jim_smits

Also feeling slightly smug as I've just picked up a 1st edition copy of James Lees - Masting and Rigging English Ships of War for £8.50 from eBay.

Been a little while since the last update.
 
Busy with all sorts (including Ballahoo!) but I have my partner moving in currently so the house is a huge state of flux at the moment.
 
Finally got round to removing the main and fore stays for refitting. Used the serving machine in anger for the first time, and after a little playing around got the technique sorted in my head. Made an estimate of 15cm of line to be served to give the loop around the mast, the mouse and a little further down the stay. Made the mouse in the end by simply serving back and forth over a 1cm length of line favouring one end to give the correct shape. A couple of dabs of GS Hypo to secure and sorted.
 
Added the heart blocks to end of the stay, and many thanks to Gil Middletons build, with a false splice. The technique takes a little while but gives a really good tidy result. Almost want to redo all my shrouds, almost.....!
 
Added the lanyards between the two heart blocks and frapped. This looks far better than my old lanyards.
 
Only three more to go....
 
The last photo shows the improved splice for the upper heart block and the old method for the lower. Should have replaced the lower before frapping but I think I can replace in situ.

Been a little while since the last update.
 
Busy with all sorts (including Ballahoo!) but I have my partner moving in currently so the house is a huge state of flux at the moment.
 
Finally got round to removing the main and fore stays for refitting. Used the serving machine in anger for the first time, and after a little playing around got the technique sorted in my head. Made an estimate of 15cm of line to be served to give the loop around the mast, the mouse and a little further down the stay. Made the mouse in the end by simply serving back and forth over a 1cm length of line favouring one end to give the correct shape. A couple of dabs of GS Hypo to secure and sorted.
 
Added the heart blocks to end of the stay, and many thanks to Gil Middletons build, with a false splice. The technique takes a little while but gives a really good tidy result. Almost want to redo all my shrouds, almost.....!
 
Added the lanyards between the two heart blocks and frapped. This looks far better than my old lanyards.
 
Only three more to go....
 
The last photo shows the improved splice for the upper heart block and the old method for the lower. Should have replaced the lower before frapping but I think I can replace in situ.

Also feeling slightly smug as I've just picked up a 1st edition copy of James Lees - Masting and Rigging English Ships of War for £8.50 from eBay.

Been a little while since the last update.
 
Busy with all sorts (including Ballahoo!) but I have my partner moving in currently so the house is a huge state of flux at the moment.
 
Finally got round to removing the main and fore stays for refitting. Used the serving machine in anger for the first time, and after a little playing around got the technique sorted in my head. Made an estimate of 15cm of line to be served to give the loop around the mast, the mouse and a little further down the stay. Made the mouse in the end by simply serving back and forth over a 1cm length of line favouring one end to give the correct shape. A couple of dabs of GS Hypo to secure and sorted.
 
Added the heart blocks to end of the stay, and many thanks to Gil Middletons build, with a false splice. The technique takes a little while but gives a really good tidy result. Almost want to redo all my shrouds, almost.....!
 
Added the lanyards between the two heart blocks and frapped. This looks far better than my old lanyards.
 
Only three more to go....
 
The last photo shows the improved splice for the upper heart block and the old method for the lower. Should have replaced the lower before frapping but I think I can replace in situ.

Been a little while since the last update.
 
Busy with all sorts (including Ballahoo!) but I have my partner moving in currently so the house is a huge state of flux at the moment.
 
Finally got round to removing the main and fore stays for refitting. Used the serving machine in anger for the first time, and after a little playing around got the technique sorted in my head. Made an estimate of 15cm of line to be served to give the loop around the mast, the mouse and a little further down the stay. Made the mouse in the end by simply serving back and forth over a 1cm length of line favouring one end to give the correct shape. A couple of dabs of GS Hypo to secure and sorted.
 
Added the heart blocks to end of the stay, and many thanks to Gil Middletons build, with a false splice. The technique takes a little while but gives a really good tidy result. Almost want to redo all my shrouds, almost.....!
 
Added the lanyards between the two heart blocks and frapped. This looks far better than my old lanyards.
 
Only three more to go....
 
The last photo shows the improved splice for the upper heart block and the old method for the lower. Should have replaced the lower before frapping but I think I can replace in situ.

Also feeling slightly smug as I've just picked up a 1st edition copy of James Lees - Masting and Rigging English Ships of War for £8.50 from eBay.

Been a little while since the last update.
 
Busy with all sorts (including Ballahoo!) but I have my partner moving in currently so the house is a huge state of flux at the moment.
 
Finally got round to removing the main and fore stays for refitting. Used the serving machine in anger for the first time, and after a little playing around got the technique sorted in my head. Made an estimate of 15cm of line to be served to give the loop around the mast, the mouse and a little further down the stay. Made the mouse in the end by simply serving back and forth over a 1cm length of line favouring one end to give the correct shape. A couple of dabs of GS Hypo to secure and sorted.
 
Added the heart blocks to end of the stay, and many thanks to Gil Middletons build, with a false splice. The technique takes a little while but gives a really good tidy result. Almost want to redo all my shrouds, almost.....!
 
Added the lanyards between the two heart blocks and frapped. This looks far better than my old lanyards.
 
Only three more to go....
 
The last photo shows the improved splice for the upper heart block and the old method for the lower. Should have replaced the lower before frapping but I think I can replace in situ.

@Nigel - Boy,  I hope I don't sound whiney! Unfortunately seeking perfection is in my character, I know I'll never get there but doesn't seem to stop me banging my head sometimes...of course the challenge is part of the fun 
 
@Scott - you found my secret!
 
@Jim - Think there are a couple of answers, and I'm sure the serving 'masters' out there could provide more tips as well.  For the stays, I created the served eye on one end (per method below which Andy put me on to) and then attached the mouse in what seemed the right spot.  The serving then was done in one go starting at the eye toward the mouse, over the mouse, and then terminated a 'suitable' distance - Lever says this discretionary and who am I to argue.
 
As far as the catharpins go, hopefully the following diagram makes sense.  Either way, you need to know the dimensions of what you looking to achieve beforehand.  One technique that works well is to mock up the element you want to create with light (similar thickness) thread, you can then mark the part that need to be served and go from there.  Unfortunately, however well planned, there is always room for discrepancy and there have been plenty of times where the end result is a little to long or short and its back to the start - probably gets better with practice, but seems to be part of the territory.
 
The approach below can probably be applied to any rigging element, just requires planning and forethought.  The catharpins were made in same way as the burton pendants.  What work for me is to figure out the length I'll need and then use two 'pins' with which to create the eyes the set distance apart to help ensure consistency.  Photo at the bottom are the catharpins in an early stage (I didn't bother serving the eyes for these as it they wouldn't be really visibly, this save quite a bit of time and risk of error).
 

Mort - great tip, I didn't know that about the school glue just being diluted PVA - not sure what I thought it was    Will be great to meet you.
 
Anyway...Catharpin'ing on....
 
Catharpins have been something else I've been pondering.  The Snake plans just seem horribly inconsistent with other materials (Lever, Pederson etc) so decided to follow those.  Lever identifies a number of methods, desperately wanted to go the cross-catharpin route, but Lever seems to indicate that even when this was done, it was in addition to the regular catharpins, not in place of.  So, the bog standard approach it will be.  
 
Mk1 Catharpin.  Of course, catharpins were eye-spliced at either end and served...(has anyone been diagnosed with compulsive 'serving' disorder?   )

 
...and lashed into place temporarily it seems to work just fine.  Although the detail of the eye splice is somewhat lost, it does give a cleaner look (IMHO) than lashing the catharpin around the futtock stave.  I was a little relieved to see that the second shroud can be catharpined in without rubbing against the mast as Lever suggest only the foremost shroud was not catharpined in.  I feel scale is a little bit of an issue, it would be nice to be doing the same on a larger ship so the imperfections are perhaps a little less noticeable.

Thanks for all the likes and comments, definitely keeps one going.
 
Just a few progress pics on the ratlines.  Judging from the majority of comments, these seem to be one of the most disliked steps and maybe one of the last major hurdles for a first build (after planking, coppering, rigging carronades).  All said, I'm pleasantly surprised and actually finding this a quite enjoyable.  But lets be clear, my results are far from perfect, but passable I think.  Obviously work still to do.  Although natural line seems to be in vogue, found this a little distracting so went with black glacee thread close to the needed dimension.  Overall, pretty happy for a first effort.
 
Lessons learned for next time:
Masts and shrouds should be built and mocked up prior to identifying the line of the chains.  Not too noticeable, but my 'rough and ready' method didn't take account of the actual lie of the shrouds over the tops and resulted in some of the chains not lining up as well as could be with final shroud placement I hate to blame materials, but I suspect that aftermarket ropes would result in big visual improvements and build enjoyment vs the standard supplied stuff which never seems consistent in size, shape or 'roughness'.  My mind is absolutely made up that additional cost is probably worth it. The tops and the channels are not parallel, although it looks best (IMHO) if the ratlines are parallel to the top and the channel where they meet, its pretty simple to slightly adjust the ratlines to achieve this in between.  
4mm spare walnut strips were used to 'clamp' the shrouds and provide the correct spacing (found that sitting these on top of the knots below and tying next set on top resulted in the almost exact spacing needed.  This technique helped a lot!

 
Overhand knots were used on first and final shroud as these seemed least bulky, I just couldn't get the cow hitch to work well for me, maybe next time...Snakes's channels are mounted very high so a ratline is needed right on top of the deadeyes.  This means that deadeye lashings make most sense 'sitting' on top of the deadeyes as I've seen in a few photos of the real thing (not prettily lashed to the shroud).  I also wanted to try and get a little natural sag into these, results are proving to be mixed, but adjusting is easy once in place to try to get close to desired look.
 
 
And the current state...quite the mess with all the untrimmed ends

Jim, I would recommend adding the stealer as you have said (my reason for doing it as I did is that looking at the plans there seemed to be 4 or 5 full width planks between the Wale and the top of the Bulwark, and as I was changing from Dark Walnut to a much lighter coloured plank, and was 'showing' caulking, I wanted the Wales to run level with the bottom of the 4th or 5th strake all the way along. As I think your plan was to perhaps paint this area between Wale & Top of Bulwark then this isn't so vital (you mentioned liking the colour scheme of a previous Ballahoo build, which seems to be painted 'Nelson' yellow in this area, that's why I say this  )
The plank shaping as a consequence of this running the planks along the top is why I'm going so slowly at present, though they are beginning to run smoother as I go down (having said that though the bow still requires a little shaping to be done)
 
Nigel, I shall opt for the Add On Wale, which will be an extra plank run on top of the 2nd layer I'm doing now (2 plank widths wide) and shall be painted black, I'll be running another much narrower (2mm wide x 1mm thick) piece parallel between the Wale and the top rail which will also be painted black.
 
Hope all of that makes sense guys,
 
Eamonn

That answers a question I was going to ask, which was how you managed to fit a single plank along the top edge of the bulwark. The answer being it is many lengths of plank instead. The reason I ask is that one of the rules of planking that I have seen is that planks should never be bent laterally, and that is what would be required.
 
I think the angle I will attempt is to fit my second planking from the bow, parallel with the keel, and then add 'stealers' to plank upto the top of the bulwark at the stern.

If it's the triangular hole you're referring to, all I've done is to plank upto the penultimate bulkhead. My experience from planking Snake is that it makes planking the transom and the subsequent 2nd planking easier.

Quick update for you all.
 
Managed to complete the first planking. It was interesting comparing the planking of this smaller vessel as compared to the Snake that I had previously done, with a far greater emphasis on the angle between the keel and the top of the bulwarks. I was adding in stealers from the word go. No great problems however, although the final couple of planks were not the most 'regular' shaped in the world but it will not matter in the big scheme of things.
 
Next steps will be to continue sanding to a smooth finish, adding a few bits of filler in a couple of places with a slight depression and also to 'paint' the entire hull with a bit of diluted PVA to strengthen the build.
 
The first planking really does the ship a sudden sense of being. The lines are now there....!
 

 

 
 
 

Quick update for you all.
 
Managed to complete the first planking. It was interesting comparing the planking of this smaller vessel as compared to the Snake that I had previously done, with a far greater emphasis on the angle between the keel and the top of the bulwarks. I was adding in stealers from the word go. No great problems however, although the final couple of planks were not the most 'regular' shaped in the world but it will not matter in the big scheme of things.
 
Next steps will be to continue sanding to a smooth finish, adding a few bits of filler in a couple of places with a slight depression and also to 'paint' the entire hull with a bit of diluted PVA to strengthen the build.
 
The first planking really does the ship a sudden sense of being. The lines are now there....!
 

 

 
 
 

Well, its been a little longer than I had I thought.  I got into a bit of a funk with a couple of aspects of the rigging and felt myself forcing things - so decided to take a bit of a break.  I think I got lucky with my first mouse, replicating it proved to be rather challenging but decided to make them all in one go so they are as consistent as can be (why don't any manufacturers make mice?).  
 
Not much to report, but I am back in the shipyard at least...I do still want to try and capture each step in order for future reference, so apologize if this is less than thrilling.
 
Maintop with main and preventer stays in place...

 
Main and preventer stays attached to their respective hearts.  Did not serve around the stays where they rub against the fore-mast as would have been done.  I didn't  use the supplied 1.25mm line as supplied as it seemed a little too thick and out of scal, instead going with some 'officially' 1.3mm Caldercraft line which in reality was slightly thinner than the supplied 1.25mm stuff.  This proved to be a 'fuzzy'  nightmare but once in place I brushed with dilute PVA and they seem to have been banished.
 
The lashing of the hearts was done with  fake splice to the lower heart (although believe this maybe should have been to the upper heart) and then seizing the other end to the lashing.  The hearts have circular holes, I'd recommend flattening off the lower side so the lashing sits better, as it is, I found this quite tricky to look right.
 

At Long Last I have Good News to Report...
 
Yup! you guessed it, my timber arrived this morning and I have the first row of planking in place on the bulwark (just the Starboard side mind you)
I have cut the timber for each row (strake) up into the scale equivalent of approx.18 foot planks.
 
I should be able to get a few more strakes done on both sides tomorrow.
 
Thanks for checking in folks, and for keeping an eye on me during the Great Timber Drought of '14..
 
Incidentally I think Nigel was right when he said that CMB don't always have product in stock when they take an order, even though sometimes they have 'Temporarily out of Stock' marked on some items... as a quick check on the invoice dates show that my shipments are only traveling just over 9 days! (as opposed to the 3 weeks as of tomorrow, since my order was placed)
 
Will have All New Shinny Photos Soon...
 
Take Care.
 
Eamonn

Ratlines........ Done!
 

 
Finished off the mizzen mast shrouds and futtocks as mentioned in my previous post, and added in the remaining ratlines on the top mast. Rather glad to have got this all out of the way...!
 

 
Next items to take care are the main stay and preventer stay. The tension has dropped out of both, so I will remove them both and refit. I cant simply re-tension at the heart blocks as they are now to close together. Gives me a chance to try out the serving machine and make improvements to the mouse on each stay.
 
 

Ratlines........ Done!
 

 
Finished off the mizzen mast shrouds and futtocks as mentioned in my previous post, and added in the remaining ratlines on the top mast. Rather glad to have got this all out of the way...!
 

 
Next items to take care are the main stay and preventer stay. The tension has dropped out of both, so I will remove them both and refit. I cant simply re-tension at the heart blocks as they are now to close together. Gives me a chance to try out the serving machine and make improvements to the mouse on each stay.
 
 

Ratlines........ Done!
 

 
Finished off the mizzen mast shrouds and futtocks as mentioned in my previous post, and added in the remaining ratlines on the top mast. Rather glad to have got this all out of the way...!
 

 
Next items to take care are the main stay and preventer stay. The tension has dropped out of both, so I will remove them both and refit. I cant simply re-tension at the heart blocks as they are now to close together. Gives me a chance to try out the serving machine and make improvements to the mouse on each stay.
 
 

Ratlines........ Done!
 

 
Finished off the mizzen mast shrouds and futtocks as mentioned in my previous post, and added in the remaining ratlines on the top mast. Rather glad to have got this all out of the way...!
 

 
Next items to take care are the main stay and preventer stay. The tension has dropped out of both, so I will remove them both and refit. I cant simply re-tension at the heart blocks as they are now to close together. Gives me a chance to try out the serving machine and make improvements to the mouse on each stay.
 
 

Hi Eamonn,
 
I'm very surprised that you have been waiting so long for your order from CMB. I've always found them to be incredibly quick with orders; order in the morning and receive the following day.
 
It's probably worth you giving them a ring and checking up on the order....?

Fully caught up now!
 
The false deck has been pinned and glued in. All the bulkheads have been shaped to fit the bulwarks and planking.
Shaped the bulwarks by immersing in boiling water and then pegging to the bulkheads.
 
Both bulwarks are a good approximate shape now, so next step is to pin to the bulkheads prior to planking.Y
 
Everything looking a lot better this time....!
 

Latest Gossip from ENN  (Eamonn News Network )...  Much Sanding Phase 2 is complete with rather satisfying results ( a Very Very smooth hull form) just a smidge of filler required at the stern (where the upward sweep of a plank meets the lower part of the transom) once that hardens I'm onto Mild Sanding Phase 1, there may not even be a Phase 2 here... Which will be a bit of a Result!!
I filled out a section of the Bulwarks up for'ard to allow the Bow Piece to fit in place (you may recall from a while back the problem I had encountered where the 2 Bulwarks meet at the bow, ie no or too small a gap for the Bowsprit & the Bow Piece) hopefully you can see it in the photos.
I also made up the Stand, which is straightforward and not as Gawd Awful looking as I feared (I'm toying with how I will present the boat when finished, she may end up on Blocks representing a slipway, with the angle matching the angle of the keel to keep the deck level! but that is a bit away yet  )
 
Thanks For Checking In Folks
 
Eamonn
 
BTW The Period Ship Handbook pt 2 arrived this morning, WOW they are going to be a brilliant resource, thanks for the recommendation Nigel & Kester, and Dee Dee for the advice on where to get them!! Abebooks are Deadly, and I'd advise all to take a looksee for those hard to find books  (by the way 'Deadly' is an Irishism for Pretty Darn Good!  )
 
Photo Time....