What does a fid look like?

[Boccherini]

I'm currently making a mizzen top mast, there is supposed to be a "fid" going through the heel of the mast to hold it in place.

What does a fid look like? Dimensions? The barque is from the 1860's.

 

Grant.

[allanyed]

Grant, 

Contemporary drawing from 1839 below but might be appropriate for your year.  I do not have a high resolution copy but you can buy this image in high res from RMG if you need something better than this resolution.  The high res version will be easier to see the ratio of dimensions as well as the dimension table for various size ships'  topmasts  and topgallant masts..

Allan

Edited August 17, 2021 by allanyed

[BANYAN]

Grant, this an era in which a lot of things were happening.  The type of fid may have been one of several designs and possibly influenced whether the tops were iron or wood.  Also, by this time preventer fids were also in vogue, these were iron round rod put in about 8" or so above the fid - see attached set-up from Lees page 7.

 

I have also attached another commonly used one in Clippers of this era from Underhill, Masting and Rigging the Clipper and ..., Plate 6.  

 

Another from the Rigsarkivet Plan C460b, and a line drawings for a patent jacking fid (cannot remember the source).

  

 

The fid arrangement provided by Alan is another option for topmast fids.

 

Sorry to confuse you further, but as you see there were a lot of options in this period.  My suggestion is that if a reasonably simply rigged vessel, use a simplified fid arrangement unless you can find better or more specific info.

cheers

 

Pat 

 

 

[Boccherini]

Allan & Pat,

thanks for all the information.

 

Grant.

[Tony Hunt]

I think it's the Harriet MacGregor that Grant is building, built in Tasmania, so unlikely to have some of the more sophisticated fid designs of that period. Since he drew the plans for her, I'd be inclined to use the Underhill version as a default choice.  My two cents worth! 😀

[Boccherini]

Thanks Tony, your "two cents" confirmed my choice. That aside, it is a simple, practical design that will not remove itself at an inopportune moment.

Making it at scale will present a challenge.

 

Grant.