Jim Lad

She grows, Ed, she grows.  That's going to one very impressive clipper ship!

John

Len,

Seizings were usually put on using marlin, which is a very light line impregnated with Stockholm tar.  It is pretty much impossible to find a line too small for the seizings in model work as marlin is only about 1/8 inch in diameter.

If you go to the following link of the process of renewing the Endeavour replica's standing rigging, you can find some photos of seizings, which you may find helpful in visualising the size of the line used.  This is a PDF file, so you can enlarge it quite a bit to get clear views of the seizings.

John

Just catching up again, Piet.  Looking good, mate!

john

Capstan bars or handspikes would seem the most logical, Clare.  Perhaps one of our members has some definite knowledge.

John

She really is coming together nicely, Bob.

Just how dark is the dark grey?  Is it worth doing a card mock up of part of the ship and trying both colours on it to see how they go?

John

Kimberley,

Crochet hooks can be very handy for snatching lines out of tight places - I have a couple in the draw for use on rigging.

John

Antony,

Sorry for the late reply, but here's a photo of the shot locker on the preserved frigate Trincomalee.

John

Very neatly done deck, Alexandru.

John

A very nice herd of blocks, Grant!

John

Bit of a squeeze in there, Danny - but it worked!

John

Hmmmm, that's funny - I thought you were working on a trawler!

I like that stain colour, mate.

John

Nice to see an update, Clare - and a very nice start to the paddlewheels.

John

A planked deck will look nice on top of the deckhouse, Popeye.

John

Looks like a really interesting build, Mark.

You could probably make her into a Liberty, but I think the American Scout is a much nicer looking ship.

John

Nice to see the Syborn progressing again, Popeye!  She's looking a treat.

John

Thanks a lot, Glen!

John

Nice work on the boat, Mobbsie.

According to May's 'The boats of men of War', the length of your oars as at 1876 would be 14 feet - probably not a lot of difference at the time of your build.

John

Interesting and simple capstan design, Alexandru.

John

I don't think those bottle screws are too big, Piet, but an overall shot of the model will show it better.  Looks good, by the way!

John

Eventually, you're going to run out of further improvements to make to the hull!  

John

I don't rig sails on my models, but there are three methods that I've seen, depending on the scale of your model and the amount of work you want to do.

1. Stitch scale seams into the sails

2. Run a straight row of stitches down the sails at intervals to represent the seams

3. Draw the seams on lightly in pencil.

Remember that English canvas came in bolts 24 inches wide, so your seams should be about 22 scale inches apart.

John

Grant - maybe I should get the nine year old in to finish her

Andy - you're probably right.  I've been having so much fun rigging I don't want to stop!

John

Shackles for anchor chain cables were in use in merchant ships by the 1830's, but I'm not sure when they were introduced into normal rigging practice.

If they were in use by the 1850's (is that the right period for your ship), then a standard 'D' shackle would be used - if shackles weren't in general use in rigging by then, then the sheet and clew line would simply be tied together.

John

She's coming along very nicely, Bob!

John

Piet,

It seems you just get a section almost finished when you think of a way to improve it!

I love the way you're going about this and making it the best possible model you can.

John