EdT

Thank you, Dave. Yes, I leave the hooks slightly open so they are easy to slip into the deadeye straps, then give them a bit of a crimp with pliers after the shrouds are permanently fitted. These are 26 gauge (.016", .4mm) wire. I have had no problem with them opening up under tension. The lower shroud hooks are 24 gauge (.02", .5mm). Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853 Part 243 – Main Topgallant Futtock Shrouds In Part 231, a method for making the served eye splices for futtock shrouds was described. For these shrouds, a different method – I believe a better one – was used. The first picture shows two steps in the sequence used, in this case on the hooked upper ends of the shrouds. I omitted thimbles on these smaller eyes. A length of the 5" rope was first served. In the splice on the left, the rope was threaded through the hook and clamped (not shown) to form the eye. The eye was then clinched tightly with serving thread – an overhand knot and a clove hitch – leaving a long length of thread. On the right, the short end has been clipped off and the serving unraveled back to the clinch as shown, to expose the bare rope. In the next picture the rope end has been untwisted and the strands cut on a taper. Glue was then applied to the bare and served rope over the length of the splice and the length of thread used to serve over the spliced area. I am using darkened wood glue on all these standing rigging knots and joints. CA would produce a stronger joint, but I am trying to avoid its use. The darkened Titebond has more than adequate strength with this joint design. A finished splice is shown below. By removing the serving over the short end, the joint is strengthened over the previous method where the serving was left on. Tapering the strands improves the shape of the splice. The method is also much faster because it eliminates glue-drying steps. In the next picture one of the shrouds is being lashed to its eyebolt. The lower eye, after measuring the shroud length, was formed as above but without the hook. Handling during all these steps takes a toll on the metal blackening, so this will be touched up with LOS before finish is applied to the mast. The next picture shows all four futtock shrouds installed. As usual, the loose ends will be sliced off after the glue dries. In the last picture the topmast has been set with a spot of glue on the aft face of the lower square, held in place with a wedge against the forward rim until the glue dries. A permanent spacer will replace this wedge later. Next, the topmast shrouds. Ed

Hi Danny, I have noticed your catching up on the YA posts and appreciate the interest and your generous comments. Thanks for your suggestion about references on the drawings. I will consider it. As you may know, the books have been completely separate from the online posts, both in content and format. The books have been focused on modeling methods in detail and the posts more on pure progress with some process overview. I expect this to be the case in the expected next book on masting and rigging Young America - and in fact the American 1850-60's clippers in general. Although the basic planning of the next book is well along, I have just begun outlining it and deciding how to present the huge amount of detail that the topic involves - so thanks for the input. Frank, I have made some space in my mailbox. Ed

Thank you Druxey and wyz, and for the likes. Sorry if some of the material is somewhat repetitive at this stage - a bit like groundhog day - good preparation for the 20+ yards and booms that lie ahead. Cheers, Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853 Part 242 – Main Mast Crosstrees I cut the trestletree mortises for the fore mast crosstrees by hand but decided to mill them for the main and mizzen masts – for accuracy and simplicity. It is an easy milling task. The mortises in the mizzen trestletrees have been milled in a block of Castello in the first picture. The top of this piece will be next ripped off at the depth of the trestrees and that piece then ripped to the width, producing two, identical trestletrees that can be cut to length and beveled on the bottom corners. The basic assembly is shown in the next picture. The arms have yet to be tapered on bottom faces. The iron backstay spreader shown below was produced in the same way as the foremast counterpart, described earlier in Part 230. In the picture the copper assembly has been soldered together, wire bolts have been inserted into pre-drilled holes in the crosstree arms, and the bolts are ready to be peened to rivet the spreader to the arms as shown in the next picture. In the picture the holes for the underside eyebolts have been drilled but the eyebolts left out at this stage to allow hammering of the bolts on the small anvil. In the next picture the eyebolts have been added and the ironwork blackened. The assembly was given a thin coat of diluted Tung oil in the above picture. The next picture shows the futtock band on the main topmast being drilled for its eyebolts. As mentioned in an earlier post, this band goes on after the lower mast cap, so it is fastened by means of the bent tab seen in the picture. Setting the eyebolts in the drilled holes keeps it in place. The last picture shows the completed assemblies. The lower mast cap is on the mast but out of this picture. The crosstrees are ready to be installed on the mast. The next step will be to install the topgallant futtock shrouds before setting the mast. Ed

Pat, like hammering a glass nail. For through bolting or nailing - leave only about 1/64" above the surface. Carl, by most accounts not very well. If you mean as a profession - no. Ed

Absolutely magnificent. Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853 Part 241 – Main Mast Cap The cap on the lower main mast is identical in configuration, but very slightly larger than the fore mast cap that was described in Part 227. That cap was relatively simple to make since the 18" round and square openings scaled conveniently to a ¼" drill bit. None of the other caps offer this convenience. Because of this, the need to for precision in spacing the holes, and to accurately cut the outer radii, a method was developed to shape all the remaining caps on the milling machine with the aid of its rotary table. The first picture shows the lower mizzen cap being milled by this process. The method used requires a number of sequenced steps and various calculations that I will not attempt to describe here. The next picture shows the mizzen cap after the milling steps. The holes, spacing and exterior radii are all accurately formed and the piece is ready to be sawed out along its straight sides. The hole for the lower mast tenon (on the right) will be manually squared to match the hole diameter. The piece is pictured on a worksheet that was used to facilitate the calculations and prescribe the 16-step sequence used. After this, the steps for the main mast cap were the same as those described in Part 227. The next two pictures show steps not described earlier, in which wire "bolts" were placed on either side of the boss for the lower topsail truss to assist in taking the weight of that yard on the forward end of the band. Holes were drilled on both sides at the forward end. The eyebolt on the aft end serves a similar strengthening purpose. Copper wire was then forced into the holes, cut off just above the band surface, and then peened over. The next picture shows a similar copper wire bolt being inserted to secure the cap iron. Each of these was then nailed in and peened over as shown below. The picture also shows the ends of the four eyebolts inserted from below. In the next picture the entire assembly has been washed (and is still wet) with liver of sulfur solution used to blacken the copper. The wood is still wet, but will dry to its normal color. The yellow spot on the paper toweling shows where the solution was blotted. The last picture shows the dried and finished cap temporarily in place with the topmast inserted. The double blocks for the topping lifts were strapped to the cap iron shackles and the fid fitted before this photo was taken Ed

Thanks, Micheal. I do feel a lot more comfortable working around these booms with the barriers up. I actually had to replace one a couple weeks ago. Absolute familiarity with the locations of all these lines on the various rails was critical to the operation of a ship. Crew had to be able to pick out the right line quickly, night or day. Having to trace lines down through fairleads and the tangle of other lines would be a non-starter. In the pictures you will see many pins along the side rails and fife rails. When the model is finished, virtually every one of these will have a line attached. There was a sort of logic to the placement, but no doubt there had to be a lot of memorization. I guess on a reduced scale, its like me knowing instinctively where to find a certain drill bit or chisel in the many, seemingly dis-organized cubby spaces in my shop. Its still kind of mind-boggling. Ed

Scott, this issue of the stave on the topmast shrouds is worth considering for the reasons you cite and to help keep the shrouds apart. this last point is a problem when trying to make ratlines taut. I may well add these. Thanks for the suggestion. Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853 Part 240 – Ratlines 3 Apart from some work on the main topmast crosstrees (described later), most of the recent effort has been to make progress on the long task of tying ratlines – the seemingly endless "rattling down". The first picture shows work proceeding on the lower main mast ratlines on the starboard side. There are still a lot of loose ends waiting to be lashed down or clipped off. Work can also be seen in progress on the port lower fore mast. The next picture shows the current state of the work on the fore mast. The futtock shroud ratlines have been added as well as the first several on the fore topmast shrouds. A closer view of those is shown below. The lower two are fitted to the deadeye lanyards, something I had not seen before but which can be seen in one of the photos of the ship – barely. Another view of this is shown below. I finally – after some mishaps – installed some people barriers just outside the whisker booms as shown below. These might not withstand a determined punch – but the 5/8" dowels are more than enough to deflect or stop the casual nudge when I am focused on some nearby task. In a previuos post I showed a jig for putting eye splices on one end of a ratline, A production version of the jig is shown in the next picture. This one has plenty of pins to support "mass" production. Also, the two-faced carpet tape is applied to the jig itself allowing me to remove the fixture from the vise without cleaning it off the vise jaw. There is also a fence just forward of the pins so glue may be applied to each splice without welding it to the fixture. In the last picture, one of the short legs is being sliced off the splice while held taut with tweezers. Up to about 20 ratlines can have eyes spliced at a time – and very quickly. Ed

Thank you, Mark. Welcome back. Ed

Welcome back, Mark. I look forward to the renewal of your postings. Nice, well organized shop. This level of order and neatness would probably blow all my fuses. All the best in your retirement and the resumption of Bellona. Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853 Part 239 – Revisions - Spencer and Headsail Rigging The running rigging described in the last two parts has been revised. In the case of the spencer gaff the fall of the vang was obstructed by the outer boats on the skid beams. To correct this, I added lead blocks to the forward topmast backstay and led the fall down to its pin through a fairlead on that stay. The first picture shows the original configuration on the port side and the revision on the starboard side. The revised rig retains the same eyebolt for the standing leg of the vang, which then passes through the block on the shortened pendant, then through the lead block and a fairlead, both on the forward topmast stay. The fall then belays on the same pin as before. The next picture shows the starboard lead block and fairlead. The old rope coils and belaying were removed as shown in the next picture. A cotton swab soaked in isopropanol was laid on the rope for a few minutes to soften the wood glue. The rope was then easily removed. The other revision involved the halyards on the three headsails. I initially considered three typical configurations for these – no blocks, a single block whip from the deck, and a single block at the head of the sail. I installed the first, simplest method as described in Part 238. Shortly after installing these, I thought more about this and was concerned about no mechanical advantage on these rather large sails. In checking (belatedly) the 1870's photo of the ship in New York, the blocks at the lower ends of the stays are clearly visible. So, that configuration has now been installed on all three stays. The foot of the topmast stay is shown in the next picture after revision. This may be compared with the first photo in Part 238. The revised lower rigging of the outer jib halyard is shown in the next picture. To avoid re-rigging the downhaulers, the lower blocks were strapped to the shackle in place – a most difficult task, especially with shaky hands. The shackle eye was tied first, then the splice at the base of the block. The inner jib stay at the left of the picture has not yet been converted. The upper ends of the stays are shown in the next picture with the standing ends of the halyards tied to the stays. The last picture shows all three halyards converted. So, we are now back on track after a short detour. Ed

Extraordinary metalwork, Johann. Bravo. Ed

Thank you, Carl. I will confess that I am no expert and that this is a learning experience for me that I am happy to share - including the fits and starts that are part of the process. I am very glad that you find it useful. Thanks. Ed

Thank you, Scott. I believe either method for the downhauler blocks could be used. I based mine on Underhill. I believe offsetting the downhaulers to the sides avoids potential tangling if they all (four on this ship) run along the centerline. Fairlead planks on the topmast stay could alleviate this. Your comment on the halyard blocks is timely. My sources on this are varied ranging from no blocks (shorter lines, no mechanical advantage) to either a block at the sail head or a simple whip below the xtrees ( longer rope, 2:1 mech advantage). I omitted blocks, but have been considering reworking the halyards to include blocks at the sail. The New York photo of the ship shows these pretty clearly, but I missed it in the original design. My rigging rework percentage is growing. Thanks for these comments. Ed

Thanks, Wefalck. That is certainly an option. I am sure practices varied for storage/belaying of lines when sails were removed. So we must make assumptions and consider options. As a basic premise for this model, I am configuring the ship as it might appear in a docked situation that typically lasted several weeks - if not months - as the ship was unloaded and reloaded for the next voyage. In this case sails would most likely have been removed from the ship for onshore warehousing, inspection, repair, and/or replacement. The configuration would differ in cases where sails were merely furled or removed at sea when not needed, but kept aboard for quick deployment. The possible rigging permutations, even for this limited case, are many. I considered several options for the head sail sheets, including the one you suggested in the last post. All involve a lot of clutter on the forecastle, since the sixteen lines (2 x 4 pair) all belay at deck level where working space for several tasks is at premium. The one modeled assumes the sheet pendants are stored in lockers on the ship or with the sails. It assumes that when needed, the sails would be bent to their running rigging on the forecastle, including shackling the sheet pendants and reeving the sheets. The halyard/downhauler shackle would be brought back to the forecastle to convey the sail out on the boom using these lines. The tack would then be secured to the lower stay and the hanks or lacing to the stay applied before/during hauling up the sail. This is, of course, one assumption based on an assumption. Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853 Part 238 – Head Sails Running Rigging Each of the three stays described in Part 235 carries a triangular headsail. Each of these sails is rigged with three lines of running rigging – a halyard to raise the head of the sail along the stay, a downhaul to bring the head down, and a double sheet to restrain the clew of the sail on the windward side. When bent to the stay, the tack at the lower end of the sail is tied off low on the stay. Then as the luff of the sail along the stay is secured with rope "hanks" the halyard is hauled up to raise the sail along the stay. Both the halyard and the downhaul are shackled to the sails head cringle. On the "unsailed" model, the halyard and downhaul eye splices are secured to the shackle, which is "stopped" to the lower end of the stay with a short length of rope as shown in the first picture at the base of the topmast stay. In the picture the smaller downhaul is led down and through a single block back to its belaying point on the forecastle. The next picture shows the lower ends of the inner and outer jib stays rigged in this manner. The downhauls and halyards for the topmast staysail and outer jib lead back on the starboard side and those for the inner jib are rigged on the port side. The next picture shows the three halyards where they pass through blocks hooked under the topmast trestletrees. The lines lead down through fairleads in the top to the fife rails below. The next picture shows the block arrangement at the topmast head, a double block on the starboard side for the staysail and outer jib halyards and a single block on the port side for the inner jib halyard. The next picture shows the staysail and outer jib halyards belayed on the fore mast fife rail. As will be seen in the next picture, the rope coils on the rails are quite small because the halyards are fully overhauled along the stay when there are no sails. The next picture shows the belayed inner jib halyard on the port side. Conversely, most of the downhauls must be coiled at the belaying points so sufficient line will be available to run up to the head of the sails when they are hauled up to the tops of the stays, so the three large coils in the next picture contain sufficient line for that. Finally, the sheets – a pair for each sail. These are shackled to eyebolts on either side of the forecastle, run through bullet blocks at the ends of a double pendant shackled to the clue of each sail, and belay on cleats on the forecastle breast beam. One side or the other is used, with the lee side slack. On the unsailed model, I have omitted the pendants and intend to coil each sheet adjacent to its eyebolt as shown in the next picture. The picture shows the starboard sheet for the topmast staysail secured to its eyebolt. When passed through the pendant block on this side, this line would be belayed on the innermost cleat on the breast beam. Eyebolts for the other head sails are arranged to the left on the rail, astride the mooring cleat. Ed

JCFrankie, can't comment on the origin of spencer. Tim, the belaying pins are homemade - as is everything except the larger chain and some nails. They are brass lathe turnings using a special filing jig. There are about 300 on the model. They were described briefly in an earlier post (Part 131), but are fully described, including making the filing jig, in Young America, Volume II. You are right; the downhaul coils are quite a lot of rope. For each line, I am measuring the amount of rope for each coil based on where the other end of each line is fixed. The coils are formed "offsite" on a dummy pin rail after wrapping the rope on a plastic rod and wetting it with diluted wood glue. I will describe in a later post and in Volume III. The formed coil is then glued over the pin after the line is belayed. Ed

Druxey, I often resorted to the method you describe in the earlier days of the model - I guess up until the poop monkey rail was installed. Very effective if you pay attention to your grip and nearby obstacles. Not so good with masts and rigging. I believe I will be able to get everything out before completion, but having to stop and go fishing when in the middle of something gets very irritating. I have a thin brass rod with a wrapping of sticky carpet tape on the end that works very well if you can see the part. Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853 Part 237 – Fore Spencer Gaff The term "spencer" describes gaffs rigged on masts with square sails – except for the spanker gaff at the mizzen. They were used to support fore and aft sails that were occasionally used, or sometimes to suspend pennants to keep them out of the other rigging. The fore spencer gaff is shown in the first picture. The gaff is a small, very simple spar attached to the mast with a gooseneck/eye fitting. Stops for the standing lift are roughly centered on the spar as shown in the picture. The upper end of the lift has an eye splice shackled to the eyebolt in the top. A stop cut into the end of the spar will take a doubled "vang" pendant pair with a single block spliced into each end. The long pendants may be seen in the next picture. Each vang pendant is attached to a simple whip, with the standing end seized to an eyebolt on the main rail. The fall is belayed nearby on the main pin rail. In the picture the falls are temporarily clamped to center the gaff. The next picture shows them belayed to the main pin rails port and starboard. The limited required movement of the gaff requires a relatively short fall, so the coil of rope shown in the next picture is fairly small. The masking tape shown over the open beams, does not do a lot for the photographs, but my sanity demands it. I finally acquiesced to this after yet another part dropped into the hold and could not be retrieved. While it is relatively easy to blow out small bits of thread, the main mast fid did not respond to this. Finally, a test for clearance around the outboard boats is shown in the next picture. I need to think about this and decide if a lead block would be appropriate for this relatively small line, perhaps on one of the backstays. I love rework. Ed

Yes, I do the same. For these very small ones I used just one hitch - a simple overhand knot. Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853 Part 236 – Fish Tackle The fish tackle is a triple purchase tackle suspended by a hook from the pendant described in an earlier post. A second, large hook is fastened to the lower block of the tackle. The purpose of this gear is to lift the anchors to stow them on the forecastle or to move them to the catheads. The required weight of anchor for a ship of Young America's tonnage would be about 5000 pounds, so even with the mechanical advantage of 6 of the triple tackle, several hundred pounds of force had to be applied to the lift – unless another tackle was added to the fall. The first picture shows the large bottom hook and the 12" double lower block of the tackle. I still have quite a few blocks left over from the 1:96 Victory model, so with some re-scaling I have not yet had to make any. There will be plenty of that later. The next picture shows the lower block strapped to the hook and being secured to the tackle rope with two seizings. The tackle fall is a 3½" rope spun to the ~1" (.016") diameter from 2 strands of No. 60 Crocheting cotton and dyed with non-fading natural walnut extract stain. The small seizings are simply an overhand knot – pulled tight, wet with glue, and the ends sliced off later. The next picture shows the other hook being strapped to the upper 12" triple block. The block is held in a surgical clamp in a bench vise for this. For this small strapping a single overhand knot simulates the eye seizing at the hook and another overhand knot serves for the splice of the strap under the block as shown in the next picture. Dilute, darkened glue is applied to the splice to fix it. The excess thread is then sliced off. In the next picture the tackle has been rigged. The upper block is hooked to the pendant and the lower end is hooked over a leg the forestay. The fall is belayed and draped for convenience over the forecastle rail – one possible configuration. The next picture shows a closer view. The coil of rope was made separately from a length of line that would be sufficient in using the tackle. Every foot of lift would require hauling six feet of rope. The line was coiled around a dowel, wetted with diluted glue, shaped and allowed to partially dry before mounting. Ed

Well, that makes me smile, Druxey. Ed