Sciabecco Francese by HakeZou - FINISHED - Sergal (Mantua) - 1:49

[HakeZou]

Thanks, Bob!

 

Another small step finished tonight. I seized the ends of the rope on the pendants of the mainmast stays, then attached them. The last step here will be stringing the purchase between the upper and lower blocks, then I'll finish up the antenne and mainsail.

 

[HakeZou]

And now the mainstays are in! Adding the purchase ropes wasn't as challenging as I expected, largely because the holes drilled in the blocks are so clean. Mantua/Sergal did a really nice job with those! The biggest challenge was that these ropes are so close together that there just isn't any room to maneuver. I also can't seem to control the twisting of the blocks as the take on tension. I'm assuming that this is caused by knot placement and direction, but I'm just not sure. 

 

Forward and port views of the main stays. The remaining two blocks on the deck are for the halyards.

   

 

Details of the pendants and lower blocks. Except for the twisting, I'm really pleased with how these turned out. All of the pendants have beckets, so the purchase lines are strung cleanly and correctly. I'm getting the hang of seizing the ends of ropes. And I even managed to tie off the loose end of the purchase ropes better than I did on the mizzenmast 

   

[BobG]

Very nice work, HakeZou!

[HakeZou]

Thanks, Bob! Some good challenges here, but satisfying to see everything coming together. The end is in sight now!

 

I managed to squeeze in an extra work session late this evening. After seizing a few more ropes, I added the pendants to the fore and main antennes, then tied the mainsail on to its antenne. An excessively large photo to show some of the details. (For reference, the fore antenne is about 33cm long and the main is about 37cm.)

 

 

I posted before about the wooldings, so won't say anything further here. The garante and oste pendants are each a single piece of thread, with single-sheave blocks attached to each end. They're attached with an overhand knot and some Dritz Fray Check to glue them in place (you san see that best on the fore antenne on the left). The garantes and ostes themselves are long ropes with a standing end fixed to an eyebolt and a running end belayed to a pin; one of each on either side of the sail. I've also sewn a ring into the clew, though that's on the other side of the sail; the running ends of the ostes will pass through that ring on the way to the belaying pins. 

 

Next, I tied on the mainsail with eleven short pieces of .15mm thread. The middle five line up against the wooldings; then three going out to each end. Nothing fancy here, just a square knot and a few drops of Fray Check to glue them in place.   

 

Next step: hang the mainsail. I'll need to rig both halyards, add the ources to the bottom of the antenne, then rig the garantes and ostes. 

[HakeZou]

Continuing to work a step at a time right now, but I've just finished hanging the mainsail! In the process, I knocked the balustrade off again. So, I'm just going to set it off to the side with the swivel guns. I'll add those back on soon.

 

 

The trickiest part is that there's so little room to maneuver. The halyards were a particular challenge since they are spaced 5mm from the aftmost stays. The overlap of the rigging also posed challenges with the ostes, the ropes that attach to the top of the antenne. The standing end of each oste attaches to the same strip of eyebolts as the mizzenmast stays, while the running end attaches to one of the stern belaying pins. However, I'm really pleased with how tonight's work looks—all of the blocks are hanging well, I managed to avoid crossing any ropes, and everything is satisfactorily taut.  

 

Next step: Prepare and attach the lower blocks for the foremast stays and foresail rigging. 

[HakeZou]

Tonight, I began preparing the blocks for the stays and rigging, gluing the thread on to the blocks. Next on that front will be seizing the ropes. In addition, as I began working through the logistics of rigging the foresail, I realized it would be easier to install the anchors first. The photos aren't that great, but you can get the idea at least. 

 

There are three ropes for each anchor. The heaviest cable (1mm thread) runs from the ring through the hawseholes. Another rope (.5mm) runs from the ring, over the cathead, to an eyebolt at the inboard end of the cathead; that eyebolt isn't in the plans for the ship, but I added it so that I didn't have multiple ropes fixed to a single bitt. Finally, there's a short painter line (.25mm) that attaches the upper arm of the anchor to an eyebolt. The end result isn't quite how I pictured it in my mind beforehand, but I think it works okay—at the very least, the anchors are securely stowed!

 

 

 

 

 

Next steps: Seizing the blocks on the rigging for the foremast and foresail. Also, sewing rings onto the foresail and staysail.

[HakeZou]

I really got on a roll this evening! Not only did I seize the blocks and sew rings onto the sails, but I also managed to rig the stays on the foremast. This included two stays running down to each strip of eyebolts on the foredeck, as well as two forestays running down to the bowsprit. In attaching that, I also needed to hoist the staysail. Some finicky work, but it went mostly pretty well. I would have preferred to put the staysail on the after forestay, but it didn't fit at that angle. Since the kit doesn't come with the sails, I had to find a solution for the staysail halyard. Although I had prepped for this when building the foremast assembly, now you can see it in place. It runs from the sail, through a .6mm hole drilled through the centerline of the masthead, and ties off on a belaying pin mounted between the foremast knees.  

 

 

 

Next steps: Attach the foresail to the antenne, then hang it. After that, there will just be a few details to work out—reinstalling the balustrade and swivel guns, and making rope hanks for the belaying pins. The end is approaching quickly!

[BobG]

Lots of progress, HakeZou. This is really going to be a fine model when you are finished!

[HakeZou]

Thanks for the encouragement, Bob!

 

Tonight I decided to just run with the momentum I've built up the last few days and hang the foresail! By this point, I've gotten into the routine of rigging these sails. The only new challenge was the overlapping rigging—going down each side, the attachment points on the main deck are for the fore garante, main ource, fore oste, fore garante, fore oste. I also need to revisit the portside oste, which seems to have too much slack on it. (That oste is clearly visible in the first photo, running from an eyebolt on the deck, to the block at the top of the antenne, then back down to a belaying pin.) But at this point, the rigging is done!

 

   

 

You probably noticed that I removed the staysail. Well, once the foresail was up, it looked awful. You'll note in the first photo that the antenne and the luff of the sail (the hypotenuse of the triangle) line up perfectly with the forestay. As a result, the staysail wasn't visible from the port side; from the starboard side, it was at such a different angle from the other sails that it just didn't look right. So, off it went. Instead, I have the more classical look of the three lateen sails.

 

Next steps: Finishing details, especially making rope hanks for the belaying pins and reinstalling the balustrade and swivel guns. The next set of photos should be the glamour shots!

[HakeZou]

On to the last step—adding rope hanks to the belaying pins. This has not been easy. I haven't done it well on my previous kits, so I'm trying to figure out a method that works for me. After trying and failing on my own, I poked around on MSW and YouTube. I checked out Tom Lauria's method and then tried Peter Burton's method. I just couldn't manage to do them cleanly—though I highly recommend checking out their methods, especially if you're a more skilled than I am.

 

In the end, I pulled Frank Mastini's Ship Modeling Simplified and finally made some with which I was satisfied. It's not as quick as Lauria's and Burton's methods, but that's alright. I've got the time and I only need to do 15. Here's how I've adapted Mastini's method:

 

1. The key to Mastini's simplified method is placing the handle of an Exacto knife in a vise. I had to remove the collet and blade to ensure it would stay put.

 

2. Next, Mastini recommends doing a common whipping knot with 2 to 4 wraps around the Exacto knife handle. After tying the common whipping, it's finished off with an overhand knot and a bit of diluted glue (I used a dot of Fray Check). 

 

3. After sliding the rope coil off the Exacto knife handle, Mastini's photos show another overhand knot tied around the waist of the coil. I was having a hard time doing this, so here's where I am departing from his method. I very carefully clip the ends of the coil between two clothes pins and give one a half spin. This makes the coil into a figure 8 and gives it a clear waist. Using two tweezers, I wrap a thread around the waist and tie an overhand knot. (I'm running a little short on thread, so I'm using some of the longer bits that I cut off while doing the rigging. Sometimes I'm able to do this overhand knot with the loose ends of the common whipping, sometimes I'm using a separate short thread.)

 

4. After removing the hank from the clothespins, I apply another drop of Fray Check and trim the loose ends.

 

5. Then it's time to attach the hank to a belaying pin. Here are the first three, on the portside stern pin rack. Of these three, two were done with two wraps and one with four wraps around the Exacto knife handle. The one with four wraps definitely looks the best, but they all look better than on my previous ships. Progress!

 

Right now, I have 4 down and 11 to go. 

[BobG]

Nice method for the rope hanks. They look very good.

[HakeZou]

Glamour shots!

 

Thanks to all who've followed along. Thanks especially to you, Bob, for the supportive comments throughout. This project was a big step up from my previous projects. There were definitely some doubts and mistakes along the way, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out! 

 

First, some full views of the xebec, starting with the port side:

 

Starboard side:

 

Bow and stern:

     

 

Overhead:

 

And details of the hull and deck fittings. First, the foredeck and bowsprit from starboard bow:

 

The foredeck from the opposite angle:

 

The main deck, looking forward:

 

The hull amidships, showing cannon and a swivel gun:

 

The aftdeck and rudder well:

 

Portside view of the stern and rudder:

 

And a few shots of the rigging. First the full rigging of the foremast and sail:

 

A full shot of the main mast and sail:

 

And the mizzenmast and sail:

 

Finally, a couple close-ups of the mainmast, showing the rigging of the masthead, antenne, stays, and halyards:

     

 

I started making model ships as stress relief during the pandemic. So, as we pass the anniversary of the lockdowns here, it seems appropriate to wrap up this project with a shot of the flotilla I've built in the past year. While the three fishing boats each took about 4-5 weeks, this xebec was a seven-month project that kept me occupied through fall and winter—I unboxed it on August 31 and added the finishing touches on March 18. Here's my pandemic flotilla (order of completion, from left to right: 4th, 1st, 2nd, 3rd):

 

 

Thanks for coming along on this ride!

[catopower]

HakeZou,

 

I love your Pandemic Flotilla! That's really quite a nice collection of models for one year of work. Very nicely done.

 

[HakeZou]

Thanks, Clare! Each ship in the flotilla has its flaws, but it's gratifying to be able to look at them together and see the progression of my skills and knowledge. Now I just have to figure out what to do next! It'll be another French ship...but I have several on my wishlist and I haven't made a decision yet.

[BobG]

Congratulations on completing this beautiful model, HakeZou! I really like these sciabeccos a lot and you did did a wonderful job on this one. Your fleet is really impressive too. I look forward to your next build. 

[HakeZou]

Thanks, Bob! I didn't know anything about xebecs before getting this kit, but I have really come to love the lines of the hull. That long, sleek shape really makes my other ships look short and squat! As for my next kit...I'm starting to narrow things down. It'll probably be selected from La Rose by Panart, Le Cerf by Mantua, Marie Jeanne either by Billings or Artesania Latina, Le Renard by Artesania Latina, Sloup by Corel, or the Toulonnaise by Corel. I have a birthday coming up so one of these will be a gift to myself.

[Rob S]

Very nicely done! She’s a beaut!

[DavidG]

congrats to your fleet. Very nice progress through the line of builds on different difficulty levels.

Looking to the list of your future builds, you may want to have a look on Dusek's take on Le Cerf. That one seems to be a more modern design of the same subject.

[GrandpaPhil]

Congratulations!  Well done!

[HakeZou]

Thanks, GrandpaPhil!