For those who enjoy reading, there's a lot of information below (which I will update over time). But for everyone else, here’s a brief summary.
I have studied the anatomy of this ship and other rigging books (listed below) for a long time and created my own guide on making the masts, rigging, and sails. I originally made it for myself, using various sources, as the anatomy contains many errors, typos, and inaccuracies... and even more omissions! I will write about all of this below, justifying the corrections and proposed rigging solutions.
You can download all the materials at this Google Drive link: Rigging Alert 1777 by Serikoff
Here’s an example of what the first two sketches look like, drawn to a 1:48 scale!
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When printing, you need to select A0 format (841 × 1189 mm)—this is indicated in the file names with “0” and “00.” The guide itself (files named “01-11”) can be printed in A4 or preferably A3 format.
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It may seem like I went overboard, but solving this puzzle over three weeks was interesting for me. If someone had done this earlier with the same level of quality, I would have been very grateful. That’s why all materials will be available for free. If you see someone building this ship, feel free to share the link to this article—I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. If you have any questions, you can write to me, and I’ll try to answer. I’ll also be grateful for well-founded corrections backed by sources (opinions like “I think so” will not be accepted).
What I based my work on. These are the books I used:
At the same time, I studied other ship anatomies. ChatGPT also assisted me throughout the process, and together we tried to recreate the most realistic rigging layout. I deeply respect all the book authors, including the one who wrote the Alert anatomy, but upon closer examination, I found many inaccuracies, typos, and gaps—for example, there is no diagram showing how the rigging is attached to the hull.
I also researched rigging rope diameters, and on page 11 of the guide, I listed all of them to 1:48 scale. The standard conversion tables don’t work here, as a three-masted ship is very different from a single-masted one. On a cutter, the main and largest sail is the mainsail, which was raised and lowered differently than on a three-masted ship. It was proportionally larger and moved together with the gaff, rather than being gathered at the mast and gaff. This affected the rigging layout and rope diameters.
The anatomy also specifies single-sheave blocks for lifting the gaff, square sail yard, and securing the boom. I increased them to two- and two-sheave blocks because ships of this class and size had fewer crew members, so more sheaves were needed to reduce the weight of lifted objects. The deck space was also limited, so not many people could work the rigging simultaneously.
For the same reason, some rigging elements were simplified or combined. For example, there were no separate Sling, Vangs, or Guy rigging elements, and the Lifts were performed by the lower Sheets.
The topgallant sail yard had no Lifts or Braces—it was held only by the Topgallant sail yard Tie and Sheets. In strong winds, it was either taken down completely or secured to the Topsail yard. Truss or Parrel ropes were likely absent or used only when the ship was docked.
The Topsail yard could have had either Truss or Parrel ropes (this isn’t specified in the anatomy, but it’s a reasonable assumption). In strong winds, a Truss would have been useful. However, the lower two yards were a different case. The Gaff had to move freely along the mast, with rings attached to the mainsail, so any fixed lower yard trusses would obstruct this movement. They were likely used only when the ship was stationary.
As for the Square sail yard, it also had no Lifts or Braces. It was fully raised and lowered to the deck using the Tie. That’s why the Spreadyard had no Footrope, just like all other yards except the Topsail yard. The Square sail yard was held only by the Tie, Brace, and Tack, and its maneuverability was controlled between the Topsail and Spreadyard rigging.
One of the biggest mistakes in the Alert anatomy is in the placement and method of securing the Boom topping lift, Peak halyard, and Gaff Jeers blocks.
If installed as shown in the anatomy, the Topgallant Mast could not be lowered on the Top rope, as the mast would hit these block fittings. I repositioned them alongside the mast’s lowering path, fixing the blocks to rings with hooks. There are many such issues in the anatomy.
Another major mistake is how the rigging is attached to the mast. According to the anatomy, if such a connection broke, the entire mast rigging would have to be disassembled from the top down to replace the loop. Instead, I designed all central mast fittings as tie-downs rather than loops. This is clearly shown in the guide.
The anatomy also doesn’t explain what the ship’s windlass was used for. Logically, it should have been used for raising the heaviest sail—the Mainsail on the Gaff. So, the Gaff Jeers were wound onto the windlass.
These are the most critical errors and changes, but there are many others. When analyzing the logic and supporting materials, everything falls into place.
If this text explanation is unclear, I will try to illustrate these descriptions with diagrams when I have time.
I have listed the minimum set of blocks required for the model. To calculate their size, you need to multiply the rigging thread diameter by 12—this gives the block length. But this applies to the rigging section, not the entire rope, as the upper part is thicker, while the working (rigging) end is thinner.
This guide and drawings will be useful for those building Alert from the Trident kit or scratch-building the model in 1:48 scale. In other cases, you’ll need to recalculate the dimensions and adjust the drawings to match your scale.
I have studied the anatomy of this ship and other rigging books (listed below) for a long time and created my own guide on making the masts, rigging, and sails. I originally made it for myself, using various sources, as the anatomy contains many errors, typos, and inaccuracies... and even more omissions! I will write about all of this below, justifying the corrections and proposed rigging solutions.
You can download all the materials at this Google Drive link: Rigging Alert 1777 by Serikoff
Here’s an example of what the first two sketches look like, drawn to a 1:48 scale!
.jpg)
When printing, you need to select A0 format (841 × 1189 mm)—this is indicated in the file names with “0” and “00.” The guide itself (files named “01-11”) can be printed in A4 or preferably A3 format.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
It may seem like I went overboard, but solving this puzzle over three weeks was interesting for me. If someone had done this earlier with the same level of quality, I would have been very grateful. That’s why all materials will be available for free. If you see someone building this ship, feel free to share the link to this article—I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. If you have any questions, you can write to me, and I’ll try to answer. I’ll also be grateful for well-founded corrections backed by sources (opinions like “I think so” will not be accepted).
What I based my work on. These are the books I used:
At the same time, I studied other ship anatomies. ChatGPT also assisted me throughout the process, and together we tried to recreate the most realistic rigging layout. I deeply respect all the book authors, including the one who wrote the Alert anatomy, but upon closer examination, I found many inaccuracies, typos, and gaps—for example, there is no diagram showing how the rigging is attached to the hull.
I also researched rigging rope diameters, and on page 11 of the guide, I listed all of them to 1:48 scale. The standard conversion tables don’t work here, as a three-masted ship is very different from a single-masted one. On a cutter, the main and largest sail is the mainsail, which was raised and lowered differently than on a three-masted ship. It was proportionally larger and moved together with the gaff, rather than being gathered at the mast and gaff. This affected the rigging layout and rope diameters.
The anatomy also specifies single-sheave blocks for lifting the gaff, square sail yard, and securing the boom. I increased them to two- and two-sheave blocks because ships of this class and size had fewer crew members, so more sheaves were needed to reduce the weight of lifted objects. The deck space was also limited, so not many people could work the rigging simultaneously.
For the same reason, some rigging elements were simplified or combined. For example, there were no separate Sling, Vangs, or Guy rigging elements, and the Lifts were performed by the lower Sheets.
The topgallant sail yard had no Lifts or Braces—it was held only by the Topgallant sail yard Tie and Sheets. In strong winds, it was either taken down completely or secured to the Topsail yard. Truss or Parrel ropes were likely absent or used only when the ship was docked.
The Topsail yard could have had either Truss or Parrel ropes (this isn’t specified in the anatomy, but it’s a reasonable assumption). In strong winds, a Truss would have been useful. However, the lower two yards were a different case. The Gaff had to move freely along the mast, with rings attached to the mainsail, so any fixed lower yard trusses would obstruct this movement. They were likely used only when the ship was stationary.
As for the Square sail yard, it also had no Lifts or Braces. It was fully raised and lowered to the deck using the Tie. That’s why the Spreadyard had no Footrope, just like all other yards except the Topsail yard. The Square sail yard was held only by the Tie, Brace, and Tack, and its maneuverability was controlled between the Topsail and Spreadyard rigging.
One of the biggest mistakes in the Alert anatomy is in the placement and method of securing the Boom topping lift, Peak halyard, and Gaff Jeers blocks.
If installed as shown in the anatomy, the Topgallant Mast could not be lowered on the Top rope, as the mast would hit these block fittings. I repositioned them alongside the mast’s lowering path, fixing the blocks to rings with hooks. There are many such issues in the anatomy.
Another major mistake is how the rigging is attached to the mast. According to the anatomy, if such a connection broke, the entire mast rigging would have to be disassembled from the top down to replace the loop. Instead, I designed all central mast fittings as tie-downs rather than loops. This is clearly shown in the guide.
The anatomy also doesn’t explain what the ship’s windlass was used for. Logically, it should have been used for raising the heaviest sail—the Mainsail on the Gaff. So, the Gaff Jeers were wound onto the windlass.
These are the most critical errors and changes, but there are many others. When analyzing the logic and supporting materials, everything falls into place.
If this text explanation is unclear, I will try to illustrate these descriptions with diagrams when I have time.
I have listed the minimum set of blocks required for the model. To calculate their size, you need to multiply the rigging thread diameter by 12—this gives the block length. But this applies to the rigging section, not the entire rope, as the upper part is thicker, while the working (rigging) end is thinner.
This guide and drawings will be useful for those building Alert from the Trident kit or scratch-building the model in 1:48 scale. In other cases, you’ll need to recalculate the dimensions and adjust the drawings to match your scale.
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