HMS Vulture 1776 by Dan Vadas - FINISHED - 1:48 scale - 16-gun Swan-class sloop from TFFM plans

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks very much for looking in again Brian, Allan, Arch, Nils, Grant, and a welcome to George .

 

Work has been continuing on the Bowsprit Rigging.

 

Bobstays

 

These are the equivalent of the Forestays on the other masts. Like all the Bowsprit rigging they are served all over. The inboard ends pass through the foremost holes in the Knee of the Head, and are spliced together :

 

 

Bowsprit Shrouds

 

The equivalent of the Shrouds on the other masts. These are hooked through eyebolts at their inner ends :

 

 

 

 

The outer ends of both the Bobstays and Shrouds finish in a heart block, and are lashed to their respective Collars :

 

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Gammoning

 

The Gammoning consists of 9 turns crossing over each other vertically, followed by the same number horizontally to pull it all tight. A couple of half-hitches complete it :

 

 

 

Boomkins

 

The Boomkins were made in similar fashion to the other masts/yards, with the exception that they are curved. I cut them from rectangular stock and "octagonelled" them before sanding them round. They have a step at their outboard ends for the shrouds and Fore Tack Block :

 

 

 

A Capsquare fastens them to the head :

 

 

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Fore Tack Step Blocks

 

These are relatively large Blocks which attach to the Boomkins - 14" in real life. I made them from English Box, the pics tell the story :

 

 

 

 

 

Their Strops are served :

 

 

  Danny

[CaptainSteve]

Best Eye-Candy EVER !!!!

Edited November 3, 2014 by CaptainSteve

[Mirabell61]

wondereful work Danny,

 

Nils

[gjdale]

Beautiful attention to detail Danny!

[EdT]

Neat work, Danny.  Love the step blocks onn the fore tack.

 

Ed

[GLakie]

Absolutely,------Very nice.

 

Cheers

[mtaylor]

I can't add to what's been said, except you are one of the ones who set the bar that I and many others strive for.

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks Brian, Steve, Nils, Grant, Ed, George and Mark - much appreciated .

 

Main Stay Collar

 

This is the largest Collar on the ship. Again, it is served all over.

 

After measuring and serving the line I "spliced" an eye into one end. Next I lashed the Heart to it. Then came the fun part - attempting to pass the line through the hole in the knee of the head. To assist me with this I tied a length of thin cotton to the free end and led that through the starboard headworks, through the hole, and then back up through the port headworks. All went very well .

 

Once the line was all in position I passed the free end through the first eye and seized the end back on itself :

 

 

 

 

  Danny

[DaveRow]

Great craftsmanship Danny.

A standard to admire by many.

Dave R.

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Dave.

 

Mizzen Mast Shrouds

 

The Standing Rigging for the Bowsprit is now complete, so I'm turning my attention to the Mizzen Mast rigging. The reason I'm starting back-to-front to real practice is one of access - once the mainmast shrouds are fitted it will make rigging the mizzen forestay a little more difficult.

 

 All the mizzen shrouds are served for about 6 feet below the mast top - unlike the other two masts the foremost shrouds aren't served for their full length as there is no Mizzen Course which could chafe them. I left them overlength for now, and lashed the pairs together around the mast :

 

 

Using a wire spacer between deadeyes I measured each shroud, starting with the foremost starboard pair, which are the first to be fitted. Then I removed the pair from the mast and turned in the deadeyes on the bench using a vise and a set of Third Hands - much easier than attempting to do them on the ship.

 

When all four pairs were done I fitted the Laniards :

 

 

 

  Danny

[Remcohe]

Looking really good Danny. Can you explain how you serve your lines, they look really good. Homemade device?

 

Remco

[WackoWolf]

You always catch my attention with your updates. This is a beautiful build. Thank you for sharing this with all of us. It has been a learning time for me.

[Mirabell61]

beautiful work Danny,

 

Nils

[CaptainSteve]

Mizzen Mast Shrouds

 

Using a wire spacer between deadeyes I measured each shroud ...

 

 

Danny,

Please !! Do you have pics of the wire spacer you have used ??

[dgbot]

Danny without that serving machine you would have been trouble.  I have a serving machine called a string a long.  Since I haven't done heavy rigging for awhile It is gathering dust in my storage room.  If my memory is working I used it when I was working on a model of the of the flying cloud.  I hate doing clipper ships The rigging and the deck fittings can be a drain on you.  When I was back in Chicago I spent more time on the fittings than the hull of my Latham.  By the way what are you using for your serving line?

David B aka dumbfounded and in awe of your craftsmanship and dedication to detail.

[GLakie]

Outstanding craftsmanship Danny. Lots of lessons to be learned here. Thanks for posting this.

 

Fair Winds

[texxn5]

Really looking nice Danny. I'm about to start rigging shrouds pretty soon, so I'll be referring to your often for help. Thanks for posting these so close up...shows the details.

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you to Brian, Remco, Joe, Nils, Steve, David, George and John.

 

Remco, the Serving Machine is not Homemade. Check this LINK for the Domanov machine.

 

By the way what are you using for your serving line?

 

 

David, I'm using Quilting Cotton. It behaves like pure cotton when tying knots etc, but has a Polyester coating which removes all (or most of) the "fuzzies" . It's only drawback is that it's a bit thicker than pure cotton. Another "plus" for it - it's a LOT stronger than cotton - virtually unbreakable.

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Mizzen Mast Forestay and Collar

 

The Mizzen Mast Collar was made up in similar fashion to those on the Bowsprit. It's fully served and has a Heart incorporated :

 

 

 

I turned the Mouse on the lathe after first drilling a 1.2mm hole up the centre. This gives a good fit over the served stay :

 

 

The Forestay with mouse fitted :

 

 

 

Lashed to the masts :

 

 

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

I didn't see in the video what the bottle was for. I hop they supply direction of use.

 

 

I think that the bottle is to be used AFTER you've finished the serving Geoff. Unfortunately, NO directions for how to empty it, it's left up to your discretion .

 

  Danny

[SailorGreg]

Beautiful work Danny. The close-ups really show the quality of your work and it is very easy to forget how small all these parts are. The "like" button needs a "like very much indeed" setting!

 

Just one small request - could we have an occasional overall shot as the masts and rigging evolve. I am trying to visualise where you have got to but my brain has failed!

 

Greg

[Alex M]

Hello Danny,

 

very impressive work on masts! Your details are amazing! Also very good rigging. A pleasure to follow your log.

 

Alex

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Greg, Robin and Alex.

 

Greg, some overall pics will be coming shortly. I've finished the lower shrouds on the mizzen mast, and I'm just about to fit the last two pairs on the main mast so there will be some progress for you to look at.

 

Robin - David Antscherl details the forecastle railings in TFFM based on a contemporary model of Amazon 1773, 32 guns in the NMM.

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

You're welcome Robin .

 

Main Lower Shrouds and Burton Pendants

 

I've fitted all the Main Lower Shrouds. The foremost one is served all over, and the others are served for the uppermost quarter.

 

The Burton Pendants are slipped over the mast head before fitting any of the Shrouds. These are used for heavy lifting of any cargo, in conjunction with other rigging on the yards. They have a Thimble spliced into their lower ends, and are made up as a pair with a Cut Splice around the mast :

 

 

 

The foremost shroud is a single and also uses a cut splice to connect the port and starboard shrouds :

 

 

The rest of the shrouds are paired on each side as were the mizzen shrouds. This pic shows all the shrouds fitted around the mast head :

 

 

The deadeyes and lanyards :

 

 

An overall pic of the rigging so far :

 

 

  Danny

[Trussben]

Sweet work Danny!

 

Ben

[Jim Lad]

You've been busy while I've been away, Danny.  She's really looking top drawer!

 

John

[newbuilder101]

Beautiful! The rigging is every bit as spectacular as the wood and metal work!

[Piet]

Most impressive work!

 

Cheers,