Bob Cleek

At the risk of precipitating a complete nervous breakdown at this point... 
 
I'm just curious. Is that sink's drain well above the waterline at maximum heeling angle or no? If not, you'll have to equip the sink drain with a check valve, siphon breaking loop, and a pump to empty it out after use. Will the pump be manual or electric?

Those options are also available. It's a matter of preference. I prefer a mechanical transfer of measurements because there is less opportunity for error and less thinking that has to go into it. With a mechanical measurement, any error is immediately apparent by a simple visual comparison, as well. At the end of the day, though, it boils down to what one is used to doing. Manual drafting is a skill I picked up when I was a kid in high school and, while I'm not anything near a professional draftsman, it's always been a quick and comfortable way to do the job for me. I've amassed a considerable collection of drafting instruments over the years just for the enjoyment of it. I have complete sets of Copenhagen ships curves, French curves, engineering curves, and "railroad" and "highway" curves (which have fixed radii.) I use the railroad curves for drawing deck and cabin top cambers conveniently, not often, but I've got them when I do. Similarly, I have an Omicron ellipsograph, which draws elipses to measured dimensions. I've only used it once or twice, but if I ever have to draw an elliptical stern, I'm good to go.  
 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_904482
 
I have a couple of different "dotting pens," which will draw inked dotted and dashed lines in a variety of configurations. One can draw dots and dashes along a rule easily enough, but the elegance of the tools devised a century or more ago to do the job is fascinating.
 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_904301
 
 
I've also got a compensating polar planimeter which measures the area of irregular planes. A planimeter is used to calculate hull displacement, sail area, wetted surface, and things like that from lines drawings. Not something the average modeler would ever need to have, but it's another fun old instrument rendered obsolete by CAD these days which can be picked up for fifty bucks or less on eBay if one is so inclined. 
 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1214998
 
If one is a kit builder, or limits their scratch-building to plans drawn for modeling, most of this stuff is probably of little interest, but for anyone who finds it necessary to draw their own plans for modeling purposes, some of it can be very handy, albeit on rare occasions. For myself, it's mainly just an affordable outlet for my innate acquisitiveness... just another thing to collect. 

The "metal spools" this chain comes on appear to be standard sewing machine bobbins. They're sort of like clamps... you can't have too many of them if you sew or have a planetary rope making machine. Handy little buggars. They make them in plastic and metal with the metal costing more than the plastic.
 
For those who may have the need, I recently learned that chain like this be annealed and drawn through a hardwood draw plate to reduce its size somewhat within limits. I came across "wooden draw plates" in a commercial jewelers' supply house catalog and had never heard of them before, which sent me searching for what they are for. I learn something new every day on the internet! The wooden chain draw plates are used to make the links oval-shaped and of uniform size after round rings are formed on a mandrel, cut and joined to make round-link chain. Reducing the diameter can make the oval shape of chain links longer which may result in more realistic chain for certain periods. 

The "metal spools" this chain comes on appear to be standard sewing machine bobbins. They're sort of like clamps... you can't have too many of them if you sew or have a planetary rope making machine. Handy little buggars. They make them in plastic and metal with the metal costing more than the plastic.
 
For those who may have the need, I recently learned that chain like this be annealed and drawn through a hardwood draw plate to reduce its size somewhat within limits. I came across "wooden draw plates" in a commercial jewelers' supply house catalog and had never heard of them before, which sent me searching for what they are for. I learn something new every day on the internet! The wooden chain draw plates are used to make the links oval-shaped and of uniform size after round rings are formed on a mandrel, cut and joined to make round-link chain. Reducing the diameter can make the oval shape of chain links longer which may result in more realistic chain for certain periods. 

The "metal spools" this chain comes on appear to be standard sewing machine bobbins. They're sort of like clamps... you can't have too many of them if you sew or have a planetary rope making machine. Handy little buggars. They make them in plastic and metal with the metal costing more than the plastic.
 
For those who may have the need, I recently learned that chain like this be annealed and drawn through a hardwood draw plate to reduce its size somewhat within limits. I came across "wooden draw plates" in a commercial jewelers' supply house catalog and had never heard of them before, which sent me searching for what they are for. I learn something new every day on the internet! The wooden chain draw plates are used to make the links oval-shaped and of uniform size after round rings are formed on a mandrel, cut and joined to make round-link chain. Reducing the diameter can make the oval shape of chain links longer which may result in more realistic chain for certain periods. 

Druxey - I love the smell of burning bone in the morning.  It smells like . . . like the dentist’s chair!  Or like the Marathon Man “Is it safe?” scene, one of the truly nightmare moments in movie history. 
 
Meanwhile, back in the shipyard –
 
With the mainmast fully upright and lines tensioned I continued aft to the broken mizzen stay.  It was intact from where it was seized to the main mast up to just below where the mouse and eye would have been.  It appeared to be original, so one priority was to preserve it if possible.
 

 
At the upper end the loop around the masthead had broken on the starboard side just under the top.  The red arrow identifies the broken end.  There is a section missing, so it could not be salvaged.  When I went to remove it, the line all but crumbled away.  The crowsfoot was gone completely, though some shreds of line were still stuck in the holes in the edge of the top.   The euphroe was also missing but later found in an envelope of separated parts.
 

 
Examining the other side of the break under magnification confirmed that the stay was original.  The brown tuft looks, to me, to be made of vegetable fibers, meaning linen rather than cotton.  The lines and block that tie to it are part of the main topsail braces.   They are tied to the stay, run to single blocks on the ends of the spar, back through this double block tied to the stay, and then to belaying pins at either side of the deck.   From the changes in color around and through the block I’m sure that these are replacements.  But since they are tied to the original stay, I decided not to change them, although I will paint them to hide the while sections.
 

 
The puzzle here was figure a way to splice a replacement line to the remaining original stay.  It had to be done end to end without creating too large a bulge.  After looking at the end to be spliced I decided to try unlaying some line, leaving one long strand but cutting the other two short.  This would give me a reasonable gluing surface area while minimizing bulk.
 

 
First the lover section of the stay was given a coat of MC followed by a similar coat of thinned PVA.  I knew that I would be putting some stresses on it and I wanted it as strong and flexible as I could.  Then the mating surfaces were painted with PVA and lined up with each other.  I held them in place by hand until the glue set up.  Then I gently looped and tied two thin lines around the overlap.  Tightening them clamped the splice and reduced the bulge.  After glue dried the clamping lines were removed.  Despite my best efforts I wasn’t completely happy with the size of the splice, but I could not see another solution that was any better.
 

 
 The next day I looped the new line around the masthead, clipped it back on itself and seized it together.
 

 
I released the clip and cut off the excess line.  It looked OK but was a little skewed so I moved to center it, at which point this happened!
 

 
After some choice words I realized that this was a blessing, although in heavy disguise.  I had lost a day’s work, but now I was forced to get rid of the unsightly bulge.  I cut the topsail braces off and freed the double block for later use.  Then it was a relatively simple matter to seize some appropriate line around the main mast, then take it up and around the mizzen masthead, seizing it together as before.
 

 
 The crowsfoot next.
 
Dan

Odd that somebody would only be selling a single volume. (The volumes each address a specific geographic area.) The seven volume set was printed in a very limited edition and originally was sold for around $3,500.00 for the set. I've recently seen an unopened set for sale at $1,2500. https://www.abebooks.com/9780881430066/Historic-American-Merchant-Marine-Survey-0881430064/plp
 
 

Especially when working with powered drills and saws than can cause burning! Been there, done that, got the tee shirt!  

Especially when working with powered drills and saws than can cause burning! Been there, done that, got the tee shirt!  

It still doesn't sound like you're entirely clear on the concept. 1. Put your hand drill motor in a vise.  2. Put the dowel you will be using for the mast or boom in the chuck of your drill motor. 3. Hold the far end of the dowel with a piece of cloth or drill a hole in a piece of wood and rig a support for the outer end with clamps or whatever. 4. Turn on drill motor. 5. Run a sanding block with 120 grit or so up and down the length of the dowel to shape it. 
 
If you have the option of sending the Dremel drill press back where it came from for a refund, I'd say "Send it back!" I've never heard of anybody who had one that was satisfied with it. It simply lacks the rigidity to do the work at the tolerances modeling demands. Dremel mototools have their place and are useful for a lot of jobs, but Dremel's stands and attachments are often more in the "toy" category than in the "serious tool" category. Your mileage may vary, but I'd suggest if you are for whatever reason wedded to a Dremel mototool for power, you'd be dollars ahead to get a Vanda-Lay Industries drill press or  mill/drill set up and realize a much higher quality level of work. If you aren't wedded to the mototool for power, get a dedicated mini-drill press. 
 
Below are the Vanda-Lay drill press, and mill. the lower two photos are of the mill set up as a cut-off saw and as a wood lathe.  This system, powered by a Dremel mototool (any type) or a Foredom handpiece, is somewhat similar to the legendary Unimat DB/SL in concept. They are made entirely of CNC-cut aluminum and stainless steel and very nicely done. It's a family business and their service is prompt. Their prices are quite reasonable, in my opinion. Their drill press, and mill/drill/circular saw/lathe fill the need for machines that can turn out good work at a price point well below purchasing any dedicated machine tool in the same size range. The mill/drill has tremendous versatility. They make good sense for those who have yet to commit to investing thousands of dollars in a micro-machine shop full of dedicated tools.  https://www.vanda-layindustries.com/index.html
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 

Especially when working with powered drills and saws than can cause burning! Been there, done that, got the tee shirt!  

Especially when working with powered drills and saws than can cause burning! Been there, done that, got the tee shirt!  

Hi Bob this is what I meant but you are better with words than me.  If you use a piece of paper to measure the distance due to a curve then a calculator is or planking fan I think should be your next stop for planking.
 
This is my opinion too for what its worth.  A simple job that can become very overcomplicated when there is a very simple solution as you have suggested. 

Seems overkill using dividers to make the planking tic strip.    Just print one out from MSW and use that.  Or am I missing something?

As said above, there's no comparison between the Dremel MotoTool and the Foredom flex-shaft tools. I have several Dremels, which are handy for many jobs, but they can't hold a candle to the Foredom for modeling. (My wife finds the Dremel with a sanding drum mounted to be perfect for doing her show-dogs' toenails!) Dremel does have a lot of accessories for their MotoTool "platform," but, in my experience, they are pretty much junk, most lacking the rigidity to produce consistently accurate work. There are after-market providers of much better accessories which may be powered by either the Dremel MotoTool or the Foredom flex-shafts. (See: https://vanda-layindustries.com/) It's a lot easier to mount the 1" diameter Foredom flex-shaft to the tool post of your lathe for milling and grinding than it is the Dremel. ' Foredom has a large selection of hand pieces, including hand pieces for chisel carving, pencil sized ones for very fine work, and a mini-belt-sander, if one's so inclined. There's no comparison in terms of quality between Dremel and Foredom. There's no plastic anywhere on a Foredom tool, except perhaps the electric cord plug's body.
 
The Foredom products will cost more than the Dremels, but you do get what you pay for and, with the Foredom, you would be buying the "industry standard" tool for the job. The Foredom flex-shaft machines do come up on the used market. I got mine, with two hand pieces, from somebody on Craigslist, a local "flea market" website, for $75 and it's served me well for years. They seem to be a bit more on the used market currently, but you can still get a used Foredom for about what a new Dremel would run you. There are always some used Foredoms for sale on eBay. I recommend getting the clamp-on hanging stand for the Foredom motor. That keeps the flex-shaft out of the way of your workspace.
 
Keep in mind that the Dremel relies on speed for its effectiveness, while the Foredom flex-shaft tool relies on torque. Torque wins every time in that contest. The Foredom has a very convenient foot pedal speed control which, unlike the Dremels, will allow you to start slowly and work up to speed. With the Dremels, even if it has a speed control, you start it and it's instantly running at that speed until you change the speed or turn it off.
 
If you get a Foredom, be sure to get the hand piece that has the three-jawed chuck, as well as the basic collect-holding chuck (like the Dremel.) If you're moving up from a Dremel, all of your Dremel tooling will work in the Foredom without any problems.
 
If you plan to do fine carving, the control possible with the right Foredom hand piece is unequaled: 

 
 
 

Why not? If you're faithful to the prototype, your conscience is clear. I doubt it will cost you any points in a competition, that's for sure! The judges will be so overwhelmed by the gestalt of it all, they'll never notice that the prototype accommodation was built by a kitchen cabinetmaker and not a marine joiner.    
 
 

I'm sure I'd have driven Stirling and Sons batty if they were building her for me. I'd make sure they provided for ventilation in the locker doors as well, whether that were a decorative cut-out scroll sawed into the face of the door, a row of holes along the top edge, or a panel of bronze wire or woven cane mesh to make sure things in the locker didn't get all musty and moldy, too. 
 
True, a disguised swinging latch handle could be done, but from a stress distribution standpoint, that would probably be considered some pretty poor engineering. If one was thrown off balance by a wave while holding on to such a moveable handle, I'd expect it would be pretty easy to bend the shaft of the handle. I'd file that idea under "If it's such a good idea, how come nobody else thought of it before?"  The options pictured in the Toplicht and Davey and Co. catalogs have been "state of the art" since at least the late 1800's. I've probably been aboard hundreds of fine (and not so fine) yachts over the years. I've never seen a disguised "grab and twist" locker handle. They do make one like this, though:
 
 

 

 
https://www.toplicht.de/en/shop/innenbeschlaege/vorreiber-und-riegel/vorreiber/vorreiber-1
 
These are the sorts of details that the great designers like Nathaniel and L. Francis Herreshoff, Fife, Camper and Nicholson's, and J. Laurent Giles so enjoyed inventing, many of which became trademarks of the yachts they designed.
 
There's a lot of room for artistic license in modeling, so go for it! It's such an amazingly beautiful build. Wouldn't it be wonderful when it's done to be able to walk into one of the premier yards with it in hand and tell them, "Build me one just like it full size!" 

Parenthetically, my own "dream yacht," which will forever remain just that, in this life, at least, is Giles' Dyarchy, a cutter quite similar to your model. I have copies of all Giles' original drawings and a license to build one model of her. One of these years, I hope to do so. Your build log is plowing the hard soil ahead of me!
 

 

 
Your model's saloon reminds me of a very similar old British cutter I crewed on close to fifty years ago in a classic yacht race. As is often the case, the owners had no racing experience, and so recruited a bunch of us "young bucks" thinking we'd bring home the silver for them. As it wasn't our boat, we weren't particularly concerned about "babying" her. The owners lived aboard and, unbeknownst to us, the wife had a big bowl of soured milk covered with a dish towel out of which she was trying to make her own cheese. (I kid you not!) She'd stowed it chocked in with towels and whatever else on the pilot berth above and behind the saloon settee. As we were plowing along, we had to cross the wake of a large ship and, when we did, that bowl of curds and whey became airborne with quite a bit of velocity, flying across the saloon and coming to rest on the sole after bouncing off the base of the settee on the opposite side. It wasn't pretty, but the worst thing about for the crew was trying to keep a straight face while we continued to race along despite the cries of dismay from below!  
 

If I may be so bold as to presume to make another recommendation...
 
Such grab handles would not likely be seen on any well-found seagoing vessel. All accommodation lockers require positive latching mechanisms to keep them from flying open when the vessel heels in a seaway, especially when a locker's weighty contents are thrown against the door. (Magnets, spring clips, and spring-loaded detent balls are sometimes seen on power boats, but simply won't cut it on a sailing vessel that will routinely be thrashing around at a significant angle of heel.) Given the period, these may be a finger-hole through the door with an elbow latch behind it, so the the finger can be inserted to press down on a spring-loaded latch to unlatch the door, which would latch when pushed shut, or a "button knob" which was a knob with a button in the middle which, when pressed, released the spring-loaded latch. Less complex latches were also used, such at the usual barrel bolts and sliding or swinging bars.
 
Elbow catch for finger-hole access: 

Push-button knob locker latch (also available with a keyed locking mechanism.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Alternate, larger wardrobe latch:
 

 

 
Or, in keeping with your "theme," there are flush spring catches with finger ring pulls:
 

 

 
See generally:  Toplicht (Hamburg) https://www.toplicht.de/en/shop/innenbeschlaege/schnappverschluss-und-schnaepper/?p=3 and Davey and Co. (London) http://davey.co.uk/pdf/interior_fittings.pdf my favorite go-to sources for fine traditional yacht fittings (and priced like Tiffany's jewelry, unfortunately.)
 
 
 

The procedure is very simple  using a "tick strip." You take a strip of paper... (teletype "punch tape" or "ticker tape" used to be great for the purpose, but it's gone the way of the button hook these days) ... and lay it against the curved frame and mark ("make a tick") the lowest and highest points of the planking section on the tape. Then lay the tape flat and with your proportional dividers set to yield the number of plank seam divisions you require, you take up the overall length of the frame face from the tick strip with the "long legs" of your dividers. The opposite "short legs" of your dividers will yield the distance of equal plank widths on that frame length. Mark the frame lengths on your tick strip. Then take the tick strip and again position it on the frame face with the tick marks at the ends at the ends of the section of frame you want to lay out plank spacing for and transfer the rest of the tick marks to the frame face. Repeat for as many frames as you wish to divide. It's much faster than using a calculator and there's less opportunity for error because the proportional dividers require no calculation and the accuracy of the divisions yielded are easily checked by simply "walking" the points down the length of the distance to be divided. If the number of "steps" on the line ends with the point right on the last "tick" after taking the number of "steps" you desired, you know you haven't made any mistake in taking the original overall measurement.
 
 

Thanks much, Dan. I was concerned about the strength of bone in small dimensions. It also seems to vary with respect to its porosity. It seems, as well, that the balls and sockets of the knuckle joints seem to be less porous than the long bones. One of these days I'll play around with the material and see how it works. Perhaps it might serve for blocks, but I'll have to see.

Smith and Company's' Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (called in the trades "CPES" is a special penetrating epoxy sealer (not an epoxy adhesive) originally formulated for the conservation and restoration of decayed "gingerbread" on Victorian wooden structures. It took the wooden boat marine industry by storm about fifty years ago when it was invented. It's secret forumula is something much more than thinned epoxy adhesive, which some substitute for it. It's penetrating ability (it's about the consistency of water) is derived by it's very "hot" solvents. ("Apply only in a well-ventilated area.") I've used many gallons of it over the years restoring wooden boats. It would soak into that rigging, I'm sure, and bind it together as well as anything, and it does not leave a glossy sheen on the first coat, which is all you should need. It's a two part coating, mixed 50/50.  You can telephone Steve Smith, the inventor, and he is happy to advise customers on its many properties for use in many applications. It's sold in most decent marine chandleries these days, as well as some hardware stores. Many have tried to duplicate it, but only "CPES"(tm) is the real deal. I bet it would work very well on that rigging. It does not dry hard and brittle, but retains flexibility and I expect if it were formed as it dried, it would yield very realistic catenaries. 
 
See: http://www.smithandcompany.org/CPES/
 
From what I've seen of your descriptions of the condition of that rigging, it's really not long for this world and any that's preserved will simply break in short order. It's the customer's call, of course, but it seems more a candidate for a total re-rigging than for the restoration of the existing fiber components. Some material that will penetrate the existing rigging and form a matrix material is the only thing that's going to work at all. Just my take on it, but it's a really old model and that rigging seems to have lost any strength it ever had at this point. I'm watching with interest to see if it can be saved.
 
As the saying goes, "You're a better man than I, Gunga Din!"
 

Thanks much, Dan. I was concerned about the strength of bone in small dimensions. It also seems to vary with respect to its porosity. It seems, as well, that the balls and sockets of the knuckle joints seem to be less porous than the long bones. One of these days I'll play around with the material and see how it works. Perhaps it might serve for blocks, but I'll have to see.

If you have a moment, Dan... I know this is "business, not pleasure" for you...
 
Can you generally explain what is bone and what is ivory on this model? (I can't tell for sure from the photos.)
 
Does it make any difference what is bone and what is ivory, and if so what difference?
 
The reason I ask is because I've got a lot of bone handy and I've been musing about starting to use it for modeling. My wife breeds, trains, and shows champion basset hounds and we have a pack of anywhere from eight to a dozen living with us here at any one time. (We are AKC "Breeders of Merit" and ours is an AKC "Breed Preservation" kennel, not a for-profit commercial breeding kennel.) We buy sterilized beef bones wholesale in large quantities for the dogs. It seems to me it would be easy enough to cut some of these up to use for modeling purposes. (These bones are readily available at most pet stores, although large, straight leg bones may be a special order item in your local pet store.) With the diminishing availability of boxwood, not to mention its price, I'm thinking about alternatives.  

The procedure is very simple  using a "tick strip." You take a strip of paper... (teletype "punch tape" or "ticker tape" used to be great for the purpose, but it's gone the way of the button hook these days) ... and lay it against the curved frame and mark ("make a tick") the lowest and highest points of the planking section on the tape. Then lay the tape flat and with your proportional dividers set to yield the number of plank seam divisions you require, you take up the overall length of the frame face from the tick strip with the "long legs" of your dividers. The opposite "short legs" of your dividers will yield the distance of equal plank widths on that frame length. Mark the frame lengths on your tick strip. Then take the tick strip and again position it on the frame face with the tick marks at the ends at the ends of the section of frame you want to lay out plank spacing for and transfer the rest of the tick marks to the frame face. Repeat for as many frames as you wish to divide. It's much faster than using a calculator and there's less opportunity for error because the proportional dividers require no calculation and the accuracy of the divisions yielded are easily checked by simply "walking" the points down the length of the distance to be divided. If the number of "steps" on the line ends with the point right on the last "tick" after taking the number of "steps" you desired, you know you haven't made any mistake in taking the original overall measurement.
 
 

Agreed that the price isn't too bad.  I saw the same proportional divider listed on ebay a few weeks ago for 89.99.  It was sold within a few hours.  This posting has been up for at least three weeks so perhaps there is room for negotiation.
 
It's too bad about the divider, not only are they handy but the rest of the set and the case look to be in great condition considering.