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jim_smits

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  1. jim_smits
    Right, a bit of advice and perhaps confirmation needed. Putting together the aft gaff and rigging it up last night. Struck me that the plans do not show any rigging to control the lateral position of the gaff. The equivalent rigging is shown and complete on the foremast gaff. So, firstly, what are they called? Sheets? Braces? Secondly, would this be present on the aft gaff? If it is present, I think that I can use eyebolts that are set into the deck at the aft by the transom and the bulwark cleats at the corners of the aft of the capping rail. Is this accurate at all? I have ordered a copy of Global Schooner but until it arrives any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any guidance, and please correct my terminology.
  2. jim_smits
    Thanks for the likes and comments guys. Not too much done today as been helping to put up Chrimbo tree. I have however, added iron bands to the aft gaff and added cleats to the end of the gaff. Also made up and tied in two coils for belayed lines. Still going to need a few more though....
  3. jim_smits
    Good bit of progress today despite being slightly hungover from last nights work Christmas party. Managed to complete and install the foremast gaff. Spent a while shaping walnut dowel to fit one of the gaff jaws and tapering to 2.5mm. Glued the gaff to the jaws piece and pinned in place to add strength. Cut three strips of black paper about 1mm wide and added to the gaff to simulate iron bands. Finally drilled a hole to take an eyepin once it has been stropped to a block. Made up the rest of the rigging gradually over the afternoon and fitted to the gaff, including the parral beads at the back to fit to the foremast. Gradually iterated the rigging tension until the gaff was in the correct position and all lines were correctly tensioned. Belayed all four lines to belaying pins and painted with dilute PVA to fix in place. Currently putting some coils together to finish.
  4. jim_smits
    Fantastic looking build with amazing details added. Something definitely to aspire to.
  5. jim_smits
    Hopefully some constructive criticism but I think you need to check the kit difficulty for the Caldercraft series. You have ballahoo down as an intermediate and yet Snake as a beginner. Havent really checked the other kits as I have no experience with them but probably worth having a look when you have a moment. Cheers!
  6. jim_smits
    I think the main problem is the wood used for the dowels has very inconsistent grain structure and therefore takes up stain to different degrees. This gives the resultant blotchiness.
  7. jim_smits
    I tried for a while to stain the light dowels with no luck and gave up, although I never used sanding sealer, and ended up painting. Could you try ordering some walnut dowel and using that? Should take stain and varnish far better.
  8. jim_smits
    Booms, gaffs and anchors to go indeed. And the it will most definitely be back to Snake and a load of yards to do. A few months away but after that will be Diana most probably, hopefully with some LEDs to add to cabins, decks and lanterns.
  9. jim_smits
    Thanks Jason - the rope loop itself is dead easy but threading the hook onto the pin and getting it to sit right is a bit of a pig.....
  10. jim_smits
    Standing rigging done....! That's another big step out of the way! Now I'm onto plan 3 of 3 and the running rigging and the booms. The end is in sight.
  11. jim_smits
    Finally received the base for the Ballahoo together with a couple of support columns. I've got a shorter support column on order as well due to the large gradient on the keel. In the meantime I have shortened the rearmost column to fit. Measured up the base and drilled a couple of holes to fit wooden dowel up through the columns and into the keel of the ship to keep it stable. The base itself was mdf so I have given it a couple of coats of paint. Currently it is a dark brown but I may well mix in some yellow ochre and try and match the colour of the columns. Also needs a gentle sand between coats and then a final varnish to keep it as good condition as possible. I may upgrade to a full properly finished base at some point.
  12. jim_smits
    How much was it mate?
  13. jim_smits
    Looks like every shroud is served to just above the futtock stave with the anterior shroud serving extending to below the stave.
  14. jim_smits
    Hot tips....: File the ends perfectly flat and clean Ensure that the tension on the ring is holding the gap shut This will ensure that the silver will flow over the gap. If you're using flux/silver paste it will only require a second of heating. Anymore and the brass ring will itself melt.
  15. jim_smits
    Hopefully that will work for you. I will recommend buying a soldering pencil torch and silver silder paste. Get the learning curve out the way and it is dead easy to use and joint will be rock solid.
  16. jim_smits
    Great effort mate. Are you using soft solder with an iron or silver solder with a torch?
  17. jim_smits
    Another quick update from last night. Finished both foremast backstays and belayed to bulwark belaying pins. Finally finished the effect by adding a coil of rope. Formed the coil around two pins in a small block of wood and drowned in diluted PVA. Allowed to dry and trimmed off the ends. Then used the excess from the belayed line to form a loop which is threaded through the coil and back over the belaying pin. Used a clip to tension the lines in the correct position and again drowned in diluted PVA to fix in position. Really happy with the results!
  18. jim_smits
    Hi all, Next update on the build has been start work on the two pairs of back stays, one each for the fore and main masts. Started off with the foremast by cutting two lengths of 0.75mm thread and serving around 5cm at the end of each line. As per the shrouds the served end is formed into a loop and a false splice used to fix in place. Added a 5mm block onto the end of the lines. There are a couple of other components to put together to create the backstay assembly: Block stroped to a rigging hook and; Double block stroped with a small loop to accept a second line. Lines are added to these blocks The whole assembly is then threaded up and a hook added to the end and all suitably tensioned. The free line is then belayed to a pin on the bulwark. Takes a little while but looks good. Need to repeat for the main mast.
  19. jim_smits
    Looks fantastic Ray!
  20. jim_smits
    Take a look at my ballahoo build as there's my section on creating deadeye strops. Hope it provides some tips.
  21. jim_smits
    Unknown but is a prime suspect....
  22. jim_smits
    Looking good Rob. Particularly impressed with the ceiling shot....
  23. jim_smits
    Ratlines done! Not that many compared to other builds but still good to get them done. Onto the stays..... First mate is on board providing 'help'.......
  24. jim_smits
    Looking great Jason. See you've halted Snake at the same point as I have and been distracted..... I've gone the other way. Can we compare Diana to my Ballahoo....?!
  25. jim_smits
    Stergios I would say stick with a similar length that you used for the shrouds. So at a guestimate around 1.5 - 2cm for the loop plus some extra to run a short way down the stay. As for the ranks, I think they are redesigning the ranking system. There's a short thread about it.

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