HMS Victory-Mamoli 1:90 Bruce Ives Build log

[BruceIves]

I have to say that getting advice from someone who actually knows what he is doing ( in stark contrast to me ) is extremely gratifying and encouraging. I have already seen the effects of tweezer and snipper deficiencies so I am definitely on the lookout for looooooonger and better quality tools. As for instructions, your clipper ship project requires that you write your own. Your build is absolutely astounding.

And I did take a break and work on another model for a bit and doing so helped a lot. I have not had to work on the other model for quite a while now. Making progress on the Victory has kept me focused and enthused. And breaking the back of the ratlines has helped a lot!!

As for the weather, it is unseasonably warm. And I write this entry on November 1, 2025. Tonight the whole country will be watching as baseball events unfold in Toronto. I wont be working on the Victory!!

 

[BruceIves]

These pictures are pretty rough but you get an impression of what I have been able to do so far. The lower yard is positioned too low - yet another measurement error - although it’s a miracle I got it in place at all. If anyone asks I will say it’s been repositioned for maintenance … Only six more to go.

And - touch wood - I have dropped less and snipped in error less as I go. I continue to take short cuts but I am giving more things a try before I give up. I have used the wrong blocks more than once but I am actually attempting to use them.

Of course there is a diagram of how to tie off on a belaying pin. No swearing there - just laughter!! I am trying to place a pin wherever a thread is meant to be tied off but I have to use a drop of glue instead of a knot.

For clarity, the diagrams only show the bits you are working on in the set of steps, leaving out the bits that are already there. What they don’t show is how to find the space to attach one more thread where there is no space for another. These spots are now very messy but a few dabs of paint should cover up the tangles.

I have found it hard to determine just how taut the lines should be. I don’t want to put a strain on things but I also want to avoid things sagging. So far so good but I’m guessing things will stretch. We will see.

In the course of working I have smacked and elbowed the spars quite a bit. It is a tribute to the original engineering ( and luck ) that nothing has snapped.

 

[BruceIves]

I am making good progress. My latest phrase is “How did I miss that?” ( not necessarily those exact words ). I am trying to put all the fittings on the spars before attaching them. Then after I attach each one I discover that I have to put something on it that I missed in order to complete a subsequent step. The instructions don’t care about this but the diagrams are ( mostly ) clear. At this stage I am finding that the order of steps is important to make things doable. Once a piece is in place it is much harder for me to modify.

I shouldn’t be surprised but the rigging is getting very busy. And there is a lot more to add. However what started out as a set of seemingly impossible tasks now looks feasible.

 

[BruceIves]

I’m now working on the rowboats to take a break from rigging. They don’t look too bad. They are not done yet. We will see. The instructions are a bit thin on where they go but I will figure that out.

 

[AllanKP69]

I’m now working on the rowboats to take a break from rigging.

Building ship's boat such as the launches, long boats, cutters, and pinnaces are fun projects in themselves. There are a lot of contemporary drawings available for free on line as well as scantlings from David Steel that make it possible to build very nice little realistic models with hand tools if you want to take a break from huge ships. One example is building a pinnace https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/building-a-pinnace.17541/
Allan

 

[BruceIves]

Thank you for your comments. You provide good advice and information. There is no doubt that my next nautical project will likely be something smaller ( and with a lot less rigging …). A Pinnace would fit the bill.

 

[BruceIves]

I have made great progress. I did break quite a few things as I went along but the good news is that I was able to repair them in place without it being too obvious. The busyness helps to camouflage. And dabs of paint strategically placed will do wonders. I took a big risk and drilled a hole in a mast ( another “How did I miss that?”) and no damage was done. With one more spar and tidying up I will be able to move on to the last two pages of the instructions!! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The pictures are not very good but my workbench is not a photogenic place. It is going to be a challenge getting her out of the basement when I am done. I also need a place to put her ….

 

[BruceIves]

I have made a clear move from the “I have no idea what the instructions are asking me to do” stage to the “I know what the instructions say to do I’m just not sure I can do it” stage. And most of the time I can do it. And where I can’t I am able to use reasonable ( at least to me ) workarounds.

However space has become an issue and I have to step back and figure out what to do about it. My work bench allows access to only one side at a time and I need to turn the model much more frequently than before to get at the hard to get to spots. Turning the model around is getting much too dangerous in the small space I have.

I caught the bowsprit with my shoulder and broke the end off. In the past I would have panicked. But I just reset it in position and the threads held it in place for me to glue. The tension on the threads was not quite symmetric however so it was bent slightly sideways and slightly upwards. A little weight on the end fixed the latter issue but I didn’t notice the former until it was too late. So the tip of the bowsprit now has a very slight bend to port …. I think only I will notice it.

I have also faced the issue of deciding at what stage the threads need to be pulled ( not too ) tight and tied and glued down … and in what order. I have continued to use the “Full speed ahead” approach and so far things seem reasonably symmetric and not loose. We will see.

 

[BruceIves]

I have finished stage one of the rigging of the foremast. I will move on to the mainmast where the instructions say to do essentially the same thing. Here are some lessons I have learned.

1) If everything is right to tighten a knot, it won’t tighten where you want it to. If you don’t want a knot to tighten, it will tighten on its own where you don’t want it to.

2) Whatever you do another thread will get in the way.

3) Whatever mistakes you have made on one side, make them on the other side so at least things are symmetric.

4) You won’t notice a mistake amongst the myriad of threads until it is too late to fix.

5) Some threads in place will slacken and others tighten for no apparent reason.

6) A drop of glue and a bit of paint are magic.

7) This is a serious one. At the beginning I decided to use rings in places where I thought it would be too difficult to deal with an actual block. I have discovered that building, placing and threading blocks is easier than I thought it would be. I worked ahead so many rings are in place where they didn’t need to be.

All the masts are now leaning ever so slightly forward. O well.

I will post a picture or two but at this stage they don’t illustrate much more than a blur of threads.

 

[BruceIves]

Parkinson’s Disease is diagnosed mainly on the basis of symptoms. About three years ago I was diagnosed on that basis. At the time I was building wooden ship models and writing logs on this site. The doctor told me to continue since this was one of many activities that could mitigate the symptoms. I decided then to go full speed ahead. Also I decided to continue to log this activity on SOS.

Since then I have received nothing but encouragement and outstanding advice from SOS members. And this has helped me immensely.

It is now coming up to two years working on Victory. And am enjoying every minute of it and will continue to do so. When I complete Victory I will move on to another ship model.

Now the point. At my last meeting with the doctor she said that my symptoms were not getting worse as is often expected in the circumstances. If anything they were slightly better. It would be very silly to say that building ship models is solely responsible for this. But I would definitely say it has helped considerably. As has writing this log and receiving the feedback from it.

The SOS homepage encourages more people to get involved in wooden ship building. There are many reasons to do this. This is one more example. In my case it is not the result but the process.

Thank you SOS.

( Sorry for the maudlin entry above but I felt I had to write it. I promise this won’t continue! ).

 

[BruceIves]

So I’m working in the basement this morning. I came upstairs for coffee and my wife said “Victory is a war ship, right? “. I said yes. She said “You shouldn’t be surprised that it is fighting back …”. How did she know that?