USS Constitution by Modeler12 - FINISHED - Model Shipways

[Geoff Matson]

Jay 

 

I have heard of modelers using a fan blowing to help set the sails to the bellow they wanted. Just a thought. 

[Modeler12]

Jay 

 

I have heard of modelers using a fan blowing to help set the sails to the bellow they wanted. Just a thought. 

Yes, I have seen a picture of that setup and tried it. My problem was that the two fans I tried to use did not have enough flow and the bellowing was not much. The method also involved using thinned white glue which created a mess plus (at least on the square sails) I had to add a lot of lines and reefing knots. That would add to the mess. I gave up on that, but may try the starch again on the square sails before or after they are up.

This afternoon I gave the jibs another coating and thus far they are going in the right direction. The flying jib needs a little more attention.

Edited April 22, 2013 by Modeler12

[bhermann]

Thanks for sharing your trials with the sails Jay.  This type of information seems to be hard to come by.

 

My (completely unfounded) observation.  Have you tried putting more bearings into the sail while it is drying?  It seems that you might get a better "belly" if there was more in there.  Of course the additional weight may be too much to handle.  I'm sure you will get these to where you want them, looking forward to watching the progress!

 

Bob

[Modeler12]

Bob, there is one little problem with bearings. They have a tendency to roll.

 

When I added more they all concentrated in one spot and made a bulge right there. Thus far I have found that more than one treatment works best for me. I can then decide what areas need a bit more, etc. To be sure, the hair dryer is important because it does help to smooth out wrinkles. (Don't tell your wife I said so).

 

I suppose I could use smooth pebbles, but have not tried that. Maybe when I do the square sails.

[Geoff Matson]

Thanks for update on the sails. I am sure you will get it all figured out

[aliluke]

Hi Jay

You are a courageous man. Or crazy... All of that rigging plus sails too! It is looking amazing and your persistence and perfectionism is certainly paying off.

 

Cheers

Alistair

[bhermann]

Jay - Yeah I can see where the bearings would have an issue.  I had this crazy picture in my head of them all laying side by side in a well-behaved sheet, ignoring gravity and the tendency to roll.  Hmmm... maybe aquarium gravel   I will be following with great interest.

 

Bob

[Modeler12]

You know Alistair and Bob, this hobby can be habit forming. Every time I start something on this ship it is a different experience. Be it planking, making masts and spars, or rigging (not to mention making sails on a sewing machine), there is always a challenge ahead.

 

Right now I am starting to add the spars to the top and attaching the halyards to their lanyards. I will keep them close to the final length but not permanently attached to the channels. I keep thinking to do as much as I can from the inside out (meaning belaying the various lines around the masts). That is why I am holding off with the bottom shrouds.

 

After the top spars are in place I will switch over to the bow again with the spritsail spar and more lines there.

[Geoff Matson]

Jay

 

It sure is nice to have you blazing the trail on the masting and rigging. All your gotchas, and tips will make it easier for me to follow

[Modeler12]

Geoff, if there is one thing I keep running into is the numerous eyebolts all over the place. Even if you don't have sails there are so many little things such as blocks on rigging lines which are then attached to the masts, etc.

I am getting a bit better at making eyebolts (I assume you are too). But as soon as I think I have enough, a few days later I find some more are needed.

 

Right now I am hoisting the spars. Royal spars no problem. Then the halyard for the topgallant spars had to come down because I forgot to add a block at the end where the block is also attached to the mast. At the places where lines go through a spar or mast I may have to redrill holes that got plugged with CA (around the mast with the shrouds in particular).

 

But slowly it is coming together. Meanwhile I am drafting up plans for my next venture.

[Geoff Matson]

Yes, the Conny will give you a lot of practice making eyebolts. I just finished them for the jackstays on the main and fore yardarm. I know I will never run out because if I need more all I have to do is look on the floor  I had to redo my cleats on the main and fore yards, I forgot the measurement was only from the middle to the cleat. I put them too close together. Oh well....Took them off and placed them in the right spot.

[CaptainSteve]

Jay,

Even if you aren't 100% happy with your sails, I believe they will still looking brilliant on your over-all model.

To me, at least, they appear to be flapping in the breeze ...

[Modeler12]

Jay,

Even if you aren't 100% happy with your sails, I believe they will still looking brilliant on your over-all model.

To me, at least, they appear to be flapping in the breeze ...

That my friend, is because there was a light wind a few days ago. They were just luffing.

 

But now, after, some adjustments with Mother Nature and her spray starch, a warm breeze is coming from about north by northeast and the jibs and spanker are nicely filled. The topsails are begging to be raised and set.

 

It is hard to take pictures showing what they really look like because of the light, shadows and background. And since I am not a pro at taking pictures I will leave it at that.

[bhermann]

But now, after, some adjustments with Mother Nature and her spray starch, a warm breeze is coming from about north by northeast and the jibs and spanker are nicely filled. The topsails are begging to be raised and set.

 

Jay, am I reading to much into this or did you put the model in a window, or out on the porch, to catch the breeze?  Regardless of method, I look forward to seeing what the end result looks like.

 

Bob

[Modeler12]

Jay, am I reading to much into this or did you put the model in a window, or out on the porch, to catch the breeze?  Regardless of method, I look forward to seeing what the end result looks like.

 

Bob

Bob, you are reading too much. I just made two more 'adjustments' with the starch and hair dryer. Again, the result is not perfect but a lot better than when I fist started. Before fine tuning the jibs and spanker (which worked just fine the same way), I want to wait until I do the first square sail.

Like I showed earlier, I did lie the ship on its side and propped up the stern to let gravity help me. I am not quite sure how I will be doing the square sails. They will be at a slight angle to simulate a starboard tack and show a bit more of the masts and rigging inboard.

[Modeler12]

Sometimes it is good to take a look at the details; and pictures help me to see my faults or next steps.
I hate to show these but they may give you some ideas what the rigging is about when it comes to raising sails.

 

Around the topgallant crosstrees there are no less than seven blocks/bullseyes. The one not shown in the picture below is the principal one that goes to the halyard to raise the spar and sail. It will be added later. The four double blocks are for the various lines that lift the sails after they are in place (bunt and leech lines and reef tackles). They are for tuning and controlling the sails, so if you don't show sails, don't add them. For me it was a lot of extra work.

 

I also want to replace the white line that goes to the top for the flag halyard. It is too white, too thick and I don't want it to stand out like that.

The footropes will be adjusted much later.

Edited May 2, 2013 by Modeler12

[aliluke]

Hi Jay

I'm still boggled by what you are taking on...This is not a facetious question: When you mount a ship under full sail in the wind do you list it towards the leeward side as it would in such a state? Or is it set to just run with the wind and not on a tack with a list? (To be honest I'm not even sure how much a square rigged ship would list on a tack...a few degrees only or more?).

 

Cheers

Alistair

[Modeler12]

Hi Jay

I'm still boggled by what you are taking on...This is not a facetious question: When you mount a ship under full sail in the wind do you list it towards the leeward side as it would in such a state? Or is it set to just run with the wind and not on a tack with a list? (To be honest I'm not even sure how much a square rigged ship would list on a tack...a few degrees only or more?).

 

Cheers

Alistair

Good question, Alistair. I am planning on having mine with the wind coming from about three o'clock. That would mean that the sails are filled towards the port side (my 'bad side' and facing a wall when displayed).

I know small sailing ships will list towards the leeward side and I would assume large ships do also but to a much lesser degree. Again, since I will have this thing inside a glass display case I don't intend to have it list too much and definitely not in the wrong direction.

 

I decided to do it that way when I saw the picture of the Pride below. You can see that the square sail and its spar are going a bit sideways but the sails are all nicely filled. The flags are swept towards the stern and leeward, unlike when the ship has a following wind. With a following wind the spanker would be much further out to port or starboard and the jibs would be much fuller also. But that is just a thought.

I figured that this type of display will also show the masts and the various blocks that guide the lines that operate the sails without obstructions.

Anyway these are some thoughts and we will see how it comes out.

 

I like to add another thought when looking at the picture above. Many people think that a sailboat uses the wind to push it along. That is true if the wind is following, but if it comes from the side and particularly from the direction shown above, the boat is actually being pulled forward.

That is because the wind goes around the sails faster in front than the back. This creates a negative pressure in the front and the boat is pulled in that direction. It is the same effect of airplane wings. Also, because of this, it is not the wind itself that causes the boat to tilt, but this deferential pressure.

Edited May 4, 2013 by Modeler12

[Modeler12]

It may be a while before I can post more pictures of my progress. I need to take time out to do a bit of house cleaning.

One thing that constantly irks me is that the supply of lines are helter-skelter. I have some wound on pieces of wood and others in envelopes. They are never where I am looking for them.

 

I made this little rack to hold twelve spools. Some dowel and scrap wood did the trick. I still have to transfer the running line you see on the scrap winder to one of the spools. Labels will be along the bottom to identify what they are.

 

One set is for the standing lines (espresso color), one for the more common running line sizes (GO for golden oak), and the one on the bottom is for spools of sewing thread I use for whipping. The slots in the end allow me to remove them if I want to change spools.

 

I still have other rope and lines in some envelopes but those are the ones I don't use often or are short left overs.

[Geoff Matson]

You never cease to amaze me. Great idea for the thread storage. I just use zip lock bags. May have to make a change.

[Modeler12]

It works pretty well, Geoff.

I may have to make a couple changes. I need at least one more spool for the standing rigging. Found an envelope with another size. What I need to do is to make the one inch dowel parts a bit shorter (make the spools narrower). There seems to be plenty of room for what I have. Luckily I did not glue the rings to the dowels. They are all loose.

The other thing is to add knobs at the end of the 1/4 inch dowes to make it easier to wind.

[Geoff Matson]

Jay

 

I figured you would use your grandchildrens Kinex and make a motorized one

[Modeler12]

As mentioned, I decided to step back, clean up and organize. 

I keep making a few eyebolts when needed. So, now I decided to make a batch that should last for a while. Here is how:

 

Wire gauge: I have brass and steel wire which are 26 and 28 gauge. For my model at 76 :1 scale that translates to a diameter of 1.22 inch and 0.91 inch full scale.
When made into eyebolts the average outside diameter of the 'eye' measures 6.0 and 4.5 inch respectively. You can see some of them below. Because six inches seems a lot, I have concentrated on using the 28 gauge brass for most of them.

To make them, I start by wrapping the wire around a steel pin (see above). This results in a piece shown below. 

 

I cut off one end close to the eye, and then finish by grabbing the loop with the needle nose pliers and twisting the loop back so it is in line with the bolt part. This may take some adjusting to close the loop (not yet done for the one above).

 

 

They are not all perfect, but this goes rather quickly once I get going.

Next I will try to show how I make 'hooks'. 

[Modeler12]

Rather than showing pictures of the three steps in making hooks, let me just explain. Sorry about the fuzzy picture below, but it shows two hooks made with the 26 gauge and one with the 28 gauge brass wire.

 

Hooks can be made with the 'eye' at right angles to the hook (as shown), or with the hook in line. I guess it depends on how you use it.

The way I did this was to start by making an eye as described above. With the wire still long, I bent the hook. Then added a slight reverse bend  that was then cut at an angle to give it the point. 

It takes a bit of practice and I am now a bit rusty with this. After making a few more it will come back, I hope.

[lambsbk]

Thanks for the above Jay. I am just getting ready to add tackle to my gun deck guns - first with eye bolts on the gun carriages and bulwark and then block and tackle with hooks. I will try your method. I am not certain what is my gauge wire but will look at that tonight. Thanks for sharing your technique.

[Modeler12]

Thanks for the above Jay. I am just getting ready to add tackle to my gun deck guns - first with eye bolts on the gun carriages and bulwark and then block and tackle with hooks. I will try your method. I am not certain what is my gauge wire but will look at that tonight. Thanks for sharing your technique.

May I offer you one more bit of advice about all of this? 

When I did the gun tackles I found that the blocks were very large and the tackle was so close together that there was hardly any room to  pull the carriage and gun forward.

There were two solutions to part of this:

Make the blocks smaller (I ordered better ones than supplied in the kit)

Make the hooks shorter.

 

Easy, right? Well, actually, not. 

 

I made the hooks part of the block. I did this by drilling a tiny hole in the block and gluing the hook into that. Not easy, but for me it worked. You have to be prepared that the hole(s) in the block can be quickly cleaned out or re-drilled so the line can go through. 

Experiment!!!

[lambsbk]

Thanks Jay. I have just started to experiment.  I agree the blocks with a hook are TIGHT in the small space needed. Do you think the aa size blocks are too big?

Edited May 7, 2013 by lambsbk

[Modeler12]

The kit I received included blocks that were not only bad looking but too big. I had gone ahead and used them for the gun tackles but was not at all happy with the results. For details go to the following http://www.brentjes.com/Conny%20Deck.html#tackles

 

As I mentioned there I ended up buying new blocks that look much better.

[lambsbk]

I'll try to size them a bit. My skills are limited as well as my modeling tools but I have some time to experiment. The bulwark eye bolts were placed port side yesterday and I am almost ready to secure the gun deck. After that it is full steam ahead on the guns! Hopefully I will have worked out the blocks by then but if not I have a lot of extra Revell 'aa' blocks. I won't be as happy but may have to settle for them.

[jimdaniels]

Ah...found the build log I did...looking as great as I remember...