Great Republic 1853 by rwiederrich - FINISHED - four masted extreme clipper

[rwiederrich]

It took me twice as long to make sure the lines didn't foul one another as I reran them down the mast to the belay pins.

Everything has to follow a set sequence or I will risk twisting and crossing future lines.

Shrouds are next...but I can choose to finish the main mast backstays first, being cautious not to over stress the mast without counter acting with the top main stays.  Its a puzzle from here on out.

Here are a few other images.

 

Rob

[BANYAN]

Very (VERY) nice model Rob; even incomplete.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[rwiederrich]

Still suffering from an extremely sore arm..but I managed to wrestle through some minor items today.

I rigged the mizen lower stays first...

Here is some pics. 

[rwiederrich]

After some further research and discussion with some informed friends...I opted to add sunsail booms to the main yards and the upper topsail yards.

Lots more work to do but its a beginning.

 

Rob

[Sailor1234567890]

Should the boom irons not angle forward? I've never seen boom irons angled aft like that. Booms forward and above the yard and below the yard but above and abaft the yard is new to me. Was she rigged like that? I know there are some oddly rigged ships sometimes as masters tried out their ideas so maybe she was rigged that way.

[rwiederrich]

2 hours ago, Sailor1234567890 said:

Should the boom irons not angle forward? I've never seen boom irons angled aft like that. Booms forward and above the yard and below the yard but above and abaft the yard is new to me. Was she rigged like that? I know there are some oddly rigged ships sometimes as masters tried out their ideas so maybe she was rigged that way.

Several ways were apparently tried..Some hung below the yard, some were above the yard..but what I have researched these were on top and slightly reversed out of the way of the sail.  But...I'm up for reversals if anyone knows better.

 

Rob

[Sailor1234567890]

Plenty had them above but as you alluded to, it places the booms right where the sail wants to be when furled. Trice up the booms before you can furl the sail. Added labour. Ships like Cutty Sark placed the booms below the yard to alleviate this. Placing it behind the yard and above doesn't solve the problem because you still have to lean over the booms to get at the sail to furl it. It doesn't seem to be a solution to the problem in my mind. But maybe it is and I'm not seeing why. I haven't sailed in any ships with stuns'ls so I don't know for sure.

[rwiederrich]

On ‎4‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 7:34 PM, Sailor1234567890 said:

Plenty had them above but as you alluded to, it places the booms right where the sail wants to be when furled. Trice up the booms before you can furl the sail. Added labour. Ships like Cutty Sark placed the booms below the yard to alleviate this. Placing it behind the yard and above doesn't solve the problem because you still have to lean over the booms to get at the sail to furl it. It doesn't seem to be a solution to the problem in my mind. But maybe it is and I'm not seeing why. I haven't sailed in any ships with stuns'ls so I don't know for sure.

Ove the weekend I spent time pondering and researching my actions.  Many examples of models show the stunsail booms resting on top and abaft the yard...in such a similar fashion as I have represented.  However....it appears that typically it was clippers not heavy cargo carriers that followed them that carried the stunsail...to aid in the latitudes where mild winds were expected.  The Great Republic did indeed carry stunsails in her rebuilt design....but only a minor mention of them can be found in describing her original build.  So what I've decided to do is attempt to remove, refurbish the ironworks and reduce general diameter of the booms and then sling them from underneath the yard to help defuse any confusion and produce a more practical solution

A models representation is not always the proper representation of actual practices....and I want to at least use a logical approach, if nothing else.

I hope removal of them does little damage......and that...can be easily repaired without much scaring.

 

Thanks to all who pointed this out to me.

 

Rob(More to follow)

Edited April 29, 2019 by rwiederrich

[rwiederrich]

More to follow...….

 

Just for information sake here are some images, one a drawing, of the stunsail boom suspended from the top of the yard...similar to mine.

[Dowmer]

Rob,

I'm sure you have this photo and I think it is after she was rebuilt, but I was looking at the yards and you can barely make out the Stuns’l booms.  It looks like they are on top of the upper tops’l yards, angled forward a bit, and hanging below on the main courses that are braced around.  Interesting anyhow.

 

 

[rwiederrich]

Yes...I have this image and yes this is after her rebuild.  Interesting to see her stunsails in both configurations.. . because other ships do the same.

It's hard for me to tack down a real good example..since it seams it might have been preferential instead of typical.

 

Searching the model world...stunsails have found themselves mounted on top...slightly abaft....in front, slightly forward(similar to Ed's fine model), slung from beneath.  It just seams to be  how they get modeled.

 

Personally I think I want to make my irons beefier and repair the missed center iron.

 

No matter what I do...I'll make them far better.  The lack of a good operating left hand definitely shows.

 

Rob

[Sailor1234567890]

I hope I haven't sent you down a rabbit hole. Sorry if I did. I think you're making the right call though. I've seen the mix of them as you mention, Cutty Sark for one has her lowers below the yard and her tops irons above. In the image of GR above, you can see her lowers are tried up to access the sail beneath it. Looking great so far. Looking forward to your proper return to work. Cheers,

 

[rwiederrich]

Thanks.... I spent some time correcting the stunsail booms and the irons.  I adopted the underneath design.....it makes the most sense.

 

Rob

[BANYAN]

Nice work Rob; so easy for 'accidents' when making these modifications.  They look very appropriate for this era of sail.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[rwiederrich]

1 minute ago, BANYAN said:

Nice work Rob; so easy for 'accidents' when making these modifications.  They look very appropriate for this era of sail.

 

cheers

 

Pat

Thanks Pat...the first booms were far too heavy and the irons were not what I wanted.  PLus moving them beneath the yards makes them more typical with the era.  I think they look better.

 

Again...thanks.

 

Everything is evolving as my study reveals the needed changes.

 

Rob

[ScottRC]

Great work Rob and I'm glad the arm is doing better.  All detail and research on the stunsail booms is very interesting.

Scott

[rwiederrich]

1 hour ago, ScottRC said:

Great work Rob and I'm glad the arm is doing better.  All detail and research on the stunsail booms is very interesting.

Scott

Thanks Scott...yes the arm is doing better, still a bit tender....but the hand is still numb in part.  Making fine work hard....since I can't feel my fingertips.

I have put an enormous amount of research into this build, and even something as minor as stunsail booms can fall between the research cracks.

 

Part of the fun is updating as you go if research points you in a different direction.  I've seen this happen to many and surely I fall victim to it myself.  Gladly the *repair/corrections* can be made early without any really horrific damage  being cause by it.

 

Thanks for your compliment and encouragement.

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

Starting back up in the shipyard is a slow process.  My arm is slowly healing and most of the pain has subsided, but I still have lingering numbness in my hand and fingers...though I can successfully use them to some degree. Fine work is still an issue.

 

I also returned from a weeks long holiday at Sunriver in Bend Oregon and at Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast.  I feel very refreshed and had a most wonderful time.

I spent about an hour last night working on the Port side stunsail booms...so not much to report, nor do I currently have any new images to post.

I'm gearing up to begin the final backstay install on the main mast before I finish up with the main stays.  Balancing out the forces imposed on the mast is a crucial process if one wants the masts to remain undistorted.

 

More to follow.

 

Rob 

Edited May 21, 2019 by rwiederrich

[rwiederrich]

Well it's time to get back to the shipyard...my hand is doing better, though I still have some numbness..I can work around it.

I finished up the fore mast stunsail booms and I worked on the mizzen main stays and I worked on the main backstays.

 

First, here are some images of the booms and their ironwork.  Much better then before.

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

Next a bit of work on the mizzen stay

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

Finally, are some pics of the main backstays and also of the mizzen main and the topsail stays.

 

Slow going, but I'm exercising tha machinery...  and soon the yard will be back in full operation.

 

Rob

[GrandpaPhil]

Excellent work!

[Sailor1234567890]

Looking good. 

[rwiederrich]

12 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

Excellent work!

Thanks Grandpaphil.  I hope to get moving along...so much still to do.

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

10 hours ago, Sailor1234567890 said:

Looking good. 

Thanks.  Even when I think I know everything there is to know about this ship...I surprise myself.  I've tried so many new techniques and perfected others on this build it's dizzying for me.  But I think the result is acceptable to most.

Trying to cram in as much detail as possible in the wake of EDT's fabulous YA build is a daunting task and in a far smaller scale to boot.

The bar is surely high.

 

Rob

[Bob Cleek]

She sure is coming together beautifully. The studdingsails look great.

 

Now, on the "in for a penny, in for pound" principle, might we see sails bent to those yards sometime in the future? Looking at the photograph above of the vessel with 'all flying," and imagining the model canvassed the same, that would really, really take it up to the next level and beyond.

 

I expect you'll hate me for saying that, but I just couldn't stifle myself.  

[popeye the sailor]

superb progress Rob.......glad your feeling better     fine looking vessel!

[rwiederrich]

6 hours ago, Bob Cleek said:

She sure is coming together beautifully. The studdingsails look great.

 

Now, on the "in for a penny, in for pound" principle, might we see sails bent to those yards sometime in the future? Looking at the photograph above of the vessel with 'all flying," and imagining the model canvassed the same, that would really, really take it up to the next level and beyond.

 

I expect you'll hate me for saying that, but I just couldn't stifle myself.  

Bob..as much as I would love to accommodate you....I think I'm going to stick with just the main sails....like in the painting of her.  Just a reminder: The area she will be mounted won't be able to accommodate that extra width.

I have entertained the notion myself....but the fact of the matter is...the Great Republic never ever set her stunsails as originally designed.

It must have been a real sight of the imagination to have seen her in that rig under a brisk flury.

 

I have nothing but respect for your opinions...never *Hate*.  Even if it means having to tare stuff apart and redo all kinds of stuff and add more stuff with more rigging and stuff......

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

2 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

superb progress Rob.......glad your feeling better     fine looking vessel!

Thanks so much Popeye...yes I'm feeling much better and the numbness has diminished considerably....allowing me more fine detail work to be done.

 

I plan on putting many hours in the shipyard tomorrow..so that means some rigging is getting done........Yippy.

 

Rob

[Bob Cleek]

2 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

The area she will be mounted won't be able to accommodate that extra width.

I thought of that myself. It would likely require a space in the center of a room to permit walk-around display. The case would likely be just too wide to place up against a wall. As it is, the case is going to have to so large it will probably dominate most any room in the average home, unless you've got a big place with a large entry foyer, or something like that.