rybakov

I've been working on the shrouds and the tackle for them. Woodrat was kind enough to send me drawings of the upper fastening of shrouds on various mediaeval Mediterranean lateeners, and I've based mine on these and other contemporary representations.
 
            
 
I used a clothes peg to hold the calcet upright so I could glue the shrouds at right angles to the sheave (i.e. on the sides of the mast)
 
        
 
It was a bit more difficult on the foremast because I'd already glued it in place, so I had to deal with it standing up instead of lying on the bench. And then I wrapped wooldings around mast and shrouds as in the contemporary representations above.
 
 
 
The next thing was to work on the tackle for the lower ends of the shrouds. Deadeyes were an Atlantic invention, and they didn't come into use in the Mediterranean until the 16th century. Instead, shrouds were held to the hull, and tension adjusted, by pairs of blocks - the lower block single-sheaved and the upper block double-sheaved. Single-sheaved blocks have been found on Byzantine wrecks, but I haven't come across any equivalent finds of double-sheaved blocks. However, triple sheaved blocks have been found, so I extrapolated/interpolated between the singles and triples to create what I believe a Byzantine double-sheaved block would have been like.
 
Threading these things is very fiddly, and they often act like fencing wire - they have a mind of their own and fly off in all directions right in the middle of the process, and get twisted so you thread through in the wrong direction and have to do it all again. So I adapted a method I've seen in setting up deadeyes, which get the tackles the same length and reduces the problem with twisting.
 
       
 
 
     
 

  
Rather than strops, the main rope is secured by passing through a hole in the block. I've then glued the rope in an eyelet to approximate the look of an eye-splice, which I believe is most likely how they were attached. The rope for the double-sheaved block is short and ends in a toggle. This will pass through an eye-splice in the main shroud, acting as a quick-release mechanism (this technique is still used on Mediterranean lateeners, though I haven't seen it used on shrouds). The free end of the rope from the single-sheaved block will pass through a ringbolt attached to the side of the hull and be tied off. This leaves the tackle between the blocks, which is used to adjust tension. The free end will  be belayed to a cleat near the ringbolt.
 
When I started organising all this I realised I'd made a mistake. There are in fact three different single-sheaved cleats that I've made copies of. The ones in the shroud tackle have a small through-hole at the end (see photo immediately above) to which the tackle between the blocks is belayed. Unfortunately, I used these ones for the tacks and vangs on the yards, when I should have used the other ones I'd made (which were identical except for the little hole in the end). So I had to undo all that work and swap the blocks around. Annoying, but it had to be done.
 
As I removed a pair of blocks I replaced it with the correct pair and then moved to the next pair. That way I didn't get things mixed up (very easy to do). I used a clothes peg to keep the yard upright, so the blocks would be hanging vertically from the ends of the yard.
 
      
 
And when the blocks had all been removed I was able to re-use them on the shrouds, which is where they were supposed to have been all the time.
 
More to come in due course.
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi,
thanks for your nice comments. And to all the others also a thank you for the many Likes.
Today I show step by step how I made these blocks.
The pictures speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

 
 

Shipbuilding Practice and Ship Design Methods
From the Renaissance to the 18th Century
MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
 
Multi language, covers a lot of subjects: design, construction, launching, models (!), national styles etc.
P245.pdf

I have heard that sentiment here and elsewhere, and it is my guiding ethos on this build.  My objective, always, is to maintain a standard that will allow the viewer to get up really close and scrutinize the work.  It isn’t that they won’t find flaws, errors or omissions, but they definitely won’t find any distracting sloppiness.
 
So, the knee extensions are glued-in, and I think the run of their sweep is fair and consistent.  I like the look of the raised bolsters around the hawse holes.
 
Given how fragile the artists’ acrylic, raw sienna was when I applied it - I was surprised at how difficult it was to scrape away from the glue areas, a year later.  Granted, there was a clear topcoat applied, but it took real effort to scrape the yellow, once you were past the topcoat.



There’s a little bit of putty work that still needs to happen, here, and then I’ll prime, paint and repair finishes in the bow area.
 
The beakhead deck is secure, now.  You can see the styrene fill, along the leading edge:


Filling that gap facilitated a natural camber which should be present, anyway.
 
Ultimately, I have decided that I will maintain the roundhouses.  While I agree with Chapman that they probably are not correct, the wrapping hull modification was complicated by the fact that this sweeping wrap extends up into the upper bulwarks.  Builders of this kit know that the upper bulwarks are separate pieces that I am nowhere near ready to install.  So, I think I will just avoid all of that, on this build, and look to install additional simple seats of ease.  Here are the roundhouses painted, but not installed:

I have not yet applied the walnut ink wash.  This red color, though, will be what I apply to the beakhead bulkhead, along the run of the main deck ports, selectively throughout the lower quarter galleries, and throughout the stern facade.  It is also an artist acrylic, proprietary mix for BLICK.
 
I’ve thinned it considerably with water, and the color lays down beautifully in thin coats.  I have found that the artists’ acrylics are hit or miss.  Fortunately, my blues are going to work!
 
I also picked up a bottle of the Tamiya X20 thinner for acrylics, and this helped with the application of my yellow ocher, so that was a great help.
 
I’m finishing up my starboard amortisement dolphins, and I was amazed to realize that they are about 1/32” taller than the port side:

Here, I have the P&S forward carvings back to back:

I double-checked the 90% reduction photo copies and there is no distortion from one side to the other.  They match up perfectly.  I can adjust this, so that both sides match, but it remains a mystery.
 
I have figured out what the process will be for making the false amortisement windows that go between these dolphin carvings.  Those will be my next small-work project, and I think they should be relatively straight-forward.
 
Here is the stock port headrail, as it currently aligns:

Unfortunately, I will not be able to use these; the headrails need to lap the hull by about another 1/4”, and there is no feasible way to stretch or modify these so that they look good and right.
 
Patterning new ones will enable me to correct the problem of the forward scroll rising up, alongside the sprit-mast, thus spoiling the line fairleads.  I will also be able to space the headrail vertical timbers (decorated with lyres in Berain’s drawing) so that they align with the headrail supporting timbers.  This way, I can space those supporting timbers, along the trailboard, in a way that makes sense.  Ultimately, I believe that I can graft the forward scroll and rear escutcheon onto the new headrails, thus saving an enormous amount of time.
 
If I can achieve all of that, I will have done justice to the bow.  Before I do my paint touch-ups, I’ll get busy extending the beakhead bulkhead and getting that in place.
 
Thank you all for looking in.  Enjoy this last week of the summer, as best you can!

I've finished re-making both the castles. 
 
        
 
 
I had to juggle the spacing between the castles and the pump - basically by slotting the inboard columns further into the body of each castle. Note that I've taken off the rear uprights of the side "walls" and moved them inward, and cut a slot into the back of each column where it crosses the floor structure, so the column sits flush with the back of the "wall".    
 
But now there's (just) enough room for someone to get between the pump and the castles on each side. I thought about removing the capitals from those columns so people wouldn't bash themselves against them, but when it's a contest between aesthetics and practicality, aesthetics has to win (ask Frank Lloyd Wright about his beautiful - but leaky - flat roofs!)
 

 
I decided to move the castles a little aft to allow more room for the oarsmen to swing, as mentioned by Landrotten Highlander above, and cut into a couple of the benches a little to allow the columns to slot in. It seems to be the best solution. 
 

 
Unless you look really carefully you can't see that it's been done, and the oarsmen look better without their reach being obstructed by the columns. I'm not quite ready to glue the castles in place - there are other things that need to be done first - but it will be soon.
 
   
 
 
But in other ways it hasn't been my day. I discovered I'd miscalculated the number of sheaves necessary for the halyard knights - I'm really rubbish at this sort of thing - the halyard block has three sheaves, but the knight needs four so the downhaul can be pulled horizontally back to the bitts. So I had to start again from scratch to make new knights each with 4 sheaves instead of three. That's three versions of each knight I've had to discard as the build has evolved.
 
And the fore knight was all finished  - in fact it had been glued in - when I realised there was something wrong. In drilling the sheave holes (with a hand drill) I'd somehow got them a bit skewiff so the rope which went into hole number three came out the other side at hole number two! And the same with holes four and three. There was nothing I could do about it - I had to pull the knight out (fortunately the glue was still wet ), trash it and start again. So that's yet another knight I've had to discard and re-make!
 
But now I've finally completed the fore knight - everything's now all square and ok - installed the tackle from it to the halyard block, glued the foremast in place and temporarily strung the block to the mast. The halyard itself and the rest of its tackle will be added later, but the knight and its tackle had to be done before the mast was glued in place.
 
   
 
I think I should have added the shrouds to the mast before I put it in, but in all the excitement I forgot. I think that can be remedied without too much trouble.
 
Finally, I've decided to go back to "version two" of the sail configuration, with the foresail hoisted and crewmen clinging to the yard unfurling the sail with the after sail, also furled, in the process of being hoisted up. So I get to use those figures I carved after all.
 
Today I asked my lovely wife to take photos of my hands as I pulled on a garden hose, pretending it was the halyard downhaul, so I could get the hands correct on the carved figures.
 
        
 
That's it for now. Next I have to make a new 4-sheave knight for the after halyard. Wish me luck!

two pieces of masts that claim to be original 🙂
 
HMS Victory 1803
 

 
Great Britain 1855 🙂
 

Other photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went ahead with the work on the rudder:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HI Gary, doesn't it feel good to be ahead of Wikipedia!🙂 And by the way, I was pointed by Alan (AON) to your posting on your stove, which I haven't looked at for some time. You did an an outstanding job on that, an inspiration!
 
A small update, but important to me. I finally installed both the spirketting and the quickwork on the port side of the bow. The quickwork was challenging, in having to fit between two existing pieces, with no room to maneuver, while at the same time dealing with constantly clamping to the curve as I tried to fit it. But it came out OK, including scribed planking you can just see. I have also temporarily put in the hawse hook, just to see the area where the hawse holes will finally come through. A couple of routed rabbets provide slots for the spirketting and quickwork to slide behind the hook while still leaving a surface for the hook to butt directly against the frames for a positive gluing connection.
 
Mark
 

 

HI eveyone,
 
Working away. I have installed the foremost port spirketting, using the idea from Rob Napier of SWOPEM (Situation Where One Piece Equals Many) in 18th century ship model construction. You can see the  hooked scarfs inscribed in the single spirketting piece, which allowed me to fit and stain this piece outside the model, then install for a clean line to the waterway. I will hide the vertical joints between these large spirketting pieces behind the standards.
 
Clamping was challenging; I made a shaped block for the outboard side at the centerline, which hooks over the stem to keep it in place while placing the clamp. I also had to use some pins in hidden places to keep the piece tight to the stem and to the waterway while putting the clamps in place.
 


 
While waiting for stain and glue to dry, I continued to work on the stove predating the Brodie stove. Here is all the information I have on my NMM plans for the Bellona ca. 1759:
 
 

 
It matches almost exactly in dimensions the stove shown in the NMM plans for the HMS Dorsetshire of 1757, which has more detail. Check out the massive nozzle to the left:

 
Note in both cases the 4" substance sitting between the stove and the deck below. Mark P.'s original contract from this pre-Brodie stove period clearly calls for a lead-lined tray shaped at the edges by cants around the stove, and says nothing about brick. Looking at the model of the Princess Royal of 1773, 20 years later than the Bellona but a little before the Royal Navy switch to the Brodie stove, the model indicates what Rob Napier interprets as masonry on the base, painted this nice cream color and with a roughly 1 foot square paving pattern (see below). But also notice that it has a black cant around the outer edge. This seems to accord with the drawings of the Bellona and the Dorsetshire. So I wonder if the brick sits over the lead tray but was not mentioned in the contract, or if there were several ways this was done before the Brodie stove, sometimes with lead only, sometimes with masonry.
 

 
Given the certain information of a contemporary model that is consistent with my Bellona drawing, I have decided to go with this attractive cream colored base. Whether it is masonry or not I will leave to the imagination of the viewer!
 
Now, on to some interesting details at the roasting end of the stove, on the right side of the elevation. In the Dorsetshire drawing, the fire grate for the roasting area sits to the right and at the base of the dotted curved line. It appears to be open all the way up to where the chimney starts to angle in. Right in the center of this open space appear to be four horizontal round bars seen as circles in this elevation.
 
We can also see these in the Rob Napier's photo of the Princess Royal stove, below. The location of these would seem to prevent the use seen later in the Brodie stove of arms that can be swung in and out of this fire for holding pots. Indeed, the Princess Royal stove seems to show a shallow pan at the top of the horizontal bars; was this for frying? The pan does not show in the Dorsetshire drawing.
 
Also, note in the Dorsetshire drawing 3 wiggly shapes projecting out from the face of the fire, with one, three and then two hooked shapes for holding a horizontal spit bar or bars, perhaps? they can's swing in over the fire, since the bars are in the way. Did they roast on spits hanging at different distances from the fire, to control the heat? There is definitely a tray for drippings under all of these spit bar holders. So were these wiggly projections just bolted onto the sides of the stove, like the simpler spit bar holders in the later Brodie stove? That will be my best guess at this point.
 

 
All for now!
 
Mark
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello,
at the 3rd attempt I made a real brass disc with a diameter of 1.7 mm and a thickness of 0.5 mm and inserted it into the block.
Compared to the imitated disks, the difference is only marginal and does not justify the additional effort. 
I will probably make the "fake block".

Ballast stones removed from between the barrels.
Karl
 

 

 

 

Production of the storage barrels in the individual work steps.
 
Although I didn't fill the entire storage room with it.
 
The ballast stones should actually be a bit smaller and more rounded,
but I didn't get them anywhere. Also works like that.
 
Gerard Delacroix once wrote to me,
Ballast stones were roughly the size of a walnut.
 
Ballast stones were mixed thoroughly with grinding ground sa an adhesive,
and filled up between the individual barrels.
 
Karl
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Hello and thanks to everyone for their kind comments.
 
Orlop Deck,
Dividing walls and pumps-shaft installed.
I leave the shaft partly open to show the pumps
and the cannonball shaft with its three diffrent calibres.
 
First gun deck,
partially planked to show the substructure.
 
Next I will probably install the ballast stones and storage barrels.
 
Karl
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

These upper knee extensions have been a real challenge to fit, so far.
 
A big part of the challenge is that I raised the upper knee a solid 1/32”, in order to buy a little extra space for the trailboard.  That modification, though, did result in the need to add and shim with new plastic.
 
One upgrade that I wanted to attempt was to raise the cheeks, surrounding the hawse holes, which I think I reasonably succeeded at.  In this reverse-engineering environment, it isn’t perfect, but I think it is passably better than stock.



Be well, and thank you for looking in!
 

Working on the very final pair of oarsmen. Arms carved and glued on, and holes drilled at the shoulders for bamboo pivots, to fix the arms firmly to the body and allow me to swivel the arms for best fit to the oarhandle without them breaking off:
 
     
 
 
Filler added - rather than try to get each pair of arms exactly right (an almost possible task fitting and re-fitting to both rower and angled oar-handle) I carved them so the hands fitted on the handle as close as I could make it, and allowed a bit of extra at the shoulder, and added filler to close up any discrepancies.
 
  
 
And trimmed to shape and sanded smooth
 
     
 
And finally, painted. 
 

 
And, at last, all the oarsmen in place! (breathes great sigh of relief).

    
 
  
 

 
 

 
If I never carve any oarsmen again, it will be too soon!
 
Another thing.  I discovered the halyard knights were really too small - they were only about half a metre (18 inches) tall at 1:50 scale - this is the knight for the after mast, but the foremast one is pretty much identical. 
 

 
so I made new ones about waist height.
 

 
Then I thought about it some more and decided they might be tall enough now, but probably a bit flimsy to take the forces imposed on them by the halyards. So I made heftier ones.
 

 
Pretty happy with these now. A real milestone achieved.
 
 
 

Hello,
here is now a second attempt for this block type.
I imitated the discs by leaving wood material in the middle.

other photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello,
here I show the first attempt at making this block type.


The second picture shows the block attached to a shroud. This is my experimental device that I have already used for the ratlines.

Hello,
@Vladimir_Wairoa
 
@JpR62
 
@garyshipwright
 
thanks a lot for your compliments and all the others for the many LIKES.
 
Before the lanyards can be secured, the mizzen stay must be brought into position.
For this I made a rope for lashing the mizzen stay with my own rope making machine. 
 

@Ainars Apalais
@Jorge Diaz O
Hello,
thanks a lot for the nice words and all the others for the many LIKES
After a short break I am about to put the smaller anchors with the iron stocks on the anchor bearings. 
The larger one was used as a reserve anchor; the smaller one was used as a throwing anchor or warp anchor. Contrary to the drawing by J. Boudriot I decided to place these anchors according to the Paris model. So these anchors are placed on the port side.
 

Soon we will probably continue with the ratlines at foremast and cross mast.
To be continued ...
 

George!!!!
 
Thanks a lot for your kind words.....
 
Let’s see the progresses ......
 
First, I spent some time studying how the “stays” are going to be fixed in the hull......in some of the pictures and documents i found something like this....
 
 
 
So not having something else ..... I decided to “install” a couple of these artifacts....
 

 
And now... it is time to start with the external hull....
 



 
Let’s see some pictures of the interior....
 

 

 

 

 
Thanks for all those “likes” and kind words
 
 

These are difficult to photograph, but I am very happy with the modeling and the overall impression of these:

Now that I have worked through the problems, the starboard pair should come out even better.
 
To finish these off, I’ll insert domed bits of styrene rod into the eye sockets.
 
I really appreciate all of the likes and kind comments!

Painted and glued-in:

Hello and many thanks for your likes,
 
it is done, all cannons are ready! Here they are all together at the gun deck, or at least there carriages.

And that they are



I have one question to an administrator. Did you change there something with the likes? They did't turn up in my notifications. There are now only the comments listed. The last time I have much trouble to open this site, I think because of too much traffic when in the US starts the day now in the Corona time. So some times I shut down this site when it was't open correctly. It takes sometimes up to 10 minutes with a traffic of 1-5 KB/s. 🤨 Many thanks in advance