Belaying Pin Rack Question

[j21896]

Hi Folks,

 

Are there any standards for bulwark-mounted belaying pin racks?  The kit-provided parts for my HMS Mars build, which I am replacing, are 16 scale inches deep, which seems a bit large.

 

She's a late 18th century, 18-gun brig, and specifically I'd be interested in standards for:

 

• depth of rack (from bulwark to inboard edge)
• mounting height off of deck

 

Thanks,

Robert

 

 

 

[JerseyCity Frankie]

16" doesn't seem too out of place.  The collective amount of strain on the entire pin rail was surely formidable, erring on the size of large and robust sounds logical to me. I do not have any sources to quote but in practical terms the pin would have to be far enough away from the inner bulkhead or spirketing to allow the turns of the line on the under side of the pin AND the sailors hands to get up and behind when belaying the line. With a two inch line and a sailors hand I would want at least 6 inches behind the pin. And the hole for the pin can't be too close to the inboard edge of the rail either or you risk it tearing out- so another 5 to 8 inches in front of the pin maybe. 13 to 16" sounds just right to me.

[j21896]

Thanks Frankie, but I just don't think that 16 inches is correct.  I just found this picture from the USS Constitution on-line, and it doesn't look that deep.

 

 

Robert

[rlb]

Robert,

 

In Charles G. Davis' book The Built-up Ship Model,  he writes "[the pin]rail would be ... 9 inches wide by 3 inches thick.  It would be fastened to the inner rail stringer, just above its lower edge..."  

 

The book is about the building of a model of a 16 gun brig of similar date.  In another part of the book he shows a cross section, with the pinrail and the channels directly opposing each other on the bulwarks (at the same height that is).  On his cross section the channels and pinrails seem to be 4-6 inches below the cap rail, but in photos of the model, (and the profile plan) they are right on the underside of the cap rail, and that seems to be what I often see for this size ship.

 

Hope this helps,

Ron

Edited April 11, 2013 by rlb

[Jim Lad]

Robert,

 

In the attached photos you can see examples of pin rails on the British frigate Trincomalee (1817).  As you can see, the rails are only about 6 inches wide.  This is about the same width as on more modern (late 19th century) sailing ships.

 

John

 

[j21896]

Hi Ron and John,

 

Thanks very much you guys.  Around 6 to 9 inches deep is much more in line with what I was thinking.  And you know Ron, I have the Davis book too -- of course it's the only one I didn't consult -- duh

 

On my build, the channels will be in the older, lower position below the gun ports, so they won't align with the racks.  However, from the pictures, as well as my recollections of visiting ships like Constitution, Charles W. Morgan, etc. I think about 3.5 to 4 feet off the deck would be reasonable.  That would probably come up to just about below the rib cage of a 5'7" sailor.

 

Cheers,

Robert