Cutty Sark by Sailcat - FINISHED - Revell - 1/96 - PLASTIC - Rescue kit bash morphed to Dame Tisane

[Dan Vadas]

Coming Soon - More Rigging!

 

LOTS more rigging .

 

Welcome back Kats, good to see you back at the Dame.

 

  Danny

[Sailcat]

John & Danny - Thanks for your kind words  And ... yeah, there's a Lot more to do, lol.

 

But not as much as it would be if it were not for the fact that I am choosing to omit much of the rigging in favour of my own lack of experience and (secondly) the kit limitations.

 

Speaking of rigging ... here we go with the next steps.  At this point I am a bit at sea as the level of detailed information available in Underhill's tome is not as comprehensive for the Spanker and Spencer assemblies.  What information there is has given me enough to go forth ... albeit with a lack of specifics but what is one to do.  And given that, any and all technical inaccuracies henceforth are due to my inexperience.

 

Spanker boom and gaff in place.  Vang pendants and the lower sheet in place.

 

Spencer boom in place.  Vang pendants at the ready as well.

 

Block for the Spencer vangs in place - this wasn't easy but old reflexes can be restored given patience ... lots of patience, lol.

 

Underhill was not clear as to if these are Lifts or Spans ... regardless, he does mention they are made of steel cable and I happened to have some thin black nylon of a slightly smaller gauge than the upper stays so the scale is maintained.

 

Spencer boom lift or span - here I am guessing that it is made from rope as it is passed through a block and down to a fife rail to be belayed. 

 

And for the Spanker I think this would qualify as a lift - tied around the gaff, passed through a block to the spider band about the mizzenmast.  I considered affixing another ring bolt but I've been trying to leave bits of the kit origin visible here and there.

 

And the Sheets for the Spanker - I tied 'eyes' into the ends (like 'thimbles' I hope) and then used guesswork and intuitive thought to run them to where I think they'd go when the sails were removed.  So the 'upper' sheet runs through the sheave at the end of the gaff and back, the 'lower' sheet is attached at the 'thimbles' and the pair are tied loosely at the block.  This is probably wrong so I'm not going to finalize yet ...

 

If anyone knows if this is approximate to reality or if I have it wrong I'd appreciate being informed as I have been unable to find definitive information on this aspect.

 

Back to rigging for this landsman and it feels good ... and confusing

[Jim Lad]

Kats,

 

Both the spencer and spanker gaffs are standing and their spans are sucired aloft, not coming down in deck.  The spencer span is thought to have originally been shackled to an eye on the after end of the main top (Nepean Longridge), but I don't know where it is on the ship currently.  The spanker span is shackles to the after side of the mizzen topmast crosstrees. 

 

I'm not sure what you mean by the 'upper sheets' of the spanker gaff - do you mean the outhaul?  The upper sheet blocks (on the boom) are shackled to the sheet iron under the boom and the lower blocks will be shackled to ringbolts on deck on either side - probably abreast the wheel box.  The running parts are secured to cleats on the poop bulwarks port and starboard.

 

John

[Sailcat]

John - thanks for the promptness of your reply

 

*Discussion* - having re-re-re-reviewed Underhill's Masting and Rigging and the kit instructions I have determined that (to the best of my knowledge) there are only outhauls accounted for in the kit.  Thus my incorrect references to upper and lower sheets should actually read head and foot outhauls.  The boom sheets are present and accounted for in the build.

 

Having established that, the Inhauls, brails, and guys aren't accounted for with the Spanker set up.  Underhill's book makes no detailed mention of the Spencer at all.  And you would not believe the kind of stuff the 'Net threw at me when I googled Spanker 

 

Anyway ... I'll break this down into segments.  The following deals with the kit situation.

 

The Spanker set up as per the kit and instructions accounts for the standing rigging as you described, I think they're called the peak span and boom topping span.  There is also a line tied to the gaff a bit inward from the signal halliard block - this line passes through a block attached at the mast cap and down the mast to be belayed on the mizzen mast spider band.  I tried looking this up but I can't find a clear reference for it - possibly a kit inaccuracy.

 

The running rigging consists of a head outhaul, a foot outhaul, boom sheets, vangs and an ensign halliard.  

 

The head outhaul passes through a sheave at the end of the gaff, passes down to a block affixed to the base of the gaff and from there goes down and belays on the mizzen mast spider band.  

 

The foot outhaul passes through a sheave at the end of the boom, but instead of running to a block it is tied off at the 'boom cleat' near the base of the boom.  

 

The boom sheets consists of a line tied to a single block which is itself attached to the boom, run through a block attached to the deck, back once more, through and tied to the rail.

 

The vangs are similar to the boom sheets, line tied to a block on the end of the vang pendant, down to deck, through block, back to pendant block, through and then down and tied to rail.

 

The ensign halliard is simply a line tied to the rail at both ends, passing through a single block affixed to the gaff.

 

So - as much of the running rigging has been omitted in the kit is there a 'proper' way I can set up the head and foot outhauls to at least appear 'proper' for a no-sails situation or is this a case of having to creatively disguise it?   The option of going back and trying to incorporate the missing aspects is a bit daunting to say the least.

 

The Spencer gaff does not appear to have standing rigging.  As previously mentioned the line which seems to act in that fashion runs through a block attached to the mast top, from there down where it belays at the fife rail just forward of the main mast.

 

As far as running rigging goes, the Spencer also has only an outhaul which passes through a sheave at the end of the gaff, through a single block attached at the base of the gaff and down to belay at the spider band.  

 

The vangs are similar to the Spanker vangs, except that the blocks on deck are tied to pins instead of ringbolts and the line belays to a pin instead of being tied to a rail.

 

I guess the question here is similar, what to do with the loose end of the outhaul for the no sails set up.

 

And having processed all this into a form fit for public communication I can confidently state that I have likely broken my brain, lol.

 

Any suggestions and/or advice would be, as always, greatly appreciated.

[Jim Lad]

Kats,

 

Let's go throiough them in some sort of order"

 

Spanker

Sheets - on the Cutty Sark these were double - ie one on each side of the ship - and were twofold purchases (2 double blocks).

 

Head Outhaul etc. - This will be wire - not hemp.  Runs from the sheave in the peak of the gaff to a lead block at the lower cap and then down to another single block, to which it is shackled.  This is the upper block of a gun tackle (two single blocks) and the running part leads to a pin on the port rail.  There is also an inhaul (you need to be able to furl the sail as well).  Also of wire.  The outer end if the inhaul could be shackled to the end of the outhaul if there are no sails.  It then runs to a lead block at the foot of the gaff and then to a gun tackle as for the outhaul.  The inhaul is also made fast on the port pin rail.  With no sails rigged, remember that the outhaul/inhaul connection should be in by the mast!

 

Foot outhaul etc. - For the Cutty Sark, the foot outhaul is rigged as you describe, however it would be more usual for it to lead down to the spider band.  The foot inhaul is also made fast to a boom cleat on this ship.

 

Vangs - On the Cutty Sark these were twofold purchases (2 double blocks) with the running part being made fast to cleats inside the bulwarks.

 

Spencer

Outhaul etc. - There seems to be very little information on the rigging of this sail, but it would be safe to rig an outhaul and inhaul as per the spanker.

 

Vangs - These are also rigged as per the spanker, but the tackles may well have been lighter - a handy billy or gun tackle.  The lower blocks of these tackles would be set up to eyes on deck, not to pins.

 

That's the setup 'according to Hoyle', but you'll no doubt have to modify the rigging a bit to fit in with the confines of the kit structure.

 

Have fun!

 

John

[Sailcat]

... you'll no doubt have to modify the rigging a bit to fit in with the confines of the kit structure ...

 

 

Oh how true this is, lol.  After some consideration my old reflexes are slowly dusting themselves off ... namely, figuring out how to 'cheat, fake and deceive' my way through the rigging in situations like this.

 

I'll have some questions about how to deal with jib sheets in a bit ... but as these questions are still quarks firing off randomly in a fog of proto-mnemonic potentials I'll hold off for now.

 

As it stands, I have decided to simply 'run back' the existing outhauls on the Spanker gaff and boom to mimic the effect of tying the ends to the inhauls as would be the case if the inhauls were actually there.  Same with the Spencer gaff as well.  I'm not going to try and work in the necessary hardware to properly rig the inhauls and sundry at this late stage - that's just a way for me to invite Disaster and his sister, Calamity, over for dinner

 

Having further reviewed the rigging of the jib sails I can tell that a lot more compromising is ahead ... but that can wait until I run face first into the issue.

 

By the way, thanks again for the help.  It is definitely helping me navigate my way through this

[Jim Lad]

It's certainly no simple task you've taken on, Kats!

 

By the way, without sails, you won't have to worry about any jib or staysail sheets - they'd be sent down with the sails.

 

John

[Sailcat]

John - Thanks for that tidbit about the jib and staysail sheets.  I'd been wondering about them and in the back of my mind there was some commotion as I'd probably gotten this information previously (from you most likely) and forgotten it in the process.  Any rate, a few less details to worry about ..

 

And so we continue with rigging - this first shot is the uphaul and downhaul for the mizzen Topmast Staysail, with the 'thimbles' tied together and run down close to the mainmast.

 

Heres the Spanker gaff and boom with the outhauls led back in as if there were inhauls in place.

 

The uphaul and downhaul for the mizzen Topgallant Staysail rigged the same as the Topmast Staysail.

 

The Spencer gaff vangs in place.

 

The Spanker boom sheets in place - awaiting the 'rails' for the ends to tie off to.

 

The Spanker gaff vangs in place - also awaiting the rails to tie off to.

 

The mizzen mast spider band getting crowded.

 

And a couple of questions for perusal ... in the case of the Spanker boon there is a cleat which is utilized for tying off the inhaul and outhaul lines but I am unsure as to the method of stowing the extra line there.  This same question is on my mind for the extra line from the Spanker boom sheets and gaff vangs - as these are tied off to the rails how would the excess be stowed?

 

At this pace I hope to tie on the 'rails' on the rear stanchions over the weekend and maybe get started on the rigging lines for the Main staysails ... but I am also trying very hard to avoid stressing out my almost-but-not-quite healed back so I'll have to see how it goes

[Jim Lad]

Kats,

 

The staysail 'uphauls' are more property 'haliards', but who's watching?

 

Best place for the boom inhaul and outhaul extra line would be hanging over the cleats - remember that the outhaul will have almost nothing extra as it's full extended.

 

The spanker sheets would most likely simply be coiled on deck near the cleats.

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

absolutely beautiful Kats..........very glad to see you back at it.   do be careful though! 

[Sailcat]

John - thanks for the info yet again  Popeye - Thanks for the kind words of warning ... I wish I had been paying closer attention because ...

 

Nautical Disaster Time

 

I have been very fortunate in that I have not had to report much in the way of 'oops' factor as far as breakages during this build.  That all changed today, though.

 

But before I get into that there are a few more photos of business as usual, starting with the 'fixed tensioning' of the Spanker gaff vangs.  To do this I simply attach little clips with enough mass to pull on the lines without too much force, then I 'lock' things into place by dabbing a bit of diluted PVA on the line where it passes through the blocks.  This way when I tie off the ends to the rails they won't 'pull' as much.

 

The Spencer gaff outhaul line being put in place.

 

Applying the 'fixed tension' method to the Spanker boom sheets.

 

Emplacing the lower 'rail' along the posts using white nylon line - same as fore and the little details on deck.  If I had this to do over again I would have likely made the posts and rails out of brass wire ... next time ...

 

So there I was, carefully turning the ship to cut the loose ends of the lower rail when suddenly I hard a pop and the next thing I knew ...

 

I'm still not really sure what happened exactly, but after a five to ten minute hiatus while I tried to slow my heart rate to under 200 bpm I went back and assessed the damage.  Luckily the only broken part was the bowsprit boom where it seats.  So I carefully untangled the lines and chains, straightened out the one cathead whisker which got bent and reset the whole affair.  This photo I took right after the dry fit ... before I glued it back into place.

 

So I can report that I might have to tweak a forestay to regain the 'tensioned' look but my 'zero tension' rigging proved to be advantageous in this case.  If this has been a more sturdy model with more tension on the lines I doubt I'd have been able to just slip it back into place as I did.  After some careful re-alignment I used 'super thin' CA applied with a sharpened toothpick to the crack and it seems to be holding just fine.  Once I did that I walked out of the room and kept my distance - Superstitious me takes this sort of thing as an omen and besides, I'm still getting over the adrenaline hit several hours later.  Best to leave it for now, give it a day or two, then get back to it ... MUCH more carefully, lol.

[popeye the sailor]

tough break!  not a problem for you though........she looked like that when you started.............I know,  not funny     you can fix it.....I've seen what you can do 

[Jim Lad]

Ouch!  She looks like she hit an oceberg, Kats!  Nice fix though!

 

John

[Anja]

Hello Kats,

 

I'm glad you were able to fix it.

 

Take care,

 

Anja

[keelhauled]

Your ship is looking awesome.  I feel for your bowsprit mishap.  When I was building the Revell Constitution, I  was almost done and my roommate cut the corner of our dinning room table a little too close and broke the bowsprit in the same fashion.  If it is any consolation, the repaired plastic bowsprit has stayed true for 20 years now.  So you should be good.  I think that it's thanks to the rigging.

 

keep up the great work and I'm glad that your healing!  take plenty of breaks and protect that back!

 

Marc

[mtaylor]

Excellent fix of what could have been a nightmare, Kats.

[Sailcat]

Popeye, John, Anja, Marc and Mark (I hope I got that right) - Thanks for the kind words, humour and support - it did turn out ok, but ...

 

... after an unexpected hiatus due to 'Everything Else Besides Model Ship Building' popping up I thought I'd drop a quick post to let everyone know I'm not in hiding or abandoning the Dame ... I'm just busy and the odd bits of spare time I have seem to occur when I can't see straight from fatigue - not the best time to get into rigging, lol.

 

This is also why I haven't been lurking as much - I'd like to comment more on other threads but the mental fatigue also takes a toll.  I'd rather not 'say' anything instead of babbling incoherently (which is a change from my younger days, for sure, lol).

 

But the itch is there and she sits patiently.

 

However, for those who have been following this saga I have some troubling developments as to her eventual home.  The tea shop (and owners) to whom I was going to give the 'cased' Dame as a gift have been doing very well for themselves, so much so that their store is now quite crowded and all available space has been committed to their business.  There are fewer and fewer 'decorative' zones and even those are shrinking.  I'm not about to ask them to sacrifice valuable space in order to display a purely decorative item.

 

Hopefully there will be a way for me to get the Dame to the owners, if not in their store then in their home, but a casual conversation revealed that they are in the process of 'clearing house' themselves (think; decades of collecting stuff from their travels)  ... and so the fate of the Dame is now kind of 'in limbo.'  It's sad to consider at this point but it seems likely that I may not be able to fulfill my original intent

 

And there is nowhere I can 'display' it in my own home, lol.  One of my old email signatures comes to mind (I got it off a t-shirt), "This would be funny if it weren't happening to me."

 

Anyway - as further developments arise I will of course make more posts.  Hopefully of the build, with photos

[Jim Lad]

Kats,

 

Sounds like you may even need to find a new tea shop!

 

John

[Anja]

Hello Kats,

 

Yes, sometimes life requires more from us then we would like.

Just take your time, we will still be here when you find the time.

 

I'm sorry to hear that you might not be able to give the Dame her intended home.

Will keep my fingers crossed for you.

 

Take care,

 

Anja

[michael mott]

Nice fix Kats Trivial really when I think about the mess you inherited in the beginning of this remarkable salvage task you engaged in.

 

Michael

[Dan Vadas]

Nice fix Kats Trivial really when I think about the mess you inherited in the beginning of this remarkable salvage task you engaged in.

 

Michael

 

Yeah Kats - that was just a tiny drop in the bucket   .

 

Oddly enough, I did exactly the same thing with my own Revell Cutty Sark (way back when)   .

 

  Danny

[popeye the sailor]

a rather dismal developement Kats........the same sort of thing seemed to follow my best friend..    he would go to school to learn a trade,  only to come out of it with no job to go to...they would all dry up.   do they know of what your doing?   if not,  I think it's time you brought it to their attention.   you never know,  in their restructuring....they might even factor in a spot for her.......or they may even have a place for her in their home.

 

from the circular file,  that would have been landfill........till what you have before you now........you have done what many would have considered spare parts.   I wonder what the person who originally threw it away,  would say.   you can laugh when you tell them that possession is 9/10 of the law..........one man's trash,  is another man's treasure.........and you can glare at them and tell them that they lack vision.

 

but,  it is time to get her disposition in order.   your so close to the end of the build,  that you probably can forego the last few ideas you've been playing with in your head,  and put the finish on her.   {I would have used the word abandon,  but I know you won't do that....it's not in you}   I think it's time you started a journey for yourself.....your more than ready for it

 

......and don't pick no small build either.........don't cheat yourself!  find a build that you can use all of what you've learned,  and then some.   you have a beautiful build here!

[mtaylor]

Kats,

 

Popeye said it all.   Finish 'er up and go for your dreambuild.

[willw]

Hi Sailcat this looks great!! I've got a 1/96 Revell rescue kit that is missing the windlass & stanchions, what do you recommend?

[popeye the sailor]

the most logical suggestion would be to scratch make them....to find those parts might be a tall order.  you could go here and try the parts replacement path.

 

Revell - The leader in replica plastic kits since 1945.

 

you might have this info:   H-399   part numbers  #78   #79 (2)

 

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you,  but last I heard,  they were in the process of phasing it out.   doesn't hurt to try though.

[Sailcat]

John, Anya, Michael, Danny, Popeye & Mark - Thanks for your kindness and support everyone.  The Issue hasn't been resolved yet but I have begun developing options and I have determined that there is a 'home' for the Dame in a worst case scenario that the original intended recipients cannot take her.  So, still some loose threads but not nearly as many, or as entangled, as I had first encountered.

 

Will - Popeye's suggestion is the best and simplest but if that fails then my suggestion would be to scratch build what you need.  If you go through the Dame's Build Log you will see that I have done that with the windlass pump and many of the stanchion posts ... along with too many other parts to remember.  The thought of scratch building might 'seem' intimidating but once you try and fail and try again and succeed it becomes clear that it's not so much 'talent' as practice that matters in such things.  And always keep in mind when you're scratch building that the point is Not to get it right the first time but simply to eventually get it right, or as Dory says in Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming."

 

Well I'm back at it after yet another hiatus.  The stoppage was partially due to my realization that I kind of pushed myself to get started again (my back is still recovering, much better now but there are those minor issues which keep cropping up).  This impatience led to the snapping of the bowsprit and so I stepped back and let myself, and the Dame, heal and rest some more.  Then, once I felt ready to get back at 'er, Life threw me curve balls in the form of unseasonably hot weather, changes in the work I do at work in the heat, the opportunity to paint the interior of our place and so forth.  But today I got back to it in a small way, just a taste in order to dip my toes.  And speaking of 'so forth' I thought I'd start this photo posting off with an image of one of the distractions ...

 

For anyone interested the band is Rush and the song they are playing is Caravan.

 

And now here we have the repaired bowsprit - and I just noticed my photo has that weird 'bending' thing where it looks like the bowsprit is bent but rest assured that to the eye is looks straight.

 

Here I finally attach the upper 'rail' along the aft posts, or stanchions.  

 

And now I can finally 'tie off' the ensign halliards, vangs and sheets for the Spanker set up.  In order to prevent 'bowing' as I was using nylon line for the rail I stiffened the portions where the ties were going with dabs of 'super thin' CA.

 

And ending with a top down view, I was trying to show off the symmetry but I could not get the correct camera angle for that effect, so this image is slightly 'oblique' as they say.

 

Now onto the remaining fore and aft rigging and after that the braces ... the sense of impending completion is starting to make me grin randomly.  Back soon with more - I promise

[Jim Lad]

It's good to hear that your back is finally healing properly, Kats!

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

you BRAT!!!!   you saw RUSH.....and didn't tell me!  I envy you!!!  {they are on my wish list}

 

the aft section looks great with the railings...the rigging detail is going to make this stand out.   you've done such a great job with this project....I hope you find good resolve when it's finished 

 

I have been speaking to will.......e'mails back and fourth.  hopefully he will take my advice and start a build log.

[crewman]

A truly excellent rebuild the paint and rigging is fantastic. I have two of this kit in the stash one from my teen years and a new one found on ebay, having read your log I have the incentive and knowhow [thanks to you] to do a rebuild myself. Will follow your log eagerly. Cheers Clint.

[Anja]

Hello Kats,

 

It's good to see you back.

I'm glad your back is much better now..

 

Anja