Kate Cory by Capt. Kelso (Quint) - Model Shipways - 3/16" scale - Whaling Brig

[Richvee]

Great work. Impressive build. When you got the plans from New Bedford, did you get the rigging specs and color scheme booklet by A. R. Ronnberg Jr?  There’s a lot of great info in it.  

[Capt. Kelso]

Actually, did not receive the book. I did get the plans directly from New Bedford Whaling Museum. Does the info in the book differ from the plans? At this point I am about 80 percent done with the rigging, between the kit plans and Museum plans I've been able to figure things out. Also, Tom Lauria's build on YouTube has been a tremendous resource.

 

Oddly enough, I researched the build for years, even found old NRG articles from the 80's, no mention of the Ronnberg booklet. Nice job with your Kate Cory build.

 

Thanks for the offer!

[Richvee]

18 hours ago, Capt. Kelso said:

Actually, did not receive the book. I did get the plans directly from New Bedford Whaling Museum. Does the info in the book differ from the plans? At this point I am about 80 percent done with the rigging, between the kit plans and Museum plans I've been able to figure things out. Also, Tom Lauria's build on YouTube has been a tremendous resource.

 

Oddly enough, I researched the build for years, even found old NRG articles from the 80's, no mention of the Ronnberg booklet. Nice job with your Kate Cory build.

 

Thanks for the offer!

Tom was an asset to me as well. Being my first serious model, the booklet came in handy because it not only told you colors and diameters of ropes, it gave block sizes, where and how lines and blocks weee sized, or belayed, and the path of the running rigging. Wish I found your build sooner. I’ve been more focused on model railroading the past year and a half and haven’t spent much time here.
Again - outstanding  work!   

[Capt. Kelso]

Sounds like the book would have saved me a lot of frustration!

[Capt. Kelso]

Rigging has been going slower than I expected. Have had difficulty at times trying to interpret the plans. Also, have been frustrated with shaping some of the lines to give a natural appearance. For example, the footropes. I applied coats of beeswax which helped shaped them, but they don't keep their shape. Hopefully over time they'll fall more naturally.

 

If you're building this kit, or plan to, there is lots of tiny detail in the plans which is not obvious, like adding cleats to the masts for attaching hauling lines. Also, there are several eyebolts that need to be added to the cap rail for attaching lines. I didn't find these details until I noted them on the belaying points in the plans. 

 

A couple of "learning curve issues", attach as many blocks as possible, especially the Fore Course and Fore Topsail Yards! And I underestimated the amount of running rigging line needed when factoring in hanks and coils. 

 

 

Edited January 4 by Capt. Kelso

[Richvee]

Looks fantastic. Are you planning on rigging the cutting in tackle? If yes, get that in before you get too deep into the braces and running rigging. It's a tough enough rig with nothing in the way. Hope you have fairleads drilled in the fore top if you're going to run bunt and leech lines. It's going to get crowded up there. Don't forget the fairleads on the front shrouds as well. I used bulls eyes

[Capt. Kelso]

Richvee. At this point I plan on doing the cutting tackle. Some of the bunt and leech lines aren't necessary without sails. Aesthetically it looks better with them, not sure how much I'll add at this point. It's starting to become a slow frustrating process interpreting the rigging plans. 

 

Thanks for the tips!

[Capt. Kelso]

Added the Fore Royal Yard which completes the Fore Mast and finishing the rigging. I substituted 1/8" bullseyes for the fairlead blocks, instead of deadeyes, seized to the shrouds, found they were easier to work with. Without sails, not all the rigging is necessary but I'm adding as much as practical, looks better.

 

One of the tougher rigging issues I had was adding the topsail sheet chain. First, finding the correct scale and one that works through the blocks. Consistent with the museum plans I've used a mix of iron stropped and wood blocks. For the sheet chain tackle I used 3/16" iron stopped. I'll also use these for the Yard braces.

 

While I had some breaks waiting for glue to dry, worked on the hanks/rope coils using a jig I found on YouTube. After countless tries they seem to be looking like "hanks". The issue was finding a glue that works best. Found CA to be the worst, too stiff, not flexible enough. Settled on Elmers Clear, diluted. In the photo are a few I placed on the rail to check sizes. Still experimenting with different sizes. This is a relatively small-scale build 3/16", sometimes it's hard-to-get crisp detail. 

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Worked on the display case, just some finish work at this point. The original case I was building was made of Walnut but I wasn't happy with how it matched with the model (it will go better with my Skipjack). So made another out of select pine with Traditional Cherry finish. Now need to make a new base for the model to match the case.

 

Regarding the Cutting Tackle, there are a couple of options. A document Richvee sent me, by Erik Ronnberg Jr.  noted "Cutting tackles were customarily stowed down until whales were taken, although the tackle pendants were usually rigged aloft early in the voyage and seized to the main shrouds, starboard side, until needed". You could also rig the Cutting Tackle as noted in the kit plans. At this point I'm inclined to stow the cutting tackle on deck.

 

Ratlines. While reviewing the document by Ronnberg, Rigging Specifications and Color Scheme, I noted a ratline variation not included in the kit plans. As an alternative to ratlines crossing all four shrouds, only the forward three need to be crossed, with every sixth ratline extending aft to the fourth shroud. This applies to the main mast as well. As crazy as it sounds, I may change over to this variation if it doesn't require much effort.