The Ship Model Forum

00. INTRODUCTION

Gentlemen,
when visiting this website, on several occasions I saw occur the need of a detailed rigging diagram of the IJN YAMATO.
Unless I missed it, I never saw such a ( complete) topic. Nowhere.
It is my intention to change that. From today on, I will share with you on a regular basis, quite some info and pictures on YAMATO Rigging.

A few words before we start:
This rigging project is an observation of the 1/10 Kure Museum Yamato Model. To my humble opinion, it deserves to be considered as a reference, today.
That's why I will not enter into any discussions if this- or that part of the museum model is correct/ wrong or obsolete/ missing.
The Rigging Guide will only describe what is visible on the 1/10 Kure Museum Yamato Model , in order to help modellers.

Modelling tips & solutions
Because you will see pictures from the 1/10 Kure Model, it will show you how cables and lines are placed or installed. It does not tell you how you should find modelling solutions for specific rigging on this or that part of your model.
I have no objections at all that after each rigging topic, modelers give their opinion on the making of rigging lines and all the additional materials they will use to do so. I can imagine that the thickness or brand of the used wire highly depends on what scale you are building. Same goes for the insulators , brackets , receptacles, yards etc, etc...
So what I will do is : I'll show you where and how the cables or cords are installed on the Yamato Model.
You, as a modeler can, if you want to share it, show Us how you did it with the material you used for that purpose.

Pictures.
You will see a series of pictures that I collected, some recently and others long ago. I want to take no credit at all for any of those pictures. They are made by very skilled people who passed several hours or even days in the Kure Yamato Museum. I am very grateful that their work can contribute to this project.
In this spirit, I want to thank Rob Wood for allowing me to use his pictures: a truly big help for this rigging guide.

I am perfectly aware that some of you people are real specialists. I'm not. Not even close. That's why this guide will always be a platform where the showed topics and articles can be improved- or corrected by your pictures or consequent remarks. If you have other and better pictures than the published ones, please show Us!!
Feel free to add your knowledge and pictures if they can contribute to the guide. Just post a reply and tell Us what you want to show with your remarks. Keep in mind that this guide will be conceived to help modelers.

References
I mainly use pictures as a reference but sometimes I use Jan Skulski's " Anatomy of the ship : YAMATO ". Sometimes I will refer to that book with page and fig.

Because of the YAMATO's size, this guide will be shown in several chapters and many sub-chapters.
The Main Chapters are : 01 FORESHIP - 02 BRIDGE - 03 MID SHIP - 04 REAR RANGE FINDER - 05 AFT SHIP - 06 STERN

So I tried to explain you in short what you can expect the next weeks.
Your feedback on this introduction will be highly appreciated.

Gentlemen,
Have a nice day.

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You might want to post this topic in the FAQ section. Something to consider. It will be helpful to many, I'm sure.

Katana,

I have been the one who had on many occasions inquired about rigging Yamato in this forum. After looking far and wide, I have come up with nothing that goes into detail on where all the wires are attached and how. I even wrote to Tamiya requesting they add a rigging diagram to their new tool kit along with the instruction book. In my opinion, the rigging is the only subject that hasn't been covered so far until you decided to tackle it. I believe that if you can get into great detail with photos, drawings, etc, it will be a very important tool for all other modelers of Yamato. About Ron Wood, I had contacted him, but he was busy at that time and couldn't get the chance to post some of the other photos he had taken. Ron's photos are the best I have seen on the net and all are shot in HD. I look forward to following this post and learning about this subject. Good Luck!

Jim

I'll start this topic off with a photo of the ball insulators used on Yamato to interconnect wires to prevent lightning strikes. Insulators stop electrical charge from traveling down the line and damaging electrical equipment.

Thanks Baseballbrat for the picture.
When this rigging topic comes to an end , you will be knowing the correct location of about
140 of these brown ball insulators and about 36 of the long white cylindrical insulators.
But knowing WHERE they should appear does not answer the question : HOW should one
reproduce these in a correct material ?
In annex you 'll see a picture of the midship rigging where the biggest concentration of white insulators can be found.
The end of the week is the start of the rigging guide for me.

Have a nice day

I have been looking around for very small beads that could slide onto the rigging wire, but again until I know an exact size, it's going to be hard to find a scale version. Even using the 1:350 scale model, it would still be very small to make an exact copy small enough to see any real detail in that scale. As for the brackets to attach the wire to, they could be made out of sheet plastic or brass sheeting.

Katana,

After you complete your rigging project, it might be a good idea to present this to someone who could possibly make this into a detailed rigging kit with wire, brackets, insulators, and rope. I was going to go to Fine Molds in Japan with this, but it was the lack of accurate information, drawings and photographs that caused me to drop the subject. I believe that if you can get the accuracy down and have schematics for where the wires attach and where they go around the ship, their would be a good chance that Fine Molds could see this a worthwhile project to take on. They already make guns and other smaller objects for Yamato in both 700 and 350 scale. Who ever takes this on will probably be the only one to offer a rigging kit on the market and wold make a killing selling this to Yamato kit owners. No one to date has any data on Yamato's rigging online, so you are the only one on earth willing to tackle this.

Infini Models might be worth a shot.

Aren't they in collaboration with Pontus?

No, Infini is headed by a former Pontos member.

_________________
De quoi s'agit-il?

I have been looking around for very small beads that could slide onto the rigging wire, but again until I know an exact size, it's going to be hard to find a scale version. Even using the 1:350 scale model, it would still be very small to make an exact copy small enough to see any real detail in that scale. As for the brackets to attach the wire to, they could be made out of sheet plastic or brass sheeting.[/quote]


Well , since I'm also a 1/200 Nichimo builder and consequently I was alsoo looking for e very small kind of beads. Untill now : this is the only thing which
is suitable in 1/200 : it's called Miyuki Rocailles 15/0 : " https://www.wirwarkralen.nl/c-1554596/m ... lles-15-0/ " they are 1,3mm thick which is smaller than the smallest beads you can find.
They are not perfectly round , but you can put them on a wire and fix them with CA glue. -----> will make them also a little more round.
But you can NOT machine them to make 2 holes and grooves in it like shown on your picture of the " real " brown ball isolator.
In 1/200 , we are limited today. I would be glad alone if I could place small rocailles on the correct location , even if the rigging line passes trough.
Have a nice day

CHAPTER 01. FORESHIP
Step 01.01. Jackstaff – Revision 01 of 01 april 2024

Gentlemen,
today we will talk about the Jackstaff , the Flagpole at the bow of Yamato.
Reference : Janusz Skulski's " YAMATO Anatomy of the ship - AOTS " page 92 drawings D3 /1-2-3-4
This rigging guide starts at the Jackstaff on the bow of Yamato , just behind the Chrysantenum ornament at the front of the ship.
The Jackstaff is a vertical flagpole of 9,55 meter high that is placed 1,30m behind the front ornament on the bow. See Pic 01.
On the top of the Jackstaff we see a lantern. The lantern is facing forward and standing slightly higher than the tip of the Jakstaff. See pic 02
On the AFT side of the flag-pole, just under the lantern( front-side), we see a small pulley with a white cord. This white cord will serve to raise the Jack, a small flag typical for military vessels. Jacks, following Wikipedia are only attached while the ship is at anchor or moored pierside, but NOT under way.
The jackstaff pole is standing on a round flag-base, 300mm in diameter, see pic 03-04-05-07-10. At the base, the jackstaff pole has a diameter of 140mm.
On its top , just under the pole-knob, the pole-diameter is 90mm. See pic 02.
At a height of 605cm the staff is equipped with two pulleys , one on the left side of the pole , and one on the right side. See pic 01-04-05-06.
These 2 pulleys are the devices where the Main Cables Nr 1&2 in the port side pulley, and Main Cables Nr 3&4 in the starboard side pulley will be guided above the ship deck. See detail Pic 06.
Main Cables Nr 1&2 and Nr 3&4 are secured to the deck with bottle-screws: 1 bottle-screw for MC Nr 1&2 and 1 bottle-screw for MC Nr 3&4.
The bottle-screws are each 500mm long and are secured to the deck via round deck fittings that are located 750mm BEHIND the flagpole and at about 600mm at the Left and the Right from the pole. Check your ref drawings on page 92 in AOTS and check pic 05 -07 in this post.
Remark : the bottle-screws hold the cable ends of MC Nr 1-2-3-4, but the surplus of the cable-ends are guided to a smaller deck fitting, somewhat behind the botte-screws. See detail pic 07.
The 2 smaller deck fittings are 85mm in diameter and are equipped with a lug-ring to catch the loose ends of MC Nr 1&2 on the left and MC Nr 3&4 on the right side.
The surplus of the cables are nicely rolled-up to avoid Japanese Sailor Tackling.
One could imagine that the weight of- and the tension on the MC Nr 1-2-3-4 would slightly bend the Jackstaff. To counter this phenomenon , the Jackstaff is secured to the front of the deck with 2 different devices.

The first device is a solid steel rod of 50mm diameter , bent in a V-shape and surrounding the Jackstaff circumferentially on a height of 330cm above the deck. The V-ends are attached to the deck , just behind the ornament, 240cm separated from each other. See pic 04-05.

The second device: 2 cables that start in a lug-ring at BOTH sides of the Jackstaff , right above the solid rod , at a height of 335cm above the deck. Both cables are led down , sidewards and in front of the jackstaff to a lug ring.
Remark: this lug ring is NOT attached to the deck but to the rear side of the ornament, see pic 07.
The lugs in the ornament are separated 540cm from each other and are at an unknown height : dimension not available. Check pic 07 to get an idea.
Securing of both cables is done with a bottle-screw : see pic07 . Remark : front view of the pic 07 : see the attachment location of the solid rod and the cable attachment to the ornament.
Pic 10 gives a better view where the solid rod arms are attached and where exactly the securing cables are attached to the ornament lugs, each with 1 bottle-screw.
Note : the solid rod arms are attached to the deck without any other deck fitting.
I suppose that a solid metal bar of 50mm diameter that is correctly welded to the steel deck plate should not need an additional fitting to hold.

Insulator Count
In this rigging step, no Insulators were used.


This is the end of Step 01.01. Jackstaff
Next rigging step: 01.02. Main Cables Nr 1-2-3-4 above the Foreship

Gentlemen,
Have a nice day

The rigging schemes and all will come in handy since I'm building a 1/350 Yamato. It's the only thing which really scares me, what a massive undertaking. Respect for you to try to show it all mate

CHAPTER 01. FORESHIP
Step 01.02. Main Cables Nr 1-2-3-4 above the Foreship - Revision 01 of 03 april 2024

Gentlemen,
today we will talk about the rigging of Main Cables Nr 1-2-3 & 4 above the foreship.
Just to avoid misunderstandings : cable identification is based on its specific location on the ship.
Cables numbering is done by looking from stern to bow, ALF = Aft, Looking Forward. We start with the first cable on the left side and this one will be called: Main Cable Nr 1. From there , we proceed to the right side with Main Cable Nr 2-3-4.
In this rigging step , we will see the Main Cables Rigging above the Foreship. And although each of the 4 Main Cables lead to the bridge, the locations where they arrive on the bridge will be discussed in a future rigging step.

Let’s start :
Identification of the 4 Main Cables( MC), Aft Looking Forward :
MC Nr 1 is the Left Outer cable on Port side.
MC Nr 2 is the Left Inner cable on Port side.
MC Nr 3 is the Right Inner cable on Starboard side.
MC Nr 4 is the Right Outer cable on Starboard side.
To refresh the memory :
The 4 Main Cables depart per pair from their 2 deck fittings nearby the Jackstaff. MC Nr 1&2 run over the left pulley and MC Nr 3&4 run over the right pulley of the Jackstaff towards the bridge. ( See previous rigging step 01.01.)
See Pic 001 : Use your zoom.
Light Blue Ovals : qty = 9 Brown Ball Insulators are installed on Port side Main Cable Nr 1 (MC1).
Yellow Ovals : qty = 9 Brown Ball Insulators are installed on Starboard side Main Cable Nr 4 (MC4).
The 10th Brown Ball Insulator (yellow oval) on Starboard side Main Cable Nr 4 is not visible in this picture. Keep in mind that MC Nr 1 is the mirror view of MC Nr 4.
Dark Blue Oval & Arrows: Brown Ball Insulator Nr 10 on MC 1, is flanked by 2 White Bar Insulators that are hanging on MC1. In Pic 001 you can not see much detail and therefore I introduced Pic 002.
In Pic 002 you see :
dark blue oval : Brown Ball Insulator Nr 10 on MC1
dark blue arrows : 2 White Bar Insulators installed on MC1, leading 2 cables to the Front 155mm Gun Antenna. These 2 cables will be treated in a future rigging step.
Red arrow: White Bar Insulator installed on MC Nr 1 going to Bridge. This Insulator is part of todays rigging step.
Notice : from all the 4 Main Cables that travel above the Foreship, only MC 1& 4 carry Insulators. When you look close , you’ll see that Main Cables Nr 2 and Nr 3, which travel also over the foreship, have NO insulators installed.

So, where exactly is the first (front) Brown Ball Insulator installed on MC1& 4 ?
Picture 003, 004 gives you the exact location of Brown Ball Insulator Nr1 on Main Cables 1&4 versus their relative position on the Foreship.
Blue oval = location of Brown Ball Insulator Nr 1
Blue/ yellow arrow = location of Capstan on Deck
Blue/ Yellow line = vertical position of Brown Ball Insulator Nr 1 versus its Deck location
Picture 005 is a detailed view with the same subject.
Blue oval = location of Front Brown Ball Insulator
Blue arrow = location of Capstan on Deck
Blue line = vertical position of Brown Ball Insulator Nr 1 versus its relative Deck location.
Pic 006 is not a side view but gives you a better idea where the 2 Brown Ball Insulators on MC1&4 are located towards the position of the Capstan on the Foreship.
Blue arrows = location of the 2 Brown Ball Insulators Nr 1 on Main Cable Nr 1&4.
Yellow arrow = location of Capstan on Deck.
After looking at Pic 003-004-005 and 006, we get a good idea where the first (front) Brown Ball Insulator is located on MC1&4, but that leaves Us with the other question :
Where is the last (aft) of the 10 Brown Ball Insulators installed on Main Cable Nr 1 and on Nr 4 ?
Please take a look at Pic 007. This is a Side view of the Bridge, where, high above the Deck, several Main Cables travel towards the Bridge.
On Main Cable Nr 1, you see the blue arrow pointing at the blue oval that surrounds Brown Ball Insulator Nr 10 above the Foreship.
A little further on MC Nr 1 a green arrow points at a green oval that surrounds a White Bar Insulator that is also installed in-line on MC Nr 1.
Please keep in mind that what happens on MC Nr 1 is the mirror view of what happens on MC Nr 4 : note the white oval and white arrow that point at the location of Brown Ball Insulator Nr 10 and the nearby White Bar Insulator, in-line installed on MC Nr 4.
Also visible in this picture is the yellow striped line that indicates the relative vertical position of the Brown Ball Insulator versus its location above the Deck.
Please note that Brown Ball Insulator Nr 10 is located above the Aft-part of the Front 155mm Gun Tower, and also quite behind the 155mm gun Antenna.
The exact location of Brown Ball Insulator Nr 10 will play an important role in next rigging step : "01.03. Branches from MC1&4 to Front 155mm Antenna Brackets".

And what about MC 2&3 in this rigging step ?
Simple !
MC Nr 2 and Nr 3 depart from their 2 deck fittings nearby the Jackstaff. MC Nr 2 runs over the left pulley and MC Nr 3 runs over the right pulley in the middle of the Jackstaff towards the bridge. Period.
No insulators are used on MC Nr 2 or Nr 3 in this rigging chapter.
In all the pictures in this rigging step you also can see MC2&3. They are not so prominent as MC1&4 do because they lack the most recognizable feature : insulators.
Also remarkable for this chapter : In contrast to MC1&4 , MC2&3 show NO splits or branches to any other location.

Insulator count :
On MC Nr 2 & Nr 3 there are NO Insulators used in the rigging step of Main cables 1-2-3-4 above the fore ship.
On MC Nr 1 we found : qty = 10 Brown Ball Insulators and 1 White Bar Insulator installed.
On MC Nr 4 we found : qty = 10 Brown Ball Insulators and 1 White Bar Insulator installed.
Total of Insulator used in this rigging step: qty= 20 Brown Ball Insulators and qty= 2 White Bar Insulators

This is the end of step 01.02. Main Cables Nr 1-2-3-4 above the Foreship.
Next rigging step: 01.03. Main Cables Nr 1&4 Splits and Branches to the Front 155mm Gun Antenna

Gentlemen,
Have a nice day.

Katana,

As you're going along with your rigging, if you have them, can you add photos of the connection points on the superstructure where the wires are attached? Any turnbuckles, eyelets or brackets would be nice to see.

Thanks!!!

Jim

CHAPTER 01. FORESHIP
Step 01.03. Branches from MC Nr 1 & 4 to Front 155mm Gun Antenna Brackets - Revision 01 of 10 april 2024

Gentlemen ,
Today we will talk about the 4 (Split Cables)/ Branches from MC1&4 to the Front 155mm Gun Antenna. I prefer the name “branch”.
To show you the different items in this rigging step, I introduced 17 pictures on which I added some tags and numbers.
What is common in all these pictures :
The 2 main colours of tags that were used are Blue (Port Side) and Yellow (Starboard side).
All cables, branches, insulators on Port side have their mirror view counterpart on Starboard side, even when not clearly visible in a picture.

As a guideline, to understand all these pictures, we have Pic 001 Template which is a schematic drawing (not to scale) that shows you a quite simple overview of all the cables & devices that are of interest in this rigging step.
Also the special items of (next) rigging step “01.04. Rigging Antenna Cables to Front Bridge Structure“ are present in this drawing because their function highly impacts this rigging step.
On each Main Cable a Brown Ball Insulator present in this drawing but it is not part of this rigging step: It’s only used to clarify the start location of this rigging step.
On the other hand, we see quite a lot of White Bar Insulators (WBI’s) that have their own identification Nr.
Each WBI has a Front and an Aft connector to which cables or brackets are attached.
All Cables have an identification Nr, as do the attachment points of the Perpendicular Tubes on each side of the Front Bridge Structure.
Notice : For easy use, the Perpendicular Tubes in this drawing are drawn upside-down. Much easier to show the rigging connections.
I strongly recommend you to use Pic 001 as a reference guide when you read this rigging step.
Nr 1 : Front White Bar Insulator (WBI) front connection to MC1&4.
Nr 2 : Aft White Bar Insulator (WBI) front connection to MC1&4.
A-1: Outer Antenna Brackets on Antenna Bar.
A-2: Inner Antenna Brackets on Antenna Bar.
Nr 3 : Outer Aft WBI Connector.
Nr 4 : Inner Aft WBI Connector.
Nr 5 : Aft WBI Front Connector.
Nr 6 : Aft WBI Rear Connector.
Nr 7 : Perpendicular Tube Retaining Flange Hole.
Nr 8 : Perpendicular Tube Flat Surface Connector.

A : Cable from Nr 1 WBI Connector to WBI Nr 3 Connector.
B : Cable from Nr 2 WBI Connector to WBI Nr 3 Connector.
C : Cable between Outer WBI Nr 3 connector and Aft WBI Nr 5 front Connector.
D : Cable between Inner WBI Nr 4 connector and Aft WBI Nr 5 front Connector.
E : Connection Cable between WBI Nr 4 & Nr 3 aft connectors.
F : Connection Cable between Aft WBI aft connector Nr 6 and Perpendicular Tube Retaining Flange Hole.
G : Connection Cable from Perpendicular Tube flat surface connector Nr 8 to Aft WBI Nr 5 front Connector.

Rigging Procedure
Main Cable Nr 1and Nr 4 are shown as the 2 big cables at the left and right side of the picture.
High above and near the Bridge, (port & starboard side) ,just before- and right after Brown Ball Insulator Nr 10, two White Bar Insulators (WBI’s) are installed almost perpendicular on the 2 main cables MC1&4.
The Front White Bar insulator is called Nr 1 and the Aft White Bar insulator is called Nr 2. See Pic 002-003-004-005-006-007
On their aft connectors, a cable is heading downwards to the Front 155mm Antenna. The front insulator Nr 1 holds cable A and the aft insulator Nr 2 holds cable B. See Pic 003-004-005-006
To everyone’s surprise, cables A &B end-up on the Antenna in the same aft connector on WBI Nr 3. See Pic 005-006-007
The Outer WBI’s Nr 3 are attached to the Outer Antenna Brackets Nr A-1. See Pic 005-006-010-011-012
The Inner WBI’s Nr 4 are attached to the Inner Antenna Brackets Nr A-2. See Pic 005-006-010-011-012
Between the WBI’s Nr 3 and 4 Aft connectors, you find the small connecting cable E. See Pic 006-008-009-010-013-014
In the Outer WBI Nr 3 connector, not only cables A & B arrive from MC1 & 4, but here’s also a cable that departs from this point.
Cable C goes from the 2 WBI’s Nr 3 aft connectors to the Aft WBI Nr 5 front connector.
And from the WBI Nr 4 aft connectors, cable D runs also towards the Aft WBI Nr 5 front connector. See Pic 002-006-007-008-012-017
On the Aft WBI Nr 6 rear connector, Cable F goes to the Perpendicular Tube Retaining Flange Hole Nr 7. See Pic 006-007-008-017
And from the Perpendicular Tube Flat Surface Connector Nr 8, Cable G returns to the Aft WBI Nr 5 front Connector. See Pic 006-007-008-017
So far the trajectory of all the cables in this rigging step.

Let’s take a look at the main rigging devices in this chapter :
The Front 155mm Gun Antenna .
Take a look at Pic 002-005-006-007-008-009-010-011-012-013-014-015
The Antenna bar stands on top of the 155mm Front Gun. See Pic 007-010-011-012-013-014.
On the Antenna bar Aft side, 4 Brackets are attached : 2 outer brackets (A-1) and 2 inner brackets( A-2).
On each bracket lug-ring, a White Bar Insulator is attached with its front connector.
The WBI’s on the A-1 outer brackets are connected with Cables A&B from MC1&4 in their aft-connectors Nr 3.
The WBI’s on the A-2 inner brackets contain 1 cable that departs from the aft connector to the Aft WBI front connector Nr 5.
The Perpendicular Tubes on the Front Bridge Structure.
Take a look at Pic 006-007-008-017
These devices will be discussed in the next rigging step : “01.04. Rigging Antenna Cables to Front Bridge Structure”.
But their role in this rigging step is so important that I’ve had to mention their location already.

What can we see in the different pictures ?
1) Near the attachment location of cables A&B on MC1&4, some pictures show the Brown Ball Insulator Nr 10 (BBI) and a the Rear White Bar Insulator (WBI). See Pic 002-003-004-005-006-007
Although they show-up each time in these pictures they have no function in this rigging step. Simply because they are part of the previous rigging step “01.02. MC 1-2-3-4 above the Foreship”. They serve only as a marking point on MC1&4 to know where cables A&B depart.

2)None of the cables A & B that depart from MC1&4 are travelling under a straight angle of 90°. You”ll see that Cables A&B are heading slightly under a forward angle to the Antenna Bracket Nr 3. See Pic 002-003-004-005-006-007

3) The cable that is almost always “hidden “ in every picture is Cable E. Very hard to get a good view of it. But there still some nice shots of it : See Pic 006-008-009-010-013-014-015
4) Highly depending on the picture angle is the projected length and location of Main Cables 1&4. There are no 2 pictures with the same image of MC1&4.

Insulator count:
There are qty =2 WBI’s on MC1 and qty = 2 WBI’s on MC4 that lead cables A&B to the Antenna.
On the Antenna itself, there are 4 WBI’s connected to the Antenna brackets : 2 on port side and 2 on starboard side.
The Aft WBI’s Nr 5 that lead cable F to the Perpendicular Tubes on the Bridge Side walls are part of a next rigging step and will not be considered in this insulator count.
Also mentioned before: the Brown Ball Insulator Nr 10 and the White Bar Insulator right after Branch Nr 2 on MC Nr 1 and Nr 4 also do not participate in this insulator count.
Total of Insulators used in this rigging step : qty= 8 White Bar Insulators (WBI’s) .

This is the end of Step 01.03.Cables from MC1&4 to the Front 155mm Gun Antenna Brackets.
Next rigging step : 01.04. Rigging Antenna Cables to Front Bridge Structure.

Gentlemen ,
have a nice day.

CHAPTER 01. FORESHIP
Step 01.03. Branches from MC1&4 to Front 155mm Antenna Brackets

Gentlemen,
Here is the rest of the 17 Pictures.

CHAPTER 01. FORESHIP
Step 01.04. Rigging Antenna Cables to the Front Bridge Side Structure - Revision 01 of 13 April 2024


Gentlemen ,
Today we will talk about the Cables that come from the aft connectors Nr 3&4 on the Antenna Brackets, and go to the perpendicular tubes on both sides of the Front Bridge Side Structure.
You will recognize some pictures of our previous rigging “step 01.03 MC1&4 branches to the 155mm Antenna”.
They have been adapted and detailed for this particular rigging step. Pic 001, the schematic drawing, is one of them.

Let’s start .

The port & starboard Perpendicular Tubes on the Front Bridge Side Structure
The least one can say is that these 2 cable-receptacles have a very unusual shape. See Pic 002-003-004-005-06-007-008.
Pic 004, 005 and 006 shows you the full package, from the Front 155 mm Antenna all the way to the port side perpendicular tube.
All those pictures give you different views from different angles at port and starboard side of the bridge, but for a real detailed view, I recommend everybody to look at the enlarged Pic 002.
The perpendicular tubes : one can describe them as big tubes, bent 90° downwards with near the free (flat) end, a reinforcement collar. A big collar is installed where the tube is attached to the Front Bridge Side Structure (wall).
And in the middle of the tube, right before it is tranformed into a perpendicular shape, a retaining flange is installed : see also Pic 001.
This “retaining” flange has a hole on the upper side where a cable can be inserted.

Let’s take a closer look at the different Cables & Stations, again in the enlarged Pic 002.
C = Cable coming from aft connector Nr 3 of White Bar Insulator
D = Cable coming from aft connector Nr 4 of White Bar Insulator
5 = front connector of the Aft White Bar Insulator
6 = aft conector of the Aft White Bar Insulator
F = attachment cable towards the Perpendicular Tube
7 = Cable attachment hole in the retaining flange on the Perpendicular Tube
8 = Cable hole in the flat surface underside of the Perpendicular Tube
G = Cable that emerges from the cable hole in station Nr 8 and returns to the front connector of the Aft WBI

Rigging Procedure (See Pic 002)
Cables D&C come from the antenna aft connectors Nr 3&4 to the Aft WBI front connector Nr 5. When looking close, you’ll see that both cables are attached with a loop to the Nr 5 front connector.
In the aft WBI connector, cable “F” is attached, also with a loop. But when you use the zoom function, you ‘ll notice that cable “F” is a double cable. It starts with a loop in aft connector Nr 6 , goes to the retaining flange in hole Nr 7 and returns to the aft connector
Nr 6 where it is attached with a second loop.
Very hard to see (because there are no clear pictures of it), but the flange with retaining hole Nr 7 bears the full weight and tension of cables C&D to the Aft WBI.
The outside of the Perpendicular tube makes no contact with Cables C&D because cable F is at the other (insulated)side of the Aft WBI.
But we still have cable “G” that comes out a hole in the flat surface underside of the Perpendicular Tube, so the contact with cables C&D is established. Cable G is attached with a loop in the Aft WBI front connector. Together with cables C&D, this is the 3rd loop that arrives in front connector Nr 5.
Notice : the 2 perpendicular tubes are installed with their flat surfaces downwards. I guess it ‘s done that way to avoid rain and seawater find their way into the tube. See Pic 002
The exact location of the tubes can be seen in many pictures but Pic 003 gives a nice overview : the tubes are installed slightly higher and behind the first Front Bridge Platform, on the Bridge Side Walls. Not the best place to be when you need to replace cable F or G, for instance….

Insulator count :
On port and starboard side there is an Aft White Bar Insulator between stations 5 and 6, that leads a cable to the Perpendicular Tubes.
Total of insulators used in this rigging step : qty = 2 White Bar Insulators.

This is the end of step “01.04. Rigging Antenna Cables to Front Bridge Side Structure”
This is also the end of Main Chapter 01. FORESHIP
Next Main Chapter : 02. BRIDGE
Next rigging step : 02.01. Rigging Main Cables 1&4 at Bridge Main Yard Tips.

Special note :
A very big “thanks” to Baseballbrat for unveiling the “magical secret “ of the retaining flange to me in his article of 19 march 2017 (hereafter).
It is this kind of remarks & feedback that bring articles to a higher level.

Gentlemen ,
have a nice day.

Kantana,

Commenting on the statement:
"The left and right Front Bridge Brackets.
These 2 devices have a strange shape . See pic 05 -06 -08 -09.
You could describe them as big tubes , bent 90° downwards with near the end , a reinforcement collar, and an attachment collar on the contact surface with the bridge wall."What makes it so strange to these brackets is the opening for the 2 cables. It’s on top of the 90° bend, where you should not expect an opening at all"



After looking at these photos, I think there is no opening on the top of the tube, but rather a bracket to secure the two wires to the wall before entering. Similar to houses that have power cables running from the power pole to the house frame, the wire is secured with a steel cable and bolts to take the tension off of the wire, so it doesn't separate during stress. The wire is then spliced loosely ahead of the insulator and inserted through the bottom of the 90 degree tube to the wall and connected. The tube turned downwards helps keep rain out.

That's why the two wires look tight on top and you have a tube insulator on the end to ground the wire out, so the spliced looped lower wire can enter the ship from the bottom without tension on it. Otherwise the wire would swing around in the wind and tear itself off from the stress. These must be the most important wires to be treated this way.

If you zoom in really close, you can see in front of the reinforcement ring against the wall has another ring welded forward of that with a loop on it to attach the wires to. The single wire attached on the top of the tube is just a reinforcement wire attached to the insulator to complete the connection to the wall. If you noticed the two wires coming from the antenna are spliced together and then attached to the insulator, then a separate wire is soldiered to the splice which then enters the tube into the wall.

Anyone want to correct me, please feel free!

Jim

Thanks for this explanation , Baseballbrat.
Guess it makes sense what you tell Us. I found another picture , from Rob Wood , to get more detail of the tube upper side , where the cable comes in.
What I want to find is a picture that shows Us the front view of the tube(s) so we can see more about that loop.
But you definitely have a point on this one.
Thanks for the info.
greetz,