rvchima

I like what you did with the oar handles. The notches in the gallows make a lot of sense. I wish I'd thought of it.
Rod

Parrels Question
So I am ready to loft some yards and am unsure which ones should have rolling parrels. The Cladercraft plans only show parrels on two yards - the main topsail yard and the spirit topsail yard. Dave Row's build log shows rolling parrels just about everywhere except on the top gallants. I can't quite tell where Pat Banyan has rolling parrels.
 
From what little I've read, main yards were usually lofted into place and left there. I can't imagine how rolling parrels could roll past all the bands and hoops on the main mast anyway. So I'm thinking:
 
Rolling parrels on the spiritsail top
Sling on the spirit yard
 
Slings on the top gallants
Rolling parrels on the top yards
Slings on the main yards
 
Crossjack and mizzen topsail ??
 
Beads on the gaff without spacers
 
Please let me know what you think, and feel free to correct any incorrect terminology. This is not exactly my area of expertise.
 
The beads in the Caldercraft kit look pretty good. The spacers are PE brass. I've painted them wood color but haven't strung them up yet to see how they look. I have a feeling that I may end up making my own. Sure would be nice if Chuck Pissaro offered some laser cut ones!
 

Standing Rigging Complete - 1 year, 2.5 months, 576 hours
 
Just 2 weeks since my last post and I have 2 more layers of masts and rigging in place. I'm about ready to start lofting yards.

The top gallants were relatively easy.

I ran out of Caldercraft line after the main deadeyes and replaced it with white linen from Bluejacket Shipcrafters for the top deadeyes. It is much nicer line - no fuzz and exactly the diameter it claims to be. It is whiter than the line that I used on the crows feet and the lower deadeyes, but I'm OK with it.

The top shrouds and ratlines were just like the mains - just fewer knots to tie.

The breast backstays were complicated to set up. With three blocks and a hook it was hard to decide what to tie last to maintain tension. I set up all the blocks first and tied the hook last, probably exactly the opposite of real life, but everything is taut.

Standing Rigging Complete - 1 year, 2.5 months, 576 hours
 
Just 2 weeks since my last post and I have 2 more layers of masts and rigging in place. I'm about ready to start lofting yards.

The top gallants were relatively easy.

I ran out of Caldercraft line after the main deadeyes and replaced it with white linen from Bluejacket Shipcrafters for the top deadeyes. It is much nicer line - no fuzz and exactly the diameter it claims to be. It is whiter than the line that I used on the crows feet and the lower deadeyes, but I'm OK with it.

The top shrouds and ratlines were just like the mains - just fewer knots to tie.

The breast backstays were complicated to set up. With three blocks and a hook it was hard to decide what to tie last to maintain tension. I set up all the blocks first and tied the hook last, probably exactly the opposite of real life, but everything is taut.

Shipyard Update:
Mast Yards - Blocks and Parrels:
A bit of an update the the Yards.

Above are the 11 Yards with the various Tye & Stop cleats, Ferules on the ends, and the main & fore fitted with boom irons.
I decided to paint the central areas Matt Black and the outer ends with a cedar wood stain.
 
Next was onto the blocks, ropes and Parrel fit-out to the various Yards:
What has taken a lot of time, was working out the sizes of the many blocks.
Being my first model of this nature, learning a lot along the way, making it up as well...
Many resources have detailed pictures and rope sizes, my kit plans were again useless again in this area.
The AoTS indicates with scale the various attachments.
Using David Steel's Rigging Tables, I hope I have worked out the block sizes to use.
 
Jeer Blocks:

I started with the Fore Yard Jeer blocks - 2 x 7mm double(7mm because this was the size I used for the mast blocks)
Double strops derived from a trial fit around the mid section of the yard.

One completed.

2 Jeers on the yard, temporary fit.
 
The Parrels:
My kit did not have any Parrel parts.
Define parrel: a rope loop or sliding collar by which a yard or spar is held to a mast in such a way that it may be hoisted or lowered.
I noted in Pay Banyan's log, Steve had dropped in a Parrels page from "The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships".
The Ribs being 2' long and 8" wide.
At 1:60 equates to !10mm x 3.4mm in frame size. 2" tick ~ 0.84mm 
Why not use my 3D printer with wood filament to create the Ribs.

I won't go into the process, however printed 3 sets of Ribs, shown above.
They are a bit rough on some of the edges, but after some sanding come up quiet well.
 

Above the Jig for drilling of the rope holes. The top Rib is not formed well, so used as a drill template.
 

The black beads(for the trucks) are 4mm dia, a bit larger than I wanted, and not oval as in the Parrels page from "The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships".
However make use  of what one has on hand.

Above shows:
1. To the right a jig for drilling the 2 holes for the rope to pass through.
2. In front, some Ribs sanded and drilled.
3. Each Rib I stain and later will clear coat.
4. A test setup of the Parrel on a mock-up section of Fore-mast
At this scale, all the little errors disappear.
 
I am concerned though the scale is a wee bit too big, may be fine for the Main and Fore Yards.
Might need to scale the set-up down for the smaller yards.
 
Lots more thought to go into all this yard rigging and fit-out to go on with....
 

Crows Feet
My wife and I were in Alaska in 2013 and stayed in a nice hotel in Anchorage. They had a beautiful model of the HMS Resolution in a case in the lobby. I had never seen a ship with crow's feet before (the radial lines from the back stays to the tops). I was intrigued and took a couple of (poor) photos.


Three years later I was searching for something to build and I looked for the Resolution. No luck there but I found this kit of the Endeavour. So now I've spent 500+ hours on the Endeavour just to rig crows feet,

that took about an hour tops to make. But I love them.

Ratlines
I drew up a ratline spacing chart in Photoshop Elements, with 1/4" spacing corresponding to 16" spacing in full size. That's slightly big, with 12" - 14" being typical, but it looks OK to me. Here's the chart on the main mast. with the first couple of lines tied.

I posted my method of tying ratlines way back when I built my Syren in 2013. Here's a link to the details if you're interested. Basically I used a clove hitch for the first knot, simple half hitches for the rest, and a spot of CA to hold everything together. I was slightly concerned about the half hitches slipping until I had to undo a crooked line. Once the CA is on the knots they do not want to move.
It took me about 2 hours per set of shrouds to tie the ratlines, only about 12 hours total.

The futtock shrouds and catharpins should comprise 3 separate lines:
 A port FS going from a hook on the top to a bar on the port shrouds  A carthapin going from port shroud to stbd. shroud  A stbd. FS  opposite #1.  
I tried several ways to make separate lines but it was tough to get them all the right size to hold the tension. Something always ended up loose. Then I realized I could use a single line for everything. I seized a hook on one end, wraped it around to the other size, and temporarily attached a second hook. When all 4 lines were in place I adjusted the tension and seized the opposite hooks. Not historically accurate but very easy and looks fine. Here are a couple of image that shows the tops all rigged.

 

Have been working on the front end..oops..bow..! Just about done bowsprit and supports. Finally managed to bump and snap a bumpkin...called that because if you bump it you kin start making another one. (sorry) 
 
Serious bumpkin question...recognise that AOTS argues strongly for bumpkins and other authors & modellers reject them as over interpreting Banks' sketches and they did not exist on the ship...whatever..! Once you have them in place and the anchor lashed to the gunwhale, I cannot see how you can install bumpkin stays to the locations shown on AOTS and still lower the anchor past them. I would have thought the anchor in practice would have been lowered  under control and in an emergency able to be cut free and freefall ...this would wipe out the bumpkin stays in one fell swoop. Anyone thought about this..?

Crows Feet
My wife and I were in Alaska in 2013 and stayed in a nice hotel in Anchorage. They had a beautiful model of the HMS Resolution in a case in the lobby. I had never seen a ship with crow's feet before (the radial lines from the back stays to the tops). I was intrigued and took a couple of (poor) photos.


Three years later I was searching for something to build and I looked for the Resolution. No luck there but I found this kit of the Endeavour. So now I've spent 500+ hours on the Endeavour just to rig crows feet,

that took about an hour tops to make. But I love them.

Ratlines
I drew up a ratline spacing chart in Photoshop Elements, with 1/4" spacing corresponding to 16" spacing in full size. That's slightly big, with 12" - 14" being typical, but it looks OK to me. Here's the chart on the main mast. with the first couple of lines tied.

I posted my method of tying ratlines way back when I built my Syren in 2013. Here's a link to the details if you're interested. Basically I used a clove hitch for the first knot, simple half hitches for the rest, and a spot of CA to hold everything together. I was slightly concerned about the half hitches slipping until I had to undo a crooked line. Once the CA is on the knots they do not want to move.
It took me about 2 hours per set of shrouds to tie the ratlines, only about 12 hours total.

The futtock shrouds and catharpins should comprise 3 separate lines:
 A port FS going from a hook on the top to a bar on the port shrouds  A carthapin going from port shroud to stbd. shroud  A stbd. FS  opposite #1.  
I tried several ways to make separate lines but it was tough to get them all the right size to hold the tension. Something always ended up loose. Then I realized I could use a single line for everything. I seized a hook on one end, wraped it around to the other size, and temporarily attached a second hook. When all 4 lines were in place I adjusted the tension and seized the opposite hooks. Not historically accurate but very easy and looks fine. Here are a couple of image that shows the tops all rigged.

 

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.

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.

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.

Lower Standing Rigging Complete, 1 year, 2 months, or 542 hours
Back on August 30 I threatened to quit when I got got all the lower standing rigging in place like this,

and here I am.

But last night I attached the top masts so it's too late to quit. Then looked at the plans to see what happens next.

Basically I just have to do the standing rigging all over again, albeit with fewer lines. I can hardly wait.

The second planking continues slowly but surely. Belt A is now complete and I started working on belt B. Since I don't like to work with cyanoacrylate and I only use wood glue (Titebond), the process takes time...



Nothing is really finished. It's just glued and there are many small gaps to fill and a lot of sanding. But this will be done once the second layer is completed.

A lot of of lightweight filler and sanding...
I hope that this first planking will do his job for the final layer...
I'm studying the good way to achieve this next part of the build.
I will try to applied the method described by master Chuck in the chapter 5 on the Winchelsea: 'Planking below the wales'.
So I take an old box of colouring pencils who belonged to my son and I represent visually the three belts that will divide the hull. So I can have a pretty good idea of the position which I must applied  the tape.
 
 

Lower Standing Rigging Complete, 1 year, 2 months, or 542 hours
Back on August 30 I threatened to quit when I got got all the lower standing rigging in place like this,

and here I am.

But last night I attached the top masts so it's too late to quit. Then looked at the plans to see what happens next.

Basically I just have to do the standing rigging all over again, albeit with fewer lines. I can hardly wait.

Crows Feet
My wife and I were in Alaska in 2013 and stayed in a nice hotel in Anchorage. They had a beautiful model of the HMS Resolution in a case in the lobby. I had never seen a ship with crow's feet before (the radial lines from the back stays to the tops). I was intrigued and took a couple of (poor) photos.


Three years later I was searching for something to build and I looked for the Resolution. No luck there but I found this kit of the Endeavour. So now I've spent 500+ hours on the Endeavour just to rig crows feet,

that took about an hour tops to make. But I love them.

Ratlines
I drew up a ratline spacing chart in Photoshop Elements, with 1/4" spacing corresponding to 16" spacing in full size. That's slightly big, with 12" - 14" being typical, but it looks OK to me. Here's the chart on the main mast. with the first couple of lines tied.

I posted my method of tying ratlines way back when I built my Syren in 2013. Here's a link to the details if you're interested. Basically I used a clove hitch for the first knot, simple half hitches for the rest, and a spot of CA to hold everything together. I was slightly concerned about the half hitches slipping until I had to undo a crooked line. Once the CA is on the knots they do not want to move.
It took me about 2 hours per set of shrouds to tie the ratlines, only about 12 hours total.

The futtock shrouds and catharpins should comprise 3 separate lines:
 A port FS going from a hook on the top to a bar on the port shrouds  A carthapin going from port shroud to stbd. shroud  A stbd. FS  opposite #1.  
I tried several ways to make separate lines but it was tough to get them all the right size to hold the tension. Something always ended up loose. Then I realized I could use a single line for everything. I seized a hook on one end, wraped it around to the other size, and temporarily attached a second hook. When all 4 lines were in place I adjusted the tension and seized the opposite hooks. Not historically accurate but very easy and looks fine. Here are a couple of image that shows the tops all rigged.

 

Lower Standing Rigging Complete, 1 year, 2 months, or 542 hours
Back on August 30 I threatened to quit when I got got all the lower standing rigging in place like this,

and here I am.

But last night I attached the top masts so it's too late to quit. Then looked at the plans to see what happens next.

Basically I just have to do the standing rigging all over again, albeit with fewer lines. I can hardly wait.

Dashi,
I'm happy to see you back. Your Endeavour was looking great, but you stopped updating your build log just after I started mine. Are you still working on the model?

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.

I haven't been on here for ages and just found your log. She's looking good Rod.

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.

Another Dumb Mistake but Quick Fix
A few days ago I posted an image of the completed lower stays with the topmasts inserted temporarily in place. Well when I set the mizzen topmast in its top I realized that ...

I had put the stay lines through the wrong hole! I even remember thinking "That forward hole is very tiny, so I'll just put the lines through the aft hole." Duh - that's where the topmast goes. I had visions of cutting the stays and starting over, but after some experimentation I found that I could disconnect the lower ends, slip the upper loops over the mast, and reroute through the forward hole. I did file the hole a little larger. The fix took about an hour. Here's the after photo.

Study twice, rig once.