Shrouds, lanyards and deadeyes: adjusting shroud tension

[Brad Shannon]

Over the years I’ve taken considerable care in trying to keep the shroud deadeye/lanyard lengths consistent. Like many modelers I’ve even used jigs to ensure those lengths are precisely the same. Now I mostly eyeball the look of them as best I can.

On a working ship, if the deadeye/lanyards are used to adjust the tension on the shrouds they would likely develope some variation in length.

So are we fretting too much over keeping these components exactly the same as we build?



HMS Surprise

 

[Y.T.]

On a working ship, if the deadeye/lanyards are used to adjust the tension on the shrouds they would likely develope some variation in length.

I agree with this statement.

 

[Smithy]

So do I.

I don't know by how much they could vary, and I doubt that anyone does.

 

[Short John Bronze]

I guess this is another example of the dichotomy between a display model and a replica (as in shiny and blackened brass. Or the anomalous combination of guns run out, anchors catted but no sails) On an actual ship the shrouds might be a mixture of older and newer ropes and tensioning would result in variations in upper deadeye positions. On a model, reasonable alignment is more aesthetically pleasing.

 

[paul ron]

its not easy at scale. we are talking about 1/64ths and 1/32nds that translates to parts of a foot at 1:96. so if your deadeyes are slightly off (as most of my ships are) by just 1/32" or more, thats 3"+ inches in the real world. will that appear out of whack, in both scale vs real size? so the real question is how much can we visually go off scale and get away with it?

what i noticed, once you put the sheer pole on, its not as noticeable.

 

[AllanKP69]

what i noticed, once you put the sheer pole on, its not as noticeable.

Just as a point of interest sheer poles did not come into common use until the 19th century (Lees, Masting and Rigging English Ships of War, page 42) I looked at a number of photos of models at RMG and Preble Hall of 18th century ships, including the one below, and they are all without sheer poles. I checked The Elements and Practice of Rigging and Seamanship 1794 by David Steel and he makes no mention of sheer poles that I could find.
Allan

 

[paul ron]

as always... depends on your ship. maybe it was the model builders that invented sheer poles?

 

[AllanKP69]

depends on your ship

Hi Paul,
You are of course correct, depends on the ship, and in this case, more about the era. I think Brad's model is the Surprise. There were at least 13 ships name Surprise but I am guessing it is one of those from the 18th century so inclusion of sheer poles would be inappropriate. If Steel makes no mention of them I am convinced they were rarely if ever used before his book was written. I know you were kidding, but one of the things about contemporary models, those artists that built them were meticulous in presenting an accurate representation albeit with stylized framing in most cases. From RMG: Models of Royal Navy ships were made by order of the Navy Board. Little is known about the men who built these models but, thanks to their surviving works, we know how their models were made.
Allan

 

[gene438]

I just want to state for the record when you notice some of my deadeyes being slightly off, I have carefully calculated the variance and purposely placed the deadeye out of line at perfect scale.......that's my story and I am sticking to it.

 

[iutar]

The requirement to place the deadeyes at the same height was strict and mandatory. This was an old simple way of warning of trouble.
The internal damage to the shroud cable was determined by the displacement of the deadeye from the general line. Therefore, there could not even be any talk of any deviations. The sailors themselves were interested in strict compliance with the rule. If after adjustment the deadeyes were at different levels, the shroud was re-winded.

 

[Walt Zimmerman]

More important, perhaps, is the color of the deadeye lashing and the shrouds and ratlines. I have never been on a real ship where the color was not black. I also read recently that "All standing rigging is BLACK", and I don't think I have ever seen a model in a museum where this is not so.

 

[AllanKP69]

More important, perhaps, is the color of the deadeye lashing and the shrouds and ratlines. I have never been on a real ship where the color was not black. I also read recently that "All standing rigging is BLACK", and I don't think I have ever seen a model in a museum where this is not so.

Could you please tell us where you read this? From what research I have done standing rigging was not black until the second half of the 19th century at which time lamp black was mixed with pine tar and turpentine so was closer to black than in previous eras. It may not be a good idea to use modern replicas or preserved/rebuilt ships as examples. None of us have ever been on a real ship with original rigging so we must rely on information based on contemporary sources. Before the last half of the 19th century standing rigging was protected with Stockholm or American pine tar which is more of a medium to dark brown. While it may have been dark brown or even gray when aged at sea, it was not black. As to contemporary models, I personally have never seen one with pure black rigging lines but if you can post a picture of a contemporary model, with original rigging, that is black that would really be interesting to see. Many contemporary models are not tarred at all but I would bet the ships did have pine tar protection. An interesting article can be found at https://maritime.org/conf/conf-kaye-tar.php

The color of lanyards (deadeye lashings) often arises. Were they untarred or not? As they were running rigging they would not be, but as they were not often adjusted perhaps they were treated with pine tar.

Allan

1701

1705

1719

1742

1761

 

[iutar]

Soot was added to the so-called Stockholm fat in 1800. From now on, standing rigging can be shown in black.

 

[Oktay Yaylacıkoral]

Gemilerde tüm halatlar katranlıdır,sabit donanım kullanılamdıgı için koyu renklidir,fakat hareketli donannım sürekli gemicilerin ellerinde olduğu için yüzeyleri silinmiş görüntüdedir,hatta tüm makarların çalısan kısımları kısmen katranla ve kısmende don yağı ile sürülmüştür,bu elemanların rahat çalışması için yapılmamıstır.bu nedenle hareketli halatları modelimize uygularken silinmiş görüntüsü verilmelidir.ben artık böyle yapıyorum
ır

 

[Bob Cleek]

Before the last half of the 19th century standing rigging was protected with Stockholm or American pine tar which is more of a medium to dark brown.

I dunno. I suspect I've seen more pine tar than most in my day and it's always been what I'd call very, very dark brown to jet black in color and this stuff was for livestock use, so there wasn't any lampblack added to it. If it's thinned out a lot, the color can appear as light as straw colored and this is seen in new Manila cordage where a bit of thinned pine tar is added to the fibers to impart a slight stickiness that helps to bind them together when their laid up on the rope walk, but when pine tar is applied repeatedly as a coating, it's always looked black to me. At scale viewing distances I expect black is the color you'd see on standing rigging and deadeye lanyards. When I see light tan or even white lanyards on ship models, they always look "wrong" to me.

As for lanyards, they aren't really "running rigging" so much as a type of lashing. The lanyards are not tightened much in real life. A new cordage shroud will necessarily stretch some in use until "the stretch is out of it" but once that occurs, there's no need to tighten the lanyards unless there's some reason to detach the shroud from the deadeye. Remember that the standing rigging will always be slack to one degree or another on the leeward side and fetch up tight on the windward side in any event. The standing rigging of ships in the age of fiber cordage was never set up as tightly as wire cable later came to be, especially with the introduction of bottle screws. The standing rigging, including lanyards, was always heavily tarred. The running rigging was not.

Here's some pictures of pure pine tar which is also used to make baseball bat handles and the like sticky for a good grip and for "dressing" horses' hooves.

 

[AllanKP69]

HI Bob,
From what I have read, in order to apply the pine tar to the rope it was thinned so it would soak in rather than just coat the outer surface. As you point out, when it is thinned it is lighter in color.

there wasn't any lampblack added to it.

The ingredients you show on the label include activated charcoal. While there are differences between lampblack pigment and activated charcoal particles could this be the cause of your example being so dark?
Allan

 

[Smithy]

Is a sheer pole the same thing as a shroud batten?

Sheer poles attach immediately above the upper deadeyes to prevent rotation around the ‘vertical’ axis.

AotS Alert shows what the author calls a shroud batten (#9) much higher than this.

 

[iutar]

1. The rope, with the help of which the shrouds were tightened, after the final tightening was also covered with fat along with the deadeyes. Don't make white ropes inside the deadeyes. (the white ropes inside the deadeyes at Victory in 2008 are shown this way because the shrouds were not pulled, there is no mistake here). The fat on the deadeyes is visible in the photo below. If your shrouds are black, then the ropes inside the deadeyes should be black.
2. There was no lower pile on the cables (a wooden or metal rod at the bottom of the cables against the rotation of the deadeyes) until the first quarter of the 19th century.

 

[jfitterman]

Could you please tell us where you read this? From what research I have done standing rigging was not black until the second half of the 19th century at which time lamp black was mixed with pine tar and turpentine so was closer to black than in previous eras. It may not be a good idea to use modern replicas or preserved/rebuilt ships as examples. None of us have ever been on a real ship with original rigging so we must rely on information based on contemporary sources. Before the last half of the 19th century standing rigging was protected with Stockholm or American pine tar which is more of a medium to dark brown. While it may have been dark brown or even gray when aged at sea, it was not black. As to contemporary models, I personally have never seen one with pure black rigging lines but if you can post a picture of a contemporary model, with original rigging, that is black that would really be interesting to see. Many contemporary models are not tarred at all but I would bet the ships did have pine tar protection. An interesting article can be found at https://maritime.org/conf/conf-kaye-tar.php

The color of lanyards (deadeye lashings) often arises. Were they untarred or not? As they were running rigging they would not be, but as they were not often adjusted perhaps they were treated with pine tar.

Allan

1701
View attachment 490806
1705
View attachment 490805
1719
View attachment 490804
1742
View attachment 490810
1761
View attachment 490809

like the two tone wood stand on 1714

 

[Bob Cleek]

HI Bob,
From what I have read, in order to apply the pine tar to the rope it was thinned so it would soak in rather than just coat the outer surface. As you point out, when it is thinned it is lighter in color.

The ingredients you show on the label include activated charcoal. While there are differences between lampblack pigment and activated charcoal particles could this be the cause of your example being so dark?
Allan

Hi Allan,

Yes, pine tar becomes lighter in color as it is thinned and when very thin can even become honey colored, but as more is added, it becomes darker as one coat covers the previous one and the total coating thickness increases. Once an initial coat is soaked into the cordage and polymerizes, additional coats don't soak in and so build on the surface quite quickly to a very dark brown-black. In practice, properly maintained tarred rigging within a short period of the vessel's operation will appear black.

There is also to be considered a natural variation in the color of pine tar in olden times, although my experience with 20th century pine tar is that it is all brown-running-to-black. Some is described as "light pine tar," which I believe is a reference to the color rather that the consistency. This variation was a function of the pine subspecies which yielded the tar. There was in earlier less technologically sophisticated production processes a wide variety of quality and appearance. The tar from Baltic pines was of the highest quality and ultimately came to be identified as "Stockholm tar" because the barrels containing it were so marked as having been shipped from Sweden which held a monopoly on the highest quality tar for naval applications. Present-day production involves distillation that yields a much purer and more uniform product than was available in the days of wooden ships and iron men.

No question that activated charcoal will darken the mix as would lampblack. I'm unsure of any reason for adding the charcoal or lampblack, other than perhaps for the purpose of making a tar which would be a more uniformly colored product, particularly if made up of various grades of tar. As can be seen from some of the modern examples pictured, the un-thinned "100% pure" pine tar is nearly jet black while some is cut with raw linseed oil, mineral spirits, turpentine, or other solvents. Modernly, it is also mixed with varnish to provide a more permanent and less sticky finish. As you probably know, in earlier times especially when a vessel operated in the tropics, the sun would heat the thick tar coating that accumulated on the rigging and soften it to the point where it would run and drip onto the decks. The tow falling from the rigging would then stick to it on the decks and make quite a gunky mess. The barefooted crew would then track it all over the ship which certainly didn't meet the inspection standards of the Admiralty or the merchant marine's "Bristol fashion." This was the origin of the bosun's call to "sweepers port and starboard, fore and aft" to clean up the tow and the practice of regularly holystoning the decks to remove the tar. Modelers who are depicting a less distinguished working vessel would do well to portray the wooden decks as quite dark, if not black, especially in areas below the tophamper. Alternately, a ship of the line would have quite light-colored decks owing to their regularly holystoning. (And for this reason, decks were fastened with treenails or deeply plugged and iron deck fastening heads would never be observable in real life!)

As you probably know, pine tar was an essential naval store in the age of sail. The production and sourcing of large quantities of high-quality pine tar was of vital national security importance to the European seafaring nations and attended with much international trade political wrangling. Today, pine tar is of very limited maritime value, save for the relatively occasional historical vessel's use. Modern production is only a small fraction of what it once was, and its purposes are primarily for veterinary applications and as a base for limited industrial chemical production. When we needed it for tarring ropework on traditionally rigged vessels in the boatyard, we would always buy it at the local feed store which sold it for dressing horses' hooves.

Here's an interesting historical paper on pine tar from my "favorites" list. Any period modeler will probably find it interesting. https://maritime.org/conf/conf-kaye-tar.php