Footropes, Flemish Horses and Stirrups

[hof00]

Hi All,

Thought I'd pose a question regarding Footropes, Flemish Horses and Stirrups.

I am currently building the 1/96 Mamoli Flying Cloud and in the process of building the Yards.

The plans show Footropes and Stirrups but no Flemish Horses. I don't think that this is entirely correct.

I have looked at various publications, Ship Modeling Simplified adv. that Flemish Horses were only installed on Yards that had Stunsail Booms fitted, other info is either very vague and one adv. that Flemish Horses were only installed on Top Sail Yards.

Another question, is there a formula for the spacing of Stirrups over the length of the Yard or arbitrary placement?

 

So, what is the answer? 🙂

 

I am hoping that someone can offer some "Seer" advice on the subject.

I am also tossing up the practicalities of adding Flemish Horses if they are too small at 1/96.

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

Cheers....HOF.

 

[popeye2sea]

Steels Art of Rigging specifies stirrups at 'proper' distances, two three or four on each side of the yard.  Flemish Horses are only mentioned in connection with topsail yards.

Falconers Dictionary of the Marine states the same thing with almost identical wording

 

Regards,

 

Henry

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

Just be sure that your foot ropes don't hang too low, as seen on some models.  Sailors standing on them still had to be able to bend over the yard to pull up sail.  'Guess about 3 feet below the yard would be about right, so at 1:100 scale the foot rope will be about .36" or 3/8th" to be generous.

 

[Kenchington]

3 feet below the yard would suit a tall man but be too low for me. You need to put your belly on top of the yard, while your feet are securely braced against the footrope and your arms reaching down to work with the sail. And if the shipmate working beside you is a big, heavy guy, his weight will pull any slack towards you, lowering the rope.

 

Then again, I have worked aloft on a vessel that seemed to have been rigged for teenagers. If I stood up straight, the yard was at mid-thigh, which did not encourage a sensation of stability!

 

Trevor

[Kenchington]

10 hours ago, popeye2sea said:

Flemish Horses are only mentioned in connection with topsail yards.

That makes sense: Flemish horses would likely be useful when reefing, as the man hauling out the weather earring would have something to push his feet against. Most times on squareriggers, topsails were the only ones routinely reefed -- and that ended when split-topsails came into use instead (though I suspect that was after Flying Cloud).

 

Trevor

Edited Sunday at 01:48 PM by Kenchington

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

1 hour ago, Kenchington said:

3 feet below the yard would suit a tall man but be too low for me. You need to put your belly on top of the yard, while your feet are securely braced against the footrope and your arms reaching down to work with the sail. And if the shipmate working beside you is a big, heavy guy, his weight will pull any slack towards you, lowering the rope.

  Good point, so I googled sailor height in 1850 and got:

Historical records of British military and merchant seamen provide the most detailed information on average height.

• British Royal Navy: In 1841, a naval surgeon suggested that recruits be of "middle stature" (between 5'4" and 5'8"), noting that excessively tall or short men were at a disadvantage.
• British merchant seamen: An analysis of merchant sailor records from the period shows the average height to be 5 feet 5.5 inches. Height requirements for entry into naval training programs were also enforced and adjusted, reinforcing that a "middle stature" was sought. 

With the above in mind, the foot ropes should not be more than 30" below the yard - at 1:100 scale that is about 9/32" (.281) - a little over 1/4".

[hof00]

Many thanks to you all!!

I think I can move on a bit now.

 

I am making up a "Test" Yard to gauge how different materials, (Thread/Wire), look and behave to avoid re-work on items already created. 🙂

Good to know a definitive answer regarding Flemish Horses.

 

Cheers and Regards,

 

Harry.

 

[Kenchington]

Just for fun, here's the gear in use:

Note the reef tackle (beneath the feet of the men on the yard) hauled from the deck and easing the strain on those aloft. The stuns'l boom has been topped up to give some clearance but the skilled man, at the yardarm, has it under his arm. His feet are braced on the Flemish horse as he hauls (though the earring is not shown accurately). The other men are supposed to take hold of reef points and pull to windward to ease the load on the man passing the weather earring. Later, they will let the wind do the work of stretching the sail toward the lee earring, before gathering up the canvas and tying the reef points.

 

I have only participated in this task the once and that only in a training exercise, not when a reef needed to be tucked in. (In the old insult of greenhorns, I was strictly a "bunt reefer and yardarm furler", the skilled work being needed in furling the bunt but passing the earring when reefing!) If anyone cares, that was on the topsail yard of Rose, during a sail from Halifax to Lunenburg before she went off to Hollywood to play at being Surprise.

 

Trevor

[dafi]

I had once an analys to the "3 feet below the yard". It is measured from the top of the yard in my opinion, other points of taking the measure do make no sense imho.

Short Executive Version:

The simplyfied definition "3 feet underneath the yard" would possibly read on the working basis like this:

Stirrup 3 Feet long, with enough overlength to do 3 turns around the yard and nailed to the top of the yard. Hangs behind and underneath the yard.

 

XXXDAn

Edited 3 hours ago by dafi