Stuka

Thank you Ronald and good luck with your Sphinx!

So Today I glued on the false upper deck. This was fairly straightforward although with alot of caution taken. I dryfitted the falsedeck around 3 times and I sanded the bulkhead ears where I saw resistance when I tried to dryfit the deck. Then I glued on and went for it pressing slowly on the points of tension with my thumbs carefully as to not break anything. It went pretty good I would say even though I did get some tiny "woodskin" that started to peel off in one spot close to the aft by one bulkhead. The damage in question very minor and no cracks or anything in the deck Before all this when I was brushing diluted PVA on the lower deck. I noticed this area that is discoloured and I might be overthinking this but since im not that experienced in wood. This isnt any rot or something that can spread right? You cant see a trace of it on the upper side of the lower deck so it seems small. Other than that smooth building so far 👍

Thanks alot Craig for all the times you came with good advice.

Well one thing led to the next and suddenly I have assembled alot of bulkheads along with supporting bulk/ deck beams. I also glued on the lower deck. So far the Speedy is much bulkier than my Sherbourne and it keeps getting bigger. Not even all the bulkheads are attached yet so it will be exciting to see how big it becomes in comparasion.

Now I dont know exactly what would be the accurate knot to use, But I personally took the Cow hitch from "Ashleys book of knots" for my Sherbourne. It looks like this.

Thank you Ronald, 🙂

Assembling bulkheads is the first order of the day

Back on the horse This is the 2023 special version of Vanguards Speedy which comes with some extras as copper plates and machined walnut blocks which look very nice so I hope my rigging can do them justice. Here are some photos from the content in the box, Now my workspace is limited so I couldnt fit all the material but here is most of it. Then we have the fittings The machined walnut blocks is another world apart from the normal blocks like that I got on the Sherbourne so im very happy about them. Entering this kit I now know how much time goes into just a little rigging and two ratlines. Therefore im sort of dreading it when I will eventually have to attach all the rigging on this one I suspect it will be quite a challange one which I hopefully can tackle. Now onto the building

Hey Palmerit I wanted to get back to what I said earlier about the top thimble blocks being incorrect. After now having finished this model I will say I was wrong in that. The instructions are correct regarding the rigging so ignore my statement about it. I guess I must have been confused with something about it. So no need to worry as long as you follow the plan sheets all will be good 👍.

Finally Finished Did the bowsprit rigging, backstays and yard lines aswell as I today just finished the anchors knots which were not the best but works the part I guess. I had some trouble finding a good anchor knot due to the hawserope being very thick. But eventually I got something and it does the job. It has been a learning and problemsolving jorney definitely but now I hope I can transfer that experience onto me next project which is the Vanguard Speedy.

Thanks Craig, I did read the manual that watered down PVA glue is supposed to be used on the ratlines but I wanted to try CE cause how fast it settles. The downside is the marks the CE leaves on the knots so next time Il try the PVA solution.

Finally got the ratlines done Oboy for a first timer this wasnt hard but very time consuming. 7-8 hours it took me to get both sides done. That has me thinking how long it will take on bigger models with more ratlines like my speedy haha. Now I dont know if thats normal how long it took for me but I used CE on every knot so it wouldnt come undone. I can finally see the light in the tunnel as its Backstays, bowsprit and Ancor rigging left pretty much.

Well done looks really good 👍

I have now attached the deadeyes. I had a little trouble with them as I had accidently wrapped the shroud lines before attaching them meaning I had to redo the deadeyes for one side again. Rookie mistake there. In other news it was fairly smooth tomorrow il attempt at starting the ratlines so let see how that goes. As for attaching the shrouds to the deadeyes I used a bent brasswire so each deadeye got the same distance of sorts. Then i put CE glue on the deadeye and wrapped around the shroud line before pinching it with a needle pliers. This technique worked pretty well but did have some troubles with excessive Ce glue sometimes needed. Got to work on my techniques.

More rigging has been done now. I wanted to make all the inner rigging done first before doing the shrouds as I thought that it will be easier that way. Its starting too look like something which Im happy about even though the small imperfections. Next up I believe is the shrouds which will be challenging I think but hopefully it goes well.

Okay the boom gaff rigging has now started I think it goes smooth. But some questions for you more experienced people there. Are you supposed to do a clove hitch at the end of these lines into the main bitts or is it just to glue the string and wrap it around? (Images will be posted for context.) Also i use tweezers like the following but I feel like I might need longer tweezers so what tools do you guys use? Other than that I feel like it has been more straightforward but a constant learning process trial and error sort of say. Example one of my blocks of the gaff boom was tensioned with the line but then lost that tension so now it looks the way it does. Nothing abit of glue wont solve I hope.

Easter season so I got time off from work. I assembled most of the mast now and added all the strings pretty much. For the Bowsprit triple 5 mm block I glued together 3 single blocks from another old Constructo Cutty Sark. Then I attached the bowsprit which I hope was not a mistake cause I have the rigging ahead. The mast assembly had some bumps here and there like getting the mast properly aligned. Mine is slightly off so its not entirely symmetric. Also I had some trouble figuring out a good way to attach the two 600mm strings on the yards. I did a newcomers attempt at my own seizing with some glue then I wrapped some string accepteble for this model but for future models I will try chucks guide on it. But progress has been nice. Feels good to not be stuck on every step again haha.

Main mast now assembled, Got some adjustments to do on the yards/spars. Then im adding the boom gaffs,

Hello its been a while. I have been struggling with the rigging and even bought books, reached out in other threads and searched the internet. And by looking at all of these together I have now finally got over some of these headaches. For the driver boom connection I did the following which was something ECK taught me. I took the string around a toothpick then did 3 knots, After that I tied the string around the block and did 2 knots. Finally using only one of the 2 strings I took it through the eyebolt on the boom and then tied it to the base of the knot. It didnt end up perfectly but imperfection is its own perfection especially on a novice model like this so I think Il leave it be. I also added the parrel beads to the two booms so they are ready for attachment. Finally today I figured out a way to get the lower hard done with the string. I thought it was abit unclear of what knot to use at the places and if this string was to be connected all the way to the block that hangs down. I recently bought Ashleys book of knots and a week ago I noticed some really good Yard/Spar knots so thats where I went. I used a clove hitch which I dont know if they were applied in this fashion but for me it served the purpose as I could tie it at the middle and then again at the egde of the yard to finally use the end string and tie my block in all in one go. So thats what I did. Not much progress but the ball is once again rolling.

Thanks for all the help guys, Hopefully with the help I can improve on my rigging in the future but I reached out to ECK and he did another variant of this which involves first tying string around a toothpick then he had this open loop which could then just be tied normally around the block. Finally one of the 2 strings goes into the eyebolt and then is tied to the base of the knot around the block. I kinda got this okay at best I will say but it will do for now I reckon. But I will contemplate redoing it or maybe let the imperfection be its own perfection.

Hello I appreciate the help however I do have a hard time to follow. If I would take a big loop around the block to get two eyes one each side with seizing. How do I get one of the eyes to be attached to the eyebolt of the gaff boom? Also how would I solve one end with has to the two loose ends of string. Cause the loop around the eyebolt has to be closed like in the picture does it not? Sorry for all the questions but I have trouble to visualize this. See the picture which hopefully shows my question.

Chucks guide on stropping is a marvel I just read through it and I will try employ some of those technics on my Speedy in the future and maybe on this Sherbourne. However I dont have access to any hooks to do and alternative variant of this gaff boom attachment. But many Thanks anyways for this Piece of marvel 👍

Hello, I have been stuck for weeks now I just cant figure out a good way to get this done. As you will see in the picture this block has to be attached with a loop or something to the first eyelet off the gaff boom then have an open loop on the other side. I just cant grasp how this is supposedly done? The pictures in the instruction isnt that clear either. This is my first model so im very unsure how to proceed. Any directions or suggestions would be appreciated as long as a rookie like me cant achieve it.

Thanks, and many others suggested it too so I will probably get it along with the other 3. Its just a shame I have to order it from abroad but I believe it will be worth the money.

Thank you for your time and effort. Il make sure to take a look on the build log and read up upon what you suggested and Il look up the book recommendation too 👍