HMS Indefatigable 1794 by Glenn-UK - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[chris watton]

You are doing a wonderful job, Glenn, well done.

[Glenn-UK]

30 minutes ago, Thukydides said:

Indeed she is looking good Glenn, Alert looks so small in the background :).

Many thanks. Indy is a beast compared to all my other builds😁

[Glenn-UK]

28 minutes ago, chris watton said:

You are doing a wonderful job, Glenn, well done.

Thanks Chris. Looking forward to my next project which will be another one from your ever expanding fleet.😁

[Kevin]

she is looking very nice indeed, well done

[Glenn-UK]

45 minutes ago, Kevin said:

she is looking very nice indeed, well done

Thanks Kevin, hopefully you'll return to your Indy before too much longer.

[Kevin]

32 minutes ago, Glenn-UK said:

Thanks Kevin, hopefully you'll return to your Indy before too much longer.

so do I, she is only about 10 foot away, ill get this Occre hull built up and stable and get her back on the table within a week

[ECK]

Looks great. You'll need to be thinking what to do next!

[Glenn-UK]

9 minutes ago, ECK said:

Looks great. You'll need to be thinking what to do next!

Many thanks. Brig Adder is my current plan for my next build.

[ECK]

I am starting it myself  later this week.

[Glenn-UK]

Topgallant Yards & Driver Boom

Over the last few days I have added the three topgallant yards and the driver boom. I just have to add the driver gaff before moving on to completing all the yard rigging. I am not sure when I will be able to do this as my wife and I have grandparent duties over the next couple of days but hopefully this will be completed by early next week.

 

Please see a couple of photos of the current build status. The Indy is massive compared to the IJN Yamato and the incomplete Speedy.

In the next photo I have shown the parrel beads and topgallant yard tye where the topgallant yard (mizzen) is secured to the mast.

The next photo shows the belaying of the tyes. As can be seen in the next photo the belaying is via a two block arrangement. One block is secured to the end of the tye. The other block is secured to the platform via an eyebolt. The free end of the inter-block rigging is belayed to one of the topsails shroud cleats.

I went about adding the driver boom as follows.

 

I started by adding the boom topping lifts to the driver boom and then feeding them through the two single blocks located on the rear of the mizzen platform. Next I added the parrel beads to secure the driver boom to the mizzen mast. Next the boom sheet rigging was added. Once that was completed I then added the double blocks to the end of the boom topping lifts. Another pair of single blocks were seized, complete with a hook on one end. These blocks were then hooked to eyebolts located next to the mizzen mast and the inter-block rigging was then added. The final task was to add the guy pendants.

 

The photo below shows the driver boom secured to the mast with the parrel beads. 

The next photo shows the boom sheet rigging.

The next photo shows the boom topping lifts being fed through the platform blocks.

Next photo shows the belaying of the boom topping lifts.

The final two photos shows the guy pendant rigging, noting only one side has been completed so far. The excess thread has not, as yet, been trimmed in the second photo. The first photo also shows the boom topping lifts secured to the driver boom.

 

[Glenn-UK]

Driver Gaff

I actually was able to spend a couple of hours in the shipyard today, early morning before our grandparent duties started. I was able to install the Driver Gaff, noting there is still a little bit of belying work required. As with the Driver Boom I followed an usual process as detailed below.

 

Step 1

The first rigging that was added, but not belayed, was the gaff halliard. I opted to rig this first due to the redistricted access and I found it much easier to do with the driver gaff lower down the mizzen mast. The inter-block rigging would be adjusted once the peak halliard and parrel beads rigging had been run in.

 

Step 2

The next rigging item I ran in was the peak halliard, and again this was not belayed. With the peak and gaff halliard in place the driver gaff was positioned on the mizzen mast and the parrel beads were added.

 

Step 3

It was the a process of adjusting the various rigging. Once I was happy with the how the driver gaff was looking I belayed the gaff halliard.

 

Step 4

Next I added vang pendants but again these have not been belayed as yet.

 

Here is a photo of the Driver Gaff.

The next photo shows the gaff halliard rigging. I did take the free end of this rigging down to the deck on the wrong side of the catharpins (yellow arrow). This will not be updated as I only noticed this after I had belayed the rigging and it will not be noticeable once the Indy rigging is completed.

The next set of photo's shows the peak halliard rigging, as shown by the yellow areas.

The final photo shows the vang pendants.

 

[Glenn-UK]

Yard Lifts and Yard Tackle

We are enjoying a nice heat wave in the UK at the moment. My shipyard is in our conservatory (as can be seen in the photo below) and is it like working in a sauna at the moment so I am only able to work in there for short periods of time before resorting to garden and snoozing in the sun.

After a couple of days work all the yard lifts have been installed and belayed. I failed miserably to take any decent photos. The following photo is the best of a bad bunch. I have added some yellow arrows to indicate the yard lifts.

There are two options with how to display the yard tackles for the fore and main yards. I have opted for the following option.

All the yard tackles have now been rigged but they have not been belayed. The next photo shows the yard tackle in situ.

[Glenn-UK]

Mizzen Topsail Sheet and Clew LineOnce again it has been to warm to spend much time in the shipyard sauna. All I have managed to do is to add the mizzen topsail sheet and clew line. The photo below shows the arrangement.

I started the process by making the topsail sheet line and adding the single block on the end via a loop and toggle arrangement. Once this was done I secured one end of the mizzen topsail clew line to the topsail yard and then fed it through the single topsail sheet block and then through another block located on the topsail yard before it was taken down to deck level. The mizzen topsail sheet was then fed through two blocks on the crossyard jack and then taken down to deck level.

 

After adjusting the rigging the topsail sheets were belayed to a pins on the poop deck bitt rack. The topsail clew lines were then belayed to mizzen shroud cleats.

[Glenn-UK]

Mizzen Yard Topgallant Sheet and Clew Line

I have now added the topgallant sheet and clew lines to mizzen mast. I thought I would document the process I followed to complete this task.

 

I started with adding a toggle to the clew line. The toggle is simply a small length of thread which had been stiffened by CA glue. A simple knot (as shown on the plan sheet) was used to secure the toggle to the clew line. This is shown in the photo below, noting the toggle is longer than required and will be trimmed once the topgallant sheet has been attached.

Next I created a loop in one end of the topgallant sheet line, as shown below. The loop will be pulled tight over the toggle before the excess thread is trimmed.

The completed join between the clew line and sheet is shown below.

The clew line was then fed through the block on the topgallant yard and then the free end was taken down to the poop deck ready to be belayed.

The topgallant sheet line was then fed through two blocks on the topsail yard and was then taken down to the poop deck to be belayed.

Once the topgallant sheet and clew lines were adjusted they were belayed. I started with belaying the topgallant sheet to the bitt rack.

The topgallant clew line was then belayed to one of the mizzen mast shroud cleats.

[DavidG]

this is very impressive attention to detail, congratulations !

I think to attach the toggle to the sheet line, the long tail should be pulled through the loop for a more secure connection though.

 

[Glenn-UK]

6 minutes ago, DavidG said:

this is very impressive attention to detail, congratulations !

I think to attach the toggle to the sheet line, the long tail should be pulled through the loop for a more secure connection though.

 

You are correct, many thanks.

[Glenn-UK]

Main Yard Sheet and Clew Line

This was an interesting and time consuming task to complete.

 

I started the process by making the double block arrangement which are joined together and a separate line with a toggle is passed through one of thimbles on these blocks.

These blocks were then secured to the main yard and the free end was then passed through one of the yard blocks before it was taken down to the deck level.

The free end was belayed to the bitt rack located on the gun deck.

The line with the toggle was fed though a hole on the hull and then belayed to an internal cleat located under the gangway. This was very tricky to complete due to the access.

The final task was to run the rigging from the other block. One end was secured outside the hull using an eyebolt. The other end was fed through the hull and then belayed to an internal cleat.

[Glenn-UK]

Progress Update

I have completed adding the various sheets and clew line the fore, main and mizzen yards (lower, topsail and topgallant). This means that I have now completed all the rigging shown on plan sheets 16, 17 and 18. I just have to add the rigging shown on plan sheet 19 which deals with the yard braces, bunts, leach and bowlines.

 

The end is in sight and hopefully I can complete this before we depart for a trip down the Blue Danube at the end of July.

 

Sorry no photo's with this post but I will try to take some in the next day or two.

 

 

[AON]

This has become my go to reference for rigging photos!

(so keep them coming please)

[Glenn-UK]

1 minute ago, AON said:

This has become my go to reference for rigging photos!

(so keep them coming please)

Alan

I will keep posting, many thanks for your kind comments.

[Glenn-UK]

Foremast Yard Sail Sheets and Clew Line

Following on from my last post I have now taken a few photos of the completed fore mast / yard sail sheets and clew lines

 

The next photo shows one of the clew line blocks, where the sheet line is attached to it via a toggle, as indicated by the yellow arrow.

The next photo shows a sail line that is fed through a block on the end of the fore topsail yard. It is then fed to another block located near the foremast before it is taken down to the deck level for belaying.

The next photo shows the double block arrangement for the fore yard clew line and sheets.

The next photo shows where the foreyard sheet lines are belayed. It would have looked better if the rigging that is fed through the hull was the other way round (the other line fed through the hull is from the topsail sprit yard sheet rigging) but given the amount of rework that would be required to change this over I am more than happy to live with how it currently looks.

The next photo is another example of the toggle joint, this was used for the fore topgallant yard.

Mizzen Mast Braces

The first task for completing the rigging on the final plan sheet was to make a set of notes detailing the all of the rigging, the thread type and the belaying points.

I decided I would start by completing all work related to the mizzen mast / yards as shown below.

The next photo shows one of the crossyard jack brace rigging points.

The next photo shows where the crossyard jack brace rigging starts (above the block) and then the block where the brace rigging is then fed down to the deck level for belaying.

The next photo shows the belaying of one of the crossyard jack brace rigging.

The next photo shows one of the topsail yard brace rigging

The next photo shows where the topsail yard rigging starts and also shows the block where the rigging is taken down to the deck level for belaying.

The next photo show one of the topgallant yard braces.

The next photo shows the topgallant yard rigging fed through the blocks before they taken down to deck level for belaying.

The next photo shows the belaying of the topsail and topgallant yard braces. The excess thread has not been trimmed.

I just have the mizzen bowlines to add and then all work related to the mizzen mast is finished.

[Glenn-UK]

Current Progress

I am making good progress at the moment. I now believe I have now completed all the rigging required for the mizzen mast and yards and I am now working on the main mast yard rigging. I have attached a photo of the current build status.

 

Mizzen Bowlines

The mizzen topsail and topgallant bowlines have now been added. I have documented the method I used to complete this task, and the ensuing photos relate to the mizzen topsail bowline rigging. I started by taking a length of thread and ran it through a beeswax block a couple of times Next I used a hair dryer to melt the wax which stiffened the thread a little bit. I have found rigging much easy with this process. Next the thread was wrapped around the topsail yard and the seizing was added as can be seen in the photo (out of focus) below.

The position of the seizing was then adjusted so the loop, that had been formed, was tight around the topsail yard. The excess thread material was trimmed and a drop super glue applied to the cut ends.

The free end of the thread was then fed through a block located on the main mast shroud line and was then taken down to the deck level, as shown in the next photo.

The bowline was then belayed as shown in the next photo. A touch of ca glue will be applied before the excess material is trimmed.

Main Yard Braces

The next task was to add the main yard braces. This was a relatively simple task to complete. A hook was seized to one end of the brace rigging. Once that was done the rigging was fed through the block (flying lead) on the end of the main mast. This is shown on the next photo

The hook was the placed in the eyebolt and the other end of the thread was belayed.

 

Main Topsail Yard Braces

Next I added the rigging for the main topsail yard braces. This was slightly more complicated due to access. The braces were secured to a block located on the mizzen mast below the crossyard jack. This is shown in the next photo. The return path is also shown where the brace is taken down to the deck level.

The next photo shows the belaying. The excess material will be removed.

 

[Glenn-UK]

Main Mast Bunt. Leach and Bowlines

Before moving on to installing the braces for the 3 fore mast yards I decided it would be better to add the main mast bunt, leach and bowlines. I felt this was a good idea as access, for belaying, would be more restricted if the braces (especially for the foreyard) had been rigged.

 

I opted to start with fitting the main topsail and topgallant yard bowlines. They were installed without any issues. I still have the main course bowline to add which will be done later as I think it run to the belaying point (cleats on forecastle bulwarks) will hinder the installation of the bunt and leach lines.

 

The first (out of focus) photo shows the blocks used to take the topsail yard bowline down to the deck level

The next photo shows how the main topgallant yard bowlines are taken down to the deck level, via the upper foremast platform.

The bunt and leach lines are fed through blocks on the main yard and are held in place with toggles, as can be seen in the next photo.

These lines were fed through blocks  located under the main platform, as shown in the next photo.

The bunt line (two per side) are belayed to the aft foremast bitt rack, via a double block arrangement.

The final photo of this post shows the aft foremast bitt rack where the bowline and bunt lines have been belayed. The yellow arrow indicates the final bunt line that has not been belayed, noting I did belayed this after taking the photo.