VitusBering
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Everything posted by VitusBering
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Thanks George - though I'm leery of using CA in any form on the ratlines. I've used it on shrouds and on seizing and I really don't like the look of it. I do apply it very sparingly but it does seem to sort of crystallize for lack of a better description. I am going to experiment off-ship with Harry's suggestion of clear nail polish but I suspect that will leave quite a sheen. It is what it is designed to do, after all ;-). I think I may be able to counteract any shininess with paint - we'll see.- 248 replies
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Thank you very much Harry. That sounds like an even better solution than PVA (I worry about the knots holding with that stuff). I'll give this a try (off-ship first as you suggest). It sounds very promising. I totally agree with you on all counts about the CA.
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I know this is a hotly debated topic and I won't take sides but I have decided to use thinned PVA on my ratlines. What mixing ratio should I use? I have standard Elmer's white glue (though it does say "new" formula).
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Ok, shrouds are tied off, and thank you all for your help. Now, though, I think I have more questions. I am about half way up the ladder on the port side mizzen lower set of shrouds, and the ratlines actually look pretty good so far. However, I've also been reading around this site and found that an overwhelming number of folks say to not use CA on the ratline ends - or, frankly, anywhere visible. I think I agree, I've used CA to seal the deal on seizing and I am not happy with the result. But, done is done. I don't want to use CA on the ratlines but I don't know how to thin PVA. I do know I'm supposed to use water but... is there a magic ratio? What should the resulting consistency be? Also, too... should only the end knots (currently single overhand) be daubed with adhesive or the clove hitches as well?
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I'll give this a go. Keeping it tidy will be a challenge but that's a big part of why I got into this in the first place. Thanks again!
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Splendid machine. Happy (early) birthday!
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Same for the starboard side. I'm still researching exactly where and how to tie these off - from what I can glean they should be tied in port/starboard pairs but where on the mast and or mast top that happens is still a puzzle. One I will solve, though, by studying build logs here. The books aren't much help in this instance, the shrouds can't really be tied in scale fashion, if I'm reading things correctly. That is, of course, by no means certain.
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Port mizzen ratline shrouds redux. Far from perfect but better than before. I'm hoping to improve, I've learned a bit doing this and reading all of you folks' advice. The railing needs some touchup due to a tool mishap. It looks worse in pics but still needs attention.
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I want to thank all of you for your kind words and well wishes. I'm home from hospital and eager to resume work in the shipyard but that needs to wait a short time longer - most likely less than a week, we'll see. My recovery is proceeding very well and full recovery is just around the corner. Thank you all again and some sort of build update will follow along soon.
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It is difficult to obtain in the US (I am not sure about Oz) but Pattex Repair works very well. I got mine from Spain if I recall correctly. It is what I use to attach veneer. It will give you better than average working time and dries clear and flexible. https://www.pattexarabia.com/en/products/all-purpose-glues/pattex-repair-100-glue.html
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I wish I had a CS build update to report but no such luck today. Briefly, I have had a deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism incident that landed me in the ER. My doctor changed my anticoagulant but the pharmacy won't have any until Monday at the earliest. Doc won't release me until I have it in hand. The reasons for that are complicated but I get it. I digress. I currently can't sit upright without my leg elevated for long. That will improve but it will take a while, maybe weeks. I will try to work in small time increments and see how that goes. Not working on the build is not an option so I'll work it out.
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Thank you Ian, for the valuable tips and your kind words. I'll give it a go when I get back to the shipyard. In the mean time I will find a source for toothless alligator clips. All of mine, both loose and attached to the helping hands have sharp teeth. I have covered them with shrink tubing but that is less than ideal.
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Thank you Ian. I may be using incorrect terminology. What I struggle a bit with and what I am calling seizing is the thread wrapping around a line that is, for instance, looped around a deadeye, holding the "tail" of the line to the line proper. I am on my phone right now (in hospital actually, long story but I should be home by the beginning of the week) so I can't include an example but have a look at the last picture I posted... the beige thread wrapping the shrouds at the deadeye - is that seizing?
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Thank you profusely Knocklouder. Your attitude and approach are precisely what I aspire to. The logs to which you refer are yet more of exactly what I am looking for and are great examples of the astounding talent in this community (yourself most definitely included). And thank you for your kind words and support! I have said often and will likely do so again ad nauseam that this build is a learning journey and while the result will not be discarded on the scrap heap there are more in the offing. btw I am not happy with the way my deadeyes look on the mizzen rail so I do plan to unthread them and try to follow better practices to get them looking more like yours.
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Thank you all very much. Bob, I have seen (even studied) Kevin's photos as well as others' in build logs here. I'm not very concerned much with rope diameter or even seizing scale. Besides, I have fairly limited choices in rigging rope. shipman has the right of it. Spot on. My self-criticism is of the craft. My seizing work seems sloppy at best and I can't seem to (yet) improve on it. Both. Whenever I try to wrap seizing thread around any line it is a struggle. I've tried several methods (dabbing adhesive of one sort or another at intermediate stages of the wrap to try to prevent unraveling, trying to hold either or both the shroud and seizing thread in helping hands, etc.).
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My first ever ratline shrouds. They're not tensioned or tied off at the top yet, I'm still working that out, And I cannot for the life of me figure out in situ seizing. It is a bit frustrating but I will conquer it - maybe not master it but I will get better.
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Yep I'm aware, shipman - but compromises must be made. I'm not planning on a true scale implementation for this build. The next may be different, but I'll concentrate on this one and do the best I can as I develop my skills.
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Thanks Bob. I'll run with the 25 for the ratline shrouds and upper stays and use the 50 for the lower stays.
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0k there are a whole bunch of things wrong here but they're mostly because it is a work in progress. The ratline shrouds are not properly tied to the deadeyes nor seized. Their ends are loose for that reason. The deadeyes are not quite spaced correctly, their lanyards are loose for that reason. The main question I have is about the diameter of shroud rope. I don't know how the Amati designations translate to anything, but I have several available. The 25 is what I am using for the shrouds in this pic, the 50 seems just a bit heavy to me but not unreasonably so - not like the 75 which is clearly too large. Is the 25 too light?
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Aye. I was half bragging to a Welsh friend online, sharing pictures of our stay at a 160 year old Victorian creekside bed and breakfast. I certainly should have said Victorian style because she shared pictures of the 1100 year old abbey where she spent the week. To say I was embarrassed is an understatement. We do live in the New World.
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Yikes. I'm sure that by the time I've done some of this I'll be tying clove hitches in my sleep. I'm not complaining though, this is what I signed up for and it really is part of the joy.
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Thirty 3.5mm and thirty-six 2.5mm deadeyes to tie to the rails and gunwale. Each has a partner that needs to be connected with lanyards. A hundred and thirty-two deadeyes to wire up and that's before a single knot is tied in the ratlines. I almost calculated the approximate number of knots that would be for just the lower tier of ratlines but after counting up the deadeyes I don't want to know.😬 I'm a bit less than a quarter of the way through tying up the lower eyes. I'm not sure when I'll come up for air but I'll post a pic or two when I reach a threshold.
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Thank you all very much for your help and advice. A while back I found a set of upholstery needles and I made one of these tools from one of them. I chose the mid sized needle from the set but I may go with the smallest one for the ratlines. So far the one I made has proven useful in several areas. The 1974 version of instructions comes with a ratline template meant to be tacked down and have the ratlines built over it. I'm not going to do that, I've seen too many folks have to start over after using that sort of thing. All of the foot lines on the template for all examples are the same distance apart however so I did make this jig I found in the Masting, Rigging, and Sails forum. https://modelshipworld.com/topic/14818-rat-line-tension-tool/ I'll give this a try, it seems effective.
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Well I've had my most disappointing failure so far. No damage done, just time ill spent. I thought I had worked up a nifty plan to wire up ratline shrouds by making a little platform where I would anchor the deadeyes and install it on the pin rail where the original plastic crud is supposed to live. That failed badly before it even got a chance to be tried so now I'll do what I should have done before the pin rails were glued in. (noted for future builds). I'll drill holes in the rails to anchor the lower deadeyes by threading them and tying them off under the rail to Evergreen material I have around. I'll do the same for all of the deadeyes that need to live on the rail, but it begs some questions. My earlier failed plan included deadeyes that had stop knots on both the lower and upper eye. That's fine (I thnk) for the lower eye but for the upper where a shroud will be attached - that doesn't seem right to me but I am unsure what to do as an alternative. The kit instructions are no help of course, they use that plastic crud and the full scale methods I've seen in the books (at least so far) don't seem really practical. I'm open to suggestions on any and all of the above, this is uncharted territory for me. I'm awake at this hour because sirens and emergency vehicles showed up at my neighbor's home. False alarm, of sorts, the lady of the house's elderly father is visiting from Montana and he fell while navigating an unfamiliar house. Nothing is broken, just a bruise or two. After the excitement we're having trouble getting back to sleep.
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