USS Constitution by robnbill (Bill) - FINISHED - Mamoli - 1:93 kit - First Build - Bashed

[JSGerson]

There are two sources for the belay pins I know about

- Visit the ship in Boston

- Anatomy of the Ship, The 44-Gun Frigate USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides" by Karl Heinz Marquardt

 

I think getting the book would be a bit easier 8-)

[robnbill]

I do have the book and have been using it or the rigging. I forgot there was a belaying plain the back.

 

Thanks!

[usedtosail]

Here is another belaying pin plan for the Constitution that I found, but I forget where:

 

Belaying Plan.pdf

[robnbill]

Thanks.

[GuntherMT]

I've only done the single build so far, but I found it helpful to have the belaying pins loose when I was doing the rigging, as it was much easier to properly loop the rigging rope around a belaying pin without the other pins in the holes next to it.  I would belay a line to a single pin, and then secure it with glue, and the fact that the line was properly belayed around the pin and glued has the pins pretty securely placed - I'm not worried about them coming out at least.

 

Just need to be careful not to block off the next hole with the rigging line.

[mort stoll]

I have always wanted installed belaying pins - glued to the pin rails - before the standing rigging is installed. The entire area is exposed and for me it is easier to install. When the time comes I prefer to belay the rigging line to a secure belaying pin as opposed to a loose one. I put a pin in each hole. If I have any pins that do not have lines belayed to them I usually wrap coils around them. A ship I feel would had extra coils close on hand for emergencies.   

 

Keep up the great work. Your build is great.

Mort

[robnbill]

Thanks. I will wait to add the pins until I start actually belaying lines. I was able to compete the side shrouds today. None are dressed. I plan on installing the lower fore and back stays first, then once the rake is correct I will dress the lower shroud lanyards. So as of an hour ago, the Connie has all her masts installed! Now it is all just tuning! Right.

[robnbill]

I installed the first two forestays on the lower foremast today. I played a bit with how I wanted to build the mouse on each stay. I tried carving a small dowel with no luck. Finally I used a heavier line and served the line to name the mouse. I used the normal size serving line to serve the loop on the end of the stay and the loose end. I rove the mouse end to the mast and after fitting the metal eye to the end I served this to the lower end. I performed this on both the upper and lower stays. Then I ran the zig zag line from the lower part of the stays to the top.

 

One decision I made to go off the Mamoli plan was to install the crows feet to the fighting top. I drilled the holes and attached it initially with a ring to the forestay. However, I want to try creating a block for the crows feet tomorrow and reinstall the crows feet. The ring can be a back up should I not be able to get the block made the way I want it.

 

I have attached some photos of the ship after the stays were installed but before I rigged the zig zag line or the crows feet.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2014 by robnbill

[robnbill]

Here are some close ups of the crows feet on the foremast. I was able to create a small block to run the lines through. I am pleased the way it came out. I also spent some time this morning dressing the lines along the lower part of the Bowsprit. I put a temporary forestay to the tip since the lower lines were tending to deflect the tip slightly.

 

 

[robnbill]

I was able to get the main mast forestays completed and installed today. I have not yet done the crows feet or zig zag line between stays. I do however have a better photo of the crows feet on the fore mast as well as an overall shot of where the Connie is sitting now. I do have a bit of clean up on the paint where the dye in the lines has rubbed on the white. That should be fairly easily done with a cue tip and some acetone.

[robnbill]

I completed installing all the lower forestays on all three masts. I removed the zig zag line from the fore mast stays and redid it. I had looped the original line around the stays then seized it to the stays. This time I only zig zaged it between the stays and seized it. This is consistent with the main mast as well. I also completed the crows feet for all three masts.

 

Tomorrow I will work on the Bentinck shrouds for the fore and main masts. Then I will start tensioning and dressing the upper stays.

 

Here is a shot from the bow showing the stays and crows feet in place. There are still a number of temporary lines on the bowsprit. These will be removed as the upper stays take the support for the bowsprit.

 

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Looking great Bill.  You're really moving along.

[robnbill]

Thanks Mike. I told a friend tonight I see light at the end of the tunnel, I am just not sure how long the tunnel is. I am enjoying the rigging. I was't sure I was going to.

[GLakie]

She's coming together nicely Bill. I'm curious about the crows feet on the tops. Is that configuration indicative of the 1812 era? I ask because I don't have the AOTS yet, and the plans I have only show her as she sits today.

 

Cheers

[robnbill]

The AOS has the crows feet in the configuration. I made mine based on those plans. Historically, by 1812, the British navy was phasing these out of their ships. It could be part of the 1812 configuration or not, it was probably on part of the original configuration given when she launched. 1812 is on the cusp of the change. I know there is a huge controversy over the accuracy of the AOS. The Mamoli plans did not have these, however, since there was a high likelihood it was part of the original configuration and in the AOS,  and I liked the look, I made the change. They were fun to install.

[GLakie]

Thanks Bill. It's good to know. If I end up going with the 1812 config., I'll probably add those. I like the look myself.

 

Fair Winds

[robnbill]

Today I was able to complete the Bentinck shrouds for the Main mast. I made the shrouds themselves by fully serving a line then serving a loop on one end and a deadeye to the other end. I know on the ship this is not exactly a deadeye, but looks very much like one over a standard block. I have attached some photos of the main with the Bentinck shrouds installed as well as some additional views of the crows feet. I will continue with the fore mast tomorrow, then start working on the upper mast stays and dressing the shrouds.

Edited November 9, 2014 by robnbill

[robnbill]

I completed the fore stay Bentinck shrouds today. I have started the alignment of the masts but not yet cinched the lower side shrouds permanently. The masts are close. I will start adding the upper forehand back stays tomorrow and start locking the lower shrouds in and dress the lines as I do.

[Force9]

Bill -

 

Very nice work.  The crows feet are a nice touch... The Royal Navy had generally entered the 19th century with these phased out, but certainly there were old school captains who kept them rigged.  The 1803 Corne painting I think showed them rigged on Constitution and his later series of the Guerriere battle also have them rigged.  Neither version, however, shows Euphroe blocks in the mix. I may include these crows feet on my build to add some nice detail.

 

Thanks for the great close ups of your rigging!

 

Evan

[robnbill]

Today I added the mid-level forestays and backstays on the Mizzen. Tomorrow I will continue to work my way forward on the mid level stays. I did notice that the next to last cannon ports are blocked by the stays. I will look at seem adjustment but this is something I may have to live with. This may go back to how the chain plates channels were attached. I thought they were aligned according to the plans. I will look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow.

Edited November 13, 2014 by robnbill

[robnbill]

Lesson learned. When I was installing the channels I focused on where the front edges of the channels mounted according to the plans. What I should have been focused on was where the notches in the channels were and aligned according to those along with the cannon ports. As a result of this, the aft most channels were installed about ⅝" to far forward. This resulted in the rear canons being obstructed by the rigging. This became especially apparent after I ran the additional stays to the channels. 

 

I thought about this overnight and what could be done. If there had been room in the channels I could have cut new slots for the shrouds but there was not. There were only two possibilities. I live with this and hope no one notices. This would have been assisted by the whaleboats since they would have been mounted over the obstructed cannons, thus not easy to see unless you look down on the level of the cannon, or 2nd, I tear off the channel and move them in to the correct position. I chose the later. 

 

To remove the channels, I unlaced all the lanyards and taped the shrouds to keep them untangled. I took an exacto knife and cut along the hull at the rear of the channel to keep the paint from chipping. Then I took a pair of needle nose and carefully bent the channel up and down until it came free. I used a wood chisel to remove the forward part of channel support since it would no longer be under the channel, then I epoxied the channels back in their new position. Luckily I only had to remove one of the chain plates and move it aft on each side.

 

I touched up the paint and let everything harden for a couple of hours. Then I replaced the shrouds and stays. Below are photos of one of the channels after removing it, and after the repair.

[GLakie]

Looks like it turned out no worse for wear Bill. Glad you found a solution.

 

Cheers

[JSGerson]

If you didn't do it, you would never be happy with the model. Biting the bullet can be bitter but the end results are much sweeter.

[CaptainSteve]

Gutsy move, Bill !!! 

Glad to see it turned out okay.

[robnbill]

I completed the middle level of the standing rigging as well as all of the standing rigging for the mizzen. I hope to complete the standing rigging tomorrow. I still need to tension most of the lines and dress them. So progress is being made. She is getting big now. Funny how adding lines to the tops of the mast start to make her shape up.

 

 

[robnbill]

Milestone reached! The standing rigging is completely installed. I still need to perform final tensioning and dressing. Of course the rat lines are not part of this. I do not plan on running the ratlines until the interior running lines are installed. The mast alignment is pretty close. I will need to tweak the tensioning a bit to perfectly align them but they are not far out so this should be easily accomplished.

 

I will be busy next week and will not be able to get to this, but a week for the lines to settle in will be fine as well. Sorry for the photo, The tools in the background make it difficult to see all the lines, but trust me there are there.

 

 

[fletch944t]

Keep up the good work Bill. Looking back over your last four or five posts, I knew precisely where you were headed. Given your attention to detail, I knew you would never settle for the stays the way they were. And, just as I suspected, I never really needed to read beyond the post where you discovered the problem. BTW, I couldn't have lived with it either.

 

Fletch

[robnbill]

Today I performed the first rigging tuning. I tensioned up the various lines to align the masts. Once aligned I used half hitches on a number of each set of shrouds to hold the masts I will leave this for a few days to see if anything stretches or needs any tweaking before dressing them all.

 

Since I had already tensioned and dressed the mizzen futtock shrouds weeks ago, I started installing the ratlines. I plan on installing the futtock shroud ratlines before moving on to the running rigging. I will hold off on the lower ratlines until the majority of the running rigging is in place.

 

I used David Kump's fantastic Youtube video on how to tie the ratlines as the method I used. The only thing I did differently was I found at least for this set, my bent tweezers were the easiest to use to tie the knots. I found once I got into a rhythm, they moved pretty fast. I am SURE I will tire of making them before all is said and done, but I was pretty happy with the way the first set came out. As I tied them I would lock the end knots with CA once I was sure they were in the correct place and the line was not deforming the shrouds. Once I completed the entire set, I used the CA to set each of the knots.

 

A link to David's Youtube video is here. 

 

Here is a photo of my first set.

 

 

[HIPEXEC]

Thanks for that video on ratlines.

[robnbill]

I have completed the futtock shroud ratlines on the mizzen and dressed all the shrouds. To dress the lines I tie three half hitches then server the line end to the shroud. Once I hit the ends with CA I trim the lines off with the knots. This completes the standing rigging for the mizzen except for the lower ratlines. Tomorrow I plan on dressing the main shrouds. Once I have the shrouds dressed I will complete the futtock ratlines. I will try to get some photos tomorrow to show the progress.