Deben 5-tonner by vaddoc - FINISHED - Scale 1:10 - a Whisstock yard design

[vaddoc]

Thanks Michael, blocks it is then. The end is so close that I am starting to become impatient! To feel like a child is very rare in our ages but it does happen...

 

Some more pictures to explain the progress. I am not sure if they help because my camera is terrible, the boat large and there are ropes everywhere. Anyway, here it goes

 

The two dots are where the sheets will land, the inner for the staysail (inner jib) the other for the flying jib (mid jib). They will not rub.

The flying jib in set position

The staysail in set position

Michael, this is the knot you mentioned, no shackle needed

the top jib (outer jib) in set position, landing on deck and tied to a cleat on the side of the cabin

However, there are more ropes. The backstays land on deck and need to be clear of other ropes. The highfield levers actually have quite a travel and also need to clear sheets and cleats. This is the optimal position

and we are not done yet. There will be a rail, the aft most pole will be round about there and the 2 ropes through the pole will meet the deck somewhere close to the lever, these ropes need to stay clear away of everything else.

 

I need a leap of faith I think and start drilling.

 

Michael (and everyone else), common blocks will do to guide the sheets when they meet the deck or do I need to make some special sheaves/blocks?

[michael mott]

A common block will work fine something as simple as this.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

Vaddoc

 

Reminds me of the end of a long days sail when the deck was festooned with lines in what we commonly called a rats nest. It all looks very realistic.

[Bedford]

Yeah, I've only got three halyards, three sheets, a topping lift and a kicking strap and my boat looks like that when sailing.

[English Rebel]

I've read all through your build and I think that you have done an excellent job. Your attention to detail is amazing. When I lived inn England, my semi-detached house was built by a local builder and the space for a garage was a little wider than normal (I could get our car and my motorcycle side be side) so I know what cramped quarters you have to deal with. Over this side of the pond, I'm fortunate to have the luxury a full-size basement in which to enjoy my hobby.

Alan

[vaddoc]

Proper progress today so time for another post!

Today was a frightening day. I drilled many massive holes on my deck, no room for failure, no turning back. 

 

 First of all, I made a number of deck fittings to tie and route lines. I ve been using a lot my new tap and die set so all fittings will be screwed and not glued. I also finally manage to sort out my pickling solution, I had forgotten that hydrogen peroxide is needed so all my brass pieces were coming out pink

 

Now despite using only blocks and not winches, the Deben is a contemporary boat and a really small one. So I thought that some kind of roller/metal sheave would be used for the jib sheets. So I made a few that actually work surprisingly well. Of course, if I change my mind I can simply unscrew and use blocks. I tried a few other designs but unfortunately this is the limit of my metal work.

Next photo is the port staysail roller installed. The axle needs trimming

I installed a cleat at the side of the cabin and two on the coaming.

The top jib will be sheeted without any blocks. The flying jib and stay sail will have a single block but it can easily be changed to any other configuration with more blocks.

Then I installed the highfield lever and its sheave. The sheave will face quite a lot of pull so I used proper 1.2 mm brass screws to secure it on the deck. I may change the screws with hex bolts but it is not too important

I also drilled 2 mm holes and installed the poles for the rails. This took a lot of head scratching as the rails (which will be ropes going through the poles) need to clear all other lines and components. I think it went well, I still need to drill 6 holes 0.6 mm wide for each pole at the base.

 

Some photos showing the above

Everything seems to work together and although cramped, so far I ve found space for everything. The sheet for the top jib I do not think will be a problem. I have a vague idea for the mainsheet and I would like to avoid a traveller.

 

Not far now! I still have no idea what I ll do with the boat when it's finished. 

[vaddoc]

Thanks Alan! This island is indeed very small! It's been a while since I last crossed the Atlantic and unfortunately I don't think I ll be visiting any time soon.

[Bedford]

4 hours ago, vaddoc said:

Not far now! I still have no idea what I ll do with the boat when it's finished. 

As my dear old mum used to say "put it in water and see if it grows" It would make a really nice yacht, I'd love it in full size.

[Mark Pearse]

well done, going well Vaddoc

[michael mott]

16 hours ago, vaddoc said:

Deben is a contemporary boat and a really small one. So I thought that some kind of roller/metal sheave would be used for the jib sheets. So I made a few that actually work surprisingly well.

Hi Vaddoc yes you have done a nice job with the roller metal sheaves. I personally think it would look much better if you used blocks instead. The unprotected sheaves look dangerous to feet. and really a block is just a protected sheave. I'm sure you could add a couple of slabs of wood on either side of the sheaves and the they would not be so dangerous looking.

 

Of course this is only my opinion, it is your model so you have to be happy with what you make, and you have done a wonderful job so far.

 

Michael

[vaddoc]

7 hours ago, michael mott said:

I'm sure you could add a couple of slabs of wood on either side

😀😀

ok Michael, I gave it another go!

 

I fired up the computers and quickly designed a roller block for a 5 mm sheave and printed it out on plain paper.

Then, the pattern was glued to a strip of wood, I think cherry, 1 mm or so

The pieces were drilled with 0.9 mm drill for the 1 mm axle and 1.1 mm drill fro the 1.2 mm axle and the outline roughly cut

Then they were sanded carefully

The axles were anealed, straightened and threaded.

an eye was silver soldered to a 2 mm brass tube

then the tube was shaped and cut to the thickness of the sheave

All the components ready for assembly

The sheave axle went in first, then the top end assembled and the ends trimmed and sanded flush.

And came to life with Tung oil

I think that indeed it looks much better! The eye actually pivots and it works very smoothly. Many thanks Michael!

I also installed the poles for the rails. It took a bit of work to drill and aline everything and I did not use any glue, only brass pins cut and the tip reformed. They are super solid.

I then installed the upper rope, one end shackled to the bowsprit, the other to an eye at the deck. I have also prepared two hearts for the middle to tension the rope. The red cloth is there to protect the boat from the dust in the garage.

This is a great forum, many thanks to all for your likes, your valuable advice and encouragement.

 

Regards

Vaddoc

[michael mott]

Excellent! Great looking modern wood block.  My toes feel better already.

 

Michael

[Vladimir_Wairoa]

9 hours ago, vaddoc said:

😀😀

ok Michael, I gave it another go!

 

I fired up the computers and quickly designed a roller block for a 5 mm sheave and printed it out on plain paper.

Then, the pattern was glued to a strip of wood, I think cherry, 1 mm or so

The pieces were drilled with 0.9 mm drill for the 1 mm axle and 1.1 mm drill fro the 1.2 mm axle and the outline roughly cut

Then they were sanded carefully

The axles were anealed, straightened and threaded.

an eye was silver soldered to a 2 mm brass tube

then the tube was shaped and cut to the thickness of the sheave

All the components ready for assembly

The sheave axle went in first, then the top end assembled and the ends trimmed and sanded flush.

And came to life with Tung oil

I think that indeed it looks much better! The eye actually pivots and it works very smoothly. Many thanks Michael!

I also installed the poles for the rails. It took a bit of work to drill and aline everything and I did not use any glue, only brass pins cut and the tip reformed. They are super solid.

I then installed the upper rope, one end shackled to the bowsprit, the other to an eye at the deck. I have also prepared two hearts for the middle to tension the rope. The red cloth is there to protect the boat from the dust in the garage.

This is a great forum, many thanks to all for your likes, your valuable advice and encouragement.

 

Regards

Vaddoc

just lovely work on blocks etc... Vaddoc. 

i admire your patience  

[Moab]

Vaddoc; great tutorial on making a block. Thank you...Moab

[KeithAug]

Good progress and an enjoyable catch up. Are you soldering with a torch or an iron?

[vaddoc]

Thank you all for your likes and comments.

Moab, a pleasure!

Keith, I have given up on soft solder and have not used my iron for a very longtime. Soft solder is plenty strong but I find silver solder a sharper and cleaner method. I use the small proxon torch. Rarely, due to the large scale I like working at, I have large brass pieces to solder. For these I have a massive torch. It needs a lot of care though as it can easily melt the brass or light up the whole garage!

[vaddoc]

Many thanks to all for your likes and comments.

The last few days have been both busy and frustrating. Many things went wrong and correcting the issues was difficult. I also kept dropping the little complex pieces on the floor, I found most but not all so I had to re-do a few things. Then I found bigger issues.

 

To start with, I made a few wooden sheaves. I did not want them to sit very high above the deck so I did not use shackles but used eyes directly soldered to the threaded rods. The soldering was quite tricky.

Then I replaced the metal sheaves on the port side of the deck with the wooden ones. This was a ton of work as the space is tight and also I had to take down the sheets and blocks etc and then re-do them back. And all this in a heatwave.

 

Then I installed the upper rail. After I had finished I realised it was wrong so had to redo it. Both the upper and lower rail will have a pair of hearts as tensioners. The lacing in the second pic is wrong, was corrected later

I also installed the sheet for the top jib

Then it was time to install the lower rail and disaster struck. The thin rope goes through holes in the poles but I had forgotten to drill through one of the poles! The next two photo show the missing hole

This is 3 mm solid brass and only Tungsten drills will go through. No other option, I had to take down the upper rail again, take out the pole and drill it. This went well but I checked the other 5 poles that would go on the other side and one was also not drilled. During drilling, the carbide drill broke and stayed stuck in the hole. This is game over, the piece is trash. I re-did the piece which is pretty complex and I had my first soldering failure in a long time. I managed to save it though but with a lot of work and quite a lot of cursing. The swear box must be full by now...

 

Then, I had to put the pole back, re-do the upper rail for the third time, then install the lower rail and call it a day.

 

Some pictures

The Highfield lever is clear of any rope.

And with a rope posing as backstay. The wire rope going to the stern is a temporary one

 

So the port side is done, except for the backstay which will be installed last and of course the main sheet which I am not sure how it will be arranged. Overall however there are many ropes everywhere which is what I was aiming for! The starboard side looks very empty...

Best wishes to all 

Vaddoc

[mtaylor]

If the wind is/was blowing differently, wouldn't the other side need sheaves installed even if they weren't in use?  Just curious as I've never sailed.

[vaddoc]

2 hours ago, mtaylor said:

wouldn't the other side need sheaves

All in good time Mark! The boat is not finished!

Although here in Cambridgeshire the wind is remarkably stable😃

 

[Kevin]

that is absolutely gorgeous 

[Bedford]

Mate, don't you hate it when you keep dropping small parts, the damn things never fall in plain view either and always seem to find their way under something.

[vaddoc]

Indeed Steve. My post does not really reflect how frustrating that day was.

I dropped a part and took ages on my knees to find it. As I was getting up, I knocked my hand on the bench and the part dropped again. Went on my knees again, this time could not find it. I am sure my hair are a lot more grey today!

 

Kevin many thanks, also a big thank you to all that hit the like button

 

Vaddoc

 

 

[G.L.]

Sometimes everything seems to go wrong and the utmost of your patience is required.

You did a fantastic job with solving the railing problem, I would have set the model aside for a few days.

[English Rebel]

I just caught up with this build to date and I have to say it's an incredible scratch build. Your attention to detail is nothing short of amazing. I don't know how you get the time to do this with a three and five year old daughter that I know from my experience demand a lot of your time. I'm going to enjoy watching you bring this build to its conclusion.

Well done sir.

Alan

[vaddoc]

Thanks Alan, very nice to have you for the rest of this journey! It is a very enjoyable boat to build. Hopefully not long now, I started doing the 3D plans Jan 2016 so almost 5 years ago!

 

[michael mott]

Vaddoc Frustrating days can really test one's mettle! You are doing a fantastic job and the effort is most certainly worth it. Not long now it looks like you are on the home stretch.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

On 6/26/2020 at 6:45 AM, vaddoc said:

Although here in Cambridgeshire the wind is remarkably stable😃

Yes but occasionally you have to sail in a different direction.

 

I find the best way to find something is to make it again. It invariably turns up immediately I finish.

[Moab]

Vaddoc; as I’ve mentioned before, you’ve created a beautiful boat...Moab

[vaddoc]

Michael, Keith and Moab, your comments are much appreciated.

 

I think we are almost there!

 

I made the traveller and installed it. I then installed the main sail sheet and all the blocks and cleats. 

I then installed the backstays, immediately the rigging stiffened up.

Up to now I used CA glue to secure the pin on the shackles. However, since I got the tap and die set, I actually found that threading the eyes of the shackles is a much cleaner method and actually makes the shackles removable.

 

Both the standing and running rigging needs now to come down, re-done, the lines trimmed to length and coiled. The boat also needs a couple more cleats at the bow. However, it still feels there are not enough ropes...so lets install the lazy jacks!

 

Now, this was a much more fiddly project than I thought. I used rope made from Chuck's Mara thread (for no particular reason really) and 2.5 mm sheaves. The eyes for the boom were made from 0.7 mm brass wire, soldered and threaded. It took a lot of work but came out fine. The first pic that follows is a mock up of how the lines would go so I could accurately measure the length of the ropes.

Actually, most of the lines had to be prepared before installation.

Next photo shows the lazyjacks finished, apologies though, the photo is pretty bad

Now three tasks remain

 

1. Re-do all the rigging, cross the t's and dot the i's.

2. Make some kind of holding base and take photos with sails up and furled.

3. Figure out what to do with this massive model!

[English Rebel]

Looking really good.