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Guiding the bowlines for the main topgallant sail - and the main royal sail During the further detailed coordination in the upper levels of the rigging for my French corvette, it had to be clarified how the bowlines for the main topgallant sail and the main royal sail should be deflected in the rear area of the topmast crosstree. In the monograph on La Créole by J. Boudriot, deflection blocks are indicated. However, further concrete details are not apparent. I therefore tried to clarify this detail by taking photos of the original model. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any useful illustrations. Only the monograph contains a photo of the topmast crosstree (see picture). In addition to the main topgallant stay, the bowlines for the main topgallant sail and the main royal sail are clearly visible. However, the deflection of the bowlines is not clearly recognisable. It appears to be a rectangular crossbar with integrated discs, at least in my opinion. Source: Monograph on La Créole by J. Boudriot It is certain that these are not blocks, which would be usual for this purpose. As I was unable to find anything else on this subject, neither in the relevant specialist literature nor on the Internet, nor on original models from a comparable period, I will contact the restorers at the Paris museum. A very friendly lady has already helped me a lot. But perhaps one of you has already come across a similar detail. I would be very pleased to receive any relevant information. See you soon ...

@albert I am very pleased and grateful for such nice comments. Of course, professional advice and comments, even critical ones, are also welcome. Nobody is perfect and life is a constant learning process. Here are some more details: Additional blocks, including in the area of the topmast crosstrees I should have recorded most of the blocks for the La Créole by now. The blocks in the area of the topmast crosstrees and on the mainmast cap still need to be made, as can be seen in the following pictures. These are blocks for guiding leech lines, braces and bowlines. When guiding the braces for the mizzen topgallant yard, I am following the Paris model, where they go to the mainmast cap. The variant shown by J. Boudriot in the monograph, guiding the braces to the main topmast crosstrees, seems less practical to me for stability reasons on the high-rigged corvette. In addition to making these blocks, I am currently still trying to figure out which blocks I still need for the upper area of the rigging on the royal topgallant crosstrees. I don't think there will be too many left. To be continued... Feedback geben

Another excellent performance. The boat is impressively beautifully executed.

@Keith Black @MarcM Thank you very much for your support. Thanks to everyone else too for the LIKES. Completion: Addition of the lifts of the lower yards - Balancines de basse vergue As I wrote before, I always make the blocks based on a theme, such as here for the tackles of the lifts of the lower yards. Among other things, this ensures that I produce exactly the required quantity in the required size and thus do not produce excess capacity. This also keeps you motivated and does not become monotonous, which can ultimately take away your desire to craft. However, this does not necessarily work for everyone. Accordingly, I made 4 double blocks with a length of 5.6 mm, 4 single blocks with a length of 5.6 mm, 2 double blocks with a length of 4.0 mm and 2 single blocks with a length of 4.0 m. I have already described the method of making the blocks many times in my construction report. A few pictures are below. After making the eyebolts with thimbles for attaching the tackles to the rigging, I was able to tie the single blocks into block strops and add the tackle ropes. The last picture shows the finished tackles for the lifts of the lower yards. We will continue in the new year with the last blocks in the area of the topgallant masts.

@Keith Black Thank you for your nice comment. Continuation: Addition of the lifts of the lower yards – Balancines de basse vergue In the last post I described why and how I will carry out the tackles of the lifts from the lower yards. I have drawn a corresponding sketch for this. First I made a swivel for this, as can be seen in the following picture. It was made in the same way as the swivel hooks for the topsail halyards. Two opposing notches are filed into a brass disk d = 0.3 mm with a ø 2.3 mm and a bore ø 0.8 mm, which then accommodate the ø 0.4 mm thick brass bow wire for soldering. The eyebolt is secured so that it can rotate freely with a soldered brass sleeve. Next, the double and single blocks for the tackles have to be made. I will again equip the larger blocks for the lifts of the main and fore yard with real disks. At this point I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a good start into the New Year!

Hello Tim, this will be a very nice model. Here you can see how a fake splice is made. Follow the LINK.

@dvm27 Hello Greg, I'm extremely pleased that such a profound and excellent model maker sees it the same way as I do. In 150 years there probably won't be much left of the silk rigging. But since I have documented everything in detail, the model could be easily restored ... 😉

Addition of the lifts of the lower yards - Balancines de basse vergue Usually, as can be read in the specialist literature in the book "Manuel de gréement" by F. A. Coste, Paris 1829, the lifts of the lower yards were secured using tackles, each at the height of the 2nd shroud of the respective lower mast. This is also how J. Boudriot illustrated it in the monograph on La Créole, as shown below. Source: Monograph La Créole by Jean Boudriot On the original Paris model, I identified the lifts as shown in a diagram: Source: Musée national de la Marine de Paris - La Créole However, no tackles can be seen there. The lifts were simply attached to the upper part of the tackle ropes at the height of the 2nd shroud. This easier handling of the lifts could have been due to the size of the ship, or is it a simplification by the contemporary model maker? We will never be able to find out. However, I find this type of seamanlike handling of the lifts rather impractical and have therefore decided to use tackles, whose ropes can then be properly secured on the inside. I wouldn't exactly describe my model as a "pile of evidence" as a dear forum colleague once described his project. However, I have implemented a large number of details on the model that seemed plausible to me after research. I cannot provide 100% proof of this, but solutions that actually existed and generally fit into the temporal and country-specific context of La Créole. In this respect, I will basically attach the lifts as follows: Source: Excerpt from Atlas du Génie Maritime annexe N.1, Pl. 20 However, I will only use a double block at the top and a single block at the bottom for the tackle. To be continued...

Congratulations, excellent work and wonderful model!

Hello colleagues, Today I would like to thank you all for the positive reactions to my last video. Because of my son's house construction, which of course requires a lot of my time as a retired architect, I have hardly had time to do any model building lately. So I at least enjoyed putting together a video. But things will continue here soon...

@matiz Hello Tiziano, thank you for your nice comment. I'm particularly pleased to receive such praise from such a fantastic model maker. Of course I would also like to thank everyone else for the LIKES. Hello fellow model builders, today I would like to present to you my new video about the yards and spars of the La Créole. I hope you enjoy it: LINK

@albert @64Pacific Thank you for your interest and the nice comments, and thank you all for the LIKES. Topsail-halyard traveller – Gouvernail de drisse There was something else, wasn't there? I have now made the missing 5 topsail-halyard travelers out of brass to complete the set. To produce the guide rings required for this with a diameter of 1.5 mm (incorrectly indicated in the drawing as 1.2 mm) and with a bore of 0.8 mm, the modifications made (new electric motor with speed control and collets) to my Unimat SL served me very well. I am currently sorting out the continuation of the lifts for the lower yards. See you soon...

A small update: Completion: Topsail halyards The tackles for the topsail halyards are now all rigged. See you soon...

@wefalck Hello Eberhard, I think it would not be a good idea to introduce the French (French publisher) to the rigging practices of the French Navy at the beginning of the 19th century for model making. @Erik W Hello Erik, I'm pleased that my pictures, especially of the rigging work, are helping you with your model building. As I also benefit a lot from pictures and construction reports from other model builders for my project, I want to give something back. It's a give and take that benefits model building as a whole and allows it to develop further. Ultimately, we all have great joy in the results that we have created with our own hands and can look at. @dvm27 Hello Greg, I'm happy to comply with your request. Here is a picture with a ruler: I used two methods to make the thimbles, although I actually only work with the simpler one. I also make the thimbles in different diameters, depending on the requirements of the rigging. Here are two places in my construction report where I report on the production of the thimbles: LINK LINK

@druxey @Jim Lad @Thukydides @jdbondy Thank you all for your interest. @Thukydides Yes, that's right, the hooks are made of brass. I made some hooks myself out of brass as a sample. A jewelry foundry then created wax models from the samples on my behalf and then cast the hooks using the lost wax process. I hope I was able to explain it clearly. @jdbondy Yes, it's really hard to see in the picture. This is a jeweler's saw that I hold onto the rotating workpiece with a very fine-toothed saw blade. It works very well.

@Thukydides @davyboy @jdbondy @Mike Y Your praise and your kind words encourage me in my work. Thank you for that and thank you to the others for the LIKES. Continuation: Additional accessories for the topsail halyards - swivel hooks In the meantime, I have made all 6 swivel hooks for the topsail halyards. The length for the main topsail yards and fore topsail yards is 8.2 mm. The swivel hooks for the mizzen topsail yards were proportionally made a little smaller (L = 6.9 mm). I tried to make these hooks based on a drawing in the Atlas du Génie Maritime. Source: Excerpt from Atlas du Génie Maritime annexe N.1, Pl. 2 Here, with this photo montage, I would like to illustrate the individual production steps. To conclude this short update, the finished, blackened hooks. See you soon...

Continuation: Further accessories for the topsail halyards, including leader (guide bar) - Gouvernail de drisse The leaders are another accessory required for the topsail halyards. This is a detail that is not always visible on all models, but is an important part of the rigging. Under the considerable force required to set a topsail, the halyard tends to twist and become unclear. To prevent this, the upper halyard block was guided to the topmast backstay with a guide bar and a swivel hook was used at the channel. In the following, I have compiled a list of different types of guide bars that were used towards the end of the 18th century and in the 19th century. However, they all served the same purpose. For my model of La Créole, I naturally used the original Parisian model and the Manuel du Gabier. Compared to the original model, however, I added the swivel hook and made a longer strop, which made it possible to keep the lower block free of the bulwark and the tackles of the backstays. I then executed this rigging arrangement according to the following drawing. I made all the elements in advance to see how it would look overall. If the “prototype” fits, all the other necessary parts for all the topsail halyards will be made. Provisionally arranged, it then looks like this: I had already made the swivel hooks in connection with the stay tackles, so that went quickly. Making the guide bar was also not a big job. For the sake of strength, I hard-soldered all the connections of these components. It was a little more difficult to attach the guide bar to the topsail halyard. It would be unsightly if over-dimensional knots were to impair the filigree structure. I have already considered how I can then attach the halyard to the model. In this respect, I have to finish one side completely as shown and then serve the appropriate places in advance, such as the passage through the tye blocks and the other end of the halyard. Then the rope of the topsail halyard is pulled through the tye blocks, then the eye with thimble is completed, taking the upper block into account. Finally, I have to dress a short remaining section freehand and attach the guide bar. Certainly not an easy task on the model, but people also need certain challenges ...😊 To be continued ... PS: I don't know if the term "guide bar" is correct? I would be grateful if someone could tell me the correct term.

@Dziadeczek Hello, of course you can ask questions and I'll be happy to answer them. This forum is intended to be a forum for professional exchange. I use serviceberry for the blocks. This wood is very similar to pear wood in terms of structure, fine grain and hardness.

@davyboy Hello Dave, Thank you very much for the hint, but unfortunately I couldn't find anything about it in my German version. I have finally found something on the subject of attaching the standing parts of braces to stays. First of all, I will show you a historical example of a knot: Source: Atlas du Génie Maritime It is not clear what type of knot it is. On the other hand, you can see a possible way of doing this on the mainstay of the replica of the L'Hermione: Source: Internet (excerpt) If I am not completely mistaken, this is a stopper's hitch or rolling hitch (formerly also called a magnus hitch), in French Noued coulant or Amarrage a' fouet. I know from the official website for the L'Hermione that the riggers use the following when rigging the L'Hermione: also based my work on the book "The Ashley Book of Knots", which also shows this type of knot. But they are also mentioned in the Biddlecomb, Lever or Steel, as well as in F. A. Coste (French technical literature from 1829). However, I cannot find any clear assignments for a specific purpose here. It is always kept rather general. But ultimately it does seem plausible to me to attach these standing parts of the braces in this way.

Continuation: Making more blocks - topsail halyards As already mentioned, there are still a few blocks to be made, including for the topsail halyards. Source: Monograph on La Créole by Jean Boudriot I made these single and double blocks again using the method shown so far. This method is not the most effective and has little to do with series production, but I am quite happy with the result. In the next step I will complete the tackles of the topsail halyards (strops, ropes, hooks, eyebolts, spacers, etc.). See you soon...

Hello colleagues, Thank you in advance for your kind feedback. When I started the final rigging, I was a bit too optimistic...😁 Making more blocks for tackles for truss pendants, redirecting the braces, bowlines, etc. Before I take the model out of the dust cover as announced and start the final rigging, I thought that it would be more clever to make the missing blocks so that I can then make the craft room dust-free. This required a lot of research to get some clarity about various design details. In particular, it was about making the tackles for the truss pendants of the lower yards. The truss pendants themselves are already attached to the lower yards. Later, when attaching the lower yards, the ends of the truss pendants have to be guided through the sheaves on the trestle trees. Then thimbles have to be tied into the ends, to which the rope tackles can then be hooked. This drawing from the Atlas de Génie Maritime illustrates the principle. Source: Extract from the Atlas du Génie Maritime Pl. 23 These tackles and other blocks with corresponding strops and thimbles, depending on the use, can be seen in the following picture. Some time ago I also made a series of guide blocks, as shown below, which are hooked into the area of the belaying pin rails. Accordingly, there shouldn't be too many blocks missing now. So I will now look through the rigging again using the monograph in conjunction with the pictures of the original model that I have available in order to capture as many blocks as possible. The tackles topsail halyards spring to mind and there are certainly still some deflection and guide blocks missing from the upper rigging. With regard to the final rigging, I am wondering how the standing parts of the braces are correctly attached to the stays. There is certainly a specific way of attaching them (knots, banding, etc.). Unfortunately, I have not been able to find anything about this so far, neither in the specialist literature nor on the Internet. I would therefore be very grateful if you could give me some advice. To be continued...

@wefalck Hello Eberhard, After successfully completing the wonderful model of the "SMS Wespe" you have started another very interesting model building project. The shipbuilding background alone is very exciting. I'm looking forward to the continuation.

@druxey Hello, Thank you for your interest and positive response. @dvm27 Hello Greg, Thanks, yes, now it's the final stretch. Now I'm taking the corvette out of the dust cover where I stored it almost a year ago. Here you can see part of the yards again: Hopefully I'll be able to show more interesting pictures of the ship model again. At the moment I'm still wondering whether I should start attaching the yards and thus rigging from the back or from the front? I'd be open to tips!

Hello, after a break I would like to continue with my construction report. First of all I would like to thank you for your interest and especially for the important tips on soldering. Through this exchange of information we all learn and develop our model-making skills. Thank you! Continuation: Equipment for the gaff and boom - boom sheets / Écoute de gui etc. In the meantime I was able to make the blocks required for the gaff and boom. The single blocks for the mainsheets were given brass discs. For the block axles with the square heads I made two smaller versions, the smallest of which was used because of the better scale, as can be seen in the following picture. The next picture shows a compilation of the blocks that are attached to the gaff and boom using strops. For the design of the mainsheet of the La Créole I based myself on the Paris model. There is one special feature to be mentioned in this context. The Paris model of the La Créole is not a mainsheet as one usually knows it. In principle, this mainsheet of the French corvette consists of two tackles, the standing parts of which are attached to the end of the boom and thus also contribute to stabilizing the boom in the form of boom strops (see photo). Apart from this model, I have never seen or heard of such a mainsheet, neither on contemporary models nor in the relevant specialist literature. To be sure that this form actually existed, I tried to find it in the contemporary specialist literature in the book "Manuel de gréement" by F. A. Coste, Paris 1829. And in fact, on page 147, in addition to the usual versions, exactly this special type is described. Source: Musée national de la Marine de Paris - La Créole The following rigging elements were then required, manufactured and attached to the boom: The next picture shows the partially rope stropped brail blocks, each double, for the gaff: Below is a picture of the rigging elements that have now been mounted on the gaff: The vangs are still missing, which will then be attached to the model when the gaff is assembled. As far as I know, these are placed around the gaff with a clove hitch. So now all the yards and spars of my corvette are equipped and ready for the final rigging. To be continued...

@Dziadeczek Thank you very much for this interesting information.