HMS Montague 1779 by garyshipwright - 74-gun Alfred-class

[michael mott]

Happy Birthday Gary, beautiful work as usual.

 

Michael

[mtaylor]

I hope you've had a great one, Gary.  Love the workmanship.

[allanyed]

Happy Birthday Gary!!   Many of us have  been following your build for a long time now and I for one have been impressed throughout the whole process.  Great to see the update!!  

Allan

[gjdale]

Happy Birthday Gary and thanks for giving us the present of an update on your lovely work.

[EdT]

Nice work as usual, Gary.  Making that functioning steering gear was one of the tasks I enjoyed most in building Naiad.  Trying to remember how I joined those loose ends at the wheel spindle - time flies.

 

Ed

[garyshipwright]

Thanks every one and the happy birthday's and  comments are well received.  Greg thought I would let you know but the rudder does work and moves from stbd to port. I probably will put in a stop some place which should prevent me from wanting to put it in the tub and take it sailing. Well maybe not the tub. Ed, this is one of the more interesting things I have done on her along with tackles for the gun port lids that you can see in the photo's. Once again thank you folk's and hope to have another up date before my next birthday. 🐵

 

 

 

[druxey]

Excellent! The tiller and sweep with the tackle look great.

[garyshipwright]

Thanks druxey, this really means a lot and lets me know am on the right track. Gary

[SJSoane]

HI Gary,

 

I was looking back in your build to see how you did the spirketting on the gun deck, but I can't seem to find it. I am beginning to think about doing this once I finish the channel wales, and you have always been an exceptionally good guide for me! I am particularly interested in the bow, and how to steam bend those into place. Do you recall what you did there?

 

Mark

[garyshipwright]

Sorry Mark. Seems when I started a new log after the other one disappeared I didn't replace them and will add some here. I followed the Berwick plan which seems she is about has close as I can get to how Montagu was built. When I did the ones at the bow I made up a jig the curve shape of the bow timbers from templates and steamed them in a plywood jig. Gary

[SJSoane]

Thanks, Gary, that look great. I haven't noticed those keyed joints in the spirketting before, as opposed to sloped scarphs like in the beam clamps. I had it in my mind that the Bellona would have sloped scarphs, but for the life of me I don't know where I got that idea since there are no Bellona drawings showing this detail.

 

I have a jig for steam bending the planks outboard at the bow; I'll try it for inboard as well and then adjust accordingly if there is too much springback.

 

Best wishes,

 

Mark

[druxey]

Love the hooked spirketting strakes! It's too bad that so much detail will be hidden later.

[garyshipwright]

You very welcome Mark. druxey thats ok, and thank you. All is not lost and I  will have plenty of photos of her as I was building her. I wished I had taken a lot when I was building Richard but other then the ones of her out side seems there is a lot of hidden detail in her and the only way to see what is there is to either see one being built or looking at her drawings. Gary

[Mark P]

Good Morning Gary;

 

Thank you for the pictures of the earlier stages of building. Excellent quality work as always.

 

Mark, the jointing of the two strakes of spirketting is a 'tabled' joint, and is referred to in some contracts, either for spirketting, or for deck clamps. If you do have the Berwick draught which Gary mentions, look at the method of jointing the string in the waist to the forecastle deck clamp; it's very interesting.

 

All the best,

 

Mark P

[garyshipwright]

Thanks Mark P.  Berwicks plan has been a life saver on how some things in side Montagu such as the wales, knees and several other things look. Gary

[SJSoane]

Thanks, Gary and Mark, I had never noticed that before. Very interesting detail.

I looked around some more to remember why I thought the Bellona had angled and hooked spirketting. I found it in Brian Lavery's Anatomy of the Ship for the Bellona, page 46. It is redrawn from a drawing of the Arrogant 1761, just a year after the Bellona, and also designed by Bellona's designer, Thomas Slade. I looked for the original online at the National Maritime Museum site; it lists the drawing, but there does not seem to be a scanned image available. So I guess I will work with Lavery's redrawing. Would have been fun to try something different....

 

Best wishes,

 

Mark

[BANYAN]

Nice work Gary, very clean joinery and crisp details - love how she is coming along.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[garyshipwright]

Thanks Pat. Hope to have another update before my next birthday, at least thats the plan. ;o)Gary

[garyshipwright]

Well it seems to have been awhile since I posted last on my build but am still kicking around and working on Montagu upper deck, beams, and  knees. One thing is for sure it takes a whole lot of time to make them. . Not much progress but as soon as the camera gets charged up I put a couple of photo's here. Thanks for bearing with me. Gary

[garyshipwright]

Hi every one. Finally got my camera charged up and took a few photo's, hope you enjoy them. The figures came from shape way and ideal of using them came from Chuck. Spent the day painting them  and  have white hair like their owner. 😁Gary

[VTHokiEE]

Wow, very nice work! I need to go through your log from the start. It looks beautiful!

[garyshipwright]

Thank you VTHokiEE.  The  journey with her and the endless research, the people here who have helped me  to understand her and how things fit together has been a long road. Her building has sometimes been good and other times makes you want to pull out your hair. Of course I would not change a thing. 😁

[druxey]

Lovely work as ever, Gary!

[garyshipwright]

Thanks druxey. 

[mtaylor]

Wonderful work, Gary. And the figures give it a sense of perspective as to the size of the ship.

[garyshipwright]

Thanks Mark. They do give it a sense of perspective don't they. Here is her first crew from earlier photo's and unsure of where they went. Maybe they was pressed on to another ship.🥺🙂  Gary

 

[Ryland Craze]

Great work on your Alfred, Gary.  I like your Shapeways figures.  They add life to your model.  I look forward to following your progress.

[garyshipwright]

Hi Ryland and thank you.  I like the shapeways figures to and seems they are really more in scale. I have looked for some in uniforms of the Royal Navy of Montagu time frame but so far have struck out. Thank you again. Gary

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Gary,

 

can you send me please a link to the figures? Do you know, if they have these also in other scales?

[garyshipwright]

Hi Christian. Am not sure this will work but will give it a try.   As far as any figures in a smaller scale am not sure but will check. It does seem that they have quite a few figure's to chose from but not sure on the scale. Gary