Securing yards to masts

[Charlie pal]

Hello all, hope all are well,

    I realize that back in the day, yards that were secured to masts, were movable to adjust sails to account for wind conditions. In our modeling world, that seems impractible, given the intricate task of rigging the blocks etc. So, should the yards be permanently glued to the mast?
….thank you….Charlie

 

[Thukydides]

27 minutes ago, Charlie pal said:

Hello all, hope all are well,

    I realize that back in the day, yards that were secured to masts, were movable to adjust sails to account for wind conditions. In our modeling world, that seems impractible, given the intricate task of rigging the blocks etc. So, should the yards be permanently glued to the mast?
….thank you….Charlie

 

You will likely find that the rigging will be easier if you pin and glue them to the mast. You don't technically have to, but you will make your life easier if you do. Just make sure you measure many times before you start drilling holes.

 

Also on a related note do as much work off the model as you can, so attach as many blocks to the yards etc off the model as possible.

Edited March 7 by Thukydides

[barkeater]

I do not pin or glue my yards and don't have a problem in getting them how I want them. Since I've never done it, I can't say from experience but the thought of drilling holes in my masts after they have been stepped makes me nervous. Another example of different modelers taking different approaches. 

Rich

[allanyed]

1 hour ago, Thukydides said:

In our modeling world, that seems impractible

I agree with Daniel that fixing the yards makes things easier and it will also provide security over the many years to follow.   I use small diameter brass rod as described in The Fully Framed Model volume IV.  Most importantly follow Daniel's advice about pre rigging as much as possible on the yards before hanging on the masts.  For a LOT of great detail on rigging my two favorites are James Lees' Masting and Rigging and David Antscherl's The Fully Framed Model volume 4 and his sail making supplement.  The order of dressing in TFFM is more user friendly for modelers than the OOD in Lees which I believe was that which was done on actual ships.

Allan