USCGC Eagle by mysticlee - Constructo - 1:102

[mysticlee]

I finally finished updating my spreadsheets for the sizes and attachment points on each of the masts and yards, per the Eagle drawing.

 

Besides the detailed dimensions of the masts and yards in the Eagle rigging drawing, two other key measurements are shown.

 

1. Mast rake (German: "mastfall") is specified for each of the three masts: 

 

Fore: 52mm per 1 meter

Main: 70mm per 1 meter

Mizzen: 87mm per 1 meter

 

These convert to 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 degrees respectively. Now I can accurately set the rake on each of the masts. My estimates based on photographs were in the ballpark, but nothing beats the design specs.

 

2. Standing rigging (wire) rope sizes. There are six different sizes listed on the drawing (50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100mm), the largest (100mm) for the fore and main topmast stays, and the smallest (50mm) for the mizzen upper backstay. The diagram also shows that the primary fore/aft stays for each mast are double ropes (which is evident in vintage and current photos).

 

Now, are these figures diameters or circumferences? 

 

The main shrouds are listed as 90mm. If 90mm is a diameter, it converts to 3.50 inches in diameter. If 90mm is a circumference, it converts to 1.11 inches in diameter. Looking at a closeup of two cadets grasping the shrouds, I'd say the shroud diameter is almost certainly 1 inch rather than 3.5 inches (also note that the shrouds are served with small stuff; I'm not planning to model that). 

 

 

Rather than trying to scale and use six different line sizes, I'll use the two most prominent sizes, 70mm and 90mm, for all of the standing rigging. These scale (102.2) to .22mm (0.009 in.) and .28mm (0.011in) respectively, which seem considerably smaller than I would have expected.

 

I'll address the sizes of running rigging later, but the above picture gives a clue as to the size of some of the lines (those pictured are clewlines and buntlines). Note how much smaller they are compared to the shrouds (half or less in diameter). I may need to re-think the scale size of lines for the standing rigging as compared with the running rigging.

 

In any case, I plan to use black line for the standing rigging (rather than dark brown), and tan (or similar) for the running rigging.

 

That's all for now.

 

Lee

 

 

[Kelp]

Lee,

 

You’re doing a very nice job on this Eagle model.  
 

Don

[mysticlee]

Thanks, Don, for your kind words. I'm learning as I go, both regarding the myriad details about the ship's rigging, fittings, etc., how to model them, what to include and what to omit. I do a lot of browsing and searching on this forum for ideas and techniques.

 

Lee

[mysticlee]

Metal sheet sheaves are used on each of the Eagle's fore and main yards (except the royal yards). The sheet sheave attached to the main course (for the lower topsail sheets) is shown below.

 

 

 

On the Eagle, chain extends for about 6-8 feet from the clew of each square sail (except for the courses), and then connects to a wire rope, which leads through each side of the sheet sheave and on down to where it is attached to a double or triple wood block. The block and its opposing block are connected with hemp rope that terminates at the fife rail (the exception being the course sheets).

 

I tried various ways to model the sheet sheave, and eventually I found inspiration from George K. (gak1965) and how he crafted the sheet blocks on his build log of the Flying Fish (1:96), entry #442. Whereas his was made of pieces of brass sheet with holes drilled for three small brass nails, I used aluminum sheet metal (slightly thicker than the brass sheet he used), and drilled only two holes for two straight pins. I inserted a piece of veneer between the two layers of metal, and used mini-files to shape the structure. (I tried using my Dremel tool to shape the metal, but it's a new tool for me, and I wasn't getting the results I expected.) I chose aluminum because it more closely resembled the steel used on the Eagle, and it was a bit more rigid than the brass sheet I have for other components.

 

Below are a few pics of my construction process. The first pic shows the rectangles of metal, with a pattern taped on, that I drew in MS Word. Second pic shows the sheave after shaping the metal pieces. Third pic shows the sheave on edge; note the layer of veneer that provides enough of a gap for the line to run through (eventually). Last pic shows the size of the sheave, about 1/4" wide by about 1/2" long.

 

    

 

 

I'll cut the sheave to length (about 3/16") before attaching to the yard with CA. I'm happy with the process and results, so I'll proceed to make the additional 7 sheaves for the other yards.

 

That's all for now.

 

Lee

[mysticlee]

As I mentioned in my previous post, a significant portion of the sheets on the Eagle are wire rope, starting from their attachment to sheet chains fastened to the sail clews, then routing through the sheet sheaves and on down to wood blocks.  In photos of the ship (and in person), the diameter of the wire rope is noticeably smaller than the hemp rope that runs through the wood blocks and eventually to the fife rail or other deck fixture.

 

Any recommendations for how to (or whether to) model the wire rope segments? I'm wondering if it would be an acceptable compromise to treat them as normal rope, and size them accordingly (i.e., same size and color as other rope, rather than smaller diameter and different/gray color resembling wire rope).

 

The same issue appears on portions of several other lines of running rigging, where the Eagle uses wire rope instead of regular rope (clews, halyards, lifts, etc.)

 

For that matter, since wire rope is used for all of the standing rigging, and is in some cases of smaller diameter than some of the hemp running rigging, will it look strange to model the standing rigging with smaller thread than some of the running rigging?

 

I got access to an online copy of Harold Underhill's Masting and Rigging the Clipper Ship & Ocean Carrier, which contains tables for steel wire standing rigging, and approximate size of running rigging (hemp and wire), for various size ships (by registered tons). The Underhill tables correspond fairly well with the standing rigging sizes I previously identified on the Eagle blueprint. I'll use the tables to determine the size of all the running rigging for my model, once I decide whether or not to model wire rope as wire or hemp.

 

That's all for now. Comments and recommendations are very welcome.

 

Lee

[Jim Lad]

Lee, steel wire rope is actually a mid grey colour when new, but quickly weathers to a dark grey. simply use dark grey of black thread where there is steel wire.

 

John

[mysticlee]

Thank you John for your advice. I haven't seen gray thread sold by any ship modeling vendors but I suppose sewing thread might work. Otherwise I'll look at using black thread.

 

Lee