milosmail Posted December 21, 2023 Share #91 Posted December 21, 2023 Nice work on the shrouds! I, too am not adding hammock netting. It never ends up looking 'authentic' and the deck is pretty cluttered anyway. I have replaced all the cordage for the ship with Siren, after finding the ME stuff pretty tedious to work with. I have 8, 12, 18, 35, aand 45 as needed in tan and dark brown. Very happy with it. There is another build log that lists about how much to purchase, but I'm just estimating so far. I suspect it will cost about $100 for all the replaced line. I also bought cleats from Syren for the ship, as they are more to scale. Each builder will have to make their own decisions on many of the constructs of the ship (and how much extra they want to spend). Do they want a ship that is an accurate representation of the reproduction, or something more historically accurate (but not necessarily litteraly accurate)? Chuck and robert952 2 Quote Steve Brock San Jose, CA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abelson Posted December 28, 2023 Author Share #92 Posted December 28, 2023 On 12/21/2023 at 2:49 PM, milosmail said: Nice work on the shrouds! I, too am not adding hammock netting. It never ends up looking 'authentic' and the deck is pretty cluttered anyway. I have replaced all the cordage for the ship with Siren, after finding the ME stuff pretty tedious to work with. I have 8, 12, 18, 35, aand 45 as needed in tan and dark brown. Very happy with it. There is another build log that lists about how much to purchase, but I'm just estimating so far. I suspect it will cost about $100 for all the replaced line. I also bought cleats from Syren for the ship, as they are more to scale. Each builder will have to make their own decisions on many of the constructs of the ship (and how much extra they want to spend). Do they want a ship that is an accurate representation of the reproduction, or something more historically accurate (but not necessarily litteraly accurate)? My objective is to simulate the current ship yet not historically authenticate it. Thanks for the compliment. robert952 1 Quote Steven E. Sylven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Posted January 30 Share #93 Posted January 30 abelson, I am working on the Niagara after about 5 years, being incompleted, and in a box, -but I'm still plugging away. I am studying your posted listings and want to thank you for such a great study of detail & documentation of your progress. I am not an experienced model builder or knowledgeable of nautical terms, but love the challenge & turn to your pics for direction & understanding!! Keep up the excellent work!!! Thank you immensely. I am just starting to do the planking & trying to paint as I go along. Alot of my previous stock of paint dried up, so I want to get the new bottles used. ERS Rich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abelson Posted January 31 Author Share #94 Posted January 31 On 1/30/2024 at 1:33 PM, Ethel said: abelson, I am working on the Niagara after about 5 years, being incompleted, and in a box, -but I'm still plugging away. I am studying your posted listings and want to thank you for such a great study of detail & documentation of your progress. I am not an experienced model builder or knowledgeable of nautical terms, but love the challenge & turn to your pics for direction & understanding!! Keep up the excellent work!!! Thank you immensely. I am just starting to do the planking & trying to paint as I go along. Alot of my previous stock of paint dried up, so I want to get the new bottles used. Perseverance and patience are virtues in model ship building. Thanks for the compliment. I'm pleased that my build log is helpful. Ryland Craze 1 Quote Steven E. Sylven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abelson Posted January 31 Author Share #95 Posted January 31 Completed the Main Mast shrouds a la the Fore Mast shrouds. Added the sheer poles (3/64”x1/32”) and the Fairlead Bars 1/32”x3/64”) to the shrouds. Painted them black to match the replica ship. I glued them first and then lashed them to the shrouds using .012” line. I drilled three holes in the Fairlead Bar as detailed on Sheet 5. Before drilling the holes, I added a little CA to prevent the wood from splitting. I made a tick mark for each hole on both sides of the bar and them drilled the holes from each side. The holes are for the “lines going to the pin rail.” The only line that I can find on the Sheet 5 is the Top Mast Tack. Note: After looking at photos of the replica ship, I discovered that the Fairlead Bars are lashed to the shrouds on the inboard side and not the outboard side as I did – I wish I would have read 6ohiocav build log before fashioning the Fairlead Bars. Also, as can be seen on the attached photo of the replica ship, there are eight (8) lines that pass through the Fairlead Bar. Further, there is a Fairlead Bar on the Main Mast shrouds as well (not shown on Sheet 5). This is a shorter bar that has five (5) lines passing through it (see photo). Decided to leave the starboard side fair lead bar in place for risk of damaging the shrouds while trying to remove it. Lashed the port side fairlead bar to the inboard side of the shrouds. Pre-drilled holes in the bar via the same method as the starboard side. Fashioned the Main Mast Fairlead Bars. Pre-drilled 5 holes in the Fairlead Bar and spray painted them black. Glued the bars to the shrouds and lashed them with .012” line. Note: the bars are shorter than and lashed on the shrouds lower than the Fore Mast Fairlead Bars per the replica ship. Touched up the shine from the CA with brushed on black paint. Added the staves to the shrouds. The plan calls for 1/32 inch diameter wood staves. The kit is not furnished with this size wood strip. I used a 1/32“x 3/64“ wood strip. The staves are mounted on the inboard side of the shrouds, which makes them difficult to install. I applied CA to the shrouds to secure the staves. I then lashed the first stave to the shrouds with .008 inch line. I decide not to lash the remaining staves. My thought was that the staves will be secured when the upper mast shrouds are wrapped around the staves. Note: I extended the staves across all of the lower shrouds. Sheet 5 shows the staves extending only across the four aft-most shrouds. Next, the catharpins on the lower shrouds. It’s easier to add them before adding the futtock shrouds. Note: There is no discussion in the Instruction Manual on when best to add the catharpins. The detail on Sheet 5 calls for the catharpins to be made with .023” rope. I used a .018 rope – I think thinner is better than thicker in this case. I made 2 thimbles for each catharpin from 28 gauge wire and lashed a short piece of .018” rope to each thimble. The completed piece measures about ¾” from thimble to thimble. Next, I cut a length of .018” rope long enough to pass through one thimble and the shrouds. I eye spliced and seized one end of the rope to the stave, passed the other end through the thimble and then through the shrouds and attached an alligator clip to the end. I cut a similar length of rope and passed it through the opposite end thimble and through the shrouds, and clipped both ends together with an alligator clip. The loose end of the eye spliced rope was eye spliced and seized to the stave. I adjusted the length by tensioning the loose ends of the rope on the opposite of the catharpin. The opposite side catharpin was set in a similar fashion. The sides of the catharpin aren’t exactly equal, but they’re close enough for my liking. Added the 16 futtock shrouds. The shroud hooks were 5mm purchased from Crafty Sailor (easier than making them), blackened with Brass Black. The plans call for .023” rope (not furnished with the kit) for the futtocks shrouds. I used Syren .023” rope. I found that a length of 2.5" is sufficient The lines were seized to the hooks, hooked onto the deadeye eyebolts, wrapped around the stave, and seized to the lower shrouds with polyester sewing thread as per Figure 8-3 in the Instruction Manual. The shrouds were fairly easy to install. I’m thinking of fashioning the Main Mast Stays next. gak1965, RossR, Ryland Craze and 3 others 6 Quote Steven E. Sylven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergey Karelia Posted February 7 Share #96 Posted February 7 Good afternoon! This is a photo from your post Tell me, please, where will you take these ends of the ropes? Or will you set sails? I don't know what to do on my model. I'm already thinking about not putting these blocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abelson Posted February 7 Author Share #97 Posted February 7 12 hours ago, Sergey Karelia said: Good afternoon! This is a photo from your post Tell me, please, where will you take these ends of the ropes? Or will you set sails? I don't know what to do on my model. I'm already thinking about not putting these blocks. The fairleads are for the buntlines and leechlines. I plan to simply tie off the buntlines and leechlines to the fairleads as some other build logs have done. Quote Steven E. Sylven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergey Karelia Posted February 14 Share #98 Posted February 14 On 2/7/2024 at 11:00 PM, abelson said: The fairleads are for the buntlines and leechlines. I plan to simply tie off the buntlines and leechlines to the fairleads as some other build logs have done. thanks I'll do this abelson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abelson Posted February 14 Author Share #99 Posted February 14 (edited) Completed the Main and Fore Mast Stays. I used .045" Syren line for the Main Stays and .035" Syren line for the Preventer Stays. The Main Mast Stay has a 5mm Syren closed heart and lanyard attached to a 5mm Syren closed heart with a collar (previously installed) that is seized around to the fore mast. The end of the Main Mast Preventer Stay has a 5mm closed heart, a lanyard, and a 5mm closed hard with an iron strop that is attached to an eye bolt on the Bowsprit Bitts. The Fore Stay and the Fore Preventer Stay each have 5mm closed heart and lanyard that are attached to the laser cut open hearts on the Bowsprit. I began the stay rigging by making the mouse. I used a 5/32” diameter dowel and pre-drilled the end with a .55mm bit first and then gradually increased the bit size to accommodate the .045” and .035” rope. Note: The plans call for .047” rope which is not furnished with the kit. The end of the dowel was roughly shaped with a sanding stick and sandpaper. The length of the mouse is somewhat arbitrary. It appears to be very small on Plan Sheet 5. I made it 3/32”. Before cutting off the dowel, I scored the end with a knife, removed some of the dowel, and then filed around the score to get the basic shape of the mouse. I then cut off the dowel and finished shaping the mouse. The process is pretty easy. I applied CA to the end of the main stay line to make it easier to pass it through the mouse. Next, I seized an eye onto one end of each stay using sewing thread. I measured the lengths of the stays from Sheet 5, allowing extra length for the wrap around the mast head and seizing the 5mm closed heart to the loose end. I set up the Main and Fore Stays around the mast head temporarily to get the distance between the mouse from the eye (about 3 1/4”). The position of the mouse is somewhat arbitrary, but I used Sheet 5 as a guide. Once I set the position of the mouse I applied a little CA to secure the mouse to the rope. The orientation of the mouse and eye is not clearly shown on the plans. It's typically oriented as shown in the attached photo taken from Petersson’s Rigging Period Ship Models. Some build logs follow this, some don’t. Note: the distance between mouse and eye on the preventer stays is greater than the stays as shown on Sheet 5. I painted each mouse black and served it with black thread. I seized a Syren 5mm closed heart to the loose end of the Main Stay and Preventer stay with .008” black rope. Note: The plans call for the lanyard to be .016” rope. The kit is not furnished with this size rope. I used .018” Syren rope instead. I reeved the lanyard between the Main Stay closed heart and the closed heart rigged on the fore mast. I tied the lanyard to the heart on the fore mast with half hitch and reeved the line 4 times around the hearts, tied it off at the Main Stay, secured it with CA and trimmed it. I did the same for the Preventer Stay but didn’t secure the tie off end in case I need to tighten the lanyard later on. The Fore Stays will be rigged later when the Bow Sprit is rigged. Completed the rat lines on the fore mast shrouds and the fore top mast shrouds. I used Syren .008” tan rope to simulate the rat lines on the replicate ship -some build logs chose to use black rope. The plans call for the rat line spacing to be 7/32”. For simplicity, I created a grid sheet with 1/4” spacing. I attached the grid to the shrouds with allegator clips. Working from left to right, I tied the rat line to the first shroud using a half hitch knot and applied a little CA to secure the knot. For the remaining shrouds I used a clove hitch, and applied CA to secure them. The loose ends were trimmed with a nail clipper. The Fore and main Top Mast Shroud detail on Sheet 5 shows 4 rat lines. To keep the fore mast and top mast shroud rat line spacing uniform, as other build logs have done, there are only 3 rat lines on the top mast shrouds. I had difficulty with the top mast shroud rat lines (some do overs). I’m not completely satisfied with them. I don’t think they’ll be that noticeable in the final analysis. The main mast shroud rat lines will be completed in similar fashion. Edited March 12 by abelson added photo schooner, JLong, Tom E and 2 others 5 Quote Steven E. Sylven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abelson Posted April 11 Author Share #100 Posted April 11 Completed the main mast and main top mast rat lines. Began work on the top mast shrouds. The first pair of shrouds have 1/8" single blocks. Note: the blocks are not in the same orientation. As can be seen on Detail 5-G, the reefing block is facing fore to aft, and the lift block is facing port to starboard. I used Syren .025” rope (the plan calls for .023” line which is not furnished with the kit) for the shrouds. The Burton pendants were made with Syren .018” rope (the detail calls for .016” line which is not furnished with the kit). It isn’t clear from the plans and the instruction manual just how the shrouds are placed. I presumed they are placed first pair/second pair portside, first pair/second pair starboard side. Completed the top mast shrouds with rat lines same as the main and fore mast. Added the sheer poles and staves. Before proceeding, this is a good time to review the plans and instruction manual and to update the To Do List. I decided to add the Top Mast Back Stays followed by the Top Mast Stay and the Spring Stay. The back stays are set up with 3/32” deadeyes and lanyards (.008”). The Top Mast and Spring Stays are rigged with a lanyard (.012”) and 3/32” bullseyes to eyebolts adjacent to the fore mast and inside of the fife rail as shown in Detail 5-H. Note: The eyebolts are not shown on the Belaying Plan. According to Detail 5-H, the lanyards are different lengths (not sure why). While studying the plans, Sheet 5 specifically, I discovered that there is an 1/8” single block that is seized to the fore stay collar on the port side (see photo). This block is for the Fore Stay Sail halliard. A note on Sheet 5 says the forestay sail is a storm sale and not generally rigged at the forestay. The Fore Stay Sail is most often rigged at the main stay. So, an 1/8” block needs to be added to the main stay as well. If you plan to add this block, make sure you do it before you rig the Fore Stay and Main Stay. Also, note that there is an 1/8” single block seized to the main stay over the main hatch and on the fore stay over the forecastle hatch. These blocks are for a stay tackle. Further, there is an 1/8” clump block with falls and pendants for the Inner Jib and for the Outer Jib. I’m not certain how or whether to rig these. There is also a similar, more complex, arrangement of blocks, clumps, falls, and pendants for the Top Mast Stay Sail. Added grommets and 3/32” single blocks to the bowsprit and the jibs for the Outer Jib Downhaul (2P), Fore Staysail Downhaul (2S), Flying Jib Downhaul and Fore Top Gallant Stay Fall (3P), and Inner Jib Downhaul and Flying Jib Stay Fall (3S). It’s best to add these blocks while the bowsprit and jibs are off ship. The downhauls pass through the fairlead holes in the chock rail and are tied off on the forward pin rail as noted on the Belaying Plan on Sheet 6. Planning ahead, I made the sister hooks for the bowsprit shrouds, the 1/8” single blocks with hook for the Spritsail Yard lifts and the 1/8” double block with hook for the Outer Jib Stay tackle. Note: Sheet 5 shows this 1/8” double block being hooked to the lower eyebolt on the cap, but the Bowsprit Plan notes the 1/8” block for the Spritsail Yard Lift is hooked to the same eyebolt. Fashioned the mouse on Top Mast Stays, Spring Stay, and Inner Jib Stay from 3/32” dowel. Predrilled the dowel before shaping the mouse. Made an eye at one end of each stay. The size of stay throat is arbitrary. Secured the mouse to the stay with a dab of CA. I decided to paint each mouse black rather serve them with sewing thread. Added a 1/8” single block to the Top Mast Stay throat for the stay Halliard, a 3/32” single block with thimble for the Downhaul, and the fairlead to the Top Mast Stay for the halliard tack. .Also, added 2 thimbles for the Halliard Tack. The thimbles were made with 5/64” split rings and .008” rope. Rigged the stay halliard (the plan calls for .014” line which is not furnished with the kit. I used .012" Syren rope) with 1/8" single block with hook, the halliard tack (.010" rope), and the downhaul (.010" rope). The tack and the downhaul are a continuous rope that passes through a split ring attached to the hook on the 1/8" block. The tack end of the rope passes through the 3/32" block thimble and the fairlead and is belayed on the fife rail (22 on the Belaying Plan). The downhaul end of the rope passes through the two thimbles on the top mast stay and the 3/32" block and is belayed on the fife rail (22). Set up the Main Topmast Stay and Spring Stay with bullseyes and lanyards as per Detail 5-H. The lanyards are belayed to themselves Moving on, I was planning to add the fore top mast back stays next, but I'm now contemplating adding the Fore Course Yard so that the lifts can be rigged while the back stays are not in the way. Need to study the plans some more. Stay tuned. schooner, robert952, ccoyle and 3 others 6 Quote Steven E. Sylven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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