Whale boat eye splice

[Senior ole salt]

The plans or rather the book  for the New Bedford whale boat  ( see this thread

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/5000-new-bedford-whaleboat-a-kit-by-model-shipways/

 

calls for an eye splice  for the end of the whale line. It seemed a bit daunting but what the heck I'll give it a try.

 

 

 

 

It took a while but i think it came out oK. I waxed the strands so they were quite stiff. But the hardest part was to hold open the strand long enough to let the strands of the splice go through.

 

I didn't attempt to taper the splice.

 

S.os

 

 

[AON]

looks darn good to me

we used to step on the (real life size) splice and roll it on the deck under our boot to compress and tighten it up

still have my spike but I think I'd use a needle at that scale!

[bushman32]

It was hard enough for me to do it on full size line when I was in the Navy! That looks real good, I will be sending you all my lines that need an eye splice.

[AndrewNaylor]

Congratulations 

A splice that size and as well exercuted You should be proud of your work

The taper would have taken just 2 more tucks but often not done in that application as the splice was not coming into a block hence no need for the extra work in real life let alone in the scale world in which we live

Andy

[Senior ole salt]

Ron & Andrew.

 

I've had lots of practice.

 

Been doing eyes splices for a long time.

 

 

Thats me doing an eye splice aboard the USS Coral Sea 1950.

 

S.os

 

 

 

 

 

 

[popeye2sea]

That splice looks really good.  I have found that the splicing goes a lot easier if you use a needle threader.  Push it under the strand  and pull the end to be tucked back through.

[Scoot]

Like riding a bike. That pic is 5 years before I was born. Splice looks good.

 

 

Scoot

[Walter Biles]

S.os

It looks pretty nice. 

 

I wish I hadn't lost my Blue Jacket's Manual.  Seems to me there were diagrams of most everything in knots and splicing.  Blasted shed leaked down through my whole seabag and a stack of text books I was keeping and turned it all to black mush.  I used to be fairly good at splicing, although I did not use it much after A school.  I'd been thinking of trying my hand at using splicing on my meridea running lines.  I don't know if I can remember without my book for a refresher.  I guess I can find some sort of references on the internet.

 

Was it 6 times the diameter of the line that the splice was supposed to go from it's start? or was it 6 times the diameter of the spliced part of the line? 

 

Walt Biles

Edited February 6, 2014 by Walter Biles

[trippwj]

S.os

It looks pretty nice. 

 

I wish I hadn't lost my Blue Jacket's Manual.  Seems to me there were diagrams of most everything in knots and splicing.  Blasted shed leaked down through my whole seabag and a stack of text books I was keeping and turned it all to black mush.  I used to be fairly good at splicing, although I did not use it much after A school.  I'd been thinking of trying my hand at using splicing on my meridea running lines.  I don't know if I can remember without my book for a refresher.  I guess I can find some sort of references on the internet.

 

Was it 6 times the diameter of the line that the splice was supposed to go from it's start? or was it 6 times the diameter of the spliced part of the line? 

 

Walt Biles

Geez, Walt - you prodded me to pull my Dad's 1940 Bluejackets manual off the shelf.  For a short splice, both ends of rope are unlaid for about a foot.  For an eye-splice, the line is brought back upon itself enough to give the desired eye size and then tucked into the body of the rope.  For a long splice, and this one is a real kicker, the ends are unlaid farther than for a short splice.  Big help there!

[Senior ole salt]

Ok guys, here's a video on how to make an eye splice:

 

 

I might add that for synthetics at least 7 tucks are considered ample. For manila or organic material 3 tucks are ok.

 

Practice first and get it down pat  before any attempt at  miniature splices for model making.

 

S.os

[Scoot]

Learned mine from "Chapmans, Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling".

If you want to know all knots, get "Clifford W Ashleys, Book of knots" Interesting book.

 

 

Scoot

[Senior ole salt]

Scoot , That's a good book to learn a lot of boating & seamanship stuff. For knots I also like "The arts of the sailor" by Hervey Garret Smith.

 

He had a nice becket in it. So I made two to put on my sea chest. It looks great.

 

 

Good project for winters like we're having in the NE US.

 

S.os

[Scoot]

Handsome work.

 

 

Scoot

[fnkershner]

S.os - You are not kidding when you say you are an Old Salt. My dad was in the navy at the same time as you were. ET on a DD. And I am about to retire. so You must be Real Old!!

 

PS I have a framed picture of my dad's ship next to my desk. to remember him by. DD 763. He used to tell me how they liked doing plane guard duty for the carriers. Because every time his ship fished a pilot out of the drink and returned him home they got a couple buckets of Ice cream sent over from the Carrier.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Floyd Kershner

[Senior ole salt]

Yea Floyd, I remember those can's.  They positioned themselves right off the carrier's stb. quarter.

 

Did your dad operate with the 6 th fleet in the Med in the 1950's?

 

S.os

[trippwj]

My dad didn't share a lot about his time in the Navy - mainly some letters he wrote to his parents when he was deployed.  He went in during 1942, served until 1946 on Tin Cans - did a lot of R&D work improving sonar, a couple of convoy escorts across the pond.  His interest in photography sprang from those days - they would take photos of the oscilloscope to show the expected display for specific conditions to use in training sonar operators.  They had to develop them quickly and verify they came out else re-run the scenario. 

[fnkershner]

S.os - He was on DEs & DDs. The ship mentioned above did Picket duty during the Korean Conflict. He has pictures of being in the carib. and Europe. I think most of the time he was stationed in the Pacific.

 

I think most everyone has heard the joke about Calvin Coolidge. It goes like this - "a guy comes up to him and says, Mr. President I bet my friend I could get you to say more than 2 words. Calvin responds "You lose". That was my dad. You just didn't ask, and he didn't tell you much. Work was its own reward and vacations were extra.

 

He grew up on a cattle ranch in NM where the nearest neighbor was 5 miles away. Spent more time with horses, dogs, & cows than people. His dad died while he was in his teens. Entered the navy before he finished High School. Got his GED because some Chief decided he had the skills to go to OCS.  Not sure why he never became an officer. He was ships swimmer because of his stamina. Which is a riot since he never swam in anything but a watering trough smelling of sulfur until the Navy. Met my mother when his ship pulled into Boston during Xmas holidays in 51. I came along in late 53.

 

I have been a life long fan of the Navy and he is probably the reason. He is a large part of why I build these crazy things out of wood and string. Well at least I try.

 

PS. About doing plane guard duty, He told me that back then Helos were in short supply and not very reliable. So it was the Tin Cans that played the role of angel. And since there was no helo to transfer the Brown Shoes back to the Carrier, they used the boson's chair. He said it was lots of fun watching as the ships rolled in the waves. Some guys would make bets on whether the guy would get wet or not. And the reason for the Ice Cream was the Cans didn't have freezers.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Floyd Kershner

[popeye2sea]

My time aboard USS Blandy DD 943 in the early 80's included plenty of plane guard duty, also. We still used the bos'ns chair to send personnel back across and in return got movies, ice cream and mail.

Things really do not change much over the years.

[fnkershner]

Henry - I thought you were a former Marine? What is a Marine doing on a Tin Can?

[popeye2sea]

I only play a Marine on TV .   I am a retired Navy Chief.  I joined an 1812 Marine re-enactment unit to stay involved with the USS Constitution, which I was also stationed aboard for a short time.

[Senior ole salt]

I read the posts here about dad's and others here that did real time in the service of the US.

 

My father also served in WW 1. He never talked about it. I only got snitches of conversation of my dad talking with other WW 1 vets at  VFW functions. I was only a kid and shooed away. But I remember talk about who got gassed and lost buddies. All that service and yarns lost when my dad died..

 

After my own retirement, not in the service but as a carpenter I had time and determined that my grand children and great grand children should hear of my adventures, and service time yarns ( in the USN ).

 

I've posted these stories on the internet and got just about 184,000 "views"

Here is a link for Navy buffs. It's about Boot camp back in 1948. 

 

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?61697-J-Dillon-11-years-on-a-27-footer-WOW!!!/page19

 

Scroll down to post 906 or thereabouts.

 

There are other Navy yarns mixed in prior pages mostly funny experiences. some have cartoons, images of all kinds and even paintings I've done.  I have even gotten replies from ex Navy chiefs.

 

Thanks all for the opportunity to share with others.

 

S.os

[fnkershner]

I have the deepest respect for all who served! I also know that although I did not serve in the armed services. The Navy was a life changing experience for my dad, and indirectly has had a huge impact on my life. Heck I might not have been born if my Mother was not part of a church group entertaining Sailors far from home during the Holidays.

 

Thanks for your posts S.os.

[popeye2sea]

Once you serve, it's in your blood forever.  It's one of the reasons I build ship models.

[popeye2sea]

SOS, I have been reading some of your tales from boot camp.  Brought back a lot of memories from my own experiences at Great Lakes RTC.  I was company clerk.  They must have done something right back then because I retired as a Chief.  Good times

[Modeler12]

Great stuff, SoS. Never tried to make the eye-splice, but have made a couple Turkish heads and other decorative knots back when I had a sailboat in the SF Bay. Love your chest handles.

 

Did you decide on how to display your beautiful model?

[Senior ole salt]

Yes I did Jay.

 

I went to specialized lumber store that saves old barn siding and the like. For 25 bucks I got a great deeply weathered and gray  hunk of siding. It measures 1"X 12" X 3'. It even has a few nail holes in it.  I'm going to cut it to size *8" wide by 28 ". The rip will be a 45o that will enable me to put the beveled piece ripped off  glued on the other side  thus preserving the weathered appearance. This piece will project higher than the base forming a lip in which the plexi glass case to fit into.  I all ready  assembled  the case  but had the plexi glass dealer cut the pieces.  I will post the case when finished along with the still incomplete model. All those little whale hunting gear takes time to assemble.

 

Thanks for asking

 

S.os