Charles P Notman by cdrusn89 - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1/96

[cdrusn89]

Working on the head sail stays and halyards.

 

Rigged the Fore stay and Jib stay - Fore stay is secured by deadeye but deadeye lanyard is not secured yet.

 

 

Got the topping lift, sheet lines and downhaul for the Fore Staysail.

The same for the jib.

 

Jib stay transitions to chain after passing through bees, then to iron on stem above the bobstays.

 

Here it is at the mast head, at bees (see picture above) and transition to chain.

 

I am going to try and get all the running rigging finished on the foremast before I start on the main and foremast shrouds.

 

Hopefully the new turnbuckles arrive tomorrow.

 

 

 

[cdrusn89]

No turnbuckles in the mail today.

 

Instead worked on the standing rigging on the foremast and bowsprit.

 

I think I got all the standing rigging on the foremast/bowsprit complete except the topmast and lower shrouds and back stays - NEED TURNBUCKLES!

 

That said here is where we are now - nothing is really glued down "for real" yet but everything is in place.

 

Sorry for the mess - once the standing rigging is complete I will be able to move the model off the "woodworker work bench to a more photogenic location.

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow (before the hoped for turnbuckle arrival) I will finish up the halyards on the foremast and the rest of the running rigging.

 

 

[cdrusn89]

No turnbuckles yesterday - today for sure.

 

I have all the running rigging just about done - mailman does not get here until the afternoon so I working the last few items (head sail sheet lines) and then can work the turnbuckles after they arrive and are blackened.

[cdrusn89]

Turnbuckles arrived yesterday.

 

After getting them cleaned up and blackened I started installing and running the lower shrouds.

 

That is when it became obvious that I had grossly underestimated the amount of grey line required. back to the step ladder for more line painting.

I did get the stbd side on the main mast lower shrouds rigged.

 

 

I am confident that I have everything I need now to get the standing rigging completed.

 

But I have thought that before.

 

 

 

[cdrusn89]

Stick a fork in the rigging and call it DONE (except for the anchors and boat davits).

 

Everything is rigged but nothing is secured yet except the pin rail side of the running rigging at the Foremast - the belaying pin side of that was glued down before the forward deckhouse was installed. Although using the method Nic suggested (running the line through the pin rail hole and putting the pin in) would have worked as well. As it turned out I replaced all the halyard blocks on the Foremast anyway. Trying to thread the line through the tiny hole in the metal block becket while the block was hanging from the mast quickly fell onto the "too hard" pile.

 

So here are the port side Mainmast and port and starboard Foremast standing rigging at the turnbuckles.

 

Next I intend to start with the Spanker and work forward securing the running and standing rigging mast-by-mast while keeping everything aligned. Probably easier said than done but that is my plan.

 

I am going to wait on the wooden battens and sheer poles until I have the "steps" installed on the shrouds. That "fun" will begin shortly - but first I need tom paint some styrene strips black.

 

 

[cdrusn89]

Spanker and main masts rigging has been glued down.

 

I have to add the rope coils for the Main but after that it is on to the bowsprit.

 

I have to tie off the many, many (16 actually if I counted them all) deadeyes that were used to rig the bowsprit/jib boom.

 

Once those are secure, then it is on to the Foremast.

 

Here are the Spanker and Main Mast lower shrouds and pin rails.

[cdrusn89]

And now with the pictures!

[cdrusn89]

The rigging is mostly complete (anchors, boat davits and flag(s) are still to be added but not until...

 

I get the "ratlines and steps" added. I decided to forgo the lazy jacks - more lines running vertically would detract from the looks IMHO (besides that would be another set of opportunities to break something else.

 

That is the next step - I got the styrene strips painted, at least enough to get started and I am cutting the .010 piano wire into short pieces and painting them flat black in preparation for starting the first mast later today (or tomorrow)

 

Here is how she looks at the moment. I will save the close up shots until she is truly "finished". But that is probably at least a week away as I suspect it will take most of a day to do one side of one mast based on the trial run I did earlier.

[Moab]

WOW! That’s one beautiful ship...Moab

[BobG]

Simply outstanding in every way...a gorgeous model!

 

I just came across your build log and am looking forward to reading it carefully now. 

[cdrusn89]

Thanks moab and Bob.

 

I got one side of the Spanker "ratlines" completed. Not as straight and consistent as I would have liked but not a terrible job either. (Clearly I could have found a better background for the pictue - next time) Hopefully as I gain some more experience (this is my first attempt at this type of "ratlines") they will get better.

 

When I did the test run I used Wendbond glue for both the music wire and the "steps".

 

As I was trying to get the music wire installed (every fifth "ratline") I shifted to CA. It seemed to hold the wire and it did not leave as much residue as the Weldbond. It is not "sticky" like the Weldbond so I had to adapt my technique to account for this. I laid the hull almost horizontal so the music wire would hold its place (more or less) on the shrouds while I applied the CA.

 

As I installed the steps I also used thin CA as it sets much faster and seems to grab the styrene satisfactorily. I thought (briefly) about using the styrene cement but that softens the styrene and does not set nearly as quickly as the thin CA.

 

So 1/8th of this job was completed in a little over five hours. So only 35 more hours of dealing with tiny pieces of styrene and short pieces of music wire to go!

[BobG]

Wonderful work, Gary!

[cdrusn89]

Thanks bob.

 

So I think I finally have the "plastic steps" process down. I just got the stbd side of the Mizzen done and it went a bit quicker than the Spanker.

 

The first realization is that the model should be laying so that the shrouds are close to horizontal to the table. This makes it much easier to find the little pieces of plastic when they slip out of the tweezers or otherwise "come adrift". With the model upright there is just no telling where they might go except you can rest assured that generally they go where you can't find them.

 

 

I start by cutting a small "V" in the end of the styrene strip which has been painted flat black

Grab the styrene strip and engage the "V" on one of the shrouds at the location where it is to go and grab the strip at the other shroud with tweezers to mark how long the "step" needs to be.

Cut the strip at the tweezers

 

Cut a "V" in the new end

 

 

Carefully (really) place the notched step between the shrouds at the desired location and twist to engage the "V's"

Put a drop of glue (I have moved to medium CA for this - it is easier to control than the thin and sets fast enough so by the time you are done cutting the first "V" on the next one it has hardened enough so you won't dislodge it working the next one; although I have been doing every other step so I am not too close to the one I just did) on each end at the step/shroud junction. I use a sewing needle with half the eye cut off as a applicator for the CA and have a candle burning close by to burn off the excess CA on the applicator which I do after every step is glued.

 

Here is the Stbd side of the Mizzen completed - only 6 more to go.

 

 

 

 

[cdrusn89]

I finished the starboard side.

And I have the port side "in position" and am working the wire "ratlines" on each mast before tackling the "steps".

 

To try and get all the "wire ratlines" lined up parallel with the waterline I used the laser level to align the templates as I was clipping them in place. Then I decided to do the wires across each mast rather than one mast at a time. This gives plenty of time for the medium CA to set up on the first mast before I come back to add the next wire. Don't ask me how I came to this realization.

 

So here is the port side "under construction"; the towels are (in theory) protecting the starboard side while I work on the port.

 

 

[cdrusn89]

 

I finally got all the "steps" installed and the anchors attached to the cat heads.

 

The "barky" is just about as done as I am capable of making it. I am going to do a bit of paint touch-up and then declare it "DONE".

Here are some "overall" shots of the completed model.

 

I will post some more pictures when the paint touch-up is done, hopefully tomorrow.

 

 

[John Ruy]

Beautifully done!! I look at this model every time I pass through Searsport, ME in the Bluejacket Ship Crafters showroom.  It’s been a wonderful voyage watching you complete this model. Bravo 👏 

[catopower]

Fantastic looking model. Well done!

[Landlubber Mike]

Beautiful work!  Really nice job! 👍

[BobG]

Gorgeous model and superior craftsmanship, Gary!

[cdrusn89]

John, Clare, Mike, Bob - thanks for the kind words.

 

As promised here are some more pictures of the completed Charles P. Notman.

 

If anyone wants a shot of something specific or info on what or how some feature was fabricated just reply and I will attempt to provide whatever I am able.

[Bruma]

Well, unfortunately I completely miss the build log till now...

But now I'm recovering, reading all the pages till the end. 

This is a wonderful job! A true inspiration for my ongoing humble attempt on the Cutty Sark. 

Everything in you build is sharp and crisp, well detailed and with the right sense of scale. 

The rigging and the sails in particular caught my attention, really nicely done! 

Just one question about the anchors: why are they hanging freely? Aren't they suppose to be secure somehow to the hull?

 

[cdrusn89]

The anchors would not be hanging free if the ship were underway. The drawing provided do not show the mechanism which would "house" the anchors. At the very least there would be a cleat somewhere inboard that would secure a line that would be secured around the anchor shaft generally just above where the flukes are. There would also probably be a thicker main rail under where the shaft of the anchor sat on the rail.

 

Here is a picture showing the anchor on my model of Niagara. I thought about including something similar on the Notman but was "in a hurry" to start the next project so maybe in its first refit.

[GrandpaPhil]

Congratulations!  Well done!

[BobG]

This is  stunning model, Gary. Well done!

[Pogy647]

What an inspiration! And I’ve noted your techniques too. Thanks for the tips!