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rvchima

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Everything posted by rvchima

  1. rvchima
    Shrouds and Stays I've completed the lower shrouds and stays. It took me about 30 minutes per deadeye, or about 16 hours for all the shrouds, including seizing. Not too painful. Each of the stays were a little different and they took longer. The top masts are not attached yet because I still have to tie about 950 clove hitches for the lower ratlines! If you don't hear from me for a while you'll know why.
  2. rvchima
    Mice and Anchor Buoys I needed some mice for the stays so I made them out of polymer clay. As long as I was at it I made two anchor buoys. The mice are very tiny. It was hard to get consistency so I made a bunch and used the best. I couldn't find drawings for the anchor buoys on the Caldercraft plans. They're probably there somewhere, but I built two using the Syren plans.
  3. rvchima
    Serving I spent the money and bought Chuck Passaro's Serv-O-Matic from Syrenshipmodelcompany.com. I built my Syren model using Chuck's awesome 130 page instruction manual, and IMHO, you can't go wrong with anything Chuck sells. It took a couple of days to build the Serv-O-Matic (is that a great name or what?) because I took the time to sand off the laser char, stain, and urethane the cherry parts. It's very easy to use. Stretch the main line through the gears on either end and attach the ends to the nails with the spring clips. Thread some very thin serving thread through the main line with a fine needle and secure with a tiny drop of CA. Spin the handle with one hand while guiding the the thread with the other. Thread the serving line through the main line at the far end and glue. Coat everything with thinned PVA glue. I served 3 inches of line in the center of each doubled shroud, using about 1 yard of thread at 100 turns per inch. It takes about 5 minutes to serve one doubled shroud line. My first impression was that it wasn't worth the effort. I could hardly see the thin serving on top of the main line. But when I saw several shrouds stacked up on the tops I was totally glad that I spent the time and money.
  4. rvchima
    Standing Rigging I stepped the masts and started the standing rigging. Here's my jig for setting the deadeyes at a constant height - two pieces of wire glued to a piece of wood as thick as the deadeye hole spacing. and here are the lines of deadeyes from fore to aft. I've been using beeswax on the linen chord but there sure is a lot of fuzz when I zoom in ;(
  5. rvchima
    Bowsprit & Jib Boom After 6 build logs I finally invested in a decent photo backdrop. It's just a long roll of heavy gray paper 53 inches wide and 36 feet long. I chose gray so the standing and running rigging should both be visible against it. Here's my highly professional photo booth. You can see that I've installed the bowsprit and attached the stays. Here's a better look. Isn't that gray background great?
  6. rvchima
    Yards The yards are complete!
  7. rvchima
    Belaying Pins With advice from Pat Banyan I realized that I would need some belaying pins and sheaves in the four bits on deck. Neither are shown on the plans for the bits, but running rigging plans do show lines connecting to various points along the bits. The kit only included enough wooden pins to fill the holes along the winch, so I ordered some more from ModelExpo-Online. I broke the bits away from the deck and added sheaves and pins. These are the tiniest belaying pins I've ever seen. I've had splinters bigger than this. But the pins are in and I'll have something to tie off to.
  8. rvchima
    Tying Blocks Dave Row kindly posted detailed instructions for seizing a line to a block and attaching it to a yard. His method is pretty much how blocks are attached on real ships and the results are perfect. But it does take a while. I experimented and found a method that is a bit easier and looks OK to me. Hold the block in a spring clamp in a vise. Note to self - make sure the holes in the block are vertical so you don't tie the line over the holes. Slide the line behind the block. Tie the line with a tight square knot. Remove the block from the clamp, loop the long end of the line over the top, and put the block and line back in the clamp. Use the short end of the line to tie 2 or 3 tight half hitches around the loop. This approximates the seizing but is easier. The fake seizing line is the wrong diameter but mostly gets hidden against a yard anyway. Don't glue anything yet.Voila, the finished block. Slip the loop over the yard and pull the long end of the line to snug it in place. Put a drop of CA on the knot and around the block, then trim the short end of the line. It takes me about 3.5 minutes per block. This method doesn't look so good for blocks attached to a line, like the blocks hanging from the ends of the yards. For those blocks I am using exactly the method described by Dave, seizing them to the line with a separate, thinner line. That method requires a third hand to hold the seizing line. I used a couple of strong neodymium magnets to attach a micro clip (from my model rocket days) to my spring clamp. See Dave's post for the rest.
  9. rvchima
    Yards I've got all the yards, flagpoles, and booms shaped. Thanks to Pat Banyan I ordered a jack, ensign, and commissioning pennant from Cornwall Model Boats. The main yard and main topsail yard are rigged. Oh s**t - I forgot the stunsail booms on the main yard! I've seen how Pat Banyan and Dave Row both made their fittings out of brass tubes and wire soldered together, and had visions of deconstructing the yard to slide the bands on. Then I looked at the Caldercraft plans. The rings are pot metal, almost no cleanup required. The bands are photo etched brass that just go 2/3 of the way around the yard. I looked back (longingly) at Chuck Passaro's thoroughly detailed 132 page plans for the Syren that I built 5 years ago. Chuck said that there is no need to solder the fittings because there is absolutely no load on them. No way to solder the pot metal anyway, so after a little metal work, a drop of CA, and a little paint, the stunsail booms were done. I put the booms on the fore yard before I rigged it ;^)
  10. rvchima
    Masts Completed, 1 year, 24 days, 456 hours The masts alone took 58 hours. They are still in separate sections and are not attached to the ship. The deadeyes are set into the tops.
  11. rvchima
    Dave, Thank you for all the advice on rigging the blocks. Your photos really help explain the process, which is not too complicated after you see it. And I'll echo Fernando in complimenting your rigging tools. I've been working with a spring clamp held in a vise and two old fingers. It's time for me to get a little more sophisticated. Rod
  12. rvchima
    Dave, Your single tye blocks (below from pp 26) are very clever. I can almost imagine how you make them based on some of your other posts, but would you consider showing an overview? It seems like the short end is cut off at the seizing. How do you prevent it from pulling out? Many thanks. Rod
  13. rvchima
    Simply beautiful Dave! Thanks for all the effort you've put into your build log. It has been a great reference for me. Rod
  14. rvchima
    Bowsprit, Fore Mast, Fore Topgallant, Main Mast, and Main Topgallant Complete. 1 year, 9 days, 411 hours I actually completed the bowsprit and jibboom before my holiday but didn't have time to post. I did the rest over the last 2 weeks. Here are some detail shots. I I really like this drawing in Parkin's book of the Endeavour with only the main masts and standing rigging. I am toying with the idea of stopping my build at that point. This would make for a much more compact display case and probably save me 6 months. What do you think? Then I could get to these other projects waiting on my shelf sooner. That would be an Aeronaut kit of the Prinz Eugen heavy cruiser, a vintage Sterling kit of a P-61 Black Widow night fighter, and a Bomarc missile kit by Madcow rocketry. So many projects, so little time ;^)
  15. rvchima
    IMG_E7060.MOV I've been back from my holiday for a couple of weeks and promised to post a few photos. Here's a view from the stern of our ship. The wheel is just spinning freely in the water but it sure looks cool. The Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, Oregon has the Columbia light ship anchored outside. Our ship docked right next to it. The museum was packed with ship models like this model of the Columbia Rediviva, the first ship to "cross the bar" into the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest in 1792. They also had a second edition of the logs of Captain Cook, who explored the Northwest coast on his third voyage in 1778. I'll skip the photos of Portland, Oregon, Mt. Rainier National Park, and Olympic National Park, and end with this photo of the harbor in Victoria, BC. The domed building is the capitol building of British Columbia. The Royal BC museum is just off the photo to the left, and our hotel was the building on the right with the pointy tower and flag. What a beautiful city. I've been busy building masts. Give me a couple of hours to take photos and I'll be back.
  16. rvchima
    We are cruising through the Columbia River gorge in the American Pride, a "stern wheeler" with two steerable props and a free-wheeling wheel. At 295 ft it's about twice the length of the Endeavour.
  17. rvchima
    This morning I was tying 3mm blocks to eyebolts, getting ready for the tops. Near the end one block went flying. Far. I got down on my hands and knees with a flood light and searched the floor, with no luck. Then I swept the floor. Still no luck so I gave up. Two hours later I was washing dishes, and felt something on my head. The block was in my hair.
  18. rvchima
    Holiday Break My wife and I are leaving tomorrow for a week-long cruise through the Columbia River gorge on a modern stern wheeler. It covers the most of the width of the state of Oregon. Then we'll rent a car and visit Portland, Oregon, Mt. Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. I'll post photos of any interesting river craft. Back in mid August.
  19. rvchima
    I just bought an interesting book at a local used book store. "The Neophyte Shipmodeler's JACKSTAY," by George F. Cambell, published by Model Shipways, 1962. It's 59 pages softbound and full of labeled drawings of sailing ship parts. It explains pretty well what things are called, how they work, and how they changed over time. It even explains what a jackstay is. There is no index but it's easy to flip through and find a relevant drawing. My favorite part is The Rigging It has been truly said that the rankest amateur can successfully rig, though he know not his mast from a hole in the ground. The original price was $2.50 US. I paid $8.99 for a 56 year old copy. And amazingly Modelexpo-online.com still has it for sale for $12.99.
  20. rvchima
    Fernando, Welcome aboard! I should explain that, in the model airplane world, what I am doing would be called standoff scale. It looks pretty good if you stand off a ways. If you want serious attention to detail check out Pat Banyan's completed build or Dave Rowe's nearly completed build.
  21. rvchima
    I love the hand drawn plans for the Gaff! Here's a man who plans what to do next. I usually just dream about it in the morning as I hit the snooze alarm again.
  22. rvchima
    Anchors I decided that I could safely attach the forward anchors now. I left a coil of line to attach to an anchor buoy eventually.
  23. rvchima
    Swivel Guns These are just a couple of pieces of PE brass with a nail through the center soldered together. Bend up the tabs and attach the brass barrel with a piece of wire, then solder the wire. Like always I used Novocan black stained glass patina for the black color.
  24. rvchima
    Hi Dave, I definitely have not paid enough attention to your build log. i just went through the last 10 - 12 pages of your log and realized that you pay as much attention to detail in your log as you do in your build. I saw a lot of details about how you built your masts, spars, and rigging that will be a huge help when (if?) I ever get to that point. I'll keep following the new posts and searching the old for ideas that I can use. Rod
  25. rvchima
    Boat Storage The longboat and pinnace go in cradles on deck. They look awesome up there. Eight spare top masts are lashed to the tops of the bits fore and aft of the boats. While I was making spare masts I went ahead and made another set. That way I could use the worst ones as spares and the best ones above. The spare masts are lashed in place. If I'd known I would be doing this much lashing in 2018 I would have paid more attention in Boy Scouts in 1968. The longboat and yawl are lashed atop the spare masts. Someone please tell me why I spent so much extra time and money on a curved grating kit for the main deck hatch. Now I totally understand why Pat Banyan built his model with only 2 boats aboard. My wife Cinda Chima is an author of popular young adult fantasy novels. She posted a photo of my model similar to the one below on Instagram the other day, because her latest series includes scenes with pirates. Her post has 161 Likes right now. I told her I don't have 161 Likes TOTAL in all my posts on MSW.

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