US Brig Niagara by Laxet - FINISHED - Model Shipways

[GLakie]

Sorry to hear about the mistake Dale, but I guess it's all part of the process. I expect there'll be plenty of them when I start mine.

[Laxet]

I see the Niagara is on sale again for $170 at Model Expo. Offer code is MARCH. Now's your chance to get it cheap.

[Laxet]

I thought this was an interesting picture. Look at how the bowsprit is bent downward. I think that is pretty severe. I had no idea they flexed that much.

[JesseLee]

Kind of nice to know. We try to keep everything so straight, tight & perfect with our modeling we forget that it's not really like that in real life!

[Jerry C]

Having a sailboat and familiar with the forces generated by a full sail I would guess the deflection is caused by the upward force caused by the flying jib. 

[Laxet]

Thanks Jerry. That actually makes perfect sense.

[Laxet]

Today I more or less finished the standing rigging. I will post pictures tomorrow. Also tomorrow, I will post a rant about something that has me really po'd. This is the sort of thing a beginner (me) gets so frustrated over. I hope if there are any designers out there, they take note. I have mentioned this before but now I'm just pi..ed.

 

Anyway, I've already done a fair amount of running rigging so the light is at the end of the tunnel. I won't have anything to post anymore unless I can post about the T2 tanker I am building & heavily modifying. It is one i sailed on as a youth. I don't know if it is appropriate for this forum.

[GLakie]

Shes a ship, and a big one!  It should be appropriate here Dale. Can't wait to see the pics. 

 

Cheers

[Laxet]

Here are a couple of pics of what I have done so far. She was "jumboized". I will probably rebuild the entire bridge structure.

[Laxet]

Now for the rant.

 

Once again, I went to attach lines only to find other lines already attached at the same points. In this case, on the lower fore top. After perusing what I had left to do, I found I will have the same problem with eyebolts at the base of the mast. The deck plan only shows two at each mast, one on either side of the aft side of the mast. Now I find I need at least two more in the same spots according to the rigging plans. Why would the deck plan only show some tie points? Why don't kit designers actually show all tie points on one drawing so we may install them at once before the masts are installed & rigged? It is very difficult to drill & insert eyebolts through existing rigging & it pi..es me off to no end having to do this. If I was good at this & knew what I was doing, it might be different, but I'm not & I don't, so I just get po'd. It takes some of the enjoyment out of this.

 

That's just my opinion. I may be wrong.

[GLakie]

The plans in most of these kits leave something to be desired. My plans actually say that some points will need to be doubled up, and that it was captain's choice as how to rig it. It leaves a lot of room for "artistic interpretation". 

[Laxet]

I could see that with belaying pins, but these are eyebolts that have blocks attached. Much more difficult to double up. I suppose if it is standing rigging, it doesn't matter much. Still, the prints should still point these out. I'm a newbie & don't know what is right.

[jhearl]

Back when I built my copy of Armed Virginia Sloop and wrote a series of articles about the build, I gave a fairly detailed description of how to make a mouse on a stay. I've attached the relevant article in PDF form. Take a look at pages 6-8. It might be helpful to other builders.

 

AVS-Part5.pdf

 

Also, if I may, I'll comment on the issue of finding lines attached where you need to attach another line. If there's one thing ship modeling will teach you, it is to think ahead. In my early builds, I sometimes discovered I'd overlooked something like putting in an eyebolt which, it turned out, was in the plans, but I'd just missed. Over time, I got to the point where even when constructing the hull, I'd think about rigging or something else that might be affected by what I was doing (or failing to do) at the time. If you take up scratch building, you'll find you really need to develop this skill since you won't have any instructions at all. All part of the learning curve! I have a feeling this is one lesson you've managed to learn already. :-)

 

Cheers -

John

[dgbot]

Mfrs are interested in making a profit.  they rarely concern themselves with the accuracy of the plans they use so long as it is legal and they do not have to shell out any more cash.  I remember years ago I was given a kit of the Missouri.  I forget if it was Revelle or Monogram.  The entire superstructure was off.  However most builders will not check this stuff out and will build it as is.  That is usually the customer companies are going for.

David B

[GLakie]

I agree! I forgot to mention also that my rigging plans say that if I wish to rig her with sails that numerous belaying pins and eye-bolts will have to be added, and their location would be up to me, but to use logic when deciding. 

[Laxet]

As promised yesterday, here are pics of the completed standing rigging. They (the pics) are not terrific, but you get an idea.

[GLakie]

Those shrouds, stays, and Ratlines all look great Dale. And I see you have a good start on the running rigging. 

[Laxet]

Yeah. I did as much as I could before mounting the masts, which turned out to be quite a bit. I suppose I ought to tie them off, but the instructions recommend doing fore/aft stuff first, which is what I am doing now.

[Laxet]

Another TERRIFIC day. Snagged a line with a tool while installing a block under the top (one of the ones I was complaining about in my rant) & snapped off the top of the main mast. That's just great! I knew it was just a matter of time.

[JesseLee]

Yikes! I always hate when things like that happen, but they do happen. Don't let it get you down. I have found out the hard way that every mishap can be fixed. I snagged & broke my bowsprit on my Scottish Maid build. It made me so mad but I calmed down & figured out a way to repair it. It's aggravating when it happens but when the build is completed you will have an even greater sense of accomplishment having overcome problems like that.

[xken]

Sorry to hear about that happening; but you are not alone. Over the year's I have had a few as well. That's when I sit down with a bottle of my favorite beverage. Tomorrow is a new day!

[stevebrock]

Likewise, sorry to hear about the misfortune. But I agree, after a tall cool one (or whatever you prefer) and a good night's sleep you will view it as just another opportunity to excel. That's the beauty of these wood kits. A bit of patience and anything can be repaired or replaced. I already had to re-plank part of my Niagra when I found the timberheads were not positioned properly.

Have you cut a line too short yet? Or attached to the wrong point? I have done those things, and it can be a a challenge to repair. Part of the challenge, but in the end it is worth it.

[Laxet]

Oh yeah, I've done all of that & then some. Today I've decided to just attach all loose lines from when I built the masts & added a bunch of rigging for the yards. That will clean things up a bit, & I will get a feeling of progress even though they will be attached slightly out of order from the plans.

[Guest Tim I.]

Another TERRIFIC day. Snagged a line with a tool while installing a block under the top (one of the ones I was complaining about in my rant) & snapped off the top of the main mast. That's just great! I knew it was just a matter of time.

 

Oh no! A very frustrating development I am sure. However, I know that once you have affected the repair no one will be the wiser.

 

- Tim

[Don Quixote]

Long time no talk at, much less had the time to work on mine. I'm working on the long guns. I see something about a transom in the front, but I don't see a pre-fabricated part. Is this something I have to make from scratch, or am I just not looking well enough.

 

Also, the manual shows the transom as going in at about a 30 degree angle, but I'm assuming it's actually supposed to be hosizontal to the top of the cheeks just below where the pins will lay, under the trunion bands?

 

Am I to make the quoin, bed and block fron scratch?

[Don Quixote]

When did you mount your cannons? I'm thinking I may want to install the cleats... etc. before I mount them. Any other rigging I may want to get out of the way first? When do you recommend installing the captains skylights and so forth?

[Laxet]

I ended up mounting the canon almost first thing. A lot of this was because I didn't have cleats yet. If I were doing it again, I would attach all of the eyebolts, cleats & other accoutrements first. It gets difficult to work around the guns after a while.

 

I installed the deck furniture way far into the build, when I almost had no choice. I'm just finishing the rigging & I still haven't installed the pump or stove pipe.

[Laxet]

One thing that bugged me about other builds was that they never said much about the running rigging. Now I know why. There just isn't much to say. I've pretty much finished the rigging. All that is left is to make rope coils to hang over all of the pins, so I'm winding down now. I will post pics soon.

[Laxet]

Here are a few pics showing my method for making rope coils. Just some cutoff 3d nails driven into a scrap block of wood. This will take a while since there are somewhere near 100 of these to make, 7 at a time.

[GLakie]

That's a neat rope-coil jig Dale! Makes great looking coils. After they're all wound on the nails, do you leave them on over-night to "train" them to hold their shape?

 

Cheers