US Revenue Cutter 1815 by Jsk - FINISHED - Seahorse - 1/72 - CARD

[0Seahorse]

Good job!

 

I tie the thimbles with thread or rope around them, but before seizing, I secure the thread around the thimble with a minimal amount of CA glue, applied with the tip of the needle.

As for parrals, I think these beads are called "trucks", at least that's how I read Modefeld's drawings.

("Historic Ship Models" by W. Modfeld)

 

Boom and gaff probably definitely had these "beads". In the case of yards, it could be an ordinary truss pendant (i.e. just a rope).

("The Global Schooner" by K. H. Marquardt)

 

The suggestion to use wire insulation is simply an imitation of these beads, as they are so small that making them by hand without precise tools may be very difficult.

 

Best wishes

Tomek

[Jsk]

Thanks, Tomek. So the trucks are for the parrels. That makes life easier! I don't have any wire to strip the insulation from so I was going to cut sections from a CA glue applicator tip. I think I could make it work but now I know I don't have to.

 

[Jsk]

After working on the boom and gaffs I worked on the sails. I used a watered down acrylic paint (about 50/50) of a 'sandstone' color to color the white fabric. I hung the fabric like so much laundry on a line and let it dry for a good 24 hours. The fabric had a nice stiffness to it after the paint treatment. Since the sails are printed on one side only I used a thin lead mechanical pencil to draw the seams on the reverse side and then applied a thinned coat of watered down white glue to seal them. (I've happily used Aleene's Tacky glue for the entire project.)  I simply used an knife to cut the sails apart and glued thin strips of the same painted fabric for the tablings and reefing bands. I've not yet glued on the bolt ropes but decided to try the reefing points first.

 

So... were there standard lengths for the reef lines? And what's the best way to tame them?

 

 

The painted fabric:

I used a pin and some cork backing to open the reefing points:

Went away to Lewes, Delaware, for the weekend searching for some inspiration. Found some looking north:

Found some more looking south:

Returned home and added unruly reef lines to the fore sail:

 

Edited April 22 by Jsk

[ccoyle]

4 minutes ago, Jsk said:

unruly reef lines

 

You probably know this already, but you can tack the ends of the reef points down with a spot of Aleene's. They should hang straight down, perpendicular to the waterline.

 

Your Delaware beach looks much the same as a South Carolina beach. Here's one along California's Lost Coast, near where I grew up:

[Jsk]

@ccoyle, I have noticed a distinct lack of cliffs in Delaware. I might have to search the coastal areas a little more closely. 😉

[Jsk]

Well, reef points are done. Now that I look at them it seems like a lot of reef points!

 

This was a tedious process. I opened all the holes with a pin and then took a piece of thread several feet long and stiffened one end with CA. On the other end I tied a double knot about 1.5 inches from the end and then fed the stiffened end through the first hole. Once the knot hit snagged on the hole I back the thread out about 1/4 inch, applied a small dab of CA to the knot and then pulled the thread through again until the knot snugged up against fabric of the sail. I had intended on putting a second knot on the other side but quickly gave up on that idea. There's simply no way I was able to get the second knot snug against the sail.

 

I then cut the thread leaving about 1.5 inches on the back side. So I ended up with about 1.5 inches of thread on each side. Then tied a new knot and started with the next hole.

 

Taming the whole row of reef points got to be really tricky so I developed a rhythm of threading and tacking about a dozen lines at a time. I used little pieces of painter's tape to hold the lines in position. Then draped the sail over the corner of a box to ensure the points were against the fabric of the sail and used Aleene's to glue the top portion of the lines to the sail. Finally, I trimmed them short. I did have problems keeping them all the same length

. I suppose that comes with practice.

 

All in all I'm satisfied with the reef points. But... yeah, tedious.

 

I'm now working on the bolt ropes. That shouldn't take as long--I hope!

 

 

[Jsk]

Finished the bolt-ropes on all the sails. Not much to say, really.

On to the rigging!

[Jsk]

I'm trying to put names to the various lines in the plan's rigging diagrams. Can anyone identify lines 16, 20 and 40 in the diagrams below?

 

Seahorse United States Revenue Cutter Sail and Rigging Key

 

Sails
S1	Jib
S2	Fore Stay Sail
S3	Fore Sail
S4	Main Sail
S5	Fore Topsail
S6	Main Gaff Topsail
S7	Flag

 

1a	Gammoning
1b	Crupper
2	Bobstay
3	Bowsprit Shroud
4	Jib Boom Guy
5	Fore Shroud
6	Jib Stay
7	Fore Topmast Shroud
8	Fore Back Stay
9	Flying Jib Stay
10	Main Shroud
11	Mainstay
12	Main Topmast Shroud
13	Main Back Stay
14	Main Topmast Stay
15	Fore Stay Sail Halliard
16
17	Fore Stay Sail Sheet
18	Fore Stay Sail Inhaul
19	Jib Halliard
20
21	Jib Inhaul
22	Jib Sheet
23	Fore Throat Halliard
24	Fore Peak Halliard
25	Fore Gaff Vang
26	Fore Sail Brail (?)
27	Fore Sail Tack
28	Fore Sail Sheet
29	Main Throat Halliard
30	Main Peak Halliard
31	Main Boom Topping Lift
32	Main Boom Sheet
33	Main Outhaul
34	Main Gaff Topsail Halliard
35	Main Gaff Topsail Sheet
36	Main Gaff Topsail Tack
37 (Green)	Fore Course Sling
37 (black)	Fore Course Yard Lift ?
38	Fore Course Yard Halliard
39	Fore Topsail Yard Halliard
40
41	Fore Topsail Sheet
42	Fore Course Brace
43	Fore Topsail Brace
44	Fore Topsail Clueline
45	Flag Halliard

 

 

[ccoyle]

16 loks like the foresail tack, 20 should be the foresail downhaul, and 40 looks like the topsail downhaul.

[Jsk]

Hmm. Thanks, Chris. Though I think 16 and 20 are probably the outhaul lines for the foresail and jib, respectively. Are downhauls and outhauls just different names for the same thing?

[ccoyle]

Hmm. I got a couple of the lines mixed up. 20 is definitely an outhaul -- you can see it attached to the jib boom traveler.  The foresail doesn't have an outhaul, since it is bent to the forestay -- it can only slide up or down the stay. So 16 is the tack, and 18 is the downhaul

[Jsk]

Thanks, Chris.

 

Next question for the collective:

 

I'm looking at the mainsail outhaul in the drawing below. Looks like line 33 (in blue) runs from the Mainsail Clew => Sheave at the end of the boom => Block 1 => Block 2 => Cleat on the boom. My question is about Block 2. This drawing is the only place it appears. Block 1 is shown in another drawing of the boom but Block 2 is not. I'm not sure what Block 2 is attached to. Would it be appropriate to seize it to the boom at the same point that the tackle for line 32 is attached? There is a little squarish bracket (I don't know what it's called) on the boom at that point.

 

The other example I've seen has a block on the lower side of the boom jaw and the line would run Clew => Sheave => Jaw block => Block 1 => Cleat. That seems less practical to me with the cabin located where it is.

 

Hmmm...

 

[Jsk]

Tried stropping some blocks yesterday with moderate success. These are tiny 2mm single blocks. I first laid the blocks on some painters tape with the sticky side up to hold the blocks in place. Then I applied some CA to the exposed sides of the blocks and laid the line across ensuring that the line ran from top to bottom. After letting that dry I picked up the blocks with tweezers, folded the line over and glued it to the back side of the block. Then, after letting that dry I tied the line off at the base of the block. My eyes and coordination just weren't good enough to do any wrapping here so I finally gave up on that idea--at least for now.

I then took on the mast hoops. This went easier than expected. I made a loop in the line and slipped the hoop over the loop. Then feed the two loose ends of the line through the loop basically hitching the hoop to the line. Then I ran one of the loose ends of the line through the hole in the sail and tied it off the the other loose end. The picture (rather obviously!) shows the sail before trimming off the loose ends of the lines.

[0Seahorse]

1 hour ago, Jsk said:

Thanks, Chris.

 

Next question for the collective:

 

I'm looking at the mainsail outhaul in the drawing below. Looks like line 33 (in blue) runs from the Mainsail Clew => Sheave at the end of the boom => Block 1 => Block 2 => Cleat on the boom. My question is about Block 2. This drawing is the only place it appears. Block 1 is shown in another drawing of the boom but Block 2 is not. I'm not sure what Block 2 is attached to. Would it be appropriate to seize it to the boom at the same point that the tackle for line 32 is attached? There is a little squarish bracket (I don't know what it's called) on the boom at that point.

 

The other example I've seen has a block on the lower side of the boom jaw and the line would run Clew => Sheave => Jaw block => Block 1 => Cleat. That seems less practical to me with the cabin located where it is.

 

Hmmm...

 

40 is a truss fall (for parrals)

Block 2 is attached to the end of the outhaul (33) (I wouldn't call it "clew line"), so it moves forward and backward, as the outhaul is tightened or loosened.

[Jsk]

 

 

On 6/9/2024 at 12:23 PM, 0Seahorse said:

Block 2 is attached to the end of the outhaul (33) (I wouldn't call it "clew line"), so it moves forward and backward, as the outhaul is tightened or loosened.

Thanks, @0Seahorse, I don't think I'd have figured the outhaul line on my own.

 

Thanks, everyone, for stopping by and the likes.

[Jsk]

OK, a major milestone has been reached: The mainmast has had the off-ship work done and is ready.

 

After attaching the hoops to the mainsail I attached the various blocks to the boom, gaff and mast. The easiest way to do this was to strop the blocks and simply twist the thread and coat it with CA to form a spike which could be inserted into a hole drilled in the spar. I didn't even try to create eye rings to attach the blocks to. I think any ring I created would have looked vastly over scaled.

I wanted to attach the hoops to the mainsail separately because I didn't think I'd be able to accomplish it with the hoops already on the mast. It's a good thing I took that approach because, while the hoops seemed to have plenty of play on the masts, by the time I added the lines to tie the hoops to the sail, the thickness of the lines made the hoops fit VERY snugly over the mast. There's no way I could have run the line through the hoops with them on the mast. In fact, I originally forgot to install the main boom and had to remove the sail. I was really afraid I was going to end up ripping some of the hoops from the sail but it all turned out OK.

 

Once the sail and the gaff were on the mast I bent the sail to the gaff. I started out double wrapping the robbands around the gaff but decided that looked too bulky for 1/72 scale. So I switched to a single wrapping. I rather wish I hadn't done that because, while I think a single wrap looks better the inconsistency bothers me.

Once I had the boom, mainsail and gaff on the lower mast I could tackle the top mast and trestle tree. However, the topmast shrouds pitted me against my Nemesis... thimbles. Thimbles in 1/72nd scale. Thimbles that are only two millimeters, outside diameter. Thimbles, dammit! I was able to strop one. In ten attempts. Good thing I bought an extra set. I tried my old standby of coating a loop of thread with CA and that sort of worked but I wasn't entirely satisfied with them, either. Eventually I gave up trying to strop and simply tied the lines to the thimbles.

 

Once I made that concession I had to figure out a way to space the lanyards evenly. My solution was to tie two lines to two thimbles, hold the lines in opposing arms of my 'third hand'. I stuck two pins through a piece of card to mark the distance between the thimbles, placed the thimbles over the pins to space them correctly, removed the card and gently run the lanyard through them being careful to not pull the lanyard too tightly and thus inadvertently change the spacing. It worked well enough.

The final challenge here was the futtock shrouds. These appear to attach to a band around the mast. Most of the models I've seen use eyebolts but, again, I have difficulties making eyebolts small enough for 1/72 scale. So I ended up gluing the shrouds directly to the mast and then wrapping the threads with a small strip of painter's tape. I then cut off the excess thread and painted the tape dark gray to represent the metal band. I think it will be secure enough. Though, the lines could be a bit tighter.

 

It was quite satisfying to mount the mainmast in the hull!

 

[Jsk]

Slowly closing in on having the main mast finished. I've got to admit that rigging is taking me much longer than I thought it would. But then, I had no personal experience with rigging a ship model so it's been a fairly steep learning curve, too. I'm not real happy with my knot tying abilities--they all look sloppy to me. Part of that, I think is a vision issue. I have vision in one eye only and therefore lack any real depth perception. That makes it difficult to grasp lines with tweezers and maneuver them through other lines. Not to mention getting scalpel blades close to knots when trimming off the excess line! Still... I'm probably being more critical than average viewers will be.

 

The main mast with the main sail and most of the running rigging done off-model:

Stropping the deadeyes--there's only one on each side on this model. Lesson learned for next time: I did not check the orientation of the eye holes before stropping. I kind of got lucky but it could be better:

It might be a little too long but using a common household staple for spacing the deadeyes was darned convenient!:

Weaving the shrouds through the tops was quite a challenge. Clipping the excess line had my heart in my mouth!:

I had to find some way to keep the model secure while rigging. The 'Helping Hand' worked in a pinch but I may look for other solutions:

The foremast is ready to go after I've got most of the main mast done. You can't tell by looking but the running rigging lines are coiled up in the painters tape and the number of the line is written on the tape to identify each line according to the kit supplied drawing:

Thanks for viewing and all the reactions!

[Jsk]

It's been almost a month since my last update. However, that does not mean that things have been at a standstill. In fact, progress has been good. Rigging--as I'm coming to learn--is a hobby unto itself! I've even developed some competency at stropping 2mm and 3mm blocks and thimbles.

 

Outside of the hobby it's been a rough Summer. I gave up driving years ago due to poor eyesight. After a decade of using the Washington DC area public transportation I'm now lucky enough to have a job within walking distance. It's 1.2 miles between work and home. A pleasant stroll except for playing human Frogger crossing the streets. But this Summer has taken a toll with its 90° F temperatures and 90% humidity. Spousal Taxi has been laid up with health issues, landlord is MIA,  It goes on and on....

 

Still, hobby world has been good. Until this:

My first breakage. Guess I'll have to pin it some how.

 

But I did add a cool new toy to the shipyard:

And finally some progress shots:

[Jsk]

 

Some more progress shots. She's actually getting fairly close to being finished. There's the topsail and jib to add, some rope coils, the anchors and a few rigging lines to go. Then I'll have to see if I can make the stanchions that go along the bulwarks or if I can source them somewhere. For some reason I feel like raising the ensign should be the very last thing to do!

 

[Jsk]

Done. Done. Done.

 

This little model was chock full of lessons for me. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, especially the rigging.  All in all, I'm pleased with it. I'm surprised I actually finished it. I have a history of getting distracted by new projects. Now that it's done my problem is I need to find a place to display it! That's a nice problem to have.

 

Things I've learned:

1) Try it. You never know what you can accomplish unless you've pushed it as far as you can. Because of my vision issues I really did not think I'd be able to complete the rigging. Each and every line and stropping gave me satisfaction.

2) There's no rush. When you get frustrated... walk away. Come back to it with a fresh mind. But try to get a little done every day or at least every week.

2a) LET THE GLUE DRY. Go surf the net and read other people's build logs while letting the glue do its job.

3) It will turn out differently than planned. That's OK as long as you're satisfied with it.

4) Poor quality tools cost more when you need to replace them.

5) Practice knot tying and trimming lines. My line endings aren't nearly as neat as I'd like them to be.

6) Dump the painted wire for making eye-bolts and hooks. Invest in some brass wire and learn to blacken it.

7) Synthetic line has a life of its own and can be difficult to control. Preparing it by running it between  your fingers with watered down PVC glue can help stiffen it up and make it easier to control. Nor does synthetic line like to stay tied--it needs some glue to help it.

😎 Make sure you have plenty of extra blocks, etc., on hand. You'll also need about twice as much rigging line as you think you will.

9) Do as much as you can off model. It's easier to attach sub-assemblies than it is to do everything in place.

10) Assemble things strategically. Modeling is as much about figuring out how and when to do things as it is about manual dexterity. Don't model yourself into a corner. I had to repair the bow sprit twice and the stove funnel three times. That could have been avoided by simply delaying them until later in the build.

 

That's enough for now.

 

A sincere thank you to everyone who read, commented or liked this build log. Sharing the progress has enriched the experience of building this model!

[modeller_masa]

Congratulation! Beautiful little gem...

[GrandpaPhil]

Congratulations!  Excellent work!

[ccoyle]

Very cool! And allow me to be the first to say:

 

"I can't believe that's made out of paper!"

[Canute]

Jeff, nicely done. 👍

[Jsk]

Thanks, all. I've been debating what I should jump into next. The speeljacht, the USS Baltimore or the Sao Gabriel. I'm leaning towards the Baltimore to give my rigging muscles a break.

[ccoyle]

4 hours ago, Jsk said:

I'm leaning towards the Baltimore to give my rigging muscles a break.

 

That the new WAK kit? From the designer of Heinkel Models, if I recall correctly. I love those old, pre-Dreadnought era warships, so that would be a fun one to watch.

[Jsk]

Yeah, it's the Heinkel one. He also distributes via eCardModels and Wargame Vault. I get enough donations on Wargame Vault for some stuff I've got as 'pay what you want' (or not!) that I normally have a credit balance. So when I saw the Baltimore show up I figured I'd add it to the stash along with the Hunley and the Turtle. It wasn't until later that I saw that WAK did a physical publishing of it. So I've got the print-it-yourself version. I've not built one of his models before so it will be an adventure.

 

I also saw that he's working on an Olympia! One of my favorite ships.

[GrandpaPhil]

Pre-Dreadnoughts are some of my favorites as well.  

I have several in my stash from Orel and AAMM that I am looking forward to building sometime in the future.

 

I look forward to your Baltimore build when you decide to build it!

Edited September 14 by GrandpaPhil

[Landlubber Mike]

Wow, that came out really great!  Congrats!

[SiriusVoyager]

Revenue cutters don't get the attention they deserve.  Your model looks great!