jim_smits

Time for another update.
 
Spent the last week putting together the finishing touches to the main yard.
 
Simulated the footropes by creating stirrups from a lengths of brass wire and a false seizing using guttermann thread. Finally added the footropes themselves using thread.
 
Served a length of thread and seized the ends together to create a loop for the sling. Also seized two jeer blocks to the yard, in addition to all of the other various blocks.
 
Finally, added the stunsail booms and tied them in place to the yard.

Time for another update.
 
Spent the last week putting together the finishing touches to the main yard.
 
Simulated the footropes by creating stirrups from a lengths of brass wire and a false seizing using guttermann thread. Finally added the footropes themselves using thread.
 
Served a length of thread and seized the ends together to create a loop for the sling. Also seized two jeer blocks to the yard, in addition to all of the other various blocks.
 
Finally, added the stunsail booms and tied them in place to the yard.

Hello!
 
Well after a fairly extended absence I am back. Just about finished my side project of a LED cube, so I have the work table back for ship building.
 
Time to start working on the yards and started off with the main yard. Cut a length of 5mm dowel plus some extra. To form the octagonal centre portion I cut 8 lengths of 0.5mm by 3mm walnut strip. Trimmed and shaped the strips with a bevel and then added to the dowel with CA.
 
Added detail at the ends of the yard with some styrene strip and brass wire. Still need to add the stunsail boom rings, and paint the yard. After that it is onto the fun of added foot rope and rigging.
 
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mXM-oGggrM&feature=player_embedded
 
Although mine doesn't work fully yet.....

Hello!
 
Well after a fairly extended absence I am back. Just about finished my side project of a LED cube, so I have the work table back for ship building.
 
Time to start working on the yards and started off with the main yard. Cut a length of 5mm dowel plus some extra. To form the octagonal centre portion I cut 8 lengths of 0.5mm by 3mm walnut strip. Trimmed and shaped the strips with a bevel and then added to the dowel with CA.
 
Added detail at the ends of the yard with some styrene strip and brass wire. Still need to add the stunsail boom rings, and paint the yard. After that it is onto the fun of added foot rope and rigging.
 
 

Build is looking fantastic Eamonn. The finish looks excellent. Looking forward to the masts and rigging....!

Hello!
 
Well after a fairly extended absence I am back. Just about finished my side project of a LED cube, so I have the work table back for ship building.
 
Time to start working on the yards and started off with the main yard. Cut a length of 5mm dowel plus some extra. To form the octagonal centre portion I cut 8 lengths of 0.5mm by 3mm walnut strip. Trimmed and shaped the strips with a bevel and then added to the dowel with CA.
 
Added detail at the ends of the yard with some styrene strip and brass wire. Still need to add the stunsail boom rings, and paint the yard. After that it is onto the fun of added foot rope and rigging.
 
 

OK Folks I got a little bit more done today..
 
The Chimney is now fixed in place, and I made up some eyelets/rings for around the Masts (they have been chemically blackened)
 
Not much of an update I know.. but sure it keeps the ball rollin'  
 
All The Best
 
Eamonn
 
BTW the Mast 'Coats' (or wedges wotever) are only dry fitted as I haven't made up my mind whether to put 'canvas' on them or not.
 
 

Hi Eamonn,
 
It's looking good at the back there.The stern of the boat is quite nice as well......

At Long Last A Photo...   
 
As I mentioned previously there was loads of small (unworthy of individual photos I felt) work going on aboard Ballahoo for the last few weeks so I thought I'd best photograph something least ye all think I've abandoned the Build and taken up Crochet or something !!
 
Anyhoo... Here's an update of what's being going on:
 
-I made my own 'beefier' Tiller Arm as the original kit supplied one was only meant to be 'stuck' onto the front of the Rudder and I wanted it to go through the rudder as per the real world with a 'wedge' the the back to hold it in place and reinforcing pieces on the rudder above and below it.. you can see my version in the accompanying photo, some more work will be needed on it though! btw the bit of tiller arm sticking out at the back will be trimmed to size, possibly thickened up before putting the securing wedge through it.
 
-The 'Spectacle Plate' (or whatever it is called) is in place on the Rudder, you can just make it out in the photo slightly above the 'waterline'.. had a 'Moment' there cos I managed to stick it onto the wrong side of the rudder, but I spotted it after a few seconds.. There wasn't any cursing or profanity or anything over it.. Honest !! Cough Cough..
 
-I made up a couple of different sized Rings that will be needed for example to attach the Chains to the Rudder Spectacle DooDah and for use on various other Deck/Gun Eyes etc.. I chemically Blackened them
 
-Found a length of Chain which I also Blackened.. I feels the right size for Rudder Chains so I'll cut it to length shortly and fit them.
 
-I sized the 2 Gaffs and the Boom also.
 
In the Photo you'll see the Chimney and the 2 Mast Rings which may or may not be covered by a 'Mast Coat' later.. Oh and I made up a bunch of Mast Hoops also 8 or 9 per Mast (not in photo)
 
As you can see I've finished redoing the Waterline and installing the Gudgeons & Pintles so I'll be moving onto the various Deck Furniture next.. All of which is assembled and waiting to be put in place..
 
Ok then enough Writing.. It's Almost Photo Time.. Exciting Stuff eh?
 
All The Best Folks and Thanks For Stopping By.
 
Eamonn
 
 

Thank you Jim
 
Some pics from my initial attempts to tie ratlines to the mizzenmast shouds...
I'm quite satisfied with the results, wait to trim the edges after the setting of the pva-watered glue to continue (more securely) upwards...
Cheers

Hi
 
I simply glued the staves on at the appropriate height. I think they were lashed on, so it might be possible to simulate this with some guttermann thread but I didn't bother.

Have started the gunport linings, this will be slow.  Fine tuning the ports so they align appropriately is the order of the day.  The technique I'm using is to first install the lower cills, and to ensure that the cills are horizontal athwart-ship am using a strip of wood to ensure it sits flat on both sides.  Lots of double checking to ensure that position is correct.  Once lower cill is fixed, the upper is glued using an appropriately sized spacer to keep upper and lower cills parallel.  Side linings added last.  
 

 
And finally, happy Spring everyone!  I keep mentioning waiting for warmer weather to get some good sanding done on the hull.....well, this is the scene this morning, looks like I'm still waiting....
 

Just a small update
The next rigging job to be completed has been all the yard lifts,the topgallant lifts were belayed to the cleats tied to the shrouds.
Mizzen lift

Main & mizzen lifts


Main yard lift

Lower shrouds rigging finished.
Now I'm about to start the lower ratlines.

Cheers Guys for the comments and likes, its nice to share a journey with friends.
 
Sjors/Mobbsie - its not an exact replica of me, I had to scale down the pecs to fit 
 
Well, a major milestone arrived slowly. Finally the first planking is complete.  This time the bow presented me a few problems to solve, all self inflicted because I've deviated from the kit.  Because I had decided to customize the bow so I could fit the bowsprit through rather than sitting in a notch on the stem, it essentially took away any anchor points for the fo'c'sle bulwark.  The solution I used was to shape some balsa blocks to the appropriate shape and temporarily mount on top of the bow filler blocks, this allowed the planks to be given the appropriate curvature (after soaking) and then securely glued edge on the plank above and below (Hoepfully this will also provide some protection during upcoming phases).  To ensure that the top of the bulwark has the right shape for the plansheer, I needed to shape the uppermost strips lower edge to key onto the plank below.  Because this strip would be the most susceptible to damage, I used one pre-shaped strip curved completely around the bow.  The bow on this ship looks deceptively simple but has some tricky curves, but even in this rough state the lines seem to be showing through very pleasingly.  Note that the two shaper blocks are very slightly different height which gives the illusion that the top strip is not level, but it is....I must have checked it a million times.
 

 
A scaled copy from the AOTS Diana book to get the correct shape of the bow and many diagrams cross referenced
 

 
Finally a technique I found very helpful, but unfortunately not until I was nearly done.  To keep planks edge on during planking I built these little 'U' shaped pegs out of some extra lime strip (the length of the slot is slightly deeper than the width of a strip) which can be used in many places to help keep strips edge on in some the tricky curving areas at the bow.  The uppermost strip is only approximately shaped at this point, I want to wait until the deck is on the determine final dimensions.  In the waist, I once again deviated from the instructions and carried the planking 2mm above the top of the  bulkheads rather than stopping at the top as indicated in the instructions to allow for the thickness of the 1mm false deck and 1mm deck planking.  Any excess should be easy to remove if necessary.
 

Excellent looking work there Kester!

The topgallant stay is most likely the longest single piece of standing rigging on the cutter, at approximately 75cm in length. It runs from the topgallant masthead, through a block on the top of the cranse iron at the end of the bowsprit, and is then seized to the upper double block of a tackle hooked to the stem. Consulting the drawings in the AOTS Alert book however, produced another discrepancy. The illustration on page 104 shows the stay as running through a single block fitted to an eyebolt on the top of the cranse iron, yet that on page 115 ­(an end on view of the bowsprit) shows it as passing through the central sheave of a triple block – the two outer sheaves being used for the topsail yard braces. So, which is correct? After a little thought I decided to use the triple block arrangement, as not only would it seem to be the more common, but it also reduces the number of blocks at the end of bowsprit – where it is already getting a little crowded. If I had used a single block for the stay the braces would still have to be accommodated, most likely by using two single blocks, and I still have to fit two single blocks for the topsail bowlines, on strops just inboard of the cranse iron. The triple block itself, of course, is not supplied with the kit and I bought a suitably stained and polished 5mm pear example – or rather, examples, as it came with nine others.
 
I decided to fit the eyebolt on the stem first, to take the lower double block of the stay tackle. On stropping the block, and at the same time fitting on to it one of the hooks supplied with the kit, I first tried using thin brass wire. This had, of course, first to be painted black but the process turned out to be less than satisfactory, as the paint didn’t take on the metal too well. Even after two coats the wire showed through in a few places and flaked off when bent and the wire itself, although thin, also didn’t form itself satisfactorily around the block. Instead I substituted black rigging cord, which not only doesn’t need painting (with the ever present risk of getting black paint on the nicely varnished block) but formed naturally around the block when tightened. I fastened it with a small flat (reef) knot and a spot of glue secured it in place. The triple block on the cranse iron was stropped in the same way, except that here an eyebolt was used in place of the hook, which fitted into a hole drilled through the iron into the bowsprit. Again the reef knot didn’t look overscale:
 

 
 
Incidentally, the stained and polished blocks I am using for the rigging (triples, doubles and singles) whilst looking good, unfortunately only have a token mark where the groove for the strop should be, the actual groove having to be carefully filed out. This is a somewhat tricky operation initially, to ensure that the groove is made in the centre of the block, but once this has been carefully started (I normally hold the block in one hand, using self closing tweezers, and a suitably-sized file in the other) a few more gentle passes with the file produces a nice clean slot. The smaller the block, of course, the more difficult it is to file – and I just can’t wait to get to those 3mm single blocks!
 
Having cut the right length for the topgallant stay, using 0.25 black thread, the next task was to turn in, and seize, the double block at its lower end. Having done this on the serving machine, I waxed the line and then passed the other end through the central sheave of the block on the cranse iron. I formed a slip knot at that end, which was passed over the topgallant masthead and seated down on the mast stops. It was a little tricky, when working the knot tight, to get the double block at the other end of the stay in the right position to satisfactorily correspond with the one attached to the stem. However I think I managed it about right:
 

 
A problem, which I had actually been concerning about for some while, now presented itself. This concerned the route taken by the various lines, from the end of bowsprit to their pins on the forward pinrail and whether they should pass over, or go through, the forward bulwark. I believe this was commented on by Gregor in his log. The jib traveller outhaul I had rigged some time before, and as it is shown in the Alert book. The drawing shows it passing down through the bowsprit sheave, running back along under the sprit and then up through a single block fixed to an eyebolt on the wale, next to the stem. From there it passes up and over the rail and thence to its pin. Even though this might be correct, I have to agree that this arrangement does create a somewhat sharp bend in the line, where it passes over the rail and which, on the real vessel, would most certainly be a point of chafe. I therefore decided, as did Gregor, to drill some small holes directly through the bulwark so that both the traveller outhaul, and the topgallant stay tackle, follow what I think is a more seamanlike route to their respective pins (see picture 1). It also looks a lot neater.
 
The problem when doing the above, was not only to get the holes drilled in the correct places, but also to avoid getting the drill snarled up in the bowsprit shrouds – which had already been rigged – so I had to be somewhat careful. However, I managed it without too much hassle and, more importantly, without causing any damage!
 

 
Next time: the staysail.

Bit of a diversion while I continue to wait for some more Limewood from CMB.
 
I had planned to replace the plywood false keel stem with boxwood, originally I was going to simply cut out the replacement shape.  However, I though this would be a good opportunity to do a little 'scratch' building to give me a flavour for it.  I followed the diagrams in the AOTS book, although simplified them slightly (using enlarged scans as pseudo plans while reconciling key dimensions back to the kit to ensure things stay in line).  Took quite a  few days to do (a full framed ship would clearly be out of the question for me!), its certainly not up to Chuck's standard but overall I was really happy with the result for a first attempt.  I lightly used a pencil to highlight the seams to a small degree without wanting to overdo this.  Unfortunately, I suspect I will be painting over 75% of this, but it was great experience.  
 
I rounded of and tapered the knee of the head using approximate guidance from the FFM book 1.  I think this should be tapered more, but I stopped where I did because it resulted in a nice snug fit for the figurehead I plan to use, any more would have resulted in gaps.  I rounded the leading edge, and will wait to cut the gammoning slot until I'm confident of the placement of the head rail features.  You can see the comparison below between the supplied Diana figurehead which is clearly made to straddle a 5mm knee and result in gaps.  I purchased the figure head from Syren when I bought the kit.
 

 
Everything in place (dry fitted for now). Took some adjustment to ensure I the bowsprit would sit correctly and clear the figurehead.
 

 
Also have addressed the lower counter at the stern.  I got quite aggressive and cut back the transition between the lower counter and the planking to ensure this drops and sweeps forward as it appears to in the AOTS book.  I'm only going to use 1 set of the lower counter shapers
 

 
Premade a lower counter sheet which I though might work better than simple planking.  Looks like some adjustment will be needed as the keel former extends into the hole for the rudder.  I've got my approach laid out for the upper counter and stern fascia which will probably deviate from what the kit suggests...but thats a story for a future post 
 

Yes, she does look a little lop-sided, doesn't she
 
Time for an update...
 
more standing rigging...
 
* I've finished the ratlines
* Made the mouse on each stay that requires one... I did this by wrapping the thread round a plastic tube with superglue on it... This could then be trimmed and glued on to the stay in the right position. I touched up each end with a little paint to cover up the white styrene ends...
* Put on the stays on the foremast and the schooner stay for the main mast (these are in place, but only temporarily fixed (by belaying them in the wrong place), before I finally fix the bitts.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Pleased with how it's coming on. The Jotika plans and instructions are excellent... even so I've had to stop and think about each stage before I've gone ahead... and even then I've had to undo and retie various bits as I haven't quite got it right... 
 
Finally, here's how it looks so far... (sorry about the picture quality on that one)
 

 
Things may slow down for a while now, as I'm moving house across the country next month.
 
Happy building and thanks for the likes.
 
Rob

Latest Hot From The Press......
 
The Brass Strips I have been waiting for arrived this morning and I got straight down to making up the Gudgeons & Pintles..
 
The new Strips are approx 0.4mm in thickness and as a result are Sooooo much easier to work with  (my full scale Blacksmiths Forge and Accessories inc. Anvil (needed to work with the 1mm stuff)  are currently for sale on Ebay.. going cheap        )
 
Right then To Business:
Ballahoo needs 3 sets of G&P's, and I bashed them up without any issues..
 
There are 2 parts needed to make each Gudgeon (2mm strip of Brass & short length of Brass Tubing) and 2 parts to each Pintle (2mm strip of Brass & 1mm thick length of Brass wire this came with Kit) .. so I cut 6 X  approx 2mm wide strips off the Brass (in 2 different lengths, ie 3 long and 3 short)
The long ones will be used for the Gudgeons and will eventually attach to the Boat herself.  I bent the strips into a curve whose width was the same as the Stern Post, to make this easier I located some metal (an old metal Mitre Box) that was the same thickness as Stern Post and bent the Strips snuggly around it and using a spare piece of brass tube to keep a space 'open' at the top, a gentle tap with a small pin hammer gives a nice shape around the tube too. see photos
I then soldered a short length of brass tube to the inside of the curved brass strip and trimmed off the excess tube, this produced the Hole for the Pintle, I filed away any rough surfaces or excess solder and that was it for the Gudgeons.
 
The Pintles are made using the short brass strips and in a similar fashion to above except I soldered the 1mm wire to the outside of the curve.. these will end up attached to the Rudder.. incidentally my Rudder is slightly thinner than the Stern Post so I had wrap them around a different metal piece (as it happens a different part of the same Mitre Box.. handy thing that mitre box eh? ) a gentle tap with a hammer gives a nice shape to the bends too.
 
See Last Photo for the result of all this.. they are still a little rough in places and will need to be finished properly then either chemically blackened or simply painted.
Hope this may be of some help to anyone wanting to try this for themselves (though there are many many better descriptions/examples out there in MSW land..  )
 
All The Best Folks
 
Eamonn
 
Photos..

Ok Folks it's about time for a.. wait for it.. wait for it.. A Photo Update.. Woo Hoo !
 
Though I haven't posted here in over 1 month (I know I know) I haven't been exactly sitting back, there has been much planning and scheming going on over here.   
 
The main part of my Planning & Scheming has been to replace the 'Seating' arrangement of the Bowsprit, the kit supplied solution is an Arch Shaped block of wood with a circular hole cut into it that takes the bowsprit.. well it always looked ungainly to me so I drew up a different model borrowing heavily from Sherbourne & Pickle  (the original kit supplied version can be seen beside my 'solution' )  Originally I had planned on incorporating the Riding Bitts into it but as the gap between the 'uprights' is only the width of the Bowsprit (6mm) this didn't prove ideal (the spacing between the Hawse Pipes is slightly more than this, not much but enough to feel wrong,  sorta pinched in.. if you follow)
I also squared the inner end of the Bowsprit to fit the new arrangement, I simply used a hollow piece of dowel that was lying around (an old Turned Wood Pen) that had a 6mm inner hole, glued it in place then sanded it square and faired the edges.. I am in two minds regarding the outcome as the hollow dowel I used is a different coloured wood to the Dowel used in the Bowsprit itself resulting in a dark & light wood effect.. I don't hate it but am not in love with it either   my fall back would be to follow Bobs (Rafine) example in his Essex Build and sand the B'Sprit right down then glue on 4 strips of timber to bring it back level and sand fair.. but as I said I don't hate the current state of affairs (it looks kinda unusual) and I could always Blacken the end 2 cm's anyhoo.
 
I have also been practicing my Brazing for the Gudgeons & Pintles, and thankfully it is going fairly well.. I bought 1mm thick Brass Strips which I figured would be easy to manipulate to the correct shape, but when it arrived Holy Moley it has all the flexibility of an Anvil.. so I ordered something thinner 0.5mm and less!! (it's in the post) the 1mm stuff felt too thick when offered up to the hull anyhoo (you know the old model building saying.. 'If it looks too big then it probably is'..  well if you didn't then you know the old saying now anyhoo     !!)
 
Oh and I cut some round head nails too (using the method demonstrated below by someone waaaaaay more skilled than me!) and fitted them into the riding bitts etc (you may just be able to make them out in the (ahem cough cough) super quality photo that I'm spoiling you with.. sorry in advance   ) I blackened the copper with Liver of Sulphur too  (Yup I've been well busy over here eh?)
Link to Nail Making Here (I hope) 
 
All Righty Then it's Photo Time.. 
 
All The Very Best
 
Eamonn

Hi Jason looks like you are trying to solve another of Diana`s alignment  issues, bare it mind it fits over the second planking, I have built a different version so lined up the top of the stern facia with the top of the bulwark in my open rail set up, you can adjust the side galleries above and below with the filler sections, and fill if needed as they are painted, again I did all this work after the second planking the hull, and after adding  the wale, and I also added a vertical plank to the edge of the keel and finished the second planking to this. I have added a photo of the rudder fitted as well this also shows how my one sits plus just how much its covered by the coppering, I think this build is no where as straight forward as it first looks and only a few of us have attempted to resolve the issues it throws up, my attempt may not be totally correct but at least I think it looks right.
keep up the good work she does keep the brain cells working.
best regards Ray
 
 

Time has flown by, maybe time to note down a few thoughts on my plan of attack.  Its been a lot of fun spending lots of time tinkering with various bits so far, but I do want to make some concrete progress.  None of the diagrams solve the aligment dilemmas, and I'm less than convinced that the placement/shape is correct on various supplied parts, and I really wanted to be comfortable that I wouldn't be setting myself for future frustration.  
 
My prediction of running out of lime strip did come to pass so I have some on order (some of the kit supplied 1.5mm lime strip was on the thin side (~1-1.25mm) so I didn't use it,  and I want make sure I've got plenty of thickness here to sand back)Here's what I've concluded, and the alignment I'll proceed with...at least until I find a new problem.
 
Stern fascia:  The top of this should align with the top of the keel former at the stern.  Looking at many contemporary models, the stern windows feel larger in proportion to the fascia itself, and the proportions overall shown on the box art art and instructions just don't look right.  The former itself appears over-sized to me and will require trimming at the bottom and the sides to maintain what I see as the correct proportions. This will mean that I will probably need to figure out my own solution for decorations in place of the supplied PE, but that should be fun.  The PE windows should definitely be useable as are the castings.  The two holes (assuming chaser ports) will also be enlarged.  This is all for down the road though.
 
Side galleries:  The stern fascia size/alignment needs to also consider the side galleries, which should align nicely with the lines of the stern fascia and also align with the line of the gunports.  The low-res NMM plans show the gallery windows appearing slightly above the line of the gunports, however, every contemporary model I've seen seems to show these lining up exactly with the line of the gun ports, as does the AOTS book and plans. I'll try to follow the latter, and use the NMM plan as justification if I need to sneak them up a little.  The supplied parts will need to be reshaped to get the correct proportion, this seems a common Caldercraft scenario.
 
Photos below show a little trick I found useful.  Knowing I'd be using the PE windows, I copied the sheet on my home printer and simulated final placement, also whittled up a balsa wood quarter gallery so I could visualize the alignment.  The grey-blue I'm using will likely not show correctly, but its a Tamiya colour and I quite like it - seems to sit well with boxwood I plan to use...
 

 
Keel former: Once the above alignment  is determined, the positioning of the upper and lower counter are shown to be too high.  No problem, will just require the various former peices (26 & 27) to be 'corrected'.  The other item that I'll address is not in the instructions.  The termination of the lower counter and the hull planking would be perpendicular to the keel if taken to the last frame, however, I believe this should also gradually curve forward as it curves down.  
 
I also laminated some maple strip at the base of the stem to better shape this allowing for the needed extra depth to the keel.  I've positioned a few strips to show how I plan to include the false keel.
 

 
Upper Counter: The kit supplies a poor representation of the shape of the upper counter and simply says the lower counter should be planked.  I'll plan to shape my own out of some spare 1mm maple sheet, this requires the stern fascia positioning to be known first.
 
Quarterdeck bulwark:  Positioning this also is a challenge like all premade templates.  These need to be aligned so that the bottom of the gun ports are a consistent distance from the upper deck (which of course is not yet permanently fitted).  I may leave these off for now as they will be very delicate once installed, but I will need to know the lie of the planks below so I can install these.

Righto, thought you would be. Thus gave my two cents ...