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Albatros by Occre - First build

PD Lieutenant said:
My build of the Albatros continues. The rubbing strakes, limber boards, some pin racks, chain plates channel, cat davits, and railing have been completed. I need to get a drill attachment for my Dremel tool. Hand drilling with my pin vice is long and tedious.

Another hard lesson learned: when I was dry fitting the mast plates I also dry fit both of the masts and found they didn’t fit into the intended slots because of an alignment issue with the deck. I read a few steps ahead, but obviously not far enough. On my next build I’ll be sure to dry fit the masts before I glue down the deck.

I wasn’t able to complete the rudder because of some missing pins. I emailed OcCre and asked that they send out the missing parts.

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PD L,
I think your ship is looking very good. I am almost to the point on my Albatros to start the dreaded planking job. I have read and watched a lot of planking articles and videos and I'm not sure which way to proceed. But that is not why I'm posting here. Just a simple question. Did you have any issues with the small bow deck, part #31? On my kit, the part is way too narrow and will not reach the bulwark from side to side. I had to manufacture my own piece for this. I haven't seen anyone else mention any issues with this piece. If you want to see what I'm referring to, see my Albatros build log linked in my signature.

Anyway, keep up the good work,
Roger
 
PD Lieutenant said:
This is a good lesson for my next build........ I bought this one to learn on and build my skills, so I’ll keep plugging on with the build
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We are all on a never ending learning curve which can be frustrating but very rewarding in the end. Totally up to you, but you may want to consider studying some planking tutorials and planking expansion drawings if you are interested in how the planking was done on a ship. Key point, every strake ends at the rabbet. The only exception is if a drop strake or stealer is needed on occasion.
Allan
 
I’m still working on the build. Today I got the bowsprit completed and installed. Tomorrow I’ll start on the fore mast. I haven’t been posting pictures because I’m a little embarrassed by some of the stupid mistakes I’ve been making, but I’m learning a lot and just ordered the Buccaneer from Occre for my next build.

I’ve been using superglue on the thread for the blocks and on the knots. I’ve noticed superglue can make the thread brittle and it can break. Has anyone had any luck using diluted Elmer’s glue on this? Also, will Elmer’s glue work on first planking in place of wood glue?
 
PD Lieutenant said:
Has anyone had any luck using diluted Elmer’s glue on this?
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A touch of super glue on the end of the rope to stiffen it for threading through a block is a good idea. Once dry, cut it at an angle to create a point. For securing the line after rigging, diluted white PVA like Elmer's is great. CA is exactly as you describe, not the best idea as it is brittle and discolors the line as well.
Allan
 
AllanKP69 said:
A touch of super glue on the end of the rope to stiffen it for threading through a block is a good idea. Once dry, cut it at an angle to create a point. For securing the line after rigging, diluted white PVA like Elmer's is great. CA is exactly as you describe, not the best idea as it is brittle and discolors the line as well.
Allan
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I use straight PVA for “needling” the end of my lines. I only use CA when nothing else will do the job. Personal preference.
 
Thanks for the gluing advice. It is much appreciated. I’m going to apply the advice to the remainder of the build.

This is probably a stupid question, but….I’ve started work on the masts. How are you attaching the yards? The instructions show where the yards attach to the masts, but they omitted how to attach them.
 
OldeManToad said:
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Did you have any issues with the small bow deck, part #31? On my kit, the part is way too narrow and will not reach the bulwark from side to side. I had to manufacture my own piece for this.
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Hey, Roger. Sorry for the belated response. I had issues as well. I ended up having to shim both sides to get the piece to fit.
 
Today I completed building the foremast and tomorrow I’ll get the yards done. I still have no idea how to attach the yards to the mast. I guess that’s a tomorrow problem, but any advice or pictures would be much appreciated. I looked online and found some great line drawings on how they were actually attached, but none of them were applicable to my build.

I switched to Elmer’s glue on the blocks and that seems to work much better than the CA I was using. Thanks for the advice on that.

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Sorry to point this out but all the blocks are upside down. Easy fix by drilling a hole in the proper place without taking them all off and retying. As they are now, the line would run over the tail instead of the would be sheave and under the crown. I drew the holes in red to show what I mean. Hope this helps
Allan
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AllanKP69 said:
Sorry to point this out but all the blocks are upside down. Easy fix by drilling a hole in the proper place without taking them all off and retying. As they are now, the line would run over the tail instead of the would be sheave and under the crown. I drew the holes in red to show what I mean. Hope this helps
Allan
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Great info. Thanks for the quick lesson. That makes perfect sense and I’ll install them that way from now on. I think Occre set me up.

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The question of how the yards were attached is based on class of ship, country of origin and period modeled.

Most had a single or often double block setup to hoist the yard into position, but after that they often were held in place by a combination of ropes around the yard going up and over and around fittings on the mast. Many mast caps had supports for the yard to help bear the weight, and the block and ropes used to raise the yard would not hold up to daily stress.

Look at the rigging plans for ropes that go from below front of mast up thru the cross trees and then around the back of the mast.

Most yards had a loop where it starts at backside top, goes forward, under and up thru loop and then up to the crosstree for supporting the yard.

There are many good books on rigging period ships available.
 
PDL, Do your cannons fit into the gun ports? I have only completely assembled one so far and I set the barrel so that it was level. When you slide it to the port it hits the top of the port. It seems I would have to aim them down to fit or I can dip the barrel down as I place the cannons at the port. I have seen other's photos where the canons seem to be centered in the port. Just wondering.

Thanks,
Roger
 
OldeManToad said:
PDL, Do your cannons fit into the gun ports? I have only completely assembled one so far and I set the barrel so that it was level. When you slide it to the port it hits the top of the port. It seems I would have to aim them down to fit or I can dip the barrel down as I place the cannons at the port. I have seen other's photos where the canons seem to be centered in the port. Just wondering.

Thanks,
Roger
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No. I have the same problem. The deck is too high.
 
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