Bob Cleek

It looks Australian.
 
   

If your going to stay with this hobby don't buy tools till you need them and then buy the best you can afford. 
This is the advice I got years ago and it's done well by me.

As mentioned, There are 56 curves in the standard Copenhagen curves set. There are many other types of curves, sometimes called "French" curves. These can be found in the old K&E catalogs, one of the more recent ones from the 1930's is found at http://archive.org/stream/pricelistcatalog00keuf#page/231/mode/1up  The curves begin at page 231. The Copenhagen curves are at page 234 and following.
 
The short answer is that, yes, you just have to "try and fit" to get the right curve. The method of use is illustrated below. A curve is defined by a series of "points" (dots) which would in the case of a ship's lines, come from the Table of Offsets, or from measurements from original plans, if one were copying those (usually when changing the scale of the drawing, generally using a pair of proportional dividers.) When the points are laid out, the curves are selected so that they coincide with as many points as possible. sometimes points will be out of position slightly and this indicates that the curve defined by the points is not fair, in which case, the curve will define the fair curve. The curve should "touch" at least three points and preferably more. A French curve is being used to draw the curve in the illustration below. The illustration is of the use of a single French curve. There is no rule against using multiple curves. They are designed to be used that way, such that if they touch at least three points in common, the two curves will define a fair curve when joined at such an overlap. It can be seen that in "A" below, the curve is touching points one through 4. The line would be drawn that far and then, in the illustration, another curve section of the French cure is used to draw points 3, 4, and 5, and in "C" has been manipulated again to draw from point 5 to point 6, and in "D" to draw between 6 and 7, in "E," using the inside of the curve, to draw from point 7 to point 9 and finally in "F" moving the curve again to draw the line from point 9 to point 11, thus drawing the shape intended with a fair curve. In each instance, the curve was moved to see if it fit a number of points. The "eyeballing" to fit the curve isn't as complicated as one might imagine, except in complex curves like the one illustrated below which required six segments to be drawn from six positionings of the curve. Working with lines drawings, it's not too difficult to find a curve, or collection of curves, to meet your needs.
 
 
 

 
When inking drawings, which in the old days was done with India ink and a "ruling pen," the draftsmen would tape coins or washers to the face of the curves being used so that the edge of the curve was raised slightly above the paper or drafting linen. This space prevented ink "wicking" beneath the edge of the curve and ruining the drawing.  Curved lines were drawn using curves with a "curve pen," which had an offset nib which swiveled on a rod running through the center of the handle. This feature kept the pen point always "trailing" and oriented parallel to the edge being used. In this fashion, the width of the curved line would always be the same, being the distance set by adjusting the space between the nibs. The pen on the left in the picture below is a single point curve pen. The two middle pens pictured below are "railroad" curve pens which, by means of a double pointed head, will draw two curved lines simultaneously and as wide and as far apart as the user wishes to adjust them. All three curve pens can be used as regular ruling pens by tightening the knob at the end of their handles. This prevents the heads from swiveling when its tightened down. The third pen pictured is a drop point compass pen which is designed to ink very small circles. The needle point plunges down the center tube and the pen point rotates around the needle point on the tube. These were also called "rivet pens," because they were originally designed and used for drawing rivets in iron construction drawings. 

 
 
 

You and me both! I've also got complete sets of K&E French curves, engineers' curves, and "railroad" and "highway" radius curves. I've got a fair number of "doubles" to the ship's and French curve sets. I had to buy "odds and ends" in lots before I got all of them. I built them up over a period of three years or so when the stuff started appearing on eBay and before collecting it got really popular. I built quite a collection of top-of-the-line K&E Paragon drafting instruments. It started when I first bought a K&E Paragon planimeter to calculate displacement and I went downhill from there.  I finally "admitted I had a problem" and "got into rehab" when the prices started climbing exponentially. 
 

Normally beams rest on the deck clamps. These are ledges that run longitudinally inside the frames. Beams are placed where needed to frame deck openings etc., and are independent of the framing. I recommend you look at  either Londgridge's The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships, Goodwin's The Construction and Fitting of the Sailing Man of War 1650 -1850, or the series of books on the fully framed model by Antscherl.

It looks Australian.
 
   

From early in the 20th century, there was also Boucher (later Boucher-Lewis and then BlueJacket) who apparently provided kits as well as being a high quality model shop that may have inspired what A.J.Fisher provided in their kits.  The quality described suggests that the price may have also been quality.  

IMHO Jagger’s post and Bob Cleek’s response is right on.  I do have one historical quibble.  In the 1930’s and 40’s A.J. Fisher located in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan did produce high quality kits based on, for the time, accurate historical information; much from HAMMS drawings.  Hulls were solid wood. I don’t know if they were machine carved or perhaps they furnished band sawed lifts to be laminated.  
 
Fittings were very high quality, mostly machined brass, to scale, and looking like real ship fittings; no bowling pin belaying pins.  Other fittings like ladders and rigging blocks were fabricated from tiny pieces of real boxwood.  Even the white metal castings have aged well without lead disease.  The two models built by my father are almost 80 years old.
 
 
Roger
 
 

Jaager's historical narrative certainly seems accurate. I'd add the theory, as to European manufacturers particularly, that packaging may have been a factor in their favoring plank-on-bulkhead hull construction. Carving hulls out of large, flawless, prime basswood blocks meant that the manufacturer had to pass the cost of all the waste wood to the customer and had to box the solid hulls in larger boxes. The plank-on-bulkhead models eliminated much of the expense of the carving waste and the expensive machinery to do it, reducing the materials to some thin ply, dowels, and strip wood. All of that could be packaged in a smaller flat box that took up much less volume when shipping the European kits to the Americas and meant more available space on retailers' shelves. Those who recall the old Model Shipways "yellow box" solid hull models will be familiar with this difference.

I think Rob and Henry are correct. Lines that take a great strain, such as sheets and lifts would not be run through fairleads on the stays.
 
I believe Underhill actually says it was common for buntlines and clewlines to be belayed to the same pin. These lines normally have no strain on them  and they are always used together. He also mentions that these lines from the same sail may run through holes in the same fairlead on a stay.
 
Sometimes braces on topsail schooners are lead through fairleads on stays in order to route them away from gaffs that must be free to swing outboard.

They are "Lizzards"

Lines that were to be handled together, such as your bunt and leech lines, would often be belayed on the same pin, as you would never be working these lines singly.
 
Regards,
 

Hi folks, I have a follow up to the initial question.  Thanasis shows the fairleads that were probably used in HMCSS Victoria in the third option of his post above.  Harold Underhill confirms this and also supplies a probable fairlead rigging plan in his book "Masting and Rigging the Clipper Ship and  Ocean Carrier".  However, while implied in several books, there is not a clear statement made as to whether the bundles of lines leading through these fairleads go to a single belaying pin, or separate pins.  The respective rigging plans suggest/imply they belay to a single pin (usually as a group/bundle of three lines, including any combination of the following - 2 x bunt lines plus one other line being either a leech, clew or downhaul).
 
Does this make sense to have these lines (usually of small diameter cordage than other running rigging) belay to a single pin?
 
cheers
 
Pat
 

Many times the lines passing through fairleads were running lines that controlled the sails..not the yards.  Such as leach lines and bunt lines.  These smaller numerous lines could number up to 20 per side per mast.  That's a lotta belaying down on deck.
 
Rob

From my library.
Thx

That was exactly also my understanding of the term.
 
And my memory served my right, there are various illustrations in Underhills 'Masting and Rigging': Figure 87 on p. 85 shows the thing and plates 36, 37, and 38 shows how they are used to keep running rigging from the higher yards close the shrouds and out of the way of lower yards.
 
These thingies, that look a bit like the old-time wooden sewing thread bobbins, have a groove along their length of the diameter of the shroud and, according to requirement, up to four holes lenghtwise.

My understanding of a fairlead on a shroud is a wooden or metal bullseye (similar to a thimble, but longer) that is lashed to the shroud to lead a running line through on its way down to the deck.

Those are called Lizards. But I've never seen them as big metal rings before. A Lizard is used in the bight of a line that may otherwise foul or chafe on something. Usually it's just an eyesplice or bowline knot in the end of a bit of line that the other line passes through somewhere off the deck.The length and position of the Lizard holds the middle of the line in check so it won't whip around or get into some area it shouldn't. Often seen on docklines to keep the hanging portion of the line from snagging shoreside objects. It's a fairlead in general. 

Just had another thought, Pat (I have some occasionally)!  Late 19th/early 20th century sailing ships often had bullseye fairleads lashed to the shrouds to lead some of the light running rigging from aloft to the pin rail.  Is that, perhaps, what he's talking about?
 
John

Hi Pat;
 
I would be very dubious that shrouds were ever led through a fairlead.  The stress on the fairlead would be quite high.  I have never seen a shroud led in any other way than straight to a dead-eye,  without anything inbetween. 
 
My interpretation is that the diagram above shows a plan of the shrouds (4 of them) and two topmast backstays,  with a pin rail inside the bulwarks,  or possibly on the shrouds themselves.
 
There are then also fairleads on the first two or three shrouds through which ropes 100-102 are reeved.
 
All the best.
 
Mark P

I suspect that on the return voyage the coopers tended to the barrels. They may well have required some maintenance after being filled and stowed in the hold. They were known to leak on occasion. Hoops needed to be set down to tighten them occasionally.  Just a guess, though. I've no historical authority to cite.

I suspect that on the return voyage the coopers tended to the barrels. They may well have required some maintenance after being filled and stowed in the hold. They were known to leak on occasion. Hoops needed to be set down to tighten them occasionally.  Just a guess, though. I've no historical authority to cite.

Rather than sanding, I would scrape the affected area with a scraper and see if a careful reapplication of stain can repair the problem before getting into removing the piece. 
 
Thanks for reminding me of another reason why I hate using CA unless it's absolutely necessary. Even if CA might not have been the culprit.

It looks Australian.
 
   

It looks Australian.