Sovereign of the Seas by pirozzi - FINISHED - Mantua

[pirozzi]

The mizzen mast is completed and awaits the yards and sails.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The mizzen mast with the lower crossjack installed and rigged. This yard will not have a sail and is used primarily to secure the lower end of the mizzen topsail, and that will be the next step.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The mainmast lower yard belay diagram.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The mizzen topsail in place and rigged.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

As I get closer to the end of this project, (I am about 85% done) I have realized several things. This is without a doubt the most difficult and ambitious build I have ever undertaken. I have learned so much from the hands on experience, the huge amount of reading and research I have done, and the help from fellow modelers on this site. I have made some mistakes, some of which I was able to correct, and others not. Thankfully most of the mistakes are not readily noticeable, but I know they are there. A sharp person with knowledge of ships and modeling who could examine her up close and personal would be able to spot most of them. However, I am pleased at how she is turning out overall, and will proudly display her when she is completed. My next project will be as complicated as this because not only is the ship difficult to build, but I plan to go into even more detail.

 

The real problem I now have is where to put them all. I am out of room here at home to display them. Anyone got ideas on this?

 

Thanks,

Vince P.

[mtaylor]

Vince,

 

Excellent work.  As for where to display them... talk to the folks at your local library or a museum.

[DenPink]

Hi Vince

Re what Mark said,  that is a fantastic Idea .

Other people will be able to appreciate the art of model building from a master builder like yourself .

It may also encourage other people to take up this very rewarding hobby.

 

All the best Vince and thank you for you log and help.

 

Denis.

[pirozzi]

The mainmast topsail belay diagram.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

Since I am going to build the Royal William as my next project, I asked our members if anyone had some good info on this ship. Brian C. responded and told me about a book "The Period Ship Handbook" which had a whole section on building this ship. I bought the book and indeed it has half the book devoted to the build. But, I got a bonus with this book. If shows in detail how to rig brails on the mizen lateen sail. The SOS has a lateen sail and I am up the point of rigging it, but have no good information on how to properly do it. The instructions are horrible. Well I now have a detailed explanation from this book which I will use on my SOS.  Thanks Brian C.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The mizen topgallant sail rigged. Only the lateen sail is left to do on the mizen mast. I am not sure if I will rig it full or furl it. I will hang the sail on the yard and then place it on the mast to see which way looks best.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The mizen mast is completed with the lateen yard and sail rigged. The mast is now ready to be stepped into the ship.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The lateen yard block arrangement with the sail rigging.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The mizen has been stepped into the ship. Next comes the complicated rigging of this mast. She is really getting to look like a ship now.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

Pretty impressive. What is the source you are using for the rigging of the sails?

Hi Gary,

I am using 3 different text books:

 

"The Rigging of Ships in the Days of the Spritsail Topmast 1600-1700"  - R.C.Anderson (This one is the primary source I am using)

 

"The Period Ship Handbook #1"  - KeithJulier

 

"Sovereign of the Seas, The Seventeeth Century Warship"  - James Sephton

 

Between all of these, everything about the rigging of the SOS is covered, explained, and illustrated.

 

Vince

[DenPink]

Hi Vince

Another good book is The Mast and Rigging of English Ships of War 1625 - 1860.

 

Denis

[pirozzi]

I have started the rigging of the mizen mast now that it is on the ship. I have completed the lower forestays, the ties and halliards for the lower crossjack yard, all of the jeers and lifts for the square yards, and the tacks for the lateen sail.

 

This may seem like a patchwork of addressing the rigging, but there is method here.

This explanation is intended for the beginner, and especially those who have not attempted rigging, or are afraid of doing so.

 

When real ships were rigged, they generally built the masts from the bottom up, one section at a time, and attached the standing rigging for each section to keep it upright and secure. Once all of the masts were in place and built up, the yards were attached and the running rigging was completed to secure the yards and make them functional. Many kit instructions tell you to do it exactly this way, and that would be fine except for one thing. Once all of the standing rigging is in place, access to the decks becomes very limited and completing the running rigging and belaying all of the lines can become very difficult. This is especially true if you are rigging with full sails.

 

I am sure that some expert builders can tackle it this way and have little trouble. I do not consider myself an expert by a long shot and had to develop a method to suit my limitations. I complete the rigging from the inside out and from the bottom up. It does not matter whether it is standing or running rigging. As you work from the middle out and up, the rigging is completed one step at a time, and it mixes up the standing and running rigging by where on the ship is happens to be. By that I mean that sometimes part of the running rigging may be completed long before the standing rigging on the same mast. That is one reason why I complete the lower shrouds at the very last. Once they are rigged, it really limits access to the decks. On a ship as complex as the SOS when she is full rigged ( not the abbreviated version as the kit provides), and adding a full set of sails as well, this is the only method that has worked for me.

 

Again, this is just my way of doing things, but it sure has worked for me on this ship.

 

Vince P.

 

[pirozzi]

Since I am rigging her as authentic as possible, the mizen topmast and topgallant forestays will be some of the most complex rigging of the whole ship. There are 4 stays and each has 4 sections. The trick is to get all of the blocks even and the whole thing as tight as possible. Assembling the stays on the mast would be very hard, so I decided to build them on a jig first. It was not too difficult this way, and they are coming out pretty uniform.

 

Vince P.

Edited December 14, 2013 by Vince P.

[Sailor1234567890]

Neat idea.

[edmay]

Hello Vince,whether you consider yourself an expert or not your work is thorough,inteligently done,many of us would agree that you are a first class model builder and thank you for the learnings,appreciated,Edwin

[keelhauled]

Outstanding work!  although I've only built one ship before, I'm planning on rigging the current build the same way you are doing it.  My first ship, the Constitution, I rigged all of the standing rigging bottom up and bowsprit aft.  Then the sails and running rigging.  I had a heck of a time trying to rig the running rigging with all of the shrouds and ratlines in the way.  Belaying was a real pain. 

I think that your approach makes a lot of sense, and I'm going to use your method.

 

Thanks for sharing!!

[pirozzi]

I rigged the mizen topgallant forestays after building them on the jig. It was a piece of cake to keep them straight and tight. I think they turned out OK. I still have to build and rig the topmast forestays which are of the same construction. I also had to rig the topmast and topgallant backstays now because in order to pull the forestays tight, there had to be a counter force to keep the masts straight and the rigging taught. The kit does not address the backstays correctly and it is necessary to build little platforms like chain wales to attach to the stern end of each side of the ship. 5mm deadeyes and laniards are rigged here to hold the backstays.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The standing rigging is now complete except for the lower mizen shrouds. All of the running rigging for the mainmast and the forward running rigging for the mizen is complete as well. This part was the most complex of the rigging by far. Next up is the aft running rigging for the mizen and lateen yard. I must say that rigging is my favorite part of a build.

 

Vince P.

[Anja]

Very nice Vince, she looks great.

 

Anja

[pirozzi]

The mizen lifts are rigged. The kit only shows a single lift that terminates at crowsfeet on the top of the lateen yard. I did some research and according to Anderson's book, English ships of war for the period that the SOS was built, had two lifts on those larger ships that had long and heavy lateen yards. The SOS certainly had the largest. I used 3mm deadeyes for the hub of the crowsfeet. A look at Doris's build log also shows double lifts.

 

Vince P.

[md1400cs]

Vince,

 

Beautiful.......

 

Michael

[Sailor1234567890]

Looking awesome. 

[pirozzi]

The mizen braces and all of the running rigging associated with the lateen yard are completed. Next up is the mizen top flag and the poop deck flag pole and flag.

 

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. She is very close to completed. Maybe 2 weeks or so.

 

I need some help. This model is VERY heavy and I need some sort of cradle for the display case. All of the pedestals and hull brackets like dolphins and the sort are either way too flimsy or too small. The wood cradle that came with the kit is pretty bad. Anybody got ideas where to go for a nice cradle? I have checked all of the supply companies and none have anything that will do.

 

Thanks,

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

Here are a few photos of the whole ship.

 

Vince P.

[CaptainSteve]

That is a stunning model, Vince.

 

Sure hope you are going to take plenty of pics to put in the Completed Ships Gallery - coz that one truly deserves it !!!

[mtaylor]

Vince,

 

Great looking model.  It deserves a nice display.

 

Cradles are pretty much a "one of" type of thing due to the hull shape.  If you have a scroll saw or a friend with one, get some nice wood and make your own.  You can probably use the ones that came with the kit for templates to get the hull shape right.