popeye the sailor

what can I say...........I like to pay it forward

sorry about that Kester.......I keep call it a spanker. I was looking through Colin Riches "ship modeling from kits" book, and I stumbled across that very term......OK.....I'm a little smarter now..... thanks for the good word! I don't have too many hanging vines Frank......don't need to be confused, any more than I already am the only ones I have are the crosstree futtocks and the lower yard lifts. is that how you did your yards? thanks as well for the good word thanks Anja and Augie......everything has it's own time...it's nice to going in the forward motion though thanks for the good words. one more pair Sjors.........I swear! while I'm doing the lower ratlines, I can be shrouding the upper part thanks for the good word! thanks Capt. Andy.........has a nice ring to it.....don't it it's nothing compared to the work your doing....fantastic! thanks Bob...........appreciate the good word! thanks to those who hit the like button as well. I did leave the main shrouds for a reason.......there are a few cosmedic aspects that need to be done. these are things I wanted to do.....tabling her didn't help the matter. I will add them in for the next update. again, thanks to all for your kind comments......I feel like I accomplished something

with this completed, it is time to do the shrouds. those pesky stray lines bugged me all through the gaff assembly..........time to put them in their places. after the dead eyes were tied and painted, the first pair of lanyards were done. both sides. the second pair was done, making sure that they didn't cross the first pair. I like these shots...........

I have more updating to do here........I was dying to try out my idea of attaching the yards to the masts. I decided to assemble the spanker gaff { I hope that's what it's called} before I did the shrouds on the mizzen. there is a lower yard that is to be attached here as well.......I'll get to that later. the gaff was rigged with the blocks needed for the task. there is another thread coming out of it......I had drilled holes through the gaff. this thread will be strung with perrils and then threaded through the gaff, fastening it to the mast. I did have one problem though......the block under the top, is threaded through a hole I drilled and cemented in place. while I was threading the block, it pulled out.......thus creating a repair but.....soon the repair was done and the gaf was raised into position. the pulley assemblies on the fore end of the gaff was done...... then the perrils were added, and the thread was run through the hole I had drilled. more adjustments were made to the height of the gaff.........I have to leave room for the lower yard. the lift assembly was also added. the vangs were added at this point.....more adjustments were done to counter the bowing of the gaff. now the thread that was run through the hole in the gaff, had cement on it. it should be dry by now, so I can start wrapping it around the gaff and hide that entry point. all points here were tied off and cemented.

no.......I think I have it right......you've totally ratlined the first steps, fore, main, and mizzen. you've shrouded the second steps, fore, main, and mizzen. you still need to shroud the third steps on the fore, and main..........the mizzen won't have any, and you need to shroud the bow spirit....that's three sets left to do. still..........it's some pretty sweet work your doing

I watched the multi - part documentary on you tube one day...........it was very good........sad, but good. there was mention about the Olympia being the one that was sunk...........that was proven not to be the case. I have a bit of trouble believing the video.........not a whole lot of evidence there, and extremely poor testing on the author's part. the one factor that was left out.....what would be the motive be for sinking such a vessel?

it depends on you taste in ships Jim {good to know you by your first name, by the way}. I'm kind of a fishing ship nut myself, but I love them all, and I build whatever she needs. I can see your admiral's point, especially if she has to clean it. my admiral won't touch them....... ....she loves them and what I do, but she is so afraid to break anything. I had my AmericA out in the hallway {my 'dead space'} for a while. I went out there last week for something or another, and found that spiders had taken over the space between the ship and the wall! it is in the living room now........a sitting duck for my grand kids, who likes what I do as well {don't know how many times I've said 'don't touch' }. in my mind.......anything with rigging should be in a case anyway. they are very 'admiral friendly' try a tug........or a lobster boat.........go for the grand scale.........a Nordkap!

hey Dragzz......... bad thing about that deck platform.........perhaps some heat and hand manipulation will straighten it out. if it can be flipped over and glued down, you could weight it till it sets. on the doorways......I think it would look better if that liner strip was all the way around the openning. if it creates a problem with door fit, they can always be sanded down to fit.

good to hear your back Andy. take your time......a tug and a snooze......it will clear your head, so you can produce more of your fine work!

I 've seen that site.......they were the ones that bought up the old Billing USA , so you can even get these kits from them as well.

we are ALL brothers under the big top! just ask Sjors !

the second floor is done! man....your just a fidildy- diddler, aren't you just two more sets of shrouds to go......that is, unless you haven't done the pair on the bow spirit....then you have three nice work!

sounds to me like there were "classes" for the different tugs.......just like the naval vessels. these are probably small differences, enabling them to handle different tasks. this could give you a slight advantage.......you can 'bend' the aspects slightly to suit your vision of how you would like her to look. in other words.......if something doesn't come out exactly, you won't be too far out of the ballpark. for example: looking at that picture of the bulwark post......if there is a glue line, leave it. painted over, it will look like a weld the new posts look good, by the way

hey Michael.....just checking in to see if was new progress on the cutter. any new progress on Maria as well? the season is waining my friend.........I fear your deadline may be put on hold. "Alas, poor Yorick........this, is the winter of our discontent!" {I never could get my plays right either }

to bad I can't click the like button but once......I laughed like hell when I saw you post :D :D of course you can watch..........front row! and I'll even name tag your seat!

sounds like you would have a good teacher by some stroke of luck, I've stumbled onto one...but I need to figure out the registration........I don't want to fib....I'm as green as the grass

the Bounty MUST be in the gallery by now.............are you finished yet?

I hope so........not too sure I'm 100%

you seem to have done quite well without it...........but I can agree, I don't have any knowledge of it either. I was looking at some of the plans....from the links that Bob has on his thread. I mentioned to the admiral that it would be nice to know. it started her digging around looking......"what do they use on you ship site?"..........."I dunno".........."well........don't you think you ought to find out!" she's a real peach, Tom.........she loves what we do......I show her pictures

yepper Bob...........that seem to be a good line-up with the Boulogne Etaples though.......I'm kinda waiting for Borge to finish up on his Dragen.....he's going to be doing a re-furb to his. I just figured I'd get a jump on mine before he starts his. it's a good thing that I did....a few of the parts do not line up too good. mainly, it's the stern and the raised area on the deck.........I have plans though, so it's a small problem. "this looks like a job for..........."Bashman"!!!!! the Half moon is another one to really look at. Billing's doesn't include gun ports and other details that I have seen.........I'm currently thinking on ways to put them in. the best way I can see to do it at this point, is get the hull in order first, and put them in after. I've done some research, but I want to do more......and get more pictures of the actual ship at the same time. the Gothenborg is as you see her........I'm really happy to be finally rigging her. there are a few more aspects I want to put into her, but at the same time, I don't want to stop the rigging process to do them. I may just say the heck with some of them and finish her off. I really feel like this ship deserves to be done in a larger scale.......I'm quite compelled to do just that! I have all these pictures, and I can't see letting them go to waste {I owe my thanks to too many people}. still a question when this will happen....but it will, you can count on it! the Syborn trawler........poor soul........is just sitting on my shelf. I got the parts I needed for her, but I used some of them on the lobsie twins. when Billing USA closed, I recieved a few odds and ends that they had lying around......I may have enough to replace what I used I was short on wood.......which I now have plenty of.......so progress simply hinges now on finding time to work on her. this has also been made harder......I don't have my second table any more ......... had to make the painful decision in a bid to make the room more.......navigationally friendly. there is more to the story, something I am working on........if it happens, believe me.....it will be a good read .........but you forgot about the United States Bob. this big girl is still waiting in the wings. I have the gun deck all prepped out, but I haven't done any planking yet. I might have just enough to do the gun deck.........I need to order more.....3mm wide is going to equate into a lot of planking. one thing I can do, is prep the spar deck and see how much of the gun deck will be shown. at 1:96 scale, there is parts of the deck that will be hard to see. I may also limit the amount of cannons that will be displayed with open gun ports...the bridle ports are a given....no guns. there are quite a few Connie builds I have been watching, and I'm sure that these two ship are similar in a lot of ways...the big difference is in the stern with these two. these are just a couple of things I'm looking at so far....still tossing around what I want to add and what not to......the fact that I'm doing some of the build in wood, is really going to put a spin on it. so......that's where I am on these builds. all is still well on the wharf.......started out so well in the beginning of the summer, but time sure fleeted on me toward the end of it. fall is comming, and soon it will be winter.........if for any reason, this would be the only one that I'm looking forward to it for.......it's said to be a nasty one this year!

nice bit of literature Kester.......I like you did it.......lots of meat with the potatoes! you have a beautiful ship there.......the sail came out really nice. the rigging is very well done.....superb workmanship, my friend! I think the windlass was used more on smaller ships........the capstan came into use a bit later than the windlass, and was found to be more suited for larger ships. as Dafi showed in one of his dioramas, they could measure how deep the water was where they were to weigh anchor.........it was probably ratcheted down into the water by the use of pawls or chocks. once the anchor was in the water, and it could compensate weight {slow it down}, it was probably allowed to free-fall to the bottom. this is probably where the terminology came from as well. I know there are a lot of 'probably's' in here.........I've given thought about this as well.....I'm not an expert either.

yepper! sometimes you have to ignore the whims of the people, and do something to satisfy yourself. I have also been suffering the same fate......time for me to break out as well anything done is considered progress in my book........what you've done is not little. it adds a lot of character to the deck......going to look sweet when the cap rails are in place. I'll look forward in seeing what you do with the hull planking. slow and steady

I never question the length of a build..........with as many as I have in the works......I have first hand knowledge of the pains that go into them...... I can see how you spend your time.........very well, as far as I can see seeing your kitchen, the rest of your home must be a palace! beautiful..........simply beautiful

like it............I love it! superbly done!

hi Paul! I thought this build was forgotten...........it will return though. I have been working on the Gothenborg and the Half Moon......this poor soul, as well as the Boulogne Etaples, seem to have been thrown on the back burner. I do apologize for that....I am working towards finishing off all these builds I have kicking around. it was a combination of imagination and impulse that got me into this. I will see what I can do towards putting some type of progress report together for her, so you can see where I am on her. thanks for reminding me......LOL!