Bedford

Shrouds are on, I don't think I need to do the top shrouds because the top masts are stable enough to mount the running rigging etc so they can wait til later. As a side note I calculate a bit over 1400 knots in the rat lines! Once I re-learn the technique they are pretty quick and easy.
 

 

 
 

Shrouds are on, I don't think I need to do the top shrouds because the top masts are stable enough to mount the running rigging etc so they can wait til later. As a side note I calculate a bit over 1400 knots in the rat lines! Once I re-learn the technique they are pretty quick and easy.
 

 

 
 

Shrouds are on, I don't think I need to do the top shrouds because the top masts are stable enough to mount the running rigging etc so they can wait til later. As a side note I calculate a bit over 1400 knots in the rat lines! Once I re-learn the technique they are pretty quick and easy.
 

 

 
 

Hi,
with the Banterer nearly finished I wanted to show some actual pictures. The most work over the last 6 month was the sail making each sail took me an average of 40 hours to make. Build time was now nearly 7 years and we hope to let her sail on May 2nd for the first time.
 

Progress
 

 

 

 

Progress
 

 

 

 

Chain plates
To get the correct angle on the chain plates I fit the masts at the correct angle and run a line of cord where the shroud will go, I centre it over the dead eye and continue down onto the hull. This shows where the chain plate needs to attach in order to get the straight line with the shroud.
 

 
In this case I then drilled two 1mm holes through the hull using the chain plate holes as the template.
 
I then used a magnet to weed out the brass plated steel nails from my nail tin and selected 60 long brass nails which were then annealed to soften them for bending.
 
Once all that had ben done I mixed a small amount of epoxy and put a blob (technical term) on each hole on the inside of the hull for one station at a time, ie starboard mizzen chain plates first. I then pushed that through the hull with my finger so I had a small sphere of epoxy on the outside of the hull at each hole. This ensured the hole was filled with epoxy to ensure water could not get into the wood.
 
Then I place the nails through one chain plate and while pressing them firmly against the hull with my thumb I used pliers to bend the inboard end of the nail over to form a rudimentary rivet. When all are done I will apply some thickened epoxy over each of these to ensure it won't move or foul anything and it will be water tight.
 

 

 

Progress
 

 

 

 

Progress
 

 

 

 

Chain plates
To get the correct angle on the chain plates I fit the masts at the correct angle and run a line of cord where the shroud will go, I centre it over the dead eye and continue down onto the hull. This shows where the chain plate needs to attach in order to get the straight line with the shroud.
 

 
In this case I then drilled two 1mm holes through the hull using the chain plate holes as the template.
 
I then used a magnet to weed out the brass plated steel nails from my nail tin and selected 60 long brass nails which were then annealed to soften them for bending.
 
Once all that had ben done I mixed a small amount of epoxy and put a blob (technical term) on each hole on the inside of the hull for one station at a time, ie starboard mizzen chain plates first. I then pushed that through the hull with my finger so I had a small sphere of epoxy on the outside of the hull at each hole. This ensured the hole was filled with epoxy to ensure water could not get into the wood.
 
Then I place the nails through one chain plate and while pressing them firmly against the hull with my thumb I used pliers to bend the inboard end of the nail over to form a rudimentary rivet. When all are done I will apply some thickened epoxy over each of these to ensure it won't move or foul anything and it will be water tight.
 

 

 

Progress
 

 

 

 

The Batavia may link us more than you realise.
Among the punishment handed out to the mutineers was the sentence of being put ashore on mainland Australia and left here.
This happened to a few of the mutineers so they were the first penal colonists of this country, long before the English started sending there criminals here.
 
It is said that when the English colonists reached the central western coast (around what is now Geraldton) they encountered a few blonde aboriginals. Descendants no doubt.
 
On a side note, although it would have been very hard going for the early convict settlers I think we got the better deal in the long run. Sun, sand, good weather, gold. Thanks England

The Batavia may link us more than you realise.
Among the punishment handed out to the mutineers was the sentence of being put ashore on mainland Australia and left here.
This happened to a few of the mutineers so they were the first penal colonists of this country, long before the English started sending there criminals here.
 
It is said that when the English colonists reached the central western coast (around what is now Geraldton) they encountered a few blonde aboriginals. Descendants no doubt.
 
On a side note, although it would have been very hard going for the early convict settlers I think we got the better deal in the long run. Sun, sand, good weather, gold. Thanks England

The Batavia may link us more than you realise.
Among the punishment handed out to the mutineers was the sentence of being put ashore on mainland Australia and left here.
This happened to a few of the mutineers so they were the first penal colonists of this country, long before the English started sending there criminals here.
 
It is said that when the English colonists reached the central western coast (around what is now Geraldton) they encountered a few blonde aboriginals. Descendants no doubt.
 
On a side note, although it would have been very hard going for the early convict settlers I think we got the better deal in the long run. Sun, sand, good weather, gold. Thanks England

Chain plates
To get the correct angle on the chain plates I fit the masts at the correct angle and run a line of cord where the shroud will go, I centre it over the dead eye and continue down onto the hull. This shows where the chain plate needs to attach in order to get the straight line with the shroud.
 

 
In this case I then drilled two 1mm holes through the hull using the chain plate holes as the template.
 
I then used a magnet to weed out the brass plated steel nails from my nail tin and selected 60 long brass nails which were then annealed to soften them for bending.
 
Once all that had ben done I mixed a small amount of epoxy and put a blob (technical term) on each hole on the inside of the hull for one station at a time, ie starboard mizzen chain plates first. I then pushed that through the hull with my finger so I had a small sphere of epoxy on the outside of the hull at each hole. This ensured the hole was filled with epoxy to ensure water could not get into the wood.
 
Then I place the nails through one chain plate and while pressing them firmly against the hull with my thumb I used pliers to bend the inboard end of the nail over to form a rudimentary rivet. When all are done I will apply some thickened epoxy over each of these to ensure it won't move or foul anything and it will be water tight.
 

 

 

Chain plates
To get the correct angle on the chain plates I fit the masts at the correct angle and run a line of cord where the shroud will go, I centre it over the dead eye and continue down onto the hull. This shows where the chain plate needs to attach in order to get the straight line with the shroud.
 

 
In this case I then drilled two 1mm holes through the hull using the chain plate holes as the template.
 
I then used a magnet to weed out the brass plated steel nails from my nail tin and selected 60 long brass nails which were then annealed to soften them for bending.
 
Once all that had ben done I mixed a small amount of epoxy and put a blob (technical term) on each hole on the inside of the hull for one station at a time, ie starboard mizzen chain plates first. I then pushed that through the hull with my finger so I had a small sphere of epoxy on the outside of the hull at each hole. This ensured the hole was filled with epoxy to ensure water could not get into the wood.
 
Then I place the nails through one chain plate and while pressing them firmly against the hull with my thumb I used pliers to bend the inboard end of the nail over to form a rudimentary rivet. When all are done I will apply some thickened epoxy over each of these to ensure it won't move or foul anything and it will be water tight.
 

 

 

Chain plates
To get the correct angle on the chain plates I fit the masts at the correct angle and run a line of cord where the shroud will go, I centre it over the dead eye and continue down onto the hull. This shows where the chain plate needs to attach in order to get the straight line with the shroud.
 

 
In this case I then drilled two 1mm holes through the hull using the chain plate holes as the template.
 
I then used a magnet to weed out the brass plated steel nails from my nail tin and selected 60 long brass nails which were then annealed to soften them for bending.
 
Once all that had ben done I mixed a small amount of epoxy and put a blob (technical term) on each hole on the inside of the hull for one station at a time, ie starboard mizzen chain plates first. I then pushed that through the hull with my finger so I had a small sphere of epoxy on the outside of the hull at each hole. This ensured the hole was filled with epoxy to ensure water could not get into the wood.
 
Then I place the nails through one chain plate and while pressing them firmly against the hull with my thumb I used pliers to bend the inboard end of the nail over to form a rudimentary rivet. When all are done I will apply some thickened epoxy over each of these to ensure it won't move or foul anything and it will be water tight.
 

 

 

Chain plates
To get the correct angle on the chain plates I fit the masts at the correct angle and run a line of cord where the shroud will go, I centre it over the dead eye and continue down onto the hull. This shows where the chain plate needs to attach in order to get the straight line with the shroud.
 

 
In this case I then drilled two 1mm holes through the hull using the chain plate holes as the template.
 
I then used a magnet to weed out the brass plated steel nails from my nail tin and selected 60 long brass nails which were then annealed to soften them for bending.
 
Once all that had ben done I mixed a small amount of epoxy and put a blob (technical term) on each hole on the inside of the hull for one station at a time, ie starboard mizzen chain plates first. I then pushed that through the hull with my finger so I had a small sphere of epoxy on the outside of the hull at each hole. This ensured the hole was filled with epoxy to ensure water could not get into the wood.
 
Then I place the nails through one chain plate and while pressing them firmly against the hull with my thumb I used pliers to bend the inboard end of the nail over to form a rudimentary rivet. When all are done I will apply some thickened epoxy over each of these to ensure it won't move or foul anything and it will be water tight.
 

 

 

I tried to come up with all kinds of fancy ways of doing them, partially because I didn't trust the solder to hold them in the way I have ended up going. But I used 40/60 solder instead of the softer 60/40 and they seem to be quite strong. So I went with the K.I.S.S. method you see in the pics.
 
I should have realised the 40/60 would be strong enough after I made the bull bar pictured for my RC Land Rover, It is all brass and 40/60 solder and I can pick the vehicle up by the bullbar and it weighs 3.5Kg!
 

New parts have arrived in the shipyard...................now it really gets interesting
 

 
The winch servos look good and they are nice and heavy so hopefully that translates into strong!
 

 
The speed controller for the motors is designed for a 4wd buggy with two motors, convenient!
 

 
Now to start planning the controls in ernest.

More progress, the chain is partially fitted and I have turned an eye with which to attach the other end.
 
The eye pin has a 2mm shaft, then the flange was turned to 4mm and the eye loop was formed by filing.
 

 

 

 

I find myself more and more getting bogged down with planning and details to the point I sit and stare at her thinking about how to do this and that and not actually achieving much. This weekend was considerably cooler thankfully and it rained, I had heaps to do around the house because I had been too tired from the heat to do it. I got all caught up and decided to just do SOMETHING to the ship and what do you know? Some of the things I had been agonising over just happened.
 
First, I can't remember what I was thinking when I glued the eye collar onto the dolphin striker that made me put the eyes at 90deg to the bowsprit ( I'm sure there was profound logic behind it at the time ) I ended up cutting it off and drilling up the center of the timber to accept an eye pin so I can attach a chain from the end of the bowsprit jib boom via the striker to the bow. Then I looked at the line of the horizontal stays for the bowsprit and realised I needed to stand them off so as to allow free movement of the anchors so I added the timbers to do that.
 

 

 
The chain is a studded anchor chain, I have used this because the normal brass chain with open links has a certain amout of elasticity. This is a closed link chain and will take the strain.
 
The strain has been a big stumbling block, ie:- will it last, will it hold, do I need to design something better, these questions are comming up for everything I do now but I have decided to just build it soundly and if something does need to be re-engineered stronger it will let me know.
 
I am doing the rigging for the blocks in a simple yet strong way by twisting 0.5mm cord together leaving an eye which I then pass the ends through to form a loop into which goes the block. The block is then placed over a pin on my cutting board and the tail is passed through an eye hook screwed in about 12mm away. I then run the tail up beside the block and clamp it there and use another piece of 0.5mm cord and tie it around the tail, knot after knot all the way up to form pseudo siezing, I cut the ends of the tail a bit short of the block so they get covered by the siezing and when all is done I put glue on my finger and thumb and squeeze it into the rope while rolling it between my fingers. Some are not very neat, they were done when I should have been in bed.   They will not stand out in the overall ship though, especially when she is under sail.
 

 

Well I have been a bit quiet lately, mainly because of the heat and all the planning, it has left me a bit brain fatigued.
Orange is a place that can get snow in winter and normal summer temps are in the order of 26 to 28 deg C with the odd day of 30 ( that's 79, 82 and 86 degrees respectively for the imperialists) but the last two weeks or so have been up around 33 and 35 deg C or 95 deg F and thats just too much for me because I never did handle heat well.
 
The upshot of all that is that when I muster the energy to work on the ship I only do what I can without leaving the air conditionned comfort of my house and entering the stinking hot garage.
 
Tonight though the temp has dropped and it has rained, and we really need that because most of the country is in drought, and it looks like a few nice days comming up.
 
So, to the progress.....
 
I am working on the blocks etc, fitting them to the masts, booms and gafs.
 
I created a flat on the side of the booms and gafs to accept the blocks and glued them on with a simple butt joint but I wasn't happy that this would be strong enough.
 

 
So I drilled into the boom/gaf at each end of the block and bent up brass wire which I epoxied to the block and into the boom/gaf and I feel much more confident now.
 

 

I have had a very frustrating day of ship building. I am trying to make the eye collars for the bowsprit and top masts but the mill bits I have are no use in this application so I decided to turn the collars to size then slit them using the fine cutting blade for the dremel in the mill as a slot cutter.
 

 
The idea being that I could cut oversized eye pieces and stand them all up located in the slots and solder with a gas torch but even the light touch of the melting solder proved to destabilise the whole thing so it was a write off.
 
I ended up turning the collar first and centre drilling it to the size to fit the timber, the external diameter is approx an extra 2mm to give a 1mm wall to the collar then machining the eyes in a way that is too hard to understand from text so when I do the next ones I will take pics to show how I did it. I need to get a larger diameter brass first though.
 

 

OK Robbyn, and Jim Lad. I have got off my design chair and done a little work today, just for you
The first pic is a bit out of focus but you can see well enough the pins I have installed to locate the top masts in the raised position.
 

 
Then I made the dolphin striker in the lathe, this is a very delicate operation because the thin piece of timber is so easy to break. First I gently turned the end down to 2mm diameter to accept the rigging hardware that I will make soon. Then using the Dremel and a bur bit while turning the piece I made the taper roughly. Then I used sandpaper wrapped around a piece of flat timber to smooth out and complete the taper. This whole process was done using my finger against the opposite side of the work as a sort of travelling steady to stop it from breaking. Then I used a triangular file to work the grooves into it.
 

 
Dolphin striker fitted and first coat of paint.