HMS Pickle by flyer - FINISHED - Caldercraft - Scale 1:64 - my interpretation

[Martin W]

Very nice work, Peter, very nice indeed.

 

I tried forming bands with brass strips once, and after 3 nights of frustration threw them away and pulled out some paper.  Now I don't even think twice about any lack of purity (ahem).

 

Love to see your progress.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[mobbsie]

Hi, Pete,

 

Pickles coming together really nicely mate, lots of little details that make her stand out a treat.

 

Well done my friend.

 

Have a Happy Christmas and I hope the New Year brings you every Happiness.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[flyer]

Hi John, Martin and Mobbsie

 

In Caldercraft and Victory kits was always a bit of that black cartridge paper included I use for iron bands. I don't know the paper weight. The thickness is 0,2 mm.

Martin! Purity is very important - if you're talking about beer.

 

Happy holydays

peter

Edited December 21, 2015 by flyer

[flyer]

While working on the remaining spars I also continue preparing the masts by adding blocks, cleats and ringbolts.

The boom saddle on the mainmast is in place and some copper sheathing to protect the mast is also attached.

 

I haven't yet completed the belaying plan but experience says that you never have enough belaying points in those kits and therefore I put 2 additional cleats onto each mast foot.

 

Pickle is fixed on her stand. I used an oak plank from the local wood shop and two Amati brass columns of different heights. Those needed reworking a bit with a file. I opened up the slits to 5mm and adapted the top to the angle of the hull side. All is held together with 2 long screws through base, columns and into holes drilled up through the keel.

 

boom saddle with copper sheathing

 

 

additional cleats on mast feet

 

 

that brass column needs some polish...

 

 

stand

 

 

She swims! (Not actually but somehow virtually - I like the lightness of that stand.)

[Mirabell61]

Love those pics in dry dock view Peter,

 

Nils

[JRB9019]

Peter, further to your comment "experience says that you never have enough belaying points" I thought I'd send add a couple of extra shots of the ship that I posted last week. I hope you don't mind....

 

Here's one to prove your point!!

 

 

These two are obviously of the bow area and just goes to show that you are correct in never having enough belay points!!

 

 

 

 

Here's a couple of shots showing the deck rings securing the jib sheets (a different shop though)

 

 

 

 

Finally, from the second ship, back to the bow and showing another useful place to secure cleats

 

 

 

Regards

John

[flyer]

Wonderful pictures, John. In this case I was wrongly blaming the kit designers for just skipping some belaying points. But I think I spotted a free pin in one of the shots!

peter

[JRB9019]

By the way Peter,

 

Whilst I was viewing the two ships that I photographed, I noticed your Launch - you haven't lost it by any chance?????

 

I did notice that they had changed the colour so you would have perhaps not noticed!

 

 

 

 

 

[Martin W]

That crew has been rowing for quite a while -- say about 210 years -- although the Bosun doesn't seem to have missed many meals, eh?

 

Great work, Peter.  I have to point to those bars on the lights and say, wow!  wonderful detail.  Those nice touches are what make a build special.  And I agree with you on the oak stand, it's a lovely choice.

 

This morning I announced to Mrs W that I would spend no more than 2 hours in the study, then out to the workshop to do some carving, then to the boatyard just in time for the beer hour to begin.  That is a pure holiday! 

 

Cheers back to you, Peter, and happy holidays! 

 

Martin

[Blue Ensign]

Very nice progress Peter, one thing I spot from your photos - have you finished off the boat chocks yet, I think they could benefit from a little shaping, perhaps by giving them a slight shoulder, just a thought.

 

B.E.

[mobbsie]

Hi Peter,

 

I like the base mate and she sits very nicely on her pedestals.

 

Keep it up my friend.

 

My best wishes for Christmas and the New Year, may you enjoy both.

 

Be Good.

 

mobbsie

[flyer]

Hi Nils

Yes, this 'dry dock view suddenly makes the little Pickle quite impressive - I was surprised myself.

 

Hi Mobbsie

The credit for those bars goes to Caldercraft - they are included in the kit. It's a good example for the mixture of excellent details, strange solutions (the deadeye strops) and  little shortcuts (like the missing octagonal section on the yards) in that kit. But it is still a great one.

 

Hi John

My launch is still here, I checked. But it couldn't be mine anyway because I don't have such portly gentlemen in my crew (because all the food goes to myself). I tried to find out what uniform he wears. Could it be a lieutenant's?

But those are great pictures, full of details like the shroud plates or the way the swivel gun is mounted.

 

Hi B.E.

You are right. I will have to improve those boat chocks. Once again the picture shows clearly what you try to overlook with the bare eye. Sigh.

 

Cheers

peter

[flyer]

The two yards were now each made with an octagonal mid section. I had to use thicker dowel respective a square strip to make this possible.

 

fore yard in the raw

 

both yards on deck - the stopper cleats on the ends are still missing

 

 

Recently the future skipper of Pickle was visiting the wharf and asked for a better progress in finishing his vessel because of some urgency (he probably was just impatient). He also cited the old saying that 'Planning is just the replacement of coincidences by errors' and mentioned that he had a moderately experienced bosun available for the installation of the rigging as well as a reliable carpenter for possible modifications.

I took a deep breath, plunged into deep water, stopped planning all that belaying points and stepped the masts.

 

foot of main mast

 

foot of fore mast

 

 

After setting up the masts perpendicular to the deck I found that Pickle was listing visibly to starboard. That impression was confirmed by the admiral and other bystanders. First I thought that a vessel hardly ever lies on an even keel and the listing could be in accordance with the set sails and the apparent wind.

But this would just have been a (too) easy way out. I had to correct it. Sigh. After about 7 tries which included remounting Pickle the other way on the stand, reworking the holes in the stand, changing the screws and drilling new holes into the keel I found that the a slightly asymmetrical lower hull was pushed into a listing position by the symmetrical brass columns on the stand. Reworking the brass finally did the trick. (It seems that if you want to put things straight you have to cut some of the top brass.)

 

there was the crux of the matter...

[Mirabell61]

nice pic Peter,

 

inspection of the coppering job....., no objections

 

Nils

[flyer]

The first parts of the rigging to install, after the bowsprit lashing, were the mast tackles. In the manual I found only the tackle itself but no information about how to set it up. In my clever books different possibilities are shown. On the main mast I opted for a simplified tackle without runner which is appropriate for smaller vessels. On the fore mast however I installed a full tackle with runner because I think this was also used as fish tackle for the anchor and needed more capabilities.

 

the two different mast tackles

 

tackle on the fore mast - runner and tackle block are hooked into ringbolts in the waterway

 

 

 

Now I started with the shrouds. As usual I work from aft to forward. The completed mast were stepped in one piece contrary to the way of other builders in this forum which set them up level by level. So far I never had problems to set up the shrouds around the already installed topmasts.

After setting up the first two shrouds I usually set up the associated stay to have balanced forces on the mastheads.

Because of the changed mast heights the schooner stay now runs almost horizontally between the masts but I find this still looks fine. The mouse is just a asymmetrical figure of 8 knot doubled up on the upper end with a stopper knot. Its easily done and of the right size. The stay, including eye and mouse was seized down to 1cm below the mouse. The fore stay was set up with deadheads according to the manual although probably heart blocks would have been more true to the original. The collar on the bowsprit is held in position with two stop cleats.

 

main top taking shape

 

fore top with schooner stay

 

fore stay

 

collar of fore stay

 

the nearly horizontal schooner stay seems to look ok

 

 

 

 

 

 

[riverboat]

Rigging is looking good Peter.... also liked your copper plating work, nicely done!!

 

Frank

[Martin W]

Hi Peter -- Obviously someone has done some planning, and has planned well, but it is the execution that matters in the end, and you've taken care of that with skill.  A lovely build every step of the way.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[mobbsie]

My favourite bit of a build, riggings starting to look Peter.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[flyer]

Hi Nils

No objections from my side either... I think the asymmetry was built in during the planking and sanding of the lower hull and that up to now I was just lucky because much work is usually done just by visual judgement.

 

Hi Frank

Thank you. I really like to work with those Amati copper plates.

 

Hi Spy

Ingenious. Thank you very much.

 

Hi Martin

The more she takes shape, the more I like her. And I like to think that my alterations also improve the look a bit.

 

Hi Mobbsie

You are right. And even rattling down the ratlines is fun in the beginning...

 

Cheers

peter

[flyer]

After putting the futtock staves in place they were connected by catharpins. Those are made from 0.5 mm line and two per mast.

B.E. did some reflections about how far the ratlines should extend over the shrouds. After considering this and doing some thinking of my own, I decided to rig them in a similar fashion to the Pegasus. Basicaly only the forward 3 shrouds were connected but every fifth ratline was also taken to the forth shroud which is in fact a backstay.

 

Sending an able seaman aloft to test the arrangement showed satisfying results.

 

ratlines

 

The futtock staves will be shortened to the required length after the installation of the topmast shrouds.

Upper catharpins are visible.

[donrobinson]

_{looks good and you have saved tying a few knots}  

[flyer]

To take a break from knotting ratlines (fortunately there are not so many on this little ship) I turned to the outer jib stay.

I distrust the setup according to the kit via that eyebolt near the end of the jib boom and think this is only an approximation of a traveller. A better traveller was made from some 0.7 and 0.5 mm brass wire and painted black. The stay will run under the travellers reel and the hook will be used for the forward corner of the sail.

 

 

?????

There remains a problem however: I think that the traveller needs an 'inhauler' to fix it in position and to move it inboard when desired. Moving outboard should be possible by tightening the stay itself. But I don't find any information about that. Unless somebody knows more, I will have to make up an 'inhauler' with a short tackle and will fix its standing end with a ringbolt on the bowsprit cap, similar to the stay itself.

?????

 

 

The future skipper inspects the new traveller

 

Provisionally placed on the jib boom

Edited January 21, 2016 by flyer

[JRB9019]

Hi Peter

 

Re the Jibboom traveller - not sure if it's of any use, but I had another look through my collection of my Tall-ship photo's and found the following:

 

 

Here's a close up that shows a simple pulley system appearing to do the trick

 

 

 

Finally, Petersson's rigging book shows a good diagramme on page 97.

 

I would scan a copy - but I think that breaks all the rules doesn't it?

 

Anyway, this diagramme shows the traveller attached to a ring that surrounds the Bowsprit and is managed via a sheet that comes from underneath the bowsprit and (now for the fun part) around a pulley that is set into the Bowsprit. How that is supposed to be done, I have no idea!!!!!

 

Hope that helps

John

[flyer]

Hi John

 

Thank you for the again marvellous pics. I didn't know Petersson's book but from what I see on Amazon it could be helpful.

 

Your description seems to match an older form of traveller where the end of the stay is lashed to the traveller and a separate out hauler is fixed to the traveller and goes around that pulley in the jib boom. I put such a traveller onto my Pegasus and simply ignored the question how the traveller would move inboard. I think that also there the pull goes in the wrong direction if you just pull on the stay because the force would mainly go upward.

 

But on the Pickle version where the stay itself follows the way of the out hauler (through the pulley in the jib boom and with a tackle back to the bowsprit cap) any pull on that tackle would definitely move the traveller outboard.

I think I have to rig an separate in hauler.

 

peter

[JRB9019]

Peter,

 

Peterssons book is a must have (for me anyway)

 

Full name? Rigging Period Ship Models by Lennarth Petersson.

                   ISBN is 978-1-86176-061-6

 

 

The traveller looks something like this - excuse the quick drawing (not my forte!!)

 

[flyer]

Hi John

 

Thanks for the further information about the book.

 

But your drawing is fine. Only the run of the stay is not shown. But I think here it was lashed to the traveller and the line we see was the out hauler. This would mean, that we are talking about the older of my two traveller variants. (By the way I understand the traveller is the whole thing including the ring around the bowsprit.). Only in the my drawings the traveller always sits a few meters behind the pulley (which is in the end of the jib boom). Your picture would show the situation with the traveller in the extreme forward position. And this rises again the question how often and how far the traveller travelled. Nils (Mirabell61) thought that it was perhaps shifted to move the balance point of the jib sail in order to balance the whole longitudinal sail trim. This sounds logical but again I have no further information.

 

Your drawing also shows that you could move the traveller inboard by just pulling on the sheet of the jib sail but you would need to prevent it from moving out again with each slackening of the sail.

 

Cheers

peter

[flyer]

Hi Spy

 

Thanks for the generous information. Strange, setting the jib with a boom.

 

To streamline the discussion a bit, I try to summarize (summarise for those who have the happyness to be one of Her Majesties subject) what I have so far:

 

According to Marquardt there were mainly two traveller forms in use.

In the older (12 in the picture) the stay was lashed to the traveller and adjusted with a tackle in the top. An outhauler was led from the traveller to the pulley in the jib boom end and back to the bowsprit cap or bow. The visible hook is for the sail.

In the newer version (13) the stay itself was taken through the traveller, the pulley and back inboard and was adjusted with a tackle. This stay was attached in the masttop with an eye splice.

 

 

Now I assume that the traveller used to travel occasionally or frequently, I don't know. The reason could be a fine tuning of the balance of those fore and aft sails in order to minimise the use of the rudder (to avoid friction, turbulence and slowing down the ship). Especially in the newer traveller version you would need an in hauler because I think just pulling on the jib sail wouldn't do the trick properly and leave the newer traveller constantly trying to move outboard.

 

Spy, on your topmost picture I see two lines leading backward from the traveller, the right (sorry starboard) one perhaps not originating on the traveller but being probably a jib boom horse.  Then the line on the port side could be my in hauler.

 

Of course this are just assumptions of a mainly armchair, sailor trying to think logically, mixed with some aerodynamics. (However, I think that hydro- and aerodynamics are quite close cousins, sometimes even tempted to marry each other.)

 

Cheers

peter

[flyer]

The first of that unique deadeye strops finally came apart and one leg slipped out of the channels' slit. I pulled the strops legs together with a sling of some 0.25 line. Fortunately the problem arose at an outermost deadeye and the botched strop should be sufficiently masked by the topmast shroud's collar at exactly this position.

 

 

the skipper inspects the broken strop

 

 

Repaired strop. On this picture I discovered a second one about to brake. This particular construction of the deadeye strops really is unusable and should be changed!

 

 

 

The main topmast shrouds were now rigged. They were set up with thimbles according to Marquardt's book. While cross checking with Lees rigging instructions I found that a schooner seems to resemble a ship without a main mast. Lees rigging details suit the most if I take the fore mast as such but Pickle's main mast matches more the description of the mizzen on a three masted ship.

 

 

shrouds set up with thimbles

 

 

 

 

 

bees on a schooner

While trying to find out how to set up the bowsprit rigging and the jib stay, I slowly came to the conclusion that bees are quite at sea on a schooner. I wouldn't go as far as Jack Aubrey who called them bloodthirsty reptiles and resented them completely when Steven Maturin let his bees fly free in the cabin of HMS Lively but I had to admit that they should go.

A little work with knife, file, sanding paper and paint reduced the bowsprit to the simpler appearance favoured in Marquardt's book and the kit's instructions.

Now the stay and the bowsprit rigging could be set up according to the manual.

 

 

reworked bowsprit (bees gone)

 

 

 

 

better without bees

[Mirabell61]

bowsprit rigging looks great Peter,

 

Nils

[Martin W]

You are a true scholar of O'Brian, Peter, and an ingenious craftsman to boot!

 

Martin