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1:64 H.M. Cutter Alert 1777 Vanguard Models Catalogue # VM-01 Available from Vanguard Models for £180 The Alert, built in Dover by Henry Ladd and launched on 24th June 1777, was the largest class of cutter in the Royal Navy. Alert originally carried ten four-pounder carriage guns and six to twelve half-pounder swivel guns. She was one of fifteen cutters built for the Royal navy between 1777 and 1778. Smaller cutters were often purchased or built by private yards and then purchased by the Navy, but Alert was purpose built from the keel up. In February 1778, Alert docked at Plymouth for an overhaul, to which some alterations were made to her hull and the ten four pounder carriage guns were replaced with twelve six pounder guns, raising her broadside weight by 30%. The guns were changed because six-pounder shot was more commonly available and, of course, they were more effective. Because of the increase in ordnance, the crew of the Alert was increased from sixty to eighty men, and recommissioned under a new commander, Lieutenant William George Fairfax. In May 1778, Fairfax was promoted to Commander and Alert was re-classed as a sloop to comply with Admiralty requirements. (Although always remained cutter rigged) On 17th June 1778, the Alert, in company with the frigate Arethusa, spotted and intercepted the French frigate Belle Poule and the armed lugger Coureur, with the latter overhauled by the Alert and surrendered, returning to Spithead after the action with her prize. On 8th July of the same year, whilst on an independent deployment, searching for the enemy fleet, Alert was taken by surprise and captured by the French frigate Junon. Alert is reported as lost without trace on 15th December 1779. Alerts sister, Rattlesnake lasted a little longer, being wrecked on the island of Trinidad on 11th October 1781. The model kit of the Alert is depicted after her refit with twelve six-pounder guns and a full complement of twelve half-pounder swivel guns, giving an ordnance total of twenty-four guns. Although not stated in the records when researching, it is possible that the upper bulwarks were fully planked, rather than having the open drift. The decoration that adorns the upper sides and stern is optional, as it is unlikely that the original vessel, when in service, would have had such decoration. This is inspired by the two paintings of the vessel by Joseph Marshall, which formed part of the George III collection of ship model paintings. It is possible the decoration would have been painted on during launch day, or if a prominent (Royal) figure visited to review the fleet. The kit H.M. Cutter Alert 1777 is the very first kit from Chris Watton’s own brand label, ‘Vanguard Models’. Of course, you will have heard of Chris’s name from kits released under the Amati (Victory Models) and Caldercraft/JoTika companies, as well as some magazine part-work stuff etc. I’ve bbeen watching this project come together both on and off Model Ship World, and the sort of effort that goes into producing a model kit. Vanguard’s new kit comes in a reasonably large box which is adorned with photos of the completed model, and some profile illustration too. Guess what? I got kit #001!! I’ll not claim any preferential treatment though! Lifting the lid and the first layer of bubble-wrap reveals a personalised customer letter and also a MASSIVE A3-size instruction manual which is spiral bound. We’ll look at this again a little later. Fittings A neat little labelled box contains all of the fittings for Alert, carefully kept in one place, and very professional-looking too. Cutting the tape tab reveals a series of labelled bags. Everything in this kit is also labelled in the same way and easily cross referenced against both the parts inventory and during construction. It really does appear to have been made as intuitive and easy to follow as humanly possible. The fittings are generally a mix of either resin or white metal. In the first pack we have the large winch which is cast in resin. This was originally intended to be white metal, but the quality of the parts was poor, so a new part was 3D designed and cast in light grey resin. Only a little clean-up is required to push this into service on Alert. Also in resin is the smaller windlass for the topsail bitts. The anchors are cast in white metal, and these look great. Very little preparation will be needed before they can be used. More white metal fittings are supplied for the twelve 6-pounder cannon and the twelve half-pounder swivel guns. I would give these a clean-up with a file and some steel wool. Another pouch is supplied for the cannon shot. One of the next packs contain steel pins for assisting with the first layer of planking. These look very nicely made and are sharp, with nothing malformed. It could be an idea to pilot drill the plank before using these, so as not to split any of the MDF frames or the planks themselves. The next two packs contain deadeyes and deadeye sheaves. The quality of these is very good, and definitely some of the nicest I’ve seen recently. Three more packets contain two sizes of single block and one size of double block. Again, quality is evident here. In the last three packets in the fittings box, you’ll find triple blocks, parrel beads and also the mainstay ‘mouse’. Rigging A zip-lock wallet contains six spools of very high-quality rigging cord in natural and black colours, as well as a sleeve of thicker natural thread which I think is for the anchor cables. This latter is handmade by Syren in the US, so you can be assured of its standards. Also note how each spool is labelled and inventoried so you won’t accidentally use the wrong cord when rigging. Timber strip Onto the timber strip. This initial release of Alert contains boxwood for the deck planking and pearwood for the hull. This sort of timber isn’t normally found in kits, with the recent exception of Master Korabel’s Avos kit’s XS Edition. It certainly is very welcome to see, and the standard of timber is excellent. I do believe that Chris will be releasing a slightly cheaper version of Alert with Tanganyika instead of pearwood and boxwood. Chris hopes this will retail for around £155 and is actually the same as he used in the prototype model you can see on the box lid and the photos in this review. All timber strip is packed into thick, sealed plastic sleeves, and clearly labelled so you can cross reference with the inventory to make sure you are indeed using the correct wood for the specific task. Timber standards are high with a nice uniform colour per batch, no coarse grain or split ends and fuzziness. Sail cloth is supplied too, just in case you do indeed want to display in this manner. The material is provided as sheet, and you will need to use the drawings to draw out the shapes on the cloth and cut/sew. Sails aren’t really for me, but the option is there, should you want to display her in all her sheets to the wind glory! Sheet material Now we come to the sheet material. There are two thick, clear sleeves containing laser-cut material. This first sleeve holds all of the main constructional elements plus something rather unusual for a kit like this, and that’s a clear acrylic display base! The base is a simple but attractive slot-together affair whose parts just need to be gently removed from the sheet. They are also covered in a protective film that makes it look dull in my photo. Rest assured that the material underneath is crystal clear. To assemble this, you could either use an acrylic cement such as Tensol, or an epoxy that will also dry clear. One such product that comes to mind is from HpH Models in the Czech Republic. You can of course use Cyano glue, but make sure it’s the odourless variety so it won’t cloud the clear plastic. The constructional stuff here comes in two sheets of 3mm MDF and one sheet of 2mm timber, all nice and warp-free. On the MDF, you’ll find the false keel, bulkheads, inner and outer bow patterns, stern planking and securing patterns, and the ship’s stove flue. The timber sheet contains the lower deck pattern (constructional element), and stern frames (middle, inner, outer). Laser-cutting is nice and neat with almost no localised scorching. It wouldn’t really matter either way though as these parts will be either hidden or bevelled. Our second sleeve of parts are all laser-cut from timber, with no MDF. Here, we have a combination of 3mm, 1.5mm and 1mm sheet material, containing parts for absolutely everything else timber-related on Alert, from gun carriages, hatch coamings, keep parts, cap rails, transom rails, tiller arm, trestle trees etc. You name it, it’s here. There are a few parts on the 1mm sheet which are hanging by only a few tabs due to the relative fragility of the tabs on a thin sheet, but all parts are perfectly fine. This material isn’t too rigid either, so those parts that need to be curved, such as the transom, will do so without any problem whatsoever. Photo-etch The inclusion of photo-etch in models these days is almost de rigueur, and Alert is no exception. Three frets are included in 0.2mm, 0,4mm, and 0.6mm bare brass, and all as good as any such material that I’ve used in any of my magazine and book work over the last 10yrs. As well as the obvious and intricate outer hull scrollwork embellishments, you’ll find metalwork here for the bowsprit and masting, cleats, windlass parts, stanchions, rudder gudgeon and pintle brace, eyebolt rings, deck grating, anchor ring, rigging components, and even a neat nameplate for the clear acrylic stand. All parts should be nice and easy to remove with them being held with thin, narrow tabs. A jeweller’s file will be needed to clean up any nibs remaining from the tabs. Instruction book This is epic in size! Printed in colour on thick paper stock in A3 size, the manual us spiral-bound instead of just being stapled. This means it will be easy to turn pages over, and the size is good for the eyes for those of us of whose youth has long since slipped away. The manual is 56 pages and begins with a side and upper elevation drawing of Alert, followed by a history and building tips/suggested tools and materials list. A full inventory is then supplied, along with images of the various sheets and PE frets. As the timber elements aren’t numbered on the sheets, you are advised to number each yourself before removal from the sheet. Construction sequences are given in photographic form with crystal clear English explaining everything along the way. All illustrations are also clearly annotated where required. The photographs are interspersed with more drawings of the vessel in various profiles, clearly showing the task at hand. A good example of how comprehensive the instructions are is the inclusion of a deck plank showing the planking format and the shift between the planks. When it comes to masting, drawings are supplied for this with accompanying dimensions and diameters. As I always find masting the most frustrating task, the drawings are a big help and clearly mark out the plan of attack. Excellent rigging illustrations are also supplied, showing everything clearly, including seizing, ratlines etc. A guide to exactly which rigging block to use is also provided. No guessing like on many of the legacy kits that got so many of us started in this hobby. As also mentioned, sail plans are supplied so you can make and add these from the cloth that’s provided. Conclusion What a great start to Chris’s new venture, Vanguard Models. He does keep telling me that he’s learnt so much from this that he will change in future releases, but he does sell himself short, dramatically. If you know of Chris’s work from his previous designs with Amati and Caldercraft, then you will know his own personal style comes through in attention to detail and design approach. This is a gorgeous kit that will present many hours of fulfilling bench time. Materials quality is what what we have come to expect from high-end kits. All in all, a fantastic package! My sincere thanks to Chris Watton for getting this out so quickly for me to feature as a review here on Model Ship World. To purchase directly, click this link at the top of the article.

I started this build almost 30 years ago. After completing the hull and deck fittings it was packed away (in newspaper dated 1986). I moved from to the US from the UK in 91 and brought it with me. Needing something to do to relax, I decided to restart the build and try my hand at masts and rigging. We'll see how relaxing tying small knots turns out to be! Progress so far: Basic inventory - except for rigging line, everything seems to be there. Damage - one pump handle is broken. Tools - purchased a few obvious hand tools; tweezers, rigging toolset, new x-acto blades, built a small (12"x24") workbench. Reading - as well as this site, I have copies of Ship Modeling Simplified (Frank Mastini) and Model Sailing Ships - Design and Construction (Robert F. Brien). Immediate to-do's: Read the books and plans - I need to get a better handle on terminology and techniques. Decide on any changes to existing hull work. Calculate size and quantities of rigging line - I'm thinking of using line from Syren. Start work on yards and booms. Some pictures: The original box Minor damage after a 3800 mile journey Lots still to do

Hi all I started making the Sherbourne about 4 years ago and wasn't particularly impressed by the swivel guns that came with the kit so ordered some Caldercraft brass ones which appeared to be about the right dimensions as those in the kit. In the last few months I've restarted the model (I'm sure like a lot of other modellers, real life sometimes takes over!) Anyway when I came to construct the swivel guns, I realised that I had only ordered 6 instead of 8. Fortunately I'd kept the original packaging and ordered an extra 2 from my normal supplier. Unfortunately when they arrived they were considerably smaller. When I queried this I was told that Caldercraft had changed the guns following further research to make them more accurate. Whilst striving for accuracy is always welcome, the brackets and handles which come with the kit I bought 4 years ago, whilst not entirely accurate anyway, are now way out of proportion to new sized guns. This leaves me with a dilemma but before I set about the task of making the kit swivel guns look consistent with the brass ones I'm wondering whether anyone has, or knows where I can source two of the original sized swivel guns. The original guns are 17mm long: Caldercraft Part no: 85005A 0.5lb Swivel Guns 1:64 C1790 I've attached an image to illustrate my point. Extremely grateful if anyone can help me.

Greetings to all. My name is Tomek. For some time I have been working on my next card sail ship the British cutter HMS "Fly". I build my models only from paper and cardboard without painting (of course masts and rigging are made of wood and thread). I will honestly admit that "Fly" is my 20 cardboard model of a sailing ship so it looks much better than my first models from 15 years ago. The "step by step" how I design and build card sailing ships... 1. Frames made of 1mm card. The model is really small (about 16 cm long) 2. The first layer to strengthen and stabilize the hull 3. The second layer made of 0,5 mm card. The glue is applied only in places where the edges of the frame are located . Thanks to this the hull gets soft curves without visible "cow's ribs" ... 4. Attaching the third final layer on a well-prepared hull is a pleasure. 5. The deck equipment and artillery 6. The current stage - the mast and the bowsprit with standing rigging Regards Tomek

Hello, while rummaging through a drawer, I found a long-lost tool set -- a linoleum cutter and interchangeable blades for incising lino blocks for contact printing. The price is right at less than $10US, the blade steel is acceptable and they can be re-sharpened , the handle holds the blades securely, and there are a variety of blade shapes available. It works for me. https://www.artistsupplysource.com/product/804451/inovart-lino-cutter/

Hello everyone, This is my modest attempt on the excellent HM Cutter Lady Nelson kit. At this stage, the hull is almost ready. Inspired by some outstanding examples in this forum, I decided to add some nice little details. I do not have much time to send many posts to show all progress. So, the next post will take a while... Enjoy the pictures! Peter

Captain's Log, star date 06 February 2017. So, we are off. The 101st build of the cutter, "Lady Nelson". The kit has now arrived from those wonderful people down in Camelford, along with the tools I thought I would need. I am now happy in the knowledge that I have done my bit to keep the Italian economy afloat. I should say at the outset that this will be a "basic" build, with little variation from the kit, unless you guys advise me otherwise. Reading through the logs of other first time builders, many of them seem very modest about their skills and experience, and all credit to them for that. I have to state that I am an absolute beginner. At present I don't even know which saw to use for which job (No cutting comments please). I will not be revealing reconditioned tools that I have rescued from a decommissioned nuclear submarine. So, my apologies in advance for what I am sure will seem like very naïve questions. However, I am very much reassured by the quality of the Amati kit, now I have it. It looks amazing. This is my work area a.k.a. "The broom cupboard". The admiral has commandeered the rest of the house. One tool I did buy was a set of Model Shipways "Hull Planking Clamps". Does anyone here use these? http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/model-shipways-planking-clamps-MX104.html These come flat packed, just like a ship kit. They are advertised as working with bulkheads of 3/16" or thicker. Inevitably, when Lady Nelson arrived, her bulkheads were only 3mm thick, which is nearly 2mm too slim. So, I immediately had to modify these clamps by adding some cuttings from the sprue that surrounds the wooden clamp parts to the inside of the clamp jaws, in order to narrow the gap. I also found that, on trying to tighten a clamp with its wing nut, the bolt just rotated. A spot of superglue inside the bolt head of each clamp helps to keep it in place. Incidentally, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the various adhesives were to work with. There is hope for me yet.

Well, I'm a little late starting this building log, but it's been an interesting model to build, so I thought I'd share my experiences. Hope it's helpful, anyway. I'm hoping this will be an opportunity to try out some new skills and improve my planking skills before attempting something a bit larger! First off, a quick look at the kit itself. It comes in a small, but really nice and sturdy box, with everything packed in very neatly. The instructions are much more simple than the instructions for Pickle (a more recent kit, I believe), and reading them through I was glad I'd built Pickle first. Nevertheless, having build Pickle, these are perfectly adequate. The plans are excellent, and give lots of detail, including step by step illustrations for the construction of the hull. Looking closely you'll see the the walnut ply used for the cannon carriages and capping rails has been cut out right to the edge... on the other side this has led to a slight split going through the capping rail itself, but nothing too major, and it should be simple enough to put right (I'll mount it good side up!) So far I've found that all the materials are provided with plenty to spare, just as with Pickle. [edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

Hi I have been lurking on this forum since just after V2.0 came to life. I really love the ships that come to life on this forum, created by some very skilled and talented people. My hat off to all of you. :) (You know who you are) I believe that I have learned a lot by reading and watching. I did not say anything because I did not believe that I had anything to add. I have been doing a lot of scratch building of RC aircraft over the years and also enjoyed flying them. But after losing most of the use of my right thumb after a motorcycle accident I could not fly anymore. I have finally decided to take a plunge into the deep water. I have ordered Chuck's laser-cut short kit of the HMS Cheerful and I'm now waiting for it to arrive, should be here early to mid January 2016. I have already made a mistake Only after the order was shipped did I see that I could have ordered it in Swiss Pear - Bummer. (Chuck, I will be contacting you shortly again for the keel and transom parts in pear.) My plan is to build the Cheerful in different woods as I find ships build from contrasting woods to be subtle yet bold. A good example of this is the HMS Vulture by Dan Vadas. I want to build the keel, visible parts of the frames and rails in Swiss Pear. Planking is to be in Castello Boxwood and deck in Holly. Deck furniture will most probable be a mix of pear and boxwood. Well, that is it for now, back to waiting Cheers Deon Engelmann

The following is the reconstruction of my build logs for the Sherbourne following temporary loss of the Model Ship World Site in February 2013. First posted May 6th 2012. === It started with a birthday present in January of £200 from my daughter. What could I possibly want that would have some meaning over the year? I suddenly remembered that as a younger chap I had really enjoyed rigging plastic model ships, and had had a long-time yearning to work with wood. So on to the web, find out about ship models. Amazon for books, found 'The New Period Ship Handbook' by Keith Julier. It didn't give much (any) detail, but I thought maybe the Lady Nelson would be good. So researched that. Found this forum. Many days reading the variety of experience. Asked questions, thought about the Chatham as well, tried to get it but it was out of stock, so bought the Sherbourne Kit. My plan was not to go for the perfection of the other builds, but to get a basic understanding of the whole process, as I knew I would be making some frightful mistakes, and likely to be a bit messy as well. How right I was! Read all the planking advice on the Database, how to make filler blocks etc, then plunged in. Bought the kit, checked all the parts, stuck the tiddly little ones into the bags in the photo, put the frame together. Thought I'd be a clever little so-and-so and follow Danny's suggestion of inserting nuts in the hull to take pedestals at some future date. Even lined the bolts up with the bulkheads and epoxied the nuts in -- ensuring no glue was caught in the threads. All well and good ... so far.

After the tremendous help I received regarding the nature of the horse for the foresail, I find I have a further quandary. How to attach the foresail to the rail. I find the description given by Steel to be very confusing. He says: "Sheets reeve through a block made fast to the horse with a thimble, or, in some sloops, a dead-eye iron bound, and through a block at the clue, and so on, alternately, between the strap of the block and the seizing or dead-eye; then through the thimble at the clue, till the whole sheet is expended; then frapped together and hitched." I really cannot envisage this. It seems to say that the sheet is bound to the clue, then directly to a block at the horse, then to a block also attached to the clue, then to the seizing or dead-eye, then to the strap of the block at the clue then (after going back and forth 'between the strap of the block and the seizing or dead-eye') through the thimble at the clue and, when the rope is spent, frapped and hitched to the layers of rope so formed. I can't find a picture showing this, apart from a very indistinct picture from Cole's build of the Alert. I'd therefore be very grateful if someone could explain how the foresail is attached to the horse rail in this manner, especially if they could provide a drawing, illustration or picture. Just in case people reply after tomorrow afternoon, I'll be on a three-week trip starting mid-day Thursday 10th, and so may be unable to reply until I can find suitable wi-fi connections wherever I'll be staying. Thanks in advance Tony

Another question while I try to figure out the rigging for my yards. I'm trying to figure out how to rig the topsail yard tie. Steel says the following: "Tie reeves from aft, through the sheave hole in the mast-head, comes down, and clinches round the slings of the yard: the other end has a double block spliced, that connects by its fall to a single block hooked in the channel; the fall leads through a leading block on the gunwale, and belays to a cleat or timber-head." I'm ok as far as the single block hooked in the channel, but I can't work out the subsequent route of the fall. Thus I see it as: So could someone help me as to how the fall would go to the timberhead? The way I see it is that if it does go through another block on the gunwale, there would be no mechanical advantage at all. Of course I may be missing something obvious, so that's why I'm asking the professionals! Thanks Tony

Another model, the last one, but probably will be the first to be finished. The model is based on the Cris Watton's (Victory models) drawings. I reduced the drawings, and .. I was convinced that the right scale is the one indicated on the model (1:64) but I was convinced that was 1:54 so instead the planed 1:100 i realized 1:119 I started in the usual mode, copied and reduced the drawings of the structure, glued it on tin plywood (aero 0,6 mm) cut it with scissors and with normal cutter, glued on another sheet of same plywood and cut again. The keel is made from 0,8 mm ply, double layers. For the first planking decided to substitute the classic wooden strips with blocks of balsa, and made some arrangement inside of the hull, so I slightly modified the structure creating the open spaces. In this way maybe I will leave open the hatch with the ladder and the litle portion of interior will be visible. (maybe) One little appoint, as this is in fact a generic cutter, not the real one, decided to change the name , I found few similar cutters on lists of Admiralty and probably I will make some small modifications on the deck arrangement, on base of other cutters. Ok, with balsa created the filling, after sanding added a strip of tin balsa for fine adjustement of hull sharpes.

I want to place a horse rail for the sheet of the foresail on the Sherbourne (English Revenue Cutter 1763). I have seen pictures of rails that run right across the deck along the top of the bulwarks, but it seems from a look at Steel's and Marquardt's books that the horse would lie quite close to the deck just in front of the mast. Unfortunately none of the models of cutters I have seen in the museums have such a horse, even though all the sources refer to one. Goodwin's AOTS book on the Alert doesn't show one either, although there is a tantalising reference in one drawing of the rigging which shows the sheet tackle disappearing from sight on to the deck with the caption 'secured to horse'. In fact the only one I recall seeing on a model is Kester's (Stockholm Tar) build of the Sherbourne. There he placed the rail across the fore gratings but I recall he was uncertain himself at the time of how exactly he should place it. My question is how wide across the deck should the horse rail go? My initial thought was to make it the same width as the one for the mainsail at the taffrail, but when I placed it on the deck it looked a little short at just under 4 ft (45 inches) full size on a deck whose width is nearly 19 ft. The other thing, of course is the height. I've thought 15 inches would be ok, but again am more than willing to hear from the experts. Any advice or wisdom will be gratefully received as usual. Tony

To get a bit of an order here, and to overcome the 10 image limit, I redid the posts here All the older buildpics can be seen here: https://picasaweb.google.com/112214601525161753861/BauberichtSherbourneWasserzeichen?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOr25uLXuOOWRw&feat=directlink Edit: I could restore a bit via Google Cache, I will edit here the next days: After a three year building break due to some private issues and high workload, I decided to start a small kit out-of-box just to build a bit and have fun ... haha .. not possible, I mean the out-of-box. Because of that and the long break I simply forgot some of my own rules for building: Measuring and Preparation all the time Now as it turned out not to be a "simple" build There are some, visible flaws, I have to live with (unfortunatley I am sure u will get what I mean ;-)). I also forgot lots of the english words for building a wooden build ship, sorry for that, and "help" is always appreciated. Anyway, as the build is allready in progress I will start with a little Photo-Story and some short comments, and will try to update the build regulary: Glueing the main wale made with ebony: Building the Gratings: Building the "don't know the word" Researching the Decklayout based on the original plan: The final Layout: Cheers, Dirk

Hello! First time builder here, I used to build some plastic models and miniatures when I was a kid and been meaning to grab a more creative hobby for some time now. One day it hit me: I wanted to build a wooden ship model! After two weeks of research (and finding of this forum) I decided to order ship modeling simplified book by Frank Mastini as it was recommended by many and cheaply available. Soon after that I decided on Caldercraft's HM Cutter Sherbourne kit. I wanted a POB kit that was fairly cheap, of high quality and wuold someday yield a possibly quite a good looking model therefore the obvious choice was this cutter The kit arrived just today and with it some titebond wood glue, cutting mat, admiralty paint set and swann morton scalpel with two kinds of blades. I had researched ship building pretty much beforehand so opening the box was not so confusing as some people had described. I started right away by cutting the keel and bulkheads and dry fitting them. Before continuing I need to grab some tools on weekend inclucing sanding papers and block, a couple small clamps and possibly a dremel, as it is discounted at the moment. I'm not setting a deadline when I want this completed, as I have quite a lot happening at the moment with school and personal life, but hoping to complete this in about one year. I'm mainly building on weekends and maximum 10 hours a week so progress will probably be slow as well as updating this thread, but I'll very much hope the helpful users of this forum will follow and give me advice as I progress and maybe someday this build log cuold help another starting ship builder like me! Until next time! Anjuna

I was really suprised that I did not find a build log about the Naval Cutter Alert on MSW 2.0. I know that there exist some pictures of a model on the old MSW The first source for building a model of this small vessel are Peter Goodwins book "The Naval Cutter Alert, 1777", published by PhoenixPublications Inc. 1991 and the two original drawing of her sister Rattlesnake (1776) which you will find on the homepage of the NMM. There also exist two paintings of Joseph Marshall of the ship, which are exhibited in the Science Museum, London. I found also an Sheer and Profile drawing of Alert which was published by the NRG. The sheer and profile of the NRG and Goodwin differ from the original drawing. They show the maximum width of the ship not at frame 0. Perhaps my Engish is to bad, but I could not find any reason for this. So I decide to draw my own lines. which were based on Goodwin and the original drawing. The drawing is not finished, because I decided only to draw what I need for my build. Next step was the keel. Goodwin shows for the pass between keel and lower apron a solution which I could not find on any original cutter drawings. For the after deadwood he does not offer any possible solution I decide to follow the original drawing of Cheerful 1806 for the pass between keel and lower apron. The flat joint at the foremost keel part is shown on original drawings of this period (for example on HMS Triton). For the after deadwood I decided to use a bearing line. I am not sure if this is common for ships of this period. The next picture shows my completed keel drawing: Goodwin uses for his design the common frameing pattern of double and single frames. I am not sure that this design was used for the original ship. For the Swan class sloops only single frames were used. This you will also find on the drawing of Cheerful and other cutters. Also the wide of the frame parts are not clear. In his drawing he uses much smaller futtocks than he descibed in the text part of the book. In his "Construction and Fitting of Sailing Man of War" he gives a third solution. What now? Alert is a practice model for me to get the experience to continue my HMS Fly build. Marshall shows on his paintings an simplified frameing design, so I decided to use this. Every frame is 8'' width followed by 8'' space. For the port side I like to show the clinker planking. On my drawing the final design for the last frame and the hawse pieces is missing in the moment. The drawings for every 31frames and 21cant frames are finished. I am not sure in the moment if I will use the original practice with chocks or the simplified method of Harold Hahn for my build. It will be very nice if you have further information about the cutters of this time. I found the Marmaduke Stalkartt on Google-books, but they didn't scan the plates. Perhaps one of the MSW user can help me to confirm my decisions.

As usual, once I arrive at the point of making a particular part, I find the details confusing. This time it's about the mast tackles. The Sherbourne kit that I have doesn't illustrate or mention mast tackles or Burton pendants. Similarly, the 1763 cutter model I photographed in the Royal Dockyard doesn't have any. On the other hand, one of the cutter models (1790) I photographed does show a similar tackle hooked to the base of the mast as follows: Furthermore, Petersson in his book 'Rigging Period Fore and Aft Craft' shows what he calls a Burton pendant and tackle as follows (though I have added text to point out the difficulty I have with his diagram): This made me think it might be a good thing to set up mast tackles. However, the moment I started looking at this, I thought that the diagram didn't make mechanical sense. It shows the runner going through what looks like a hook without a block -- which would mean it would have to run through a thimble. When I looked up Marquardt's book on Eighteenth Century Rigs & Rigging, he shows the following arrangement: This is very similar to that shown by zu Mondfeld and is clearly more sound (to my mind) in terms of mechanics. Marquardt also supplies the following information about cutter rigging (following Steel) -- the last two paragraphs of which I am at a loss to understand: "The mast tackle pendants were wormed, parcelled and served over their whole length. Each was doubled, and the bight was seized to create an eye which fitted over the masthead. The ends were then spliced together, and a single block was seized in the lower bight. The ends of all splices were tapered, marled down and served over with spun-yarn. The tackle runners had a hook and thimble spliced into one end and were served over. They rove through the pendant blocks and were spliced round the strops of long tackle blocks. The tackle fall was bend to a becket at the lower end of a long stropped single block, with the ends seized. The long strops, with hooks and thimbles spliced in, were hooked to eyebolts in the sides." Here, I don't understand the terms 'served over' and 'long tackle blocks'. I also don't understand which 'long stropped single block' is being referred to as having the becket for the tackle fall. As a result I don't really know whether it's right to put mast tackles on, and, if I do, whether to try to mimic Petersson's diagram, or whether to go for the kind of picture Marquardt shows. Any advice, comment or other will be, as usual, very welcome! Tony

I'm still beavering away at working out the rigging for my Sherbourne cutter of 1763. For reasons given in my build log, I decided to go with the rigging plan shown by Petersson in his book on rigging period fore and aft craft -- rather than the plan shown with the kit. However, this has led me to a few puzzles, current of which is how the lower yard was held. Having prepared the shrouds, backstays and Burton pendants, I was looking at the plans for holding the lower yard. Petersson shows the following: This leaves me puzzled as to how the yard was lowered or raised if just a sling was used. The books I have don't give me a straight answer. Several, such as those by Marquardt, show halliards with blocks (as do the plans for the Sherbourne). Others show just a sling, as does zu Mondfeld: Models in the Royal Dockyard at Chatham show some with a halliard and blocks, whilst others show just a simple sling. Thus a model of a 1763 cutter in Chatham shows the lower yard with a halliard and blocks as follows: I'd be grateful if someone could explain to me whether tyes with blocks were used instead of slings (or vice versa), or whether a ship could be fitted with either (depending on circumstances), or whether both were used together. I have a feeling I'm missing out on understanding function here, so any guidance will, as always, be very welcome! Thanks Tony

Hi all, I have started work on the Cutter for my model of HMS Vulture (link in my signature below for those who haven't seen her) and decided to make a separate Build Log of the project. Some time ago I purchased the Timbering Set for this model from Admiralty Models. Timber in the set was cut by HobbyMill who are no longer in production, so I don't know if the Set is still available. EDIT - It's not. The "kit" includes a resin plug to which the frames are temporarily fixed until the boat takes shape. There are NO plans or instructions included - this "kit" is even more in the way of Scratchbuilding than the ship itself is. Here's a pic of the "kit" : There are 5 packs of timber (not sure of the type) ranging in thickness from 0.031" to 0.1" for things like the Keel, Transom, Gunwale and Thwarts. There are also 2 packs of Holly - one is 0.031" x 0.031" for the Frames, the other is a sheet of 0.015" thick for the Planking. All the timber has been milled to HobbyMill's exacting standards and looks to be of excellent quality. There also seems to be a lot more timber than I'll need - probably enough to make TWO Cutters if I don't waste any . Danny

I started this project in summer 2012. I choose this kit after browsing and reading many of the build logs in MSW 1.0, and because it has only one mast (I’m not much of a seaman except in the rather romantic way of reading Patrick O’Brian’s novels for the second time). The box contained all the promised parts in an orderly fashion, and a very short/thin instruction booklet. But there is help: Watch and learn on MSW 2.0 (in my case especially from Tony’s Sherbourne at http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/335-hmc-sherbourne-by-tkay11-–-caldercraft-–-scale-164-1763-a-novice’s-caldercraft-sherbourne/) Download the construction manual of Caldercraft’s Brig Badger, it explains and illustrates a lot of the details (i.e. principle of hull construction, guns …) which are very similar to the Sherbourne (http://www.jotika-ltd.com/Pages/1024768/Manuals_Badger.htm) Buy George Bandurek’s book “Super-detailing the cutter Sherbourne” (http://www.grbsolutions.co.uk/5.html), an inspiring guide to make much more out of a beginners kit Keel, bulkheads and deck came first, then balsa fillers fore and aft. Then I soaked the plywood bulwarks before bending them with the help of tea mugs and a good bottle.

In his book on Rigging Period Fore and Aft Craft, Petersson shows a diagram of a boom as follows: The arrow I have added shows some tackle fitted to the underside of the boom, quite separate from the mainsheet tackle (which is given the honour of a full diagram later), but there is no other mention in the book or diagram of how this might be used. I'd be very grateful if someone could explain it to me or give me some idea of its function and the points to which it might be fixed. Oh, and by the way, I'd also be glad of some explanation of the function of the bees at the end of the boom as displayed (just to grab as much info as possible in one swoop!). Thanks in advance for any ideas Tony

In order for me to understand better the rigging practices for cutters of the 18th Century, I wrote to the National Maritime Museum asking if I could see some of the cutter models they have in storage, now that they no longer have a model display at the Museum in Greenwich. Nick Ball, the Assistant Curator of Ship Models, wrote back very quickly saying that I would be welcome to visit and could see all of the models I had requested which are now stored at the Royal Historic Dockyard in Chatham -- except for one which was stored in another location less accessible to the occasional visitor. He, together with Dave Lindridge the Store Manager, gave me a very generous amount of time to look at and photograph the models that they had taken out for inspection – during which they provided a lively discussion about their jobs and the models they were showing. In fact Nick said he was pleased to show visitors the models because it gave him more of an opportunity to review models in their vast collection. I asked Nick about permission to post my pictures and he told me it was fine as long as I made it clear the pictures were from the NMM collection. He also asked to be provided to the links of the photos as he himself (as a trained naval archaeologist) was very keen on the details and would enjoy any discussion that ensued. I will post the photos of the individual models under different messages, this post deals only with the first of the models. I just need to add that I am enormously grateful to Nick and Dave for their patience and generosity with their time for this visit, which for me was invaluable. 1763 cutter NMM ID SLR0510 First off is their cutter referenced in the NMM as Object ID SLR0510. It is described there as “a full hull model of a cutter (circa 1763) Scale: 1:48. The vessel measures 53 feet on the main deck by 20 feet in the beam and is armed with twelve 3-pounders. The model was donated unfinished and was completed in the Museum in 1960”. For me there were four main points of interest, apart from the fact that it is dated the same year as my Sherbourne. The first is that the fore belaying pins are arranged fore-aft beside the bowsprit. Gregor, Dirk, Kester and I have been trying to figure out how the belaying pins would be set given that the kit of the Sherbourne provides no plans for such a belaying rack. Each of us have provided our own particular possibility – with Dirk going for an arrangement such as that on the AOTS book of the Alert, and Gregor going for a rack right on the stem. I had made a rack that was parallel to the windlass. However, now I have seen the arrangement on the NMM cutter SLR0510, and, as you will see, the 12-gun cutter I saw had the same arrangement, I have changed my own rack accordingly. The second is that the topmast is fore of the main mast. I had understood that earlier in the century the practice was to place the topmast aft of the main mast. In fact the cutter Hawke (which I also saw at Chatham and whose pictures follow in a subsequent post) was the only one of these models to place the topmast aft of the main mast. The third point of interest was the windlass. The original NMM plans for the Sherbourne showed this type of windlass, and Gregor has already made one in the same style, and I followed his example – rather than following the type of windlass provided for in the Sherbourne kit. The fourth point of interest is that, like the Trial that you'll see in a subsequent post, the lower hull is painted up to the wales, and not to a waterline. The following were the other pictures I took of the1763 cutter, all of which will have details which will be picked up by those more knowledgeable than I am! Tony

It's a bit late in the game for me, but every time I've looked at my Sherbourne deck recently I've had a nagging suspicion that something is odd. It was this morning when I had another look that it dawned on me. All the cutter models I've seen, as well as the plans in the AOTS book of the Alert by Goodwin and the plans for other cutters, show the bowsprit supports fore of the windlass, and their bitts include the pawl for the windlass. The following are pictures I've taken during my visit to Chatham as well as at the Science Museum store: The following is from Goodwin's book on the Alert: The original plans for the Sherbourne, however, show it aft of the windlass, as is done in the kit: My question is whether this was an oddity, or was it just variable? In mechanical terms I would have thought that having it aft of the windlass would be advantageous in terms of balance and the ease of moving it in or out, but it's clear that a lot of cutter designers seemed to think differently. Having it aft does clutter the deck more, though. Tony

Sorry, everyone, but now that we've had the discussion about backstays, I've traced my puzzlement about the rigging of the bowsprit on the Sherbourne and would like to check that I have it right. My conclusion so far is that there was no need for a bobstay (or that it would hamper things) for the bowsprit on the Sherbourne because of the need to move the bowsprit in or out. Petersson shows no bobstay on his cutter, and Goodwin neither shows nor discusses a bobstay in the AOTS book of the Alert. The kit plans for the Sherbourne show no bobstay. The only reason I ask is because my pictures from NMM of the cutter Trial of 1790, seem to show a bobstay as well as the jib outhaul. But then it doesn't show any holes on the bowsprit to suggest that it could be moved. Could it be that a running bowsprit doesn't have/need a bobstay as that would have hampered its being moved? Thanks for your patience with my ignorance! Tony