Skipjack Kathryn by Mahuna - FINISHED - 1:32 - Based on HAER Drawings

[Mahuna]

Part 92 –Head Stay 

 

The following is the Haer drawing of Kathryn’s rigging, cropped to show the Head Stay and the Lazy Jacks supporting the Jib. Because the Lazy Jacks are so closely associated with the Head Stay, both need to be installed while mindful of the relationship.

 

                        

 

The first task was to develop the Spectacle Iron, which rides on the Head Stay and supports the Jib Club Lift and the Jib Lazy Jacks.  This iron is fairly complex, yet is also fairly small.  A jig was developed to form this iron.

 

                        

 

The jig consists of three 3/64” brass rods set into a block of wood, along with a cap that is drilled out to fit over these rods.

 

                        

 

The purpose of the cap is to provide a mechanism to lift the Spectacle Iron off the jig once it is formed.

 

                        

 

                        

 

The iron was formed from 26 gauge copper wire, and was then blackened using JAX Pewter Black.

 

                        

 

The line for the Jack Lift was run through the two outer rings of the Spectacle Iron, and was then spliced to form a triangle. (The splicing method was the same used for the Reefing Tackles discussed in Part 83)

 

                        

 

The Head Stay is attached to the upper lug of the Bowsprit Band by a turnbuckle.  This turnbuckle was installed and then the steel cable (30 pound fishing leader) for the Head Stay was secured to the turnbuckle.

 

                        

 

The Spectacle Iron was slid onto the Head Stay

 

                        

 

and the upper end of the Head Stay was then attached to the forward shackle on the band at the mast top.

 

                        

 

The next post will address the installation of the Jib Lazy Jacks.

 

 

Edited April 11, 2019 by Mahuna

[EdT]

Really beautiful work, Frank.

 

[Mahuna]

2 hours ago, EdT said:

Really beautiful work, Frank.

 

Thanks Ed.  

[Kurt Johnson]

Frank, It’s really coming along well. How many hours would you guesstimate have been invested her so far?

 

Kurt

[Mahuna]

Hi Kurt.  I don't keep track of hours, but I'd estimate somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000, based on a little math.  Good thing I enjoy doing the work!  

[Mahuna]

Part 93 –Jib Lazy Jacks

 

Before the Jib’s Lazy Jacks could be installed, the Jib Club needed to be stabilized.  The Jib Club Lift was seized to the middle ring of the Spectacle Iron.  The hooked Jib Sheet block was attached to the bail on the Jib Club’s band, then the sheet was run between the two blocks, up to the single block at the hounds, and then down to the starboard pin rail.  The sheet was temporarily secured in place, and the combination of the club lift and the sheet stabilized the Jib Club.

 

                        

 

The lines for the four Lazy Jacks were laid out. The aft two lines were run through holes in the Jib Club, and the forward two lines were run under the Jib and were tucked between the Jib’s wrapping line and the Jib itself – this will keep the two Lazy Jacks from moving from their locations on the jib.

 

                        

 

Working from aft forward, each Lazy Jack was seized to the outer rings of the Spectacle Iron, and after adjusting the two sides of the line for position and tension a small drop of white glue was used on each seizing to make it permanent.  (I had tried installing all Lazy Jacks at once and then tensioning them, but this was problematic – two many lines in one place).

 

The following photo shows the current status of the model – all Jib Lazy Jacks installed.

 

                        

 

The next task is to install the Main Lazy Jacks – a very different arrangement of lines.

 

 

[rwiederrich]

Not sure of this arrangement.  Do the lazyjacks raise the jib up to the outer stay?  You have the jib furled to the bowsprit via the downhaul....?

 

Very peculiar rigging......

 

Rob

[Mark Pearse]

Hi Frank, that's an interesting system. Do you know what they do with the lazy jack lines once they've hoisted the jib & are underway?

[Mahuna]

Hi Rob and Mark.  Here's a description of Lazy Jacks from Wikipedia that may help:

 

"Lazy jacks (or lazyjacks) are a type of rigging which can be applied to a fore-and-aft rigged sail to assist in sail handling during reefing and furling.^[1] They consist of a network of cordage which is rigged to a point on the mast and to a series of points on either side of the boom; these lines form a cradle which helps to guide the sail onto the boom when it is lowered, reducing the crew needed to secure the sail. Lazy jacks are most commonly associated with Bermuda rigged sails, although they can be used with gaff rigged sails and with club-footed jibs. Blocks and rings may be part of some lazyjacks.^[2]

The oyster dredging sailboats of the Chesapeake Bay, bugeyes and skipjacks, were inevitably equipped with lazy jacks, as their huge sail plans, combined with the changeable conditions on the bay, made it necessary to be able to reef quickly and with a small crew. "

 

The Lazy Jacks on the Kathryn are rigged a little differently from the description above - instead of being "rigged to a series of points on either side of the boom" they actually loop under the boom at several points.  You'll see what I mean when I rig the Lazy Jacks for the Main Sail - hopefully soon. 

 

The Lazy Jacks for the Main Sail are left in place even when the sails are removed, whereas the Lazy Jacks for the jib are removed when the jib is removed.  This is actually the main reason I put furled sails on the model - it allowed me to add the Lazy Jacks for the Jib.  I felt that the front of the boat would look a little empty without them.  Attached is a photo of the Kathryn with her sails removed which should illustrate my point.

 

[Mark Pearse]

thanks Frank, my question was more what they do with the lazyjack lines once the jib is hoisted & they are sailing. But I should have looked back at the photos - the very first photo in this log & you can see them with the jib up. It looks that the spectacle iron (a good name!) is part lowered & the lines just hang there. I've never seen this before, very interesting.

 

 

[Mahuna]

Good point, Mark.  I would think that if the lazyjacks were taut it would inhibit the natural shape of the sail when under way.  The spectacle iron can be lowered to loosen the jib lazyjacks, but since the lazyjacks for the main sail don't have a mechanism to allow them to be lowered I would assume that raising the boom would allow them to loosen.

Edited April 12, 2019 by Mahuna

[Mahuna]

Part 94 –Mainsail Lazy Jacks

 

The Lazy Jacks for the Mainsail are hung from steel wire pendants attached at the hounds.  The Lazy Jacks are interconnected via hoops spliced into the ends of the individual lines, forming what I would describe as a ‘web’ of lines, as in the following drawing from the HAER documentation and a photo of Kathryn taken in 2017.

 

                        

 

                        

 

The pendant for the model was made from 20 LB uncoated steel fishing leader, run through an eyebolt and then crimped into small loops on each end.

 

                        

 

The eyebolt on the pendant was CA’d into a small hole bored just above the hounds on the forward side of the mast.

 

                        

 

The installation of the Lazy Jack lines started with the aftmost line, running it through the loop on one end of the pendant, through a fairlead under the boom, and then through the loop at the other end of the pendant.

 

                        

 

                        

 

The following photo shows one of the fairleads for the Lazy Jacks on Kathryn.

 

                        

 

Each end of the Lazy Jack line has a loop spliced into the end of the line.  One loop could be spliced on the end of a line before the line was threaded through the pendant loop, through the fairlead, and then through the second pendant loop.  The loop at the other end of the line could only be spliced after the line had been run through all of these points.  Splicing the line when it had already been run onto the model was a little delicate. The following sequence of photos shows how this was done for the second Lazy Jack line.

 

First, a loop was spliced onto one end of the line. Then the other end of the line was run through the existing loop on the port side of the rear Lazy Jack. 

 

                        

 

                        

 

The loops on Kathryn’s Lazy Jack lines contain small thimbles, but these would have been approximately 1/64” on the model so were omitted.  (note the ‘splice’ on the loop in the following photo)

 

                        

 

The line was fed through the fairlead on the bottom side of the boom.

 

                        

 

and then through the loop at the other end of the aft Lazy Jack.

 

                        

 

The end of the line was then threaded though the eye of a medium sized needle (the needle was large enough to accommodate the .016” line used for the Lazy Jacks)

 

                        

 

The splice was made by passing the line through itself twice

 

                        

 

and was finished off by applying a small drop of white glue and rolling the splice through the fingers for final shaping.

 

                        

 

The use of the sewing needle made the splice strong enough to resist any pressure that would result from tightening the lines through the loops.

 

                        

 

The forward-most of the three Lazy Jack lines was started by seizing it to the forward cleat on the starboard side of the boom, then running it through the starboard loop on the second Lazy Jack line.

 

                        

 

The line was then fed through the forward fairlead under the boom

 

                        

and through the loop on the port side of the second Lazy Jack line, and finally was tied off at the boom’s forward port cleat.

 

                        

 

The end of this line has not yet been fully secured, since some adjustments will need to be made to get the Lazy Jacks symmetrical.  The Lazy Jacks on the real Kathryn are not lined up very well, but the model’s appearance does require the lines to be pleasing to the eye.

 

                        

 

So this where the Kathryn model now stands, with the rigging complete.  

 

                        

 

There is still some cleanup and rigging adjustment required, and some small items that need to be installed.  I’m going to focus on getting all of that completed before work begins on the (dreaded) dredges.

[druxey]

Frank, I'm disappointed that you didn't imitate the prototype's 'splices' with black electrical tape! Seriously, that is beautiful work.

[Mahuna]

Thanks Druxey!  Yeah, if I made her look like she does today, I'd have to not only include the electrical tape, but I'd need to strew lines and electrical cables around the deck.  The small crew works really hard and doesn't have time (or skills, I think) to keep her ship-shape.  I don't recall if I ever showed photos of what her cabin looks like today, but if not here's a few.

 

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Your riggings coming along very nicely, mate!  I'm rather pleased you didn't replicate the 'duct tape splices' on the original! 

 

John

[Mahuna]

Thanks John.  Actually, the rigging is finished - only need to tighten up some of the lines.  It's a pretty simple rig apart from the Lazy Jacks.

[cog]

Really amazing work, Frank. Took my head for a spin to get it all in.

[Mahuna]

Thanks Carl.  It took a while to figure out the correct sequence for rigging the mainsail lazy jacks.

[Mark Pearse]

looks fantastic, bravo

 

 

[Mahuna]

Thanks Mark.  

[HIPEXEC]

On 4/12/2019 at 5:08 PM, Mahuna said:

Thanks Druxey!  Yeah, if I made her look like she does today, I'd have to not only include the electrical tape, but I'd need to strew lines and electrical cables around the deck.  The small crew works really hard and doesn't have time (or skills, I think) to keep her ship-shape.  I don't recall if I ever showed photos of what her cabin looks like today, but if not here's a few.

 

Very realistic! 

 

[popeye the sailor]

my word Frank....you have been busy!       I've caught up with your log........amazed with the sail and rigging work.   I had toyed with metal 'cordage' some time ago and gave up.  I have since found some small and flexible cabling that may fair better at Hobby Lobby     you have some neat methods here!  very nice work.........she's look'in fit as a fiddle!.......the lazy jacks look cool!

Edited April 18, 2019 by popeye the sailor
I stuttered

[Mahuna]

Thanks Popeye.  Kathryn is getting pretty close to completion and I'm very pleased with her.  The only complex work left is making the dredges - work (experimenting) has begun, but they will take a while.

[cog]

It just registered, they have an electric chair 

[Mahuna]

Part 95 –Misc Small Items

 

Just a short post describing some of the last minor details that were added to the model:

 

First, Skipjacks that are fully owned – no debt on the boat – wear a gold ball at the top of their mast.  I tried a few alternatives for making the ball: small beads, but these were not fully round; small wooden beads, but I couldn’t find any small enough.  I finally settled for making a small round ball using Sculpy.

 

I rolled several balls and baked them.  After they were hard and had cooled off, I drilled them to take a 1/32” rod.

 

                        

 

I chose the one that looked most round to the naked eye, painted it gold, and mounted it in a hole that had been pre-drilled in the mast top.

 

                        

 

The photos of Kathryn show some iron or steel rods inserted in the body of the shroud’s turnbuckles, and through the clevises at the top of those turnbuckles.  These rods serve two purposes: they keep the turnbuckles from loosening, and they provide the necessary leverage when adjusting the turnbuckles.

 

                        

 

Finally, I made some loose coils of rope to hang off the pinrails where the various lines were secured.

 

                        

 

So Kathryn is now finished, but I still need to make the dredges.  Here are a few photos of the model.  I’ll need to take some “studio” shots once I’m finished with the dredges.

 

 

[cog]

Wouldn't a cloth pin with a ball head been easier? 

Kathryn really looks good, a bit new and unused, but certainly all dressed up and ready to cast off

[HIPEXEC]

Amazing work! Your attention to detail is the best I've ever seen. 

[Mahuna]

57 minutes ago, cog said:

Wouldn't a cloth pin with a ball head been easier? 

Thanks Carl.  Would have been a little easier, but I didn't have any pins with the right sized ball head.  Making the balls out of Sculpy took less than 30 minutes.

 

37 minutes ago, HIPEXEC said:

Amazing work! Your attention to detail is the best I've ever seen. 

Thanks Rich .... but I told you a million times not to exaggerate!

[GuntherMT]

Beautiful model Frank.  Thanks for sharing your journey with all of us, and I'm sure you'll nail the dredges to finish her off!

[Mahuna]

12 hours ago, GuntherMT said:

Beautiful model Frank.  Thanks for sharing your journey with all of us, and I'm sure you'll nail the dredges to finish her off!

Thanks Brian.  The dredges are a little tricky - we'll see how they come out.