Sherbourne by Stockholm tar - Caldercraft - 1/64

[Stockholm tar]

Btw, since I've sailed a bit I tend to use the nautical terms, and sometimes forget others might be struggling to understand them. Would it be helpful to put it in more everyday language, perhaps in brackets, afterwards? I could try and remember to do that, if you think it would be useful.

[egkb]

Brilliant stuff as per usual Kester, it is all ahead of me! so prepare for an onslaught of 'How do I...'

Feel free to use Nautical Lingo, am 'fairly' at home with it, the 'Bow' is that flat bit at the back right? :mellow:

 

Thanks for the rigging lesson

 

Eamonn

PS Gregor, Tony & Dirk, ye will all be in for 'Eamonn's Question Time too..'

[tkay11]

If there's anything I don't understand, it forces me to look it up. I have done this several times with all sorts of jargon that exists on this forum, and each search leads to a new micro-world of understanding. I really appreciate your hands-on experience which makes the whole thing more real.

 

But thanks for asking, Kester.

 

Tony

[Stockholm tar]

Feel free to use Nautical Lingo, am 'fairly' at home with it, the 'Bow' is that flat bit at the back right? :mellow:

 

Er, yes, that's right - I see you're getting the hang of it!

 

Ok, then...

[egkb]

Thought so... Ahem Ahem, you can see why I'm no longer at sea..

 

Eamonn

[Stockholm tar]

There are only running backstays provided for in the kit plans. However as mentioned previously many cutters had both running and standing backstays, as shown on the AOTS plans for the Alert, and I also included them. Having fitted the standing backstays, I decided to move the position of the running backstays further aft, so as to give a little more practical distance between the two. Thus the straps and eyes are situated on either side of the after gunport. Inside the bulwark on either side, inboard of the forward strap, I fitted a small shot garland – with a single belaying pin at its forward end for the falls of the tackles.

 

Since the model will be as she might appear in harbour, I opted to have both of the running backstays set up. At sea, normally only the windward one would have been in use, particularly when the vessel was ’running’ with the wind aft or over the quarter. The tackle of the leeward backstay, and hence the stay itself, would have been moved forward to a convenient place on the rail, from where it would not have impeded or chafed the main sail. When the cutter tacked the roles would have been reversed, the windward backstay then becoming the leeward, and vice versa.

 

The tackles were therefore most probably fitted with hooks, which fitted through the eyes on the top of the hull straps. I used four of those provided in the kit. The first small job was to fit two eyebolts just aft of the standing backstays, for the running backstays when they were not in use, painting them black.

 

The backstays themselves are in three sections. The standing part, which runs from the masthead to approximately two thirds of the distance to the deck, having a single block in its end; the running part, one end of which is hooked to the after eyebolt on the main rail, passes forward through the block in the tail end of the standing part, and is then seized to a long-tackle (LT) block at its other extremity; the tackle, the fall of which runs from the tail end of the LT block, and reeves between it and a double block on the eye of the forward strap on the rail, before belaying to the pin in the shot garland on the bulwark. The following mainly describes the rigging of the running backstay on one side of the model, which is of course duplicated on the other.

 

 

To take the standing part first, this is of 0.7m black waxed thread, with a 5mm block seized into one end. Both blocks were stained and the seizings made, with the help of my new seizing machine – and they didn’t turn out too badly, for a first effort. I made both the larboard and starboard together, to ensure they would be of the same length. The upper ends were then seized around the mast head, as for the other backstays, the starboard first. Again I had to ensure that the same amount was doubled and seized on each length, in order that both blocks would be approximately in the same place when rove – and I breathed a sigh of relief to find, when they were in position, that they were exactly level.

 

Moving on to the running part I used 0.5m tan thread for this, and again both sides were made together. First each hook had to be filed somewhat to fit satisfactorily through the eyes on the hull straps, before the thread was seized to them. The hooks were painted black after seizing as being somewhat easier to hold. The line was then lightly waxed and the hook connected to the after strap on the rail, the end of the line being threaded forward through the single block on the standing part. (I should perhaps mention here, that all the hooks were passed through the eyes in the straps from the inboard to the outboard side.) The end emerging from the block had now had to be seized to a LT block. These are not included in the kit, so two suitable 7mm LT blocks were purchased. They proved generally satisfactory in both colour and shape, although I had to to file out the grooves for the strops.

 

Now we come to something of a ’Heath Robinson’ moment. I estimated that the top of each LT block had to be seized about 2cm below the base of the single block at the end of the standing part, to look right. The problem was in getting the blocks on both backstays in a similar position. I eventually hit on the idea of using a thin stick – and a small blob of blue tack (well, I did say it was HR). First I tensioned the line coming from the single block, using self-closing tweezers (they are ideal for such weighting jobs), picked up the LT block on the blue-tacked end of the stick, and ran a very thin bead of glue down the visible groove with a pin.

 

Then, holding the stick horizontally from the opposite side of the model, I offered up the LT block (larger end uppermost) to the line of the running part nearest to me, i.e. across the model – at the same time simply (?) measuring 2cm below the single block, with a ruler! This ensured I could see that the groove, and hence the glue, went directly against the line in the correct place – and that the latter didn’t spread itself liberally, unseen, all over the block! Once the LT block was attached I used a light clamp, on both it and the line, until it was dry. Then it was just a question of glueing the rest of the line around the groove in the block, leaving a very short tale which was glued to the line above it. This was then seized and the job was done.

 

 

The tackle reeves between the LT block and a 4mm double block attached to the forward strap on the rail (again the latter blocks are not included in the kit). I attached the hook to the block with a thin wire strop, painted black, twisting a small loop into it at the base of the double block to accommodate the strap eye. As with the LT blocks, the double blocks were well made apart from the groove for the strops having again to be filed out. Little had also to be done to the sheave holes, apart from pushing a pin through them to be sure they were clear.

 

The fall was 0.25mm tan, waxed thread, the end being passed with a needle through the strop at the base of the LT block, and fastened with a knot and a small drop of glue, the latter applied with the end of a pin. The fall was then rove between LT block and the double block, from the outer side to the inner side, and coming off of the upper sheave of the LT block. The fall on the starboard side was belayed to the pin in the shot garland, and finished off with a coil. That to larboard has been tensioned, but not belayed, it being held by a drop of glue in the sheave of the double block where the line emerges. I intend one of the crew figures to be hauling on the fall, being at the right angle, so this has been left until he is painted. I will probably post a photo of him later, when in position.

 

That just about finishes off the standing rigging aft of the mast, and the ’action’ now moves to the fore side – which at the moment is looking distinctly bare. To finish, and as requested, I've added a couple of photos of the 'situation' at the lower masthead, or the spot where the shrouds meet:

 

 

 

Next time: the strops and blocks for the lower yards, and the fore staysail halliard.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Stockholm tar

[egkb]

Great to see your Sherbourne back up and running Kester, and the Running Back-Stays don't disappoint.. super tutorial too by the way.

 

All The Best

 

Eamonn

[Stockholm tar]

Hi Eamonn,

 

Thanks. Yes, this instalment was a little late in coming, but as you can imagine it was a bit involved – and there were a few other things, not model related, taking up my time.

 

Al the best.

[Mirabell61]

a lovely model Kester,

 

this type of cutter is one of my favorites anyhow, would love to see the further Progress when you`re back home

 

Nils

[egkb]

Was worth the wait Kester !

 

Now Keep Going... !

 

Eamonn

[Stockholm tar]

Nils,

 

Thank you for your kind words and continuing interest. I often think these smaller vessels are as interesting, if not more so, than the larger types such as the Victory.

 

Eamonn,

 

I will endeavour to do as you say!

[Gregor]

Thanks, Kester, for the special photos of the 'situation' at the lower masthead. These will help much more than abstract plans and diagrams. I like thinking far ahead…

 

Gregor

[popeye the sailor]

very well done Kester......your rigging is very neat.   hope what's going on isn't serious........it so good to see an update! 

[Stockholm tar]

Popeye,

 

Thanks for the compliment. As for the other, no not really – although my ME also kicked in. It's the worse time of year for it, I'm afraid.

 

I see you're going great guns on your builds.

[Landlubber Mike]

Very nice work Kester as always.  Thank you very much for the tutorials, I always learn so much reading your logs.

[Stockholm tar]

Mike,

 

Many thanks. Glad you enjoy my 'turorials' – I go for the carrot and carrot approach!

 

So, after your brilliant Badger, it's to be (if I remember right) the Unicorn AND the CM – perhaps with a touch of Pegasus thrown in?    That must be worth watching for.

[Stockholm tar]

Before moving on to the yard strops, there were one or two problems to sort out. The crew figure mentioned in my last post (I’m calling him the bosun – since he has an official-looking hat, now with a badge) has been finished and positioned – and is in the act of hauling taught the fall of the larboard running backstay. This was left hanging in my last post. One problem I had here was in fixing the line to his hands, there being no slot or hole in them for the rope, which would certainly have made the operation a whole lot easier – manufacturers please take note! I therefore cut the line into three and attempted to glue the lengths in their respective positions whilst the figure was off the model. The line between the hands took quite easily, but unfortunately the other two (the one from the long-tackle block to the left hand, and that from the right hand to the deck) came away on moving him. I therefore decided to glue the figure to the model before attaching the latter two lines. However, the line from the LT block to his upper hand, which I had stiffened with glue, wouldn’t take, I think probably because I couldn’t keep my hand still sufficiently – and no, I hadn’t been drinking, or was suffering from caffein deficiency! I then hit on the idea of hanging a weighted length of thread and stiffening it with glue. When it was dry, and straight, I was then able to cut it to the right length, and glue it between the LT block and the hand. Then it only remained to glue the line from the right hand and realistically trail it along the deck.

 

My other problem was with the acrylic paints that I had recently purchased (a neat set of 18 colours in 12ml tubes) with which to paint the four remaining figures, including the bosun. I had been under the impression that they would have dried to a matt finish, as had the bottled paints (now largely dried up) that I used previously for the lieutenant. Unfortunately, they dried to a semi-sheen – there being no indication of the type of finish on the box. On reading about acrylics however, I learnt that a matting agent is mixed with some types to dull them, and which had seemingly been mixed with the previous paint I had used. Luckily, I still had some of the older colours left, some of which I hadn’t used for some time, where the paint had separated and sunk to the bottom of the bottle. This had left a clear liquid on the top, which I reasoned was the matting agent, and it gave me an idea. I syphoned a little of this off into a small container, being careful not to include any residue of the paint – a dark brown(!) – which I then brushed over the painted figure. On drying, the paint was dulled somewhat but did not turn out quite flat, however I can live with it – just. It will probably be better to mix the liquid in with the paint for the remaining four figures or, if that doesn’t work, give the whole paint set to my wife who is something of an artist, and buy ones that dry to the desired, flat, look! Anyway, here’s the finished result:

 

 

Following that somewhat windy digression, I’ll now return to the yard strops. The AOTS book on the Alert, shows that three of the four yards were hoisted from blocks seized to rope strops on the fore side of the mast. From the bottom, these were the spread yard, square sail yard, and topsail yard. The exception is the topgallant yard, its halliard running over a sheave set in the topgallant mast head and thence to the deck. The hoisting method for the three lower yards appears to have been the practice up until around the 1780's, when it was modified to reflect normal ship practice – and as seen in the arrangement for the latter yard. Since the Sherbourne is dated some fourteen years earlier than the Alert, she would almost certainly have had a similar system. At around the same date the whole masting and rigging of cutters underwent a revision. The lower mast and topmast became separate sections, with the topgallant becoming an extension of the topmast. The shrouds now passed around the actual lower masthead as per large ship practice, and the top mast was stepped forward of the lower mast, necessitating the introduction of topmast backstays.

 

The three lower yards on the Alert/Sherbourne, were simply hoisted at their appropriate positions, at large single blocks suspended from strops, the halliards most likely being made fast at the foot of the mast (or at least that’s where I intend to belay them). It would seem that parrels weren’t used, apart perhaps from one on the topsail yard. It does seem an unlikely arrangement, and the wonder is that it lasted so long. The first strop and block above the backstays, is that for the spread yard. The strop I made of 0.50 mm black thread, with a 5mm block turned into one end and seized, as per the blocks for the backstays. This is the longest of the three strops and is set at what I thought an appropriate distance from its yard position. Next above that is the strop and block for the square sail yard. Again, 0.50mm black thread was used and a 5mm block was turned into its end and seized. Somewhat shorter than the strop for the spread yard, it too is set at a suitable position for its yard. The last strop and block over the masthead was that for the staysail halliard, and smaller diameter 0.25mm black thread and a 3mm block were used for this.

 

Since the yards will not be rigged for a while, I decided to temporarily make the blocks fast to their appropriate mast cleats to prevent any movement. The staysail halliard I have belayed to the centre pin in the bitts in front of the mast:

 

 

 

Next time: the staysail horse, and forestay.

[Landlubber Mike]

Very nice work Kester, your work is so crisp and clean.  I love the crew figure - the way you addressed the rope issue looks very natural, well done!

 

Sorry to have missed your earlier reply from March.  I think you have seen that I'm working on the Unicorn at the moment.  Still not sure whether I want to tackle the Morgan or the Pegasus.  I was intending on the former, but I'm thinking maybe of doing the Pegasus instead (though I wonder if I'll be bored of working on two similar ships that both have mythological creatures for namesakes)

Edited June 16, 2014 by Landlubber Mike

[Stockholm tar]

Mike,

 

Thanks, much appreciated. Well, the bosun didn't turn out too badly after all that, thank goodness. I just hope the others will be better, perhaps using different paint. Sounds like you'll be spoilt for choice between the Morgan or the Pegasus... decisions, decisions. I am sure whichever you do will be a credit to you.

 

Thanks also, guys, for the 'likes'. At least it shows you're still following – even though the posts are few and far between!

 

Actually this will be the last one for a few months, as the wife and I have moved out to our cottage for the summer, leaving Sherbourne back at home. I'll be returning to her probably at the end of September, or early October. Not to worry though, as I am hoping to start a new project whilst here. I won't say what it is just now, but I already have the plans... which gives the hint that it is the first tentative steps into the unknown...    

Edited June 16, 2014 by Stockholm tar

[CAd My Fingers]

Your bosun turned out great--his line work looks very natural! In the photo, his coloring looks good so perhaps it will dim a bit more with time. Yikes, I've experienced the same with paints and definitely understand your frustration.

 

Mmmm, looks like we'll be kept in suspense until this September or October about your new project, Kester!

 

Cheers,

Jay

Edited June 17, 2014 by JMaitri

[fnkershner]

Enjoy the summer cottage! See you in the fall.

[Gregor]

Great, Kester, your bosun brings life to your model!

Before you go off to your cottage and the secret project; a question about Sherbourne: What do you think about braces for the gaff? I found only one (younger) contemporary model in the NMM collection with braces, but find them often on schooners.

Enjoy summer,

Gregor

Edited June 17, 2014 by Gregor

[Stockholm tar]

Jay,

 

Thanks. He looks better than he did before I gave him the 'secret ingredient' and I hope, as you say, that he will dim down in time. I already have the mate painted, but that was with the 'old' paints, so he's fine. When it comes to the other three, as I said, I'll either try my technique – or buy new paints (I have a feeling the latter).

 

Well actually, I'll be starting the new project during the summer, so it (hopefully) will be well before then.

 

Floyd,

 

I'm sure there'll be plenty to 'enjoy' at the cottage – including lawn mowing, painting, and laying a new floor in the bedroom. I just hope I get time for my new project! By 'fall', I guess you mean Autumn (for us European types) – which is very often the kind of weather that usually passes for 'summer'!

 

Gregor,

 

Glad you like the 'bosun'.

 

As to your question, I think you must be referring to the 'vangs', that run from the gaff end to the quarters? I did research this somewhat, and had even put in belaying pins for them, before I discovered that cutters of this period didn't seem to have them. I was somewhat surprised, and they are not shown in the AOTS book on the Alert either. So, I now have a spare pin on each quarter, which I can either leave vacant, or perhaps use for something else.

 

I am sure I will enjoy the summer, I just hope the weather plays ball!

 

Thanks also for the new 'likes'.

Edited June 17, 2014 by Stockholm tar

[Blue Ensign]

Always a pleasure to read your log Kester, and enjoy the photo updates of your fine little Sherbourne.  

 

B.E.

[Stockholm tar]

BE,

 

Thanks. If I can get anywhere near your brilliant Pegasus, I'll be well pleased. Still some way to go, I fear!

[popeye the sailor]

very nice work Kester.........always glad to see your build    believe it or not.......I've done that with paint before.   you are correct....what is at the top of the separated paint is called the suspension {base}.....the pigment is on the bottom.  I had some paint that had been a bit over thinned..it was nothing more than a wash,  at this point.  I needed to paint some parts that were associated with what I had painted in the same color.  I have an abundance of gold and silver enamels kicking around.......long since separated.   I just did the same thing....with no 'residual' effect      it's good to be resourceful

[Stockholm tar]

Popeye,

 

Thanks for your kind words.

 

I did have a slight suspicion that someone might have come across this paint problem before – and solved it! Well, I'll try my solution first, to see if that works. Looks as though it worked for you, but I'm wondering whether it wouldn't be better to mix it in with the paint first, rather than brush it on afterwards. I have an idea that would work best. What do you think?

[Mirabell61]

A very good looking Version of the Sherbourne Kester,

 

ist a real eyecatcher !

 

Nils

[popeye the sailor]

there are different parts that make up paint.  I would think that brushing it on afterwards {a clear coat} would do the trick.  but yes...the best way is to mix the paint before it is applied.  there is the ingredient that denoted whether it is to be gloss or flat...of course the flat has less of this additive than gloss paint.  another thing to keep in mind though is that if your reviving a flat paint,  you should add the base of another flat paint to it.  this way,  there is the same amount of the additive in the suspension and it won't upset the balance.  as you saw with the separated paint,  the pigment is heavier.......this is what causes separation in the first place.   the suspension and this additive is most likely the same weight.   just my understanding of paint......and all my years of playing with it.

[Stockholm tar]

Nils,

 

Thank you. I have to say she catches my eye every now and then!

 

Popeye,

 

Thanks for the information. I'm sure that'll be a great help when I try it with the other figures.