jud

In the US, the foot is based on the International Foot which = 0.3048 meter.  The US foot is essentially the same - the conversion just takes it to 10 decimal places (1 US Foot = 0.3048006096 meters).  For those of us geeky enough to want more info, the National GS has a PDF format document from the National Bureau of Standards in 1959 (NBS is now NIST) called Refinement of Values for the Yard and Pound that defines the "U.S. Survey foot" as 1200/3937 meter or 0.3048006096 meters. For more detail on the SI units, see http://www.nist.gov/pml/wmd/metric/metric-program.cfm
 
The SI meter is now defined as the length of the path traveled by the light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second.

Hi Ron, per the book by James Lees-The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War 1625-1860, ISBN 0870219480, slings came into use about 1770 and were used as an addition to jeers.  These rope slings were changed to chain slings during war time and eventually replaced rope slings altogether, generally from 1811 onward. 
With either rope or chain slings, the jeers were slacken when the slings were rigged so the weight of the yard was borne by the slings.  I think the rope sling was removed when chain slings were rigged but I have not found a specific reference.  It just makes sense to have only one sling.  
The chain sling were secured to the strop by a slip which looks like a clasp to a lady's necklace or wrist bangle, like the jaw of an alligator.  Around the yard was a double chain strop which had two shackles thru which the slip was fastened.   It may easier to see the graphics than to describe it. 
Duff

You could put a crew aboard and make them look frightened, that would give it that Atlantic look. Leave your shrouds alone unless you can get under that deck without damage and spread them out so there is room for the dead-eyes to lay flat. Looks fine for an early build and the next time you will be thinking about the placement of the lower ends. Keep up the good work.
jud

Just now I´ve almost finished my main sail and it´s rigging. Had a lot more job than the fore and remade some things more than one time. Now I´ll take a break for my eyes are tired and began to lose patience. Here are some photos.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Mizzen is already waiting for her rigging. If you wonder why the sail is stained, well, I did it on purpose. If the ship has traveled the Atlantic lining the African coast, it´s more than logical that some dirty would be there, with gulls and other birds flyng and landing around...

Use the push sticks and guards along with the rule, never to turn the darn thing on when distracted or thinking of something other than the job at hand. If still a bit cautious, 'good', stay that way. If frightened about using the thing, get rid of it and stick with hand tools.
jud

Like seeing what you have done to this rope walk, especially the provisions for an un-spun center wire or line. Now you have a completed rope walk. You will probably be continually  making improvements, but you now have a machine that represents what you should have received in the first place.
jud

Use the push sticks and guards along with the rule, never to turn the darn thing on when distracted or thinking of something other than the job at hand. If still a bit cautious, 'good', stay that way. If frightened about using the thing, get rid of it and stick with hand tools.
jud

You could put a crew aboard and make them look frightened, that would give it that Atlantic look. Leave your shrouds alone unless you can get under that deck without damage and spread them out so there is room for the dead-eyes to lay flat. Looks fine for an early build and the next time you will be thinking about the placement of the lower ends. Keep up the good work.
jud

From The Square Rigger: Google; worm parcel serve and you can find the full post.
 
To worm, parcel, and serve rigging is an age old technique that was used to
protect hemp and in later years, wire rigging from the elements of the harsh
marine environment and to help protect against the sailors unrelenting enemy
called chafe.
 
Not sure about just the forward shroud getting the treatment, seems it would be a false savings of effort and resources that would result in more frequent replacement of unprotected shrouds. On military ships with the overmanning needed to fight the ship, sailors needed to be kept busy, would expect much worming parceling and serving, canvas being sewn around lifelines and painted, fancy line-work and Turks Heads everywhere they could be placed and awnings with braided edges.
jud

You could put a crew aboard and make them look frightened, that would give it that Atlantic look. Leave your shrouds alone unless you can get under that deck without damage and spread them out so there is room for the dead-eyes to lay flat. Looks fine for an early build and the next time you will be thinking about the placement of the lower ends. Keep up the good work.
jud

Richard,
There has been some great advice given to you and every one here. In my opinion probably the most important safety tool out there is the one on your shoulders. If you are the least bit unsure or uncomfortable about what you are doing stop and ask yourself why, if you dont know ask somebody - a habit you have already started here.
One of the commenters here brought up kick backs - They are frightening when they happen and they happen so fast you cant believe it - blink of an eye fast. On second all is well in your world, the next your on the ground doubled over in pain. I am fortunate, I have never been hurt by the couple I have had in my 30+ years as a carpenter. But, I remember a guy when I was in my early 20's who ended up  in surgery to remove a piece of oak from his gut from a kick back. He was cross cutting a board down and left the smaller part between the blade and the fence, it caught the blade and shot back like a bullet.
 
Even a simple hobby knife can send you to the hospital. There is a builder here who has/had nerve damage to their hand from a simple slip. Also since I havent seen it mentioned here yet, look up feather boards, they can be your best friend for some operations. Not only are they a safety device but can improve the quality and accuracy of your cut.
 
Well, not trying to scare you, just wanted to put my 2 cents in.
 
After all that - enjoy this great hobby and be safe.
Sam

Simple logic, based on experience can also shout, unlikely.
jud

Those with interest can Google, "Worm, Parcel and Serve",  you will find plenty about how lines and wires were served. Also find what was used with an explanation on the whys of the old practice.
jud

Have been down sick for a spell; now that I'm starting to feel human again, it's been fun catching up on all the great club Sherbourne posts that everyone has made recently--great work and excellent reading!
 
I've enjoyed reading through the discussion here, and figured I'd throw in my 2 cents worth. 
 
First I’ll chime in on the sweep ports and gun port lids.  Druxey is 100% accurate in what he stated about the Sherbourne.  I’m working off all 3 draughts that he cited:  two draughts are her as-built and the 3rd is of her as-designed. 
 
In all plans, 4 sweep ports are present. 
 
In both her as-built draughts, a port lid is present on the 4th port (going from aft forward).  Of the several other draughts of the Sherbourne’s period that I have looked at, none showed port lids.  Why is only one port lid depicted in the Sherbourne’s plans?  I conjecture that only one port lid was drawn in for the same reason that a half breadth plan is only a half view or that a body plan is on one side an aft body view and on the other side a fore body view of the ship:  why be redundant?  In other words, including lids on all the plan ports would have been redundant where depicting just one port lid suffices to convey meaningful, relevant information.
 
After diving pretty deeply into how draughts were created and etc. these past several months, I conjecture that the port lid was not a fanciful addition by the individual(s) that drafted the Sherbourne’s 2 as-built draughts.  From Deane through Steel, the art of creating a draught is anything but fanciful:  The methods laid out are fairly strict and somewhat rigid, which makes sense given that Royal Navy ships had to be built to reasonably survive both the sea and its weather as well as combat.  Sticking in port lids out of fancy doesn’t seem consistent with the discipline.  Likewise, seeing fanciful inclusions in two separate as-built draughts doesn’t seem consistent.  Lastly as an overall organization, the Royal Navy during that period was one that was pragmatic and frugal…fanciful license in draughts doesn’t seem consistent with that culture. 
 
To the contrary, the port lids may be a bonus detail of the ship that may have been omitted from her contemporaries’ as-built plans.  In fact, the Sherbourne is a remarkably well-documented ship in comparison to her contemporaries or at least more of her plans are extant than others.  When I first looked at the port lids some months back, their side-opening feature didn’t seem practical.  As I’ve worked on her over these past several months, I’ve come around on that opinion.  I’ve been curious about if the port hinges allowed for removing the ports—very easily done with side-hinge port lids.  Once I begin getting further into her details, perhaps more information about her port lids will surface.  With that said, at this point I am more inclined to include them in a build than I am to omit them. 
 
Next I’m going to talk at length about the AOS Alert.
 
While I've obliquely mentioned it here and there in the past, I'm going to be explicit here about Goodwin and AOS Alert.  To be quite blunt, I strongly believe that large swaths of Goodwin's material should be viewed with healthy skepticism and here's why.
 
Let me first begin by providing some of my background.  By profession I am a researcher.  Essentially all that I do is evidence based upon source documentation, verifiable numbers, and etc.  In my written work, all is supported by underlying, verifiable documentation.  When inferences are drawn from a wealth of evidence, a statement to that effect is made.  Before any of my written work goes public, it is peer reviewed.  All statements and assertions I make are reviewed by independent reviewers to ensure everything is fully supported with verifiable evidence.  Our process is very similar to academia in particular:  Peer review of scholarly published writing is a cornerstone of that material and thus its veracity.
 
So when I use the term skepticism it here does not imply looking at things as falsehoods, it simply means being as objective as possible--neutral--and drawing conclusions based on verifiable evidence and or on reproducible results (by this latter, I mean that if you are told 2 + 2 = 4, you can use those facts and reproduce the same results).
 
I next want to mention the fallacy of authority.  This logic error results when someone in a position of authority makes an alleged fact-based statement and we in-turn believe that statement to be true on the basis of the person’s position rather than the material they are giving and the authenticity of its underlying facts.  We can encounter this fallacy with published material:  It has been published, therefore it must be true.  Similarly if a person is an expert in their field, what they tell us about their field of expertise must be true.  In both cases, it ain’t necessarily so, and this is where skepticism comes into play:  Rather than look at the book or the individual, one must weigh the material that is presented.  Is it supported with verifiable evidence?, do conclusions reasonably follow from evidence?, and so forth.
 
Goodwin presents a lot of interesting material in AOS Alert.  However, note that much of his textual material is not directly cited.  Yes, Goodwin provides a bibliography, but that is far different than providing in-text citations!  At one time, it was acceptable practice to include a source in one’s bibliography if the book was consulted though material from it was not directly used to materially support one’s written work (when used excessively, it's called "bib. padding").  Here's an excellent example of what I mean about the lack of citations:  Goodwin asserts, “Prior to the turn of the eighteenth century all cutters were clinker-built.”  Skepticism dictates that we neither believe that claim is true nor is false.  However, skepticism further propels us to ask the question, “Upon what evidence?”  “All” is a powerful assertion and this evidence Goodwin does not provide:  Upon what factual supporting documentation is he supporting this claim with?  Where and what is the evidence that we can also go to, read, and say, "Yep, that's true!  Every single bloomin' cutter ever built prior to the 18th century was clinker planked."  On the other hand, if we were to find just one instance of a cutter being carvel planked prior to the turn of the 18th century, then his entire assertion is false (“all cutters”).
 
Note that in the scantlings Goodwin provides for Alert he does not cite a source.  Did he obtain his scantlings from the Rattlesnake’s draught, or are they from The Shipbuilder’s Repository (SBR), which he cites on page 12 but fails to list in his bibliography, or a combination of both?  Where does this scantling information come from? 
 
I spot checked some of Goodwin’s scantlings against the SBR and this perhaps is partially his source.  For example, the SBR lists for a cutter a 2’-2” room and space, 18 as the number of rooms in the after body, and 13 as the number of rooms in the fore body (SBR, 258).  Those numbers are identical to the ones given by Goodwin in his room and space section (Alert, 24).  On the other hand, the room and space for the Rattlesnake (Alert, 46-47) and the Sprightly (Alert, 48-49) measure at 2’-0” using their respective scales—perhaps reproduction errors?…  It's also worth noting that those SBR numbers are for a keel length (i.e. by the keel for tonnage) of 58'-6" (SBR, 234) whereas for the Alert that measurement is 52' (Alert, 23)…we're looking at a 6'-6" difference but the same room and space!  The question remains:  From where did Goodwin source his information?
 
After his room and space scantlings, Goodwin provides frame bolt scantlings.  The verbiage Goodwin uses here (Alert, 24) is clearly and obviously directly lifted from the SBR (SBR, 258-260):  Although plagiarism was a relatively acceptable practice in 18th century, it certainly was not in the 20th or in the 21st!!  But back to frame bolts:  Although the number of bolts is the same—2—between Goodwin and the SBR, the bolt diameters are not.  Goodwin states a 1/2" diameter while the SBR states a 3/4" diameter.  What’s the big deal there?  Where did Goodwin get 1/2" from—what is his source?  In both the SBR (260-261) and in Steel (Naval, Folio V), the smallest bolt diameter given is 3/4."  Indeed, Steel cites a 3/4" diameter bolt for his smallest ship listed:  a 60 ton sloop (Naval, Folio V).  I’d like to point out that in his The Construction and Fitting of the Sailing Man of War 1650 – 1850, Goodwin provides on page 14 a visual description of room and space that is inconsistent with that given in most other sources (for instance see Steel’s Naval Architecture pages 57 and 191).  
 
While I have may missed it during this quick re-skim of Alert, I do not believe Goodwin gives a burthen in tons for the Alert.  The as-built burthen given for the Rattlesnake is 184 54/94 tons (Alert, 47) and the Sprightly’s is listed as 150 6/94 tons (Alert, 49).  Compare those numbers to the 273 ton cutter in the SBR (which incidentally is listed as a vessel with 16 carriage guns and 22 swivel guns (SBR, 226)).  Now think of scantlings between those sizes of ship and ask the question, “Are we looking at apples to apples or at apples to oranges if Goodwin selectively used SBR scantlings for the Alert?
 
Am I saying that all of AOS Alert is wrong?  No! I am saying that too much of the book’s material in not adequately supported to sources and there are too many unexplained inconsistencies.  Furthermore when I see obviously plagiarized material, I am immediately extremely doubtful about an author and about the validity of their scholarly material with which I am being presented.  To be very blunt, Goodwin’s AOS Alert would not pass a peer review as it is written (its un-cited, plagiarized material alone is an immediate fail).  Compare AOS Alert work to May’s The Boats of Men-of-War (which Goodwin cites in his bib.):  May provides nearly 200 citations to his sources in his 122 (as shown in my copy) page book.
 
While Goodwin’s AOS Alert has its merits, I would be very hesitant to use his material to base essential areas of a build on or from which to make claims upon without additional, independent verification.
 
Cheers,
Jay
 

Hi All
 
just uploaded a gallery of photos of the Batavia original timbers that are on display in the Shipwreck museum in Fremantle.  I took these about 18mo ago while out there, and figured they would be a useful resource for anyone interested in VOC ships.  Batavia dates from 1628.
 
There are some interesting features and a couple of the cannon she was carrying as well.
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/gallery/album/648-batavia-shipwreck-wa-museum-shipwreck-galleries-fremantle/
 
Imgages are HD size - which kept them well inside the upload size limit.  If anyone wants full size (18M pixel) of any pic PM and I'll forward it to you.
 
Colin

"Worm and Parcel with the Lay
 Turn and Serve the other Way".
Pg 28, 1964 Edition of the American Merchant Seaman's Manual.
 
More to Serving than just the serving, you Worm and Parcel to fill the low places with small stuff. cover the line with wound canvas strips and then do the serving..The Lay of the line should not be prominent when done.
 
jud

Jud, you are correct.  The correct procedure for flag signalling is thus:  The originating ship hauls the signal closed up ( fully raised to the yard arm).  The ship receiving the signal answers with the same signal 'at the dip' (about half way up to the yard arm).  If there are ships further along the line those ships also answer at the dip.  The last ship in the line, having answered the hoist at the dip, indicates that the signal is acknowledged and understood by closing up the signal (raised to the yard arm).  The repeating ships in turn back up the line to the originator close up their hoists which tells the originating ship that all ships in the line acknowledge and understand the signal.  The signal to execute the maneuver is when the originating ship hauls down the hoist.
 
Sounds complicated when written out but not so in practice.  And it ensures accurate communication between all ships and coordinated action.
 
 
Jay, signal flags have been placed in a number of places over the centuries.  At one time there was no standardized set of signal flags and the national ensign flown in different positions indicated the signal.  For example, raising the red ensign at the main mast head might mean close with the enemy while the same flag flown from a yard arm might mean Captains report to the flag ship.
 
Today signal flags are flown primarily from halyards on a yardarm, although they can still be flown from the mast in some circumstances.  The signal books dictate the order of precedence for reading hoists.  Just going from memory, flags are read from the yardarms first, outboard to inboard, then from the mast head, then from the triatic stay (a stay which ran from the fore mast to the main mast.

Sorry to hear of your problem Anthony. Have a look at this, it may enable you to reclaim your dodgy drill bits!
 
http://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php/topic,459.msg3581.html#msg3581

I would agree the postings above this, and go make an RTV rubber mould and resin casting. I would only make the one mould for now, but I would buy several, around 5 canon  barrels and make the mould hold all five. Then you are only having to make about 20 castings. Tips when casting..You can vibrate the bubbles out of resin while in the mould if the mould is set vertically as the bubbles with rise to the top or make your self a homemade vacuum chamber using a clear fairly strong container that you can make a connection to your vacuum cleaner hose. This helps draw the bubbles out better than vibration. Having a clear plastic or glass (I used a large mason jar for mine attached to a refrigerator compressor with a surgical hose attached to a little pipe glued through the lid) having the container clear allows you to watch and regulate how long you need the suction. 
 
Steve

Spontaneously Combustion does happen, caused by the breaking down of some material usually started with moisture in the mix, then the heat being generated by that breakdown being contained so it can't escape. Your damp rags or steel wool will be fine if you open them up and let them dry or just to air out so any heat generated is allowed to escape before it causes combustion. Spontaneously Combustion is a real hazard, so always keep  it in mind and make it a habit to take precautions.
jud

SCOTTISH MAID seems to have been one of the first 'clipper' style schooners with a closed gallion and very sharp lines for and aft. The fine lines mean that she wouldn't have had a lot of buyonancy there, resulting her dipping deep in when the sea was heavy. So it may have been vital to make provisions for shedding water fast, so that she would rise fast out of any waves. Partially open bulwarks seem to have been quite common (on smaller vessels) before swinging ports were introduced.
 
A vaguely remember having seen the half-model of her in the museum in Aberdeen some 15 years ago.
 
wefalck

NMBROOK; Had a local machinist tell me that when he bought bits that he put them into a cold oven then set the heat at 450° F and left them in for an hour after reaching the set temperature, turned the oven off after that hour and let the bits cool in the oven. He was of the opinion that many drills were hardened but not tempered properly. I haven't tried it yet, but if I get any bits from China or find a set that breaks when they shouldn't, in the oven they will go.
jud

NMBROOK; Had a local machinist tell me that when he bought bits that he put them into a cold oven then set the heat at 450° F and left them in for an hour after reaching the set temperature, turned the oven off after that hour and let the bits cool in the oven. He was of the opinion that many drills were hardened but not tempered properly. I haven't tried it yet, but if I get any bits from China or find a set that breaks when they shouldn't, in the oven they will go.
jud

Last picture. Inboard lifelines rigged, should tell the story. Only seen them rigged once, that was aboard a destroyer.
jud

To add my 2 cents, I've been using full size woodworking saws most of my life.  They are as safe as you make them.  My number one safety rule: never, never, NEVER wear any loose clothing around the cutting area. This applies not only to saws, but drills, routers, mills, all of them.  Loose clothing can get pulled into a blade faster than you can ever react to and it will be a horrible injury.
 
Table saws are safe as long as you use them safely.  It's been a long time since I read any table saw books but I'm sure they all talk about safety.  If you follow common sense safety rules, always use pushsticks, and start using the saw slowly to get a feel for it you'll be fine.  Don't grab a piece of 8/4 (2") hard maple and run it through using a crappy blade for your first cut.  All that will do is scare you and make a bunch of smoke (yes, hardwood will smoke on a saw from to fast a feed rate, excess friction and dull blades).  Once you get a few simple cuts under your belt your confidence will increase and you can move on to more involved cuts.
 
Google "table saw kick back" and I'm sure you'll get some eye opening horror stories, and 99.9% of them were probably caused by doing something stupid...
 
NEVER, NEVER crosscut anything using the miter gauge that is riding against the rip fence all the way through the blade.  This is kickback no-no #1.  You may get away with it once, or a hundred times (if your lucky) but eventually it will happen and it's DANGEROUS!
 
Use the most expensive blades you can afford.  For 10" table saws expect to pay 75-100$ for the good ones.  Don't expect a 25$ cheapo to cut like a 75$ blade.  They won't!  Especially when you move to hardwoods.  And, dull blades are DANGEROUS!
 
Use them as designed, think safely, and you'll be fine. If anything you're about to do makes your butt pucker up, stop and think of another way - even if it means using a hand tool.