Santa Maria by Moonbug - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - Bashed

[gjdale]

Nice job on the lantern Bug!

[augie]

That's a really awesome stern light.

[mtaylor]

Fantastic lantern you've done, Moonbug.  

[DSiemens]

That is a very tedious amount of work and the final result is incredible!

 

I'm just beginning to learn how satisfying it can be to work so hard on fine details. It's daunting at first but it feels good to see something you work that hard for come together.

[Moonbug]

Thanks for the warm comments everyone!  

And yes Daniel, it's often my favorite part. I get lost in those little details sometimes.  As you must also - clearly.  In fact, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't bother me (too much) when I work for hours on a tiny piece only to over-sand it and have to start over.  :-)

 

Btw - love seeing the Colorado crowd growing!

 

- Bug

[Moonbug]

Btw, Marktime - I still often go back and refer to your build.  Always a bit bummed that I can't scroll through the original build log. :-)

 

- Bug

[popeye the sailor]

really nice work Bug.......personal touches are sweet!

[Moonbug]

  Hello all,

 

     Been working steadfastly on rigging, and in particularly hauling the yards.  Always fun for me, as I relish the details.  I'll have photos soon, I promise.  :-)

 

Also - this is the first time I've decided to rig with the sails completely furled, so that's presenting it's own little challenging bits.

 

- Bug

[Moonbug]

Here is a look at some of the mizzen rigging that I've done recently.  

 

 

Well, first - here are the sails.  I soaked them in tea to color and age them.  I wasn't sure at the time if I was going to have them down or furled. Had I gone with the former, I'd have likely evened out the color a bit more.  At any rate, I've since decided this will be my first build with fully furled sails.  It should also be noted that I've removed the weird, ugly green "rope" that AL loves to use on their sails - and replaced it with more natural looking ropes. Even furled, they should be a bit more accurate.  

 

 

I created the parrels on my own. I'll likely rough them up a bit later during the final detail phase.  I've rigged the parrels using Pastor's method - looping the rigging then securing it with two blocks and securing it to the ship via railing. 

 

 

Similarly, after going back and forth on several different methods of securing the standing rigging for the mizzen and foremast, I settled on two blocks.  This is outlined in several places, but it is certainly not definitive. It does however fit the time period, so I'm comfortable with it.

 

 

Then finally, the rigging on the ends of the mizzen.  The ropes tied off to the deck will ultimately be masked a bit with coils of rope.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Moonbug

[marktime]

Some good looking rigging there and a neat knighthead.

 

As for furled sails on the main and fore, note that the yards were dropped to furl the sails and then rehoisted to get them out of the way. Not surprising that they needed the mechanical advantage provided by the tackles to hoist yard plus sail.

[Moonbug]

Thanks Marktime!   I'm working on the fore now, and definitely trying my best to duplicate the tackle, etc for hoisting.  I've mounted the sails as though they were full, then I'm trying to use the tackle to furl them.  A bit tricky, and definitely not smooth - but gives me a little check to see if I'm on the right track when they're furled. 

 

Next up is the main (realizing I'm rigging out of the typical order) - but here are a couple other shots of the knighthead as a teaser.  

 

Edited December 4, 2015 by Moonbug

[jmcsys]

This build is spectacular! I really admire the extra mile on things like the cabin accessories, hinges, rigging detail, and such. Your appraoches are clever and innovative. Makes me want to go back and take notes on each step.

 

But what impresses most is the way you have built such tiny and complex detail with very basic tools. I'd have thought at a minimum you would need a lathe and perhaps a mill for the things you have fashioned. Simply amazing.

 

Joe

Edited December 5, 2015 by jmcsys

[Moonbug]

  Thanks Joe, I really appreciate the comments. 

  I've contemplated many times investing in some of the power necessities  - particularly a lathe and a drill press.  There's definitely a trade off with using the basic tools. I don't get the same uniformity that I otherwise wood, and that I see a lot of.  But at the same time, I also feel like I get a distinctive "hand crafted" look that ultimately appeals to me.  So what was at first a limitation based on space / economics, etc, became a style that I now rather enjoy. 

 

Thanks again for checking out the log!

 

- Bug

[Moonbug]

  Good evening ladies & gents.  Here are a few photos of updates to the rigging on the bowsprit. Nothing super mysterious here, just following the illustrations from Pastor's book.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2015 by Moonbug

[Moonbug]

And as an added bonus, a shot of the shipyard.  

 

Notice to the right, is my 11 year old daughter's little car kit.  She enjoys hanging out with Dad working as well.  I've started her addiction early...  

 

 

Edited December 8, 2015 by Moonbug

[Moonbug]

More Rigging - the Foremast.

 

Rigging the masts (somewhat out of order) based on Pastor's book required a bit more preplanning.  I did quite a bit when I laid out where the rails and cleats would go, but there was still some interesting challenges when it came to rigging in and around each of the masts.  It also got a little sketchy in terms of furling the sails.  So my methodology was to rig them down, then actually use the rigging to raise them, then furl them.  Challenging, but fun.

 

 

I created the parrels for the foremast, then attached and raised it using the pulley I built at the top of the foremast. Which I then tied off on the railing of the foredeck.  I'm going to go back and put a coil of rope every place a rig is tied off, but I went ahead and did this one now so I could get an idea of what the coils would look like.

 

          

 

I attached the bridles and bowlines to a ring. There is some indication that these were attached to blocks instead of rings in some cases. In fact, there is a bit of conflicting information - about a 50/50 split on either rings or blocks.  Probably a captain's choice.  But this captain thinks that the rings look good - and I like the differentiation.  

 

 

The other thing I liked is the sheets and tacks attached to the clew with little toggles.  Loved the way this ended up and looked.  It also provided me with some great flexibility when it came to actually rigging the sails.

 

   

 

Then here are some generic shots of the rigging, first with the sail down - then after it had been furled.

 

       

Edited December 8, 2015 by Moonbug

[marktime]

Like the furled sails and the toggles. Could you make them a bit smaller, scaled up they would be fairly large in comparison to your blocks. That's a nice detail on the forestay to the mainmast.

[popeye the sailor]

super looking rigging.........the furled sails is a very nice touch!

[Moonbug]

  Thanks Popeye, Marktime!

 

   Marktime - Good eye!  Yes, you're correct.  That was a definite challenge for sure - they are indeed a bit bigger than should be.  At the same time - the clews sewed into the sails are a little larger than they should be also. So it's become a matter of toggles that stay put in the clews, as well as stay a reasonable size compared to the blocks.   

  

    And my fat fingers were a little factor as well.  :-)    Those toggles are going to be something I take another look at though during the "finishing touches" phase.

 

- Bug

Edited December 8, 2015 by Moonbug

[marktime]

You 'aint got fat fingers, bro! You do realise that after making that exquisite stern lantern from old bits of twisted wire, some pins stolen from your wife's sewing box and a sliver of 3 mm brass plate that we are now holding you to a very high standard!

[donrobinson]

nice work with the furled sails

[Moonbug]

Thanks Don, appreciate the comment. And thanks marktime - no pressure.

 

-Bug

Edited December 10, 2015 by Moonbug

[Moonbug]

Good morning,

 

    Wrapped up the rigging on the topsail.  Pretty basic stuff here.  I drilled a hole in the topsail mast, then took a 2mm dowel, filed out grooves, and cut off a piece as a pulley / sheave.  My parrel is much more basic than the other masts of course. Then the yard is hoisted through the sheave.

 

         

 

 The rest is your basic yard / sail rigging.

 

  

Edited December 10, 2015 by Moonbug

[donrobinson]

I've always wondered about the holes in top of masts if they were supposed to be sheaves or what, you have now answered my query and I Thank You.

 I have noticed you drill an extra hole in your blocks rather than wrapping the rope around the block, do you find this easier or is there something else I am missing?

 Great work, going to be sweet!

[Moonbug]

Good afternoon Don,

 

    On the holes in them masts / sheaves: It's clear in several areas that the tops of the fore and mizzen masts are sheaves - either added on top or built into the mast. It wasn't as clear for the topsail, but I assumed so for consistency, as well as the fact that it likely made it much easier to hoist the yard.  

 

    Great question.  It's definitely not easier, and can be a bit tedious, particularly when you're rigging single blocks together to form a pulley.  I do it because one of the references that I've referred to is the 15th Century Mataro Model  discovered in a church in Spain. Even though it's just a model - it's a pretty accurate  model from that time frame, so it's been the inspiration for aspects of the Santa Maria and other ships of the time - based on the fundamental lack of information of the time. 

At any rate - in Xavier Pastor's book, he references several Mataro aspects and how his perspective may or may not differ.

 

 While Pastor goes with traditional blocks, I've chosen the Mataro version here:

 

 

Thanks! 

 

- Bug

Edited December 10, 2015 by Moonbug

[Moonbug]

   Good morning,

 

      Pushing through the running rigging - on to the main mast. A bit more complicated parrel on this guy of course.  Like the others, it's bound in the front of the mast with two looped ropes running through one another and secured. This apparently gave the rig the opportunity to loosen and tighten - which I suspect is needed to get over the rope wraps around the main mast itself. 

 

     

 

Hoisted with two lines attached to the yard, then up through the crow's nest and through the two sheaves.  The line that secures the parrel is dropped down and secured at the base of the mast with a coil of rope.  This initial coil of rope is a bit haphazard - but gave me an inspiration for what will be most of the rope coils of the ship.  As it's an aged "working" ship, I'm going to go with "messy coils" instead of the clean and uniform look of the coils on the San Juan. Hopefully this will give it an underway look and not appear disorganized.

 

     

 

As with the other sails and yards, I fully rigged the main sail before furling it.  I followed closely the Pastor diagrams, and this was super fun.  It did however - for the first time - make me second guess my choice of furling the sails for a few moments. So I included a few photos of the sail down before it was finally furled.

 

        

 

You'll notice in the one shot a bottle of white "Scenic" glue.  I used this a lot when I did train sets, etc. It's a diluted white glue that - as it turns out - works wonderfully for coiled ropes, and other types of rigging.  It's not thick, and provides what is ultimately a very delicate adhesion. However, it dries very clear and does not appear to discolor the rigging after it dries.

 

    

 

Finally, somewhat regretfully, I furled the sails.  You'll also notice in the last photo that I have the rear deck raised. I'm going to figure out a small rigging system to be able to raise and lower that as needed.  Obviously not something that was on the original vessel.  *laff*

 

        

Edited December 11, 2015 by Moonbug

[marktime]

That detail within the crow's nest is very neat, your pulleys are superb and the crow's nest itself looks very good. Do you think the sail bulk of the mizzen is a bit much?

[Moonbug]

Good observation Marktime - I'm using the proper size, and the same fabric as the other sails.  But maybe there's an opportunity to 'roll' it a little cleaner to furl it so it's not quite as bulky.  The good news is - by rigging it down prior to furling, I should be able to loose it, and re-try it at some point without it being too much of a struggle.  We shall see.

 

- Bug

[gjdale]

Your sails look fabulous bug. If you like the look, there is no reason why you couldn't leave one (or more) sails unfurled. It would give the appearance of the vessel underway, which would be in keeping with the look you're trying to achieve. The mixture of furled and unfurled sails would look quite effective (IMHO).

[marktime]

Here's a photo of the Niña, part of a fantastic series taken by member Kentyler that were regrettably lost to the forum in that ancient crash. Might be of interest to you.