Bob Cleek

This is a gun station cut into the living rock of Gibraltar. Note the "curtain" of lines hanging from the bar in front of the gunport.  Does anybody know what they are called or what purpose they actually serve? I've never seen anything like them before. 
 
 

There's another NY30 on the market for $390,000, so you can draw your own conclusions as to the condition of the one on eBay for $112,000. ( 1905 Herreshoff New York 30 Antique and Classic for sale - YachtWorld ) She's probably due for a major rebuild. These beautiful classic boats are worthy of major rebuilds, but few can justify putting the mid-six figures necessary into doing so. The higher priced one had 95% of her frames and floor timbers replaced, a new interior and decks and deckhouse done in a major rebuild about six or eight years ago, and that work probably cost quite a bit more than it would have to simply have built another one completely new. A lot of money for that much boat, but if you want to rub shoulders with the high and mighty at the NYYC, that's the price of admission, I suppose.
 
There's not much to see below on these old time class racers. They would built lightly and with Spartan accommodations. The furniture as designed is elegant in its simplicity, but not intended for "company." These were essentially large "day sailers" intended for racing only.
 
 

I considered and discarded all the explanations mentioned, save this one. The trouble I have with it, though, is that as soon as a black powder cannon was fired from that embrasure, it would be pretty obvious that it was there and, at the firing distances involved, the movement of the crew and running out the gun would probably not have been all that discernable. Furthermore, for the purposes of concealment, canvas curtains painted the color of the rock face would be much more effective.
 
I was hoping RN vet could explain with certainty what those things are. 

This is a gun station cut into the living rock of Gibraltar. Note the "curtain" of lines hanging from the bar in front of the gunport.  Does anybody know what they are called or what purpose they actually serve? I've never seen anything like them before. 
 
 

I considered and discarded all the explanations mentioned, save this one. The trouble I have with it, though, is that as soon as a black powder cannon was fired from that embrasure, it would be pretty obvious that it was there and, at the firing distances involved, the movement of the crew and running out the gun would probably not have been all that discernable. Furthermore, for the purposes of concealment, canvas curtains painted the color of the rock face would be much more effective.
 
I was hoping RN vet could explain with certainty what those things are. 

Concealment of the exact location of the embrasure. Also hides the the movement of the crew and the running out of the gun.

This is a gun station cut into the living rock of Gibraltar. Note the "curtain" of lines hanging from the bar in front of the gunport.  Does anybody know what they are called or what purpose they actually serve? I've never seen anything like them before. 
 
 

This is a gun station cut into the living rock of Gibraltar. Note the "curtain" of lines hanging from the bar in front of the gunport.  Does anybody know what they are called or what purpose they actually serve? I've never seen anything like them before. 
 
 

She's a beauty. Nothing to do to her except lounge about and sip 5 o'clock martinis. 
 
 Bob, let's go in halves on this one. This is the one to buy if money REALLY doesn't matter.
 
 https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1902-herreshoff-gaff-cutter-7731399/

There's another NY30 on the market for $390,000, so you can draw your own conclusions as to the condition of the one on eBay for $112,000. ( 1905 Herreshoff New York 30 Antique and Classic for sale - YachtWorld ) She's probably due for a major rebuild. These beautiful classic boats are worthy of major rebuilds, but few can justify putting the mid-six figures necessary into doing so. The higher priced one had 95% of her frames and floor timbers replaced, a new interior and decks and deckhouse done in a major rebuild about six or eight years ago, and that work probably cost quite a bit more than it would have to simply have built another one completely new. A lot of money for that much boat, but if you want to rub shoulders with the high and mighty at the NYYC, that's the price of admission, I suppose.
 
There's not much to see below on these old time class racers. They would built lightly and with Spartan accommodations. The furniture as designed is elegant in its simplicity, but not intended for "company." These were essentially large "day sailers" intended for racing only.
 
 

Just make sure the paint-covered mixer is in the jar of water or thinner before you start spinning it. (Don't ask me how I know this!  )
 
For those who may be new to painting, it should be understood that most all "coatings," (paints and varnishes) will require "conditioning" before use. Paint that is "thick" is often an indication of good quality, since it is the pigment that causes the consistency and it's the pigment that's the most costly ingredient in the paint. Thin paint just contains more cheap solvent ingredients. Why anybody would buy thinned paint for airbrushing at the same price as thicker "regular" paint is beyond me.  It's sort of like buying a fifth of pre-mixed "bourbon and water" for the same price as a fifth of 80 proof!  
 
Paints, particularly, are almost never suitable for use "right out of the can" and will require "conditioning" regardless of whether it's to be applied by brushing or spraying, Conditioning usually at least consists of thinning, but can also include adding "levelers" or "retarders" which retard drying or "driers" which accelerate drying. Thinners for acrylics are generally water and alcohol in various proportions. (Adding water to acrylic coatings is often a bad move, since the water takes a while to evaporate and can end up making a mess. Alcohol is preferred, particularly for airbrushing, because it evaporates quickly.)
 
 

Just make sure the paint-covered mixer is in the jar of water or thinner before you start spinning it. (Don't ask me how I know this!  )
 
For those who may be new to painting, it should be understood that most all "coatings," (paints and varnishes) will require "conditioning" before use. Paint that is "thick" is often an indication of good quality, since it is the pigment that causes the consistency and it's the pigment that's the most costly ingredient in the paint. Thin paint just contains more cheap solvent ingredients. Why anybody would buy thinned paint for airbrushing at the same price as thicker "regular" paint is beyond me.  It's sort of like buying a fifth of pre-mixed "bourbon and water" for the same price as a fifth of 80 proof!  
 
Paints, particularly, are almost never suitable for use "right out of the can" and will require "conditioning" regardless of whether it's to be applied by brushing or spraying, Conditioning usually at least consists of thinning, but can also include adding "levelers" or "retarders" which retard drying or "driers" which accelerate drying. Thinners for acrylics are generally water and alcohol in various proportions. (Adding water to acrylic coatings is often a bad move, since the water takes a while to evaporate and can end up making a mess. Alcohol is preferred, particularly for airbrushing, because it evaporates quickly.)
 
 

It depends on your living/ modeling accommodations.  If you live where you have space and the noise will not bother others, here in the USA Home Improvement (DIY Stores) sell inexpensive portable air compressors with integral air tanks.  Air tanks are usually 2-5 gallons.  Maximum pressure is usually about 125psi.  These compressors are fitted with pressure switches that turn the compressor on and off to keep the tank full. Mine also has a regulator that allows you to “dial in” the pressure that you need.  Air brushes usually operate at 25-35psi.  These are usually “store brands”; made in China and labeled with the store’s trademark.  Mine cost about $100 US.  Most airbrush brands sell adaptors to connect the airbrush hose to a standard compressor outlet size.  See what your DIY store offers.
 
Roger
 
 

That's true. The books cited are for earlier rope-stropped blocks. The ship-smithing is obvious. a rod of suitable length would be formed with a pointed end and then bent to the shape of the hook desired. (The tip of the hook is bent outward from the shaft of the hook to hold the mousing as might be required to keep the hook from coming loose in use.) If used, thimbles would be attached to the hooks when the eye was formed. Thimbles are simply a section of metal tubing flared at either end. Thimbles were frequently made of soft metal such as copper or even lead, as their purpose was to prevent the chafing of the rope eye worked around the thimble. A block would be stropped with a strop large enough that the thimble could be secured to the strop by a throat lashing between the block and the thimble. Later metal stropped blocks would have a metal eye fashioned in the metal strop and a hook attached with a shackle. Blocks with hooks were in the minority, since the only need for a hook on a block would be for a block that needed to be disconnected on a regular basis such as for tackles.
 
As mentioned, there are various options for such construction, but the period will dictate which practices were most common at that time. 
 

 
Here's the "how to" from Ashley's Book of Knots which should answer some of your questions:
 

 
And this from Hervey Garret Smith's The Arts of the Sailor:
 
 

 
Everything you need to know about rigging of any period is in a book somewhere. Each period has its "go-to" reference volumes. You will find it very helpful to acquire whichever reference works are relevant to the period of the model you are building. (Most are available new or used in reprints and occasionally online PDF's.) Asking questions on internet forums may get you pointed in the right direction, but, if you think about it, if you don't know the answer, it's pretty hard to know whether the answer you get from an online "expert" is the correct one, isn't it? 
 
 
 

It really depends upon the historical period you're talking about. That will determine the construction details of the block which will determine the options for attaching a hook to it. Modernly, not infrequently, a shackle is used to connect an eye hook to the frame of an iron-stropped block. For earlier technology, you may find these contemporary treatises helpful.
 
TheArtOfRigging-Steel.pdf (thenrg.org)
 
The art of rigging (thenrg.org)
 
The Rigging of Ships: in the Days of the Spritsail Topmast, 1600-1720 (Dover Maritime): Anderson, R. C.: 0800759279609: Amazon.com: Books

Your taste in books looks as good as your taste in tools.  That's an excellent set.

Kits? Who needs kits with that set-up? You have everything you need for scratch-building! Wonderfully equipped shop. I wish you'd given us some warning, though. If I knew you were going to buy all that stuff ahead of time, I'd have bought stock in Proxxon and made a few bucks in the stock market!  

No, you are not having a senior moment! It would be difficult to do, as only the 'dead flat' in the end-on elevation drawing is given. Yes, you have the sheer (in elevation) and half-breadth (in plan) as well, but that tells you nothing about the changing sectional shapes. They may be inferred from the planking runs - if accurately drawn - but that is a s much as one can squeeze out of that plan. 
 
Perhaps a similar lifeboat drawing that has the station sections might help.

I’m afraid in my workshop practices I’ve never lost the “beat to fit” mentality from building things as a teenager!  Cutting the glass ahead of time and then building the case to fit it is great idea.
 
Roger

I have a set of those Craftsman molding cutters, too. I've found they work better than a router, too.  
 
I specify dimensions for the glass and have it on hand before I start to build the frame. It's a lot easier to cut the frame to fit the glass than to try to re-cut the glass to fit the frame! I  always keep models out of direct sunlight, but along the way I found that UV-shielded picture frame glass didn't cost a whole lot more than window glass.
 

That's true. The books cited are for earlier rope-stropped blocks. The ship-smithing is obvious. a rod of suitable length would be formed with a pointed end and then bent to the shape of the hook desired. (The tip of the hook is bent outward from the shaft of the hook to hold the mousing as might be required to keep the hook from coming loose in use.) If used, thimbles would be attached to the hooks when the eye was formed. Thimbles are simply a section of metal tubing flared at either end. Thimbles were frequently made of soft metal such as copper or even lead, as their purpose was to prevent the chafing of the rope eye worked around the thimble. A block would be stropped with a strop large enough that the thimble could be secured to the strop by a throat lashing between the block and the thimble. Later metal stropped blocks would have a metal eye fashioned in the metal strop and a hook attached with a shackle. Blocks with hooks were in the minority, since the only need for a hook on a block would be for a block that needed to be disconnected on a regular basis such as for tackles.
 
As mentioned, there are various options for such construction, but the period will dictate which practices were most common at that time. 
 

 
Here's the "how to" from Ashley's Book of Knots which should answer some of your questions:
 

 
And this from Hervey Garret Smith's The Arts of the Sailor:
 
 

 
Everything you need to know about rigging of any period is in a book somewhere. Each period has its "go-to" reference volumes. You will find it very helpful to acquire whichever reference works are relevant to the period of the model you are building. (Most are available new or used in reprints and occasionally online PDF's.) Asking questions on internet forums may get you pointed in the right direction, but, if you think about it, if you don't know the answer, it's pretty hard to know whether the answer you get from an online "expert" is the correct one, isn't it? 
 
 
 

I have a set of those Craftsman molding cutters, too. I've found they work better than a router, too.  
 
I specify dimensions for the glass and have it on hand before I start to build the frame. It's a lot easier to cut the frame to fit the glass than to try to re-cut the glass to fit the frame! I  always keep models out of direct sunlight, but along the way I found that UV-shielded picture frame glass didn't cost a whole lot more than window glass.
 

Your taste in books looks as good as your taste in tools.  That's an excellent set.

I have a set of those Craftsman molding cutters, too. I've found they work better than a router, too.  
 
I specify dimensions for the glass and have it on hand before I start to build the frame. It's a lot easier to cut the frame to fit the glass than to try to re-cut the glass to fit the frame! I  always keep models out of direct sunlight, but along the way I found that UV-shielded picture frame glass didn't cost a whole lot more than window glass.
 

I have a set of those Craftsman molding cutters, too. I've found they work better than a router, too.  
 
I specify dimensions for the glass and have it on hand before I start to build the frame. It's a lot easier to cut the frame to fit the glass than to try to re-cut the glass to fit the frame! I  always keep models out of direct sunlight, but along the way I found that UV-shielded picture frame glass didn't cost a whole lot more than window glass.