USS Constitution by Glen McGuire - BlueJacket Bicentennial Edition - 1/96 - Repair and Completion of Construction

[Keith Black]

 That last photo is a grand sight, it's the best angle from which to view a ship IMHO.

[Paul Le Wol]

Love the last symmetry photo Glen. Very nice!

[SaltyScot]

15 hours ago, Glen McGuire said:

I love this perspective from the bow showing off the symmetry and interplay of the running rigging.

 

A sight to behold for sure. Very nice work, Glen.

[BANYAN]

Great photos and some significant progress on the rigging Glen.  You're doing a great job with her.  Enjoying following along with your rigging journey.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Glen McGuire]

Thank you to all for the nice comments and the likes.  I greatly appreciate your help and support.  

 

I have a question for Bob (a.k.a @Knocklouder).  Do you have a Venmo for your swear jar?  If so, I need to send you a large contribution.  If you don’t have Venmo, then run a tab for me.  Why?  Well, a couple of days ago I was tooling along with the last part of the running rigging – the gaff and spanker boom.  I got the gaff in place with its full rigging and a nice parrel securing it to the mizzen mast.  I started working on the spanker boom and ran into a problem.  When I put the yoke up against the mizzen mast, a bunch of the lines tied to the mizzen spider ring interfered with the boom’s yoke. 

 

I knew something was wrong but I was pretty sure I’d done the spider ring correctly.  So I went back to the instructions and found this bit of info I’d somehow overlooked. “The gaff and spanker boom swing on the trysail mast.”  The trysail mast?  What the heck is a trysail mast?  So I checked a my reference pictures from other build logs and there it was – a mast just aft of the mizzen mast with the gaff and boom clearly attached to it.  And that’s when the debt to Bob’s swear jar started piling up. 

 

Ugh.  I could not think of any way out of the jam except ripping the gaff out and all the gaff rigging I’d locked into place, followed by making a trysail mast and squeezing it into position.  There was no reasonable way to drill a hole in the deck to step it properly, so it would just have to be glued into place.  That whole exercise pretty much consumed yesterday.  I picked a dowel just slightly smaller than the mizzen mast, but large enough where I did not need to remake the jaws on the ends of the gaff and boom.  I put a notch on the top of the dowel to fit between the 2 center ribs underneath the mizzen mast top.  I glued the bottom of the dowel to a larger diameter disk to look like the collar around the base of the other masts.  I painted the mast brown to match what I saw in my reference pictures.  It slipped into place quite nicely and I got the gaff reinstalled and rigging in place.  Huge sigh of relief, but not real happy with myself for the careless oversight costing me a day of work.

 

I did not take any pics of the gaff before I had to rip it out.  Here's a pic of the new trysail mast in place along with some other shots of the gaff and spanker boom and their rigging. 

 

 

 

Gaff rigging below.  You can see the halyard attached to the gaff at 3 points (2 of them via single blocks), running thru a triple block before heading below to the deck.

 

 

Here's the spanker boom which bisects the vangs coming down from the gaff.

 

 

Another shot of the boom showing the parrel wrapped around the trysail mast.

 

 

A wider shot of both.  You can also see the main lower yard brace in place now.  One end is tied to an eyebolt on the boomkin just above the quarter gallery.  It runs to a single block on the yard arm then back to a single block also tied to the boomkin.  Then it runs thru a sheave in the bulwark and is tied off to a cleat on the inside of the bulwark.

 

 

And with that, I dare say that the running rigging is complete!!  WOOHOO!!!  Another major milestone, albeit not without some difficulties along the way!  

 

 

When I got all the standing rigging finished a while back, I made a comment in jest that Pat (a.k.a. @BANYAN) needed to send me some of that Australian Bundy rum that I'd heard so much about, so I could celebrate the milestone.  Well lo and behold, he took me seriously and being the kind and gracious man that he is, Pat actually sent me a bottle of Bundy rum which I just got.  He timed his generosity to perfection!

 

So this time, I was able to celebrate the completion of a huge milestone with a mix of Aussie and Texan flair!  I made my favorite rum drink (mai tai) using Bundy rum for the spiced rum and dark rum from a distillery in Hye, Texas just to the west of Austin.  The cultural combination was perfecto!!!

      

 

 

So a huge thanks to Pat for his generosity and to everyone else for your support in helping me get this far in the journey!  I hope none of your chooks turn into emus!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 03:33 AM by Glen McGuire

[Keith Black]

 Congratulations, Glen! Gorgeous work, she looks stunning. 

[Ian_Grant]

Great work, Glen. Your clients will be thrilled!

 

Ah yes, mai tais. I don't have much experience with cocktails but I discovered the mai tai while in Hawaii. And the pino colada while on a boat in the Galapagos. My two favourite (and almost my only) cocktails...

[popeye2sea]

Glen,

Great fix on the trysail mast, and an overall superb job on the re-rig for your client.

Ah, yes, mai-tai's and scorpion bowls; de rigueur cocktails at Chinese restaurants everywhere.  I remember putting together several straws to make one very long one and stealing from others scorpion bowls in my youth.

 

Regards,

Henry

[Knocklouder]

No Venmo here, we have PayPal  lol. Right now the swear cup is pretty  full.lol  I reached in to tie a line, some how had CA on the side of my little finger and when I pulled back the main mast came with the hand , stays and all. My cup runth over.

 If we start looking like Emus to you , back off the Mia Tias you had enough. And you still have to finish this wonderful  fantastic build your doing. Great work my freind.  .          

 

Knocklouder 

 

Edited yesterday at 02:32 PM by Knocklouder
Typos

[Keith Black]

Mai Tai time in the big house is the signal for the cows to start looking for weak points in the fence. 

[Robert in Austin]

14 hours ago, Glen McGuire said:

So this time, I was able to celebrate the completion of a huge milestone with a mix of Aussie and Texan flair!  I made my favorite rum drink (mai tai) using Bundy rum for the spiced rum and dark rum from a distillery in Hye, Texas just to the west of Austin.  The cultural combination was perfecto!!!

Glen, the build looks great! I’ve read every post, and this is nothing short of amazing. The Mai Tai—a great drink, for a celebration well-earned. For Glen’s followers and fans, I’ll happily take some rum recommendations to help keep his bar well-supplied. My personal favorites: Diplomatico and Pampero Anniversario (there’s a nostalgia factor for me with that one). 

 

- Carson 

[GrandpaPhil]

Glen,

  Constitution looks amazing!  Enjoy the Mai Tais!

Edited 20 hours ago by GrandpaPhil

[BANYAN]

Nice recovery on the trysail mast and rigging Glen, she is looking 'the ants pants'    Also happy to hear you were able to celebrate in style.  I must add that I hope "your chooks don't turn into emus and kick your dunny down"  - sorry folks an in-joke based on a very corny Aussie song - you really don't need some oversized chickens running amok when working on this little beauty.

cheers

Pat

[Glen McGuire]

On 3/30/2025 at 8:08 AM, Ian_Grant said:

I discovered the mai tai while in Hawaii.

That's the best place to discover them, Ian!!

 

 

23 hours ago, popeye2sea said:

I remember putting together several straws to make one very long one and stealing from others scorpion bowls in my youth.

That's hilarious!  Remind me not to sit near you at dinner, Henry!  😃

 

 

23 hours ago, Knocklouder said:

My cup runth over.

Was that before or after the fall on the ice?  I think you're gonna need a 55 gallon swear drum before all this is over!  

 

 

23 hours ago, Keith Black said:

Mai Tai time in the big house is the signal for the cows to start looking for weak points in the fence. 

NO NO NO!!  They have all been well behaved of late.  Don't give them any ideas or encouragement, Keith!  😃

 

 

20 hours ago, Robert in Austin said:

My personal favorites: Diplomatico and Pampero Anniversario (there’s a nostalgia factor for me with that one). 

I have not tried those, Carson.  I bet they are a lot better than Ol' Sailor Jerry's spiced rum!!  🤮

 

 

19 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

Constitution looks amazing!  Enjoy the Mai Tais!

Thanks, Phil!!

 

 

15 hours ago, BANYAN said:

she is looking 'the ants pants'

Thanks, Pat!  I think.  I'm going to assume that is an Aussie compliment!  Speaking of Australia and cows, a friend sent me this.  Can you explain this, Pat?

 

 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Glen McGuire