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cdrusn89

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Everything posted by cdrusn89

  1. cdrusn89
    Thukydides - thanks for the info. I was just following the rigging drawing included with the kit. I looked in my "Rigging a Six Rate Sloop" book by David Antscherl and it too shows the throat seizing, and only three sets not four as shown in the drawing. However, since the port side deadeyes are more or less permanently installed I think I will press ahead and blame any errors in authenticity on the kit drawing.
  2. cdrusn89
    I have started the somewhat (to me) daunting task of getting the fore mast deadeyes attached to the shrouds. There are doubtless many ways to do this but always ready to plow new ground I built my own 'jig". According to the drawing it is 20mm between the outermost "holes" of the deadeyes. Sorry the light did not hit the ruler very well - trust me 20mm. I then cut a short piece of 3/16' X 3/32 boxwood and drilled #68 holes 20mm apart on the centerline. I then used a deadeye to mark one of the other holes for each deadeye and drilled holes there as well. I cut some short (one shorter than the other) pieces for each end from .032" piano wire. I pounded the piano wire in (#68 drill is a bit short of .032 -.031 according to my chart) and then used a drop of thin CA on the back side of the wires. I put the two sets of wires on opposite sides of the wooden batten to help keep the new deadeye on the jig - don't ask me how I know this works better than both sets of "pegs" on the same side. Here is the jig verifying that it is 20mm between the "pegs". The end with the rounded end goes into the deadeye on the channel and the shroud deadeye on the other end making sure the upper peg goes in the "top" hole. Now loop the shroud around the deadeye and use your favorite method to secure the deadeye to the shroud. I also built a jig to bend .032 phosphor-bronze wire to the 20mm spacing and use them to keep the already completed shroud/deadeyes out of the way. Here is the port side shroud/deadeyes completed.
  3. cdrusn89
    Thanks guys - some things just take a little more time (and effort).
  4. cdrusn89
    I decided that good enough really wasn't so I redid the shrouds trying to pay closer attention to how they "stacked" around the mast top. Tried to get both sides looking approximately the same. I think it looks better but then I would. I also remade the two 5mm double block with becket that are part of the fore yard lift system. I think they hang below the platform enough now to rig the lift but only time will tell. The other two double blocks carry the sprint yard braces down to the pin rail forward of the fore mast. Now back to figuring out a jig for getting the upper deadeyes on "straight".
  5. cdrusn89
    I have the fore lower shrouds in place. I worked for quite a while to get the shrouds to lay like you see in the rigging books but the serving on the upper parts of the shroud pairs (about the center 2") makes them quite stiff (and the line is .035" ("I") so it was pretty thick to begin with) and after awhile "better" became the enemy of "good enough". So this what the upper portion of the lower fore mast looks like now. The weights you see in the foreground are attached to the two blocks that will form the fore yard lift (the blocks are under the chocks half way down the mast top. Rigging these is going to be "really fun" as they just barely clear the bottom of the platform. I weighted all the shrouds and tried to align them with their respective deadeyes. So here is what the fore lower shrouds look like at this point. Next I need to come up with a clever jig to help getting the deadeyes in place and all at the same level. I have a couple of ideas but need to flesh them out before trying to construct the jig. Bad news I will probably have to make a custom jig for each mast.
  6. cdrusn89
    Lower Fore Mast is in place and the first two "elements", the pendant tackles are in place. The serving of the .025" line makes it somewhat more stiff than one might prefer so I have weighted them down and will let them sit overnight in hopes that they will hang a bit lower and straight in the morning. Then it is on to the first set of shrouds which if I remember correctly are a single "pair"; one on each side instead of the more usual two on each side as was done with the pendants. I have (I think) all of the lower shrouds for all three masts "ready to go"; served where necessary and hopefully getting them on the masts will be relatively straight forward. How many times have I thought THAT?
  7. cdrusn89
    I think I got everything on the "punch list" to complete the hull enough to get ready to start the masts. I added the figurehead and boomkins at the bow. I installed the gun port doors - both sides. I put up the safety rails around the q-deck companionway using some after market "two hole" stanchions. And I decided to rig the lines for the fore and main sheet tackles that run through the sheaves in the bulwark in the waist. Not the most seamanlike job on the cleats. I probably should have added these lines before the catwalks were added - would have made it much easier to get the lines on the cleats. I also recognize that excess line would not generally be left on deck but I think I was faced with just omitting the excess line or laying it on deck. There really isn't enough room on the cleat (for me) to get even a small amount of excess line there. This is the heaviest running rigging line used (D .75mm) although I used Syren .025" line which is actually a little smaller (.75mm = .029"). Now for some shop cleaning and re-organizing to support the next phase. I am going to deviate from the instruction suggested sequence and step the lower masts and get their shrouds and ratlines done before adding the bowsprit. It is just too tempting a target, especially when shifting from side to side as the shrouds are added on each mast.
  8. cdrusn89
    Q-deck railing completed. It was easier than I had anticipated. I installed all the timberheads first as they do not impact the railing. Railing assembly went as per the instructions - no surprises. I installed the rail and stanchions two at a time starting at the front. The stanchions fit into the railing, as is usual with Vanguard kits with a snap so I knew it was seated correctly. Then I pushed it into the gunwale slot after removing the paint on the part that fits in the slot. Ditto for the next stanchion going aft. With two in place I used thin CA to freeze them in place and worked the rest in a similar fashion. There is enough "give" in the rail to allow sliding the stanchions into the gunwale slot after inserting it into the railing if you are very careful. Don't ask me how I know but it is possible to pop the railing off one of stanchions where you thought it was secure. So now some clean up work, installing eyebolts on the hull exterior, gun port doors, boomkins, figurehead etc. I am undecided about the hammock cranes on the q-deck forward railing at this point. I may wait until the masts and shrouds are done. I am absolutely going to wait on the waist and forecastle hammock cranes until "later".
  9. cdrusn89
    This is only my second square rigger (Niagara was the first and that was 6 years ago) and I am NOT looking forward to doing ratlines on six sets of shrouds but "ya gatta do what you gatta do". So that is coming up shortly - after I get the q-deck stanchions and railing done. I am creating a spreadsheet of every piece of rigging (I did this on Niagara) - it is a good deal of work but allows me to pre-build the various rigging pieces (single block with becket, single block with hook, single block with hook and becket, etc.) all in one "session" rather than building them as needed (and potentially forgetting how I built this type this last time). This will be my first experience with the shroud cleats. I believe that the shrouds will need to be tensioned more than "normal" as the lines belaying on the shroud cleats will tend to pull the shrouds in different directions and potentially distort them. The ratlines should (in theory) help distribute the load but I am planning on trying to keep the lower shrouds pretty taut.
  10. cdrusn89
    Q-deck forward railing is done. As I mentioned above I had to use one of the spare railing stanchions for the waist railing. Seems whatever misalignment occurred is still haunting me. Except for a slight misalignment between the two waist railings everything came out "okay". I am also taking this opportunity to install the lines that belay at the main jeer bitts. There are five lines according to the rigging plans. The main yard lifts (port and starboard), the topsail yard lift, and the fore yard braces (port and starboard). Although not pictured below i am making similar provisions for the lines that belay on the fore bitts. The jury is still out about the lines that belay on the forward pin rail. I will look at those agin when i have the fore bitts lines done. Now for the q-deck stanchions and railings.
  11. cdrusn89
    With the forecastle (hopefully) completed attention turns to the q-deck. I got all the eyebolts and cleats installed and then took a gander at the rigging sheets which show a 3mm single block on each side just aft of the main channels. Given that the main. shrouds might make access here difficult I went ahead and added the blocks and ran what i hope is plenty of line through to complete this part of the rigging. I also added 2 3mm blocks on the transom and added lines to the very small cleats on each side of the transom. Getting lines on these cleats will never be easier than right now so I decided to take advantage and rig them now. For the railing at the forward end of the q-deck I "tacked" the lower rail to the deck, fashioned the stanchions and assembled the stanchions and the other components of the railing hopping that the "tacking" would hold the bottom rail in place on the curved deck. When the glue was set (but not really fully hardened) I removed the entire assembly from the deck. Then I cleaned up the deck area and the bottom of the lower rail, painted everything black and will reinstall the railing shortly. While the railing was in place I tried to fit the waist rail stanchions and rail. For whatever reason the provided stanchion is too short to have the waist railing meet the middle railing of the q-deck railing. I am going to modify two of the "extra" q-deck railing stanchions to fit the waist railking and hopefully this will resolve this issue. More later. Here is the q-deck with most of the furniture in place.
  12. cdrusn89
    Be careful with the filler there on the scroll work on the q-deck. Those two slots will house timberheads. Don't ask me how I know but it would be useful to stick a "place holder" in the slots before adding the filler. Will make things easier later.
  13. cdrusn89
    Thanks Ronald - probably what I should have done but measuring off the drawing was not all that hard - just a bit time consuming. I did catch the markings for the cleats on the q-deck but forgot (or missing) all the eyebolts.
  14. cdrusn89
    I only "thought" I was done with the forecastle. When I moved to the q-deck I thought it appropriate that before I started the timberheads, etc. that I should add the various eyebolts and cleats that are shown on the drawing (Sheet 15). As I looked over that drawing I noted a bunch of eyebolts that are on the forecastle too. Hmm, I guess when planking the deck yourself you loose all the markings on the maple deck and (at least in my case) reminders that "something goes here". So I went back to the forecastle and added the eyebolts shown on the drawing. While I was at it I checked the rigging plans and added the belaying pins required to the pin racks. Then I reconsidered the stanchions and lifelines. My original thought was to leave these off for now as they are pretty vulnerable to errant elbows, shirt sleeves, etc. On second thought most of the stanchions are behind the shrouds and will be harder to get at once they are in place, and they will be the first items added once the masts are in place (more or less the next step after the q-deck is "populated"). So I added the stanchions and rigged the lifeline but left plenty of extra line so I can run it below the stanchions and hopefully keep it out of the way until needed. FYI - I used .018" Syren ultra Dark Brown line and with the end dipped in thin CA the line was a near interference fit through the stanchions. Not sure what would have happened if I used the kit provided .5mm (.0196") line but if that is used care is required to thread it through the stanchions. Maybe the primer and paint I used restricted the stanchion opening more than I realized. Anyway here is the now (hopefully) really completed forecastle.
  15. cdrusn89
    Forecastle completed. On to the quarterdeck.
  16. cdrusn89
    Forward timber heads are next. Since Vanguard went to the trouble of numbering each timberhead individually I am assuming it would be a good idea to keep track of them during the subsequent "processing". Here they are (less the two very most forward which will join the fun shortly) after having the carrier tabs removed, the edges softened, the "tab" tapered a tad to ease installation. and a first coat of flat black. I tried fitting them "unaltered" and it was a struggle so hopefully I have not done too good a job and now they are "unsteady" in the slot.
  17. cdrusn89
    While "messing around" with the transom I also decided to work the bow "to completion" rather than moving forward to aft and back again. Seems better (to me) to get one end "done" before working on the other end. So here is the belfry and the forward pin rail in place and glued down. along with the hatch coamings and stove flue. I tried to get a picture lookung forwad from the waist but I can't seem to get the camera (iPhone) to cooperate. Have to save that for the next time i get my "big" camera out. I used epoxy to glue down the pin rail as there are rigging lines that belay here. Don't ask me how I know but it is never good to have a belay point come unglued during rigging.
  18. cdrusn89
    Clearly (to me) I must have made another error somewhere, probably I did not get the sub deck or maple deck all the way down on the framing. That would seem to account for the inner bulwark pieces coming out higher than the existing bulwarks. I probably should have trimmed down the interior bulwark pieces rather than adding more material to the existing bulwarks - live and learn. Anyway I am working on a filler piece to bring the various pieces together at the stern. It is not what should be there but I think it will not be all that terrible looking.
  19. cdrusn89
    Before I forget - IMHO it is much easier to cut out the openings for the cat heads BEFORE the cap rail is installed. I got so frustrated I took the cap rails off on both sides (and did some damage in the process) but deem it easier to fix that than spend several, hours trying to file away three layers of bulwark keeping it straight and square. Using a Xacto saw then a #11 blade took less than 10 minutes and made a much cleaner job.
  20. cdrusn89
    Some progress. I worked on getting the q-deck bulwarks up to the correct (at least for this model) height I was not as successful in filling in the seam between the pieces but at least they are even side to side (I think). Here is what they look like now. Sorry it is hard to tell one side from the other in this shot. I still have to add a divider to the sheave port above the mizzen channel, some more touch up painting and the seam is too obvious but that is after two sets of filler so I will adhere to Adm Groshkov's (Head of Soviet Navy in the 80's) saying "better is the enemy of good enough". I added the cleats to the transom (I just noticed I broke one off already 🤐) and painted it red. I planked the gangway decks and added the (previously assembled) ladders to the gun deck. I have the steps going from the q-deck to the gangway "in assembly" using boxwood for the step. And now the next "problem". It appears that now the entire stern is too low. I am not sure how these are all supposed to fit together (I better make an exhaustive search of the supplemental drawings - the instruction manual is pretty light on this (IMHO)). Here is the stern now. The bulwarks stick up about 4mm (at least it is the same on both sides). Considering my options at this point. It may come down to making a "transom extension" to fair in the bulwarks to the transom. Sounds like almost as much fun as fashioning the bulwark extension although at least everything there was flat and straight lines.
  21. cdrusn89
    Forward area with "scabbed in" piece filled and painted. I checked the cross hull heights and they are all within .3mm of each other so I judge that to be "close enough". Now to the aft "issues".
  22. cdrusn89
    Back at the bow I got a piece "scabbed in" to even out the two sides. I will add some filler and try and hide the seam. I probably will not make more two attempts at filling in the seam. It is after all under the cap rail and mostly behind the fore shrouds.
  23. cdrusn89
    Some research appears to be in order. Plans (Sheet 10 in board profile) shows that the aft end of the q-deck bulwark should be 8.5mm above the deck. And at the upper capstan (the easiest place to measure since that little blip in the bulwark is not shown on the inboard profile) the bulwark is 3mm above the deck. Measurements on the model show the starboard side aft is currently at 7mm at the lower inner layer. And forward the starboard side is maybe just a bit high (?) at 3.5mm but really only 3mm if the outer and inner bulwarks were trimmed to match (which they have to be to evenly support the cap rail). And the port side aft is at 5mm. And port side forward is at 2.5mm or probably 2mm when bulwarks are evened. So on the starboard side I need "addition" 1.5mm high at the aft end and tapering down to zero even with the upper capstan . On the port side a similar addition 3.5mm high aft and 1mm even with the capstan the tapering to zero at the forward end. Now on to creating the "piece that binds" so to speak.
  24. cdrusn89
    And I thought I had an "alignment" problem at the forecastle - much worse, approx 5mm too low at the extreme aft end if the external and internal bulwarks are supposed to line up - and everything I have says they should. And back here it is not just the .8mm external layer that is too low, the entire side (approx 2mm thick) is too low. Back to the drawing board to figure out how to "fix" this - clearly I have to add an additional piece (approx 2mm thick) on top of the existing bulwark. Same problem on the other side just not quite so far off, 3mm or so at the extreme aft end. I am going to put the WOP on the q-deck and go try and "fix" this problem on the bow (port side only) and hopefully learn something about how to tackle the stern.
  25. cdrusn89
    Quarterdeck planking completed. Obviously some trimming, sanding and WOP yet to be accomplished. Here is the forecastle after three coats of WOP Getting close to adding the topside "details".

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