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

[rwiederrich]

Finished for the day..but I'll be back at it tomorrow......

 

Got the top shrouds finished now got one side of the topgallant finished.  I hope to have all the ratlines for the mast finished up tomorrow so I can begin on the mainmast next.

[rwiederrich]

4 hours ago, michael mott said:

Good to see you back in the shipyard Rob.

 

Michael

Yes it is a wonderful feeling to be back in the yard..and with some days set aside for the very task..I hope to put the hours to good use...though I will probably be working in the machine shop getting a telescope ready for the weekend as well.   rigging can be so rewarding and slow at the same time.

Thanks for the fine comments Michael.

Edited July 4, 2018 by rwiederrich

[BANYAN]

Nice work Rob, those spreaders look good!  As Michael said; great to see you back at the modelling desk.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Chasseur]

Ditto good to see you back in the Man Cave! 

[rwiederrich]

Today I will finish up the ratlines for the foremast.  I figured it would be easier to rig the top and topgallant shrouds and ratlines and then rig the lowers after the masts are stepped.  I'm trying to figure out a method that will mentally produce the fastest results.  small projects eventually add up to a finished model.

 

Rob(thanks for the likes and comments)

[rwiederrich]

Finished ratlines and shrouds for the foremast....next is the mainmast....I'll start that tomorrow.

I'm slowly progressing.

[rwiederrich]

Got busy this weekend by building a tree fort for the Grandkids...so I didn't get to the shipyard to work on the next mast rigging for my Great Republic.  Here is an image of the finished fort....it has a central staircase leading to the top deck and the lookout.  I have a davit for supplies , a ship wheel and just after this image I mounted a brass bell.  A small US flag is mounted to the lookout perch.

 

Rob

[Tigersteve]

Pretty cool, Rob. No slide? Lol

Steve

[rwiederrich]

No slide on this one..the slide is around the corner on the monkey bars and swing set I built last year from 2" galvanized pipe..it has a wood rope bridge as well.  but because you asked..this house is the first stage of the *complex*  there will be a large rope bridge off the far side that will lead to another tree forth that will have a large double seat swing beneath it.   Just getting started..actually..there will probably be a tire ladder incorporated in there somewhere too.

 

Rob

[popeye the sailor]

nice progress on the G.R...........and on the fort    glad to see your back at the table.

[Chasseur]

You are a GREAT Grandpa!

[rwiederrich]

Got to keep the next generation interested in nautical things if not through thier excitement of playhouse things.

They are exposed to ships at every turn(If I can help it)

 

Rob

Edited July 13, 2018 by rwiederrich

[rwiederrich]

I have been so busy this summer on home remodeling(In addition to many other things), I have had little time to continue the upper shrouds and ratlines on the main/mizzen masts of the Great Republic.

Here is a quick image showing what I have been up to on the front of the house.

I first added the two front windows(the large 6'X6' and the smaller 2.5'X5' to the left.  next I built the 30"X8" porch roof and added a 4"X16" veranda on top of it to be accessed by the new French doors I installed where an existing window was.  I also added the small roof over the door.

The railing is nearly painted in this picture and a gate(Off to the left) was being made at the time of this picture.

 

All the painting is finished(gate too) and all that is left is to make the maple cap for the rail to finish off the addition.

 

I've been busy...but I will return to the Great Republic very soon.

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

I  did track down an image of a painting of the rigging and sail plan I intend to replicate for the GR.  From everything I can gather and from written first hand accounts...her sail plan was originally designed as depicted in this painting....NOT as so many have depicted her with 6 sails per mast........as she was REBUILT by Palmer.

 

She had the largest square sails set on any ship of her day.

 

Rob

[druxey]

Sorry to read how underworked and indolent you were this summer, Rob. Hopefully you can focus on GR again this Fall.

[rwiederrich]

It all started with my wife wanting the front window replaced...and one thing led to another and a second story French door/veranda was born...not to forget to mention the gutters and roof...and the deck that will come......

 

I did most of it myself....an.....I'm exhausted.

 

I NEED...to get back to my GR build.

 

Thanks for the encouragement. I look forward to slow fall evenings in my model room.......mmmmmmm.

 

Rob

[druxey]

Yes, it always starts off with something minor.... In my case it's another house move. 

[rwiederrich]

I hope it is an easy transition.

[Chasseur]

Hi Rob,

know the feeling  well. The wife and me years ago bought a house to flip and it turned into a 2 year project.

She looks good and you can never go wrong with replacing/adding doors and windows.

BTW it snowed here today 🤮

Jeff

[rwiederrich]

Yikes! snow?  My sweetheart has been asking me from day one..can we replace the front windows?   She found the replacement windows and I put them in...along with a front porch...veranda...French doors...etc.

 

Now I will spend this evening working on the mainmast of the GR...Yeah.

 

Rob

Edited September 13, 2018 by rwiederrich

[rwiederrich]

No pics this time(I know..I'll hear about it).  I spent time banding the masts for futtock shrouds for the topgallants and I installed the futtock shrouds themselves.  I also installed the lower deadeyes on the main and mizzen masts.  I wanted to get some of the repetitious jobs that were common to all the mast finished up before I began installing the shrouds for the main mast.   Tonight I will finish touch-up painting the ironwork.

 

I also spent a bit of time calculating out the yard dimensions for each mast....I have the yards already made for the main mast but still need to turn the Fore and Mizzen yards.

 

One detail I'm wresting with is....because I will be installing a full set of sails and that those sails are bent to the jackstays....at this scale do I forgo adding the jackstays(which will be covered by the sails)  for simplicity's sake and you won't see them....or go the extra mile and add what won't be visible?

Being a lazy modeler..... THAT is a tough question to answer at this point.

 

Rob

[Omega1234]

Hi Rob

 

That’s a tricky question, of which only you know the true answer to.  One thing’s for sure, whatever you decide, I’m sure it’ll look pretty perfect.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Cheers. 

 

Patrick

[BANYAN]

Hi Rob, you are making some significant headway now; look forward to seeing those masts.  WRT sails - filled or furled?  if furled, perhaps a bit of a waste but you might still see the ends protruding; if filled, wouldn't you see them as the sail boltrops etc only  were bent to the jackstay but would not have fully covered them?

Your call though when it comes to such detail.

 

cheers

 

Pat

Edited September 15, 2018 by BANYAN

[rwiederrich]

18 hours ago, BANYAN said:

Hi Rob, you are making some significant headway now; look forward to seeing those masts.  WRT sails - filled or furled?  if furled, perhaps a bit of a waste but you might still see the ends protruding; if filled, wouldn't you see them as the sail boltrops etc only  were bent to the jackstay but would not have fully covered them?

Your call though when it comes to such detail.

 

cheers

 

Pat

Because the sail is bent to the jackstay and then the sail rests across the face of the yard....I'm thinking that I could fix the jackstay to the sail...prior to instal..so the sail and jackstay are glued to the yard as one piece.   This is done after the yard is fitted out with all its banding and stunsail ironwork...not to mention the foot ropes and flemish horses.  then as an entire piece...the yard and its fixtures(set sail) can be mounted to the mast.

 

Lots to think about

 

Rob

[BANYAN]

That sounds very feasible and good way to do it Rob; look forward to seeing this.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[rwiederrich]

I'm not like other builders...I don't make every item for the ship myself......I prefer to use other folks hard work.  I incorporate it. modify it...if need be...or simply buy what I don't want to make.  I don't think it makes the model any less significant.  Working on the shrouds today....it became problematic, because one particular line I was using does not take adhesives well...when you think it is secure....it ain't.  How frustrating.   So I removed the old line I had already begun and took a break(well....because I'm sick today so I have very little energy).

 

I opter to divert my energy(what little I had left) to beginning the main yard.  After much internal debate I settled on One of Crothers suggestion that might have been on the Great Republic...and I followed that up with verifying this in Underhill's book, Masting and Rigging, The Clipper ship and Ocean Carrrier.  I will be installing internal topsail sheet sheaves...instead of the external design.

 

I made the iron sheet block and the sheet chain passes through it very well.

 

I've currently finished the banding for the chain sling and both bands for the truss..to include the truss itself..

 

I will not be  adding the jackstays at this time...as mentioned earlier, that will be affixed to the main course and placed when the entire sail is installed.

 

Here are a few images of the slow days work.

[rwiederrich]

I haven't got myself back into the swing of things yet to tackle the shrouds(probably this afternoon....been pretty sick).

 

However I did want to show some pics of the banding process for the yards.

 

Again...I like to use anything and everything I can get my hands on to aid in my builds...not to exclude the use of any Dental items.   Here are some dental copper bands used in temporary crown fixtures and margin stabilization procedures.  My collection is ample enough to permit me to fabricate bands for every location on the spar....so no having to make by soldering or the like for specific bands....just cut the size I need from the pre-sized material.  I use a dental diamond cutting disk to cut off each band.

 

Rob

Edited September 16, 2018 by rwiederrich
additions

[rwiederrich]

Once cut free I slide(with some finesse)...  the bands off the cutting dowel and sand and file.

[rwiederrich]

Once cleaned up the band is fit in its location....eye bolts added and then glues secure.  The entire spar and bandings will be painted black as was on the real vessel.

 

Rob

Edited September 16, 2018 by rwiederrich
addition

[mtaylor]

Rob,

 

That's a great idea.   Think about posting and sharing it here: