HMC Sherbourne 1763 by tkay11 - FINISHED – Caldercraft – Scale 1:64 - A Novice’s Build

[Nirvana]

Overall really nice progress Tony, but ... the upper position of the main stay is wrong and won't work this way The stay has to "hold" the lower main mast, so placing it behind the upper part of the mast is kinda ... mm .. guess you know

 

Guess picture is better then words

 

 

best,

 

Dirk

Geez, can't you get a better picture?

lol,

Dirk, don't get me wrong..... but that picture is amazing, the detailing and depth of field.

Very Nice! Can be used in other builds as well.

Thank you. ​

[tkay11]

Thanks, Dirk. I was puzzling over the position of the mainstay -- especially as I thought it would cut into the rope. Petersson shows it where I have put it but now that you've mentioned it specifically, I am happy to agree and put it down to another of Petersson's or the model maker's inaccuracies. I now suspect he put it there because there wasn't enough room on the cross tree after all the other rigging put there. We don't have pictures of the model he took it from, and the model itself is in middle England in storage.

 

I use TurboCad (TCW) for my drawings, and have lots in relation to the specific parts. Which ones would you be interested in? Which format do you want them in? I can save to DWF, DWG, DGN, DXF, EPS, PDF. Send me a PM and we can sort it out.

 

Tony

[Stockholm tar]

Tony,

 

Very nice work overall – just to get the main stay down on top of the shrouds, like what that man said, and she'll be fine.

 

I can't think why Petersson put it there, as I would have thought it a good place for chafe – rope against angled metal, not good.

[tkay11]

Right, you taskmasters, main stay now in really correct position. See the edited post at http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/335-hmc-sherbourne-by-tkay11-–-caldercraft-–-scale-164-1763-a-novice’s-caldercraft-sherbourne/?p=373484.

 

And while I was at it, I noticed the breaking hook on the port backstay which I fixed as well.

 

Thanks again for the help!

 

Tony

[Stockholm tar]

Tony,

 

It really, really, is too! 

 

Isn't that always the way, do one job and you find another. 

[tkay11]

I also really really like all these friends I have on this forum. Must be that warm christmasy feeling from the telly.

 

Tony

[tkay11]

Something I forgot to add to the log was that I discovered too late that it would have been very handy not to have fitted the top mast and the top cap before adding the shrouds. If I had not fitted the top mast and cap, it would have been much easier not only to tie the shrouds very easily, but also to fit the two sets of pendants (mast tackle and back stay) in the correct manner.

 

I have now edited my build log accordingly.

 

Tony

[tkay11]

MAKING SAILS

 

The first stage in this process was to study Steel’s Elements and Practice of Rigging, along with Marquardt’s book on 18^th Century Rigs and Rigging so that I could understand the structure and making of the various sails.

 

I then used the drawings in Steel to start with the mainsail. This may be the most complex sail to make for the Sherbourne because of its shape and the curved reinforcing bands that have to be fixed. However I thought it would make sense to start at the mainsail and work forwards because if I were to do it the other way I thought I’d be caught in a tangle of rigging whilst trying to attach the mainsail to the mast.

 

I also decided that none of the sails would be furled, and that I’d be unlikely to shape them as though being filled by the wind. It will therefore be a ship that is not sailing, out of the water, and with a full set of sails waiting for a heavenly breeze to transport it to Elysium.

 

The reason for this choice is very simple: as a novice builder I want to build my basic skill set and have a rounded understanding of the various parts of the ship and of the functions of the various bits of rigging. As a person who knows nothing about sailing, it’s all just part of the learning process.

 

I followed Blue Ensign’s guides to sail-making in his log on this site of the Superbe build, as well as David Anscherl’s guide in Volume IV of his Fully Framed Model. This involves the use of Modelspan rather than cotton sheet. Modelspan is a paper that is very resistant to tearing even when wet, and comes in thicknesses that are very close to the scale thickness of a sail at 1:64. I decided that I would try this out first, and only if the result were unsatisfactory would I then have a bash at making the sails from cotton sheet.

 

The first stage is to make a frame to hold the Modelspan. Blue Ensign used a cut out cardboard box, but I went Antscherl’s way and made a frame out of scrap pine. The sequence is shown in the following pictures

 

First, the basic frame.

 

 

Now the basic frame with its insert.

 

 

 

Here, the wet modelspan is already fastened to the frame by gummed paper strips.

 

 

Immediately after wetting, the insert is removed from the frame and the modelspan allowed to dry. Very quickly it shrinks to drum tightness as can be seen in the following photo (which shows the modelspan already painted with a wash made of diluted acrylic paint (a mix of unbleached titanium white, yellow oxide and burnt ochre).

 

 

As advised by Antscherl, I used a drawing pen set to 0.6mm thickness to draw the seams using the same paint mix.

 

I then cut out the reinforcing bands by using a flexible curve set on a drawing of the sail I had created in TurboCad. I traced very gently with a soft pencil around the curve onto the sail for the upper and lower edges of each band  The bands were then fixed to the sail using dilute acrylic matt medium (again, following Antscherl). You can see a trial run of this method in the following photo:

 

 

The next photo shows the bolt rope (0.35mm thread) fixed with the matt medium round the edges of the sail, along with the cringles made whilst fixing the rope.

 

 

I then attached the reef points and drilled holes for the grommets.

 

After this was done, I cut the sail from the frame with a scalpel.

 

One deviation from both Blue Ensign and Antscherl is that I have placed the reinforcements on both sides of the mainsail as it proved not transparent enough. I thought nobody would ever notice since it is hard to look at both sides of the sail simultaneously.

 

The attachment of the sail is covered in the next post.

 

Tony

[tkay11]

For the rigging I followed Petersson's book of Rigging Period Fore and Aft Craft and the AOTS book on the Cutter Alert as well as Marquardt and Steel in the references given above.

 

The boom was prepared first by fixing the tackle for the main sheet with its pulleys and cleat.

 

 

The sail was then bent to the gaff using running lacing, and to the hoops on the mast. The peak halliard, throat halliard and topping lift were then rigged as shown in the photos below.

 

The only point of interest is that some may worry about the placing of the hook for the fall of the tackle of the peak halliard since Petersson does not show where it is fixed. Steel places it on the starboard channel at the rear, so I followed his very good advice.

 

You'll note that some of the previous rigging is now a little less taut. This is simply because with all the hauling of the peak halliard, the throat halliard and the topping lift the mast was pulled back a bit. All will be readjusted, as will the ends of the ropes round their various belaying points much later in the build.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next phase will be the cross-jack and topgallant sails, followed by the foresail and jib. Then, down the line, the anchors and the swivel guns.

 

Tony

[tkay11]

That's incredibly generous of you, Dirk, given the rough finish (as usual)! But I'll still bask in the pleasure of appreciation!

 

Tony

[Nirvana]

Tony,

 

That is just very nice, that sail made the ship.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Nirvana

[tkay11]

Thanks, Per. That's what my wife said. In fact it was her question at the very beginning of the build ('Is it going to have sails then?') that made me think about whether I'd be able to do so.

 

I started by thinking I'd follow George Bandurek's build with some sails furled, but I really wanted to see how a full mainsail looked in the flesh, so to speak.

 

Tony

[flyer]

Hi Tony

 

Truly great looking sail! As we are more or less at the same stage of our respective builds, it's quite interesting to compare modelspan and cotton sails.

On my Pickle I was too lazy to form the lower edge of the main sail and the reef bands in a curve. I read somewhere that you hardly notice the difference once the sail is hoisted. I'm quite happy with the result of my shortcut but of course yours is the real thing.

 

About your Sherbourne's windless sails: Sailing ships quite often were and are becalmed. While you could use engine power today you had just to wait it out then. So I imagine my Pickle on a beautiful Sunday morning, lying there on a calm empty sea, with all the sails ready to catch that breeze, the master said, he can feel in his bones to come up. No Elysium yet.

 

Cheers

peter

[tkay11]

Thanks, Peter. I had been following your log up till mid-January with great interest, as I was intrigued by the Pickle following a BBC television programme about the replica and her type of ship.

 

The discussion about the accuracy and plans on your log is fascinating. So I was delighted by your reminder as it made me go back to see what you did with the sails. I must admit that the look of the cotton is (to my eyes) still preferable, so I'll probably try cloth next time round.

 

I do have some fine 0.4mm thick 22gsm silk pongee cloth I bought just in case -- when I was still trying to decide. It's thinner than the Modelspan,  so probably would be ideal. I just didn't have the courage to ask my wife for a tutorial on her sewing machine and was intrigued by the idea of doing it with Modelspan. You can see the congee on Amazon UK at http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006FHMGMC/ref=pe_385721_37038051_TE_3p_dp_1. It's great stuff.

 

I take the idea about being becalmed. Even more likely when not floating in water.

 

I've now added my name to your list of followers to make sure I keep up to date.

 

Onwards!

 

Tony

[Niklas]

Just catching up. Well done!!

 

Niklas

[catopower]

Tony,

 

What a fantastic job you are doing on this build. The only negative comment I can make on this blog is that there is only a LIKE button, when there should be a LOVE button!

 

A masterfully built model. I hadn't looked in on it before, but now I'm going to have to go back to the beginning of your blog and start learning how to build a ship model the right way.

 

Clare

[tkay11]

Thanks a lot, Niklas and Clare, although I must admit to some embarrassment when I compare what I have done with so many other builds. I score myself about 8 out of 10 for perseverance, learning, explanation and experimentation, but probably 2 out of 10 for finish.

 

Comments such as yours reinforce the wonderful ethos of this forum where people critique and support one another for our mutual benefit and learning -- all in the understanding that we all are our own severest critics and all go through these same initial learning steps. It goes to keeping us all motivated and striving to do our best.

 

As for learning how to build a ship model the right way, Clare -- that really made me smile after I have been following the probing intelligence you have been using on the Alert and your exquisite builds of Japanese boats.

 

Thanks again

 

Tony

[tkay11]

RIGGING PLAN

 

The general plan I followed was that depicted in a plate in Volume 3 of David Steel’s Elements and Practice of Rigging, Seamanship, and Naval Tactics. One advantage of this (i.e. not having a squaresail or topgallant) is that it leaves the model more open and lighter in appearance, as well as making it look (to my eyes) speedier.

 

 

In addition, and after the lengthy discussion about the horse for the staysail, I adopted the style of horse used on the model of the Diligence which I found at

 

http://www.shipmodel.com/models/diligence-full-hull-nav-

 

 

 

I also found Marquardt’s book on 18^th Century Rigs and Rigging really useful for the diagrams.

 

Next post is about making thimbles

 

Tony

Edited June 19, 2016 by tkay11

[tkay11]

THIMBLES

 

Instead of cutting brass tubing, I decided to make my thimbles from coiled rope soaked in CA glue and then cut into sections. I did this for two reasons:

 

1. It allows me to make any size thimble I want

 

2. It has a similar colour to wood

 

You can see the process in the following pictures:

 

 

 

Next up is about belaying pins

[tkay11]

TYING TO BELAYING PINS

 

I used a simple jig as shown below. Note that the holes for the dressmaker pins are over-sized to allow simple removal

 

 

 

Next up is about Head Sticks for the Jib and Staysail

 

Tony

[tkay11]

STAYSAIL AND JIB HEAD STICKS

 

Following Steel’s diagrams I used Head Sticks for the jib and staysail.

 

 

I made the headsticks using my Proxxon wood lathe as follows:

 

 

Then, using the same techniques described earlier for the making of the mainsail, I attached the headsticks as follows:

 

 

Next up: the making of the yard horses

 

Tony

[tkay11]

YARD HORSES

 

I used 0.2mm black wire twisted round itself and passed through the back of the yards as follows (the picture shows the practice I did on a matchstick):

 

 

Next up: Trusses

 

Tony

[tkay11]

TRUSSES

 

One thing that amazed me was how strongly the yards attach to the mast using just trusses and braces. I used the simple truss described by Marquardt for the crossjack yard, reeved through blocks on the deck as follows:

 

 

The topsail yard has an even simpler truss which is not reeved through blocks on the deck.

 

Next up: about the staysail

 

Tony

[tkay11]

STAYSAIL

 

In addition to the discussion about the type of horse to use for the staysail sheet, I spent some time trying to figure out the rigging of the tack tackle and the downhauler. Eventually I worked out Steel’s descriptions as follows:

 

 

 

Next up: Preparing the belaying

 

Tony

[tkay11]

PREPARING THE BELAYING

 

Just to show how I approached the rigging, I held the various lines down with clamps

 

1. to keep them separate

 

2. to hold them taut against belaying pins whilst the knots were drying after being dabbed with dilute PVA.

 

 

 

Next up: Overall appearance

 

Tony

[tkay11]

GENERAL APPEARANCE TO DATE

 

The following pictures show the general appearance as it is now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once I am back from my next trip I’ll work on the ratlines, the swivel guns, the anchors and the flags. That should complete the model.

 

Tony

[tkay11]

As usual, my dear mentor Dirk, I am at a loss when you say such kind things. All I can say is that I deeply appreciate them and thank you! It shows what a good teacher you and others have been for me on this forum!

 

As to the hull, I already know your's is going to continue to turn out far better than anything I can do.

 

Thanks again for your continued encouragement!

 

Tony

[Timmo]

That's a handsome cutter with some great rig detail. Well done

[tkay11]

Thanks a lot, Wayne. Your post prompted me to look at your Cruizer brig, and that really is a magnificent undertaking. I'll be following that from now on.

 

Tony

[Gregor]

Tony – as always, your work is not only thoroughly researched, but also masterly executed and explained! And please don’t ever say again “it’s only rough compared… “. The magnifying lens is always a bit unfair. But what it shows us here is a cutter where you really could stand on the deck, pull on ropes and sail away – the stuff for dreams.

Honestly, I admire you for all you have done with this originally simple kit. Your Sherbourne has left her cardboard home port behind for good, having sailed over the kit’s horizon long ago.

Thanks for letting us follow!

Gregor