Prince de Neufchatel by Coyote_6 – Constructo – 1/58 scale - American privateer

[Coyote_6]

If it wasn't for rework we'd be a bit further along. 😜

 

Anyway, forestay before with thimbles...

 

And now reworked with Syren 6mm (13 1/2 scale inch) closed hearts, corrected diameter collar line...

 

Edited November 15 by Coyote_6

[Coyote_6]

And for better or worse, brass sheer pole (a.k.a. stretcher, squaring staff).  Keeping with the raw material theme I guess.   Who knows what she'll look like in 20 years 🤣

 

Edited November 16 by Coyote_6

[Coyote_6]

Mainmast tackle are done.

 

Tackle (runner) pendents...

 

Tackles rigged...

 

And now the mainmast is pretty well in line.  I can fine tune with the shrouds...

 

Thanks for looking!

Edited November 23 by Coyote_6

[Keith Black]

 That's pretty work, Steve.

[SaltyScot]

She has come along quite nicely since I was last here, Steve. You a doing a grand job on her mate.

[Coyote_6]

It has been a month since I have posted here,  with no Prince progress to report.

 

But an interesting month it has been in the shipyard anyway.  November 26th I received a donation of a Cutty Sark, destined also for academic service.  As received:

 

Just shy of 39" overall, she has a fabulous backstory.  She was built by Ragnar Heggelund in San Francisco - in 1926!!  As the story was told, Ragnar came to America and went to work to be able to bring his family along after him.  As he would have to work and wait a year or so, he took on the Cutty Sark to fill his hours until they were together again.  Ragnar was a fine craftsman and the most interesting note is that he wove all his eyes in his lines in the 1:1 eye splice - each one a 99 year old work of art. 

 

His ship has stayed with the family these 99 years, repaired by sons and grandsons, until finally it was decided she was beyond the families' care.  The grandson liked the idea of inspiring schoolchildren, and so here we are.

 

The intent is to have her in the teacher's hands in January.  Starting in January 2026, her kids will set off on a history syllabus that culminates in an overnight stay on San Diego's Star of India.

 

The program is amazing, as the 5th grade kids haul lines, raise sails, stand watches throughout the night, tie knots, haul cargo, and plot charts - among other seafaring tasks.

 

  Cutty Sark being of similar size, deck layout and rig, will make a fine teaching aid to prepare the kids for their adventure.  And of course, for 2026 this model will be a century old.  The karma of it all just gives me goosebumps.

Edited Friday at 09:51 PM by Coyote_6

[Keith Black]

 That's absolutely amazing, Steve. 

[GrandpaPhil]

Steve,

  Very cool!

Edited Friday at 08:23 PM by GrandpaPhil

[Coyote_6]

As a sadly novice model restorer, I will summarize the repairs and changes to the Cutty Sark while in my shipyard.  I would love to hear insights both positive and otherwise on this small project and the choices made.

 

First, cleaning of the deck and horizontal surfaces. "A good clean sweepdown fore and aft..." using a stiff small paintbrush and then swabbing of the decks using long wooden handled qtips and tap water.

 

And then, I chose to re-oil the decks with Danish Oil.  I just had to - the wood was screaming for it, and end effect was stunning.  Chalk it up to "maintenance"?

 

 

The (handmade?) Anchors hung freely, but there were empty holes in the deck that would have been perfect for fittings to secure the anchors to - so I did.  Blackened handmade brass fittings and Model Shipways line.

 

 

All ship shape at the f'csle then.

 

Edited Friday at 09:53 PM by Coyote_6

[Coyote_6]

There were some issues with the rigging -  specifically, one of the simplified yard lifts had failed, the braces for two other yards had failed, and the lift for the mizzen gaff was gone.   Rigging for the spanker between gaff and boom were a rough repair from decades ago but non- functional ("Improper!" according to Mr. Nash) .

 

 

So of course, Mr. Nash turned to...

 

New lift representation...

 

Spanker rigging repairs, adding chain between gaff and boom.

 

And the two new brace lines.  The Model Shipways line blends in with the 99 year old natural line pretty well.

 

 

Rigging is as good as she'll get here.  For better or worse.

 

Sadly for the mizzen main course yard "lifts", the beautiful eye splices were replaced by my ham-handed seizings.  Functional, but godawful to look at in comparison 🤣.

Edited Friday at 10:08 PM by Coyote_6

[Coyote_6]

Also, Ragnar's family was under the impression she was Cutty Sark, but some of the deck houses seem to differ, a hatch missing here or there, etc.  If anyone has a different thought on the model, I would love to hear other possible subjects.  

 

Cutty Sark sure feels right for 1926 though, doesn't it?

[Keith Black]

1 hour ago, Coyote_6 said:

handled qtips and tap water.

 One should never use tap water, Steve. Lightly moisten the Q-Tip in your mouth and then gently swab. Ole fashioned spit is the best cleaner but it's slow going. One can only work up so much spit in a sitting. 

[Glen McGuire]

1 hour ago, Coyote_6 said:

the wood was screaming for it, and end effect was stunning.

I agree, Steve.  Nice touch.  You are doing fine work.

[Kenchington]

42 minutes ago, Coyote_6 said:

Ragnar's family was under the impression she was Cutty Sark, but

She's not a close fit to Cutty Sark, so either Ragnar was not overly constrained by historical accuracy or else he aimed to represent a different ship.

 

With deep topsails (not split into upper and lower) and skysails on all three masts, she looks earlier than 1869. I'd guess a Yankee clipper, rather than a British-built one. The cabin house straddling the break of the quarterdeck, with skylight and companionway abaft that house, was an unusual arrangement (and not seen on Cutty Sark) but not unknown. @ClipperFan may be able to identify a specific prototype.

 

Trevor 

[Dr PR]

The ship needs a helm!

 

I certainly wouldn't use water - it might soak into the century dry wood and cause swelling.

 

And as a microbiologist I cringe at the thought of covering anything with spit! Not a good idea in my opinion, even if it does "work."

 

Just brushing with a small stiff brush may be all that is needed. I do this with the end of a vacuum cleaner hose nearby (3-6 inches/75-150 mm). But be careful that some parts - like hatch covers - are not just resting in place unattached. Otherwise you may end up sorting through the dust in the vacuum cleaner bag.

 

If a liquid cleaner is needed to dislodge stuff I  think I would apply isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) with a small brush and immediately swab it up with a Q-tip. The alcohol will evaporate quickly. But use it very sparingly and work fast so it doesn't have time to dissolve any finishes (especially shellac). Test this first in an inconspicuous place!

[Keith Black]

 Post #14

 

Post #2 and #11

 

 Post #9

 

 Post #17

 

 

[Coyote_6]

Thanks for all the tips folks!

 

Could she be the extreme clipper Young America?  Was she a solid hull kit from around 1925?  An AJ Fisher kit?  Too simplistic?

 

She is an enigma.

If only Ragnar could tell us...

[Kenchington]

Your model does not have quite the deck layout that Crothers showed for Young American but maybe close enough for a kit of a hundred years ago.

 

There's a feel to the model of a seaman-made example, with some fantastic detail (such as the splices) but also gross simplifications (e.g. no stuns'l gear). But I'd doubt the involvement of an actual clipper sailor: Leading the braces of the yards on the mainmast (except those of the mainyard itself) forward looks wacko, for one example. Then there's the three separate halliards for the spanker gaff (instead of just peak and throat). Those speak of an enthusiastic landsman.

 

It's a truly lovely model all the same!

 

Trevor

Edited 21 hours ago by Kenchington

[Coyote_6]

@Kenchington  Thanks so much for you insights.  It is an interesting riddle and makes one think hard about the state of model shipbuilding in 1926.  The twisted wire supporting the yards to the mast as an example.  Fun stuff to think about.

[Coyote_6]

@Keith Black  Not the first time I've read of the enzymes in the saliva Keith!  Didn't have enough spit for 99 years of dirt. 🤣

Edited yesterday at 05:02 AM by Coyote_6

[Coyote_6]

I have learned something yesterday and once seen cannot be unseen.  The two masted Prince being my first ship, this is truly my first foray into the three masted world.  Indeed the mainmast yards should be braced aft - when I look at a three masted vessel I now see the "weight" of the lines aft of the main.  Very cool.

 

This is something I probably should not "correct" on Ragnar's model, huh?

 

@Kenchington  Thanks again for the lesson.  MOST appreciated.  Learning something new keeps us young.  (At least that's what I tell myself 🤣.)

[Coyote_6]

13 hours ago, Dr PR said:

The ship needs a helm!

I am on it Phil.   Ordered a 12mm brass wheel of off ebay.   Slow boat from China apparently.  Sharp eye sir.  Sharp eye!

[Kenchington]

It's not for anyone else to tell you what to do with the model but, if it was my choice to make, I would not "correct" the lead of the braces. Besides the risk of ending up with more problems than you solved, I think the model has its own history, as an artifact in its own right, as much as a representation of a full-size prototype.

 

If it were my call, I would let Ragnar's work stand, in part as a monument to him, his family and the trials he went through to give them a better life in California. Seems that was an uplifting story itself!

 

Trevor

[Chuck Seiler]

Steve,

    You may have to name your endeavors "Steve's Spit and Polish Restorations".

 

    I am a little late to the discussion and was going to mention Rob Napier's thoughts on the use of saliva, but Keith beat me.  Rob is a well known/well respected restorer who has written about it.   Don Dressel can probably tell you more about him, if you have an hour or 3.   Have you spoken to Jon Sanford about model cleaning?

[Coyote_6]

Another chapter on the saga of the unknown clipper.   Some paint.  

 

Previous repairs done by the family were left unpainted to differentiate from Ragnar's original work.  Unfortunately this left the wood unprotected.  I painted the repairs to match, but did not touch up any of the original 99 year old paint.

 

Was:

 

Is:

 

Was:

 

Is:

 

My daughter (14 years old) did the color matching with Tamiya Acrylics over an oil based Colonial Green base coat for protection.

 

Some things were missing...

 

 

 

 

 

So now we just need to pick a nation (and era) to flag her under and she'll be ready for the schoolhouse.  I used a leftover block (from the poor spanker rigging repair) to add a signal halyard to the gaff.

 

 

Leaning towards a loose replica of Young America, American flag circa 1853.  But no official name at this time.

 

Oh yeah, still waiting on that ship's wheel from the ebay.

Edited 8 hours ago by Coyote_6

[Dr PR]

When did Ragnar come to the United States? Did he enter at San Francisco or somewhere on the east coast? How did he get here?

 

The reason I ask is that he may have modelled the ship he travelled on.  If the family has records of his arrival in the US they may tell what ship he sailed on.

[Coyote_6]

@Dr PR  Very clever thinking Phil!  I will see if I can get in touch with them.