Young America by EdT - FINISHED - extreme clipper 1853

[rwiederrich]

Your progress is amazing Ed.  I've come to expect great images after a few days of not seeing any action.......sorry to say, I'll be sad to see the shipyard close for a couple of weeks.

Hope you'll be refreshed and ready to go when you return.  I'm so very impressed with your YA...she's beautiful.

 

See ya soon.

 

Rob

 

[Mirabell61]

nice and tidy work Ed,

your clipper looks so beautiful.... 

 

Nils

[michael mott]

Thank you Ed for your patient and considered approach to the work of installing the complex rigging. The long line of belaying pins tells me that there is a great deal more complexity to these beautiful vessels than one might expect. I am particularly enjoying the care and attention you are putting into details that are often skipped.

 

Michael

[EdT]

Thank you all.  the comments are most appreciated.

 

Actually, Micheal. the complexity is a bit mind-boggling - at least for me - although I do like complexity and am often intrigued by it.  I hope to make the rigging fully complete with the only exceptions being studding or stay sail lines that would likely have been stored with the sails.  I have found myself adding studding sail blocks to the spar drawings, however.  The double topsails added a lot of lines and riggers seem to have been pressed to find belaying points.  I can't imagine what double topgallants would do.  I'm hoping I will be able to find my way through the forest to belay everything.

 

Ed

[Tigersteve]

Looks amazing. 

Steve

[Sailor1234567890]

Looking forward to seeing how you manage as well Ed. I think at sea, things like stuns'ls were belayed to any convenient pin over top of whatever was already on it if that's any help. They were after all a light weather sail and seen as bonus sail area as opposed to part of a vessel's actual sail plan.

[EdT]

Thank you Sailor, Steve and all who have commented since my last post.

 

It is very difficult - perhaps I should say impossible -  to include studding sail lines without the sails so I will not be including any studding sail rigging except the jewel blocks, etc. that would most likely have been more or less likely permanently fixed to yards, caps, etc.  There is no doubt that studding sail lines - and even more commonly used lines - would have been doubled up on pins.  There is just not enough room for that many pins.  Especially aft.

 

Should be back in business soon after completing some springtime and deferred "large-scale" woodworking projects.  Cleaned out the shop today and hope to bring the model back in by the weekend.  We'll see.

[Sailor1234567890]

Forget impossible, it wouldn't be correct to include it I don't think. These sails were rigged when required and struck below to the sail locker with the attendant blocks and rigging only rove when the sail was to be set. You're SURE you don't want to put a few studding sails on just for show?

[Capt.Bob]

Hi All,

Sorry Ed, but its too exciting to keep to myself.  Vol II is finally available at SeaWatch Books.

https://www.seawatchbooks.com/

Just ordered mine.

[allanyed]

Ed

Catching up on your log and still amazed!   I just went back looking to see if you mentioned the chain you used and cannot find anything so my apologies if you already addressed this.  Where did you get the stud link chain?  

Thanks

 

Allan

[EdT]

Thanks, Bob, for the notice.  I've been expecting it but have not had any specifics on the release date and do not have one yet.  Hope you enjoy it.

 

And thank you, Allan.  Finding chain is a challenge.  Here is a link to the source I used for some of the sizes - including the studded anchor chain:

 

http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/caldercraft_modernchains.html

 

All the best,

 

Ed

[allanyed]

Thanks Ed,  Just took a look at their site and they do appear to have some really nice items that are otherwise difficult to find.  I was really hoping for something like this versus you having made the chain yourself!

Allan

[Sailor1234567890]

The "Link" to finding chain? Love it. Great pun. Now, back to work Ed, your adoring masses await more progress reports.

[EdT]

Making chain, Allan?  I don't think so.

 

Hope to be back at it soon Sailor.  other projects taking longer than anticipated - as usual.

 

Ed

[rwiederrich]

Ed..it will be nice to see you back in the shipyard.  I want to share this painting by Carl G. Evers.  It is of Glory of the Seas being gained upon by Young America.

 

The full bodied Glory of the Seas being chased by the sleek extreme clipper Young America.  Called *Conquerors of Cape Horn*.....it depicts nicely the two clippers we love...in a race in open water.  What a thrill.

 

See ya in the yard soon.

 

Rob

[PeteB]

Hi Ed

Fabulous work - just a suggestion for dust - someone back three or four pages made a remark about photography stores and their disappearance - I still do all my own black and white developing the old fashioned way and the biggest problem is dust on the negatives which attract dust like magnets - I found a solution was an Air Ioniser/dust filter it was amazing the difference especially if there was any chance of static electricity build up - a bit old fashioned but pretty cheap solution. Thanks for your build logs I enjoy looking at your beautiful work and admit to plagiarising a bit here but - you provide solutions which to you is the known unknown but which for the rookies amongst us or probably just me is the unknown till you demonstrate it is the known - cheers Pete

[EdT]

Thank you, Pete.  Keeping dust off photographic negatives is probably a much bigger challenge than the level of cleanliness needed for models, but dust is ever-present in any woodworking operation.  Hopefully you don't do sanding in your darkroom.  Some years ago, I installed central dust collection in the shop with connections to the dust producing tools and this was a major improvement, but complete control, especially when work like power sanding, routing, sawing, etc are done.  Hence the need for the dust case, which serves the purpose when the work is limited to modeling.  For the heavier work I have been doing lately, I move the model out of the shop.

 

As a side note, I am told that the new volume on Young America is in the bookbinding process and should be shipping around June 20.  Orders are now being taken on the Seawatchbook.coms website.  I expect to be back on the job in the next few days - making progress on the masting and rigging that will be the subject of Volume III.

 

Ed

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 211 – Mizzen Shrouds

 

It has been over two months since the last post on Young America.  At that time I had forecast an interruption in the shop for other work of about two weeks.  So much for project scheduling.  At the end of April, the shop had to be cleared out for some dusty, full-sized woodwork – the restoration of an ornate, rotting garden arbor, construction of a large, paneled garden gate, and the resizing of an old, 3'10" wide bed to a standard single.  This work, plus a number of other things, kept me busy and kept the model safely stored in another room.  I got back to work about a week ago.

 

Over the past week, work has been focused on the lower mizzen mast rigging.  The mizzen shrouds are 8¼" rope.  As with the other standing rigging, I spun this from linen thread – three doubled strands of relatively fine size.  I believe I mentioned earlier that I wanted to avoid getting into a rope making discussion here.  There is much to be said about this subject – from theory to practice to modeling - that I think I will leave to Volume III of the book.  However, I will mention one key aspect – measuring of threads and made rope.  Regardless of the rope making method used, measurements are needed and obtaining consistent, accurate results is difficult.  The method I use is shown in the first picture that shows some mizzen shroud rope diameter being measured.

 

 

 

While I am sure others have used this simple method, I find it to be very consistent and fairly accurate.  Ten turns are wrapped around a dowel, closely spaced.  The width of the turns is then measured as shown and divided by ten to get the rope diameter – in this case .036" – close to the diameter of the 8¼" circumference rope required at 1:72.  

 

Having made the right size rope for the shrouds, it was ink dyed and cut to lengths required for each pair.  These were then served, parceled at the masthead, and seized, as shown in the next picture.

 

 

In the picture the parceling has not yet been "tarred" and the excess seizing thread ends remain.  In the next picture, the ends have been clipped, black acrylic color has been applied to the parceling, and the first pair on the starboard side pushed down over the masthead.

 

 

With all four pairs mounted, thin wood fixtures were made to hold the upper deadeyes for seizing to the shrouds.  This was discussed in an earlier post.  In the next picture the deadeye spacing is being marked on the port fixture.

 

 

The next picture shows all eight deadeyes seized to their shrouds – still mounted on the fixtures.

 

 

Lanyards for these shrouds were 3½" rope – again linen, made from three strands of the finest size.  The next picture shows the deadeyes on the port side threaded up and being tensioned before wrapping and seizing the ends to the lower shrouds.

 

 

Deadeyes were threaded by alternating sides, then given an initial tensioning.  The picture above shows the final tightening after the sheer pole was lashed above the shroud throat seizings.  The two aft lanyards have been wrapped.

 

The last picture shows the lanyards wrapped and seized with their tail ends at the back of the shrouds.

 

 

I made five turns as a standard on the model and tried to make them neat.  In practice these were less aligned and wrapping continued until the rope was used up.

 

The starboard side remains unfinished.  Two reasons: in rotating a deadeye, a chain plate broke and had to be replaced; then I ran out of 3½" rope and will need to make more to finish the last deadeye.  I hope then to move on the mizzen stay.

 

 

Ed

[cog]

22 minutes ago, Dubz said:

(damn I'm sure that is bad english

You could take an American English course ...

[cog]

Ed,

 

Lovely work on the rigging. Doesn't tensioning the shrouds like you did risk having the deadeyes "off line"

[druxey]

Sorry to read that a chainplate broke. How annoying! Your visible work look impeccable, though.

[BANYAN]

Those shrouds look great set up the way you have done them Ed.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[EdT]

Thank you all for the comments.  It is good to be back at work - even considering the broken chainplates.

 

Dirk, what's not to like about clippers - sleek, majestic, graceful ...

 

Carl, I tensioned the deadeyes by gently pulling one one leg at a tine - up in the inside and down on the outer legs.  The horizontal alignment of the deadeyes is set by the length of the shrouds when the deadeyes are turned in on the fixture.  Of course the tension needs to be relatively equal to keep the alignment.  I did the first tensioning before lashing on the sheer poles and the final tensioning after - alignment can be refined by tension.  There are two other issues.  One is twist.  This is eliminated by the sheer pole lashings.  The other is tilting of the deadeye in or out - off the vertical - this can be fixed by pulling on all three out lanyard legs at once.  this will cause the deadeye to incline in or out.  All these adjustments are very slight.

 

There is one other issue that I believe relates to the stiffness of the linen lanyards.  They do not stretch - at all.  So, it is very hard to get them taut enough to be perfectly straight.  Cotton would stretch a bit and look straighter.  I decided on linen for strength and sag resistance.  It can take a lot of tension - enough to require strong chainplate joints.  I may be overly concerned about cotton stretching, but the difference in stretch is pronounced.

 

Druxey, I have had to replace a few chainplates (maybe 5 of 60).  The silver-soldered joints below the deadeye are very small.  I believe the problem is overheated joints, causing brittleness, causing breakage from excessive working.  The small percentage of breaks seem to occur where deadeyes have been worked back and forth after installation - straightening, adjusting deaedeyes, etc.  Otherwise the joints are quite strong.  Fixing them is a pain, but I made the channel slots large enough to pass the lower eyes, so that helps.

 

Ed

[druxey]

I pre-stretch cotton line, so eliminate that issue, Ed.

[EdT]

Yes, I pre-stretch everything - on the rope walk after spinning - almost to the breaking point - then hold 5 seconds.  Again after dyeing.  Well, I don't stretch that black cotton I am using for serving and small seizings, but virtually everything else.

 

Ed

[cog]

I do not understand the pre streching part, gents. I would expect the "line" to return to its previous state (more or less) so you would still have some or most of the strech when attaching/tightning
 ... or do you stiffen the line when streched with some solution like diluted white glue?

[EdT]

Good point, Carl.  Others may wish to comment.  I believe stretching has some benefit, primarily on made rope, where stretching causes fibers in the multiple twisted strands

 to "bite" into their neighbors.  This seems to "harden" the rope and neutralize residual stresses.  A made rope that will tend to curl up after spinning will lie flat after stretching.  I believe you are right that merely stretching rope or thread fibers, if within their elastic limit, will not have much effect and they will tend to return to their normal state.  Stretching beyond that point will permanently effect the properties and that may be why a benefit is seen in pre-stretching.  This is my amateur, armchair analysis.

 

Rope material properties for model rigging is an interesting topic and is fraught with opinions (like mine) relating to strength, sagging, stretching, etc.  I probably have an overly paranoid view regarding the properties of cotton and therefore prefer linen where tension is expected and needed - like standing rigging.  Linen fibers are harder and stronger.   Against this admitted prejudice is the experience many highly respected and more expert builders who routinely use cotton.  Today, the debate is largely academic, since suitable, high quality linen is virtually unavailable.  I still have enough old stock to handle the standing rigging on YA, so that is what I am using.  The rest will be long staple crocheting cotton.

 

I do not use any stiffening agents on lines before rigging.  This opens the topic of moisture protection which I will try not to enter at this stage.  Waxing of line is widespread and I may apply a wax solution later.  I am still thinking about this.  Wax collects dust and wax crystal (eg beeswax) can look like dust.  I plan some experiments with micro-crystalline wax solutions later.

 

Ed

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 212 – Mizzen Stay

 

Before moving to the mizzen stay I had to replace the aft chain plate on the port side and make and dye some more 3½" lanyard rope.  This went rather quickly and the mizzen shrouds were completed as shown in the first picture.

 

 

The next picture shows the completed mizzen stay.

 

 

The stay is looped over the shrouds at the mizzen top, fed through the lubber's holes on each side and secured with three round seizings.  At the lower end it passes through a bullseye shackled to an eyebolt on the main mast and ends in a thimble secured by another three round seizings.  This is lashed to an eyebolt in the deck.

 

Again, because of the soldered shackle, the eyebolt/bullseye assembly had to be prefabricated.  It was slipped over the stay as shown in the next picture, allowing the lower seizings to be done off the model and avoiding having to pass the leathering through the bullseye.

 

 

The stay is roughly the same size as the shrouds, is served and leathered at the top, and served at the bottom.  The lower seizings have been put on and a temporary thread is attached to secure the bottom while the masthead collar is secured.   The next picture shows that collar.

 

 

 The next picture shows the lower end of the installed stay with the permanent lashing to the deck eyebolt.

 

 

The last step in completing the lower standing rigging was to put leathering on the mainstay legs astride the foremast.  I had forgotten to do this earlier.  The next picture shows this painted wrapping.

 

 

The last picture shows the model at the current state, with all the lower shrouds and stays installed.

 

 

The next step will be to tackle the bowsprit, but I may begin some ratline work to help me spread out that tedious task.  This will also allow me to make and fit the shroud fairleads.

 

 

Ed

[archjofo]

Hi Ed,

this is a beautiful sight.
In addition, your report is for me a textbook for modeling,
where I always find great suggestions.

[BANYAN]

Those shrouds look great set up Ed. I particularly like the colour and lay of the lanyards which look really good.

 

cheers

 

Pat