering when I grapple with the headrails etc. I'm still a fan of holding the Granado between the knees for work on bow and stern.

This is my build of the Lady Anne (named after the wife – bonus points).  If you squint real hard and tilt your head you may recognize the hull as the AL Harvey.  Other than that it has been a whole lot of kit bashing.  This model was given to me by someone who had just glued the bulkheads on and decided this just wasn’t the thing for him.  Over time (as a break from the Druid) I have done a little bit here and a little there.  I planked the hull as a standard model hull to demonstrate to someone else it wasn’t that hard, so there are planks that taper to points and no real attempt to mimic real practice.  I had ‘assumed’ it would be built out of the box and continued in that direction.  Then things started to get fuzzy. 
I knew that Harvey was a fictitious ship and things really started to bug me about how realistic it was.  The deck furnishings especially just seemed haphazard and in some cases wrong.  This is where I stepped out of the box and this fast build took a hard right into kit bashing.  Over the years I had made a point of keeping pictures of ideas on real ships and models of things I really liked and I started to look at what I could add / substitute in this build.  I started perusing books about clippers, especially ‘The American-Built Clipper Ship, 1850-1856’ by Crothers to look at deck arrangements used by Clippers (and believe it or not, I did find those outhouses shown on the Harvey.  I don’t like them, but I found them).
 



 
I cleared the decks (literally), made paper cutouts of potential deck furniture, and spent a lot of time pondering the imponderables.  A big decision was to rig her as the Pride of Baltimore II was rigged, a true Baltimore Clipper.  This defined the needed pinrails and deck tie downs required (as well as block counts which were a LOT more than the kit supplied).  I moved the pumps aft to where they could actually do some good.  The forward windlass was replaced with a windlass actually capable of bringing in an anchor.  The capstan was moved to a position where it could actually be used, a below deck access was added and on, and on, and on.  The last addition I added are cavels to allow easier docking.  To retain its original heritage I created a 1:48th scale workman that I named sailor Harvey to verify heights as I proceeded.
 



 
The deck currently has a configuration that I am happy with.  The last original piece is the aft deckhouse and it just seems out of proportion for sailor Harvey to navigate through so that will probably be scrapped and an alternate built in its place.  Oh, I retained the cannons since my son insists that cannons are cool and I couldn’t possibly take them off.  I did, however, modify their locations, retain only six (continental breeched) and will probably have two of those stowed parallel to the bulkhead.
 


 
As time allows I will post past pictures of the process I used to build various pieces and the rationale used for including them (which may just be I liked the look).  I am really trying to focus on the Druid and get’r done, but this ship will be warming up.  As usual, any comments are welcome.
 

 
Mark

Hi Eamon,
 
Good for you on picking the Sherbourne! As I mentioned, she makes a nice little model, so have fun.
 
Yes, it's always good to check the parts first to see they are all there. Sorry to hear that one of your bulkheads is missing, but hopefully your seller can resolve it. If not, perhaps you could try contacting Jotika who might supply a replacement part.
 
Sorry, but all that I've posted is all there is. Unfortunately, I didn't start a build log from the beginning, and only began one after the hull was finished so it wouldn't have disappeared in the crash. The log, such as it is, is written in retrospect so I don't think I can help much with the early stages, even with photos – and I'm afraid my memory is not that good!
 
I'm glad though my offerings, such as they are, have been of some help. I would suggest you check out the other logs of the MSW Sherbourne fleet, as you'll probably glean some assistance from them.
 
Good luck.

There are a pair of belaying pins in the small rail situated on the port and starboard quarters. Originally I provided these for the (lower) spread yard braces and the gaff vangs – before I discovered that vangs, at least on cutters, had not then been introduced. Thus the forward one is now a spare. There is also an eyebolt on each rail for a lead block, through which the braces will pass before being belayed.
 
Moving forward, on each side of the companion I provided shot garlands for the 3pdr guns, and these are also situated on each side of the other hatches. Garlands are also fixed to the bulwarks, between the guns. The aftermost, between the last pair of guns on each side, actually contain only three balls – and one belaying pin. This is to belay the falls of the running backstays, when they are rigged. The balls themselves are made from the round parts of a cheap necklace, which just happened to be the right size – and are definitely surplus to my wife’s requirements! Each ball was cut from the chain, tidied up, painted and then glued in place. (Btw, I usually use a thin stick with a small blob of blue tack on one end, to lightly pick up and glue small objects like this. I find it works quite well, and one can place items rather more accurately than with the fingers.)
 
We now come to the guns, which I have mentioned before as having caused a certain amount of trouble with relation to the ports! For each gun I provided a pair eyebolts in the bulwarks to take the breech ropes, another pair for the side tackles, and one in the deck behind each gun for the running-in tackle. The latter, of course, should really have a ring through it. I decided not to rig the side or running-in tackles, which perhaps was an ommission and, again with hindsite, I think the breech ropes are not really thick enough. However…
 

 
Each of the hatches was given a coaming, this being caulked into the surrounding planks and raised a little above deck level. I decided to fill in the hatches themselves with offcuts from the kit and paint them black, before fitting the red gratings, to give a sense of depth. This seemed to work reasonably well, the main hatch in any case being largely hidden by the boat.
 
We now come to that aforementioned very necessary item of equipment – without which, no vessel is really complete! I copied a suitable drawing, from ’The Boats of Men of War’ by WE May, which was about the right size that I needed. The boat was constructed on a small building board, with scale frames and planking, the latter being mostly card since it was much easier to work and shape. The gunwale, which is made from wood, has rowlocks cut in it. The interior was then fitted out with thwarts, resting on internal stringers, sternsheets, and a small foredeck. The inside was painted grey, and fitted with bottom-boards which were painted red. This I thought both made for a nice contrast with the main interior, and also matched the red of the cutter herself. I painted the outside the same ivory shade I had used below the cutter’s waterline, and the gunwale is black. To finish off, the oars were made from orange sticks, with thin card for the blades, and painted white. Thin black paper made suitable leathers. The rudder was made from thin ply, with a wood rudder stock, and there is a separate tiller. A coiled painter was provided on the foredeck. The boat was lashed down to four ring bolts in the deck.
 
On either side of the boat are the pumps. I modified the base of these, although I used the metal top and handle. Their bases were cut at an angle, so that the imaginary ’business end’ of the pump shaft would be adjacent to the keel, where the water would normally collect. The handle is connected by a brass rod mechanism , actually the stem of a cut-off ringbolt, and there is a short outfall pipe on the outboard side of each pump. The base of the pump and the handle are painted red, the former also having two ’iron’ bands, made from black paper, around them.
 

 
Forward of the boat and main hatch, and just aft of the mast, are the jeer bitts. This structure was not included in the kit, being an addition of my own, but it is certainly a feature of cutters of the period, as is evidenced by models and pictures. It consists of two uprights, with a geared roller at the top and a crossbar beneath and, as its name suggests, it is used for hoisting purposes. The gearing on either end of the top roller, is actually just pencilled lines drawn on the black-painted ends, but it looks effective enough. There is a winding handle on each end, made from pieces of bent wire.
 
I originally fitted six eyebolts to the deck, to take the various tackles connected to the running rigging that will be belayed to cleats fitted around the base of the mast. I am now not certain I will use all of them, and actually since then I have fitted another two outboard of the anchor cable, one on each side, as giving a better lead. However, one never knows.
 
Abreast the mast on either bulwark, are two pinrails, with six pins in each. These were supplied with the kit and at the time of fitting them, the number of pins seemed barely adequate. In fact, with rather more rigging seemingly to be belayed, I think they may be woefully inadequate. I should perhaps made have my own rail, with extra pins – but I tell myself, I can always resort to shroud cleats if necessary!
 
Forward of the mast is a rail. This again was supplied with the kit, but I added six belaying pins to the crossbar, as I intend to belay the the square sail sheets here. Ahead of that is the foredeck grating, down to the crews quarters, with the shot garlands on either side. Offset to the starboard side I fitted a chimney, painted black, and which I imagine connects to the stove below!
 
Next we come to the bowsprit support, from the kit. This was straightforward, but I felt that it needed pinning as well as gluing to the deck. The heel of the dowel-rod bowsprit was squared, to pass through the support, and I drilled two extra holes through it, to give the impression that the bowsprit can be moved in and out.
 
I wasn’t too happy with the anchor windlass as supplied, as I felt it didn’t look at all realistic, the completely straight windlass bar being rather strangely made up from short sections! I redesigned it to my own liking, giving it a proper shape, with hexagonal faces. The central section, was made to look as if it had toothed gearing, that engaged with the small bar-mounted rachet, but this again was merely pencilled on the black finish. The equidistant holes for the bars were also just painted black, on the red structure. I had thought about providing the bars themselves, but then the lack of a place to stow them arose – so I stored them below!
 
The anchors also needed some attention. The anchors themselves I thought were well cast and with the minimum of flash, but the wooden stocks – made as in actual practice from two halves - needed some considerable modification. To begin with they were too long, so I reduced the length at each end so that they were approximately the same length as the metal shank – which fitted with the proportions for an anchor of this type. They then needed sanding somewhat. The modified arms were then glued together around the shank, below the ring, at a ninety degree angle to the arms. Four ’iron’ bands, made from black paper, were then glued around the stocks at appropriate points. Finally, the anchor rings were ’puddened’, or wound round with black cord, which on the real vessel helps to prevent chafe. The anchors are held in their stowed position, by to two supports on the outside of the bulwarks – my own invention – although I think I may have made them a little overlarge. They are also made fast with a length of line, belayed to the two aftermost timber heads. The anchor cables are lengths of plaited cord, that I thought looked somewhat realistic. They are perhaps a little overscale, but I think they do the job. Running aft past the mast, their inboard ends disappear down the fore end of the main hatch, in which I made two squared holes. Their other ends are ’clinched’ to the anchor ring, their circumference making them too large, of course, to tie a knot!
 
The catheads needed little modification, and are basically as supplied. I didn’t give them any decoration, merely a couple of paper ’iron’ bands, before painting them black. Due to the lack of suitable belaying places I decided to fit a crossbar between the catheads, over the bowsprit, with some pins. Two of these are already taken up, by the inhaul and outhaul lines for the traveller ring, for the staysail. Finally, there is a band around the top of the stem piece, with a ringbolt on the fore side to take the preventer stay when rigged.
 
 
Next time: the outboard details, the bowsprit and the mast.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I thought you might like to see a few more pictures of the (slow) progress on my Sherbourne. The pictures were actually taken about a month ago, and my wife and I are now at our cottage, so work won't resume on her until the autumn.
 
I've now finished the shrouds apart from the ratlines, which I'm leaving off for access until later, and have in place some of the running rigging, including the burtons, top rope, boom topping lift, and throat and peak halliards for the mainsail. The latter is bent to the gaff and brailed into the mast:
 

 

Some details on outboard side of the bulwarks are worth a mention. The Sherbourne has four sweep ports per side, and I had thought to make the sweeps themselves and stow them on deck. I went so far as to make up the four on one side, of roughly the correct length and circumference but minus the blades, the intention being to fit them on one side of the main hatch. The other four, of course, would go on the other side. However, I couldn’t make them fit satisfactorily with the other fittings already in place, so I then thought of putting them in racks on the bulwarks. However, as that idea didn’t seem to work very well either, I decided not to fit them. Quite how they stowed them on the original cutters, much less how they manouvered and operated them, I have no idea – my guess is with some difficulty! (As Sherbourne spent her approximately twenty-year working life in the English Channel, I’m not sure she would have used them much at all, since that stretch of water is rarely calm and without any wind. I therefore felt justified in leaving them off!)
 
Another feature I considered were the gunport lids which, perhaps strangely, are not provided for in the kit. In the end I didn’t include them, but I suppose the option is always there to make them should I wish to, particularly for the ports in the bows where I imagine it might get rather wet!
 

 
Whilst at the bows, I have already mentioned the main and upper wales. Butted up to either side of the stem I fitted small, shaped, verticle pieces of black painted card, effectively joining the two black wales, and which I thought turned out to be a nice feature. Two black-painted timbers do the same job at the stern. The channels and their support ’chains’ are both glued and pinned to the bulwarks, due to the stresses likely to come from the shrouds. I painted the channels black, but left the lower deadeyes natural, after much debate as to whether to paint them as well. The chains are yellow ochre to match, and blend in with, the hull - their lower ends being painted black at the level of the lower wale.
 
We now come to the bowsprit. This was more-or-less as straight from the box, apart from being cut to length and being squared at the heel. I didn’t give it much of a taper, since these were fairly hefty spars and were required to take quite a lot of strain at their extremity. Here were fastened the cranse iron around the spar, which I made from black paper and to which the bowsprit shrouds were fixed by lugs, and the triple block to take the topgallant forestay and the topsail braces. I used ringbolts with the ends cut off for the lugs, fastened equidistant around the spar. Just inboard of it there is a also sheave hole for the jib traveller ring outhaul, thus it can be appreciated that the bowsprit would have to be pretty substantial.
 
The spar fits into a half round cut-out in the port side rail next the stempost, and it was a matter of patiently (!) sanding the aperture and then trying the bowsprit until I was satisfied it sat properly, with its heel resting in the foredeck support. Just before fitting, the bowsprit was stained and its end was painted black, the whole spar then being beeswaxed. After gluing it in place an ’iron’ band, made from a strip of black paper, was then fastened over the spar, to represent the iron retaining fitting.
 
The bowsprit shrouds, one each side, consist of two parts. The black standing part has one end made fast to an eyebolt in the main wale at the bow. The other is joined to one of a pair of double blocks, its corresponding block being connected to one of the lugs on the side of the cranse iron. A running rigging line reeves between the two, coming off of the block at the end of the spar and running aft to one of the timber heads each side of the bow, where they are made fast.
 
At this point I decided to fit the traveller ring for the jib and, having found a suitably sized metal ring, ’puddened’ it and then glued it to the bowsprit. Because the sails wouId be furled, I glued it at a suitable ’run-in’ position. I then fitted the outhaul and inhaul lines, which are made fast to two pins in the rail that I fitted between the catheads. From the ring, the former reeves downwards through the ’sheave’ in the bowsprit, as mentioned above, then back to the bow where it reeves through a single block on the starboard side of the stem at the main wale. It then runs up and over the bulwark, before being made fast to the bow pinrail. I think this arragement makes for a better lead for the outhaul, rather than having it run along under the bowsprit where it could get tangled up with other fittings. I followed the example given for the Alert. (I passing, I have found it a good idea to make a small groove along the spar on each side in way of the rope, since it looks as though the line actually passes over a sheave rather than just going through a hole, and sits closer to the spar.)
 

 
There is one other feature, at the aft end of the outboard bulwarks. These are the boarding steps up each side, between the aftermost pair of guns, with corresponding ones on the inside of the bulwarks. Another interesting detail, which no vessel such as this should really be without – after all, how else are the crew to board her from the boat? This was probably a frequent daily occurrence with cutters like Sherbourne, in her line of work.
 
With the hull and bowsprit finished, it was time to think about the mast. I won’t go into much detail this time except to say that both it, and its topmast, were much modified from that provided with the kit!
 
Next time: the mast and topmast, and the boom. (Apologies by the way for the recurring use of photographs – but I get the impression you won't mind!)

Some details on outboard side of the bulwarks are worth a mention. The Sherbourne has four sweep ports per side, and I had thought to make the sweeps themselves and stow them on deck. I went so far as to make up the four on one side, of roughly the correct length and circumference but minus the blades, the intention being to fit them on one side of the main hatch. The other four, of course, would go on the other side. However, I couldn’t make them fit satisfactorily with the other fittings already in place, so I then thought of putting them in racks on the bulwarks. However, as that idea didn’t seem to work very well either, I decided not to fit them. Quite how they stowed them on the original cutters, much less how they manouvered and operated them, I have no idea – my guess is with some difficulty! (As Sherbourne spent her approximately twenty-year working life in the English Channel, I’m not sure she would have used them much at all, since that stretch of water is rarely calm and without any wind. I therefore felt justified in leaving them off!)
 
Another feature I considered were the gunport lids which, perhaps strangely, are not provided for in the kit. In the end I didn’t include them, but I suppose the option is always there to make them should I wish to, particularly for the ports in the bows where I imagine it might get rather wet!
 

 
Whilst at the bows, I have already mentioned the main and upper wales. Butted up to either side of the stem I fitted small, shaped, verticle pieces of black painted card, effectively joining the two black wales, and which I thought turned out to be a nice feature. Two black-painted timbers do the same job at the stern. The channels and their support ’chains’ are both glued and pinned to the bulwarks, due to the stresses likely to come from the shrouds. I painted the channels black, but left the lower deadeyes natural, after much debate as to whether to paint them as well. The chains are yellow ochre to match, and blend in with, the hull - their lower ends being painted black at the level of the lower wale.
 
We now come to the bowsprit. This was more-or-less as straight from the box, apart from being cut to length and being squared at the heel. I didn’t give it much of a taper, since these were fairly hefty spars and were required to take quite a lot of strain at their extremity. Here were fastened the cranse iron around the spar, which I made from black paper and to which the bowsprit shrouds were fixed by lugs, and the triple block to take the topgallant forestay and the topsail braces. I used ringbolts with the ends cut off for the lugs, fastened equidistant around the spar. Just inboard of it there is a also sheave hole for the jib traveller ring outhaul, thus it can be appreciated that the bowsprit would have to be pretty substantial.
 
The spar fits into a half round cut-out in the port side rail next the stempost, and it was a matter of patiently (!) sanding the aperture and then trying the bowsprit until I was satisfied it sat properly, with its heel resting in the foredeck support. Just before fitting, the bowsprit was stained and its end was painted black, the whole spar then being beeswaxed. After gluing it in place an ’iron’ band, made from a strip of black paper, was then fastened over the spar, to represent the iron retaining fitting.
 
The bowsprit shrouds, one each side, consist of two parts. The black standing part has one end made fast to an eyebolt in the main wale at the bow. The other is joined to one of a pair of double blocks, its corresponding block being connected to one of the lugs on the side of the cranse iron. A running rigging line reeves between the two, coming off of the block at the end of the spar and running aft to one of the timber heads each side of the bow, where they are made fast.
 
At this point I decided to fit the traveller ring for the jib and, having found a suitably sized metal ring, ’puddened’ it and then glued it to the bowsprit. Because the sails wouId be furled, I glued it at a suitable ’run-in’ position. I then fitted the outhaul and inhaul lines, which are made fast to two pins in the rail that I fitted between the catheads. From the ring, the former reeves downwards through the ’sheave’ in the bowsprit, as mentioned above, then back to the bow where it reeves through a single block on the starboard side of the stem at the main wale. It then runs up and over the bulwark, before being made fast to the bow pinrail. I think this arragement makes for a better lead for the outhaul, rather than having it run along under the bowsprit where it could get tangled up with other fittings. I followed the example given for the Alert. (I passing, I have found it a good idea to make a small groove along the spar on each side in way of the rope, since it looks as though the line actually passes over a sheave rather than just going through a hole, and sits closer to the spar.)
 

 
There is one other feature, at the aft end of the outboard bulwarks. These are the boarding steps up each side, between the aftermost pair of guns, with corresponding ones on the inside of the bulwarks. Another interesting detail, which no vessel such as this should really be without – after all, how else are the crew to board her from the boat? This was probably a frequent daily occurrence with cutters like Sherbourne, in her line of work.
 
With the hull and bowsprit finished, it was time to think about the mast. I won’t go into much detail this time except to say that both it, and its topmast, were much modified from that provided with the kit!
 
Next time: the mast and topmast, and the boom. (Apologies by the way for the recurring use of photographs – but I get the impression you won't mind!)

I thought you might like to see a few more pictures of the (slow) progress on my Sherbourne. The pictures were actually taken about a month ago, and my wife and I are now at our cottage, so work won't resume on her until the autumn.
 
I've now finished the shrouds apart from the ratlines, which I'm leaving off for access until later, and have in place some of the running rigging, including the burtons, top rope, boom topping lift, and throat and peak halliards for the mainsail. The latter is bent to the gaff and brailed into the mast:
 

 

Hello
 
Started this about 2 years ago. Building this was only possible by learning from all the great builds on this forum - so thanks to all of you.
 
To date have done the Yards with Stirrups and Footropes. Pictures soon.
 
Regards
 
Doug
 
 

I thought you might like to see a few more pictures of the (slow) progress on my Sherbourne. The pictures were actually taken about a month ago, and my wife and I are now at our cottage, so work won't resume on her until the autumn.
 
I've now finished the shrouds apart from the ratlines, which I'm leaving off for access until later, and have in place some of the running rigging, including the burtons, top rope, boom topping lift, and throat and peak halliards for the mainsail. The latter is bent to the gaff and brailed into the mast:
 

 

Michael,
 
I say again – I thought you might!
 
Well, well, small world. I also know Bournemouth well (although I'm not sure I'd recognise parts of it now), as I went to college there when I was younger, although I was mainly at the Boscombe part of the college. However we sometimes visited the Lansdowne buildings, mainly for sitting exams! After leaving college, I worked at Poole Maritime Museum for eighteen years, and lived in Parkstone. I didn't know of the drawings that Bournemouth University drew up for the Pommern, but I remember the beautiful ones they did of the Warrior.
 
Yes, the Åland Islands are delightful aren't they? I agree too, the museum is one of the best of its kind. I must go back there.
 
I also agree the Viking serves some good food, but most Swedes probably wouldn't baulk at the cost! They keep her up very well, and when I was last in Gothenburg in 2010, she looked spick and span. It probably helps too that they have an active organisation to run her, and I have the feeling that many of them are old seamen. Yes, I agree, it's a bit sad that she has little running rigging, but I think this is because of maintainance and the cost of her upkeep.
 
Gothenburg is probably more of a seaport town than Stockholm, which has of course the af Chapman moored opposite the Royal Palace, and is used as a youth hostel. The ship was given a refit one winter a few years ago, at a yard south of Stockholm. The yard they used is completely undercover, being hollowed out from solid rock, and was used by the navy during the cold war period. Naturally the ship had to have her masts and yards removed, but she was given a thorough overhaul, and is now back at her old berth looking resplendent, and good they say for around fifty years.
 
Good story about the Stockholm police, although these days many local Swedes don't quite see them in the same light!
 
 
 
 

Nils,
 
A very sad story, but you have made a beautiful model of his ship, and indeed of the Pamir.
 
 
Michael,
 
There's always a downside, isn't there?
 
I'm sure you know of the Pommern, in Mariehamn in the Åland Islands, now a museum to the last days of sail. She is very impressive, and still largely in her original state. A few years ago they made some new sails for her, and she has been under sail on occasion – but also under tow, I think! Ashore near her, is a very interesting maritime museum, full of items salvaged from the vessels of Erikson's fleet, along with documents, photographs, paintings, etc.
 
I'm sure you'd also be interested in the preserved Viking in Gothenburg.
 
 

There are a pair of belaying pins in the small rail situated on the port and starboard quarters. Originally I provided these for the (lower) spread yard braces and the gaff vangs – before I discovered that vangs, at least on cutters, had not then been introduced. Thus the forward one is now a spare. There is also an eyebolt on each rail for a lead block, through which the braces will pass before being belayed.
 
Moving forward, on each side of the companion I provided shot garlands for the 3pdr guns, and these are also situated on each side of the other hatches. Garlands are also fixed to the bulwarks, between the guns. The aftermost, between the last pair of guns on each side, actually contain only three balls – and one belaying pin. This is to belay the falls of the running backstays, when they are rigged. The balls themselves are made from the round parts of a cheap necklace, which just happened to be the right size – and are definitely surplus to my wife’s requirements! Each ball was cut from the chain, tidied up, painted and then glued in place. (Btw, I usually use a thin stick with a small blob of blue tack on one end, to lightly pick up and glue small objects like this. I find it works quite well, and one can place items rather more accurately than with the fingers.)
 
We now come to the guns, which I have mentioned before as having caused a certain amount of trouble with relation to the ports! For each gun I provided a pair eyebolts in the bulwarks to take the breech ropes, another pair for the side tackles, and one in the deck behind each gun for the running-in tackle. The latter, of course, should really have a ring through it. I decided not to rig the side or running-in tackles, which perhaps was an ommission and, again with hindsite, I think the breech ropes are not really thick enough. However…
 

 
Each of the hatches was given a coaming, this being caulked into the surrounding planks and raised a little above deck level. I decided to fill in the hatches themselves with offcuts from the kit and paint them black, before fitting the red gratings, to give a sense of depth. This seemed to work reasonably well, the main hatch in any case being largely hidden by the boat.
 
We now come to that aforementioned very necessary item of equipment – without which, no vessel is really complete! I copied a suitable drawing, from ’The Boats of Men of War’ by WE May, which was about the right size that I needed. The boat was constructed on a small building board, with scale frames and planking, the latter being mostly card since it was much easier to work and shape. The gunwale, which is made from wood, has rowlocks cut in it. The interior was then fitted out with thwarts, resting on internal stringers, sternsheets, and a small foredeck. The inside was painted grey, and fitted with bottom-boards which were painted red. This I thought both made for a nice contrast with the main interior, and also matched the red of the cutter herself. I painted the outside the same ivory shade I had used below the cutter’s waterline, and the gunwale is black. To finish off, the oars were made from orange sticks, with thin card for the blades, and painted white. Thin black paper made suitable leathers. The rudder was made from thin ply, with a wood rudder stock, and there is a separate tiller. A coiled painter was provided on the foredeck. The boat was lashed down to four ring bolts in the deck.
 
On either side of the boat are the pumps. I modified the base of these, although I used the metal top and handle. Their bases were cut at an angle, so that the imaginary ’business end’ of the pump shaft would be adjacent to the keel, where the water would normally collect. The handle is connected by a brass rod mechanism , actually the stem of a cut-off ringbolt, and there is a short outfall pipe on the outboard side of each pump. The base of the pump and the handle are painted red, the former also having two ’iron’ bands, made from black paper, around them.
 

 
Forward of the boat and main hatch, and just aft of the mast, are the jeer bitts. This structure was not included in the kit, being an addition of my own, but it is certainly a feature of cutters of the period, as is evidenced by models and pictures. It consists of two uprights, with a geared roller at the top and a crossbar beneath and, as its name suggests, it is used for hoisting purposes. The gearing on either end of the top roller, is actually just pencilled lines drawn on the black-painted ends, but it looks effective enough. There is a winding handle on each end, made from pieces of bent wire.
 
I originally fitted six eyebolts to the deck, to take the various tackles connected to the running rigging that will be belayed to cleats fitted around the base of the mast. I am now not certain I will use all of them, and actually since then I have fitted another two outboard of the anchor cable, one on each side, as giving a better lead. However, one never knows.
 
Abreast the mast on either bulwark, are two pinrails, with six pins in each. These were supplied with the kit and at the time of fitting them, the number of pins seemed barely adequate. In fact, with rather more rigging seemingly to be belayed, I think they may be woefully inadequate. I should perhaps made have my own rail, with extra pins – but I tell myself, I can always resort to shroud cleats if necessary!
 
Forward of the mast is a rail. This again was supplied with the kit, but I added six belaying pins to the crossbar, as I intend to belay the the square sail sheets here. Ahead of that is the foredeck grating, down to the crews quarters, with the shot garlands on either side. Offset to the starboard side I fitted a chimney, painted black, and which I imagine connects to the stove below!
 
Next we come to the bowsprit support, from the kit. This was straightforward, but I felt that it needed pinning as well as gluing to the deck. The heel of the dowel-rod bowsprit was squared, to pass through the support, and I drilled two extra holes through it, to give the impression that the bowsprit can be moved in and out.
 
I wasn’t too happy with the anchor windlass as supplied, as I felt it didn’t look at all realistic, the completely straight windlass bar being rather strangely made up from short sections! I redesigned it to my own liking, giving it a proper shape, with hexagonal faces. The central section, was made to look as if it had toothed gearing, that engaged with the small bar-mounted rachet, but this again was merely pencilled on the black finish. The equidistant holes for the bars were also just painted black, on the red structure. I had thought about providing the bars themselves, but then the lack of a place to stow them arose – so I stored them below!
 
The anchors also needed some attention. The anchors themselves I thought were well cast and with the minimum of flash, but the wooden stocks – made as in actual practice from two halves - needed some considerable modification. To begin with they were too long, so I reduced the length at each end so that they were approximately the same length as the metal shank – which fitted with the proportions for an anchor of this type. They then needed sanding somewhat. The modified arms were then glued together around the shank, below the ring, at a ninety degree angle to the arms. Four ’iron’ bands, made from black paper, were then glued around the stocks at appropriate points. Finally, the anchor rings were ’puddened’, or wound round with black cord, which on the real vessel helps to prevent chafe. The anchors are held in their stowed position, by to two supports on the outside of the bulwarks – my own invention – although I think I may have made them a little overlarge. They are also made fast with a length of line, belayed to the two aftermost timber heads. The anchor cables are lengths of plaited cord, that I thought looked somewhat realistic. They are perhaps a little overscale, but I think they do the job. Running aft past the mast, their inboard ends disappear down the fore end of the main hatch, in which I made two squared holes. Their other ends are ’clinched’ to the anchor ring, their circumference making them too large, of course, to tie a knot!
 
The catheads needed little modification, and are basically as supplied. I didn’t give them any decoration, merely a couple of paper ’iron’ bands, before painting them black. Due to the lack of suitable belaying places I decided to fit a crossbar between the catheads, over the bowsprit, with some pins. Two of these are already taken up, by the inhaul and outhaul lines for the traveller ring, for the staysail. Finally, there is a band around the top of the stem piece, with a ringbolt on the fore side to take the preventer stay when rigged.
 
 
Next time: the outboard details, the bowsprit and the mast.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I omitted to fit bow and stern blocks when framing, but this was mainly because I didn’t know of them back then (well, that’s my excuse). They may perhaps have helped, but I don’t recall any particular difficulties in planking the bow or stern as a consequence.
 
I really didn’t encounter that many problems with the first lime planking either and it seemed to go relatively smoothly, provided the individual planks were properly tapered. I had also never thought to cut a rabbet line for the garboard plank, however, thinking about it in retrospect, it would probably have been a good idea. (In passing, I have sometimes wondered why the kit manufacturers never think to pre-cut this, since its placing is somewhat critical, and I would imagine is something of a daunting prospect for the beginner.) A fore rabbet, up the stem, would also certainly have been advantageous since I encountered a problem with what I have termed ’plank creep’. This is where the first planking, and thus by association the second, comes rather nearer the bow than necessary – and is your own fault! It is not that noticeable now, but you can see it should you care to look closely (please don’t!) Anyway, I tried to ensure a close fit of the garboard plank, by sanding down the inner edge, and this seemed to make a good joint.
 
Next came the second walnut planking, and here I made a perhaps ’radical’ departure from the instructions (easy enough to do now, but in those distant days…) and clinker-plank the second layer.  All that I had read about cutters told me that their hulls were so planked, and inherited from vessels of an earlier period, so I wondered why the Sherbourne was of carvel construction. However, having been designed by Thomas Slade (responsible for the design of the Victory two years later) and built in Woolwich Dockyard, the answer appeared obvious – they were more used to that kind with warship construction. I believe Chris Watton, the kit’s designer, has also said she was carvel. I imagine that the real Sherbourne would probably have been clinker planked, as was more usual, had she been constructed in a private yard. Moreover Peter Goodwin, in what had now become my ’bible’ (the Naval Cutter Alert), maintains that clinker construction remained in cutters until around 1810 – apart that is, from those constructed in the Dockyards. So, I persuaded myself I was on sort-of-safe ground for the project, and in any case I wanted to try the technique – so, clinker it was to be!
 
Planking of course had to commence at the garboard strake, since the planks above overlap onto those below. I overlaid my planks by about a third, which seemed about right, sanding down the top edge of each plank so that it formed a good joint with the one above. A thin bead of glue along the top of the strake below, plus a small amount along the reverse of each plank, ensured a good bond. I learnt early on not to use too much glue, as it tended to seep out onto the planking, which of course was not desirable! Provided the planks were sufficiently tapered at bow and stern, I don’t think I encountered many problems – or perhaps I have conveniently forgotten about them!  A few small stealers were needed at the stern, but apart from that the planking went surprisingly well. 
 
For both planking layers I opted to use scale length planks, staggering them as in full size practice. This was not only more historically correct, but I found that the shorter lengths made for easier positioning. I believe I planked about three strakes, on alternate sides, until the planking was done, and it was actually quite exciting to see it progress. At the time I was a member on the old Dry Dock Models site, and remember that posting a few pictures of my build encouraged at least one other member there to try clinker planking for himself. His results were pretty impressive too, so far as I remember.
 
Perhaps I should say a little about painting the waterline. Marking this was quite literally achieved by cutting a hull-shaped hole in a piece of hardboard, gradually enlarging it until I was satisfied the model was at the height I required, and then drawing a line with a pencil around the hull. Rather heath-robinson, but it seemed to work! The painting was a little tricky, especially at bow and stern, where the lie of the planks tended to interfere with a good line, but I think I managed it reasonably well. I opted to use an ivory shade rather than white, since it is a largish area and I felt that the white would be too harsh. It also has a somewhat old look to it. The planks from the waterline to the wale were left natural, although they were treated with beeswax.
 
The hull pictures are reproduced below:
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
Next, the bulwarks, stern and deck.

There are a pair of belaying pins in the small rail situated on the port and starboard quarters. Originally I provided these for the (lower) spread yard braces and the gaff vangs – before I discovered that vangs, at least on cutters, had not then been introduced. Thus the forward one is now a spare. There is also an eyebolt on each rail for a lead block, through which the braces will pass before being belayed.
 
Moving forward, on each side of the companion I provided shot garlands for the 3pdr guns, and these are also situated on each side of the other hatches. Garlands are also fixed to the bulwarks, between the guns. The aftermost, between the last pair of guns on each side, actually contain only three balls – and one belaying pin. This is to belay the falls of the running backstays, when they are rigged. The balls themselves are made from the round parts of a cheap necklace, which just happened to be the right size – and are definitely surplus to my wife’s requirements! Each ball was cut from the chain, tidied up, painted and then glued in place. (Btw, I usually use a thin stick with a small blob of blue tack on one end, to lightly pick up and glue small objects like this. I find it works quite well, and one can place items rather more accurately than with the fingers.)
 
We now come to the guns, which I have mentioned before as having caused a certain amount of trouble with relation to the ports! For each gun I provided a pair eyebolts in the bulwarks to take the breech ropes, another pair for the side tackles, and one in the deck behind each gun for the running-in tackle. The latter, of course, should really have a ring through it. I decided not to rig the side or running-in tackles, which perhaps was an ommission and, again with hindsite, I think the breech ropes are not really thick enough. However…
 

 
Each of the hatches was given a coaming, this being caulked into the surrounding planks and raised a little above deck level. I decided to fill in the hatches themselves with offcuts from the kit and paint them black, before fitting the red gratings, to give a sense of depth. This seemed to work reasonably well, the main hatch in any case being largely hidden by the boat.
 
We now come to that aforementioned very necessary item of equipment – without which, no vessel is really complete! I copied a suitable drawing, from ’The Boats of Men of War’ by WE May, which was about the right size that I needed. The boat was constructed on a small building board, with scale frames and planking, the latter being mostly card since it was much easier to work and shape. The gunwale, which is made from wood, has rowlocks cut in it. The interior was then fitted out with thwarts, resting on internal stringers, sternsheets, and a small foredeck. The inside was painted grey, and fitted with bottom-boards which were painted red. This I thought both made for a nice contrast with the main interior, and also matched the red of the cutter herself. I painted the outside the same ivory shade I had used below the cutter’s waterline, and the gunwale is black. To finish off, the oars were made from orange sticks, with thin card for the blades, and painted white. Thin black paper made suitable leathers. The rudder was made from thin ply, with a wood rudder stock, and there is a separate tiller. A coiled painter was provided on the foredeck. The boat was lashed down to four ring bolts in the deck.
 
On either side of the boat are the pumps. I modified the base of these, although I used the metal top and handle. Their bases were cut at an angle, so that the imaginary ’business end’ of the pump shaft would be adjacent to the keel, where the water would normally collect. The handle is connected by a brass rod mechanism , actually the stem of a cut-off ringbolt, and there is a short outfall pipe on the outboard side of each pump. The base of the pump and the handle are painted red, the former also having two ’iron’ bands, made from black paper, around them.
 

 
Forward of the boat and main hatch, and just aft of the mast, are the jeer bitts. This structure was not included in the kit, being an addition of my own, but it is certainly a feature of cutters of the period, as is evidenced by models and pictures. It consists of two uprights, with a geared roller at the top and a crossbar beneath and, as its name suggests, it is used for hoisting purposes. The gearing on either end of the top roller, is actually just pencilled lines drawn on the black-painted ends, but it looks effective enough. There is a winding handle on each end, made from pieces of bent wire.
 
I originally fitted six eyebolts to the deck, to take the various tackles connected to the running rigging that will be belayed to cleats fitted around the base of the mast. I am now not certain I will use all of them, and actually since then I have fitted another two outboard of the anchor cable, one on each side, as giving a better lead. However, one never knows.
 
Abreast the mast on either bulwark, are two pinrails, with six pins in each. These were supplied with the kit and at the time of fitting them, the number of pins seemed barely adequate. In fact, with rather more rigging seemingly to be belayed, I think they may be woefully inadequate. I should perhaps made have my own rail, with extra pins – but I tell myself, I can always resort to shroud cleats if necessary!
 
Forward of the mast is a rail. This again was supplied with the kit, but I added six belaying pins to the crossbar, as I intend to belay the the square sail sheets here. Ahead of that is the foredeck grating, down to the crews quarters, with the shot garlands on either side. Offset to the starboard side I fitted a chimney, painted black, and which I imagine connects to the stove below!
 
Next we come to the bowsprit support, from the kit. This was straightforward, but I felt that it needed pinning as well as gluing to the deck. The heel of the dowel-rod bowsprit was squared, to pass through the support, and I drilled two extra holes through it, to give the impression that the bowsprit can be moved in and out.
 
I wasn’t too happy with the anchor windlass as supplied, as I felt it didn’t look at all realistic, the completely straight windlass bar being rather strangely made up from short sections! I redesigned it to my own liking, giving it a proper shape, with hexagonal faces. The central section, was made to look as if it had toothed gearing, that engaged with the small bar-mounted rachet, but this again was merely pencilled on the black finish. The equidistant holes for the bars were also just painted black, on the red structure. I had thought about providing the bars themselves, but then the lack of a place to stow them arose – so I stored them below!
 
The anchors also needed some attention. The anchors themselves I thought were well cast and with the minimum of flash, but the wooden stocks – made as in actual practice from two halves - needed some considerable modification. To begin with they were too long, so I reduced the length at each end so that they were approximately the same length as the metal shank – which fitted with the proportions for an anchor of this type. They then needed sanding somewhat. The modified arms were then glued together around the shank, below the ring, at a ninety degree angle to the arms. Four ’iron’ bands, made from black paper, were then glued around the stocks at appropriate points. Finally, the anchor rings were ’puddened’, or wound round with black cord, which on the real vessel helps to prevent chafe. The anchors are held in their stowed position, by to two supports on the outside of the bulwarks – my own invention – although I think I may have made them a little overlarge. They are also made fast with a length of line, belayed to the two aftermost timber heads. The anchor cables are lengths of plaited cord, that I thought looked somewhat realistic. They are perhaps a little overscale, but I think they do the job. Running aft past the mast, their inboard ends disappear down the fore end of the main hatch, in which I made two squared holes. Their other ends are ’clinched’ to the anchor ring, their circumference making them too large, of course, to tie a knot!
 
The catheads needed little modification, and are basically as supplied. I didn’t give them any decoration, merely a couple of paper ’iron’ bands, before painting them black. Due to the lack of suitable belaying places I decided to fit a crossbar between the catheads, over the bowsprit, with some pins. Two of these are already taken up, by the inhaul and outhaul lines for the traveller ring, for the staysail. Finally, there is a band around the top of the stem piece, with a ringbolt on the fore side to take the preventer stay when rigged.
 
 
Next time: the outboard details, the bowsprit and the mast.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Nils,
 
A very sad story, but you have made a beautiful model of his ship, and indeed of the Pamir.
 
 
Michael,
 
There's always a downside, isn't there?
 
I'm sure you know of the Pommern, in Mariehamn in the Åland Islands, now a museum to the last days of sail. She is very impressive, and still largely in her original state. A few years ago they made some new sails for her, and she has been under sail on occasion – but also under tow, I think! Ashore near her, is a very interesting maritime museum, full of items salvaged from the vessels of Erikson's fleet, along with documents, photographs, paintings, etc.
 
I'm sure you'd also be interested in the preserved Viking in Gothenburg.