Glenn-UK

Just in time to order after I have finished the Harpy

I have placed an order

Another masterclass in building. I am looking forward to building the Harpy

Great news. I will be placing an order for the Harpy.

Build Log Index Date: 08/11/2024 Time worked today: 4 hours. Total time spent on build: 124 hours. Futtock Staves and Catharpins I have started to add the futtock staves and catharpins. When adding the futtock staves I used the quad hands to hold the staves in place. I did use a template to make to help position the staves. It was then a case of securing the stave to the shrouds. In the photo below I have secured the staves both ends. I did secure the stave to the middle two shrouds after I took the photo The quad hands were used when adding the catharpins. With the one end of the catharpin thread wrapped around the stave I was able to add the seizing. It did not take two long to complete the process. The next task was to add the ratlines. I used a template for this. I added the ratlines above the stave first. I did mark the template to help with the positioning. When adding the ratlines added all the 1's followed by all the 2’s and then finally all the 3’s. The final task is to add the futtock shrouds, these have been prepared and are ready to be installed.

Build Log Index Date: 05/11/2024 Time worked today: 4 hours. Total time spent on build: 120 hours. Topsail Stays To start this post I have attached a photo showing the current build status of my adder. I have now added the topsail mast stays and the back stays. The topsail stays are belayed to the deck via a two block arrangement. The lower block is a single block secured to the deck (main) and hull (fore) via an eyebolt. The inter-block rigging is added to these blocks via an thimble. A double block is added to the end of the stays. I started the process by adding the double block to each of the stays. To do this I make a loop in the stay. The loop is then closed around the block and its position can be adjusted up or down the stay as necessary. As can be seen in the next photo I am checking the position which is just about where I want it to be. Once I was happy with the positioning of the block a second set of seizing was then added. Once that was done the single blocks were seized to the eyebolts and then secured to the deck / hull. Adding and belaying the inter-block rigging was then a straightforward task. The belaying of the main and fore mast stays have also been completed. And finally another photo of the Adder I will now start work on adding the topgallant masts and shrouds.

Build Update I have had an enforced 3 week break from building this model. It started when I had an offer to sell my model of the Indy. I took a few days to dust her down and to build a suitable shipping frame. I also hand painted the figure of Captain Pellow. Unfortunately she suffered some damage when the buyer tried to fit her in his car,. It then took me a week to repair the damage, which required two new topgallant masts (Main and Fore) and then removing and then replacing all the topgallant mast and yard rigging. I also had a weeks holiday in France in the middle of all of this mayhem. The repaired Indy has now been delivered to the buyer intact, using a specialist delivery company (Lenspeed). Therefore today I was finally able to return to the Adder build and I will be able to start posting my progress later this week.

Harpy methinks might be next 🤔

Sad to see her go, but I had no room for her and happy that she has gone to a place to be displayed.

Many thanks, once I had managed to release the remaining bits of the damaged masts from the caps I was able to work methodically to redo the rigging. The hardest task was to remove the topgallant shrouds from the belaying points.

Goodbye To My Indy I was approached recently to see if I would be interested in selling my Indy. As I did not really have the space for her I was more than happy to let her go. There was not quite enough room in his transport when he came to pick the Indy and sadly the main and fore topgallant mast suffered damage, as can be seen in the photo below. I could have cried and thought a trip to the local tip was on the cards. He was still very keen to have the model so I set about repairing all the damage. I had to make and fit two new topgallant masts. Next I had to redo all the damaged rigging, such as the shrouds, jeers, lifts, braces, stays, back stays, etc. This was a nightmare to do due to the limited access. After a few days hard work the repairs were complete, and most people will be hard pressed to see the repair. The Captain looked impressed. Next I transferred the Indy to a transport shipping frame which should prevent lateral and longitudinal movement. The inner faces of the blocks were felt lined. The client then used a specialist transport company, called Lenspeed. They were fantastic, taking great care to load and adding additional damping and strapping to prevent unwanted movement / vibration during the 2 hours drive. I was a bit sad to see her go, but very happy knowing she has gone to a good home where she will be appreciated.

I'm currently enjoying a cruise on the river Seine. Today I visited Honfleur, an old port town used by sailing ships, and discovered a wooden church built by the boat builders. As can be seen in the attached photo the church roof does look like the bottom hull of a ship.

Build Log Index Date: 09/10/2024 Time worked today: 4 hours. Total time spent on build: 116 hours. Topsail Mast Shrouds Part 2 Work has continued with the topsail mast shrouds. Following on from my last post the next stage in the process was to quickly check the shrouds with the lanyards to see if any further adjustments are necessary. I am using clamps to hold the strops in place for the time being. Happy with how they were looking I went ahead to glue the strops in place and then completed the shroud seizing. When I did the next test fit typically one of the shrouds did not look very good and I did notice its deadeye was upside down. Pity I did not notice a more fundamental problem. More on that later in this post. A block has to be fitted between the first and second shrouds which is used for the yard lifts. It is easier to fit these blocks before the shrouds are fitted. With the block placed between the first two shrouds it is held in position using my quad hands so the seizing could be added. When I started to complete the rigging I finally noticed that I had made a big school boy error when I added the deadeyes to the strops. The deadeyes were pretty firm in the strops, and I was unable to rotate some of them when I tried. I then tried to release the strops from the platform, using a bit of acetone to loosen the glue. I ended up damaging the platform edge when I finally released the first strop. Therefore I have decided to live this error for this model, as once built it will not be on display.

Build Log Index Date: 06/10/2024 Time worked today: 4 hours. Total time spent on build: 112 hours. Topsail Mast Shrouds Part 1 As is the norm over recent weeks I seem to be doing plenty of rework. Some is due to silly errors on my part and some due to my completed work could be done much better. This theme has continued with my work on the topsail mast shrouds. I started the process by cutting the required lengths for all the topsail shrouds and then proceeded to make the loops so they could be added to the topsail mast. So far so good! When I did a test fit of the shrouds, I noted two problems. When looking at the next photo the two problems are: a) The shrouds are sitting on top of each other, and it is not possible to position them side by side. The reason for this problem is the seizing thread used was to thick b) The seizing also needs to be positioned to just below the crosstrees as there not enough room between the crosstrees otherwise. The seizing was redone using thinner 0.1mm black thread and looks much better. With the seizing was positioned below the crosstrees it looks much better on the Indy. When adding the deadeyes to the shrouds I have opted to try a new method, which is detailed below. Step 1 – Make a loop and position in the quad hands. Step 2 – Use a simple crossover knot start to the seizing Step 3 – Loop the seizing thread around and make a second crossover knot Step 4 – Repeat step 3 once again. Step 5 – Adjust the position of the loop to the required position. Step 6 – Close the loop around the deadeye and adjust the position as necessary. Step 7 – Check position of the deadeyes are level using the quad hands. Step 8 – After a test fit on the Adder to check the deadeyes are in the right position and look level with each other add the additional seizing. Note: I did test fit the lanyards to check the deadeye positions were OK. I will add more photos when I am ready to add the lanyards.

Thanks for the info Chris. I am planning to buy Harpy VM/17/XL option when it is becomes available. Glenn-UK