Whats the best book on rigging for a beginner?

[Stuka]

Hello 

Im on the rigging phase currently on my Sherbourne and progress is halting due to me not knowing how to make certain knots or make the rope look in a certain way as the blueprints show.  I was scrolling through and if anybody knows a really good book on showing how certain rigging knots and other things related are done then please do recommend.

[barkeater]

Try, Lennarth Petersson "Rigging period ship models"

Rich

[palmerit]

Just know that the Petersson book is not really a "for beginner" book as in telling you how to tie things off or explaining things to a beginner. It's a blowup of some aspects of rigging. I've attached a screen shot from one of the pages. It's pretty cheap if you get it as a kindle book.

 

This is another (free) source for just about every possible knot that's ever been envisioned: https://archive.org/details/TheAshleyBookOfKnots

 

Chapter 40 of Ashley has a some knots related to model ships (probably way more detailed than you'd ever try on a 1:64 scale model).

 

I'm following to see if someone else has other suggestions. I know that this forum has everything you'd need to figure out how to rig a ship, but it is sometimes hard to navigate the language and know what you're searching for. Usually if you know what to search for you already know the answer. 

 

I know I've seen some good YouTube videos on model ship building. I've seen a bunch on rigging ratlines. I haven't (yet) found any on tying off other aspects of the rigging. If you see any, please share. I'll try to share things I find on my Sherbourne (and other) logs.

Edited Tuesday at 06:17 PM by palmerit

[Stuka]

31 minutes ago, palmerit said:

but it is sometimes hard to navigate the language and know what you're searching for. Usually if you know what to search for you already know the answer. 

This is probably it for me.  I have considered Peterssens book on the rigging but I looked around here and heard it doesnt accurately depict ships of that era or similiar and that the book should not be recommended to new people like me rigging my first.  The book of knots is a good suggestion thanks for that. 

[Fritzlindsay]

 

56 minutes ago, barkeater said:

Lennarth Petersson "Rigging period ship models

Respectfully disagree.  The book mentioned is based on a single restored frigate model, HMS Melampus (36) 1785 so questionable for other ships without cross checking other sources.  It gives no information on other eras or sizes of masts, yards, standing rigging. running rigging or information on blocks, hearts, and other parts that are part of the rigging so very limited.     

 

There are contemporary manuscripts at RMG that can be purchased, including a table of proportions of the rigging and blocks for Sherbourne 1763.  If you do not want to purchase this, there are tables for Kite and Alert at the RMG Collections website available for free download and posted below.   In the end it may be best to just purchase the Sherbourne manuscript. 

 

The most complete books on rigging English ships are probably James Lees Masting and Rigging English Ships of War and David Steel's Elements and Practice of Rigging and Seamanship, the latter being available for free on line from the San Francisco National Maritime Park.   https://maritime.org/doc/steel/ There are more that members might suggest as well.   

Fritz

I assume you already have the contemporary plans for Sherbourne, but just in case you don't they are posted  below.

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 06:57 PM by Fritzlindsay

[Fritzlindsay]

For some really great information on rigging in general and how to's, volume IV of TFFM by member David Antscherl is a must-have book along with his booklet on making sails.

Fritz

[petervisser]

Another book you may consider is "The Riggers Apprentice" by Brion Toss. I see it's on Abe Books for less than $20 US. Lots of really good information, great for beginners and wonderfully illustrated. It's gold!

Peter

[palmerit]

While Vol. IV of Antscherl is out-of-stock (out-of-print maybe) you can get an electronic version (or this and the other volumes) for $70:

https://seawatchbooks.com/products/the-fully-framed-model-rigging-a-sixth-rate-sloop-of-war-1767-1780-volume-iv-revised-and-expanded-by-david-antscherl

https://seawatchbooks.com/pages/collection-bundle

 

It would be helpful to hear from others if it's worth the $70. You can see a preview, but it's only the first few pages, so you can't really see an example of what it shows wrt rigging and how-tos.

Edited Tuesday at 07:20 PM by palmerit

[Stuka]

Thanks for the suggestions. My goal is just trying to find something that illustrates very good how the rigging is done and in my case thats the 1750-1800s era of ships. Now money is not a problem for me as long as the book itself is worth the effort.

[palmerit]

If you get the Antscherl book, please post comments about it here so I know if it's worth it.

[barkeater]

Well, not a lot of Petersson fans out there. In 1/64th scale you are not going to be able to copy exactly how the rigging was done. Be aware that some of the knots at that scale cannot be seen or identified with the naked eye. 

Rich

[Stuka]

As long as its just a good book relevant for model ships im good. Or maybe just a book on knots even.

[Kenchington]

Robin,

 

You seem to be asking for three rather different books and I doubt you'll find them all combined under one set of covers.

 

Maybe I'm wrong but I'm guessing that what you want most is a book of tips on how to rig a model so that it looks right, given that reproducing full-size practices is impossible at 1:64 (or even 1:12). I've seen lots of books that purport to give that advice but never one that I found satisfactory. Then again, I haven't seen David Antscherl's, so don't take my negativity as any comment on other people's recommendations of that.

 

The second topic is knots, rope work, marlin-spike seamanship and the whole lore of pre-synthetic cordage. Far and away the best single volume on that is undoubtedly Ashley's -- as others have said. A first read of the opening chapters will set you on course, while you can keep checking back for the details of any and (almost) every knot you may ever wish for. Brion Toss' book, that Peter named, is also excellent but more of guide to applying the alternatives than on the bits of knowledge to be applied (which is where Ashley's comes in). Both books are oriented towards full-size, not scale, practice.

 

The third thing is a book on the particular kind of vessel that you are modelling. In your case, later 18th Century English warships (if I understand you correctly), I'd second the suggestion of Lees' book, which was based on a lot of very careful research and is especially well presented. From there, you could step to contemporary textbooks (likely meaning Steel's works) and beyond to archival records of your particular vessel. But Lees would be my recommendation for a starting point.

 

However, you asked for one book and we (or at least me) are offering a minimum of three!

[georgeband]

I bought a copy of Ashley's Book of Knots and really enjoy it, but it's not a beginner's book for modelling. Prices vary widely so look around before you buy. 

The Young Officer's Sheet Anchor by Darcy Lever is one that I recommend especially if you combine it with internet searches for specific knots and details. Facsimile copies of the 1800ish book are readily available or you can splash out on an original copy. It's a great introduction to knots and rigging and masts and sailing, and to the language of the time. It's inspirational and it pulled me into the world of ship modelling.

George 

 

[Gregory]

1 hour ago, Stuka said:

As long as its just a good book relevant for model ships im good. Or maybe just a book on knots even.

A good book of knots is good to have in your library, as well as books that explain the principles of rigging, however as others have mentioned, the type of knot is not as important as how tie off your rigging in a way that looks good at scale.  Actual practice may not lend itself to realistic modeling.

The size of your model rope and fittings will be your first consideration.  Try to get that as accurate as possible.

 

With Sherbourne I think your best reference  for technique will be to look at some of the more detailed cutter builds here.

HM Cutter Alert by Thukydides has a lot of detailed rigging information.

I would also look at a couple of the Cheerful builds.   In particular;  Chuck's prototype and the build by Glenn Barlow.

Chuck's rigging detail starts about here.  Glenn's about here.

You can also download the Cheerful instructions at the Syren Ship Model site .  Scroll down the page to see   "Download the Monograph chapters below!!!"

Rigging starts in chapter 12.

 

Last, but not least, if you really want to feel challenged, look at La Créole 1827 by archjofo.

While the ship is quite different from a cutter, the builder, Johann, presents a lot of information  of how to accomplish detailed rigging that looks like the real thing.

 

A small example of Johann's work.  You would have to sift through the log to see how he does those seizings  and other details.

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Forum build logs are a good source and the least expensive (free) for details such as knots, splices, worming, and other techniques.  When ask a general question about rigging, it is hard to answer without more specifics.  First, what time period are you asking about, and what nationality is the vessel?  This narrows things down a bit.  Some books focus on rigging styles from certain eras, most commonly the 18th century.  Using a source out of time period or nationality will steer you in he wrong direction.  English and European continental styles of rigging are the two largest classifications for rigging style by region. 

 

For the 17th century, The Rigging of Ships: in the Days of the Spritsail Topmast, 1600-1720 by R.C. Anderson covers multiple nationalities.  For the 18th century, The Art of Rigging by George Biddlecombe has lots of detail on knots, splices, seizes, and other methods of tying, hitching, and binding.  As previously mentioned, The Rigging of Period Ship Models : A Step-By-Step Guide to the Intricacies of Square-Rig and Rigging Period-Fore-and-Aft Craft by Lennarth Petersson offer a pictorial way of showing you how lines are routed on specific 18th century vessels which provide example of how lines are routed and belayed.

 

You want to shop for books that cover your vessel of interest as close as possible in order to rig your model as historically accurate as possible, using educated guesses where required instead of wild guesses.  The shotgun approach of buying books is wastefully expensive.  If you need to know what a particular book contains as far as information, it costs nothing to ask other forum members who own such books what is in them.  When buying books, shop around.  The kindle electronic versions are very inexpensive if you don't mind reading off your computer or cell phone, but the photographs suffer detail and quality significantly.  Books specific to certain classes of vessels like the ones available from SeaWatch are very expensive, but if your model falls within their scope and you want the most and best information on a vessel, they are worth the money.    

 

I hope you find that there are few pieces of useful information in my ramblings.

Edited Wednesday at 02:20 AM by DARIVS ARCHITECTVS

[Dr PR]

First of all, understand that there is no single "correct" way to rig any type of ship. No two ships were alike. So you won't find any book that tells you the right way to rig your model (but you may find some that tell the wrong way). So look for references that give examples of similar types of vessels and figure how they apply to your model.

 

I second the recommendation for Lennarth Petersson's Rigging Period Fore-And-Aft Craft.  The first section is for an English naval cutter.

 

Darcy Lever's The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor (1808) is a very good book if you want to know more about how the real sailing ships work. He tells how to rig the masts and sails of a vessel from the deck up, and then tells you how to sail it. It is very useful for understanding how the rigging works.

 

Lees' Masting and Rigging English Ships of War is a very good source of information about large square rigged vessels, but it says nothing about the smaller vessels, especially fore and aft vessels like cutters and schooners (the British did actually have many smaller fore and aft rigged "ships of war").

 

Wolfram zu Mondfeld's Historic Ship Models is a very general description of many of the features of sailing ships, often showing how these features changed over time. It is useful for understanding the nautical jargon.

 

You can find Falconer's Universal Dictionary of the Marine (1769) on line. It will help you decipher the arcane and obsolete nautical terminology.

 

****

 

I have posted a thread that discusses the rigging of fore-and-aft sailing vessels. I have tried to explain much of the terminology for masting, rigging and sails. You may find it useful. A more concise version was included in the Winter 2024 Nautical Research Journal, Vol. 69 No. 4, page 295.

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/25679-topsail-schooner-sail-plans-and-rigging/?do=findComment&comment=750865

 

[Stuka]

Thank you all so much for the Help and suggestions. Im very grateful for that.  So I have considered for now not just one but maybe as was suggested 3 or more books to give me more coverage. Im considering the following, The book of Knots by Ashley, Lees masting and rigging English ships of war, The Riggers Apprentice" by Brion Toss and then Lennarth Petersson's Rigging Period Fore-And-Aft Craft. Though Peterssens Is more about visuals if I understood correctly.  But Peterssen has several books about rigging. Can I just get one or do I need more?

Edited Wednesday at 05:20 PM by Stuka

[Thunder]

All the above books are great but not necessarily for beginners. Also depends on craft being built.

 

As doing a cutter i would suggest 'Rigging period fore and aft craft' by Lennarth Petersson.

 

Other really overlooked books are the Noel C L Hackney's Victory, Cutty sark and mayflower. Meant for the Airfix kits but rigging is a great guide to the three main periods of history of ships. Will not help a great deal with Cutters. Think for next models. Possibly overlooked due to the plastic model link but i often reference back to these.

 

James Lees is great for naval ship rigged vessels through the ages, a must have for future war ships through time.

 

Anatomy of Nelsons ships by C Nepean Longridge, but again really for ship rigged vessels.

 

18th century rigs and rigging, does a bit on all nations and also has a section on cutters

 

Anatomy of the ship Alert, also is for cutters. 

 

Also, Bill Shoulders guide to building the Cutter Speedy, has rigging detail but beware he has made errors regarding the Bowsprit rigging.

 

Hope this helps as i have made specific to cutters with a few examples of what i would encourage for the future. I have most of the other books mentioned above but James Lees, the airfix guides and Lennarth Patersson are my first go to

[Stuka]

4 minutes ago, Thunder said:

All the above books are great but not necessarily for beginners. Also depends on craft being built.

 

As doing a cutter i would suggest 'Rigging period fore and aft craft' by Lennarth Petersson.

 

Other really overlooked books are the Noel C L Hackney's Victory, Cutty sark and mayflower. Meant for the Airfix kits but rigging is a great guide to the three main periods of history of ships. Will not help a great deal with Cutters. Think for next models. Possibly overlooked due to the plastic model link but i often reference back to these.

 

James Lees is great for naval ship rigged vessels through the ages, a must have for future war ships through time.

 

Anatomy of Nelsons ships by C Nepean Longridge, but again really for ship rigged vessels.

 

18th century rigs and rigging, does a bit on all nations and also has a section on cutters

 

Anatomy of the ship Alert, also is for cutters. 

 

Also, Bill Shoulders guide to building the Cutter Speedy, has rigging detail but beware he has made errors regarding the Bowsprit rigging.

 

Hope this helps as i have made specific to cutters with a few examples of what i would encourage for the future. I have most of the other books mentioned above but James Lees, the airfix guides and Lennarth Patersson are my first go to

Thank you for this post.  To give some background Im currently rigging the Cutter Sherbourne.  My next vessel will be Speedy but for now Im focused on tSherbourne. Do you know what sets Peterssons books apart since you recommended the fore and aft craft? I have seen that he has another book about period model ships aswell.

[Gregory]

Something to keep in mind.  Petersson is an artist rather than an authority on rigging.

 

He drew some very good illustrations of what he observed on some contemporary models.  There is no reason to believe  the rigging on those models is completely accurate with regard to actual practice.

 

We have had some discussions about some of the details of his books that seem questionable, however, for the most part the books seem to be reliable.

 

I’ll provide a link later to a discussion about the model of the cutter in the “Fore & Aft” book.

There are some high resolution photos of the model.

[Stuka]

Thanks Gregory. I did see some of those discussions buty didnt dwelve to deep into it. However Petersson has a book called rigging period ships models aswell as the fore and aft rigging one. Anybody know the the diffirence cause wouldnt he cover the fore and aft rigging in his other one?

[Gregory]

Period Ship Models covers one model of a frigate.  A typical 3 masted, fully rigged ship.

Fore & Aft covers three models, one of which is an unnamed English cutter.

Edited Wednesday at 06:48 PM by Gregory

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  There was considerable leeway on how a Captain might want his ship rigged.  Also, have you see pictures of fully rigged ships?  Clippers were a veritable jungle of ropes - every one with a purpose.  You might read from multiple sources - and look through MSW logs to see how builders are doing it.  Then you can decide how many of all the possible lines you can either include or exclude as seem fitting.  How you rout them to belay points can vary as well.

[Gregory]

3 hours ago, Stuka said:

I did see some of those discussions buty didnt dwelve to deep into it.

Here is one of the discussions I referred to:

Of particular note is a link to high resolution photos of the model.

Rigged model of a late 18th century naval Revenue Cutter

 

Looking at the model, Petersson's book follows it very closely if not perfectly.  Still, there is the question of whether or not the model was rigged accurately.

If you go through that topic carefully, we found many differences between several models, and none of it necessarily wrong.

 

In the end, if the rigging reflects what would make the ship sail as a ship is supposed to sail, I would say it's good.

 

 

[petervisser]

Yet another suggestion to add to your library is "Seamanship in the Age of Sail" by John Harland and illustrated by Mark Myers. Not only devoted to masts, rigging and sails but also shiphandling and a host of other topics. This book has hundreds of beautifully rendered drawings and lovely artwork. A masterpiece of a book!

Cheers,

Peter

[Dr PR]

Keep in mind when people say "accurate" with respect to some rigging plan what is really meant is "I wonder if a ship was ever rigged this way." There was no "one way" for any type or rig, so it might be better to ask "Is there any reason why a ship might not have been rigged this way?

 

Ships were not necessarily rigged just one way throughout the entire ship's life. There are many examples of ships that were re-rigged multiple times. So the "accurate" question becomes "When might the ship have been rigged this way."

 

And the only real answer to any of these questions is "We don't know."

 

Many plans for rigging a particular ship actually come from a model somewhere in a museum - Petersson used this method. But if you follow some of the threads on the Forum you will come across discussions of whether the model rigging is "accurate." Is it original, or has the model been "restored" changing the rigging from the original.

 

Even restored "original" historic ships like the USS Constitution or HMS Victory have been restored several times, and there are always questions about whether the restored vessel is really "accurate."

 

Do not get hung up on questions of "accuracy." We don't know for certain. So concentrate on "probable." Is it a reasonable way to rig a ship?

[Stuka]

Well Thanks for all the suggestions people. regarding Lees book will it be of any relevance to my cutter Sherbourne or will it only maybe be usefull for the Speedy?. Also Regarding the rigging im not aiming for 100% historical accurate but instead I want to give it some believable look and have some good looking rigging. This task is very big for me since its my first time but hopefully il manage somehow one step at a time. But it is very hard to find info the terminology in this rigging subject. So I hope the books I mentioned will do me good.

[palmerit]

28 minutes ago, Stuka said:

Also Regarding the rigging im not aiming for 100% historical accurate but instead I want to give it some believable look and have some good looking rigging.

I'm with you on that. I want something between just tying a plain knot and doing some intricate realistic rigging that you'd never even notice at 1:64 scale (let alone be something that I'd probably never be able to pull off, even at a far larger scale). I've seen some good videos on Youtube for doing ratlines (including using a clove hitch, which is pretty simple). I've also seen some videos on how to seize/whip a line (I bought a fly fishing tool for seizing but I haven't tried it yet).

 

Please post if you find any of the books especially useful.

[Gregory]

@Stuka

Regarding Lees, he makes no mention of cutters, but some details might apply to cutters in a general way.

I have found it more useful for describing some detail in these discussions than I have for rigging a model.