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

[6ohiocav]

David,

 

Thanks for stopping in. It is good to know there is another Niagara builder out there. 

 

Here is a rough inventory on what I have purchased from Syren so far. Chuck sells his products in small plastic packs. What I am listing below refers to individual packs.

 

RIGGING

TAN

.008 - 5 packs

.012 - 6

.018 - 2

.035 - 1

 

BLACK

.008 - 2

.012 - 2

.018 - 3

.025 - 2

.035 - 2

 

BLOCKS

3/32 SINGLE - 5

3/32 DOUBLE - 4

1/8 SINGLE - 4

1/8 DOUBLE - 3

5/32 SINGLE - 1

5/32 DOUBLE - 1

 

7mm CLEATS - 2

 

7mm CLOSED HEARTS - 1

 

3mm rigging hooks - 2

 

That is not a complete inventory, as I have a number of partially used packs, and am not finished rigging.  That will however get you to where I am. When I am totally finished, if that day ever comes, I will be able to provide a more detailed inventory.

 

As I have said throughout the entire build, Chuck's products are simply outstanding. I highly recommend them if you able to swing the cost.

 

Good luck on your rigging challenges and don't hesitate to send me a note if you have any questions. I may not have the correct answer, but I can at least share with you how I decided to tackle the problem.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2017 by 6ohiocav

[mikiek]

Still haven't found the answer in the plans, but I did see something that showed the fore top stay & inner jib stay wrapped around the top mast head with eyesplice & mouse keeping it in place.Typical stay configuration. In the plans, the outer jib stay looks like it goes around the masthead also but still haven't found how it fastens.

[6ohiocav]

On ‎8‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 10:04 AM, mikiek said:

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?

Mike,

 

I did not use an eye splice and mouse. I tied the fore top, inner and outer jib stays to the mast (back post) using a simple whipping knot. However, I used a heavier thread (I think a .008), and used at least 8 wraps to extend the knot. All three pass through the square hole in front of the upper tops without a problem.  They sit on top of the shrouds.

 

By the way, I don't know where you are, but I tied these before I stepped the mast.

 

Here is a photo from my build log that shows how the stays pass through the top.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2017 by 6ohiocav

[mikiek]

Thank you  Darrell. I looked at so many pix I can remember where it was but it showed the top stay and jib stay moused. It also showed the eyesplice was threaded thru the outer (side) opening in the top, passed around the mast and then threaded thru the opposite outer opening. Then the fall reeved thru the eyesplice. This sort of makes sense for those 2 stays, but I haven't figured out the the outer jib stay. I may just do as you describe for that one.  Need to do something, I've been fretting over this one for several days now.

[Dave B]

2 hours ago, 6ohiocav said:

Here is a rough inventory on what I have purchased from Syren so far. Chuck sell his products in small plastic packs. What I am listing below refers to individual packs.

Thanks so much!  This will definitely get me started.  I really appreciate your offer of help also!

David

[6ohiocav]

Mike,

 

I am sure that on the real ship, this was done with an eye splice.  However, the small diameter of the rope for these three stays at our scale just did not make sense to me, so I simply tied a standard whipping knot, which I might add, visually looks a little like an eye splice anyway. That is especially so, now since I have added a ton of other lines, blocks, shrouds, stays and the sort, and quite frankly, you can barely even see the knots through all of the clutter.

 

Make this simple. Just whip it.

[6ohiocav]

SHEAVES

I have to run the sheet lines through the bulwarks. The plans call for the installation of sheaves. I understand that a sheave is a rectangular box with a pulley inside that the rope slides on. Giving this some thought, and after reviewing some build logs to see how other shipwrights have handled this challenge, I decided to forego installing a pulley wheel in my sheaves. The scale is just too small.

So I compromised. I took some “U” shaped wood stock and cut small pieces off (1 mm). I decided to cut rectangular holes in the side of my ship and insert the chips. I then ran the sheet lines through the channel. When I was done, I have to say it looks like the rope is suspended in the box as if it would if a pulley was indeed installed.

By the way, drilling holes and carving out a rectangular shape in your hull AFTER you have done all of the rigging and installed all of the yards is not recommended. Cutting the hole in the outer hull was ok, but do that on the inside, by reaching through all of the rigging lines, was incredibly delicate.

Hint to fellow Niagara builders.  If you are going to install sheaves, DO IT BEFORE YOU STEP THE MASTS AND DO ANY RIGGING.

This exercise took all evening, and I have 5 more to do.  It looks like it is going to be a “Sheave” week.

 

 

I STARTED BY DRILLING A HOLE THROUGH THE ENTIRE BULWARK, AND THEN CARVED A RECTANGULAR SHAPE WITH THE X-ACTO KNIFE. THE INSIDE BULWARK WAS A REAL "YOU KNOW WHAT"

 

 

 

 

I THEN TOOK A PIECE OF "U" SHAPED STOCK AND CUT 1MM CHIPS.

 

 

 

I BLACKEND IT WITH A SHARPIE. THE ENDGRAIN SOAKED UP THE INK NICELY.

 

 

 

I THEN INSERTED THE SHEAVES WITH A SMALL SPOT OF WOOD GLUE INTO THE SQUARE HOLES. AGAIN, INSTALLING THE INSIDE SHEAVE REQUIRED ME TO REACH THROUGH THE DECK AND RIGGING LINES. I HAD TO DETACH THE ROYAL BACK STAY TO GIVE MY FAT HAND ROOM.

 

 

 

THE FINAL PRODUCT. THE LINE RUNNING THROUGH THE "FAUX" SHEAVE IS ACCEPTABLE.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2017 by 6ohiocav

[ca.shipwright]

Darrell,

Your Niagara's deck and rigging is as busy as it can get. Your work is superb. You have raised the bar very high. I only hope that my eyes and fingers will be up to the task of rigging my Endeavour and Victory when the time comes.

 

Regards

[6ohiocav]

HAMMOCK STANTIONS

It has been quite a while since I posted to my build log. Since I moved, I have been working on a complete remodeling of my kitchen, so my carpenter skills have been focusing on the Macro rather than the Micro.

I have finally got time to get back to the Niagara, and am dedicated to the stretch run to get her done.

A while back, as I was rigging the ship, and encasing the deck and railing with ropes and stays, I realized that I had not built the hammock railings. When I realized that it would be nearly impossible to build them with all of the rigging lines in the way, I therefore decided to skip the process.

Overtime, I felt that was a cop out and decided to come up with a strategy to install them.  Following the plans, I surmised I could accomplish this only one way – to build them on the bench as a total component, and then slip them between the rigging lines and stays and glue them down. Necessity is the mother of invention.  In the end, It actually was a good way to tackle this part of the build.  Here is how I did it.

[mikiek]

A good piece of work Darrell. I had thought about a single unit for a while. Was actually pretty surprised at the amount of room there actually was under the shrouds.

 

It's good to see you back! Get this girl finished up.

[6ohiocav]

 

 I spent some quality time in the shipyard this weekend and finished all of the hammock rails and stations.

Before I install them, I have to clean up all of the pin rails. When I did my rigging, I simply fastened the ropes in the pinrails by wedging the ropes in the holes.  I did not want to tie anything off in case I had to tighten lines.  I am sure glad I made that decision because I had to make a lot of adjustments. The only detriment is that it is very crowded on deck, forcing me to go double fisted with the tweezers.

Working from the bow, going back, I have started to tighten lines and tie off the tails. this should take a while. I spent all day Sunday working on the bow pin rails and Foremast rails. Once I get done, I will be making some rope coils for the pins that carry lines.

Final thoughts on the hammock rails, I thought I had made a mistake by not building them when the deck was clear of masts and rigging. In the end, if I had added them then, and built them from the ground up on the ship rail as the plans suggest, it would have been more difficult, and in the end, they would have been the way when I did get around to rigging.  They cover all of the major pin rails. Doing them on the bench and sliding them in after all of the rigging and deck work is done to me seems to be the better play.

[mikiek]

Very good details on the rail units Darrell.

 

I'm wondering, you said they cover some of the pin rails. Are the units wider than the hand rail? Are you getting some overhang? If yes, could the overhang be pushed over the outside of the rail so the inside of the unit is flush with the rails inner edge? Just a thought.

 

Sounds like you have it under control. And you didn't have to tie 150 itty bitty hammocks

[xken]

Darrel, your doing a great job and it looks like you are still having fun with this build. 

[6ohiocav]

Mike,

 

Bad description. With the hammocks installed, you have to reach over them to get the pinrails. They fit flush with the ends of the rails. It is just so hard to do anything inside the body of the ship's deck with all of the lines already.  I just did not want to add to the challenge. I will add the hammock rails at the very end.

 

I love those "itty bitty" hammocks on your build. I just did not have the energy.

 

[6ohiocav]

Ken,

Love your Maersk Detroit and looking forward to seeing your work on the Victory. Thanks for the good words.

 

[mikiek]

I hear ya - things are getting tight.

 

One thing you might consider when you go to add the separate coils on the pins. First off I think you rigged more than I did, even though we both left off the sails. I had quite a few empty pins which looked kind of strange. I also realized that to be accurate some of the coils would be huge. I ended up doing coils no bigger than 5-6 loops and then started hang those off the pins whether or not there was a rope coming down to the pin. The clutter looked pretty good and the small coils are easier to manage. FWIW

[6ohiocav]

I was wondering how many coils.  I was going to do some experimenting. Nearly all of my pins around the masts are rigged. About half of the pins along the rails. I still have to do bracing, so I should be using some more pins.  Did you coat your coils with a water/glue solution?

[mikiek]

I did but that can be problematic. Just a brush on led to spotting. I ended up more like soaking them  with mostly water and white glue, about 75%/25% .

 

The most important thing was getting a slight bend in the coil. If you think about it, the coil at the pin is not hanging vertically. The pin rail pushes it a little towards horizontal then the coil falls vertical. So it's a little bit out and then down.My jig was a board with some nails in it, wrapped the rope a few loops then glued it. What you end up with is a coil that sticks straight out at the pin. Solution - lay your board down, nail one nail vertical on top, the other nail horizontally in the side edge of the board. You'll have to adjust the distances to your taste. But the idea is the rope goes over the edge of the board and down to the other nail. The rope will bend some as it goes over the corner. Put your glue on that and when it dries you'll have a coil with a slight bend at one end and it should hang nicely on a pin.

 

I was also lazy and instead of some fancy hitch at the pin to hold the rope on, I just put the entire coil over the pin and buried both ends inside the coil. It looks OK to me but it could have been dressed up more if I wanted to take the time.

 

Have fun!

[6ohiocav]

CAPSTAN PLATFORM

I decided that I had better get all of my deck furniture and structures finished and glued down before I do any more rigging. I had to build a platform for my Capstan that I built over a year ago. The plans call for it, and comparing the Capstan to the adjacent Skylights, I definitely need one to raise the height so that the wood handles when attached to turn it rise above the tops.

Here are the photos on how I did mine.  I could have just added a square piece of cherry, but decided to do a little joinery, even though it is on the bottom and won’t be seen.

[6ohiocav]

 

DILEMMA – PLAN ACCURACY (FOR THE REPLICA SHIP) OR HISTORICAL ACCURACY

Those of you that have reviewed previous portions of this log, or have studied the Niagara, know that there is a historical anomaly regarding Model Shipways Niagara Kit. It is based on the Replica Ship owned by the State of Pennsylvania and moored at Erie, Pa. I was drawn to this kit because I was born in a town on the banks of Lake Erie, and have a driving interest in military history, and Commadore Perry’s exploits during the famous battle on Lake Erie during the War of 1812 are absolutely fascinating.

I come to find out that the US Niagara, which I had seen in person at a tall ships event in Cleveland Ohio, is not the restored original ship that Perry used to defeat the British (it rotted out of existence). It is a replica, and no plans really exist of the original. While the current ship is a good rendition, it has some modern amenities that would not have been present on the 19^th century ship.

That conflict hits the kit builder squarely in the face when the decision to place the companionway (which by most accounts, and based on a number of contributors on the forum, was not present on the historical ship) the skylights (which would likely have been on the historical ship), and the capstan (which definitely was on the original ship and was a real workhorse) come into play.

So here is my dilemma. I scratch built the two skylights and the companionway based on the plans, and built the capstan with laser-cut kit parts. When you place all of these strutures on the ship as per the plans, it is INCREDIBLY CROWDED.  The Capstan is literally wedged between the forward skylight and the companionway, so much so, to be almost useless, and that is after raising the height so that the wood bars could actually turn without hitting something. The forward skylight also is right up against the pumps, making for more cramped space.

In the attached photos, I have demonstrated the problem.  The first photo is a design that leaves the aft skylight out.The second is with all of the structures as per the plan.

By the way, I looked at some photos of the replica ship and YES, it is very crowded indeed, so the plans are accurate.

Any thoughts out there.  By the PLANS, or BASED ON HISTORY AND UTILITY??? Two skylights and the companionway, or leave out one of the skylights and give the crew some room to maneuver???

Edited March 27, 2018 by 6ohiocav

[Tom E]

Sheesh, that's a tough one.

Something I haven't even begun to think about, but will eventually come across.

 

I'm one to follow plans, almost to a fault, but that deck does look crowded. I know I am not the one to tell you which way to go, but I have to say that when I get to the furniture I may leave it out.

It looks crowded and like its been "forced" in there by the model manufacturers.

 

I don't think the Capstan would be easy to use with a deck like that, Sailors would be climbing over things to work it.

 

Tom E 

[mtaylor]

Logic (for some value thereof) would say the companionway would be further aft and rotated 180 degrees using the ladder to the next deck as a reference point.  The skylights would be gratings.   But...    I think it boils down to what you think  1) what you feel it looked like and 2) what's practical.  Back then, sailors and captains were very practical about their ships and moreso about warships with the need for working the guns, etc.

[mikiek]

I think you know where I stand.  Look at it this way all the functions of the capstan (anchor, raising spars, hoisting goods) are now wench driven. I doubt if the capstan is even used except for show. One of the captains of the new ship said a lot of the new design was done because a typical crew is much smaller now. If I recall it was in the neighborhood of 30-40 vs. 140 on the real one. 30-40 men was 1 watch. Things were done to facilitate the small crew. Masts are shorter, current safety requirements, etc.

 

But really now, captains skylight maybe but personally I doubt it. Companionway nope. Problem there is if you remove it what do you put in its stead? They had to get up & down somehow. All that just more sources for splinters.

 

On the flip side, all your work came out really nice. Your woodworking skills shined. Would be a pity to toss them.

 

Didn't help at all did I?

[6ohiocav]

BRACES

Moving along to completion. The last major rigging task is the braces, and boy was this more difficult than it needed to be. Sixteen blocks needed to be seized, most to the shrouds, some to the tops on both masts, and SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE BEFORE I DID ANY RIGGING.

**** WARNING**** TO ALL NIAGARA BUILDERS – SEIZE THE BRACES BLOCKS EARLY.

All of the blocks on the upper shrouds could have been attached while my masts were still on the bench. It would have been so easy!

Instead, I had to strop a set of 1/8 and 5/32 blocks with long lines, seize the lines to the block, snake the line through a mess of rigging to wrap around the shroud or bar on the tops, pull it through away from the model, tie a seizing, then pull the tail and with tweezers snake the block back through the rigging lines up against the shroud, then reach through to tighten the seizing lines, apply a spot of glue to freeze the knot, and if that is not hard enough (or stressful), then insert an x-acto knife and cut the ends off as close to the knot as possible, without cutting something else.

This took me the entire weekend. I kept smacking yards, back stays, and shrouds with my hands, my tweezers, my pliers, my knife, my kitchen sink…. You get the picture. Thankfully, everything except a couple of ratlines held up.  The 4 blocks seized under the lower top on the foremast were by far the hardest. There were at least 8 rigging lines and back stays to work around.

As soon as I get everything done on deck, and insert the hammock stanchions, I will rig the braces, (last thing) since that will completely encapsulate the space between the masts. 

Here are some photos. The knots are not up to par, but only in close up pictures. From afar, you can hardly see the blocks.

[6ohiocav]

Tom, Mark and Mike, thanks for stopping in. I think I may shoot for more space, and leave one of the skylights off. I would have followed Mike's lead on his Niagara and place a grating with a ladder if I had not spent all of that time building the structures.

 

I have said this many times before, but I could not have completed this kit, and survive all of the challenges without the collective wisdom and willing contributors from our forum friends.

 

[mikiek]

Nice work on the braces. Yeah, that could have been done way back but where's the challenge in that?

 

Don't know if you've laced them up yet but IMO the braces are the finishing touch to the whole rigging job. Those lines zig zagging from yard to yard just make it more ship like. If you can, use the brace lines to do just that. Get them pretty snug. I've found after my build has been sitting on display for a while that a few of the yards have moved a little - up or down, left or right. I wish I had done them a little tighter. I think a little stretching of those ropes might have helped too.

 

You're headed for home dude.

[6ohiocav]

Mike,

Thanks for the heads up. So far, all of the standing and running rigging lines I installed are holding up, and since I started this process so long ago, I would have to say that any stretching has already occurred.

 

It is great to see other Niagara logs out there. I can remember when it was only the two of us.

 

 

 

[mikiek]

It is nice. Sometimes though, I feel like I'm preaching to them. Trying to save them from every little headache that we went thru.

 

She's a great build. Have you decided what you will do with her once you are finished?

[6ohiocav]

I wish someone would have told me to lash my brace blocks to the masts and shrouds before I stepped the masts and rigged the ship!

 

I will soon begin work on building a lighted case and have a place already reserved in my law office to display her.

[mikiek]

That sounds even worse than the other brace work you were doing. About as far in as you can get.

 

Lots of pix please, when the case is ready.

 

I should have asked the even tougher question. Have you decided what you will do next when you are finished? I'm wrapping one up now and will have the same decision to make.

Edited March 29, 2018 by mikiek