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At one stage I considered stowing my cannon below deck because that's apparently what Cochrane did on occasion. You were one of those instrumental in persuading me to rig them properly. I'll have you making proper oars yet! I just make some of them up as I go along; others I drop at random into the log, hoping there are no real experts around to pick me up (when is a jeer a tye?) 😬. I still have fond memories of the euphroe discussion. Amazing you can both produce such fine, accurate models when you don't know what you're doing Steady there Glenn, you're starting to sound like you do know what you're doing!

Much appreciated Eamonn. I've not had any luck finding really fine fly tying thread on Amazon. I use 18/0, sometimes called 30D(enier) which I get from a specialist angling shop (the Essential Fly in Yorkshire - they have a website). This post earlier in the log shows the brand I use, which is available in black and brown.

Don't worry, you did nothing wrong. The moderators removed a string of posts after someone started a topic that was felt inappropriate, and I think your post must have been in the middle and removed accidently. Anyway, thank you for your kind comments, I really appreciate them. I should point out that the kit comes with very good instructions and plans, it's just that I like adding my own embellishments.

Gaff Fitting the gaff was relatively straightforward and I followed the kit plans in most respects. As with the boom, I made the parrel trucks from blackened brass rod, although this time I gave them a coat of matt poly straight away - partly to protect the mast but also to impart a slight sheen as I'm sure the originals would have been oiled in some way to reduce friction. As I mentioned in the previous post, threading the parrel rope through the lines coming down from the main yard tested my dexterity and patience, and next time I think I'd fit the gaff first. Everything else went smoothly, although I did have to fit another eyebolt in the back edge of the main top to lead the topping lift slightly to port, otherwise it would have fouled on the gaff: Here's the gaff fully rigged with its lifts and vangs: Bit more like a ship. Hopefully the remaining yards will go quite quickly now. Derek

Thanks Tim. Don't blame me on the tools though - my tool collection has increased dramatically since I joined the forum. It's everyone else's fault 😬 I'm looking forward to your next log. I know you were taking a break after Alert but don't leave it too long! Derek

Lower yards Thanks as always for all the likes and supportive comments. Back to the rigging. I'd decided to fit the main yard before the gaff thinking it would be easier that way round. In retrospect I was probably wrong as it turned out tricky getting the gaff parrel past all the lines coming down from the yard but at least I managed it. On the yard, I started with the truss pendants which are designed to hold the yard against the mast. There are two pendants on the yard, each with a thimble spliced in one end. The plans show an eye splice, but I didn't rate my chances of being able to thread a line through a small eye splice once the yard was in position, hence the thimble. I used the same method described earlier to make the thimbles from 1.6mm/1/16" brass tube: I wasn't sure how long to make the pendants. The Fully Framed Model says 24 ft. for a vessel of comparable size (quoting Steel, I think) which equates to 114mm at scale. I wasn't sure if this was the total length including seizings and splices and when I did a rough check on the model the end of the pendant was a long way off the deck. It needs to be some way off the deck to keep it out of the way of other tackle round the mast, but I felt 114mm left it too short so I went for 150 mm which turned out well. The pendants were seized within the yard slings using throat seizings. I found it helped to jam the thimble on a needle held in the quadhands to keep everything in place whilst I made the seizing with fly tying thread: According to Longridge in The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships the pendants were seized so that the starboard thimble faced down and the port faced up - hopefully this is visible in the photo. This made sense when it came to passing the starboard pendant through the port thimble and vice versa, as it kept the two lines well apart as they passed round the mast as shown in the next photo, taken once the gaff was also in place: Crossing the yard was made much easier through the use of a pin in the yard and a hole drilled in the mast earlier in the build. The next job was to seize a double block into the end of each pendant, with the falls rigged to a single block hooked to an eyebolt abaft the mast. The kit instructions simply say to belay the end of the falls to the nearest convenient point. I believe it is neater and equally valid (according to TFFM and others) to wrap the spare end round the tackle and finish with a half hitch. I used a clip to hold the tackle in place while I did the hitching. I didn't film this for the main yard but the fore yard is identical: The eagle-eyed may have spotted in the earlier photo of the main yard that I'd forgotten to seize lines to the two jeer blocks sitting next to the truss pendants. My excuse is that this is an unfamiliar set-up for me - on my previous fully-rigged model the jeers consisted of a single block in the middle of the yard with two single blocks under the top. In that set-up a single line passes through all three blocks forming a letter "M" shape. Speedy's rig is right for vessels of her size and age, I just hadn't modelled it before. Anyway, by the time I realised I'd seized blocks into the ends of the pendants and didn't want to have to completely redo them. Fortunately I was able to slacken everything off to the extent that I could (just!) seize the lines on in situ. The photo doesn't give great detail but it shows the mess I was in. Not a mistake I repeated for the fore yard! I differed slightly from the kit by using 0.5mm line rather than 0.25mm as I felt the latter was a bit light for such a heavy yard. I should really have had bigger blocks on the yard to take the heavier line, but having made the decision too late I had to drill bigger holes through the 3mm tiddlers. It says a lot for the quality of the blocks that they were able to take such a large drill bit without splitting. Rigging the jeers was comparatively easy. Each line went from the 3mm block on the yard, through the first sheave in the double block under the top on same side, back through the single block, back up through the double then down to the deck. The double blocks have long strops that are suspended on hooks either side of the masthead, enabling them to sit just below the tops. I found it easiest to take the blocks off their hooks while I reeved the lines through them, then pass the strops up through the lubbers' hole and back on to their hooks. Chris has the jeers belaying directly to the bitts in front of the mast, a plan which I followed although an alternative would have been a tackle consisting a double block on the and of the line and a triple block hooked to the deck. Here's the set-up looking aft: I'll cover the gaff next. Derek

Boat's Oars Spurred on by @Blue Ensign I've had a quick go at making my own oars from scratch. Starting with a 1mm square strip of boxwood I reduced it to round with my homemade drawplate (see here) then shaped it in the same way I described earlier for the brass oar. I just had to wrap the dowel in paper to protect it from the chuck jaws: To make the blade I used the PE oar as a template, sticking it to a thin (0.3mm) strip of boxwood with PVA then carving and filing round it: After soaking in isopropyl alcohol for a few minutes the blade separated easily after which I glued it to the shaft with a tiny dab of ca. For comparison, here it is with the original PE version and my first attempt with brass rod for the shaft: Personally, I think the bare wood goes better with the boat, so now I know I can make a reasonable job of oars at this scale I'll knock out a few more in between rigging jobs. Derek

Me too - another idea I'll pinch! Derek

That's a really neat case Tim. You've tempted me to have a go at making my own for Speedy (when I eventually finish it!). Derek

Your first planking looks really good Glenn - should be a sound foundation for the second layer.

Thanks, that's where I get my castello boxwood which is fine for most things. For the very finest grain I've got a small billet of english boxwood which I might try for the oars.

Thanks, you've persuaded me to have a go although you've set the bar high. Did you use castello or european boxwood?

Sounds like my barber, and with similar results😁 Seriously though, I've always admired your figures and will watch this transformation with interest.

Boom (and more messing about with brass) I made all the spars some time ago and covered the various techniques in detail then so I won't repeat all that now. I'll just cover the additional steps as I cross the yards and other spars. Having enjoyed using brass to remake the oars I thought I'd use it to make more realistic parrel trucks. The kit supplies small round beads which, although about the right size, look a bit round and shiny. As I understand it, trucks were more barrel shaped, the length being slightly longer than the diameter. I decided 1/16"/1.6mm brass tube would be ideal. I started marking the tube with a light saw cut at 2mm, using my new tube cutter (thanks @glbarlow!): Then, on to the Proxxon lathe to shape the tube with swiss files. I didn't think it was worth going to the metal lathe - the little wood lathe is more than adequate for such a small job : I parted the truck off with a jewellers saw and once I had 16 (eight each for the gaff and boom) I blackened them with Casey's Brass Black. Here's the result: I started the rigging with the boom topping lift. I actually set up the falls and the sheet before I fixed the parrel round the mast, as I thought it would be more difficult to seize blocks and hooks in situ. This way, I was able to fix the parrel then seize the other end of the lift to the outer end of the boom: I can't believe how furry that line looks in close-up! At least the shot shows why I like fly tying thread for a neat seizing job. To rig the extra leg on the boom topping lift I seized a short length of 0.25mm line to the boom then used a fine needle to thread the other end through the lift. I made a fake splice by fraying the end of the line then using my fingers and a drop of dilute PVA to roll the frayed end round the lift. Once dried it looked reasonable: Next, I loosely rigged the sheet to the boom... ...then tightened the falls: One minor point here; the kit plan has the fall belaying to a pin rack on the starboard bulwarks. I tried this but the result looked awkward, with the line running over the deck and pulling the tackle askew. I therefore chose to hitch the tackle to itself. I also noticed after taking this shot that some of the blackening on the trucks had rubbed off on the mast. Fortunately it cleaned off easily. I may coat the trucks with matt poly. I was going to rig the gaff, but then thought that might make it difficult to cross the main yard so I've decided to do that next. Derek

Thanks Phill. I'm happy with them for now but I may still have a go at doing them in wood to get a more natural look. Here's the ones I did for Royal Caroline, albeit at the slightly larger scale of 1:48: I may set myself the challenge of doing similar at 1:64, but for now I'll concentrate on the rigging.

I think I'll go with the modified oars: Not perfect, but I'm not inclined to try making them in wood. Doing that in 1:48 scale for Royal Caroline's boat was hard enough and 1:64 might be a stretch too far. I may change my mind towards the end of the build if the oars start bugging me again.

Thanks Gray, I appreciate your kind words and I'm glad you've enjoyed Speedy so far. I'm not the fastest builder on the forum but, to (mis)quote an old cliché, the journey is as important as the destination.

Thanks Glenn, although I see myself as practical rather than creative. I enjoy the problem solving aspect of our hobby - looking for different/better ways of doing things. I've seen your photography website so I know what real creativity looks like!

Excellent rigging work Glenn. The served rope looks superb. Serving is one of those little touches that lifts a model above the crowd.

An experiment with oars I've been busy with building work around the house for the last week or so and have had little time in the workshop. Rather than getting on with the rigging, I thought I'd use the small amount of time I had to resolve an issue that has been bugging me for some time - the boat's oars. The kit oars are photoetch, and whilst the detail is very good they are undeniably flat. I don't mind some of the flat PE parts such as the belaying pins but the oars just didn't look right to me so I thought I'd have a go at modifying them. I started with 1mm brass rod held in the Proxxon lathe, using files to create the handle shape in one end: Next, I needed to taper the other end where it fits against the blade. This time the tapered section was too long to work unsupported, so I cut a shallow groove in a small piece of hardwood to hold the end of the rod whilst I filed it. I didn't have enough hands to photograph this stage, but you can see the block in the next shot in which I'm filing a flat in the tapered end for the blade to fit against: As the PE blades were nicely detailed I simply cut one off and glued it to the rod. Here's the result alongside an original PE oar for comparison: I think it's an improvement, but I'll reserve final judgement until I've painted it. Hopefully the building work won't keep me out of the workshop quite so much over the next week or so and I'll be able to crack on with the rigging. Derek

Very clever use of the quadhands Glenn - I'll copy that one!

Crikey, you've not even paused for breath after Duchess!

Well done Glenn. You must be justifiably proud of a fine model. Derek

Best wishes to your wife Chris. I’m just glad we live in a bungalow (and have a small dog!) 🐾

Beautiful gratings ... and welcome to the MF70 club! Deck treenails would have been about 1"/ 25mm diameter, so approximately 1mm at 1:24. Derek