Endurance by HakeZou - FINISHED - OcCre - 1:70

[HakeZou]

This morning, I finished seizing all of the blocks for the foremast yards. As I did so, I thought I might offer something of a tutorial on the technique I use for this. I'm an old Eagle Scout and a leader now that my son is in Scouting, so I feel particularly confident when it comes to tying knots. I don't think that my technique could be called authentic, but at the scale we work at, I think it's mostly indistinguishable and is more accessible to beginners. For a more authentic common whipping knot, check out J Brent's video tutorial. The key difference in appearance is that the trimmed tails of the knot are more visible with my approach, since they are perpendicular to the rope being seized, while the common whipping knot leaves them parallel. But, on to the explanation...

 

Frank Mastini writes that "Seizing is a complicated and exacting craft, especially on a model. And intricate seizing is not something at which a beginner should try his hand. We'll keep it simple: When I say 'seize it,' I mean use a simple overhand knot, a few wraps,  and a dab of glue" (Ship Modeling Simplified, 77–78). On my first kit, I started with that explanation and some video tutorials. The results were usually bulky and always inconsistent. As a quick example, two seized deadeyes from that first kit; note how fat they are, the inconsistency of shape, and the inconsistency of position. Sure, I had no significant skills at that point, but the bigger problem was that I hadn't found a way to control my seizing knot.

 

 

Over the next several kits, I gradually refined my technique into what I do now, which produces more consistent and well-controlled seizing knots. The first step is wrapping the line around the block, securing it with a drop of Dritz FrayCheck on each side, then clipping it into a clothespin while the glue dries. Once that's done, I cut a piece of sewing thread about 100mm long (I don't actually measure, but I think it's about that long). I lay the legs of the line across the thread and tie an overhand knot, pulling it up into the block as I tighten it. (Don't pull upward too soon or the block will pop out of the knot!)

 

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Next, I do a double wrap by crossing the two ends of the thread behind the legs. I just lift up the legs pull one end across and hold it down with a finger, then the other. This is where things can get a bit fiddly. If the thread has twisted (which often happens as I tie the knot), then the legs are likely to kick around a bit, sometimes flipping over. When this happens, I use my left ring finger to hold the legs in place both while I wrap the ends with tweezers and while I tie the second overhand knot. Again, I pull the knot up toward the block while tightening it.

 

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Then, I repeat the steps for another double wrap and a third overhand knot.

 

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If the seizing has slipped away from the block, I gently pull the legs in opposite directions, to slide it up as close to the block as possible. Then, I trim the ends of the thread and apply a drop of FrayCheck to glue the seizing in place.

 

 

The final product features five wraps, with the multiple overhand knots helping to control the thread at each step. With practice, this goes fairly quickly and easily. In about an hour, I seized ten blocks for the foremast yards, two for the finished lifeboat, and one that I had to replace on the foremast top. (The last three aren't shown here.)

 

 

 

I hope this helps others out!

[HakeZou]

One more quick tutorial-type update from this evening's short work session. I promised last week to show a bit about how I'm aligning the backstays on the lower deadeyes. So, here it is!

 

First, I use a ruler and a level to align a sheet of paper at the proper height, giving me a straight guideline for the brass pins. Then, I run a temporary shroud through the mast top, weighting it on both ends with clamps so that it hangs straight.

 

 

Next, I go one-by-one down the line of deadeyes, aligning the temporary shroud with the center of the deadeye and keeping it straight. Underneath the temporary shroud, I make a pencil mark on the edge of the sheet of paper. Then, I drive in a pin just above each pencil mark.

 

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Again, going one-by-one, I tie each backstay to its pin with a double overhand knot (and, for consistency, with the standing end of the knot on the forward side of the pin), pulling the knot tight until there's tension on the backstay. After that, I remove the paper, trim the tails of the knots, and use a drop of FrayCheck to secure the knot. After hammering the pins in flush with the hull, I dab FrayCheck along the length of the backstay to stiffen it. (In the second photo here, the FrayCheck hasn't quite dried all the way yet so the bottom of the backstays looks a little messy.)

 

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Next steps: I've applied the last coat of finish to the foremast yards, so tomorrow I'll be able to rig them with blocks and such. Then I'll start shaping the mainmast and its spars.

[BobG]

Nice technique for aligning the backstays!

[HakeZou]

Thanks, Bob!

 

It's been a very busy week around here, but I've managed to put in a little bit of time on the Endurance. The big excitement is that I finished installing the fittings on the foremast yards. Since there's no good way of laying them down on my work bench, I've strung them up with some sewing thread to keep them safely out of the way. The slings and lifts here are temporary and easily removed, which made it much more difficult to align everything. But, despite the two topsail yards sitting at funny angles, I'm pleased with how they've turned out. The footropes on the upper topsail yard actually look better in person than in the photo; I need to hang a couple weights from them to train them into a better shape. The footropes on the other two yards run through eyebolts, so their shape is easier to maintain. 

 

 

The mainmast and its two spars have also been assembled now and are in the painting/staining process.

 

The harder work this week was mental. I've never done square rigging, so I spent some time researching that. As I learned more about the various ropes involved in square sails, I studied OcCre's rigging diagrams more closely. At first glance, the diagrams are generously helpful—9 diagrams that walk you sequentially through OcCre's recommended order, and 1 diagram that shows all of the attachment points on the deck, labeled with their rope number. With 124 ropes (not counting robbands and lanyards), I definitely appreciate the help here, which is considerably better than with any of my previous kits. (In those, I have always ended up pitching the rigging diagrams and just used common sense to work it out on my own.) However, as helpful as they are, there are some things in the diagrams that don't make sense:

1. The deck diagram shows 9 midships belaying pins on each bulwark, of which only 8 are used on the starboard side and 7 on the port side. However, the construction plans called for 10 on each side.
2. The upper topsail lifts run down to midships belaying pins—the only pieces of standing rigging to go to belaying pins.
3. The lower topsail sheets run down to eyebolts around the mainmast (in the 5:00 and 7:00 positions, if 12:00 is forward)—a terribly awkward attachment point for pieces of the running rigging. 
4. The flying jib halyard and staysail halyard both connect to the same eyebolt around the mainmast (in the 6:00 position), while the jib halyard goes to a belaying pin on the starboard side.
5. The jib sheet and the flying jib sheet both tie off on eyebolts that already hold deadeyes and backstays. 
6. Around the foremast and the midships pin racks, I think there will be several ropes crossing each other. 

As I picked up on these problems, I put together an Excel spreadsheet listing all 124 ropes, their name and function, and their route. I've already made a number of changes and have a few things I will have to work out once the ropes are on the ship and in front of me. Here are the changes I'm planning to make, though I encourage others building this kit to carefully review these suggestions before adopting them; they are tentative and won't be finalized until I've actually run the rigging.

1. I'm moving the upper topsail lifts (JT31 on both sides) to the ring of eyebolts around the foremast. My tentative plan is to have the foresail lifts (JT29) in the 1:00 and 11:00 positions; the lower topsail lifts (JT30) in the 2:00 and 10:00 positions; the lower topsail sling (JT27) and upper topsail sling (JT28) in the 3:00 and 9:00 positions; the upper topsail lifts in the 4:00 and 8:00 positions; and the foremast gaff halyards (JT53 and JT54) in the 5:00 and 7:00 positions. This will leave the eyebolt in the 6:00 position empty...but I'm okay with that since it's the most inaccessible!
2. The midships pin racks are a work in progress. I know the ropes that will run there, but I will need to work out their order later. Those ropes will be the sheets and clewlines for each of the three square sails (JT33, JT35–39); the flying jib and jib halyards (JT40 and JT63); and the the flying jib, jib, and staysail sheets (JT43, JT52, and JT66). This gets me to 20 ropes for 20 pins. The only one that's missing is the staysail halyard, which I'm tentatively planning to tie off on a new eyebolt added at the 12:00 position around the foremast.

While working on my rigging spreadsheet, I also realized that I had forgotten to leave some loops of thread on the blocks that need beckets. After a bit of experimentation, I've decided to install eyebolts as beckets; they're a bit oversized, but so are the blocks, and that extra size will be helpful once I start running the rigging. Thankfully, OcCre has been pretty generous with eyebolts in this kit, so I think there are enough extras to fill this function. Two down, thirteen to go.

 

[HakeZou]

Just a quick update for today. After putting the last coat of finish on this morning, I've attached all of the fittings for the mainmast, its gaff, and its davit crane. Everything went fairly smoothly...but my work on the crow's nest has ensured that the port side is definitely going to be the main display side! The instructions call for wrapping two pieces of 1mm brass wire around the mast and the crow's nest. The port side looks fine, but where the two ends meet on the starboard side show the limits of my skills with metalworking. The mainmast is sitting loosely in its hole for now; once I actually install it, I'll make sure that it sits better so it is actually raked.

 

 

Next step: Start work on the mizzenmast.

[HakeZou]

Work on the mizzenmast went pretty quickly and smoothly, so that's all finished up. Nothing much to report there and I never got around to taking a photo. But, with that done, I've started digging in on the rigging. Plenty of fussy work here! I started off by attaching the two bobstays and the bowsprit shrouds. All of these are made of chain, which is a new material for me to work with, so lots to learn here. I noticed in OcCre's tutorial videos that they simply tied the chain onto eyebolts. This seemed easy enough, so I tied them using .15mm natural thread. Even in person, that thread blends in well enough with the chain that it's not obtrusive. It took a couple tries and removing some extra chain links to get satisfactory tension, but in the end, I'm pretty pleased with it. 

 

 

 

After pondering the masts a bit more, I've come up with a rough plan that will be adjusted as needed. I'll rig the mainmast first, then the foremast, then the mizzenmast. With each mast, I'll start by attaching the sail(s) to the spars. Then, I'll run the standing rigging (except the shrouds), step the mast, and tie off the standing rigging. Next, I'll do the running rigging. Finally, the shrouds. I think this will work, but please chime in if you foresee any problems. The foremast will be the biggest challenge with this plan because the deadeyes are directly in front of a rack of belaying pins. If I did the shrouds before the running rigging, I'm not sure how I'd get in to belay the running rigging; if I do the running rigging first, the lanyards between the deadeyes will be more difficult. Definitely no easy solutions here, so I'm choosing to work from the inside out.

 

In the meantime, I've attached the mainsail. Per OcCre's instructions, it's attached to seven metal rings around the mast. Since the rings are more-or-less horizontal and the sail is vertical, I'm not entirely sure how they are supposed to be sewn on. So, since I have a stash of small brass rings, I sewed seven of those onto the luff of the sail. I also sewed one ring each into the peak and clew corners; since the port side will be my main display side, I placed all of these rings on the starboard side.. When I attached the sail to the mast, I threaded each large ring from the kit through its small partner on the sail, then wrapped the large ring around the mast and closed it with needlenose pliers. Next, I attached the sail to the spar using robbands, per OcCre's instructions; I tied off the robbands on the small brass rings in the throat and peak corners. (Note: The mast hasn't been stepped yet; I just stuck it in place for the photo.)

 

 

A note for others building the kit. The plans call for all three gaffs and the mizzenmast boom to be attached to their masts by inserting a hook on the end of the spar into an eyebolt on the mast. The hook is fashioned by bending a short piece of 1mm brass wire to a 90º angle, then inserting it into the end of the spar. At this point, I'm regretting doing that, since the mainsail gaff was an absolute pain to work with. Since there's no boom and no downhauler, there's hardly any downward pressure to keep it in place; once the halyards are attached, there will be even more upward pressure, pulling the hook out of the eyebolt. I can imagine two better solutions: 1) A similar solution for fixed spars would be to replace the bent-wire hook with an eyebolt, which would then be attached to the eyebolt on the mast; this is actually what the plans call for with the crane davit on the mainmast. 2) A more historically accurate solution would be to fashion a set of jaws and parrells, to replace the hooks and eyes; this would allow for the gaff to be hoisted like real rigging.

[clearway]

also you can rig vangs to the gaffs if needing downward tension.

 

Keith

[HakeZou]

1 minute ago, clearway said:

also you can rig vangs to the gaffs if needing downward tension.

 

Keith

 

Ah, yes! Thanks for the reminder, Keith. When I posted, I forgot that the rigging plans call for vangs on all of the gaffs.

 

This evening, I tied off all of the ropes around the base of the main mast—all of the braces for the square sails and the mainsail halyards. While the braces are just looped up and hanging off the sides, I went ahead and rigged the halyards and the crane davit. For the time being, the crane davit is resting in an almost vertical position. Once the fore gaffsail is installed, I'll figure out its final angle. In most photos of the Endurance, I note that the crane davit is up; since I'm planning to rig the model at full sail (similar to this photo), that means I'll probably keep it as close to vertical as possible. As for the mainsail halyards, once I was ready to apply some tension, I applied a drop of CA glue in the eyebolt, so that should help hold the gaff steady, too. No vangs or sheets yet; those will be installed once the mizzenmast is up.

 

 

A couple weeks ago, Snug Harbor Johnny recommended tying the ropes to the eyebolts around the mainmast before stepping the mast. Tonight, I'm grateful for that suggestion! Even without the mast in the way, it was pretty awkward. I had to go back and forth between straight and angled tweezers (sometimes one in each hand), since everything is so tight there. But once it's time to install the braces, I'll just pull them back up through the gap between the gangways and run them in reverse up to the yardarms.

[HakeZou]

Some more slow and steady progress this weekend, as my attention has shifted to the foremast. First, I reviewed and revised my rigging plan for the foremast. I'm now at the point where I'm committed, so hopefully everything works out as well as I think it will. As I worked on this, I found the Philadelphia Ship Guild's Gazela Primeiro 2010 Crew Manual to be immensely helpful. The Gazela Primeiro is also a barquentine, so the rigging plan is very similar, even though OcCre has simplified the Endurance's for the kit. Section 2 of the PSG's Crew Manual provides detailed diagrams of the pin rails, spars and sails, the rig, and a few other things. While my pin rail diagram is in an Excel spreadsheet, I did everything around the mast by hand. In the diagram below, you can see the 22 holes through the foremast top and the eleven eyebolts at the base of the mast. The JT numbers refer to OcCre's labeling of the various ropes. I've numbered the mast top holes S1-11 and P1-11 for the starboard and port side, respectively. Put simply, the plan is:

• S1-2/P1-2: The upper shrouds run down through these holes and descend as the futtock shrouds.
• S3-6/P3-6: Running rigging (sheets and clewlines) from the two topsails, descending below to the pin rails.
• S7/P7: The flying jib and jib halyards, descending below to the pin rails.
• S8-11/P8-11: Standing rigging (slings and lifts) from the spars, descending below to eyebolts at the base of the mast.
• JT49 (staysail halyard), JT53 (fore gaff throat halyard), and JT54 (fore gaff peak halyard) run through the trestletrees, descending below to eyebolts at the base of the mast.   

 

And here's the mess at the base of the foremast. The slings and lifts are coiled and dangling off the sides. The staysail lift is coiled and resting on the bridge deck. The peak and throat halyards are installed (and, unfortunately, the FrayCheck I applied to the knot stiffened up too much of the peak halyard; I think that this little kink will be less obtrusive once the other ropes have been run up.

 

 

I've also partially rigged the fore gaffsail, in similar fashion to the mainsail. This time, I remembered to take a photo of both the windward (main display) side and the leeward side. On the leeward side, you'll notice the small rings in the clew and peak corners, as well as the seven small rings sewn onto the luff for attaching the larger rings around the mast. I haven't yet figured out how to get my blocks to lay down exactly the way I want, so the halyard blocks look a bit wonky.

 

 

 

Next steps: Prepare and hoist the square sails, continuing to work from the inside outward.

[Jeff Titus]

8 hours ago, HakeZou said:

Some more slow and steady progress this weekend, as my attention has shifted to the foremast. First, I reviewed and revised my rigging plan for the foremast. I'm now at the point where I'm committed, so hopefully everything works out as well as I think it will. As I worked on this, I found the Philadelphia Ship Guild's Gazela Primeiro 2010 Crew Manual to be immensely helpful. The Gazela Primeiro is also a barquentine, so the rigging plan is very similar, even though OcCre has simplified the Endurance's for the kit. Section 2 of the PSG's Crew Manual provides detailed diagrams of the pin rails, spars and sails, the rig, and a few other things. While my pin rail diagram is in an Excel spreadsheet, I did everything around the mast by hand. In the diagram below, you can see the 22 holes through the foremast top and the eleven eyebolts at the base of the mast. The JT numbers refer to OcCre's labeling of the various ropes. I've numbered the mast top holes S1-11 and P1-11 for the starboard and port side, respectively. Put simply, the plan is:

• S1-2/P1-2: The upper shrouds run down through these holes and descend as the futtock shrouds.
• S3-6/P3-6: Running rigging (sheets and clewlines) from the two topsails, descending below to the pin rails.
• S7/P7: The flying jib and jib halyards, descending below to the pin rails.
• S8-11/P8-11: Standing rigging (slings and lifts) from the spars, descending below to eyebolts at the base of the mast.
• JT49 (staysail halyard), JT53 (fore gaff throat halyard), and JT54 (fore gaff peak halyard) run through the trestletrees, descending below to eyebolts at the base of the mast.   

 

And here's the mess at the base of the foremast. The slings and lifts are coiled and dangling off the sides. The staysail lift is coiled and resting on the bridge deck. The peak and throat halyards are installed (and, unfortunately, the FrayCheck I applied to the knot stiffened up too much of the peak halyard; I think that this little kink will be less obtrusive once the other ropes have been run up.

 

 

I've also partially rigged the fore gaffsail, in similar fashion to the mainsail. This time, I remembered to take a photo of both the windward (main display) side and the leeward side. On the leeward side, you'll notice the small rings in the clew and peak corners, as well as the seven small rings sewn onto the luff for attaching the larger rings around the mast. I haven't yet figured out how to get my blocks to lay down exactly the way I want, so the halyard blocks look a bit wonky.

 

 

 

Next steps: Prepare and hoist the square sails, continuing to work from the inside outward.

The manual looks like an excellent reference. Thanks for posting the link.

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  'Great progress, mate.   The link to the Gazela manual is very appropriate for the Endurance, and something many Forum member can benefit from - myself included.  Fair sailing !     Johnny

[HakeZou]

Thanks for the comments and the likes, everybody! Tonight feels like another big accomplishment, since I have run the standing rigging (robbands, slings, parrells, and lifts) for the square sails. My previous kits have all been gaff and lateen rigs, so these square sails have had a big learning curve for me. But, the first part is successfully done and I only had to rip out and replace one of the ropes!

 

First, a view from the front. I'm not entirely satisfied with how level the yards are, but I'm hoping that I can fine tune that once the braces are installed.

 

 

And two after views: The first shows the whole mast as seen from the stern (with the main mast installed, but not the mizzen); the second shows the topmast as seen from the main mast top. You will note from this angle that I have seized the lower shrouds to the mast. Once I started working with the standing rigging around the mast, it became clear that I had to get this done while the lifts and slings still had some slack in their lines. For now, the bottom ends of the lower shrouds are just clipped together and hanging over the sides.

 

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Finally, a couple detail shots of the ropes running down to the eyebolts at the base of the foremast. This was looking pretty chaotic a couple of days ago, but it's a bit more satisfying now. In the first photo, you'll note one loose rope; that's the staysail halyard, which is just sitting on the bridge deck for now. In the second, you'll note how the holes drilled in the mast top help keep everything untangled. 

 

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One note for others building the kit: The measurements for the ropes in OcCre's plans are usually pretty generous (sometimes 150mm generous!), but the topsail slings and foresail lifts give you just enough to work with as you tie your knots. I'd recommend adding at least an extra 50mm for those four ropes. 

 

Next steps: A pause to rehearse the next three steps of rigging the foremast. Now that I have everything in my hands, I need to work out the best order for attaching the forestays, the running rigging for the square sails, and the shrouds. Even with the principle of working from the inside out, there's a lot of overlap in the next few steps 

[HakeZou]

I've started to make a little forward progress on the next phase of the rigging. After working through things a bit, I decided that the next step needs to be seizing the deadeyes to the lower shrouds. If I were to wait on this step until after I had done the running rigging for the square sails, there wouldn't be enough space for this work. 

 

Having made that decision, I re-read the relevant section in Mastini's book and found all of the advice I could on MSW. I've only worked with deadeyes once before and I'm determined to make things look a little neater this time around. The first time, I didn't really know what I was doing yet and so didn't worry at all about keeping them anywhere close to even (and check out the wicked angles on those chain plates—yikes!).  

 

 

Anyhow, the goal is to do better than that, which shouldn't be too hard. To accomplish this, I put together a very simple spacer jig—just two brass pins and a piece of 1x3 limewood. The simplicity will be crucial when I get to the mainmast deadeyes; because of the cabins, there is very little space for maneuvering on the back side of the deadeyes. The jig is nothing fancy, but it's getting the job done so far.

 

 

At this point, I've attached the deadeyes for the lower foremast shrouds on the starboard side. The first one was a painfully slow learning process. The other three went a little more smoothly. After finishing those four, I ran a temporary rope through them, just to check on how I was doing. Although they aren't perfectly even, they're at least all in the ballpark of each other. (Note: At the moment, the deadeyes have been seized, but I'm also planning to add sheer poles. Once I've done that, I'll tidy up the seizing some more.)

 

 

One issue I'm noticing with the very simple jig is that the pins sometimes splay outward. I'm thinking about preparing another strip of 1x3 limewood, which will go on the opposite side of the deadeyes, to ensure a more consistent spacing. That won't fix everything, though, since there is some minor variability in the position of the holes that OcCre drilled in the deadeyes.

 

4 down, 16 shrouds and 14 backstays to go.

[HakeZou]

I got on a roll today and finished up the forestays. In building up to this, I also prepped the three staysails and hung them on the stays. I've also installed the staysail's halyard, downhauler, and tackline. I'll add the staysail sheet and all of the running rigging for the other two after I've finished the running rigging for the square sails. There will be a lot of lines belayed to the pin racks, with little room to maneuver, so I'll be doing everything in order from least to most accessible.

 

 

To prep the sails, I sewed six small brass rings onto the luff of each sail, as called for in OcCre's plans; I also attached three more small brass rings in each corner. After prepping the first sail, I managed to figure out an effective technique of sewing the rings perpendicular to the sail (so that they are parallel to the bowsprit, making it much easier to thread the stays through them). Since my mom is an avid cross-stitcher, I grew up doing counted cross-stitch. My newfound technique is a modification of the basic cross-stitch. I lay the sail down with the starboard side up (though I show it with the portside up in the diagram below!). After poking the needle through the sail's hem (step 1 in the diagram below), I pull it back around the edge of the sail, as if I were edging it, and slide the ring over the needle and onto the thread (step 2). Then, I poke the needle back through the sail's hem, but slightly lower than the first time (step 3). Next, I slide the needle back through the ring, making sure to go through it the opposite way this time, so the thread forms an X to hold the ring against the edge of the sail (step 4). Finally, I tie off the two ends. If you examine the photo above closely, you'll note that the jib and staysail are done this way; I prepared the flying jib first, with the rings sewn flat onto the hem—I would have changed this, but was worried about damaging the sail beyond that I could repair.

Next step: Review the running rigging for the square sails and the rigging between the fore and main masts, to plan the order for the next steps.

 

[HakeZou]

I wanted to be sure to get an update in tonight, since this log is about to go silent for a couple weeks. I'm off to Europe for a research trip—keep your fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly! The frequent changes to border-crossing rules has made this one a bit more stressful than my previous trips.

 

The update is that I've run the portside running rigging for the foremast, along with half of the starboard side. I haven't tied things off yet, so my apologies that things look a bit chaotic. The first photo below is trying to the ropes coming off of the two belaying pin racks (the forward one is directly behind the deadeyes). I'm really pleased with how the ropes look coming up from the after pin rack! One of those runs to a block on the foresail yard, while the others run up through holes in the mast top. As for the forward pin rack, only one rope really runs upward. The other ropes are the sheets for the headsails and the foresail. I'm going to have to figure out the best path for the foresail sheet, since it currently runs between two deadeyes (presumably, once the clew is pulled up a bit, that will keep it behind the deadeyes, but I haven't tested that out yet). The second photo shows the clewlines and sheets running on the square sails (since the tails of the ropes haven't been tied off yet, you'll have to use your imagination a bit; the clewlines will ultimately go back up one more time and be tied off on the yards). I also decided that I am going to need buntlines to ensure that everything lies cleanly. The kit doesn't call for buntlines, so I need to do a bit of research on how best to set them.

 

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One detail I'm particularly pleased about is that I was successfully able to belay all five lines on the after pin rack! This represents a big step up in my skills, particularly given how little room there is to maneuver. I can't say that they are all perfectly done, but at least I can say I did it this time! The awkwardness of this photo gives some suggestion as to how tight the space is around all of the pin racks. (Side note: I just noticed the stray bit of fuzz that caught on the block here...whoops! I'll grab that next time I'm working on the ship.)

 

 

After I get back from my research trip, the next steps will be to finish the running rigging on the starboard side, finish rigging the headsails, then add the lanyards on the foremast shrouds and backstays 

 

 

 

Edited October 3, 2021 by HakeZou

[BobG]

This is going to be a wonderful model when you're finished, Hake. Safe travels!

[HakeZou]

I got back home yesterday, after a very long day of travel—a 3:30am alarm followed by a train ride, 3 flights, and the final drive home. But I had a fantastic research trip to France and Sweden. On one of my days off, I visited the Vasa Museum, which was really fantastic. The ship itself is beautiful and I learned a lot by studying it. The various models and other displays throughout the museum are exceptionally well done. The nearby docks have a number of historic sailing ships, too; they all looked functional (and some could be chartered), though they also looked to be in various stages of restoration. If you happen to find yourself in Stockholm, the Vasa Museum is absolutely worth a visit! 

 

Feeling well rested today and with nothing pressing to do workwise, I spent most of the day relaxing by working on the Endurance. So, lots of progress to report! I started off by taking care of the running rigging for the square sails on the starboard side. Nothing to show there that can't be seen in my post of the port side, from October 3, so no photos of that. After that, I finished rigging the staysails. I had already done the halyards, since those run down to the belaying pin racks on the bulwarks. But today I added the tacklines, downhaulers, and I tied off the sheets. I also added the last of the bowsprit shrouds (the ones that are rope, rather than chain). 

 

 

The biggest challenge here was getting maneuvering room around the foredeck pin rack—though it was a huge help to be able to access the backside of the pinrack, since I could have one pair of tweezers in front and one in back. All of the tacklines and downhaulers run cleanly and look great in person, even though I couldn't get a great photo of them. The downhaulers are belayed on the three portside pins and the tacklines on the three starboard ones. The staysail's ropes run into the center two pins, through the two stanchions at the stem; the jib's ropes run to the next two pins going outward and the flying jib's ropes run to the outer pins.  

 

 

The sheets posed a different challenge. I'm mostly happy with them, though they aren't as perfect as I was hoping for. My primary display side will be the portside, so I'm setting the sails as if the wind is coming from that side (so that they open up a bit and display more of the deck). For the leeward sheets —I think I'm using windward and leeward correctly here—there's a fair amount of tension on the ropes in order to pull the sails off the center line. In my imagination, these sheets were going to pull the sails a little further of the center line, but at least they do a bit. The windward sheets (especially on the staysail) are pretty slack.  

 

 

After finishing up the staysails, I installed the lanyards on the portside shrouds and foremast backstays. At this point, I have threaded them through the deadeyes, but I haven't applied any tension yet. The gap between the deadeyes is probably a bit too wide, but I did that to have the same size gap for all three masts. As I sorted out the lines here it was satisfying to see everything falling into layers—the standing rigging is closest to the mast, then the staysails' sheets and foresail's running rigging, then the lower shrouds, then the topsails' running rigging, and finally the foremast backstays. Seeing everything run so neatly gave me a lot of confidence that I'd done it right! The first photo tries to show the different layers of the rigging, while the second is a detail of the deadeyes and lanyards.

 

     

 

Next steps: Thread the lanyards for the starboard deadeyes and install the upper shrouds. Then start tying off everything on the foremast.

[BobG]

The model of this legendary ship is so cool! This will be on my ever growing tick list.

 

It sounds like you had a fantastic trip, Hake. I'd be interested to know what your research is that took you France and Sweden.

[clearway]

Welcome back, as an aside the tall ship Auf Chapman in Stockholm harbour was formally known as the Dunboyne and was built in my hometown 😉

 

Keith

[HakeZou]

Thanks, Bob! The research was for a couple projects I'm working on related to music in Paris during and after World War I—a visit to the Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire in Strasbourg and to the Dansmuseet in Stockholm. This kit has been a good challenge for me, but has also been incredibly rewarding. Given your skills, I look forward to seeing what you do with your Endurance!

 

Thanks, Keith! I never actually made it over to Skeppsholmen Island, so didn't get a close-up look at the af Chapman. But it's directly across the water from the Royal Palace, so I got a clear view of it when I was wandering around Stadsholmen Island. It's a pretty looking ship!

 

I've continued to put in some time on the Endurance this weekend and so there's a bit more progress. First, I laced the lanyards on the foremast lower shrouds. (Ratline gauge inserted to make them a bit easier to see.)

 

 

Then, I tied off everything on the square sails. I did end up adding two buntlines each on the foresail and the lower topsail, which is helping to give them a bit more shape. I probably need to do something to refine that shape a bit, but I'm mostly happy with them for now. (My apologies for the lighting...)

 

 

Finally, I've started in on the ratlines. Since the upper shrouds and futtock shrouds are the same lines, I decided it would be better to get the ratlines and sheerpoles onto the lower shrouds before installing the other shrouds. This is my first opportunity to do ratlines and, so far, I feel like I'm doing a just okay job. First, I installed the sheerpoles. These are not called for by OcCre, but they seemed like a better solution for attaching the futtock shrouds to the lower shrouds (OcCre has them tied off to a ratline)—and if I was going to do a sheerpole at the top, I ought to do one at the bottom, too, right? I started off by using CA glue to position the brass rods on the shrouds. Once that had dried firmly, I lashed them on (mostly for the looks of it, even though it's a little hard to see in the photo). The ratline gauge is spaced at 6mm, which scales to about 16 inches. The ratlines are only attached to the middle two shrouds; I'm using simple overhand knots and a bit of Fray Check to hold them in place. Every five ratlines, there are pieces of white thread tied between the outer pairs of shrouds...a bit hard to see against the white paper, sorry! After a session of lashing the sheer poles and tying on just 5 ratlines, I was exhausted from concentrating so hard. So, I'll come back later and get to the rest.  

 

[HakeZou]

A slow week of work on the Endurance. It's been a little hard to get motivated because I'm finding the ratlines to be one of the least gratifying steps in building this model. But there has been progress! I finished up the ratlines on the portside lower shrouds and I'm two-thirds of the way done with the ones on the starboard side. After that, I can run the upper shrouds, do those ratlines, and get to work in earnest on the main and mizzen masts—which have just as many ratlines, but are otherwise much simpler.

 

I have learned along the way that it's much easier to work downward on the ratlines, so I started at the top on this side. (Oops...I forgot to re-straighten my gauge paper before taking the photo!)

 

  

 

More soon!

[HakeZou]

Finally got back to the Endurance today. I've been slowed down, in part, because I made a mistake and I've been pondering how best to proceed. OcCre packs the kit with .15mm natural thread, .15mm dark brown thread, and .5mm dark brown thread. If you're paying close attention when you unpack the kit, you'll realize that the .15mm dark brown thread is in the hardware boxes with the natural thread, while the thicker dark brown thread is in the envelope with the sails. The .15mm brown thread is intended for the ratlines, while the rest of the standing rigging is supposed to be done with .5mm thread. When I unpacked and sorted things, I tossed all of the thread into the envelope. By the time I got to work on the rigging, I overlooked the fact that there were two sizes of dark brown thread and just started working with the spool that I grabbed, which happened to be .15mm. 

 

Bottom line: all of my standing rigging has been done with the wrong diameter thread. Since I've already put on more than 160 pieces of thread (129 for the standing and running rigging, plus 35 ratlines), I'm not willing to rip everything off and start over. I've been debating between two options: Plan A would be to finish the ropes on the foremast as I've been doing them, then shift to the correct thread for the main and mizzen masts; Plan B would be to finish all of the remaining rigging as I've been doing it so far. After much thought, I've opted for Plan B, so that everything's a bit more consistent. I take heart in the fact that this actually makes the ropes closer to scale (.15mm at 1:70 means 4-inch thick ropes; .5mm at 1:70 means 14-inch thick ropes), though there are definitely some compromises. Since none of the hobby stores around here carry appropriate thread, I'm ordering some online...and getting my next project, too, so the shipping doesn't feel quite so outrageous. Once that arrives, I'll finish up the foremast rigging and move on to the mainmast.

 

In the meantime, I added the sails to the mizzenmast. The second photo shows the port side, which will be the primary display side; the first is starboard, where I've hidden several small brass rings that I'm using as attachment points. The mizzen gaffsail is sewn onto both the spar and the boom, although the plans don't call for the latter. Both the gaff and the topsail have six large brass rings that are wrapped around the mast and through the small brass rings I added to the sails' luffs.

 

.    

 

Once I've finished rigging the mainmast, I'll actually install the mizzenmast and start running the ropes. For now, it can sit off to the side a little more neatly, which will give me more space to work on the three remaining lifeboats while I wait for my new .15mm thread to arrive.

[BobG]

I think you made the right choice regarding the rigging thread mix up, Hake. I would have done the same thing. Nobody but you will notice the difference.

 

What will your next project be?

[HakeZou]

1 hour ago, BobG said:

I think you made the right choice regarding the rigging thread mix up, Hake. I would have done the same thing. Nobody but you will notice the difference.

 

Thanks, Bob! It's always reassuring to hear that kind of feedback from those who are more experienced! The real audience for my ship will be friends and family, none of whom know a thing on the subject

 

As for the next project, I'm going for "Le Martegaou" from Billing Boats, returning to my francophile ways. This is a fictional boat based on the allège boats that hauled cargo through the lower half of the Rhône Valley and along the Mediterranean coast to Marseilles and Toulon. My goal is to use this smaller project to refine some of my techniques—especially with hull planking and using wire to make my blocks look better. I'm hoping that I can do that project well enough to leave the boat unpainted. After that one, we'll see, but I have a growing list of projects I'd like to take on!

[Seamus107]

I have arrived late to this build, and am impressed with the work done thus far.  You do not seem to be afraid to admit mistakes and are clear about how you address them.  Very commendable.  The Endurance is part of a great Antarctic survival story, and is a truly historic ship.  I am looking forward to the next steps.

 

James

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

    I'm not sure, but a certain amount of the 'standing rigging' at the time was done with wire rope.  Some sources have indicated that a reference to '4 inch rope' was talking about the circumference.  Circumference = diameter x Pi , so diameter = Circumference/3.1416  Ergo a 4" circumference yields about 1.27" diameter.  In wire rope, this will be quite strong - whereas a 4" diameter wire rope would be overkill, and I can't imagine shrouds of that width.

 

  1.27" = 32.25 mm  (1" is 25.4mm), so divide that by 70 and you get .46mm - pretty close to the .5mm dark thread.  For the finer rigging rope, if one takes .15mm x 70 (the scale of the model), the result is 10.5mm at 'full scale' ... about .41" and probably meant to represent about 1/2" diameter rope for ratlines.  Of course, they seem to be metal bars on the original (looking at the photos).  There is no sagging in the least and the ends project slightly beyond the two shrouds they are attached to.

 

  So my curiosity got me to open my unbuilt Endurance kit and measure the 0.15mm rope (thread) material in the sail bag, and got about 0.008 on my dial verniers ... which is about 0.2mm  (25.4/1000) x 8  .    'Guess that's not too far from the nominal 0.15mm printed on the spools, and under slight tension it may be closer still.  I didn't want to open up the plastic parts box, but my guess that the thread labeled 0.5mm is about right.

 

  This rigging business will take further study - and the forum opinions on most provided rigging material leaves something to be desired.  That must explain the popularity of buying Chuck's rope or that from the guy he trained.  Better yet, making one's own rope on the 'rope rocket' (also from Syren Ships) can (with a little practice) high quality miniature rope.  I have a Colonial Craft demonstration where I use a hand-cranked tri-gear made of wood with metal hooks and fasteners to make full-size rope, and often give samples away.  The rope I make is around 1/2" diameter from 9 strands of jute twine.  Making scale model rope will be interesting for me, and I've obtained the rope rocket to try over the winter.  BTW, there is a "cheaper" mini hand-cranked rope walk being sold elsewhere that (as provided) does not go together very well.  I'm a tinkerer and can figure out a way to get it to work - but its not worth the trouble ... and the amount of hand cranking to get a decent length of model rope would also be a pain.  The better Syren rope walk is powered by most electric drills, and will save time and effort.

[BobG]

The Le Martegau is a beautiful ship with lovely lines. I look forward to following along as you build her.

[HakeZou]

1 hour ago, Jnorton1946 said:

I have arrived late to this build, and am impressed with the work done thus far.  You do not seem to be afraid to admit mistakes and are clear about how you address them.  Very commendable. 

Hi James and welcome along! I think of myself as an advanced beginner (to use the category of kits I've started working on now), so still have a lot to learn and a lot of skills to build. Honesty about my mistakes is part of that learning process. I was just browsing through some of your scratch-build galleries and am really impressed! Your model of the James Caird, especially, is really something else!

 

1 hour ago, Snug Harbor Johnny said:

 1.27" = 32.25 mm  (1" is 25.4mm), so divide that by 70 and you get .46mm - pretty close to the .5mm dark thread.  

Good grief. I once again show myself as the black sheep in a family of mathematicians. I converted everything at 2.5mm to the inch, which put me off by a scale of 10—yikes! Thanks for the correction, Johnny! As to your observation on the ratlines—I agree that they were definitely not rope on the original ship. This is one of the clearest photos I've found. They look like they are wood or metal rods lashed onto the shrouds (which do indeed look like wire to me, though I'm no expert on that).   

[HakeZou]

Just a quick update for tonight. As I wait for my replacement thread to arrive, I've moved on to finishing up the last three lifeboats. These hulls have been pretty challenging for me, since I can't figure out a solution for clamping or pinning the planks. Everything is just too small, too thin, and too close together. So, I use CA glue and the clamps I was born with, holding the planks in place with my fingers until the glue sets. The result is turning out just okay, but it should look better with some sanding, wood filler, and paint—the first lifeboat turned out alright at least.

 

This is very much a work-in-progress photo, with lots of trimming and clean up yet to do. I have mounted 6 planks on each hull, 2 to go on each of the smaller boats and 4 to go on the larger one. Time to take a break and bust out the acetone to clean the glue off of my fingertips!

 

 

 

[HakeZou]

Some progress today on the lifeboats. I finished planking the hulls, sawed them off the base, and did the first round of sanding. They're already starting to look a lot better! There are some gaps that will need some wood filler and I need to do some fairing. I'm pretty happy that the stem and sternposts are fitting snugly against the false keel—at least the curves in those spots are right!

 

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