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A question for you Dom if you don't mind. I've seen pictures of many models with a fife rail both fore and aft of the fore mast.. Billings has both. Campbell only has the one in front. What does she have now.
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Cutty Sark, Vintage Billing Boats BB564, 1:75.
- Thread starter DomCee
- Start date
- Watchers 25
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- billing boats cutty sark
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Hi, the ship just has the single fife rail at the foremast at the moment as per Campbell's plans.
I did delve into the history a little bit when I was deciding what to do. Longridge has two fife rails with the after one being slightly smaller in size and the columns are also a different design (see the link here to Part 24 .. Foremast rails ). I do not know if Billing's plans were correct at some time in the ships history but, I suspect the ship may have had two similar fife rails when she was first tea rigged simply because they would have needed as many pins as possible at that time. I think the fife rails were altered after she was cut down for the wool runs and the stunsl's were not needed .
Hope that helps.
I did delve into the history a little bit when I was deciding what to do. Longridge has two fife rails with the after one being slightly smaller in size and the columns are also a different design (see the link here to Part 24 .. Foremast rails ). I do not know if Billing's plans were correct at some time in the ships history but, I suspect the ship may have had two similar fife rails when she was first tea rigged simply because they would have needed as many pins as possible at that time. I think the fife rails were altered after she was cut down for the wool runs and the stunsl's were not needed .
Hope that helps.
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2024
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Thankyou Dom. I think that helps. The fact she has been around so and worn so many coats of paint does allow a lot of flexibility in modelling.
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- Sep 23, 2021
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Part 33 Working on the Masts - Hit the Rocks - Again!
The ship has been temporarily “becalmed” for a few weeks while I was sorting out the garden ready for spring planting and doing some house projects (my new computer was also a complete PITA to set up after my old one died - it was 14years old so, I guess I was pushing my luck anyway!). Having made some progress on my other “projects” I tried to find a bit of time to work on model just to keep things ticking over. Things were going OK but then I struck a rock (well, a kidney stone) which left me low in the water!! I knew I had another one rattling around but it had not given me any trouble until now. It’s not as bad as the horrendous one that sent me to hospital at the end of 2023 so I am hoping it will pass without any surgical intervention! Hopefully, I will be back on course with a good wind behind me soon.
However, Clipper Captains were able to “ghost” their ships through the doldrums so to take my mind off things I have been working on the masts.
Lower Masts: with the dimensions decided as I discussed in Part 31 (b, c) the first thing was to prep. the lower masts dowels. The dowel sizes I decided on were 10mm for the Fore/Main (tapering to 7.5 mm) and 8.5mm (tapering to 7 mm) for the Mizzen. I had to buy some 10mm dowels for the Fore/Main which turned out to be not so easy because the usual suppliers did not have any long lengths in stock in a decent hardwood. I finally found some 1 m lengths on-line but when they arrived, they were all as straight as a dogs back leg! Not to be defeated, I put each dowel into a drill and ran it slowly so that I could find sections that were reasonably straight and then cut those out to use. I turned the ends down and fitted a brass sleeve which is a sliding fit for my socket size and then tapered the masts to the correct dimensions using my electric drill, a broad flat file and various grits of emery cloth.
Trestle Tops: I decided to make the tops from some solid wood. The actual tops are constructed from angle iron to form the frame with wooden slats on top (but wood will do!).
I cut the main shape from some 2 mm sapele and then milled some 1 mm slots to represent the slats. There are more slot/slats than I made but I could only go down to a 1mm diameter cutter and trying to put more slots into the wood would have made them very weak.
The Trestle Tree Tops: These consist of the tops, the cross trees and the spreaders for the upper backstays. There are also some fairleads on the after side of the rear cross tree.
Main Mast Upper Cross Tree and Spreaders
I made the tops by milling them from some solid basswood and used 3x1.5mm oak strip for the Cross Trees and Spreaders.
The Caps: on the ship the mast caps are constructed from iron bands. I did not have any suitable fittings, so I soldered different diameter brass tubes together to match the mast diameters and filed them to fit each mast section snugly.
Lower Main Top Cap
Fore, Main and Mizzen sections with cap bands and tops
Next Up: There are a lot of fittings that I need to add but at least I now have all the mast sections sized up correctly. I also need to make the cheeks and mast footings. One of the key things that I will need to treble check is the yard spacings so that they will match the sail set that I purchased from HisModel. I will index the sections and tops so that they will all align correctly when I make the final assembly. Once that is all done, I can paint and varnish all the parts and assemble.
The ship has been temporarily “becalmed” for a few weeks while I was sorting out the garden ready for spring planting and doing some house projects (my new computer was also a complete PITA to set up after my old one died - it was 14years old so, I guess I was pushing my luck anyway!). Having made some progress on my other “projects” I tried to find a bit of time to work on model just to keep things ticking over. Things were going OK but then I struck a rock (well, a kidney stone) which left me low in the water!! I knew I had another one rattling around but it had not given me any trouble until now. It’s not as bad as the horrendous one that sent me to hospital at the end of 2023 so I am hoping it will pass without any surgical intervention! Hopefully, I will be back on course with a good wind behind me soon.
However, Clipper Captains were able to “ghost” their ships through the doldrums so to take my mind off things I have been working on the masts.
Lower Masts: with the dimensions decided as I discussed in Part 31 (b, c) the first thing was to prep. the lower masts dowels. The dowel sizes I decided on were 10mm for the Fore/Main (tapering to 7.5 mm) and 8.5mm (tapering to 7 mm) for the Mizzen. I had to buy some 10mm dowels for the Fore/Main which turned out to be not so easy because the usual suppliers did not have any long lengths in stock in a decent hardwood. I finally found some 1 m lengths on-line but when they arrived, they were all as straight as a dogs back leg! Not to be defeated, I put each dowel into a drill and ran it slowly so that I could find sections that were reasonably straight and then cut those out to use. I turned the ends down and fitted a brass sleeve which is a sliding fit for my socket size and then tapered the masts to the correct dimensions using my electric drill, a broad flat file and various grits of emery cloth.
Trestle Tops: I decided to make the tops from some solid wood. The actual tops are constructed from angle iron to form the frame with wooden slats on top (but wood will do!).
I cut the main shape from some 2 mm sapele and then milled some 1 mm slots to represent the slats. There are more slot/slats than I made but I could only go down to a 1mm diameter cutter and trying to put more slots into the wood would have made them very weak.
The Trestle Tree Tops: These consist of the tops, the cross trees and the spreaders for the upper backstays. There are also some fairleads on the after side of the rear cross tree.
Main Mast Upper Cross Tree and Spreaders
I made the tops by milling them from some solid basswood and used 3x1.5mm oak strip for the Cross Trees and Spreaders.
The Caps: on the ship the mast caps are constructed from iron bands. I did not have any suitable fittings, so I soldered different diameter brass tubes together to match the mast diameters and filed them to fit each mast section snugly.
Lower Main Top Cap
Fore, Main and Mizzen sections with cap bands and tops
Next Up: There are a lot of fittings that I need to add but at least I now have all the mast sections sized up correctly. I also need to make the cheeks and mast footings. One of the key things that I will need to treble check is the yard spacings so that they will match the sail set that I purchased from HisModel. I will index the sections and tops so that they will all align correctly when I make the final assembly. Once that is all done, I can paint and varnish all the parts and assemble.
The 3 pictures showed a impressive amount of rigging, Dom. But the start is there with you nicely made mast parts.
Regards, Peter
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2022
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I have this kit with fittings set and am due to go to Perth I June. Whereabouts are you
That’s why she is somewhere on my list …… I love rigging.
Keep following yours with great interest.
Regards, Peter
Kurt Konrath
Kurt Konrath
Three masts, with three sets of shrouds with ratlines, oh my fingers and shoulders are aching just looking at the number of clove hitches to be tied.
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- Sep 23, 2021
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Part 34 Sizing the Yards
Very busy Spring - needed a break so, my wife and I decided to head off to the hills and do some hiking in the Lake District - very nice! Sadly, all good things must come to an end.
Above Grasmere in the Lake District with the Helvelyn and Fairfield Ranges in the Background
I managed to find some spare time over the week-end to work on the ship so I picked up where I left off working on the masts. I thought the next place to go was to start sorting out the yards so that I could at least post a little bit of progress. The actual yards are attached with various types of trusses depending on their positions but, I decided to just go with the kit fittings. These consist of some Goose-neck ring fittings for the masts and brass sleeves on the yards which are then connected using brass pegs (which makes life a lot simpler!). I did find that the socket rings on the masts were a little on the loose side so I sleeved them with a small piece of brass tube to give a tighter fit (I could have also used some slightly larger brass pegs).
Sizing: I have carefully looked through all my references and compared notes. The Fore and Main Mast Yards are the same size with the additional Skysail on the Main. The Main also has a Spencer Gaff attached to the mast by a Goose-neck just below the Lower Top. The Mizzen Mast is fitted with a Spanker Boom and Gaff, both of which are attached by Goose-neck fittings. According to Longridge, the Spanker Boom is tapered from the centre with the fore end being about ¾ and the aft being 2/3 of the largest diameter.
I am sizing the Masts and Yards as “Tea Rig” and I will fit the Stunsail Booms on the Yards but I am not adding the Stunsails (too much!!!!). On the actual ship the Stunsail booms are placed on the Fore and Main Course, the Fore and Main Upper Topsail, the Fore and Main Top Gallant and the Main Royal. When the Stunsails were used there were some swinging booms attached to the outer bulwarks to attach the lower stunsail sheets to but they were normally unshipped and stored on the top of the deck house with the spare yards to avoid damage when not in use (they are no longer fitted to the ship).
The picture shows one of the Main Course Stunsail Booms and its iron ring band fittings. The base of the Spencer Gaff can also be seen just below the Trestle top. Also, note that the Lower Stunsail Booms are fitted below the yards whilst on the Upper Topsail and Topgallant (Main) are fitted above the yards. The booms extend out about 1/5 of the yard length in their retracted positions with just the ends being tapered down to ¾ of the main diameter. The Yards are all painted black and the Stunsail Booms are varnished (with just the ends beyond the yards being black). The Spanker Boom and Gaffs are all painted white.
Here are the scale sizes of the Yards and Booms
The yards supplied in the kit are not of the best quality wood, but they are pre-tapered. I decided to replace the Royals and Skysail yards because the kit ones were spilt and cracked on the ends and rather than repair them, it was just as quick to make new ones. I was going to use the Spanker Boom from the kit but as I was slitting it to fit the Gooseneck it split so I made a new one from some oak dowel that I had spare. I used some grain filler on all the yards and rubbed them down with some fine grit to prepare them for painting. I cleaned up the kit fittings and blackened them with some brass black but they will all be painted according to Campbell’s plans.
There are quite a few other fittings that are needed (I will have to compromise on some of the detail simply because of the scale size). I will need to study Longridge’s descriptions for each Yard and fit them out accordingly. The lower main yards need iron bands - 1/4 and 1/2 bands, the ring bands that support the stunsail booms and a spider band about 1/8 from the end of the yards. I will need to make those as there are none in the kit. There are eyelets fitted along each of the yards for the Jackstays which are used to attach the head of the sails to. The Jackstays are fitted to the foreside of the centre line along the Yards. The actual rods are ¾ inch diameter which would be 0.25mm at the scale size but, Billing uses 1mm rod which is too large (especially on the upper Yards) so I need to decide which size would look best (probably 0.5mm as a compromise). Foot ropes and blocks for the downhauls, braces and lifts etc. are needed.
Yard Jackstays and some of the fittings on the yards
The Yards and Booms
Next up: I will make all the fittings that are needed for the yards, fit them and then paint them. Once I have finished the Yards, I will be able to check their final fitted positions on the masts so that they match my sail set. Quite a lot of fiddly bits and pieces to be working on so I will just slowly work my way through them.
Very busy Spring - needed a break so, my wife and I decided to head off to the hills and do some hiking in the Lake District - very nice! Sadly, all good things must come to an end.
Above Grasmere in the Lake District with the Helvelyn and Fairfield Ranges in the Background
I managed to find some spare time over the week-end to work on the ship so I picked up where I left off working on the masts. I thought the next place to go was to start sorting out the yards so that I could at least post a little bit of progress. The actual yards are attached with various types of trusses depending on their positions but, I decided to just go with the kit fittings. These consist of some Goose-neck ring fittings for the masts and brass sleeves on the yards which are then connected using brass pegs (which makes life a lot simpler!). I did find that the socket rings on the masts were a little on the loose side so I sleeved them with a small piece of brass tube to give a tighter fit (I could have also used some slightly larger brass pegs).
Sizing: I have carefully looked through all my references and compared notes. The Fore and Main Mast Yards are the same size with the additional Skysail on the Main. The Main also has a Spencer Gaff attached to the mast by a Goose-neck just below the Lower Top. The Mizzen Mast is fitted with a Spanker Boom and Gaff, both of which are attached by Goose-neck fittings. According to Longridge, the Spanker Boom is tapered from the centre with the fore end being about ¾ and the aft being 2/3 of the largest diameter.
I am sizing the Masts and Yards as “Tea Rig” and I will fit the Stunsail Booms on the Yards but I am not adding the Stunsails (too much!!!!). On the actual ship the Stunsail booms are placed on the Fore and Main Course, the Fore and Main Upper Topsail, the Fore and Main Top Gallant and the Main Royal. When the Stunsails were used there were some swinging booms attached to the outer bulwarks to attach the lower stunsail sheets to but they were normally unshipped and stored on the top of the deck house with the spare yards to avoid damage when not in use (they are no longer fitted to the ship).
The picture shows one of the Main Course Stunsail Booms and its iron ring band fittings. The base of the Spencer Gaff can also be seen just below the Trestle top. Also, note that the Lower Stunsail Booms are fitted below the yards whilst on the Upper Topsail and Topgallant (Main) are fitted above the yards. The booms extend out about 1/5 of the yard length in their retracted positions with just the ends being tapered down to ¾ of the main diameter. The Yards are all painted black and the Stunsail Booms are varnished (with just the ends beyond the yards being black). The Spanker Boom and Gaffs are all painted white.
Here are the scale sizes of the Yards and Booms
| Yard Length | |||
| Tea rig | 1:75 | ||
| FORE | m | mm | |
| Fore course | 23.8 | 317.3 | Stunsail booms (2.75mm tapering to 2mm at the end) |
| Lower topsail | 20.7 | 276.0 | |
| Upper topsail | 19.5 | 260.0 | Stunsail booms (2.5mm tapering to 1.9mm at the end) |
| Topgallant | 14.6 | 194.7 | Stunsail booms (2.5mm tapering to 1.9mm at the end) |
| Royal | 11.6 | 154.7 | |
| MAIN | |||
| Main course | 23.8 | 317.3 | Stunsail booms (2.75mm tapering to 2mm at the end) |
| Lower topsail | 20.7 | 276.0 | |
| Upper topsail | 19.5 | 260.0 | Stunsail booms (2.5mm tapering to 1.9mm at the end) |
| Topgallant | 14.6 | 194.7 | Stunsail booms (2.5mm tapering to 1.9mm at the end) |
| Royal | 11.6 | 154.7 | Stunsail booms (2 mm tapering to 1.75mm at the end) |
| Skysail | 10.4 | 138.7 | |
| MIZZEN | |||
| Mizzen course | 18.3 | 244.0 | |
| Lower topsail | 16.5 | 220.0 | |
| Upper topsail | 14.6 | 194.7 | |
| Topgallant | 11.9 | 158.7 | |
| Royal | 10.1 | 134.7 | |
| Boom Lengths | |||
m | mm | ||
| Spanker | 15.8 | 211.0 | largest diameter 4mm (centre), tapering to 3mm at the fore and 2.8mm at the end |
| Spanker Gaff | 8.6 | 138 | largest diameter 3.7mm tapering to 2.4mm |
| Spencer Gaff | 5.8 | 93 | largest diameter 3mm tapering to 2mm |
The yards supplied in the kit are not of the best quality wood, but they are pre-tapered. I decided to replace the Royals and Skysail yards because the kit ones were spilt and cracked on the ends and rather than repair them, it was just as quick to make new ones. I was going to use the Spanker Boom from the kit but as I was slitting it to fit the Gooseneck it split so I made a new one from some oak dowel that I had spare. I used some grain filler on all the yards and rubbed them down with some fine grit to prepare them for painting. I cleaned up the kit fittings and blackened them with some brass black but they will all be painted according to Campbell’s plans.
There are quite a few other fittings that are needed (I will have to compromise on some of the detail simply because of the scale size). I will need to study Longridge’s descriptions for each Yard and fit them out accordingly. The lower main yards need iron bands - 1/4 and 1/2 bands, the ring bands that support the stunsail booms and a spider band about 1/8 from the end of the yards. I will need to make those as there are none in the kit. There are eyelets fitted along each of the yards for the Jackstays which are used to attach the head of the sails to. The Jackstays are fitted to the foreside of the centre line along the Yards. The actual rods are ¾ inch diameter which would be 0.25mm at the scale size but, Billing uses 1mm rod which is too large (especially on the upper Yards) so I need to decide which size would look best (probably 0.5mm as a compromise). Foot ropes and blocks for the downhauls, braces and lifts etc. are needed.
Yard Jackstays and some of the fittings on the yards
The Yards and Booms
Next up: I will make all the fittings that are needed for the yards, fit them and then paint them. Once I have finished the Yards, I will be able to check their final fitted positions on the masts so that they match my sail set. Quite a lot of fiddly bits and pieces to be working on so I will just slowly work my way through them.
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2021
- Messages
- 342
- Points
- 168
Aahhh, the Lakes. I haven’t been there for quite a while but plan to revisit north yorks later this year.
I used 0.2mm brass rod for the jackstays, they looked great. I guess your challenge will be the eyelets. I’ll be following your rigging with great interest as one of the reasons I stalled was because it all started to look very complicated at this point, juxtaposing assembly with rope work.
I used 0.2mm brass rod for the jackstays, they looked great. I guess your challenge will be the eyelets. I’ll be following your rigging with great interest as one of the reasons I stalled was because it all started to look very complicated at this point, juxtaposing assembly with rope work.
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2021
- Messages
- 244
- Points
- 143
Hi Kevin,
We always try to get up to the Lakes at least once a year. This year was just ridiculously warm for Spring, we usually expect rain, more rain, snow, wind, more rain and if the sun shows it's face for a few minutes, we think we've done well! We haven't been up to the North York's for a few years but that is a very nice place to visit and we'll try to get over there as well in the not too distant future.
Scale is very hard to get right on models, small features can just "disappear" or, be so flimsy it's just not practical to do. I am going to attach the sails to the Jackstays so I think using 0.5mm rod will be better just to make them a little bit more sturdy without being too far over scale. The smallest eyelets you can buy are the Amati ones made from 0.5mm copper but the ID of the eyes are 1mm and are too large. I tried making some very small eyelets from thin wire but it was almost impossible to do so I gave up out of frustration. I have just been trying a different method to make some small eyelets which might work - they look OK but it's very fiddly work and quite slow to do so, it may take me a long time. There are a few bits and bobs needed to finish off the hull before I will start on the rigging proper (such fun!).
Dom
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2021
- Messages
- 342
- Points
- 168
I ran into the same kind of eyelet issue with the blocks. The diameter of the bar is too small to have any strength if printed so, in my work-up, I was twisting 0.2mm jewelry wire around a 0.3 or 0.4 drill bit in a pin vise, then glueing that into the end of the printed block (which had the holes designed in). Do-able but tedious and there are a lot of these blocks on the ship. It was just one more item in a long list of things where I decided inspiration might strike if I paused for a while. In fact I did have a promising idea but haven't pursued this yet, which is to have strops made in PE. However, the twisted wire might have mileage for the jackstays.
Yes, spring has been pretty good, hasn't it. For my part, I was able to do the final part of the Camino Frances in Galicia a few weeks ago, something I've wanted to do for a little while. Very easy compared to most walks in this country, but part of my rehab after having an ankle fused last year, in the hope that I might be able to do some of our own classic walks again later this year or next, Scafell, Tryfan and so on.
Yes, spring has been pretty good, hasn't it. For my part, I was able to do the final part of the Camino Frances in Galicia a few weeks ago, something I've wanted to do for a little while. Very easy compared to most walks in this country, but part of my rehab after having an ankle fused last year, in the hope that I might be able to do some of our own classic walks again later this year or next, Scafell, Tryfan and so on.
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2021
- Messages
- 244
- Points
- 143
Part 35: Progress on the Masts and Yards – Trying to Pick-up Where I Left Off!
It’s been a while since my last post. I had hoped to keep the build ticking over, but I just have had much too much “other stuff” to get done, so the ship sailed into the doldrums, and I just could not get back into the frame of mind to get underway again (I am sure other modellers have had the same problem!). However, things have now calmed down, and I am trying to get some wind back in the sails (also, the clocks have gone back, the weather has changed (for the worse!) and it’s Christmas Eve already!). Hopefully, I will steer this winter’s campaign back on course over the next few weeks but I was determined to get a post out before Christmas (just!).
One of the first things I really had to do was to rearrange my hobby room so that I could extend my work top. The Cutty Sark took up nearly the full length of my old one and it was almost impossible to work on it without a lot of shuffling of bits and pieces and risking damage. I bought some inexpensive kitchen drawer cabinets and a work top which were OK for my needs. I also improved the lighting by adding some adjustable low profile LED lights under the shelf. The new lighting greatly improves things by providing a more natural light directly down onto the model which helps to remove shadows and isn’t harsh on my eyes (much better!).
It fits!
Back to the build!
Foremast Yards: I made up some of the parts needed for the masts and yards some months ago, but I forgot where everything goes! To ease myself back into the build I am making up the yards and the stunsail booms. I mostly followed Longridge’s plans and cross-referenced to Cambell’s and Billing’s plans. I will included most of the bands, main blocks and tackles that I considered “necessary” for the rigging at this scale, but it is not comprehensive.
Jackstays: For the jackstays, I decided that 0.5mm blackened brass rod looked good enough without being too far over-scale (scale size would be 0.2mm) and they are stiff enough that I will be able to attach the sails to them. Longridge gives a description of the jackstay eyelets as being through-eye balls on a stem but at this scale small wire eyelets are quite sufficient! The number of eyelets used on the real ship was about 550 (rough count!) and I opted for 1/2, so I needed about 275 (plus the ones that vanished into the ninth dimension!) for all three masts. I tried a few methods to make the eyelets (waste of time!), but I ended up just twisting some 0.2mm blackened copper wire around a 0.5mm pin drill, dabbing the stem into some CA and cutting to length - you can see from the picture how small they are compared to standard 1 and 2mm eyelets - what a pain in the eyeballs!
I marked and drilled each yard so that the eyelets were evenly spaced just to the forward side and then slid the rod through them and fixed everything in place with some CA.
Jackstays
Stunsail Booms: Depending on which plans you are referring to, there are some differences. After checking all the plans (again), when she was tea-rigged (as far as I could find out), the sliding booms were fitted on the fore course, fore topgallant, main course, main upper topsail and main topgallant yards. To secure the tops of the fore course and main course, and the topgallant and main topgallant (to the royals), stunsail yards (short yards attached to the outer top of the stunsails) were used. There were no stunsails on the mizzen. Swinging booms were attached to the forward bulwarks by a gooseneck for rigging the bottom of the fore course stunsails which were swung out when the stunsails were in use and rested in a cradle on the bulwarks when not in use. Since I am not rigging the stunsails, I will not be fitting the swinging booms.
The revised table of yards and booms:
The stunsail booms are roughly half the length of the yard with a diameter proportionate to the yard they are rigged to. Boom-irons support each boom to the yards which are essentially eye rings with one extending from the end of the yard with an elbow and one on the yard approx. ¼ of the length of the yard from the end through which the boom can slip. When inboard the booms were lashed into place to prevent them moving out in bad weather. A boom-jigger was used to move the booms out which consisted of a pair of pullies, a single to an eyebolt on the inner end of the boom and a double attached to the outer yard arm iron. However, I will leave the boom-jigger rigging off the model to simplify things and I will lash the booms in place (good enough). The position of the booms on the yards is also somewhat ??? Cambell shows the booms below the fore and main course yards (as she is now) but Longridge shows the booms above the yards. Unfortunately, there are no definitive images of the ship in full tea-rig and in later service for the wool runs, the stunsails and booms were not used (when you look at images of the ship berthed in Sydney Harbour, the stunsail booms are not fitted to the yards because speed was not essential and they were too easily damaged). I decided to go with Campbell’s plans.
Main Course Yard with Jackstays and Booms (temp., needs adjusting when fitted to the mast before fixing)
Next up: with the jackstays done I will add all the necessary eyelets for the rigging blocks on the yards and then I will start dressing the masts with all the necessary iron work.
And of course:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to Everyone!
It’s been a while since my last post. I had hoped to keep the build ticking over, but I just have had much too much “other stuff” to get done, so the ship sailed into the doldrums, and I just could not get back into the frame of mind to get underway again (I am sure other modellers have had the same problem!). However, things have now calmed down, and I am trying to get some wind back in the sails (also, the clocks have gone back, the weather has changed (for the worse!) and it’s Christmas Eve already!). Hopefully, I will steer this winter’s campaign back on course over the next few weeks but I was determined to get a post out before Christmas (just!).
One of the first things I really had to do was to rearrange my hobby room so that I could extend my work top. The Cutty Sark took up nearly the full length of my old one and it was almost impossible to work on it without a lot of shuffling of bits and pieces and risking damage. I bought some inexpensive kitchen drawer cabinets and a work top which were OK for my needs. I also improved the lighting by adding some adjustable low profile LED lights under the shelf. The new lighting greatly improves things by providing a more natural light directly down onto the model which helps to remove shadows and isn’t harsh on my eyes (much better!).
It fits!
Back to the build!
Foremast Yards: I made up some of the parts needed for the masts and yards some months ago, but I forgot where everything goes! To ease myself back into the build I am making up the yards and the stunsail booms. I mostly followed Longridge’s plans and cross-referenced to Cambell’s and Billing’s plans. I will included most of the bands, main blocks and tackles that I considered “necessary” for the rigging at this scale, but it is not comprehensive.
Jackstays: For the jackstays, I decided that 0.5mm blackened brass rod looked good enough without being too far over-scale (scale size would be 0.2mm) and they are stiff enough that I will be able to attach the sails to them. Longridge gives a description of the jackstay eyelets as being through-eye balls on a stem but at this scale small wire eyelets are quite sufficient! The number of eyelets used on the real ship was about 550 (rough count!) and I opted for 1/2, so I needed about 275 (plus the ones that vanished into the ninth dimension!) for all three masts. I tried a few methods to make the eyelets (waste of time!), but I ended up just twisting some 0.2mm blackened copper wire around a 0.5mm pin drill, dabbing the stem into some CA and cutting to length - you can see from the picture how small they are compared to standard 1 and 2mm eyelets - what a pain in the eyeballs!
I marked and drilled each yard so that the eyelets were evenly spaced just to the forward side and then slid the rod through them and fixed everything in place with some CA.
Jackstays
Stunsail Booms: Depending on which plans you are referring to, there are some differences. After checking all the plans (again), when she was tea-rigged (as far as I could find out), the sliding booms were fitted on the fore course, fore topgallant, main course, main upper topsail and main topgallant yards. To secure the tops of the fore course and main course, and the topgallant and main topgallant (to the royals), stunsail yards (short yards attached to the outer top of the stunsails) were used. There were no stunsails on the mizzen. Swinging booms were attached to the forward bulwarks by a gooseneck for rigging the bottom of the fore course stunsails which were swung out when the stunsails were in use and rested in a cradle on the bulwarks when not in use. Since I am not rigging the stunsails, I will not be fitting the swinging booms.
The revised table of yards and booms:
| Yard Length | |||
| Tea rig | 1:75 | ||
| FORE | m | mm | |
| Fore course | 23.8 | 317.3 | Stunsail booms (2.75mm tapering to 2mm at the end). Swinging boom on forward bulkhead (approx. 12 m long – 160 mm at scale of fitted) |
| Lower topsail | 20.7 | 276.0 | |
| Upper topsail | 19.5 | 260.0 | Stunsail booms (2.5mm tapering to 1.9mm at the end) |
| Topgallant | 14.6 | 194.7 | |
| Royal | 11.6 | 154.7 | |
| MAIN | |||
| Main course | 23.8 | 317.3 | Stunsail booms (2.75mm tapering to 2mm at the end) |
| Lower topsail | 20.7 | 276.0 | |
| Upper topsail | 19.5 | 260.0 | Stunsail booms (2.5mm tapering to 1.9mm at the end) |
| Topgallant | 14.6 | 194.7 | Stunsail booms ((2.3mm tapering to 1.7mm at the end) |
| Royal | 11.6 | 154.7 | |
| Skysail | 10.4 | 138.7 | |
The stunsail booms are roughly half the length of the yard with a diameter proportionate to the yard they are rigged to. Boom-irons support each boom to the yards which are essentially eye rings with one extending from the end of the yard with an elbow and one on the yard approx. ¼ of the length of the yard from the end through which the boom can slip. When inboard the booms were lashed into place to prevent them moving out in bad weather. A boom-jigger was used to move the booms out which consisted of a pair of pullies, a single to an eyebolt on the inner end of the boom and a double attached to the outer yard arm iron. However, I will leave the boom-jigger rigging off the model to simplify things and I will lash the booms in place (good enough). The position of the booms on the yards is also somewhat ??? Cambell shows the booms below the fore and main course yards (as she is now) but Longridge shows the booms above the yards. Unfortunately, there are no definitive images of the ship in full tea-rig and in later service for the wool runs, the stunsails and booms were not used (when you look at images of the ship berthed in Sydney Harbour, the stunsail booms are not fitted to the yards because speed was not essential and they were too easily damaged). I decided to go with Campbell’s plans.
Main Course Yard with Jackstays and Booms (temp., needs adjusting when fitted to the mast before fixing)
Next up: with the jackstays done I will add all the necessary eyelets for the rigging blocks on the yards and then I will start dressing the masts with all the necessary iron work.
And of course:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to Everyone!
Every builder deserves a spacious workplace. Yours looks very good, Dom.Part 35: Progress on the Masts and Yards – Trying to Pick-up Where I Left Off!
It’s been a while since my last post. I had hoped to keep the build ticking over, but I just have had much too much “other stuff” to get done, so the ship sailed into the doldrums, and I just could not get back into the frame of mind to get underway again (I am sure other modellers have had the same problem!). However, things have now calmed down, and I am trying to get some wind back in the sails (also, the clocks have gone back, the weather has changed (for the worse!) and it’s Christmas Eve already!). Hopefully, I will steer this winter’s campaign back on course over the next few weeks but I was determined to get a post out before Christmas (just!).
One of the first things I really had to do was to rearrange my hobby room so that I could extend my work top. The Cutty Sark took up nearly the full length of my old one and it was almost impossible to work on it without a lot of shuffling of bits and pieces and risking damage. I bought some inexpensive kitchen drawer cabinets and a work top which were OK for my needs. I also improved the lighting by adding some adjustable low profile LED lights under the shelf. The new lighting greatly improves things by providing a more natural light directly down onto the model which helps to remove shadows and isn’t harsh on my eyes (much better!).
View attachment 566008
It fits!
Back to the build!
Foremast Yards: I made up some of the parts needed for the masts and yards some months ago, but I forgot where everything goes! To ease myself back into the build I am making up the yards and the stunsail booms. I mostly followed Longridge’s plans and cross-referenced to Cambell’s and Billing’s plans. I will included most of the bands, main blocks and tackles that I considered “necessary” for the rigging at this scale, but it is not comprehensive.
Jackstays: For the jackstays, I decided that 0.5mm blackened brass rod looked good enough without being too far over-scale (scale size would be 0.2mm) and they are stiff enough that I will be able to attach the sails to them. Longridge gives a description of the jackstay eyelets as being through-eye balls on a stem but at this scale small wire eyelets are quite sufficient! The number of eyelets used on the real ship was about 550 (rough count!) and I opted for 1/2, so I needed about 275 (plus the ones that vanished into the ninth dimension!) for all three masts. I tried a few methods to make the eyelets (waste of time!), but I ended up just twisting some 0.2mm blackened copper wire around a 0.5mm pin drill, dabbing the stem into some CA and cutting to length - you can see from the picture how small they are compared to standard 1 and 2mm eyelets - what a pain in the eyeballs!
View attachment 566011
I marked and drilled each yard so that the eyelets were evenly spaced just to the forward side and then slid the rod through them and fixed everything in place with some CA.
View attachment 566009
Jackstays
Stunsail Booms: Depending on which plans you are referring to, there are some differences. After checking all the plans (again), when she was tea-rigged (as far as I could find out), the sliding booms were fitted on the fore course, fore topgallant, main course, main upper topsail and main topgallant yards. To secure the tops of the fore course and main course, and the topgallant and main topgallant (to the royals), stunsail yards (short yards attached to the outer top of the stunsails) were used. There were no stunsails on the mizzen. Swinging booms were attached to the forward bulwarks by a gooseneck for rigging the bottom of the fore course stunsails which were swung out when the stunsails were in use and rested in a cradle on the bulwarks when not in use. Since I am not rigging the stunsails, I will not be fitting the swinging booms.
The revised table of yards and booms:
Yard Length Tea rig 1:75 FORE Fore course Stunsail booms (2.75mm tapering to 2mm at the end).
Swinging boom on forward bulkhead (approx. 12 m long – 160 mm at scale of fitted)Lower topsail Upper topsail Stunsail booms (2.5mm tapering to 1.9mm at the end) Topgallant Royal MAIN Main course Stunsail booms (2.75mm tapering to 2mm at the end) Lower topsail Upper topsail Stunsail booms (2.5mm tapering to 1.9mm at the end) Topgallant Stunsail booms ((2.3mm tapering to 1.7mm at the end) Royal Skysail
The stunsail booms are roughly half the length of the yard with a diameter proportionate to the yard they are rigged to. Boom-irons support each boom to the yards which are essentially eye rings with one extending from the end of the yard with an elbow and one on the yard approx. ¼ of the length of the yard from the end through which the boom can slip. When inboard the booms were lashed into place to prevent them moving out in bad weather. A boom-jigger was used to move the booms out which consisted of a pair of pullies, a single to an eyebolt on the inner end of the boom and a double attached to the outer yard arm iron. However, I will leave the boom-jigger rigging off the model to simplify things and I will lash the booms in place (good enough). The position of the booms on the yards is also somewhat ??? Cambell shows the booms below the fore and main course yards (as she is now) but Longridge shows the booms above the yards. Unfortunately, there are no definitive images of the ship in full tea-rig and in later service for the wool runs, the stunsails and booms were not used (when you look at images of the ship berthed in Sydney Harbour, the stunsail booms are not fitted to the yards because speed was not essential and they were too easily damaged). I decided to go with Campbell’s plans.
View attachment 566012
Main Course Yard with Jackstays and Booms (temp., needs adjusting when fitted to the mast before fixing)
Next up: with the jackstays done I will add all the necessary eyelets for the rigging blocks on the yards and then I will start dressing the masts with all the necessary iron work.
And of course:
View attachment 566014
If this yard is the ‘first product’ on that place then it is the investment, then it is definitely worth the investment. Nicely detailed.
Regards, Peter
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2021
- Messages
- 244
- Points
- 143
Thanks Peter. Now that I have removed the barrier of work space I hope to make some good progress on the build.
All the best for the New Year.
Good afternoon Dom. Happy new year and best of luck for 2026. Cheers Grant
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2021
- Messages
- 244
- Points
- 143
Hi Grant,
all the best for the New Year.
I am way behind catching up on builds that I am following including yours (apologies). I hope this year is a bit less busy for me and I can spend more time on the hobby ( a good way to de-stress!).
Dom