Red Jacket by MrBlueJacket - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - Scale 1/8" = 1' (1:96)

[billt]

Beautiful job on  your ship. She looks great.

[rwiederrich]

NIc... .I found a painting,  (Print) of the Red Jacket at a local consignment store.  However, its depiction didn't show Chief Red Jacket as the figurehead, and it only flew a royal on all masts with no *Upper topsail*….just the main course, topsail, topgallant, and royal.  Only four sails per mast.  Question:  Did the Red Jacket ever get refitted with Howes rig and fixed with a *Lower topsail* during her history?  Was she ever *Originally* fitted out with only 4 sails per mast?  

 

Rob(Or is the artist simply in error?)

[MrBlueJacket]

Lower yards all hung, starting to do the lifts.

 

[rwiederrich]

Nice....

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

I was hoping to find some progress this morning....but I know full well these *Lady's* can't be rushed and I know excruciatingly well about time availability.  I myself am only hours of work away from completing my own GR build, but *things* always come up...I have to install a privacy fence this weekend...so there goes my *hours* of dedication to my own build......

 

Love your work and am looking forward to your next post.

 

Rob

[MrBlueJacket]

Thanks Rob,

 

I've had a sinus infection that had me down for several days. 3 other people at BlueJacket are sick (none Corona-V). All the lower lifts are done, and I'm working on the top yards.

[MrBlueJacket]

On 3/3/2020 at 1:47 PM, rwiederrich said:

NIc... .I found a painting,  (Print) of the Red Jacket at a local consignment store.  However, its depiction didn't show Chief Red Jacket as the figurehead, and it only flew a royal on all masts with no *Upper topsail*….just the main course, topsail, topgallant, and royal.  Only four sails per mast.  Question:  Did the Red Jacket ever get refitted with Howes rig and fixed with a *Lower topsail* during her history?  Was she ever *Originally* fitted out with only 4 sails per mast?  

Rob(Or is the artist simply in error?)

 

We carry a book of the Red Jacket that is pretty comprehensive. Paintings of her maiden voyage show both 4 sails and 5 sails on the masts. Here are some shots from the book:

 

Book cover

 

Sail plan:

 

Dimensions of masts and yards:

 

Oil painting sailing into Liverpool maiden voyage:

 

 

[rwiederrich]

The painting I saw is very similar to the first image of the book cover.....

Like most early clippers they didn't have lower topsails or skysails....not until the mid 50's did many get overhauled.

 

Rob

[Sailor1234567890]

I use split topsails to tell me if she was built in the 1860s and later or before that. She looks to have single topsails and topgallants in all those images. It's just the addition of the skysails over the royals that are in question. Could easily have been added at any time. A new Royal/Skysail pole and she'd easily be retrofitted with it at a later date. I wonder if that happened or was she launched that way? 

[rwiederrich]

18 hours ago, Sailor1234567890 said:

I use split topsails to tell me if she was built in the 1860s and later or before that. She looks to have single topsails and topgallants in all those images. It's just the addition of the skysails over the royals that are in question. Could easily have been added at any time. A new Royal/Skysail pole and she'd easily be retrofitted with it at a later date. I wonder if that happened or was she launched that way? 

 

Indeed, skysails and their masts were the easiest additions...adding Howes and Forbes rig to the lower topsails(Newly added sail), would have been a bit more work, but what made sail work easier for the crew.

Double topgallants came along even later.

 

If practice was equal across the board....the  Red Jacket probably was originally fitted out with mains, topsails, topgallant and royals.   It was the clipper hull that made the most impact in the new design.....the rig followed along after.

 

Rob

[MrBlueJacket]

 

All the lower lifts are complete. Now working on the top yards. Here is the main finished, and a roughed out fore top yard.

 

[rwiederrich]

Wonderful work...love it.

 

I finished the Great Republic.

 

Keep up the good work.  I'll be working on the Glory of the Seas now.....

 

Rob

[MrBlueJacket]

So here's the main top yard installed

 

And a close-up of the twin chain halyards that hold it up.

[rwiederrich]

On 4/2/2020 at 9:38 AM, MrBlueJacket said:

So here's the main top yard installed

 

And a close-up of the twin chain halyards that hold it up.

 

 

 

Wonderful work....

 

Double halyard chain lifts...interesting. 

 

Rob

Edited April 5, 2020 by rwiederrich

[MrBlueJacket]

Here's one end of the standing lift. All but the lower yards are like this.

[MrBlueJacket]

And so we start on the fore top yard......

[rwiederrich]

Coming along nicely......

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

Been a couple of weeks and nothing new Nic...everything going well?  I suspect you either are taking a break because of the 19 or you have so much work done you will *thrill* us with a page of new images with finished yards and running rigging...….

 

Rob (thinking of you)

[MrBlueJacket]

Been too busy to do much. Here's the fore top yard almost done. Need to add 4 blocks, then it can be mounted.

[MrBlueJacket]

So now I have put all 3 top yards on and attached their lifts. Now this project goes on hold while I build a New Bedford Whaleboat for a customer.

[Javlin]

That is quite an Astounding build Sir and looking very sharp!! Kevin

[rwiederrich]

Nice....I can assume your attentions are needed elseward….Been some time since you posted any updates...how you doing?

I know the summer months can fill up with so many other things that need doing.

 

Rob

[MrBlueJacket]

36 minutes ago, rwiederrich said:

Nice....I can assume your attentions are needed elseward….Been some time since you posted any updates...how you doing?

I know the summer months can fill up with so many other things that need doing.

 

Rob

Look at post #290 for the explanation.........

[MrBlueJacket]

So after 4 months and 10 days, I am back to the Red Jacket. During that time, I built a Whaleboat and did 2 repairs for customers.

 

When I left off, all the lower and top yards were installed, top yards had their lifts, lower yards had their lifts, but not yet tied to belaying pins. Only the main top had halyards installed, but again not belayed. So I have a lot of aligning and tying off to do. Of course, first thing I did was to break one of the main lower lift attachments

[MrBlueJacket]

After several nights of work, all the lower lifts are aligned and tied off. Still have all the topyard halyards to do. A fair amount of woprk with little to show.

 

[MrBlueJacket]

So here's the mizzen topyard halyard - with these all done, next is the topsail sheet and clew lines. Chain with blocks on each end.

[MrBlueJacket]

Got the foremast topsail sheet and clew done this afternoon. Hard to see the "cloverleaf block" under the foreyard, but the chain is belayed to the pinrail, then through the cloverleaf block, the out to the sheave at the end of the yard (remember when I put those in?) and then to a single block, which receives a line from the topmast near the center, then down to the pinrail. The sheet tackle is .015, while the clew is .010. This is because the sheet carries a lot of force when he sail is deployed, but the clew only pulls up the sail itself.

 

[MrBlueJacket]

 

All the topsail sheets and clew lines are done. Here's a shot of the mizzen

 

 

Next will be making the t'gallant yards.

[MrBlueJacket]

Here's the 3 t'gallant yards in process.

[MrBlueJacket]

And here they are ready for painting. I use .010" wire for the footropes, they always get bent around when I do the rigging, so I won't straighten them out until the end. The fore and main have 15 holes drilled, and 7 eyebolts each.