USF CONSTELLATION by toms10 - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - scale 1:85 - first wooden build

[toms10]

Hey tom   was looking back through your log  on the stern the plans show two beams  looks like davits that stick out at angled from the rear of the galleries  I noticed yours does not have them  was that intentional or did you miss it   I personally think it looks cleaner without them   not sure what purpose they have other than to maybe tie the mizzen yard too?

 

Hi Jeff,

I did not forget them.  I have them built I just did not install them yet.  I will probably wait until the rigging needs to be installed to them.  They kind of stick out like sore thumbs so I don't want to break them off until I have to...      I just tied all the lower shroud lines to their perspective masts last night.  Looking into my crystal ball I foresee dead eyes and knots in my future...for a long time.

Tom

[Jparsley]

That makes a lot of sense Wasn't trying to criticize just was wondering if I was missing something You do have a beautiful ship I'm jealous

[toms10]

Just updating the log a bit.  I installed all of the lower dead eyes an shroud lines as well as the port side foremast ratlines.  With 18 sets of ratlines on this ship, I will be tying clove hitch knots into the next millennium.   Much of the standing rigging is complete.  I still have to tie up the dead eyes for the second level of ratlines and some odds and ends.

[Gundorph]

Just dropped by again.... Looks very good... Great craftmanship...

[toms10]

Gundorf,

Thanks for dropping by and the nice compliment.  It is much appreciated.

[mtaylor]

Looking good, Tom.  I'll check back in a couple of decades and see how the ratlines are going.   I figured close to 2800 knots on mine.  Not that I was counting or anything.

[Jparsley]

Tom your girl is looking so nice I am still jealous How hard is the rigging on her as I am not to that point I'm close but not there yet I may be asking for a lot of advice from you and mark here soon your getting to be pretty good at making sticks into art

[toms10]

Thanks Mark and Jeff.   I would guess somewhere just shy of 2000 ratline knots.  I did notice on the top tier of the mast (the 3rd piece) the instructions only have 2 or 3 vertical lines (shrouds?) to the top of the mast.  There are no ratlines tied across them.  That does not seem correct to me.  How would someone climb to the top of the mast?  I would think it is dizzying enough without trying to shimmee up a single rope.  I am leaning toward putting ratlines on these shrouds.  There would not be many but it just makes sense... at least to me.  But then again, I have never done this before.  The rigging directions have a couple of mistakes so I don't really trust them.  I am following what I read and directions from MSW members.  Can anybody shed some light on this?

[mtaylor]

Tom,

That is neither correct nor incorrect. It depended on the time, country, etc. and also "Captain's Choice" as near as I can tell.   If you want rats, I'd say "do it". 

[toms10]

Thanks Mark, ratlines it is. Not that I want to tie more rats but I think it just makes sense.

[toms10]

Here is a quick update.  I have been tying clove hitches for the last century but all the lower ratlines for all 3 masts are complete including the reversed ones at the top.  Those were a bit tricky because the shrouds needed to be kept tight but not pull the lower rats out of alignment.  All in all they came out okay for a hacker.  I started putting in the upper dead eyes for the middle set of ratlines so we can do it all again.

[Jparsley]

Nice skirt she has

[usedtosail]

Nice job on the ratlines, Tom. And the rest of the build looks great too.

[mtaylor]

Sweet.... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[toms10]

Hi all,

Thanks for the likes and comments.  I am hoping by the end of next week the ratlining will be done.  It will all depend on how much life gets in the way.

[toms10]

I finally finished all the ratlines!!!  It was only 2,158 clove hitch knots.   I am pretty pleased with the way they came out. This was a great exercise in proving that you get better with practice and repetition and there was plenty of that.  I have a couple more standing rig lines to do then it seems I need to start rigging the yards and then installing them.  Back to rookie status as I have never done that before so there will be a new learning curve.  That is what keeps this exciting.  Below are a few pics of the ratline results.

A couple of pics of the fore mast.

 

A couple of the main mast

 

Upper and lower main mast.  The instructions only showed to put 3 "shroud" type lines without the ratlines across.  Earlier I asked how would someone get to the top?  Mark pointed out that it sometimes depended on the captain whether the ratlines were installed or not.  Since I am the captain of my ship, it made sense to put them in and more importantly, I liked the look better.

 

Can't leave out the mizzen mast.

 

Here is what she looks like today.

 

[Jparsley]

Wow tom she is looking great I agree with the upper shrouds having rat lines It does make her look more finished

[mtaylor]

Nice work on the rats, Tom.   Looking very ship-shape.

[Jparsley]

Still going to use yours and marks ships for inspiration Need to get through the next two weeks party and vacation then back to my girl I do so hope she turns out like your twos they are both stunning in their own rights

[toms10]

Now that I am starting the running rigging the confusion is setting in.  I know from other MSW members that have built the Constellation that some of the rigging instructions are not complete.  The example I am referring to is there are no clewlines shown for furling the sails.  They seem to be omitted or forgotten.  I am adding these in and so far all makes sense.  Where I am getting a bit confused is when I reference the Pertersson book Rigging Period Ship Models he talks about leech lines and bunting lines.  I am thinking these were not used around the turn of the 19th century as there is no where near enough belaying pins to tie up all of these lines.  If not how did the sails get furled?  I am guessing the yards were lowered to a point and then the sails were pulled by hand and tied to the yard.  I am also guessing they used the "tassels" (not sure what they are called) that were attached to the face of the sails in several rows to lash the sails to the yard.

 

Would I be correct in leaving out the bunting lines with this model?  I realize the authenticity of it is not all that great but inquiring minds want to know.  I am currently suffering from information overload in trying to learn how all the rigging works.  The end goal of my model is to have a nice family room piece but would like to speak somewhat intelligently if someone asks a question about it.

[mtaylor]

Tom,

You might ask that in the Rigging/Masting area.  I think you'll get your answer.   I know that the lines (I'm having a brain fart at this moment) at the corners would pull the sail upward.  The crew would climbed up and then out on the foot ropes and manually furl and secure the sails to the yard.  I'll dig around in my books as sails and rigging haven't been in the forefront of brain lately... I'm still planking.

[Jack12477]

Tom, I think those "tassles" you refer to are called "reefing lines" use to reduce the total area of a sail.

[toms10]

Thanks Mark and Jack.  I will take this info and do a little digging.  I just want to have the rigging on this model to make some sort of sense.  I don't plan on making it functional  just sensible and something nice to look at.  With some of the "captain's privileges" I have taken throughout the build I am thinking the value should skyrocket because of its uniqueness!  Oh yeah, I forgot, it is only worth something if someone wants to buy it.   I guess that is why I have a day job. 

[mtaylor]

Tom,

 

Locate a copy of zu Mondfeld's "Historic Ship Models".   It's pretty comprehensive, there's a lot of generalities in it for both sides of the Atlantic.  However, it is reasonably priced (you'll have to shop around a bit) and does a good job of providing an overview of the tall ships.  The rigging section is pretty in depth but not to the depth of other books.

[toms10]

Thanks Joshua,

It is hard for me to say if it is a good kit or not as it is my first. I bought it from a fellow member here on MSW who had it for a while I guess and was no longer interested in starting this kit.  It was missing some parts (quantities) and I bought some extra blocks to "enhance" the rigging or lack there of.   It has been a lot of fun and challenging at times but nothing that a bit of thought and a lot of patience can't overcome.  There is plenty of help here at MSW to get you through the "tough" spots.  Definitely a good experience for "advanced beginners"  

 

I am rigging up all the spars now and then will learn all about sails and attaching them!  I though I was getting close to the end but after a little research I believe I have a lot longer to go than I originally thought... no problem, my completion due date is exactly the same day as I finish!  

[toms10]

I finished the yards and rigging for all 3 masts.  

Next is to make sails.  I am a bit confused about attaching the sails to the yards.  The instructions show putting the rigged yards on the masts before putting the sails on.  I would like to have the upper sails on each mast full and the the lowest one on each mast reefed about half way so the deck is easily visible.

 

I am thinking it will be more difficult to rope the sails to the yards if the yards are mounted.  I was going to attach the head of the sail to the yard and then install the yard.  Finally, I will finish the running rigging (clews, sheets, haylards, etc).  I am not sure about when to stiffen the sails in a full blown position.  I think it would be easier to get the right look once they are in place and tied.  Another option is to build simple "mock" masts and yards out of dowels and simulate the final position of the sails and then spray them with fabric stiffener.  This way the stiffener spray doesn't get all over the model.  I am sure there are lots of different methods and I have spent many hours reviewing what it in the "sails" section of MSW.  Was wondering if anybody out there can point me in a direction.  I will also start a thread in the "masts, spars & sails" section.  I would imagine I would get more feedback there.

[Jparsley]

Wow tom Want to build a set for me and send them my way Lol they look great I haven't decided if I'm doing billowing sails or furled think I'll wait to see yours

[toms10]

Thanks Jeff.  I am working on the sails now.  I am experimenting with different techniques.  I think I have settled on one that only involves fabric glue.  I have made two small top royal sails for the mizzen and fore masts.  I also made the fore mast gallant complete with rib and reef lines.  I will post some pics when I get a chance.  I like the results of the technique I am using.  I kind of made it up based on all the reading and MSW threads.  It is kind of time consuming but they come out pretty good... at least to my novice eyes.  I will take pics of each step as I go when I start the next sail and post the procedure.

 

As for billowing or furled sails, I am thinking billowing for the top 3 on each mast and reefed or furled for the lower ones.  The stay sails and spanker will be full.  At least that is the plan for now.

[Jparsley]

Sounds like a good plan on the sails definitely will give a good view of your deck and all the toys Please do send pics as I am very interested in how your doing it Not there yet Actually haven't worked on my ship in two months I miss working on the old girl Life has definitely gotten in the way

[toms10]

So here is my first attempt at making sails.  It is a bit time consuming at about 2 -3 hours per sail but I am in no rush.  I made a couple of the smaller ones to start using the technique below.  I came up with this sequence based on reading other threads and looking at lots of pics of completed models.  It is nothing special but it seemed the easiest way.

 

The cloth was just your typical bed sheet linen you get at Walmart or JoAnne Fabrics.  It is a pale ecru color.

 

I laid out the sail configuration on the cloth using the templates in the kit plans.

 

I then proceeded to use regular polyester sewing thread to simulate the seams in the canvas.  The thread is passed through some fabric glue and then laid down according to the template marks.  If any parts of the thread do not stick to the sail, a straight pick can be used to touch up.  The drawback with this method is it is time consuming and has to be done on both sides of the sail so the seam can be seen from either side of the sail.  You need to be somewhat careful with the glue application.  The glue in the pics is not fully dried so it is still noticeable as thin white lines.  The next day the glue was pretty much clear.   If you were to sew the seam it would only take one pass for both sides.  The downside of that method is it is somewhat difficult (at least for me) to sew a straight seam that does not have any puckering.

 

The next step was to trim up the sail to size.  The kit plans allowed for a fold over of about 6mm at the edges of the sail.  I thought this was way out of scale and reduced it to 3mm.  Before I folded over the glued edges, I inserted a small rope loop that will attach to the sheeting and clew lines.  I thought that would be better than poking a hole through the corner of the sail like an eyelet.

 

Finally, I glued the cross rib and reefing lines to both sides if the sail requires.

 

I am not sure at this point if I am going to glue the head, foot and leech lines on the edges of the sails.  My OCD and knowing that they belong there will eventually make me put them on.