USS Constitution by Modeler12 - FINISHED - Model Shipways

[JeffT]

Like Geoff said, the little boats are a model in themselves. Cleaning out the inside is a bit of work. Based on a tip I bought a set of these and the rounded ones were a big help:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/380464828345?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

The first one I did was all by hand and it took me a few hours to get the rough work on the inside done. With the bits I finished the other 3 in about 30 minutes. That does not include the time it will take to do the fine sanding and shaping though. The bow an stern of those little dudes are pretty tough to work on.

[capnharv2]

Thanks Jeff. I've had them for years and never used them. I will now!

 

Harvey

[Modeler12]

Thanks for the insight, guys. I can hardly wait, but . . . .

 

I am on a roll with the bow and want to continue that before starting anything too exciting. Otherwise I may never come back to the front end.

Geoff, I hate to tell you this, but another spar sprung up. I had forgotten about the bowsprit spar. It is the one suspended from the bowsprit. Is there anyway you can borrow or know someone who has a lathe? It sure helps.

 

Edited April 16, 2013 by Modeler12

[Geoff Matson]

I am aware of that spar. Thanks for the update though. I am actually getting pretty good shaping these things by hand. The first ones are the hardest, then the second seems easier and so on. Right now I am spending more time planning than building.

[Modeler12]

Here is the next step on the bow.
The poor foremast has been waiting for some support. So, I added the two fore stays as called for in the plans, including the 'half hearts' and 'full hearts'. Then there is the way the line is connected at the top, referred to as a 'mouse'.

  

 

Between the rats, mouse, hearts and Flemish horses, this is turning into zoo.

And then there is the 'snake' not yet shown, but it goes between the two stays.

 

 

 

[Geoff Matson]

Everything is looking great. Nice progress.

 

Without a lathe or shopsmith here is all I need to make my yards

 

 

And yes maybe someday a lathe.

Edited April 17, 2013 by Geoff Matson

[Modeler12]

I am afraid if I get a bit sloppy, but the 'snake' between the two fore stays is a too far apart. But for now it will have to do.

 

It is amazing how the various lines at the bow come together. It is another area where you have to think ahead!!! I ran out off 1/8 inch bullseyes and will have to wait with the loose ends that connect to the bow stem. The lines you see below are the loose things floating in space until I get more bullseyes.  Note: be sure to get more of the !/8 inch or 3.5 mm bullseyes. You will run out. The others are ok.

 

The three metal loops in the stem were made by bending some wire and soldering the 'loop'  together (plus a bit of sanding). They were installed in pre-drilled holes with epoxy. 

 

Also, don't believe what Mr. Hunt said about eyebolts installed with AC glue. They will pull out unexpectedly. The one below had to be glued in place again with some epoxy.

 

[JSGerson]

I am just watching in fascination as you construct your model. I have a large format picture of the trailboard that shows some of the detail of those "three metal loops" I don't know if you have this image so here it is. 

[Modeler12]

Thanks you. The picture below is what I used to sort of locate the three tiedown 'rings'. Both pictures are a bit dark, but by the time the ropes are attached I think it will blend ok. Instead of blackening the three rings, I will just paint that part.

[Geoff Matson]

Jay

 

I have a question for you.  On the plans for the yards they show the jackstays, Eyebolts with a rod thru them spaceds about 3/16" apart. In the practicum it is stated that they did not supply the eye bolts so he decided to leave them off. On the main yard looks like you could put quite few on each side of the yard. While looking ahead I think it shows some of the foot ropes lashed to the jackstays and I think they were also used to stow the sails. Any Ideas from you or the other Conny buiders would be helpful. Thanks

[Modeler12]

Jay

 

I have a question for you.  On the plans for the yards they show the jackstays, Eyebolts with a rod thru them spaceds about 3/16" apart. In the practicum it is stated that they did not supply the eye bolts so he decided to leave them off. On the main yard looks like you could put quite few on each side of the yard. While looking ahead I think it shows some of the foot ropes lashed to the jackstays and I think they were also used to stow the sails. Any Ideas from you or the other Conny buiders would be helpful. Thanks

It is my understanding that the jackstays were used for several reasons. The footropes are lashed to them, but so are the large sails. In addition they were handy for the crew to hold on to them while working with the heavy sails.

 

I installed them and made the eyebolts that hold them in place. It is a bit more work, but I needed them for the three sails I am using.

[Modeler12]

In order to finish the bobstays, I needed six more small bullseyes. Although I had an order outstanding, I did not want to wait and tried to make some myself. They are not perfect, but will be painted black, so this should work.

 

Here are two still attached to the dowel. I kept the drill inside while filing the contour. This gave me the support I needed. A small exacto saw was used to cut them off.

Edited April 18, 2013 by Modeler12

[Geoff Matson]

Thanks for your reply. I think I am going to give them a go.

[Modeler12]

[Modeler12]

Thanks for your reply. I think I am going to give them a go.

Here is a suggestion, Geoff. It is pretty obvious that the eyebolts should line up fairly well in order for the 'rod' to go through. There is very little force on them and I used CA. You might make a dry run first and then put a drop of CA at the base of each bolt.

[JeffT]

Very well done on the bowsprit Jay. Looks like a professional job to me.

[Geoff Matson]

I am in the process of making the eyebolts and getting the right rod figured out. Your bullseyes turned out great.

[Blue Ensign]

Just catching up on your build Jay, great progress, loving your attention to detail.

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

[Modeler12]

You know the fun has just begun. Well, not really, but the bow of this baby has more lines than any artist or comic could imagine.

Conny has them all.

 

The picture above only shows a touch of what I read on the plans. When you look at the actual photographs the bow lines seem like a nightmare.

 

I am trying to add lines from the center out, but also keep track of the 'stays' which are first before the running lines. Having said that, you might notice the tan line for the jib. The loose line will be where the jib sail will be hooked to (there will be another one for the flying jib). The reason I did not want to attach this stay to the mast above is that the sail has 'hooks'  that are already closed and I figured to thread the 'stay' right up through them when I am ready.

Another one of those 'plan ahead' kind of things.

 

I am waiting to add the flying boom as long as I can. It just sticks out too far and I am afraid to touch those thin things with my headgear. Tomorrow??

 

 

[WackoWolf]

Very well done, thinking ahead will take away the head ache later on done the line. Smart thinking. Keep the pictures coming.

[Geoff Matson]

Wow

 

You are making great progress on the bowsprit. I am really worriedonce I get that far I will surely break something off  It sure is fun watching your build knowing what I have to Look forward to. I am experimenting with bending some eyebolts and rod for the jackstays

[Modeler12]

Thanks you guys.

Like I said the bow has numerous lines. Looking at the plans I just realized that there are four more bowsprit stays that go to the side of the ship. Two on each side. More bullseyes to make. Geoff, stock up my friend, sooner or later you are going to run out. 

 

I also realized that I had put the eyebolts for those lines in the hull a long time ago and did not use epoxy back then. They are awfully loose and will have some tension on them. More epoxy work.

 

One more suggestion about the bow. When I put in those two large forestays with the open hearts, I closed them off underneath the bowsprit. What I should have done is to add three short sections of line (three for each stay). One should go underneath and one on each side. They would be used for those side stays and the one that goes to the stem. I ended up having to drill a small hole under the 'strap' and feed a rope through that. Tedious and not necessary if I had thought about it at the time. Another 'gotcha'.

Edited April 19, 2013 by Modeler12

[Geoff Matson]

Again everything is looking great and thanks for working through all those little forgotten parts of build

[Modeler12]

As I go along it becomes more evident that there are too many lines on this bow. I know, someone will say they all serve a purpose, but it is lost on me. I keep adding rope, learning why they might be there and wonder what those old folks were trying to do to us. We are the ones who want to follow their lead, right?

When I think of the bowsprit as a horizontal (almost) mast, the sides are 'stayed' by the bowsprit shrouds (not yet there) and the others are also like stays. Then there are all those other lines that basically are intended to help that whole business. What a waste when you think of how the modern sailboats are put together. Why didn't they have better materials back then, like aluminum and stainless steel, or kevlar?

Anyway, so much about my thoughts on 'old times'. Models are still interesting to make.

And for the time being I am not going to identify each of those lines.

[Modeler12]

The bow rigging is almost finished. Now I want to raise the jib and flying jib sails. That is what the loose lines are for.

 

 

 

However, the plans do not provide information about the halyards nor sheet sizes and how they are to go. The belaying plan is the only thing to go by. 

 

To make things more confusing is that in Marquardt's book the belaying of the halyard is done along the bulwarks. That does not make sense because the halyard would have to be fed in between the shrouds. Then in Lennarth Petersson's book the picture is clear, but he shows the halyard at the deck to go through fore bits, not just any old pin. 

 

I like Petersson's approach best so I will go with that lay out. I will just wing the line thicknesses and block sizes. He also has a nice picture of how the jib sheets are rigged. Too bad he does not make any attempt to identify block or line sizes.

 

I might add that the 'loose lines' I show above are the jib and flying jib stays. The sails will be hooked to them. The sketch shows them going to the bulwark to the far right. That is for the flying jib; the jib stay goes to starboard. My guess is that these two lines need to be adjusted when the traveler moves back or forth (depending on whether the sail is lowered or raised). Hence these stays go to a pin. I will still make them black.  

Edited April 20, 2013 by Modeler12

[Modeler12]

Jib and flying jib as a dry fit. No halyards, no sheets, just a flutter of sails.

 

 

[capnharv2]

And a lot of lee helm

 

Seriously, your rigging and sails are fantastic!

 

Harvey

[Geoff Matson]

Jay

 

Sails are looking outstanding as usual. You better put the Conny in a case before she sails away  .

[Modeler12]

Thanks guys. I just hope the anchor will hold. The sails are still luffing, but not for long.

Next step is to rig the halyards and sheets. I will also add the downhauls. it means more blocks and I may run out again.

 

I keep thinking to do as much as possible from the center line outwards. In the case of the halyards I might even go from the deck upwards.

[Modeler12]

After the two jibs were rigged, I tried to make the sails look filled. I put the model on its side, put some ball bearings inside the sails and sprayed them with a thin coat of starch. That was then 'set' with a hair dryer.

 

Starch works. It stiffened the sails, but I did not get the results I wanted. I am going to do it again and distribute the bearings to other locations. I want to see if I can get nice full sails.

 

 

Then I also noticed that the starboard sheet was twisted around one of the other lines. Luckily I had not tied that one down and can redo the sheet tackle on the port side. I also had too much tension on the 'loose' starboard sheet. It distorted the two stays. When on a starboard tack, the windward sheet should be lying loose. Some of the other running lines you see are the downhauls and outhauls for both jibs.

 

So, a couple more corrections. At least the halyards worked out very well. Sorry, no picture.

Edited April 22, 2013 by Modeler12