Half Moon by usedtosail - FINISHED - Billings Boats - 1:40 Scale

[Baker]

Nice work Tom

[popeye the sailor]

so now you are past me Tom.......I'll get back to mine one of these days     I get the second shot March 26........I took the following week off from work in case there are any side effects { a third hand would be nice  }.   this has also been the first year that me and the admiral got a flu shot.

 

I don't recall what I did for the ship's boat........I thought the same,  and I didn't get the vac piece,  as some of the parts were missing.  she's coming along really nice.........superb progress!  

[usedtosail]

Thank you Patrick and Popeye.

 

I have been working on making rope for the rigging and also stropping blocks for the masts. I added the deadeyes for the topmast shrouds to the main crows nest. To strop them I used rope instead of wire, mainly because the holes in the crows nest were pretty small. I first seized a loop into a short length of line then dipped both ends into thin CA to stiffen them. I passed the ends through the holes one at a time and then tied an overhand knot using both ends. I put a deadeye in the loop and pulled the ends tight, then fixed the knot and trimmed the ends. Overall it worked very well.

 

 

 

I'll either use small hooks or tie the futtock shrouds to these loops. I also made euphroes and threaded the crows feet through the holes in the crows nest but that won't be finished until the main stay is added.

 

 

[usedtosail]

Thanks for the likes guys.

 

I placed the lower masts with the mast coats and added the shrouds to the fore mast. I first seized deadeyes into the shrouds and set the initial heights but did not fix the seizings yet. I will add the lanyards then recheck the heights and fix the seizings then. I added a temporary fore stay to hold the mast at the correct angle, which for this ship is actually tilted forward. The quad hands are new for me and I really like them for holding lines that are on the ship for seizing. They are a lot easier to use than the usual helping hands with the two alligator clips.

 

[kirill4]

Good day,

Dear Tom,

Your assistants Looks very impressive!!!

Never saw this kind of helping hands

 Looks very usefull in use!

For shroud making,

why don't You use carton pattern with preliminary positioned deadeyes and drawn shrouds positions?

It is much handy for proper adjustment shrouds length, than make each shroud individual...

*and using such pattern You will find correct position of futtock chains as well, now they look like placed wrong, consider your foto...they  need to be in line with corresponding shrouds

*I understood You didn't secured mast permanently,not clued in place ? When start rigging shrouds? if not , as seems to me ,may be will be better first to secure it in correct position ,with necessary angle...and than start rigging?

All the Best!

Kirill

on the foto making shrouds with carton pattern....  may be this experience will work for You as well...I found it some time ago in  one of shipmodelling forum...

Edited March 31, 2021 by kirill4

[usedtosail]

Thank you Kirill for your nice comments. I have used templates in the past for setting deadeyes but was not always happy with the results. The deadeyes in the photo above are just held with a single sliding seizing. I can then adjust the heights of the deadeyes later and fix the seizings in place when I am happy with the heights. I have used this method since I built the Constitution and I like it much better as I can adjust everything on the model. As for the chains I will have to check them as they do look of in the picture.

 

Here I have added the real fore stay and fixed the deadeyes with a second seizing on the fore shrouds.

 

[usedtosail]

I checked the chains and they pretty well follow the shrouds. The aft ones could be more angled I suppose.

 

 

I added the fore crows feet today and this is the first time I have put crows feet on a model. It was tricky getting the tensions right and they are probably a little loose but if I tighten them more it pulls the stay out of line so I am going to go with this. The line behind them is just the excess that I haven't trimmed off yet.

 

 

[usedtosail]

Thanks for the likes.

 

I have been making good progress on the standing rigging. I have all the shrouds and stays installed, as well as the crows feet, and have started adding the ratlines. Here is what she looked like as of this morning.

 

 

I am happy with how even the deadeyes came out.

 

 

 

Here is how I do ratlines. I make a template for each set of shrouds with the shroud lines and ratlines on a piece of manila folder material. I set the template behind the shrouds and sitting on the channel. I first tie all the ratlines for that set but leave the knots a bit loose. I then tighten every fifth ratline moving from the bottom to the top and fix those knots in place. I try really hard to not pull the shrouds when I do that but I am not always totally successful. I then do the same for the rest of the ratlines. I usually use a "luggage tag hitch" for the end knots but I find some come loose as I do other parts of the build, so I am experimenting on this build by using two overhand knots for the end knots. I think for my next build I will try Ed Tochi's method of making loops at each end and lashing them to the shrouds. In this picture all the knots are still loose.

 

 

 

 

[usedtosail]

Here are the starboard ratlines after tying and fixing the knots. I ordered some cuticle cutters which I will use to clip the excess line when they arrive.

 

 

Port ratlines are coming along and I have started making the futtock shrouds.

[kirill4]

Good day,

Dear  usedtosail

Your model Looks good , accurate job!!!...

But I didn't understand your choice for rigging shrouds ...

as a rule ,as far as I know, shrouds loops should be placed above masttop one after/above another and sbs>ps ...

looking at your pictures it looks like half shrouds loops on the top arranged properly and some of them fitted separately, alone...

and not clear how You managed them...

All The Best!

Kirill

[usedtosail]

Thank you Kirill. As for the shroud loops, they are placed as first the two starboard shrouds have a loop at the top that is looped around the mast head, then the first two port shrouds, etc. The fore mast only has five shrouds so the last shroud on each side is connected to each other with a cut splice that is looped around the mast head. I do believe this is the correct way to do odd number shrouds. I think what you are seeing is that I put the first shroud pair through a different hole in the crows nest than the other pairs, so they are shifted forward. I wasn't sure i could get all the shrouds through one hole.

 

Here is my new favorite rigging tool, a cuticle cutter. I used it to cut the ends of the ratlines and it did a great job, making nice flush cuts.

 

 

 

[kirill4]

Oh!

I see now!

thank You for explanation!

Good tool... Das it cut clean? from first try?

I use some nail cutter...

Edited April 21, 2021 by kirill4

[usedtosail]

Well it did cut very well on the first try and very flush but somehow I managed to break off one of the jaws. I guess I pressed too hard. I will be returning this set to Amazon and will order a different brand.

 

[Sea Hoss]

I wonder if it says"Made in China" on it?

[usedtosail]

As a matter of fact it does.

[usedtosail]

Good news on the tool front - I received a replacement cuticle cutter in record time so I was back in business quickly. I also ordered a second one as a back up.

 

I finished up the lower shrouds and ratlines, then added the topmast shrouds and stays. It was a bit tricky threading the lanyards through the deadeyes in the crows nests. I am now finished with the standing rigging.

 

 

As you can see I have started making the yards and sails, starting with the sprit yard and sail under the bow sprit. I am using the sails supplied in the kit, which are a bit heavy material so not to scale at all, but that is OK for this model, as there are lots of simplifications elsewhere too. I start by gluing a bolt rope around the edge of the sail before cutting the sail from the material. I make a loop in one corner with a seizing and fix that seizing, then add loops for the other corners but do not fix those seizings yet. I start gluing the bolt rope with acrylic matte medium starting at the fixed corner, and adjust the other loops and seizings as I get to those corners, using the matte medium to fix those seizings. Once the bolt rope is attached I cut along the outside of it with a sharp X-Acto blade. Here is the main sail with the bolt rope glued on.

 

 

The main, fore and mizzen sails have reef points, so for those I use a needle to pull a piece of thread through the sail and tie and overhand knot on the back side of the sail. I then use some matte medium on both sides  to "fix" the tops of the reef points so they hang down the sail. To trim them I place a metal ruler over them at the right length, then pull them up with tweezers and cut them off at the ruler with the cuticle cutter. Here is the fore sail with the reef points trimmed on one side.

 

 

The next step will be to tie this sail to the fore yard. i first punch a series of holes inside the bolt rope along the head of the sail, then use a beading needle which does not have an eye to thread line around the yard through those holes, using a chain stitch. After the sail is attached to the yard, I'll add the various blocks to the yard for the running rigging. Here are all the stropped blocks needed for the yards.

 

 

 

[kirill4]

Good day Tom,

Bolt ropes looks nice! accurate and clean...

But where from these reef points came?

In that time there were no reef points on the sails... there must be bonets in use instead of... if it was ness-ry to reduce sail area... 

reef points came in use almost 200 years later on....

[usedtosail]

Kirill, they are shown on the plans that came with the kit. 

 

 

They are also mentioned in a book I am using called Rigging in the Age of the Sprit Sail 1600-1720. I like the look so I am going to keep them.

 

Here is the fore sail tied to the fore yard, as promised to show the chain stitch I am using.

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by usedtosail

[kirill4]

Good day Tom,

Thank You, now I understood - franckly speaking it looks unusual,

interesting ,why kit maker desided to use them(not bonets) for Half Moon model ? ...  🙄

 

 

[Louie da fly]

Reef-points are shown on sails in 14th century representations and even into the early 15th century --but they seem to have "got lost" in between times.

 

   

 

Cog, 1st half of 14th century - Bettman archive                           'Saint Nicholas Saves Travelers at Sea' from The Belles Heures of Jean de France

                                                                                                                               illustrated by the Limbourg brothers 1405-1409

 

It is very unusual (and probably unlikely) for a ship of this period to have reef-points rather than bonnets. I have a single contemporary source showing galleons with reef-points from 1545. All the rest show bonnets.

 

         

 

                                                       1545 Map of Normandy - Jean Jolivet

 

By about the end of the 17th century ships were using them again. It's quite likely the kit manufacturer just got it wrong.  But it comes down to whether you prefer to follow the kit instructions or to change to bonnets. It's your model and you can do what you want with it.

 

But it's looking really good.

 

Steven

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

[kirill4]

Good day,

Steven,

Thank You for interesting information and pictures!

At least manufacturer shown them in the lower part of the sails , but not in the upper part which was normal position of later period .

 

[usedtosail]

You guys convinced me to not show them on the sails. I was able to remove a few easily this morning so I'll take the rest off. Thanks for the info.

[usedtosail]

Here is the back of the fore sail with the reef points removed and the blocks, halyard and tie line added to the yard. I put the straight pin through the tie line to hold the parrels on the line while I add the yard to the mast.

 

 

Here are the fore sail and sprit sails on the model but without any other running rigging yet.

 

 

I rigged the fore yard tie around the mast and added the second seizing to hold it in place with the parrels. I started rigging the fore yard halyard by threading it through a hole in the mast and seizing a large double block to the end. I also seized the tackle line to one of the sheaves in the fore bitt and will put these together after the seizing lines are fixed.

 

 

The other sails are in various stages of production so this series of steps will be repeated for them as they are ready. The main sail is next and I have already started adding the blocks to the main yard.

[usedtosail]

In between sail production I decided to take a look at the supplied anchors. They are in two pieces, both black plastic. The anchor shaft pieces weren't too bad, just some depressions that I filled with putty, then painted the whole thing with flat black paint, as the plastic was very shiny. The stock pieces were terrible however, so I made new ones from 3/32" square basswood which I cut and sanded to shape. I had to file a square hole through them but that was not too hard with some small square files. I stained the new stock pieces then used some black shrink wrap tubing that I sliced into thin rings for the iron bands. I made rings from wire and wrapped them in rope, using lacquer to hold the rop in place. Here is how they came out.

 

[popeye the sailor]

really nice progress Tom.....the standing rigging and sails look very good  

[kirill4]

Good day Tom,

Overall It looks nice , but anchor stock looks fitted upside down?

or there is such effect on the foto?

All the best!

Kirill

[usedtosail]

Oops. I was wondering why something didn't look quite right. I was able to fix that without too much trouble. Thanks.

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by usedtosail
Added image

[usedtosail]

So one more change on those anchors. Instead of the line you see tied to them, which came with the kit and is a bit too loosely wound for me, I made my own anchor line. As per Chuck Passaro's excellent instructions, I put 4 strands of MARA 30 thread on all four hooks of the rope machine and wound it for a very short time, as the machine couldn't continue to wind it anymore because of the tension. The resulting rope was .076" diameter which was perfect for the anchor lines. I was skeptical that this technique would work but I was pleasantly surprised when it did.

 

As for the ship I have been busy rigging the various running rigging lines on the sprit sail and fore sail, including the sheets, tacks, clew lines, and lifts. I have also added the bowlines to the fore sail, which I have never rigged before. All of the lines are not fixed to the cleats or belaying pins yet so I can continue to adjust them as needed. I also have not trimmed the excess on most of these lines yet either.

 

 

[usedtosail]

Sorry for the delay in updates. I was working on getting the sails installed and rigged but then had to take break when the weather got really hot here for a few days, then my son got married weekend before last and we had guests staying with us last week. Now I am back at it with the lower sails and fore topsail all rigged and the main topsail in progress.

 

[usedtosail]

I have added rope coils to all the belaying pins and cleats with lines on them before I start adding the braces. My rope coils suck. I know how to make them they just don't come out like they should.

 

 

Braces are next then this ship will be almost finished.