Lucia A Simpson 1875 by cdrusn89 - AJ Fisher - 1/64

[cdrusn89]

All three lower masts are now on the hull.

 

The Fore and Main peak and throat halyards and the topping lifts are in place and secured, at least by clamps after passing through the the respective pin board hole.

 

When I got to the mizzen I realized that the pin rails there (and I think at the bow) are going to be a problem. The instructions call for 3/32" X 5/32" material for the pin rails. Those work out fine at the Fore and Main masts but because the bulwarks are shorter on the quarterdeck (13mm vs 5mm below the cap rail) the 3/32" thickness ( 2.5mm) leaves a pretty narrow opening below the bottom of the pin rail. There are similar measurements at the pin rails on the forecastle but there is no deckhouse getting in the way up there.

 

I am in the process of fabbing new pin rails from 1/16" X 3/16 stock. Hopefully I can get these installed without messing up the deckhouse or the bulwark. I am not sure the additional 1/32" is going to "solve" the problem but it is a step in the right direction. It is not clear to me how anyone could use the pin rails as provided  -  even sticking the line in the pin rail hole and jamming a belaying pin to secure it would be problematic.

And yes I recognize that the Fore mast is racked back too much. I hope to correct this to some extent when all the forward leading stays are in place and tightened.

Edited June 9 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

I know it has been like three weeks since I last posted but I have not been idle.

 

I have all the lower shrouds and ratlines in place. I used the ratline spacing template I had from Sphinx which are 6mm apart. Since Simpson is the same scale I decided 6mm was "good enough". I used .030" Syren line for the shrouds. The plans said .027" but I decided to go a size larger (Syren comes in .025 and .030) and to use .005" black line for the ratlines (from Bluejackets). I have previously used Syren .008" line for the ratlines at this scale but like the .005 since I believe it is 100% cotton and ties better (and obviously) smaller knots (and is considerably cheaper). The instructions suggest gluing the ratlines on rather than tying them but the Bluejackets line comes on a regular thread spool and has a good bit of twist in it that does not fall out even after 4 days hanging with a weight on the end. I built a test jig to see if gluing was an option (for me). I coating the thread with dilute white glue and hung it up to dry. I had to have the jig on its side (and turn off the ceiling fan) to get the thread to "stick" and would only be able to do one ratline on each mast as touching anything before the glue dried caused movement of the ratline just placed. Soooo I decided to tie the standard clover leaf knots as I have done before.

The mizzen ratlines are the easiest since there are only three shrouds and only every fifth ratline covers all three shrouds. Don't ask me how I know but it takes a mind shift when switching sides on the mizzen as the shrouds with ratlines every 6mm are on the left now, not the right.

 

I added boom rests for all three booms since I needed something to "pull against" when tensioning the topping lifts and peak halyards. I find it hard to believe that the real ship did not have removable boom rests - probably not where I put them but there somewhere. I also rigged the boom sheets and added rope coils on deck after belaying the sheet lines as shown on the plans.

I

I added the side lights but used platforms and bulbs from Billings Boats. They are a bit larger than the Britannia metal parts that come with the kit but I think they look better. A sailor climbing the forward ratlines would have to step over either set.

I finally got around to adding the capstan bars and stowage location.

I populated all the pin rails except the three at the extreme bow including rope coils. 

 

I decided that the only running rigging on the Main and Mizzen top masts would be the top sail halyards and since these start at the becket of the block at the top of the mast I added them to the pin rail and coiled up a sufficient quantity of line so I will rig this "in reverse". I followed the same tactic with the five halyards at the fore mast. The lines are coiled up on plastic tubes and labeled with the sail (although the lines are pretty much all the same length).

Here are two shots of the ship from the quarters.

 

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Very nice work, the model’s really coming along well!

[cdrusn89]

Thanks Jacques!

[schooner]

Nice looking ratlines - the small knots look great! What do you use to trim off the excess from the knots?

[cdrusn89]

Tim,

 

I use cuticle clippers. These are from West Germany and were about $45 when I bought them in 2019. They really stay sharp as long as all you cut is CA hardened rigging line.

Edited Sunday at 10:21 PM by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

Proceeding apace I decided to get the after end of the ship "finished", except for the final tensioning of the backstay/top mast shrouds and the inter-mast stays.

 

I took the pictures in my make shift "photo studio" which I hope to use to take the pictures for the NRG model contest, assuming I get the Simpson finished by the end of the month. Pay no attention to the bottom surface. I have been promised a white sheet to cover up the wood working bench.

 

So here is the mizzen mast with all the rigging that I intend to provide in place. The only new running rigging is the topsail halyard and down haul which you can see joined together aft of the throat/peak/topping lifts. I ran the down haul through the small block at the aft end of the gaff, along the boom and then down to the deck. I have a rope coil that will go on top of the cabin roof where the down haul line leads down from the boom. 

After i got the topmast shrouds/back stays connected and the deadeyes lashed up I added the railing along the stern rail. 

Next up was the boat and davits/tackle. Since there was no boat included with the kit I used a vanguard 1/64th, 3-D printed boat (18' cutter) which is probably too wide and too short to fit under the davits and not hit the stern. Given my unwillingness to pursue a different boat at this late date I decided to mount the boat on a skid on the cabin roof to starboard of the mizzen mast. I toyed with the notion of fabbing a cover from the left over sail material but gave up when I could not figure out the correct shape of the cover and not wanting to cover the work I had done on the boat interior.

 

Here is an overall view of the stern from the quarter (the whole ship in this view is one of the required photos for the NRG contest).

So with the boat on deck I turned to davits inboard and added a eyebolt and cleat to hold the boat tackle in place. It is hard to see but there are coils of the boat tackle on deck below the cleats. I used Bluejackets .005" white line for the boat tackle as it is the smallest line i have. 

 

Here is a shot of the "quarterdeck with the davits and tackle in place.

Hard to get the camera to focus on the deck but you can see the white rope below the davit.

 

And this is another required shot (directly astern).

And yes I know the ship is listing slightly to starboard. That happened the last time I had to fiddle with the mounting screws. I am waiting until everything is DONE before I try and tackle that issue. But at least the masts seem to line up correctly and I had to drill the mast holes. 

 

 

 

[Paul Le Wol]

She looks beautiful Gary! Good luck in the Photographic Competition.

[cdrusn89]

Thanks Paul 😀

[cdrusn89]

I got all the back stays and topmast shrouds installed and lanyards revered but not yet secured (good thing).

 

I cleaned off the workbench (more or less) and took the model off the turntable which makes switching sides while rigging much easier. It does however present challenges to keeping everything clear of the "swing radius", especially of the bowsprit/jib boom.

 

First order of business was to get the model level. As at least an approximation of this I used a thick plastic ruler across the cap rail amidships and stuck thin pieces of wood under the baseboard until I got an indication of level.

For those interested the model was 2.5 degrees out of level. 

 

I turned out the workbench lights and set up the laser level to see if the masts are straight. 

 

I fiddled with the back stays and topmast shrouds on the fore mast until I got the laser light on the entire mast. Disregard that toothpick I got the fore mast straight without it.

The bowsprit (jib boom actually) is just a bit over to port - you can just see the laser light on the down haul block just behind the first two stays. Need to tighten up the starboard side guys on the jib boom.

 

Since the fore mast blocks most of the light from getting to the main mast I had to use the "seaman's eye" to adjust the main mast back stays/shrouds to get it in line. I could not get the light to hit the very top of the mainmast but it is "really close".

 

So now I have to go secure the main and fore mast back stays and top mast shrouds in these positions before everything "springs back" out of shape.

 

Once I have the main/fore "squared away" I will turn the model around and see how the mizzen masts looks. Hopefully the main mast will now be the "gold standard" and I can adjust the mizzen to line up with the main.

 

Once all the stays/shrouds are secured I can get the yardarm/raffee in place. Given that three of the fore mast stays pass through the raffee I will have to unfurl at least part of the raffee to pass the stays through. 

 

Should be an interesting evolution.

 

[cdrusn89]

The mizzen mast turned out to be a bit more problematic than the main/fore. In addition to tightening one side and lossening the other back stay/topmast shrouds I had to rerigged the lower shroud deadeyes on the starboard side as they the lower shrouds had become noticeably loose after the back stays/upper shrouds were tightened.

 

In any event i managed to get the mizzen mast straight.

 

 

 

 

It was much easier to get the laser on the hull centerline at the stern as there are obvious reference points (rudder et al)

 

By the seaman's eye all three masts appear to be in alignment.

 

 

 

I am not sure how I will deal with the list of the model on the display stand. I can correct for the photos and then crop the base out of the photos) but when "on display" the list would detract from the overall appearance - maybe a discreet wedge or two under the baseboard would work - I am not sure redoing the screws in the solid hull can be done by me) is such a way as to guarantee the model is perpendicular to the base.

 

[SaltyScot]

3 hours ago, cdrusn89 said:

I am not sure how I will deal with the list of the model on the display stand.

 

Just a suggestion, Gary. I though that if you added another board under the current base (stained to the same color of course to match), and put your "discreet" shims between it and the current base at the relevant points, wouldn't that level it up enough? Once it was stained and the shims sanded down to the boards profile you would not even see them. Like I said, just a suggestion.

[cdrusn89]

Everything I know about the Great Lakes schooners I learned at the Tall Ships Erie in 2019. Below is the Denis Sullivan which at the time was the "official tall ship of Milwaukee" (or maybe Wisconsin).  She is now some sort of "school ship" in St. Croix according to the internet.

 

Anyway the thing I found interesting was the single yard arm on the fore mast and that it was rotated out of the way when not in use, or presumably it might be tilted with the raffee sail (aka topsail) furled on the yard. The only rationale that comes to (my) mind for allowing the yard to rotate would be to allow the ship to moor to a pier where buildings (like warehouses) were very close to the pier for ease of loading/unloading. However, since two of five stay running forward from the fore mast pass through a cut-out in the sail the sail would have to be furled sort of "around" these stays. As you can see in the picture the yard is bare so no help here. And of the tall ships I have seen in the US no other one carries a rig like this so...

 

I have the yard in place on the model and able to rotate. I originally furled to raffee sail on the yard but I have since unfurled it and am letting it dry now. 

 

Plan is to tie the sail on the yard - sail plan shows it tied on at lower corners and at the edges of the cut-out for the stays - attach the halyard and raise the sail - then spray a little water on the sail and see what can be done about furling it.

 

I have an idea how the sail would be rigged on the real ship. If the yard was tilted to one side you could reach the sail attachment points on one side from the ratlines, then tilt the yard the other way and do the other side - then level the yard, attach the halyard and haul away. Probably not too difficult unless the weather is not cooperating which on the Great Lakes can be much of the time. 

Edited 19 hours ago by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

After further consideration and a more careful viewing of the picture above I think the answer to how is the raffee furled is that is furled against the fore top mast on the forward side, not on the yard arm. Since I did not make the other topsails and do not have the time, materials or inclination to do so now I will dispense with the raffee and leave all the topsails off. I think it would look strange to have just the one upper sail in place. In fact I think that the raffee was probably only set when running more or less down wind while the other topsails would have been more useful at other points of sail. How someone gets up to near the top of the fore topmast to furl the raffee is a mystery to me - bosun's chair?

 

So now to secure all the back stay and topmast shroud deadeyes and proceed with rigging the inter-mast stays.a 

  

[cdrusn89]

Inter mast stays between main and mizzen completed - some trimming left when glue dries.

 

Moving on to main - fore mast inter-mast stays.

 

Sorry about the background it was all I could find at the moment. My photo study is still under construction.

[Dr PR]

Gary,

 

Would the raffee have been furled at all? On some topsail schooners with the square topsail the topsail yard and sail were rigged on deck, and hoisted into position with the halliard. Then the clews were hooked to the ends of the spreader yard. This sometimes was done with the royal on large full rigged ships.

 

The raffee could just be hoisted when it was needed and dropped when not. Since these sails were used only when running with the wind most of the rigging used on the square sails of larger ships wasn't used.