US Brig Niagara by 6ohiocav - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64

[mikiek]

Hey, I'll get right into it. From your pix it doesn't look like you have put coils on the the belay pins yet. I had a suggestion to do that first, before shrouds, stays, etc clutter up and get in the way of doing that. Did you have any thoughts on that as you started rigging?

[moreplovac]

Hi Darrel, something completely (kind off) off the topic. What is your experience with Bessey vacuum base vise? I had one from different manufacturer, it worked fine until vacuum stopped working so i cannot fix it to the bench anymore. Now i need to get a replacement and wondering how is your experience with Bessey  brand. Appreciate responses..

 

 

[mikiek]

Dang - this new format of the website seems to have done away with the post #.  On page 12 dated Nov 16 you are showing your top gallant and royal yards. You have lifts on them. I can't find anywhere in the plans that describes how the lifts are hung and where they belay to. It barely even shows the lifts. I see it for the lower yards but not the upper 2.

[6ohiocav]

Mike,

 

I believe the plans provide separate diagrams for the topgallant and royal lifts.  I am not at my workshop, but will check tonight and send you a photo.

 

I may regret not placing my coils in earlier. My deck is getting crowded with lines. I am also going to have some problems when I set the hammock rails.

 

Moreplavac,

 

I am using my vice just for rigging, so I don't need the suction bottom.  With a spring clamp in one end, and my block stropping jig in the other end, I am constantly using this vice.  It is a very instrumental tool. When I did need the suction bottom (for 8 months, I clamped the entire hull in the vice), is set it on a marble tile I had left over from a remodeling project.  The super smooth surface great for suction. Never had a problem. I found an old photo.

[6ohiocav]

 

OHIO STATE FAIR FINE ARTS DISPLAY

I am proud member of the Shipwrights of Central Ohio model club.  Each year, the club reserves a table at the Ohio State Fair in the Fine Arts Building, to promote ship building and to display member projects. I attended this past Friday and brought my Niagara and some rigging tools and spent the afternoon rigging the ship for interested Fair Patrons. 

We had a number of folks come through the building.  For anyone that has done something like this, the predominate comment we receive from the public is that they don’t have the patience to do something like that. However, I was lucky to attract two young boys, about 12 years old, who watched me rig the Topmast Staysail Halliard. They hung out for over a half hour. They watched me strop the block, tie it to the Main topmast stay (I should have done that before I mounted the yards) and then run the lines through the blocks and tie them off to the pin rails.

They asked a number of questions, and watched with genuine interest in the project.  I gave them some suggestions on some styrene model kits, and may get one of them to join the modeling club with his father.

I have seen many posts on how we need to get younger people interested in our hobby. I never had a good answer to that question, but now I do. Getting out and doing some “field” work may have inspired some young boys to pick up this great hobby.

If you ever get a chance to do something like this, please consider it.  It is not easy to transport a work in progress (I spent the first hour fixing the block I knocked off of the spanker boom), and it does take some time. But from experience, it is the best way to get folks interested in this hobby.  

It was great to get back to working on the Niagara. The road trip gave me some well needed inspiration to forge ahead.

 

Here are a few photos.
 

[mikiek]

It's always a joy sharing something you like with others. Thanks for sharing that Darrell.

[mikiek]

2 hours ago, 6ohiocav said:

I may regret not placing my coils in earlier. My deck is getting crowded with lines.

I've seen 2 placements for coils.

 

One is on the pin - over the actual belay which saves you from having to do those accurately. Just glue the line to the pin then put a coil on top. It also covers most of the pin which can be a good thing.

 

The second - you belay the line on the pin but the coil goes on the deck beneath it. Those are not nice, neat coils like for the guns. Rather a wound up pile.

 

I'm having questions as to how big the coils should be. Several have said 3-4 loops but in many cases that doesn't seem like enough. I've tried making a few with .008 rope and they are pretty wimpy looking.

[6ohiocav]

I was planning on placing my coils directly on the pins. I have used all gauges of rope for my rigging and will be replicating it with the appropriate coils. I will be following your examples for suggestions on methodology.

 

 

[mikiek]

Looks like on the pin is the consensus. Some question as to whether a coil is looped over  or if a hitch is pulled thru and over the coil and the hitch is what goes over the pin. The feeling seems to be that open coil over the pin was done in the merchant marine and the hitch was used by services. I haven't seen anything earth shattering in regards to making the coil with hitch. You really almost need to do it like it is done in real life. Most folks are claiming about 5 minutes per coil and we are going to have maybe 30-40 per side. Bringing back memories (or nightmares) of rigging guns.

 

I don't think getting coils on pins is going to be much of a problem even with standing rigging installed. The worst part may be deciding how long the rope should be. For some coils, 3-4 loops might be sufficient. For others there could be many more. We'll have to follow each rope from it's source to the pin and then see if we can figure out how much extra should be in the coil. I don't mind taking the lead on that.

[6ohiocav]

MAIN MAST STAY SAIL HALLIARDS
When I got back to the workshop, I was able to finish off the halliards for the main mast stay sails.  Here are some photos of the final product.

 

[6ohiocav]

SPANKER BOOM TOPPING LIFTS

I had previously seized the topping lift lines to the spanker boom.  I just need to weave them through the blocks under the tree and attach them to the deck.Not as easy as I had anticipated. I had to seize a double block to end of the lift lines....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then seize a lanyard to the same block....

 

 

I stropped another double block with an eye bolt and attached that to the deck. Then weaved the lanyard and tightened the whole assemble.

AND..... after looking at this picture, realized that I rigged the lanyard in the upper holes of the block, and will have to redo it all over again. What the camera finds.

 

[6ohiocav]

Bob,

 

I feel guilty to even say this. I purchased all three racks, two of which came with Craftsman metal benches, all for $35 at an estate auction. I will never use it all, so if there is anything you need, send me a private note. I might just have it.

[Tigersteve]

Fantastic work!

Steve

[6ohiocav]

Gents,

 

HELP!

 

I need some guidance on a rigging question. I decided early on to include cluelines and sheets to all of my yards, even though I am not adding sails. For the royal and topgallant, I simply tied the sheet lines to the yards, and ran the cluelines down through a block to the deck (as per the Niagara narrative instructions). The Niagara plans were pretty vague on how to handle the Topsail, so I turned to my Petersson rigging book and used his design.

 

I am now faced with the Course Yards. Again, I have turned to Petersson. Following his diagram for the Foremast, I tied two blocks together with a single tack line as seen in the photo I have attached. My question though is this ok for the Niagara, and more specifically, where would I belay the end of the tack line?  In the diagram, the tack line runs through a block extended beyond the bow on a rod. There is no such apparatus on the Niagara, so where to belay the tack line.  The Niagara plans seem to indicate that the tack line should belay to the chock rail.

 

In my photo of the ship, you will find my prototype. I ran the tack to the chock rail and one end of the sheet will be belayed to an eyebolt on the outside of the hull and the other will run through a hole and tied to a cleet inside the bulwark.  Does this make any sense?

 

I also have a general question that will show my landlubberness. I believe the sheet and clueline attach to the bottom corner of the sail. If that is correct, why would Petersson pull the blocks so close to the mast, rather than out at the end of the yard.

 

The first photo is from the Niagara plans. It is hard for me to fully understand this. Petersson is a lot easier to understand.

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

[JerryTodd]

It's a bumpkin, boomkin, or some variation of that depending on where you're from.  Pretty much all vessels with a square fores'l will have boomkins forward, and sometime on the quarters aft as well, for the main braces and sheets.

 

The tack will run to a block on the boomkin the up to a pin, cleat, or post near the knightheads, or thereabouts.

 

The point is to haul the windward clew of the sail forward on the wind (close-hauled), which is what the yards do on the sails above the course.

[6ohiocav]

Thanks Jerry,

 

Your eloquent description put's my landlubberness to shame.

 

Then again, the Niagara is not designed with a Bumpkin, or at least my plans don't show one. Based on discussions with fellow members, I am going to use the backside of the cathead, or may simply tie off on a cleat.

 

BTW, have you had your Constellation in the water lately?

 

 

[JerryTodd]

The cathead won't haul the clew forward enough.  The reconstructed vessel has stumpy little boomkins a good 10 feet forward of the catheads, and long enough to require a couple of stays.

 

 

I've been making reenactor stuff, mostly tent pins, instead of working on models.  When I took a break to work on boats it was on my 16 footer that I hadn't sailed since '09.  Constellation's gonna sail soon though.  She still jury-rigged from May, I just have to reeve her braces and make a new handle for her cart, the old closet pole broke, twice.

 

 

[DocBlake]

Great work!

[6ohiocav]

Jerry,

 

Ill be darned. That is clearly a bumpkin. Thanks for that photo. It appears that there is a block seized on the end of the short bumpkin, and the single tack line passes through the block and then a sheave in the planking and then I assume is tied off on a cleat.

 

I am going to have to poor over the plans to see if I missed this somehow. I can't imagine that this would not be included. Looks like I will be doing some construction work.

 

Will we be seeing you at 155 Gettysburg?

[6ohiocav]

Thanks for stopping in Dave.

[JerryTodd]

It's interesting; I noticed that the prototype model of the brig Syren has boomkins, but I've see several photos of completed models of that kit that do not, and the tacks, if rigged, were lead to the cat-heads.  If the sail-plan is checked, the cat-heads would not pull the clew forward enough on Syren either.
 

[6ohiocav]

BUMPKINS/BOOMKINS

Thanks to the responses from fellow forum members, and particularly Jerry, I found the answer to my question regarding the tie off for my forward tack lines. The actual ship is equipped with stubby bumpkins. I looked over the plans last night, and they make no reference to the bumkins. So, based on the photo that Jerry was able to provide, I created some.

I first had to cut a slot in the Chock Rail. Not an easy thing to do on a fully rigged ship. I could not find room to use my jewelers saw, and the cherry wood was too hard to cut with an x-acto knife. I elected to pull out my dremel with a rotary diamond cutter. That was scary. It fit in there, but one slip, and I could wipe out an entire month of rigging. Luckily, I was able to cut the slot, and NOTHING ELSE!

I then fabricated the bumpkins out of cherry square stock. I chamfered the end and beveled the back to make it look better. I then stropped a 5/32 block to an eyebolt and seized it to the end of the bumpkins and then glued it to the ship. I then attached a cleat to the inside of the bulwark to finish it up.

Don't try this at home.

 

The slot for the Bumpkin

 

I used some square cherry stock for the bumpkin. The design is based on a photo of the original ship, which is not very clear, so this is pretty much what I thought it should look like.

 

A couple of coats of tung oil and I drilled a hole and inserted the 5/32 single block.

 

Installed on the ship

 

Stropping the tack line to the Sheet block

 

Rigged

 

Final assembly. Today, I will have to cut some sheaves in the bulwarks and belay the sheet lines on eyebolts.

Edited August 13, 2017 by 6ohiocav

[donrobinson]

Your rigging is very impressive. You are a very brave man with that dremel, good call on the bumpkins. Nice work

[DocBlake]

Amazing work!  I wonder if you could have fit this saw in that space?  I purchased it from a company in Japan (took 2 weeks to arrive) and it is a dream to use!  Here's a link to Clare Hess' blog about the saw and how to buy it:  https://shipmodeler.wordpress.com/2015/05/19/a-super-fine-cut-japanese-hobby-saw-hishika-industries/

[6ohiocav]

Dave,

 

That is a fine saw. Mine is similar albeit larger and not Japanese made. Hishika is a great product, and Japanese saws in general set the standard. The problem I had was the that Jib Shrouds are at the very same plane as the chock rail, and sit only about an inch away in the front. On the back side, my bell tower was directly in line. I therefore had no way to draw my micro saw in either direction.

 

I survived. The dremel was quick and exhilarating, although I think I will save this kind of excitement for my favorite sports team.

 

That Hishika is now on my list. That is a fine product and I already know how I could of used this on other tasks.  Thanks for the referral.

[Tigersteve]

Scary but it worked. Nice job!

Steve

[jdbondy]

I wouldn't have dared to bring the dremel in that close! Probably would have just slowly cut bits and bits out of the rail using a blade. Glad it worked out!

 

Nice log! My first visit here.

 

[ca.shipwright]

Stuff sure does tend to fill up space doesn't it.

[Dave B]

On 3/1/2017 at 2:54 PM, 6ohiocav said:

The real key to the rigging is the rope and blocks that I purchased from Chuck at Syren. It makes my work look way better than it really is.  If you can swing the additional cost, I highly recommend it.

Hi Darrell,

I'm going to take another stab at getting serious about the masting and rigging of my Niagara.  Can you please tell me what is needed or what you used anyways to replace the rope and blocks using Syren items, if you have an estimate of that?  Thank you and thanks for your log....it is giving me some good inspiration!

David

[mikiek]

2 hours ago, Dave B said:

Thank you and thanks for your log....it is giving me some good inspiration!

Amen to that

 

Darrell, this will probably be another one of those 'I missed it' situations. Can't find how the fore top stay and inner & outer jib stay fasten to the mast. Is it an eyesplice with a mouse like the lower stays? The fore upper top doesn't have much room for ropes to pass thru it. Are all 3 of those stays supposed to pass thru that square opening?