The Ship Model Forum

Yes, that was sort of my thinking as well. Thanks for your answer!

I have some photos for you to see how I am progressing. Please excuse the messiness and the loose ends hanging off here and there. I will do a general tidiness day soon and fix all of the loose ends.

Two more!

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In "Model Ship Building from Stem to Stern" by Milton Roth gives a general formula for mast rake that I used. Late sailing era warships like the Pennsylvania had a much smaller degree of rake. Although the photos do not show it, the mizzen does have a noticeable rake. As I post later I will include one with a more heads on angle of the mizzen on it's own.

I am starting to taper the yards now as well.

I got a copy of "Tables of allowances of the Navy of the United States 1826"
It includes all classes of warships. Their masts, spars, rigging, and stores. It is 47 pages! Every block, line, and fitting is here.
The tables were re issued in 1840 to include razees, third class sloops, brigantines, and steamers. I am trying to get my hands on the second issue now.

I am almost done with the stays. Only a few left on the mizzen, and one or two on the main mast. I am shaping the yards now in my mini lathe. Would you like to see a photo of the process just for the heck of it? Let me know.

I also need to lash down the dead eye lanyards, so the ship rigging looks a little messy yet.

Looking very sharp indeed!

Did you receive the Pensy sailplan I e-mailed to you....?



Jim Baumann

_________________
....I buy them at three times the speed I build 'em.... will I live long enough to empty my stash...?
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

IPMS UK SIG (special interest group) www.finewaterline.com

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Does the octagonal battening look right as for thickness? Should they be thinner? I cannot seem to find anything about this in the forums on yards, masts and rigging.

If you are going to ask if they should be battens, or carved, for this sip and this period, they were battened and wolded with iron straps. However, I can find nothing that tells me how thick the battens were. Seems they would have to be somewhat substantial to hold together a two piece scarfed yard 80 to 100 feet long?

I will post photos of the yards in the lathe later.

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I am trying to make sense of the drawings in Lees book on page 13 in the lower right hand corner. It is not clear if the yard end is "flattened" on the fore side and back side, or only on the back side. I made a rough of what I think it is suppose to look like. Does this look right? Remember, this is ROUGH. Just a practical piece.

Thanks for the answer to m last post. I have tried to find photos of yards to campare to. What I have found LOOKS like mine, but it really hard to tell.

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I managed to find a shape with the four flat sides as you suggested. It looks like it will work. On to other things. I have been taking a rest from my ship lately. Now that it is finally cooling down around here, I have a lot of landscape and fall prep work to do for my clients.
I am catching up on it now.

I have a question about spacing on the ratlines. I couldn't find, or missed the reference in Lees book as to how far apart each row of rope is. Also, on some ships, not every row runs to the first shroud. I have a plan of the Columbus that has the fore shrouds and ratlines depicted on it, but there is no measurement reference on the plan to get an idea of how far apart they are. I suppose I could use the gun ports as a point of reference, knowing they are 30" wide?

Any way, I hope I can hear from someone on this so I can get going on the ratlines. I have the fore and main yards done and ready to install, but, I want to get the ratlines out of the way first.

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Everyone: I have been dealing with a severely pinched sciatic nerve the past 4 weeks. VERY painful. I may be experiencing disc degeneration at L4/5, where operations in 1989 and 1999 left me with no disc between those vertebra. I have difficulty sleeping more than a couple of hours at a stretch.
Heat and pills are working slowly, but I cannot stand in one place for more than a few minutes at a time, nor can I sit up straight for any length of time. A reclining position is the least painful.
Naturally, the progress on my ship has suffered as a result. I have hopes that another couple of weeks will see me back to normal. Until then, I cannot say when I will be able to do sufficient work on the ship to warrant posting.

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First of all I want to apologize for being so long away. My back problems became severe and I was in a lot of pain for a long time. I suffered some depression as a result and am slowly getting back to normal in that regard. you cannot believe how hard it is to get motivated some days knowing the slightest thoughtless movement can cause your back muscles to cramp up until the pain almost makes you pass out. My back, combined with the fusion of three discs in my neck done some years ago left me in pain most all day every day. I medicate, but it makes me sleepy and myopic. My energy was, and still is to some degree very low. Time seems to have reduced some of my back problems, some stretching and light calisthenics has strengthen my back to where I can lift things again. But now, the neck surgery I had done 6 years ago is starting to fail. The pain in my left forearm and wrist is getting pretty bad again. Think of carpal tunnel on steroids. I have trouble holding my left arm at shoulder level for more than a few minutes at a time. Luckily my doctor seems to think Some ultra sound and therapy to my neck and shoulder should put it to rights in a few weeks. I have only slowly been able to work on my ship. the ratlines are frustrating me no end. i have most of the yards done and will put the studding sail irons on the ends soon. I am making the sectional molds for the ships boats. I need more double and triple blocks of certain sizes for the yard tackle. I a few days I can post a few photos. I am back now, and hope to post on a regular basis. i am afraid it will ot be with the consistency of the past, at least, until I get my neck and shoulder pinched nerve back under control.

Sorry to hear of your issues and I hope you get some relief. Beautiful work on your rigging.

Here is what I have so far since last time. Am working on ships boas molds now, as well as picking away at those pesky ratlines!

Some I forgot. Also, tried to carve molds for boats out of 2X2 pine, too hard a wood for this, splintered a lot. Ordered a block of basswood from the lumber yard on line. Have to wait for that to get here. I am working with plans for the boats from Chappelle's book, hard to make out the bulkhead labeling even under magnification. I will try my best to decipher them. Some of the plans from 1854 show more bulkheads in the end view than in the side view, so it is hard to say which bulkhead belongs where.

That is looking really good!!--

You have my sympathies with wrist trouble-==> -I have suffered recently with similar to you and it is simply debilitating --especially for working on models|!

I guess you are doing so anyhow--but when I made ratlines on sailing ships I placed a piece of card -with ruled lines at the correct spacing- behind the shrouds so as to keep the distances twsixt the foot lines even...

Another handy hint...( worked for me anyhow)

after you have installed the ratlines-If you take some thinned matt varnish and paint the foot lines with the varnish-- about 2 at a time then after about 1 minute take a cocktail stick and gently press down on the foot rope-- this will then hold its shape in a slight curve downwards
for evermore.


Hope it helps

evidence of my sailing ship building days below ( nothing as complex or beautifully executed as yours I hasten to add!!!!


http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html


http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

_________________
....I buy them at three times the speed I build 'em.... will I live long enough to empty my stash...?
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

IPMS UK SIG (special interest group) www.finewaterline.com