looks pretty good, Dean. I suspect you will leave all the hardware "as is" or you intend to paint once all installed, or something else?
Well…lol…I have Jax, to blacken hardware. But some of the eyes and other hardware are painted white, and some are brass.
I decided with my 100th anniversary edition BN, I will stick to white and gold, to accent the wood. In time it will tarnish anyway…ha ha! so what you see is what you get!
Simply WOW Dean. I am blown away by your work!
Thank you Doc! Much appreciated! I find this tiny metal work a bit awkward, but a few do overs and I usually end up with something I can use!
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2020
- Messages
- 10,442
- Points
- 938
I can only look and admire. I can well imagine how fiddly that work must be. The Dutch has a beautiful saying for that kind of endeavor - they call it a "priegel" or "friemelwerk", but in your case there does not seem to be any fumbling. 
The bands look great! By the YQ kit decision to provide a wood band at the top of the lower mast it eliminated the ,more complex need to form two circular bands surrounded by the elongated out band with the bales and links that you were able to put onto the kit wood substitute. You'll understand this better from the mastheads' details of the metal work. I'll be very interested to see how you bend the shrouds under the crane, around the mast, and through the main mast futtock shrouds' rods. I have again done only the prep for those with the top eye and left the descending rod straight until I complete my own shrouds again and can attach them to the band below the crosstrees.My granddaughter didn’t stay with us today…I miss her, but… I put in about 4 hours on the main mast! Starting to think I will never finish it…lol
I put all the mast bands on, the bail, and other parts that I can’t even name…but it’s a very busy area! And of course all bolt heads are in place.
I just have to put all the blocks on and move to the top mast for a few things and finally put a plate on the lower mast.
I have to say, with all this metal work…bending and hammering, I feel more like a blacksmith than a shipwright!
Only thing in kit was eyes. So if it’s not an eye, I scratch built it! I think I used 3 eyes so far!
Picture time…
View attachment 241288View attachment 241289View attachment 241290View attachment 241291View attachment 241292View attachment 241293
You continue to produce a high quality work as you continue. Rich
Oh there is plenty of fumbling…lol…or should I say attrition! Holding a tiny piece in the tweezers, and suddenly it pops out and shoots across the floor…never to be found again, in the sea of carpet. Or bending a piece of wire, and twisting it to get it just right, and then you go to cut the end and accidentally take off too much…start over!I can only look and admire. I can well imagine how fiddly that work must be. The Dutch has a beautiful saying for that kind of endeavor - they call it a "priegel" or "friemelwerk", but in your case there does not seem to be any fumbling.
Thanks Rich! I am already thinking of how I will do the shroud lines. I think it will be fairly easy, just a delicate operation of threading the needle.
Referring back to the brass futtock shrouds below the crosstrees, with some more searching back through Chapelle's American Fishing Schooners, I found again my confusion between hemp and iron ones. where on p 412 which is 1855-1860 he shows and notes hemp with deadeyes above the crosstrees; and then on 604, 1855 and 65, he shows iron rods with the deadeyes above. Both cases are only deadeyes just above the crosstrees and not those under a sheer rod for the shrouds/rats above.
These are before BN and I can find nothing actually indicating what that schooner was rigged with in 1921. It would seem that iron was more likely. Most of the fittings and drawings are of American, mostly Essex area work and very little on Nova Scotia and nothing specifically Lunenberg which had their own fitters and methods. Your bright brass for your build is a perfect presentation and the brass rod eye for the upper shrouds makes sense unless we back up to using that as case for brass stropping of small deadeyes where scale becomes a factor. No point in posting photos of the referred futtock shrouds as the are not directly relevant to our BN era builds.
At least I can go to sleep having re-found the hemp and deadeyes that were bugging my memory.
Now the links, sheaves and blocks related to the bands and rigging join into the games. Continue to have enjoyment in you progress which the full crew aboard enjoy and profit in watching. Rich
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2019
- Messages
- 495
- Points
- 323
Looking really good, Dean.
Nice work, Dean. On that few inches of rod. And what we discussed earlier: building scratch gives the most satisfaction!
Already thought about which (silver) coin you put under the mast? Or is that a Dutch tradition for a safe sailing?
It should actually be under the foremast, as quoted: “The Madrina is the one who puts the coin for good luck under the foremast of a newly built ship.”
Regards, Peter
Already thought about which (silver) coin you put under the mast? Or is that a Dutch tradition for a safe sailing?
It should actually be under the foremast, as quoted: “The Madrina is the one who puts the coin for good luck under the foremast of a newly built ship.”
Regards, Peter
Thank you!
Thank you! A full scale coin or a 1/72 scale coin?
The first time is an experiment, the second time to correct errors, the third time is fine. That's usually how it works for me anyway.Thank you Rich! Some things were done twice…but we all know how that goes!
Beautiful metal work. That really stands out.
Thank you Eugene!
Thank you Daniel! The Amerigo is on my radar…such a beautiful ship! I chose not to blacken the brass because I like the look against the white and natural wood. It’s a pleasing contrast verses black. On the San Felipe, I will blacken all the hardware…I think…lol. I sometimes prefer the ornamental look verses being historically correct…my artistic license getting the best of me!
Last edited:
Oh I agree 100%. My VASA will reflect a certain amount artistic license as I plan on variations in several areas.Thank you Daniel! The Amerigo is on my radar…such a beautiful ship! I chose not to blacken the brass because I like the look against the white and natural wood. It’s a pleasing contrast verses black. On the San Filipe, I will blacken all the hardware…I think…lol. I sometimes prefer the ornamental look verses being historically correct…my artistic license getting the best of me!
Good call! It's your ship!
It's always been a source of frustration for me to have my hands tied behind my back because of historical accuracy. So I free myself from that! I do understand and appreciate that approach, and I try to remain accurate geometry wise and in areas I deem important. But cosmetically I like to have more freedom. Besides I think we find out more and more all the time, things weren't that well documented. And it's much more fun to create a personalized ship, not a clone like everyone else's! Look at my Bluenose...historically correct in many ways, but to paint the hull and hide all that beautiful pearwood seemed like a crime...lol. So I came up with my own paint scheme to showcase the wood, and deemed it the 100th anniversary edition...which allows me more freedoms, once the chains of historical accuracy were broken so to speak!
Last edited:
It’s Christmas again…lol. I got my order finally! Supplies for rigging and making metal parts. I got rings, strips of brass plate, copper wire, brass rods and brass tubing…just to name a few items!
Last edited: