- Joined
- Mar 1, 2022
- Messages
- 803
- Points
- 353
Scary operation... I don't even want to think what if you messed it up. Happy to know all went right!
-
SUBSCRIBE TO SHIPS IN SCALE TODAY!
The beloved Ships in Scale Magazine is back and charting a new course for 2026!
Discover new skills, new techniques, and new inspirations in every issue.
NOTE THAT OUR NEXT ISSUE WILL BE July/August 2026 -
Win a Free Custom Engraved Brass Coin!!!
As a way to introduce our brass coins to the community, we will raffle off a free coin during the month of August. Follow link ABOVE for instructions for entering.
HMS Victory of Caldercraft by Wil
- Thread starter Scheepshoorn
- Start date
- Watchers 32
-
- Tags
- caldercraft victory
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2024
- Messages
- 87
- Points
- 113
Two weeks after my last post, I've been able to spend several more hours on the Victory. Not so much in terms of visible progress, but more in the form of thinking it through, so I can feel confident I'm not forgetting anything. I've checked and double-checked everything from different angles. McKay's table is my leading reference here, along with the drawings. For details I use Zu Montfeld and Petersson. Only after that do I turn to Longridge if I'm in doubt or stuck.
At the moment, the yards on all three masts have everything I've been able to find in the sources mentioned above.
In the meantime, I've also fitted the masts with the necessary blocks, which I can attach beforehand without the various lines that will later run through them. I don't want to think about having to do this once several lines of the running rigging are already in place. With only the standing rigging on, you essentially have a vertical "flat" plane along the ship's longitudinal axis, which you can still reach reasonably well from all sides. Once the running rigging goes on, the ship gains width and it becomes considerably harder.
So right now I still have a whole checklist of points that need to be done first. For instance, the drawings indicate that in some places I need to make cleats on the stays for belaying lines. No idea whether these were included in the kit, but I can't find them anywhere at the moment. There are also still a few things I haven't quite figured out yet, but that will come.
On top of that, there's the ongoing discussion of whether to fully rig some of the sails. At the moment I'm considering fully rigging the following sails: the spanker, the three topgallant sails, and possibly one sail under the bowsprit. No idea yet whether this will look good.
Since I still needed to order some extra blocks, I started yesterday on the rigging around the bowsprit. A nice change from all the tinkering on the yards.
Now a question comes to mind: in what order should the running rigging be fitted? My first instinct is to start at the top and slowly work down. Is that correct?
My reasoning is as follows:
At the moment, the yards on all three masts have everything I've been able to find in the sources mentioned above.
In the meantime, I've also fitted the masts with the necessary blocks, which I can attach beforehand without the various lines that will later run through them. I don't want to think about having to do this once several lines of the running rigging are already in place. With only the standing rigging on, you essentially have a vertical "flat" plane along the ship's longitudinal axis, which you can still reach reasonably well from all sides. Once the running rigging goes on, the ship gains width and it becomes considerably harder.
So right now I still have a whole checklist of points that need to be done first. For instance, the drawings indicate that in some places I need to make cleats on the stays for belaying lines. No idea whether these were included in the kit, but I can't find them anywhere at the moment. There are also still a few things I haven't quite figured out yet, but that will come.
On top of that, there's the ongoing discussion of whether to fully rig some of the sails. At the moment I'm considering fully rigging the following sails: the spanker, the three topgallant sails, and possibly one sail under the bowsprit. No idea yet whether this will look good.
Since I still needed to order some extra blocks, I started yesterday on the rigging around the bowsprit. A nice change from all the tinkering on the yards.
Now a question comes to mind: in what order should the running rigging be fitted? My first instinct is to start at the top and slowly work down. Is that correct?
My reasoning is as follows:
- As the running rigging is added, the model becomes wider and bulkier, increasing the risk of lines getting tangled.
- Most lines run from the yards and sails inward, along the mast to the mast foot or to the bulwark, where they're belayed.
- If you start at the top, most of the "horizontal" rigging stays on the "level" it belongs to before running downward.
- Lower down, you don't yet have the widening of your working area caused by larger yards and/or sails.
- This way, you can essentially work underneath the lines from the level above without getting tangled.
- If you do it the other way around and start at the bottom, you'd already be filling the working space around the belaying points with a wider band of lines from the lower level.
- After that, it becomes harder to bring the lines from the higher levels down through that.
It is not easy no matter how it is done, but the order of dressing in James Lees' book The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War on page 158 has worked for me in the past. (Might be too much to copy and paste for a copyrighted work.)
Allan
Allan
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2024
- Messages
- 87
- Points
- 113
Hello Allen, thanks for your tip.
Does anyone happen to have this book digitally for me?
Does anyone happen to have this book digitally for me?
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2019
- Messages
- 5,775
- Points
- 738
Boekwinkeltjes
Op boekwinkeltjes.nl koopt en verkoopt u uw tweedehands boeken. Zo'n 10.000 antiquaren, boekhandelaren en particulieren zijn u al voorgegaan. Samen zijn ze goed voor een aanbod van 7 miljoen titels.
www.boekwinkeltjes.nl
Here's a nice copy at a good price. Usually around 200.
I've never seen it in digital form.
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2024
- Messages
- 87
- Points
- 113
49. The bowsprit
After the yards on all three masts and some blocks and lines of the running rigging, this week I focused on the rigging of the bowsprit.
This mainly involves a number of lines that hold the bowsprit in place at the bottom, namely:
Around the head of the bowsprit, just below the bees, it then becomes a tangle of all kinds of lines. We see, among other things:
Next came the question: what do I do with the spritsail yard?
An extra reason for this was that the spritsail yard has the guiding eyes for the guys. From inside to outside, these are:
At the bottom of the jibboom and the flying jibboom, you can see the lines that, via the dolphin striker, must counterbalance the pulling forces of the jibstay, the jib halyard, the fore topgallant mast stay, and the fore topgallant flagstaff stay. These lines were already added at an earlier stage.
After adding a few more loose blocks here and there, this part of the ship was finished. I have to say it was a nice piece of varied detail work that, once again, gives a real sense of spatial depth to the bow of the ship.
Below are a few more atmospheric shots.
After the yards on all three masts and some blocks and lines of the running rigging, this week I focused on the rigging of the bowsprit.
This mainly involves a number of lines that hold the bowsprit in place at the bottom, namely:
- The bowsprit shrouds
- The bobstays
- Stiffened a couple of cm of the line with superglue
- Drilled a small hole in the hull
- Then glued the hardened line into the hole with superglue
Around the head of the bowsprit, just below the bees, it then becomes a tangle of all kinds of lines. We see, among other things:
- The gammoning of the jibboom
- The forestay and the fore preventer stay
- The sling of the spritsail yard
- Below that, 4 sets of deadeyes with lanyards for the bowsprit shrouds
- And between them, 3 sets of deadeyes with lanyards for the bobstays
Next came the question: what do I do with the spritsail yard?
- Fully rig it first, including the sail?
- Or hang the bare yard and rig it later in the model?
An extra reason for this was that the spritsail yard has the guiding eyes for the guys. From inside to outside, these are:
- The traveling guy
- The guy pendant
- The flying jibboom guy
At the bottom of the jibboom and the flying jibboom, you can see the lines that, via the dolphin striker, must counterbalance the pulling forces of the jibstay, the jib halyard, the fore topgallant mast stay, and the fore topgallant flagstaff stay. These lines were already added at an earlier stage.
After adding a few more loose blocks here and there, this part of the ship was finished. I have to say it was a nice piece of varied detail work that, once again, gives a real sense of spatial depth to the bow of the ship.
Below are a few more atmospheric shots.
A very nice and impressive rigged bowsprit, Wil.
Regards, Peter
Magic Will.
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2024
- Messages
- 87
- Points
- 113
50 The Sails
Over the past few weeks I've mainly been busy with the sails on my Victory. The idea for now remains to have the sails furled on the three masts and the bowsprit. How I'm going to do the mizzen sail, I haven't quite figured out yet, but that will come later.
Some time ago I received the necessary tips about the material to use and how things could be executed. A few weeks ago, following up on this, I visited Peter Voogt to admire the sails on his Blue Nose. Truly beautiful.
The conclusion was that for now I'll start working with paper. Fabric seems to me to quickly become too thick at this scale. On the Papier Royaal website I found the Japanese paper mentioned earlier. The choice there is huge, so there was nothing for it but to order several different sheets.
I started with Tengusho 9 grams. Peter used this paper on his Blue Nose, and it's also recommended by Stephan. After it arrived, I was shocked at how fragile this material is.
I've now ordered a second batch, consisting of: Kozo High 22 grams, Yama Kozo Hadaura S-1 and S-3. The latter two are 16 grams and are colored.
My idea is to first gain some experience with these materials and, depending on the end result, make a choice.
After my visit to Peter, I quickly had some ideas about the technique in my head. It comes down to this: I mount the yard in the lower fixture and pleat the cloth between the "fingers." Then, at regular intervals (next to the fingers), I can tie the bundle together, creating the characteristic bunt.
Meanwhile, I had started a search for the sail dimensions. That wasn't easy, but Claude.ai only partly provided the solution here. Longridge doesn't write anything about it either. But since the sails will be furled anyway, the height measurement in particular isn't that important. Eventually I managed to generate a complete cutting plan in which I can vary the height.
Initially I tried coating the hem of the sail with glue first and then folding it. This wasn't successful because the paper becomes soft and does all sorts of things you don't want. The solution is to fold the hem dry, which works very well, and then coat it with glue using a brush. The glue I use is Lineco Neutral pH.
Once that's done, carefully pick it up and hang it on a line with a couple of clothespins. This first test I did with the thinnest paper, 9 grams/m².
Next I did a test with Yama Kozo Hadaura S-3. Here too, the hem was folded first and then coated with glue afterward. The glue soaks through the hem and reaches the bottom layer as well.
Once the hem had dried somewhat, I immediately made a first attempt at applying the boltrope, the rope attached around the edges of the sail. In reality this rope is sewn to the sail, with the sewing thread passed through the middle of the rope. Aside from this painstaking work, almost nothing of this detail can be seen at this scale. So in my case I glued the rope against the edge of the sail. I left a loop at the corners for the clews. I applied the glue with a small brush. That actually went fine.
I finished off the clews with a small whipping, sealed with a small drop of superglue. Then I finally got the yard out.
To be able to bend the sail to the yard, I drilled a 1 mm hole every 5 mm in the hem and then threaded a thread through these holes with a needle and around the yard. The way it's laced isn't quite proper, but it's sufficient for now. It is, after all, just a test.
Next I placed the yard with the sail in the fixture with the fingers, folded the bottom corners inward, and crumpled the sail up a bit.
Then, using some red thread at regular intervals, I gathered the bundle together a bit to approximate the characteristic shape. These red gathers will later be hidden by the final ropes in the correct color.
In the model this looks as follows.
Conclusion:
To be continued
Over the past few weeks I've mainly been busy with the sails on my Victory. The idea for now remains to have the sails furled on the three masts and the bowsprit. How I'm going to do the mizzen sail, I haven't quite figured out yet, but that will come later.
Some time ago I received the necessary tips about the material to use and how things could be executed. A few weeks ago, following up on this, I visited Peter Voogt to admire the sails on his Blue Nose. Truly beautiful.
The conclusion was that for now I'll start working with paper. Fabric seems to me to quickly become too thick at this scale. On the Papier Royaal website I found the Japanese paper mentioned earlier. The choice there is huge, so there was nothing for it but to order several different sheets.
I started with Tengusho 9 grams. Peter used this paper on his Blue Nose, and it's also recommended by Stephan. After it arrived, I was shocked at how fragile this material is.
I've now ordered a second batch, consisting of: Kozo High 22 grams, Yama Kozo Hadaura S-1 and S-3. The latter two are 16 grams and are colored.
My idea is to first gain some experience with these materials and, depending on the end result, make a choice.
After my visit to Peter, I quickly had some ideas about the technique in my head. It comes down to this: I mount the yard in the lower fixture and pleat the cloth between the "fingers." Then, at regular intervals (next to the fingers), I can tie the bundle together, creating the characteristic bunt.
Meanwhile, I had started a search for the sail dimensions. That wasn't easy, but Claude.ai only partly provided the solution here. Longridge doesn't write anything about it either. But since the sails will be furled anyway, the height measurement in particular isn't that important. Eventually I managed to generate a complete cutting plan in which I can vary the height.
Initially I tried coating the hem of the sail with glue first and then folding it. This wasn't successful because the paper becomes soft and does all sorts of things you don't want. The solution is to fold the hem dry, which works very well, and then coat it with glue using a brush. The glue I use is Lineco Neutral pH.
Once that's done, carefully pick it up and hang it on a line with a couple of clothespins. This first test I did with the thinnest paper, 9 grams/m².
Next I did a test with Yama Kozo Hadaura S-3. Here too, the hem was folded first and then coated with glue afterward. The glue soaks through the hem and reaches the bottom layer as well.
Once the hem had dried somewhat, I immediately made a first attempt at applying the boltrope, the rope attached around the edges of the sail. In reality this rope is sewn to the sail, with the sewing thread passed through the middle of the rope. Aside from this painstaking work, almost nothing of this detail can be seen at this scale. So in my case I glued the rope against the edge of the sail. I left a loop at the corners for the clews. I applied the glue with a small brush. That actually went fine.
I finished off the clews with a small whipping, sealed with a small drop of superglue. Then I finally got the yard out.
To be able to bend the sail to the yard, I drilled a 1 mm hole every 5 mm in the hem and then threaded a thread through these holes with a needle and around the yard. The way it's laced isn't quite proper, but it's sufficient for now. It is, after all, just a test.
Next I placed the yard with the sail in the fixture with the fingers, folded the bottom corners inward, and crumpled the sail up a bit.
Then, using some red thread at regular intervals, I gathered the bundle together a bit to approximate the characteristic shape. These red gathers will later be hidden by the final ropes in the correct color.
In the model this looks as follows.
Conclusion:
- A good first test
- The chosen method isn't difficult and is quite manageable
- The dark paper used is too dark and shines like paper, not suitable
To be continued
That indeed looks like a successful test, Wil. Especially on this scale. That board with the ‘fingers’ is a clever solution.
This way you get a good feel for the paper. The color as shown in the last photo looks quite old-fashioned, with the necessary shading color variations in the folds. But a lighter would indeed be better, I think.
Regards, Peter