glbarlow

Thanks Chuck, I’ve enjoyed rigging her up. Thank you, these were a new technique for me. They worked out pretty well, they do absorb a lot of rope though.

Rigging the yards I’m coming closer to the end of my journey. It's time to rig the yards. The first step is making the stirrups. In many kits these are removed from sheets of PE brass and drilled into the base, here I get to make them from rope, which is a bit more tricky than it might seem. I started by seizing a tight loop around a #68 bit. After experimentation I chose this bit as the tightest size for the .25 dark brown rope used for the foot rope to fit through. Too big of a loop and I’d not be able to properly position the foot ropes. Each stirrup had to be long enough to wrap around the yard three times and be the correct length. To do this I placed a piece of parchment paper over the plans, set the length from the bottom of the yard by taping the rope to the parchment paper, then gluing it to the backside of the yard with a dip of CA applied with a straight pin. With that done I wrapped the the rope three times round using CA then cut the rope off at the bottom of the yard where it wouldn’t be seen. I stiffened the stirrups with watered down white glue. I’m sure there are better ways to do this process, but this way worked for me. Once I had that done I seized the foot ropes to the yards. I had seized the blocks the lower and topsail yards earlier. It all worked out but was a bit trying to get the lengths right. You might note the left side of the plans, that’s the result of my knocking over the paint bottle. Fortunately the plans and my work mat were the only victims. I keep a roll of paper towels nearby, it’s not the first time I’ve wasted some paint...or glue...or whatever other liquid was nearby. I made up the four brace pendants for the lower yard and raised the yard by connecting the mast and yard slings, it’s nice look. Once again I’ll note how much serving rope adds to the model - using the Syren Service-O-Matic makes this very easy to do. I also added the clue lines. These have a 3/16 block that connects to the top mast, then runs through the mast sheave, through the lower yard block and down to the deck. Although I’d installed them a while ago, I did not belay any of the stays. In the photo they are folded over the peak halyard, I need the room to terminate the remaining lines to the mast and pin rail. I could have worked around them, but why. So they’ll remain up out of the way until the last steps of the rigging. I loosely ran the lower yard fore and aft braces and lifts following the plans, again keeping the aft braces flipped up out of the way. It’s fun finding the right path for the lines. It’s a string puzzle, I enjoy sorting it all out. I make it a point to study the rigging plans early in the build so I know where and how various blocks, eyebolts, and hooks will go and add them early. I missed this one, the bowsprit blocks which I had added a long time ago. The lower yard braces initiate at the bowsprit block, run up to the yard pendant, back trough the block and belay at the bow pin rail. So I had to cut off and replace the blocks at the end of the bowsprit to add the tackle to the block, not super hard thanks to the Quad Hands, but a pain nonetheless. And of course what rigging job would be complete without breaking something, as I did more than once, in this case the main sheet. So it’s a time-out to re-rig it back again. I do all the rigging I can off the ship whenever I can. For the topsail yard that included the clue lines and braces. These involve very long rope runs. I somehow mis-managed my .018 light brown line and with no source to replenish it I substituted .012 line for the topsail yard brace. You can see I’ve stripped down my Quad hands into loop tying mode. Loops were seized in this tackle then tightened onto the yard keeping the long coils of line untangled, and not dipped into spilled jars of paint. The topsail yard also has a sling, this one isn’t served. I also included the optional truss from .025 line for additional stability. With the topsail yard hoisted with its long braces and lifts the deck seemingly is a cluttered mess, but I know each rope, there is organization to the madness. I prefer all the lines be on board at this point so I can carefully find the right and clean route through the blocks, mast and yards before belaying any of them. Knowing where things are and where they go comes with a lot of studying and marking up the plans. I’ve completed the standing rigging so that plan is folded and put away. The plans tell you what you need to know but that doesn’t always include the route and it doesn’t resolve conflicts with other lines. It does provide a belay plan, that’s the important piece of information along with line and block placements. (I cut off portions of the plan in this photo, sorry pirates). With the yards and their respective lines hoisted and installed its time to start belaying. As I mentioned I moved everything aft of the mast up and out of the way, they’ll be dropped down and belayed later. The lower yard foot ropes seem short, but they match the plans, they aren’t fully pulled and dressed out in this photo. I tested mini me up there, he seemed ok with it. Next I leveled both the lower and the topsail yard using and belaying their respective lifts (one per side of each yard for four total). I want to get that right and the yards steady before anything else, I did careful measurements between yards and use of my bubble level. With that done I next want to finish anything attached to the mast cleats, including rope coils, this includes one end of the clue lines, these can be worked from either end, the other belays to the pin rails. With a lot of lines belayed at this point it was time to go into rope coil mode. I ended up spending a full afternoon making and placing coils. Not just because there more than are a few, but each one I made I decided I could make the next one better, probably explains why I ran short of .018 rope. I find watered down clear matte acrylic works better for coils than the watered down white glue I use for finishing belay points and seizing lines. Everything fore of the mast is now rigged, belayed, and have rope coils in place. I like this method of coiling rope I described in an earlier post. I added coils to the unused belaying pins just to fill it up, and because I went a bit crazy making them. The fore end of a cutter bowsprit is a busy place, lot of ropes descend here from the mast and belay back to the bow pin rail. maybe not frigate like, but kinda fun. Finally it’s the aft stays and braces turn to be belayed I hadn’t finalized the aft lower yard brace in the photo, it was time for dinner, I went back to it later. Room to work get’s tight, not so much there are so many lines, there just isn’t much space in between them to access the belay points. My eye of a sewing needle on a stick I described a few post ago comes in handy. With that the rigging of my Cheerful is complete. Next up are the anchors. My thanks for the likes and the comments - as always they are very appreciated.

Good call on sails, not something I’d ever want to see on a model I build. I likely will plank the deck, primarily so I can plank less of it, if that’s possible, to expose more of that beautiful detail below. I can’t say I agree with much of anything @ERS Rich said, building your own isn’t tedious nor is time consuming a problem. I’ve spent over a year now on Cheerful and enjoyed it all. I do agree Sphinx is shaping up to be a great build, as a kit it’s at the top of its class and I’m sure worth the price. I know I like many others want Chris to be successful.

The many “expert commentators” here are a bit hilarious, it tries to detract from the completely amazing quality and beauty of the actual model. Fortunately it doesn’t succeed, the model stands out as to what a gifted expert can accomplish that the rest of us can only dream about.

Interesting approach to the rabbit. I hope it works out for you.

Nice work. The bowlines are worth the challenge of doing them, they look good. I broke the main sheet yesterday, it was a lot easier the first time around, the Quad Hands rose to the challenge.

I applaud the effort, glad I could be of some persuasion, you certainly have been for me on more than one occasion.

Are you beveling the top edge of the planks and using plank bending methods for a tight fit? Shouldn’t need anything from Inside and while WOP is of great benefit, it’s no substitute for a well fitted plank.

I did some research, don’t recall the sources at the moment, and rigged every line the actual ship would have, well beyond what was on the plans. I don’t know that I’d try that again on a model but its cool to have it on at least one.

That’s a lot of reeving and sheaving. It’s really looking complex and complete with so many lines run. I look at my Pegasus now and have no idea how I ran all those lines, I’m sure you’ll feel the same when your Speedy is complete. Well done as always.

That’s not what does😂🤣

This is no small update, congratulations!! The modeling world got a big positive step forward today. Glad your wife is doing better as well. Now I know my Sphinx will be packed well for shipment to my door!

Excellent work, very impressive!

Looking forward to giving your rope a try

The best saw blades for the Byrnes saw are the ones he sells. He no longer offers Thurston blades. I have his new ones, they cut great.

There is nothing the Byrnes saw cannot do, and do better. If you want to keep two saws the reason shouldn’t be because some other saw can do it. (Short of a full size table saw I suppose) The addition of the Byrnes cross cut table accessory opens even more possibilities. I easily cut lap joint hatches for Cheerful using it.

I tried some Crafty Sailor rope, it is terrible. The .018 size was way to small, .012 at best. When I cut it, the first three or more inches sprang unraveled like a broken clock spring. I emailed Crusty Sailor, who does have great to scale wood belaying pins, the answer was “that’s the way it came from the manufacturer.” I would not recommend this rope, not at all good quality.

I could buy every tool you own and come no where close to the caliber of work you do. The latest example being your blocks, they are amazing. The stove is incredible, as are details like the charcoal stove. I hope this model ultimately will reside in a museum, a place that it can receive the admiration it deserves and viewed in person by many. Well done.

It’s always darkest before dawn:

Look into a Quad Hands, available on Amazon. It makes all rigging work easier. They allowed me to seize my served shrouds on the model. My experience is the seizing can be move a little it’s kept loose, but not a lot.

It would be interesting for all of us Cheerful builders to see some photos of yours. I think there is a forum post for works in progress you might consider. It’s a great and fun build for sure.

I’ll look forward to seeing your line launched. I’ll give some a try.

It gives the masts and yards a nice matte finish and more of a real world look I think. I use Dull Black, which is oddly named as it’s the opposite of dull, on other places but more and more I like the Ironworks.

Well said Derek and Chris. It’s impossible to consider and identify every possible problem and answer. No one is wrong, it’s just a problem to solve. I think we’re all kinda in it to solve problems and build stuff.

Thanks Derek, I did give leaving them natural a passing thought, but the black does look good. I use Admiralty Paints Ironwork Black, I get it from Cornwall Boats on your side of the pond. It gives a really nice finish.