Nice work on the cathead...and in situ to boot!
HM Armed Cutter Alert (1777) - Vanguard Models - 1/64 - Completed Build
- Thread starter Smithy
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You remind me of my brother-in-law "Helpful Colin".
(He has a website under that name which he’d love me to mention. )
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Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! 
Ground Tackle
Perhaps that should be 'Ground Tackle Part II'? I'm not sure whether catheads count as anchors, cables and related matter. Anyway, this post is about anchors and cables so it definitely fits the title.
I've read on other threads that it's not wise to put the anchors on before the rigging because they get in the way. Well there's a lot of things going to get in the way so two more sticking out bits can't make a lot of diff, can they? Anyway the cables are on the deck and in the middle and fitting them after all the other rigging seems needlessly difficult so...
The trouble with this cable is that it's both lightweight and stiff, the opposites of the real thing which is very heavy duty and lies on the deck weightily, bending easily over things like hatch edges. This flying cable will convince no-one.
One way to soften stiff stuff is to put it somewhere moist for a few minutes, or even seconds. I just flashed this cable under the cold tap for 5 seconds and then wiped it off. I then hung it up to dry with a heavy weight to pull it straight. THat took about five minutes until it was dry to the touch, so it wouldn't stain the deck etc, but I think still damp in the centre and therefore malleable.
The starboard cable is the treated one. It made a big difference to its credibility as it touches the deck all the way along, and that's without glue.
This isn't often seen on models, not by me anyway. When the cable isn't under tension, when the anchor is neither on the seabed nor being weighed, it is tied clear of the windlass so that machine may be used for other jobs such as craning stors on board or launching a boat etc. My Alert is in dock, awaiting a new suite of sails, so the logical position of the anchors is fully catted, fished and stowed - tied to the ship, and so the cables needed to be tidied away. I think it's an interesting variation.
Do not take my word for it. This is a sketch from Seamanship in the Age of Sail (John Harland) with the port cable tied clear on a big cleat (which I have not got). It shows the stbd anchor dropped and tied off at 'f' which is called the Norman. I thought it would be crossed over the carrick bitts first but apparently that's not the case on a small vessel like this.
I thought you might like this one as well. That little tackle used to pull the handspikes down cleared up my doubts about the power of a windlass compared to a capstan. Fascinating.
The man bending down with his bum towards us is not pulling the cable in, but keeping it tight around the windlass barrel to maintain the friction. There would be other seamen behind him drawing the cable aft and down the hatch. There were a lot of hazards associated with dropping and weighing anchor with a windlass, as with any heavy hauling, but I read about a surprising one today. Imagine the men are pulling the anchor towards the ship, well they would be pulling the ship towards the embedded anchor really but either way there's a lot of tension on the cable and the lads are pulling those handspikes with all their strength. There's a pawl or two to prevent the windlass running backwards but it only engaged once per 'flat' on the barrel, an eighth of a revolution.
Imagine, the men are struggling a little and don't quite get the rotation needed to set the pawl so they are holding the drum with brute force. Then, propelled irresistibly by wave action and buoyancy, the ship rises by the bow - the cable snatches and the drum runs backwards so fast that the pawls cannot engage at all... The men on the handspikes could actually be thrown clean over the bow into the sea where, with dislocated shoulders, drowning was a likely outcome. Even worse perhaps, the guy bending over maintaining the friction could find himself wrapped three times around the windlass!
Meanwhile, safe in harbour, Alert's cables are laying innocently on the deck held in place permanently by a couple of drops of CA in strategic positions.
I though pink pearwood was a little effete for anchor stocks so for the first time ever, I used wood stain on a model. This was one coat only and it looked so much better to me.
A second coat and a coat of button polish (yellow shellac) later and it looked gorgeous.
Note the engraved line, added to indicate the two baulks of timber from which an anchor stock was made. The stain brought that out very nicely.
The part of the anchor casting which will take the ring is a little large, but apart from that I like the white metal piece. It's slightly rougher than the real thing, I think, so I filed off the parting lines and shortened the top part to match AotS.
A dry run against the ship. And now I see why it's best not to fit the anchors until after the rigging. This thing sticks out a good two inches and would be impossible for a clumsy lubber like me to avoid snagging with lines and with my shirtsleeves. No matter, at least the cables are rigged. I shall finish building the anchors in slow time and tie them on at the end of the build.
Stay tuned for the next exciting episode, 'Fitting the chains', coming soon to a screen near you!
Nice attention to the details my friend! It all matters!
Cabling looks great.
It certainly matters to we modellers. I’m not sure that it matters to anybody else.
Yes, it’s very nice stuff. That’s the cable that came with the kit.
It matters to orthodontists tooIt certainly matters to we modellers. I’m not sure that it matters to anybody else.
...
And their patients.It matters to orthodontists too
Good morning Smithy. I’m happy you posted this on the anchor cables. I was playing with my cables recently and had a similar issue with no clear plan on how I was going to get these looking good around the windlass. Now I know.
Cheers Grant
I’m with Paul your details are spot on.
I’m happy to have helped out one of the SoS heavy hitters. Cor!
It matters to orthodontists too
I went to my dentist on Wednesday. I drive miles to get to Richard, having moved home three or four times since I found him. He pays attention to details too.
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I like the lay of it, but this morning I don't much like that cable. It looks to me like a brand new silk dressing gown cord not a piece of natural fibre that's spent time in the mud of the sea bed. It's too clean, too shiny and neither hairy nor dirty enough. It clashes horribly with the gnarly coppering and all of my deliberate and accidental imperfections. Lesson learned? Weather big cables because they are too visible not to.
In this case, it's too late so let us all squint a bit and pretend that while waiting for her new sails, Alert was issued with some new cables left over from the flagship's royal inspection.
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That grating is horrible too! It's neither accurate nor well done.
I airbrushed the metal bits of the anchors this morning. Primer and then a mix of Tamiya Black and Sea Blue, which unexpectedly turned out a VERY dark green. Sea green then. It happened because neither the blue nor the black are pure pigments but a mixture of many different ones and sometimes they all interact in odd ways.
Anyway, since I had some left over I sprayed a block of wood. No primer.
It soaked in well, being alcohol/water based. Dried fast and hard and is quite durable except for turning shiny when handled. So really dark Tamiya paint doesn’t need primer on wood. Something to remember.
Very Matt.
A nice ‘worn paint’ effect from polishing with a finger.
It happened because neither the blue nor the black are pure pigments but a mixture of many different ones and sometimes they all interact in odd ways.Anyway, since I had some left over I sprayed a block of wood. No primer.
It soaked in well, being alcohol/water based. Dried fast and hard and is quite durable except for turning shiny when handled. So really dark Tamiya paint doesn’t need primer on wood. Something to remember.
Very Matt.
A nice ‘worn paint’ effect from polishing with a finger.
I’m going to be away for a while dealing with some real life things. I'm not deserting - just taking some shore leave and I will be back. See you soon. 
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There, only five days away. That's almost as long as some normal people leave between updates.
Even when real life things are heavy, there's usually times when a little relaxation is possible and helpful.
Themanchor painting is finished and the rings puddened (to prevent chafing of the cables).
Chainplates and lower deadeyes fitted. I stepped the mast permanently first and ran a line from the hoop which will support the tops of the shrouds. Using the line 'plumbline fashion' I determined the proper angles of the chains.
Upper deadeyes seized to the first shrouds on each side. There's a mistake in the kit which calls for a double shroud assembly on numbers one and two; three and four and then a single on number five. According to AotS the single is at the front, number one shroud which makes sense as this would be the first one to wear out from the chafing of the square sails.
I'm using lighter coloured line for the seizings because I want to, not because it's accurate. Copy it at your peril.
And there's the tops of the two shrouds prepared so far. They are not yet under tension. I'll set them all up tight when all ten shrouds are ready. That way I have a better chance of getting the tension even in all of them and of avoiding drawing the mast out of plumb.
Even when real life things are heavy, there's usually times when a little relaxation is possible and helpful.
Themanchor painting is finished and the rings puddened (to prevent chafing of the cables).
Chainplates and lower deadeyes fitted. I stepped the mast permanently first and ran a line from the hoop which will support the tops of the shrouds. Using the line 'plumbline fashion' I determined the proper angles of the chains.
Upper deadeyes seized to the first shrouds on each side. There's a mistake in the kit which calls for a double shroud assembly on numbers one and two; three and four and then a single on number five. According to AotS the single is at the front, number one shroud which makes sense as this would be the first one to wear out from the chafing of the square sails.
I'm using lighter coloured line for the seizings because I want to, not because it's accurate. Copy it at your peril.
And there's the tops of the two shrouds prepared so far. They are not yet under tension. I'll set them all up tight when all ten shrouds are ready. That way I have a better chance of getting the tension even in all of them and of avoiding drawing the mast out of plumb.
Nice. A proper throat splice above the deadeye! Not so easy...
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And now bad guy Dirk comments ... har har har ... the anchor cable is unfortunately a) too thick and b) not a cable, it should be left-handed ... if you need one better fitting I could do one next year ;-)
sorrrryyyyy ....
It's a nice build I love to follow
cheers
Dirk
sorrrryyyyy ....
It's a nice build I love to follow
cheers
Dirk