flyer

Hi John Thanks for the further information about the book. But your drawing is fine. Only the run of the stay is not shown. But I think here it was lashed to the traveller and the line we see was the out hauler. This would mean, that we are talking about the older of my two traveller variants. (By the way I understand the traveller is the whole thing including the ring around the bowsprit.). Only in the my drawings the traveller always sits a few meters behind the pulley (which is in the end of the jib boom). Your picture would show the situation with the traveller in the extreme forward position. And this rises again the question how often and how far the traveller travelled. Nils (Mirabell61) thought that it was perhaps shifted to move the balance point of the jib sail in order to balance the whole longitudinal sail trim. This sounds logical but again I have no further information. Your drawing also shows that you could move the traveller inboard by just pulling on the sheet of the jib sail but you would need to prevent it from moving out again with each slackening of the sail. Cheers peter

Hi John Thank you for the again marvellous pics. I didn't know Petersson's book but from what I see on Amazon it could be helpful. Your description seems to match an older form of traveller where the end of the stay is lashed to the traveller and a separate out hauler is fixed to the traveller and goes around that pulley in the jib boom. I put such a traveller onto my Pegasus and simply ignored the question how the traveller would move inboard. I think that also there the pull goes in the wrong direction if you just pull on the stay because the force would mainly go upward. But on the Pickle version where the stay itself follows the way of the out hauler (through the pulley in the jib boom and with a tackle back to the bowsprit cap) any pull on that tackle would definitely move the traveller outboard. I think I have to rig an separate in hauler. peter

To take a break from knotting ratlines (fortunately there are not so many on this little ship) I turned to the outer jib stay. I distrust the setup according to the kit via that eyebolt near the end of the jib boom and think this is only an approximation of a traveller. A better traveller was made from some 0.7 and 0.5 mm brass wire and painted black. The stay will run under the travellers reel and the hook will be used for the forward corner of the sail. ????? There remains a problem however: I think that the traveller needs an 'inhauler' to fix it in position and to move it inboard when desired. Moving outboard should be possible by tightening the stay itself. But I don't find any information about that. Unless somebody knows more, I will have to make up an 'inhauler' with a short tackle and will fix its standing end with a ringbolt on the bowsprit cap, similar to the stay itself. ????? The future skipper inspects the new traveller Provisionally placed on the jib boom

Super, super, super Nils! :stunned: :im Not Worthy: :im Not Worthy: :stunned: (By the way - do you already save money for a forklift? In astonishingly short time , I'm sure, you will have finished your KWdG and most probably will need one then to move around that model and it's case.)

After putting the futtock staves in place they were connected by catharpins. Those are made from 0.5 mm line and two per mast. B.E. did some reflections about how far the ratlines should extend over the shrouds. After considering this and doing some thinking of my own, I decided to rig them in a similar fashion to the Pegasus. Basicaly only the forward 3 shrouds were connected but every fifth ratline was also taken to the forth shroud which is in fact a backstay. Sending an able seaman aloft to test the arrangement showed satisfying results. ratlines The futtock staves will be shortened to the required length after the installation of the topmast shrouds. Upper catharpins are visible.

Popeye is right about the mast tackles. I tried to find out if there and what was the difference between burton pendants with tackles and mast tackles. In the web (babylon online dictionary) you find the following definition: Burton pendants Definition from Sports Dictionaries & Glossaries Boating & Sailing Dictionaries maritime&shipping™ The first piece of rigging which goes over the topmast head, to which is hooked a tackle, to set up the topmast shrouds. Going through Lees 'The masting and rigging of English ships of war 1625 - 1860' again I see that: - Mast tackles were two a side on lower masts for ships of more than 50 guns, one per side for smaller ships. They were installed on main and fore mast - Burton pendants and tackles were installed, one per side on fore and main topmasts, sometimes on lower mizzen masts and very seldom on mizzen topmasts (only up to 1650). What is shown on your rigging plan are therefore not burton pendants but regular mast tackle pendants. If you want to rig the complete tackle with runners and falls you find the necessary information e.g. in Lees book. Phew, Cheers peter

Hi Michael According to my clever books and the web the burton pendants were a tackle which was mainly used to set up the shrouds. I believe they were set on masts or topmasts(!) probably only where no mast tackle was rigged. Lees states: Burton pendants were fitted one on each side of the mast. A single block was spliced in the end up to 1780, after then a thimble was used. They were about the same length as the pendants on the lower mast. Burton falls prior to 1780 had the standing part spliced round the pendant at the head of the pendant block. The hauling part rove through a single hook block and back through the pendant block; it was usually made fast to a deadeye or shroud. When a thimble was used on the pendant, the fall was only hooked to the pendant when required; at other times the pendant was seized to the shrouds. This concerns the topmast burton pendants but I think you could use the information also for lower masts. However the question remains if the version with the thimble in the end of the pendant is the correct one for the construction year of the Vasa. On the other hand you have to consider that Lees mainly writhes about English man of war. And it seems that never more than one burton pendant on each side per mast was rigged. This picture from the web shows the use of the burton pendant. Cheers peter

Hi Nils No objections from my side either... I think the asymmetry was built in during the planking and sanding of the lower hull and that up to now I was just lucky because much work is usually done just by visual judgement. Hi Frank Thank you. I really like to work with those Amati copper plates. Hi Spy Ingenious. Thank you very much. Hi Martin The more she takes shape, the more I like her. And I like to think that my alterations also improve the look a bit. Hi Mobbsie You are right. And even rattling down the ratlines is fun in the beginning... Cheers peter

Hi Hamilton That's a very interesting build you have there and it's coming along nicely. A bit of modification seems necessary but I think that investing some extra wood and some brain power should pay off well for that graceful vessel. I built Mamoli's La Gloire and found it to be the best kit before I started with CC and Victory kits. Presently I'm working on CC's Pickle but for my next build I'm considering Mamoli's America because I'm starting to like schooners, America is almost in scale 1/64 where a lot of extra fittings are available and I like those elegant, elegant lines. Perhaps you would care for some suggestions: To build up the inner bulwark planking you could treat the inner surface of the planks with varnish before gluing them with white glue onto the bulkhead extensions. You should then be able to brake off the extensions after finishing the bulwarks nevertheless and thanks to the varnish the glue shouldn't have penetrated into the wood. Some little sanding should then clean the inner bulwarks again. If this doesn't work it would perhaps be possible to add an extra inner layer of 0,5 or 1 mm bulwark planking to bring its overall thickness to 2 to 3 mm depending on the other layers. This could work if you have a capping rail with a width of about 5mm which covers all that and still would have an sufficient overhang in- and outboard. For the coppering of the lower hull I would recommend Amati's copper hull plates which are available in 1/64 scale, look excellent and are a pleasure to work with. Cheers Peter

The first parts of the rigging to install, after the bowsprit lashing, were the mast tackles. In the manual I found only the tackle itself but no information about how to set it up. In my clever books different possibilities are shown. On the main mast I opted for a simplified tackle without runner which is appropriate for smaller vessels. On the fore mast however I installed a full tackle with runner because I think this was also used as fish tackle for the anchor and needed more capabilities. the two different mast tackles tackle on the fore mast - runner and tackle block are hooked into ringbolts in the waterway Now I started with the shrouds. As usual I work from aft to forward. The completed mast were stepped in one piece contrary to the way of other builders in this forum which set them up level by level. So far I never had problems to set up the shrouds around the already installed topmasts. After setting up the first two shrouds I usually set up the associated stay to have balanced forces on the mastheads. Because of the changed mast heights the schooner stay now runs almost horizontally between the masts but I find this still looks fine. The mouse is just a asymmetrical figure of 8 knot doubled up on the upper end with a stopper knot. Its easily done and of the right size. The stay, including eye and mouse was seized down to 1cm below the mouse. The fore stay was set up with deadheads according to the manual although probably heart blocks would have been more true to the original. The collar on the bowsprit is held in position with two stop cleats. main top taking shape fore top with schooner stay fore stay collar of fore stay the nearly horizontal schooner stay seems to look ok

The two yards were now each made with an octagonal mid section. I had to use thicker dowel respective a square strip to make this possible. fore yard in the raw both yards on deck - the stopper cleats on the ends are still missing Recently the future skipper of Pickle was visiting the wharf and asked for a better progress in finishing his vessel because of some urgency (he probably was just impatient). He also cited the old saying that 'Planning is just the replacement of coincidences by errors' and mentioned that he had a moderately experienced bosun available for the installation of the rigging as well as a reliable carpenter for possible modifications. I took a deep breath, plunged into deep water, stopped planning all that belaying points and stepped the masts. foot of main mast foot of fore mast After setting up the masts perpendicular to the deck I found that Pickle was listing visibly to starboard. That impression was confirmed by the admiral and other bystanders. First I thought that a vessel hardly ever lies on an even keel and the listing could be in accordance with the set sails and the apparent wind. But this would just have been a (too) easy way out. I had to correct it. Sigh. After about 7 tries which included remounting Pickle the other way on the stand, reworking the holes in the stand, changing the screws and drilling new holes into the keel I found that the a slightly asymmetrical lower hull was pushed into a listing position by the symmetrical brass columns on the stand. Reworking the brass finally did the trick. (It seems that if you want to put things straight you have to cut some of the top brass.) there was the crux of the matter...

Hi Nils Yes, this 'dry dock view suddenly makes the little Pickle quite impressive - I was surprised myself. Hi Mobbsie The credit for those bars goes to Caldercraft - they are included in the kit. It's a good example for the mixture of excellent details, strange solutions (the deadeye strops) and little shortcuts (like the missing octagonal section on the yards) in that kit. But it is still a great one. Hi John My launch is still here, I checked. But it couldn't be mine anyway because I don't have such portly gentlemen in my crew (because all the food goes to myself). I tried to find out what uniform he wears. Could it be a lieutenant's? But those are great pictures, full of details like the shroud plates or the way the swivel gun is mounted. Hi B.E. You are right. I will have to improve those boat chocks. Once again the picture shows clearly what you try to overlook with the bare eye. Sigh. Cheers peter

Wonderful pictures, John. In this case I was wrongly blaming the kit designers for just skipping some belaying points. But I think I spotted a free pin in one of the shots! peter

While working on the remaining spars I also continue preparing the masts by adding blocks, cleats and ringbolts. The boom saddle on the mainmast is in place and some copper sheathing to protect the mast is also attached. I haven't yet completed the belaying plan but experience says that you never have enough belaying points in those kits and therefore I put 2 additional cleats onto each mast foot. Pickle is fixed on her stand. I used an oak plank from the local wood shop and two Amati brass columns of different heights. Those needed reworking a bit with a file. I opened up the slits to 5mm and adapted the top to the angle of the hull side. All is held together with 2 long screws through base, columns and into holes drilled up through the keel. boom saddle with copper sheathing additional cleats on mast feet that brass column needs some polish... stand She swims! (Not actually but somehow virtually - I like the lightness of that stand.)

Hi John, Martin and Mobbsie In Caldercraft and Victory kits was always a bit of that black cartridge paper included I use for iron bands. I don't know the paper weight. The thickness is 0,2 mm. Martin! Purity is very important - if you're talking about beer. Happy holydays peter

Congratulations on finishing a true masterpiece! I love your steamer and I wonder if you would consider to combine all your knowledge and talents to build a combined steam-sail ship, something like the Great Eastern? OK, she's huge but e.g. Great Britain would be manageable... Anyhow... schöne Festtage! peter

John, I always take cartridge paper to simulate iron bands. It's much easier to work with than brass and resembles blackened iron very well even untreated. The spectacle plate is also made that way and you could even form nails heads by pushing with a stump needle from the back. peter

Boom and gaff were next. The length of both was changed to the values in the table reproduced earlier. The length of the jaws was also added to the dowel length. The jaws were filed down to 2/3 of their thickness on the inner end, cut in two parts and the middle taken out to make room for the conical filed inner end of the dowel. It sounds much more complicated than it was. The three parts were glued with epoxy and all painted black. 3 'iron' bands made from cartridge paper are holding the jaws together and some ringbolts were added. the carpenter checks the three finished parts of the gaff glued with epoxy the skipper checks the finished gaff with the boom behind him

Hi Frank Just saw that the temperature in the LA area today will only go up to 60 but at least.... YOU ARE GOING UP TO 80!! Flying high! Congratulations my friend and all the best wishes for the next 80 years. Peter

Hi Spy Unfortunately that player doesn't work and I'm unable to watch the video. But then I visited the replica Pickles homepage and found a lot of information including a nice video there. But I will treat this information with caution as I have my reservations about that replica: First of all there are - as already discussed - no definite plans of the original. The jib boom seems strange. In some pictures it looks like flying jib boom and is turned 45° to port - in others it looks like conventional one. Obviously there were some alterations made for safety reasons and to fulfil regulations - e.g. a wheel instead of a tiller. Some alterations may be there for commercial reasons (understandably - she must earn some money to keep her) as for example that cabin with the two stern windows. Some Disneyland-ing is also visible. That figurehead - please! But nevertheless there is a historical background with some research behind that vessel. It provides a lot of information which at least can be treated as a second opinion. By the way I counted 12 hoops on the lower main mast and they are much more delicate than mine. Cheers peter

Hi Frank Thank you, but seen close they are as flat and even as the English Channel in november. You find more about the hoops in B.E.'s Pickle log. I just wound some insulation tape around a 6mm dowel until I had a 7mm diameter. Then I soaked a yellow paper strip, cut from one of those old fashioned envelopes, continuously with thin CA glue while winding it tight around (do NOT put glue onto the inside of the tube you are creating!) until I had a tube with a wall thickness of slightly over 1mm. Fixed for drying. Pushed the tube off the tape and dowel. Soaked again inside and out. Cut rings with a thickness of about 1mm from the tube - I used a little circular saw blade in my Dremel. The faces of each cut were soaked again with CA. and the hoops worked over with files and sanding paper until I had them almost round and flat enough. Finally I painted them a light brown as they were made originally from ash. Dirtying would be optional. I'm not sure about the spacing of the hoops but 2 feet (which equals the width of a cloth or bolt of sail material seems adequate). This would mean the hoops would be about 1 cm apart on my Pickle. Cheers peter

Hi Martin Thanks. Well, considering the fact that manning the ship with enough able seamen is difficult enough I shall keep an eye on him. Hi Nils Thank you. I'm now quite eager to start rigging but after a visit to bug's Santa Maria and Johns input I think I will have to go slow and work a bit on a more detailed belaying plan before I glue the masts in position. Also yards, boom and gaff are not yet fabricated. Hi Bug Thank you for the compliments. The paper-glue hoops are indeed a great idea - actually B.E.'s. Credits are due to him. I like your Santa Maria. She has the same handcrafted yet realistic air about her I like so much in md1400cs' Wasa or Nils' artful work. Thanks for all the likes peter

The foremast is quite similar to the main mast; only the length of the topmast differs. Both mast tops were completed with cheeks (size according Pegasus and Marquardt), battens and the bolsters. Before I attach the saddle to the mainmast I will have to finish the hoops for the driver... the last part looks awfully like shop language - and that from a landlubber. I mean before I glue that table thing for the inner end of the boom onto the lower mast I will have to put on those rings which fix the sail to the mast. Both mast had only two parts and were relatively simple. Therefore I became a bit high-spirited and tried a bowsprit closer to what my clever books say. The bowsprit itself got a square end for a square hole in the cap and instead of those stop cleats I added bees. Marquardt doesn't mention them but Lees on the other hand doesn't make exceptions in the use of bees for smaller vessels. As they work quite well on Granado and Pegasus I fabricated them according to Lees and Pegasus. I read about the problems others had with the splintering wood provided for the bowsprit cap. Therefore I coated it first with CA glue before drilling two 3mm holes in several steps. It's important to use sharp drills. The lower hole was then filed square. It worked fine. For the jib boom I turned again to Lees and made an octagonal inner end and a conical outer end. For stability reasons I didn't want to use the method from the topmasts but used 4mm dowel to make it in one piece. There is a 3mm octagonal section inboard of the bowsprit cap and the outer part is similar to the kits plans except the modified end. A word about all the ringbolts for the rigging: Usually I attach them only reluctantly in this stage of the build. Fixing the required blocks, thimbles or ends of lines to them is much easier when you can do it on the table with lot of space to work. Drilling a hole and attaching then the ringbolt including what is fixed to it with a bit of CA glue works well during the rigging process. Only when I'm absolutely sure about the location or if it would be difficult later I drill the hole for the ringbolt in advance. With the masts and bowsprit assembled I put them provisionally in place to check the new proportions. If I don't botch too much with the sails this should become an elegant little Pickle. fabrication of hoops made of rolled paper soaked with glue parts of the fore mast with crosstrees, cheeks, battens and bolsters mast top before painting (yes I know about the missing safety harness but after a few tots of rum this seaman did that stunt by his own free will) mast top finished and painted bowsprit, bees, jib boom, saddle and cap assembled bowsprit jib boom a pretty Pickle

Hi John Just paid your Pickle a visit and think it's coming along nicely. I especially liked the part where you explained how you liked some tasks so much that you did them twice. I find that most modellers have such preferred tasks. (On my last built I broke the same topmast twice in various stages of the rigging process but must admit that I lost enthusiasm a bit the third time I did the same work.) After following again your heroic fight with the deadeye strops I just hope mine really will be able to hold the pull of the shrouds. About all the belaying points: I don't have drawings fit to put online, only a few drafts of sketches. But I hope to keep ahead of you with the work on Pickle and invite you just to follow. I will try to especially mark the changes I make. The first one was the altered bowsprit step with those pins. So far I always completed the standing rigging before fixing sails to any stays. And the sails were attached to the stays by spiral lines or with individual slings. When furled you hardly notice the way of attachment anyhow. You could see an example in my Pegasus build log. But your question was a good one. I have to think about rings for Pickle's fully set staysails. In any case I will open and close them around the finished stay - I see this as the easier way. What you also have to think of early enough are: Putting the equivalent of wooden hoops for the spanker onto the lower mainmast (I'm actually in the process of making them the same way B.E. did). If you use a traveller for the staysail stay put it on the bowsprit before fixing the stays. Cheers peter

Hi Nils I'm surprised myself that even putting up rigging can be fun. Thanks. Hi Martin Don't you think he had to hide because of all those violent non-smokers? (I know smoking is dangerous and... blah, blah, blah. However - live itself is a deadly illness which, by the way, is sexually transmitted. It seems we have a limited warranty, whatever we do.) Hi Dave Thank you. Your blue nose looks fine. Wouldn't you post a few photos of the finished build in a gallery? Hi Mobbsie Sometimes they did a complete engine transplantation in these old cars (replacing Chevy by Mitsubishi) and looking closer at the undercarriage is not advised if you intend to travel happily in such a car. But it is ingenious. My skipper is pure 19th century when it comes to safety rules: One hand for you and one for the ship and if you lose your hold you either learn to fly on the way down or hope for a soft landing. But I guess that was the usual attitude in those days. Oh, and I always have use for some luck during the masting process. Accidentally braking off nearly completely rigged mast tops has happened and could happen again. Thanks for all the likes peter