HMS Victory by Bill97 - FINISHED - Heller - 1/100 - PLASTIC

[Veszett Roka]

5 hours ago, Bill97 said:

Ratlines, ratlines, ratlines!

Very good ratlines though.

[Bill97]

This is kind of an embarrassing question but I give up, I can’t figure it out. Many months ago I attached the spritsail yard and spritsail topsail yard to the bowsprit. Prior to attaching the spritsail topsail yard I rigged the blocks and horses to the yard. I have two blocks near the center of the topsail yard that I attached what I assume are halyards maybe to be used in the later rigging. I am now working on rigging the spritsail yard and spritsail topsail yard with the lifts, braces, etc. I keep looking at these two blocks under the topsail yard with the bundled up thread and wonder what are they intended for? I read through this section in Longridge but cannot figure it out. Would anyone have any idea what I might have been thinking/planning? 🤔😀

[Ian_Grant]

Bill, those are your sprit topsail's clew line blocks. You don't need the two lines attached to their arses. Instead, the clew lines come from their belay points on the forecastle, and pass through the blocks. Normally they would be attached to your (absent) sail's clews, along with the sheets which also belay at the forecastle. However, without a sail, you just attach the sheet to the clew line and end up with just a little loop from the block to the forecastle. In practice I just used a single piece of thread to depict both.

 

Longridge lists the clew lines, stating that they are single, on pg 239 but they (and the sheets) are totally absent from the belaying plan (as are the spritsail sheets and clew lines)! Being single, there is no block at the clew of the sail. Just the ones on the yard.

 

Rigging the sheets to an outer timber head and the clew lines somewhere inboard of them makes sense.

 

Your spritsail yard is out of focus so I'm not sure what you did for its clew lines and sheets. In its case, the clew lines are double ie there is a block on the yard and a block at the clew. Looking at the big rigging Plan 7 we see these pairs of blocks just dangling beneath the yard because there is no sail. As Longridge describes on pg 237 the clew lines are attached to the spritsail yard, pass through the lower block then the upper block and then to the belay point (which you have to make up your own mind on). Rigging without a sail, the sheets would attach to the a*se of the lower block (HAHA when I submitted this reply it didn't like the word ar*e 😆). Confusingly, he seems to have the sheets leading in above the middle gun deck's 2nd port in Plan 7, even though he states on pg 238 that they "lead in on the forecastle".

 

He has also drawn similar pairs of blocks dangling from the sprit topsail yard even though he states, as mentioned above, that its clew lines are single which makes sense since this is a much smaller sail. These extra blocks seem to be an error in plan 7.

 

Hope this helps. You're nearly there! Looking forward to seeing what you make of SR next! My SR will be waiting a while yet........

 

PS: Agree with Veszett about your nice ratlines, but did you remember to tie them on the futtock shrouds too? 😃

Edited August 3, 2022 by Ian_Grant

[Ian_Grant]

By the way Bill, I hope you are unaffected by the flooding in Kentucky?

[Bill97]

Ian I actually have not rigged any of the cluelines or sheets. I am going through rigging the lifts, buntlines, and braces throughout the ship, then I will determine the clues and sheets once I make my final decision about the sails. 
 

Yes I am doing the ratlines on my he futtock shrouds. Just had not done them yet in the photos. 
 

Not sure how close I am to the SR. Seems like I still have a lot to do on the Victory. One thing I know I am going to miss when I start the SR is all the MSW friends I have relied on in building the Victory, and all the available books and references (Longridge). I have done a great deal of time searching for guidance, but since the SR no longer exists guidance is very limited, as is the number of builders of the SR here on MSW. 

[Ian_Grant]

You're right. Suggest you buy a copy of RC Anderson's "Rigging of Ships In the Days of the Spritsail Topmast" for rigging guidance on SR. Since little is definitively known about her, you can please yourself!

[Bill97]

Ian I need you to start your’s and be about 2 months ahead of me so I can follow in your foot steps 😊

[Bill97]

Finished the upper ratlines on the port side of the foremast, and now working on the SB side. For some reason these ratlines seem more time consuming, probably not. Also completed the lifts and buntlines on the spritsail and spritsail top sail. I also spent what seemed like a lot of time fine tuning the foremast topgallant yard by adjusting the stays and backstays to get it as straight as I could. Since it is so thin I was not able to reinforce it with a wood or metal rod so it is very flexible. It was much like tuning a piano wire I am sure. A little more here, a little less there, and so on. Once I was satisfied I finally applied some white glue at the attachment points. 
 

I had a big discovery this weekend and will have to give some thought to best way to correct. Way back at the beginning of my model when I was installing the decks I put in the main sail sheet, main sail tack, and fore sail sheet because some of the belay points are on a different deck. At the time I was, and I will admit this, ignorant of the different thread (rope) sizes. Now that I am somewhat wiser I am aware that the thread I used way back then is far to small for this application. Ian in the spread sheet you indicate the appropriate size for these lines is several sizes bigger than I used. I think I have a .35 mm thread here. I have got to change that out to a bigger size. 

Edited August 8, 2022 by Bill97

[Ian_Grant]

Bill, these are 7 in. ropes which work out to 0.557mm diameter at scale; looking at my excel I see I mistyped as 0.57mm.

 

I used 0.5mm. If your 0.35mm is truly that you're not ridiculously far off........

Edited August 8, 2022 by Ian_Grant

[Bill97]

Ian it off my .35 mm spool. Do you think it would look it would look to thin for the sheets and tack compared to other rigging on the ship?  Attached is a photo of my .35, .45, and .55. The top .35 is what I used for the sheets. Would you go through the effort of replacing them with larger thread for the .1 or .2mm I can gain?

Edited August 8, 2022 by Bill97

[Ian_Grant]

Bill, I really can't say, it's your model. Would be very difficult to reach in and redo the stag's head at the main deck level beneath the gangways. Maybe you could reach in there withbent tweezers. Is the pain worthwhile to you? Conversely, if you leave it, will it bother you every time you look at your model, for years? Certainly everyone else will be oblivious.

[Bill97]

That is the thing Ian. Do you think it will be oblivious to others?  Will the lines appear out of proportion if I leave them. Really what would you do?

[Ian_Grant]

Well, the topsail sheets are 8in which is represented by 0.5mm lines too, so the course sheets might seem a little small in comparison.

 

Maybe you could you just snip off your .35mm sheets/tack near the hull and push the loose ends in, then take 0.5mm line, push it into the holes and affix with a spot of glue?  Then just leave the 0.35mm coils at the stag heads. Or better yet, stiffen the 0.5mm ends with CA, push them into the holes far enough to grab the ends within the hull with tweezers, pull out through the skid beams, tie a large knot, clip off past the knot and pull from the outside until the knot hits the hull? Would be more reliable than gluing the ends into the open holes. Yea, I might do that. Again just leave the 0.35mm coils at the stag heads.

Edited August 9, 2022 by Ian_Grant

[Bill97]

Like those ideas Ian. I do think I will try to change them to the larger thread when I start the sheets. Stay tuned. 

[Bill97]

As I am putting in my buntlines and leach lines I realize, I think, I need to have decided on my sail application first?  If I understand the purpose of the lines, they are to attach to the bottom of the sail to help the crew furl and unfurl the sails from down on the deck. The assembly instructions have me tie a knot in the line that prevents it from passing through the block on the yard and the other end to it’s appropriate belay point. At the belay point I am tying them off and applying a touch of diluted white glue. If I was planning to add sails furled, unfurled, or somewhere in between, these lines should not stop at the block on the yard but instead continue on through the block to the foot of the sail?  I am guessing in actual use on a ship the buntline is pulled snug to the block when there is no sail and the extra line is wrapped at the belay point?  Then when a sail is in use the line is loosened from the belay point and the other end is pulled through the block and attached to the sail?  If that is the case and I decided to add sails, regardless of furled or unfurled, I will need to redo these lines?  I don’t have adequate line wrapped at the belay point. Another reason to leave sails off. 😊

[Bill97]

Got some work completed since my last update. Finished all the ratlines on the foremast and now working on the lower ratlines on the main mast. Also putting some time into the lifts and buntlines on the mainmast yards. Once I finish an area and I am satisfied with it I add a touch of white glue to the knot and trim excess. Decided to remove the four fife rails abreast of the main mast. The belay pins molded into the Heller fife rail were just too short on the underside and fragile for me to snug a thread too. Using my little knife I carefully cut them away from the inside of the ship, careful to knot snag one if the many lines already present in that area. I then cut pieces of Evergreen to match the size of the fife rails, marked and drilled holes for the same number of belay pins as on the original pieces. I then cut and glued into each of the holes small lengths of the same wire I have been using to make all my eyebolts. After dried I cut all the wire ends even at a little more than 1/16”, painted the new fife rails black, and carefully glued them back in place. Now I have much stronger fife rails. Not sure you can see them in the photo.  This is something I will definitely remember to do on my SR when I am early in construction. 
Celebrated my 70th birthday yesterday!  That is a bunch!  Going to be leaving the ship yard again for a few days. Heading to California for a visit with family and friends and the Pacific Ocean. Downloaded Master and Commander audio book on my iPad to listen to during my flights. Seen the movie several times but not read or listened to the book. 

[Ian_Grant]

Happy Birthday Bill!  That's a big one 😃. Enjoy your trip! We are off to Hawaii next week, Westjet permitting ✌️🤞.

 

Victory is looking great. I too used brass rod to replace the belaying pins at the bulwarks.

[Bill97]

Back from the west coast and planning to do some work in the shipyard today. Hope all is going well for everyone. Will read over the blogs to see if I missed anything. Will post new updates on my build soon. 

[Bill Morrison]

On 8/16/2022 at 9:45 AM, Ian_Grant said:

Happy Birthday Bill!  That's a big one 😃. Enjoy your trip! We are off to Hawaii next week, Westjet permitting ✌️🤞.

 

Victory is looking great. I too used brass rod to replace the belaying pins at the bulwarks.

Happy 70th! Your Victory is excellent!  By the way, there are currently three builds of SR going on right now;' Hubac's Historian, Nek0, and Yankovitch are each building different versions. All are Heller.

 

Bill

Edited August 23, 2022 by Bill Morrison
To correct a spelling error.

[Hubac's Historian]

4 hours ago, Bill Morrison said:

Happy 70th! Your Victory is excellent!  By the way, there are currently three builds of SR going on right now;' Hubac's Historian, Nek0, and Yankovitch are each building different versions. All are Heller.

 

Bill

Don’t forget John Clements, as well.

 

Happy 70th, Bill!

[Bill Morrison]

Marc,

I overlooked him. Thank you!

Bill

[Bill97]

Thanks gentlemen. I will look at the builds. I am already ordering stuff I need for my SR build (threads, gold leaf, etc). That was the majority of my birthday gift hints. Still a good ways to go on my Victory which I am enjoying very much. 

[Bill97]

Which SR build is John Clements?  I don’t see it in the index. 

[Hubac's Historian]

Here’s John:

 

 

[Bill97]

Thanks. Now I have all 4 saved for quick reference, and preliminary reading. 

[Bill97]

Back to my Victory. Finished the ratlines on the lower shrouds on the port side of the main mast. Now starting on the same shrouds on the starboard side. Will then move up to the futtock shroud ratlines and ultimately the upper ratlines. I have also gone back and done a thorough inspection of all my lines looking for any place I may have a line unnaturally crossing or rubbing against another line. I have found a few here and there. When I discover one I untie it and rerun it so there is no negative interaction with another line. Lines that I could see wearing if on the actual Victory. 
Another area I am going to pay very close attention to when I build my SR is the tying off of the lanyards that connect the shroud deadeyes. Mine are not uniform in height above the top deadeyes. I guess I wrapped the lanyard more times around the shroud in some cases and less in others. Especially obvious now that I am adding the ratlines. I think what I will do to make it not so obvious is touch up the light colored lanyard with a bit of black paint right above the first ratline. In close examination the shroud will appear thicker above the first ratline where the lanyard is wrapped up that high, but not as noticeable as varying height of light colored lanyard. 

[Bill97]

Here is a quick ratline question. I understand from my source information that the ratlines on the lower shrouds end at the futtock stave and then continue up the futtock shrouds to the mast top. Ratlines are not put on the lower shrouds above the futtock stave behind the futtock shrouds. Is that correct?  I am just curious if that is in fact correct how did the crew climb up to the hole in the top?  I read where brave and bold crewmen would climb up the futtock shrouds and over the outer edge of the top. Almost hanging backwards from the futtock shrouds like a mountain climber. How did crewmen not so daring climb from the futtock stave to the hole in the top? 🤔

[Bill97]

OK so yesterday was one of those days when you ask yourself if you should just put down the tools, close the door to the ship yard, and go back to bed?  I started the day trimming the excess ends of the ratlines I had tied the day before and applied a touch of white glue to each knot. In the process of trimming the excess ends I accidentally cut one of the mainmast backstays that runs close to the shrouds 😬.  I did not want to tear into the mass of ropes tied at the mast to replace this backstay so I spliced a new section of thread into the cut end near an area where the splice knot would not be as visible. I then replaced the remainder of the line down to the channel. Whew!  With that fixed I back in track to work on my goals for the day. Next through my clumsiness I reached for something, I don’t remember what, and caught the fore Royal stay with my hand. This pressure against the stay broke the fore topgallant mast right above the flying jib stay. (Note:  I continue to have a problem with clumsiness as I reach and move my hands around this ship. An issue I have had while building all my ships. An issue I really wish I could cure). After a deep exhale of frustration I repaired the broken topgallant mast and moved on with my day. In the early days of my mast construction I did not replace this section of plastic mast with wood or metal because it is one piece and so thin. I will have to reconsider this when working on my SR. Once I repaired all my damage and took a deep relaxing breath I returned to my build. I completed the ratlines on the main topmast shrouds on the port side and started the starboard side. Today I hope to successfully trip the excess ends of the port side ratlines and finish the starboard side. With this complete I will have the ratlines, lifts, and buntlines done on the fore and main mast. Wish me luck for no more self inflicted damage. 

[Dave_E]

I hate when that no good, non-paying attention hand just whacks something into total brokenness. 😆 Been there, done that brother, pretty sure every builder has. Good recovery! 👍😀

 

Edited August 30, 2022 by Dave_E

[Bill97]

Dave without a doubt that is my most often “oh s—-“ moment. The main yard has received the most abuse on this model!  Not sure why?  Every time I do it I give myself a good counseling.  Thankfully it does not often result in damage as it did yesterday, just gritting of my teeth.  Unfortunately that has not seemed to improve my frequent clumsiness!