Beef Wellington

The Mizzen has arisen:
 
I can see why build logs tend to neglect rigging relegating it to a bit of a dark art - its so hard to reach a point where one can step back and say 'done' because nothing quite seems to get finished before its necessary to do something else before its too late.  Anyway, the mizzen rigging is now essentially complete.  This area proved to one of the more challenging so far 'learning the ropes', but also just because of the increased fiddliness factor and decreased access.  The plans also proved more challenging in this area due to their either lack of clarity or incompleteness.
 
Before starting, this was my last chance to address some things that have been annoying me.  The kit supplied ladders going to the stern platform just seemed too bulky, so these were ripped off and replaced with custom made items that just felt a little more to scale, and less visually obtrusive.  These proved challenging to make in walnut due to the splinter factor, but necessary to avoid introducing a new wood.  The ships wheel was also given some coats of a wash to try and make it a bit attractive from the flat brown colour I had used way back when I started (Pre-fix situation below):
 

 

 
Rigging could then proceed, planning ahead proved key due to the many elements that need to be fitted in a very tight space, especially below the tops (tye, parrels throat halliard etc).   Petersson's Rigging Period Ship Models and Lever's Young Officers Sheet Anchor provide invaluable to bridge contradictions and lack of clarity in the plans.  Items of note as follows:
Boom Sheets - went with single vs a double arrangement as illustrated on the plans as I couldn't find another example like this Gaff throat halliard - the positioning of the gaff is slightly different on each plan, I had to lower my original placement to allow for the two double 5mm blocks, luckily the pin hole was obscured Single boom horse - Common practice seems to have a knotted horses on either side of the boom.  I just couldn't get this to look right and the image of a young schoolboy with rather large and unruly ears kept coming to mind....so in the end I just went with a single and it seems to do the trick other than to purists. Blocks for main topsail brace - One of the first blocks I had installed has to be removed, a double block on the mizzen for the main topsail braces as indicated on the plans.  It was clear that this just wouldn't work with the crossjack and gaff in place as it needs to sit above the gaff.  I elected to remove and replace with 2 single 5mm blocks with a longer clearance from the mast to avoid interfering with the various rigging elements in this space as illustrated in Petersson.  These are held temporarily in place with sewing thread. Close up pictures of where things ended up that hopefully can assist others (errors are of course mine):
 

 
Finally, some overall shots...

 
 

The Mizzen has arisen:
 
I can see why build logs tend to neglect rigging relegating it to a bit of a dark art - its so hard to reach a point where one can step back and say 'done' because nothing quite seems to get finished before its necessary to do something else before its too late.  Anyway, the mizzen rigging is now essentially complete.  This area proved to one of the more challenging so far 'learning the ropes', but also just because of the increased fiddliness factor and decreased access.  The plans also proved more challenging in this area due to their either lack of clarity or incompleteness.
 
Before starting, this was my last chance to address some things that have been annoying me.  The kit supplied ladders going to the stern platform just seemed too bulky, so these were ripped off and replaced with custom made items that just felt a little more to scale, and less visually obtrusive.  These proved challenging to make in walnut due to the splinter factor, but necessary to avoid introducing a new wood.  The ships wheel was also given some coats of a wash to try and make it a bit attractive from the flat brown colour I had used way back when I started (Pre-fix situation below):
 

 

 
Rigging could then proceed, planning ahead proved key due to the many elements that need to be fitted in a very tight space, especially below the tops (tye, parrels throat halliard etc).   Petersson's Rigging Period Ship Models and Lever's Young Officers Sheet Anchor provide invaluable to bridge contradictions and lack of clarity in the plans.  Items of note as follows:
Boom Sheets - went with single vs a double arrangement as illustrated on the plans as I couldn't find another example like this Gaff throat halliard - the positioning of the gaff is slightly different on each plan, I had to lower my original placement to allow for the two double 5mm blocks, luckily the pin hole was obscured Single boom horse - Common practice seems to have a knotted horses on either side of the boom.  I just couldn't get this to look right and the image of a young schoolboy with rather large and unruly ears kept coming to mind....so in the end I just went with a single and it seems to do the trick other than to purists. Blocks for main topsail brace - One of the first blocks I had installed has to be removed, a double block on the mizzen for the main topsail braces as indicated on the plans.  It was clear that this just wouldn't work with the crossjack and gaff in place as it needs to sit above the gaff.  I elected to remove and replace with 2 single 5mm blocks with a longer clearance from the mast to avoid interfering with the various rigging elements in this space as illustrated in Petersson.  These are held temporarily in place with sewing thread. Close up pictures of where things ended up that hopefully can assist others (errors are of course mine):
 

 
Finally, some overall shots...

 
 

Very impressive Siggi, can fully appreciate the huge amount of time you've invested to get these to this point, such quality work.

I think the problem with any single piece deck no matter how perfectly it is laid out or marked is that the large natural wood grain crosses over the planking boundaries unavoidable advertising that its a single piece.  Personal preference of course, but I find it very hard to unsee once its been noticed.  Laying individual planks, even if less perfectly, seems (again to my eye) a better way to go as the grain and slight imperfections seem to blend and disappear.  Interested to see which way you go.

Planking is definitely something that you can only learn by doing, and you're doing just fine, keep going.  Everything can be solved.  Regarding planks, there is some variety here but I was guided to go with planks around 150mm long, but these would have varied somewhat for the following reason  that was not obvious to me at the time I planked mine.  The planks should terminate on a beam in practice and the position and spacing of these vary from ship to ship.  Most obviously, beams would go between the hatchways, not mid way through them.  Not a big deal at all, but just as easy to follow practice.

You have a very fine model coming together there Helli.

Ooh, very interested to follow along on this one...love the Argonaut, spent a little time in her in the 90's.  Looks like you've got off to a great start with those frames.

You don't mention how you used the blackening solution and how much you diluted.   I've found results to be much more predicable with a more dilute solution, and using a nylon brush to apply while agitating the surface.  Once the reagent is spent on a small area (turning from blue colour to brown), then the brush can be simply washed in water, dried on a paper towel, and a fresh brush load applied.  I've had much less predictable results using a larger 'bath' to submerge items in.

Thank you Grant and Bob, your interest is much appreciated.
 
Post 21


 
Taking stock


 
I felt this was a good point to review progress thus far.

This is also a good point to set out the remaining deck fittings to ensure there are no unwanted surprises.


5825
I have made a couple of additions to the deck furniture, in the form of Chimneys, to service the steam capstan, and Galley stove.


 
Such pipes are shown on the plans I have seen, and Reaper also has one.

 
 A chimney is easily made, from some 3mm ø aluminium tubing. A smaller second pipe was also fashioned for the galley stove.


 
Because of my modifications to the steering I had to reposition the Mizen boom stop slightly.  

5823
The cover boards for the Fish Hatch have been fitted with ring bolts in preference to the provided items, and only a portion of the cover boards are in place.




5839
The hatch is left partly open to reveal the nets that would usually be kept in that area.

 

5836
The nets were cast over the Starboard side and there should be a net roller running along the hatch coaming to assist the process.

I don’t have sufficient detail of the arrangement to fit one yet, but I am looking.


 
Such boats also carried seven 22’ sweeps stowed on the Foredeck and shipped into crutches socketed into the Timberheads.

I don’t know if I will represent these at present.



5830(2)

5818(2)
 

5819
 

5822
 

5826
 

5829
 
Since I have started researching fishing boats I have been amazed at the sheer hard manual work, hazardous conditions, and danger involved in working these boats. The seamanship required to work the lugger rigs seems extraordinary given the harsh conditions they had to work in.


 
It is hard to believe that contained within the hatch were some 60/70 nets, 60 yards long, and when strung together produced a drift extending some 3300 yards from the boat.


 
 The invention of the steam capstan must have been a very welcome addition to aid the exhausting process of hauling in the nets.


 
 
So much am I enjoying this build, I couldn’t resist doing a follow up of the Zulu.


5843
 Ordered yesterday, arrived this morning; great service Chris.👍


 
Shame to waste all the research I have done, and they will make a fine pair, but I won’t start the Zulu until the Fifie is completed.


 
 
B.E.

01/07/20

 
 
 

Thank you Rusty and Tim.👍
 
Post 20
 
 
Completing the tiller attachment.
 
 
 
The final part is the attachment of tiller and worm drive.
 
 
I have been hampered in my efforts by the lack of a detailed plan and I have had to rely on a visual interpretation from photo’s of the restored Fifie Reaper, and indistinct drawings and plan of the Fifie True Vine.
 

 
Reaper
 
What I am sure about is that these late 19th/early 20th century large Fifie’s did have the wheel close to the stern with some sort of mechanical attachment to work the rudder.
 
 
 
 
It would be reasonable to run a shaft from the wheel to the stern post, covered by a narrow longitudinal box with a rod or stiff wire from the rudder, entering the box on the aft starboard side.

True Vine Plan
This is as much detail as provided on the True Vine plan. There is also a small drawing of a ‘boxed’ worm drive with dimensions in the book Sailing Drifters by Edgar J. March.
 

5798(2)
The rod is 0.9mm ø micro brass tubing with a couple of etched brass eyebolts (PE2) from the kit inserted in the ends.
 

5800(2)
The connecting ‘Bolts’ are formed from brass wire which hold the set up together.
 

5812(2)
My interpretation is based on the Reaper set up.
 
 
 
If further information comes to light I can make further modifications but for the present I am content to leave it at this point.
 
 
 
B.E.
30/06/2020
 
 
 
 

Hi, yes you have Snake bulwarks!  Now that you show it, it should have been obvious from your prior posts (and I feel bad for not noticing!) but so easy to miss for those of us building Snake because it looks 'right'.  The larger gun port size is to accommodate the carronade armament rather than cannons, looking at your earlier pictures it seems they unfortunately, but correctly, supplied cannons.  What to do?  I think your options are limited to the following:
Simply install the cannons in the larger port.  If you look at my Snake log, you will see that I installed cannons in the first port which seemed to be practice at the time, this gives you a sense for how this would look. strip off wood and redo, I completely understand how painful this would be (if its any consolation I had to do that partly on my 'Jason' build to move upper deck gunports, it can be done with patience, but would totally understand your frustration.  This might be messier if you used CA glue (which I think you did) rather than PVA glue which can be softened with isopropyl alcohol. Strip off wood as per above and paint - this would give you more options to fix less 'perfectly' or comprehensively, but....you end up using paint.... Change the armament to carronades.  There would plenty of justification for this given this large class of ships would have only had cannons for a short period of time on a few of the very early built ships.  A carronade armed, 2 masted Cruizer class would probably be more historically relevant/accurate.  However, you would need to source some carronades.  It could be worth contacting CC and explain the situation, they may be willing to provide these, their customer service is typically good.  They also provide more upgraded turned brass aftermarket kits, however these are very expensive, especially for the whole ship.  

Post 18


 
The Capstan


 
 Elliott and Garrood steam capstans had been used on Fifie’s and similar since 1885, and one is provided in the kit.


 
This is the most prominent and striking fitting on the deck, a real eye catcher, and beautifully presented by Chris.

A combination of laser cut wooden parts and brass etch, which makes up into a fine little model.


 
My most difficult decision; what colour scheme to use.


5730
The suggested scheme of red and green reminded me fondly of my old lawnmower resplendent with green casing and red cylinder blades, so I opted to go with that.


 
I am using Humbrol enamel paint, Matt 80 (Green) and Vallejo Matt Red.


Most time-consuming part is painting the whelps of the capstan. These eight fine etched parts required painting before assembly.


 
The manual suggests that the drums be attached to the whelps without glue when assembling.


 
I found that without glue the whelps had a tendency to fall out during the alignment so I resorted to a spot of ca to hold the whelps in one drum whilst I fiddled to align the other.


 
The box atop the capstan fits over the end of the central spindle that runs thro’ the capstan body, (aka 3mm walnut dowel)

 

5729
A nicely turned brass warping drum is secured to the side of the box.


 
I drilled mine to take a pin to secure it to the box and gave it a chemically blackened colour.



5732
Note:-  there are two small holes in the side plates,  I’m not sure what they are for, but they are not for securing the warp drum.

 
 

5731
The central spindle of the capstan is in reality a steam pipe.
 

5736
When fitting the small hand wheel atop the box I found it best to put a spot of ca on the connecting pipe and press it down on the wheel.


 
 
B.E.


 
28/06/2020

 
 

You don't mention how you used the blackening solution and how much you diluted.   I've found results to be much more predicable with a more dilute solution, and using a nylon brush to apply while agitating the surface.  Once the reagent is spent on a small area (turning from blue colour to brown), then the brush can be simply washed in water, dried on a paper towel, and a fresh brush load applied.  I've had much less predictable results using a larger 'bath' to submerge items in.

Ben, I think your coppering looks really good, and you've got a nice curve at the waterline batten as well which really helps enhance in my view.  Obviously personal preference on pristine vs patina.  I had cleaned the copper plates on my Snake with metal cleaner once finished similar to you, mainly to get rid of any skin oils from fingerprints as these seem to accelerate the oxidation process and become pretty noticeable pretty quickly.  I've been surprised at how slowly the surface has oxidized, but that may be a fact of it sitting out of sunlight.

Nice looking rope!  I think there has been much debate on the subject of colour depending on a factors such as age.  Pristine new rope with a single application would be lighter, older rope that has got dirty, weathered and recoated would be darker.  Think you can go with your artistic gut and how much of a contrast you would like, if you are using black paint on the hull then my sense would be to use the darker brown for standing rigging, the second darkest shade could look good with an all wood finish.  All personal opinion.

Very nice, simple utilitarian beauty at its best!

You don't mention how you used the blackening solution and how much you diluted.   I've found results to be much more predicable with a more dilute solution, and using a nylon brush to apply while agitating the surface.  Once the reagent is spent on a small area (turning from blue colour to brown), then the brush can be simply washed in water, dried on a paper towel, and a fresh brush load applied.  I've had much less predictable results using a larger 'bath' to submerge items in.

Very nice, simple utilitarian beauty at its best!

Ingenious modification BE, but that shouldn’t really surprise us now should it? 👏👏👏

Post 17


 
Modifying the steering.


 
The first thing to consider is the wheel and the worm drive.


 
I’m not using the provided wheel but another of the same dimensions.

For the worm drive and fittings, I obtained a length of M1.4mm threaded brass rod with associated nuts, Hex and open.

5641(2)

I.4mm ø looks about right and importantly is a good fit for the centre of the wheel.

The brass will be chemically blackened before fitting.


 
Before I proceed too far a bit of de-construction is required.




5644

Replacing the deck planks where the holes for the wheel  standards were cut. Not a great issue and quickly done.

 

5648

Once scraped they should blend in just fine.


At this point I also put together the Companionway cover as this has a bearing for positioning the relocated wheel.



I did make a minor modification to this altering the sliding canopy arrangement and using a proper ring bolt for the door handle.



5670(2)

Next up I had to fabricate a thwart and a knee at the stern, both important for the addition of the steering gear to follow.


 
 
An important item is the section along the worm to which the steering arm is attached.




5685(2)

I made this from styrene tubing with nuts ca’d into each end thro which the worm will pass.

One half of the provided tiller arm is slotted into this.

 

5680(2)

At the aft end of the mechanism the worm screws into a supporting nut silver soldered to a plate. These are tiny and it took several goes to make the bond.

 

5689(3)

One of the consequences of this modification is that the rudder needs to be tweaked to suit the revised steering mechanism. I added a small section to the top of the rudder and filled in the slot provided for the brass etched tiller arms.


 
The mechanism is fitted into place after blackening and painting.
Note one half of the etched tiller arms is used on the worm housing.



5711(2)

The wheel is attached, and the rod trimmed to length.

 

5710(2)

 

5707(2)


 
This is as far as I can take it at present, I need to complete the rudder before the connection can be made.


B.E.

25/06/20

 
 

Thanks so much, Michael and Greg. I am sure I would have been fired many years ago if I was an apprentice to an 18th century ship model builder. Can't earn my keep!
 
I had to spend a night in a hotel earlier this week, and took the opportunity to try making a maquette of the sculptures on the stern of the Bellona. Even though I made this at twice the scale of the model itself (3/8" = 1'-0" instead of 3/16" = 1'-0"), I still did not have clay modeling tools small enough; and the clay was too soft and deflecting. So another round needed with better tools and clay. But this did give me a sense of what it is like to shape in 3 dimensions, and to see the figure itself in 3 dimensions. An entirely different world for me!
 
Best wishes,
 
Mark
 

One fun element to plastic ship modeling is you can have a hull together is pretty much one sitting, that's motivating.  I really enjoyed how this model has gone together with metal fittings and screws.   Worst part of it being this little lip at the bow.   It's a little unnerving scraping off all this detail for the brass etch replacements, less sad for the overscale diamond plate on the aft deck.  I drilled out the portholes.   I'm going to start working on the propeller assembly and filling in the seams of the hull to paint.    Any ideas on cleaning up the plastic "fuzzies" in the portholes?
 

(Sorry for the mix up, I put it in the wrong category by mistake!)
As the lockdown continues here in the UK, I have been steadily working on my Jalouse. Just finished the Ballahoo a few weeks back. 
Here are some pictures of both. I do hope this log can help future builders of the Jalouse as there seems to be no logs at all on this beautiful ship.
 
Cheers,
 
Tom

Here is Ballahoo and the beginning of Jalouse:

I don't think that such ships are an aberration - we probably will say the same thing about today's 'hybrid' cars one day. They represent the transition from one propulsion system to another with the associated uncertainties of reliability and availability of fuel supplies (before you could coal in Aden, the coal had to be shipped there first). Having both modes of propulsion increased the safety at sea and the probability that you actually got from A to B.
 
I love this transition period (in ship-building history) because it shows the introduction and progress of engineering and the (cautious) technological optimism of the time. 

KAISAR-I-HIND (I) P&O Steamer coaling at Aden w/c 11” X 9"
Jim