HMS Sirius 1797 by paulsutcliffe - 1:48 - POF from NMM plans

[paulsutcliffe]

thanks druxey

[paulsutcliffe]

got fed up with hanging and lodging knees so i thought i would have a go at making the capstans, i dont have a lathe or mill so it is all done by hand, chisels and a 10a scalpel

i am following the profile drawing in the atos diana, which shows the whelps mortised into the heads so i started there, first with the slots for the capstan arms, glued the two pieces together then mortised the back for the whelps

 

 

I then made the whelps themselves which have a Tenon on the ends and a little jig to get the mortises for the chocks all level

 

 

 

finished trundlehead as first effort all by hand I'm not dissatisfied, however I will have to make a better job on the real one as the camera shows some scratches and roughness, I did bolt the whelps through from above and below as I think they may have been done originally

 

 

the iron ring on top and iron circular plate underneath are made from ebony, its standing on a temporary partner where I also practised cutting a ring for the pawls by hand and chisel I think I might have to invest in a little mill for these jobs to get them perfectly smooth and round

 

 

 

[paulsutcliffe]

bolting of the whelps with .03 monofilament

 

 

[druxey]

That's remarkably well done if you had no lathe or mill. Impressive!

[paulsutcliffe]

Thanks druxey,took a whole week to do as well, not on a par with your beautiful work on the barge but Thankyou anyway and everyone for the likes

 

now of to make the upper deck capstan to go on top which is 3" thicker and four more whelps than this one if I'm reading the plan correctly

[Beef Wellington]

Those are some very interesting photos of the artifacts Paul, thanks for sharing.  Lovely ship you are building here, I'm also in the 'mostly manual tools' category so good to see the very nice results you have been able to achieve.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Beef Wellington

[paulsutcliffe]

Thanks Jason

[paulsutcliffe]

Thanks everyone fo the likes, i finished the capstan head but didnt add the top chocks, its not perfectly round but as a first attempt its turned out ok

 

 

 

enough playing, now back to the proper job, lodging and hanging knees, then gratings, coamings and a ladderway coming up in two or three beams

 

Thanks

 

 

[paulsutcliffe]

The ship past and present

The frigate HMS Sirius was launched in april 1797 at Dudman’s yard on the river Thames at Deptford. Her dimensions were: length 45 m, beam 12 m, freeboard 4 m, draught 5 m and her displacement 1047 tons. Rated as a 5th class frigate she carried 274 officers and men.

During her last battle she was armed with 26 cannons of 18, six carronades of 32 and two
bow-chasers of 9 pounds. Her first action, under the command of Richard King, was the capture of two Dutch ships, the Furie and the Waakzaamheid, and, in 1798, a French frigate, the Oiseau, in the North Sea in 1801. With Captain William Prowse at the helm, she took part in 1802 at the blockade of Brest and, in 1805, at the Battle of Trafalgar, acting at this time with other small frigates, as the ‘eyes’ of Nelson’s fleet. From 1806 to 1808 she served in the Mediterranean and captured the French corvette Bergère. With Captain Pym as commanding Officer, she played an active role in 1809 during the British capture and occupation of the island Bourbon or Réunion. In 1810, the Sirius bore a distinguished part in the attack on Ile de la Passe and the recapture of the English Indiaman, Windham. Unfortunately, she grounded on a coral shoal during the naval battle of Grand Port and had to be sacrificed by setting her in fire on 25 August 1810.

 

[paulsutcliffe]

The archeological wreck site is situated in the south-east of Mauritius in Old Grand Port
bay approximately at latitude 20° 24′ 20″ south and longitude 57° 43′ 40″ east. The ship
rests on a muddy bottom at a depth ranging from 6 to 24 m, near to a small coral shoal in
the middle of a deep channel inside the fringing reef.

 

 

courtesy of yann von Arnim

 

 

The wreck lies on an east-west axis, slightly on her port side and is broken into three
distinct parts. The bow of the ship deeply buried under mud, lies in shallow water and forms a hump on the slope of the coral shoal. This area has not yet been surveyed. The main site having a length of 27 m represents the part of the ship from the fore to the mizzen mast.

The position of the mainmast is revealed by the presence of numerous cannon balls, ropes and two bronze pipes marking respectively the location of the shot locker, the cable tier and the pump housings. Besides numerous cast iron ballast and wooden casks, this area is
characterized by the presence of 13 cannons, 3 carronades and a large part of the hull still
intact under the mud. The stern in the east is 15 m away from the main site. A 32-pounder carronade, some isolated fragments of the hull and the keel can still be identified together with numerous cast iron fittings.

Edited March 21, 2016 by paulsutcliffe

[paulsutcliffe]

 

 

courtesy of yann von arnim

[paulsutcliffe]

a year ago this weekend i had a stroke and was off work for a couple of months, after a couple of weeks i decided to resurrect my sirius build

i mentioned earlier in the log that it had been sat in the garage for some years and ws in quite a state after some repairs and straightening it looked like this 

 

 

please excuse the state of the photos these weren't taken for show at the time just for a record for myself

 

 

 

[mtaylor]

Fascinating research, Paul.  The build is looking great.  Your capstans look perfect even though you mention "not quite round"...  The look round from here.

[paulsutcliffe]

Thankyou mark very kind of you to say so and thanks everybody for the likes

Not much of an update this week as I have been making some jigs/ sleds for the proxxon saw to make ladder stiles, gratings and dovetail joints, pictures to follow

[paulsutcliffe]

first jig for making stair stiles, I saw on another log using a mill with both pieces being done at the same time in a triangular shpe and I thought that would work on a table saw

 

 

this is the third incarnation, the angles have to be perfect otherwise as you cut the rebates for the treads by the time you get to the last rebate they don't match, its a bit rough and ready I know but works a treat

 

 

the stiles and treads are a scale 2" (1mm) thick

[paulsutcliffe]

secong jig for gratings and a sort of dovetail joint

 

 

this cuts 1mm slots for a really tight joint I might bee able to use later when I get to the cabin walls and doors etc and I used for strips for gratings

 

 

the comings are made from mahogany and lap jointed at the corners, rounded at the base and sloped sides

 

and with the ladder, this still needs sanding and cleaning up

 

 

[paulsutcliffe]

some more pictures, ready for admiralty inspection

 

 

 

[druxey]

Nice progress. Is that an iron spike lying there? You really shouldn't use ferrous metal on your model!

[paulsutcliffe]

thanks everybody for the likes

 

hi druxey thanks for the concern but no its the real copper deck plank nail from the sirius, when i first got it it was quite black but now the copper colour is starting to show through, maybe from handling

[paulsutcliffe]

Not had a great deal of time this week but have managed to finish the main hatch and started main mast partner

 

 

[paulsutcliffe]

When i joined the site i was looking for information on the brodie stove, using some of the excellent build logs, AOTS Diana and pictures from the victory i have now started to build my version for the Syrius

 

 

 

 

 

 

[paulsutcliffe]

 

in situ on the ship next to the temporary one I made some time ago to ensure correct spacing and size between the bitts

 

does anybody have any ideas what to use for the floor/hearth bricks under the stove when I finish the stove

 

thanks

[albert]

Very nice work.

[paulsutcliffe]

Thankyou Albert

[druxey]

I think Robin is correct: an iron plate with upturned edges like a shallow tray. Contained inside this were thin pavers or tiles.

[paulsutcliffe]

thanks robin and druxey, presumably terracotta tiles as in kitchens of the time

[mtaylor]

Paul,

I'm thinking firebrick...  seems to be what's used in such ships as Victory, Constitution, and various replicas.  

[paulsutcliffe]

thanks mark, probably makes more sense than just tile

[paulsutcliffe]

started to make the fire  and oven doors, the fire door has a working hinge but I'm probably going to remove it and remake as it opens but doesn't look to clever, door latches on both doors work though and slide across

 

[paulsutcliffe]

thanks robin, I'm not happy with it because the hinges don't line up properly so I will have a to change it (I will try and keep a working version if possible)

I do have some more artefact photos to post soon, apparently the weather has been awful in Mauritius and not much diving has been going on, as soon as I get some new pictures I will post up