Great Harry/Henry Grace a Dieu by Boxbuilds - FINISHED - RESTORATION

[Boxbuilds]

The second ship you found looks like another sister to ours.  Same anchor, knots, deadeyes, and style in general. Who/what company made these?

 

 

The owners have agreed that they want the MAAS ship to be the model for theirs.  They say they want the masts stepped.  To that end I converted the single pole mast we have to a  plan for stepped masts (main and fore).  The concern is to get the yards positioned to fit the existing sails and a general need to transpose any other mast data to the new masts. Flag masts and top caps will be added.

[Keith Black]

2 hours ago, Boxbuilds said:

They say they want the masts stepped.

Was the argument made to keep the model original as possible including keeping the original mast? In the final one does have to bow to the wishes of the owner/owners but.....

[Boxbuilds]

Unquestionably yes.   The pros and cons were presented including veracity to the one they had.  But they felt that the ship had been changed inaccurately and they wanted it "returned" to the appearance of the MAAS version.  The above is the plan to do that.

 

I've finished the yards and other masts drawings:

[Keith Black]

9 hours ago, Boxbuilds said:

The second ship you found looks like another sister to ours.  Same anchor, knots, deadeyes, and style in general.

And the masts appear to not be stepped. Not trying to beat a dead horse, just saying. I respect the decision but I'd love to know the history and see photos of the MAAS model. 

 

9 hours ago, Boxbuilds said:

Who/what company made these?

It may have been nothing more than a cottage industry making souvenirs for tourist. My searching thus far has come up dry.

[Boxbuilds]

Could be. I have searched for and found several german toy makers but none did these. ...still lookin'    gotta go with the owner's wishes as you've said before.  This change only affects the fore and main masts.  We still have to replicate missing yards. caps, deadeyes, blocks and the flag staffs  It'll still be 85%+ original.  here is the MAAS model:

 

[Keith Black]

BB, will the replacement pieces be painted/patinaed to match the model? 

[Boxbuilds]

Yes. 

[Louie da fly]

I think whatever the rights and wrongs of replacing the one-piece masts with built-up ones, the client's brief is very definite. And it's going to end up as a very attractive model, which I'm sure the client will love.

 

BTW, what are you planning to do with the "futtock shrouds"? The shape of the tops makes normal ones impossible, and that must be why they did them the way they did.

[Feathermerchant]

Steven, I purchased digitized photos of the Great Harry from the Powerhouse Museum. They are TIFF format so I can do closeups of the rigging. The futtock shrouds are attached either to a wire or tightly tied line  just under the lip of the crow's nest lip and then tied off on the shrouds below. 

 

I had talk to Harry Gee, Rights and Permission Officer for MAAS. He told me that they were digitizing the photos of the Great Harry. Received them last week and have been using the photos to draw out the standing rigging. It is like having a magnifying glass while looking at a large model. I have in another screen the crow's nest with futtock shrouds taking up the whole screen. Great for detail and really helps in understanding how the model was rigged. 

[Louie da fly]

I'm glad they're being so helpful and supportive. In my own experience with museums (and academics) this seems to be the rule rather than the exception.

 

I'm enjoying following this project.

[Keith Black]

 I think I've located another one?

[Boxbuilds]

Keith,

It has all the characteristic parts.  Wire fastenings, same cannon turnings, same deadeyes, same heavily cast anchors, same mast and truck construction, same paint colors and the yards were also nailed to the masts.  It appears to be a representation of very early drawings that were out of proportion rather than an attempt to model an actual ship.  Nothing wrong with that.  It's kind of a artistic piece~     Who made these??  

  I will keep looking but it eludes me too.

[Boxbuilds]

On 7/13/2020 at 8:25 PM, Louie da fly said:

BTW, what are you planning to do with the "futtock shrouds"? The shape of the tops makes normal ones impossible, and that must be why they did them the way they did.

Sorry I missed this question till now....

The tops are turned as one piece with only a hole for the mast.  the only other shaping are indentation on the upper edge of the top across which the futtock shroud passes.  What follows is unauthentic but how it is:

 

The futtock shrouds are fastened to the mast below the top, pass across the lip of the top and then are attached to the mast below the tgallant top, becoming (magically) the upper shrouds.  On the MAAS model the futtock shrouds have a deadeye fastened at the upper end.  The deadeye becomes the attach point for the lanyards/deadeye that become the upper shroud.  see pic   strange but true

 

[Keith Black]

5 hours ago, Boxbuilds said:

It's kind of a artistic piece

BB, it's more of a caricature. BTW, I reached down to pet it and it followed me home. 

[Louie da fly]

Yes, considering the configuration of the tops, I can't see any other way of doing the "futtock shrouds".

 

Interestingly, neither of the contemporary pictiures of the Great Harry - the Anthony Roll and the Embarkation at Dover - show futtock shrouds. That's not proof they didn't exist, but I've also been through my collection of contemporary and near-contemporary representations of ships, (and as collecting contemporary pictures of ships is a bit of an obsession of mine, that's a pretty big collection) and none of them show futtock shrouds. This isn't something I'd thought to look at before, and it took me by surprise. It is possible they hadn't yet been developed, and that sailors just went up through the lubber hole.

 

None of this affects your model, as you're trying to restore it to its condition when made in the 19th century, but it's an interesting insight.

[Keith Black]

BB, was there a trick to removing the original mast? 

[Boxbuilds]

Keith, 

I used copious amounts of Goof Off superglue remover.  After removing excess glue around the mast to give it a little wiggle room.  The mast was nailed at the bottom so it took awhile but eventually it rocked loose.  I think the key is dissolving the glue.

[Boxbuilds]

Finally finished the stepped masts.  Since the MAAS model has stepped main and fore masts the owner said she wanted the solid masts cut.  I used all the pieces of original mast possible. A few new pieces had to be fashioned though.  The big challenge in that is matching new wood to wood almost a century old.  Using basswood the pieces were shaped and multiple applications of stain were applied to establish the match.  

The original model had not mast caps.  The MAAS model does so I made them for the sections of the main and fore masts.  The top of the mast sections were squared off and the caps were carved and cut proportionately.  Flag masts at the top of all 4 masts also required caps and, in fact, making the flag masts.  The flags are present but were not mounted. In all the main mast now exceeds 48". 

[Keith Black]

23 hours ago, Boxbuilds said:

The mast was nailed at the bottom

 Thank you, BB. Luckily I didn't have a glue issue but I did finally figure out that the mast were nailed at the bottom, something I hadn't expected. These models were put together mainly with nails and not just tiny ones! I'm amazed that more wood splitting didn't occur durning construction and over the years since. 

 Nice color matching on the new mast though it looks like some areas didn't darken as much as other areas? If you can't get the basswood to darken evenly enough with just the stain you might try a acrylic burnt umber wash.  

[Louie da fly]

Nice work. Those masts are really looking good.

[Boxbuilds]

One of the integrity issues with the hull was a loose prow/ beak.  It appears that it had been nailed but the old wood was no longer holding.  I installed two wooden dowels between the prow and hull. They are invisible but holding firmly. Aligning the matching holes for the dowels on an uneven surface was tricky. Once set and glued there was still a seam that was too rough. I mixed up glue with sawdust from the model to fill the crack. You can see the fill that needs to dry and be sanded down tomorrow. 
 

The model had lost its columns that graced the hull flanking the brown arched portals. The first 2 are painted, guilted and aged.  The 2 to the right are installed awaiting finishing. 
 

Age is attacking the solid hull in the form of cracks. While I had considered filling them all I think it would detract from the model’s “mature” look. I’ll lay on a coat of satin sealer as a preservative to mitigate the aging   

[MEDDO]

I like the mature look, glad you are working to keep that as much as possible

[Boxbuilds]

Thanks for the vote of support Mike.  There's always another decision to make with these projects.  I need to hold onto some kind of approach/theme to help with the choices but that doesn't mean I'm right.  Friends' input helps.

 

 

[Louie da fly]

Nice repair, and I agree about not repairing the cracks. It's a fine line to navigate, but the client brief was to maintain the aged look and you're doing the right thing. You're not trying to make new, but to repair what absolutely must be repaired without disturbing its (very attractive) patina of age.

[Keith Black]

BB, I decided not to fill the cracks in the Amelia because of the difficulty of matching paint to hide the filler. Nice repair on the prow.

[Boxbuilds]

Thanks fellas.   Once the beak is smoothed the hull will only need minor work like gunport covers or broken pieces of wood fixed.  The sails are cleaned but I have to make one to replace the bonaventure missen sail that is missing. That'll be an adventure in experimentation.  Darrell is working on the next major step, assembling and rigging the masts based on Bill's rigging plan.  When that work is rejoined with the hull "Harry" will be well on his way to Greatness again. 

 

Attached is Bill Nyberg's description of the running rigging based upon the "Great Harry" in the Powerhouse Museum, Sidney. It is an excellent evaluation of the port and starboard views. He prefaces it: 

     "I wrestle with how to document how the model had been rigged, originally thinking I could do as I did with the standing rigging. That got extremely confusing to me very quickly.

     The document is arranged from bowsprit back to the Bonaventure mast. I would suggest that the yards be rigged and sail attached and how the yards will be attached and held in place on the masts be completed before the running rigging is started. Also, if you have reviewed the photos, the way the running rigging terminates is very confusing and in many cases not clearly understood from the photo. "

Note: Few of the original lines were terminated at the deck.  Most terminate on the masts below a top, I guess for manufacturing convenience.  This was a challenge, being so unconventional, and a tribute to Bill's patience.

Great Harry - Running Rigging.pdf Rigging[690].pdf

[Keith Black]

Hat's off to Bill Nyberg, excellent presentation. I'll follow his lead as best I can when I start rigging the Amelia. 

[Boxbuilds]

In several places the "trim" has been knocked off.  The maker used nails to tack almost all wooden pieces to the hull.  The nails, while  small were still too big for the small pieces which contributed to a lot of splitting and inevitable loss of some bits.  Examining the existing trim, I found in most places that it was 5X2 mm stock painted a mix of black and gold.  I used scrap to experiment with the 2 paints in order to achieve the same result.  The process I settled on was pretty simple.  Black paint was applied as a base and then gold was dry brushed across the black. The gold was much too "new" looking at that point so I dry brushed black across the gold with varying pressure and in uneven patterns. This provided a worn look to the pieces and seems to match the original.  Holes in the hull left by original retaining nails and nails used for rigging anchors were drilled. My hope is that predrilling the holes will prevent future splitting when the original nails are re-inserted or replaced.

 

Gunport covers had been knocked off and lost--about half of them.  They had been painted red and nailed to the hull.  Also being smallish pieces, several of the remaining covers had serious cracks running along the grain consistent with splitting from the nails.  The remaining covers were carefully removed and, where needed, glued to renew their integrity.  I measured and cut new stock to size to replace the lost covers.  The glue edge was sanded to the right angle and all edges were sanded somewhat round to get the proper age appearance matching the originals. Matching the uneven look of the aged paint involved starting with a dark shade of red and adding layers of watery black paint.  By blotting the black before it dried, I achieved a close reproduction. Re-gluing the covers to the hull was simple and replacing the nails completed that task.  Again I predrilled the holes.  

 

Touching up the paint where there are scratches and the wood is glaringly uncovered and coating the woodwork with clear satin sealer ends repairs on the hull.

 

Pictures and paintings of Harry show a design on the transom.  Close inspection indicates something, now gone, existed.  While the masts are being worked I am going to fashion a replacement.

[Keith Black]

 BB, do you think that the original nail holes were predrilled when the model was first constructed? I'm inclined to think not as I've come across nails that have curved because they followed the grain of the wood. Though my mind tells me they must have predrilled the holes or the trim pieces and gunport covers would have split during the original construction because those are some pretty hefty nails. It's a quandary. 

 

 Would love to see the what work you've done on the hull, photos?

[Boxbuilds]

No, the holes are irregularly formed, unevenly spaced and the nails have split the wood in multiple places.  That's the main cause of trim damage......that and rotting wood. 

 

The hull is is almost ready for yards and masts. I installed the guns and repaired damaged trim.  Guns that are missing will have to be turned and little spots where paint is missing will be matched and touched up.