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Sovereign of the Seas - Mantua by Brian

Yeah Brian, I just got my flu vaccination also. Sounds like you just got an old fashion cold virus. Hope you start to feeling better soon. Magic Mike
 
Morning guys feeling a little better this morning and you will probably think I'm a bit mad but I have stripped all the rigging back to the start, I was just not happy with it. So I'm going to have a rest from the sovereign and do something else for a change.......like say make ropes :) so here is my first effort making very thin ropes and it's compared to ones I bought from Canada.

My ship now :)
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My effort at 0.25mm rope, I'm finding it harder to make fine rope.
Mine on the spool bought rope above, I'm very happy with the result :)

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Bit of an update, had a relapse was feeling a little better then oh boy, did it hit me hard spent the next 3 days in bed literally couldn't get up, I think I had a touch of flu and not your typical Man flu ( a cold). Anyway I'm up and around and feeling better than I have since Saturday so back to the Sovereign tomorrow all things being good.
 
Mike Dowling said:
Can I ask why you have left such a small space between the upper and lower deadeyes? The diagrams given show a much larger gap to avoid the gun ports. The rigging gets in the way regardless.
Click to expand...
The Payne engraving shows a similar deadeye spacing. As for the rigging getting in the way of the guns, the shrouds are supposed to vary in spacing between then such that the guns do not threaten the standing rigging. They are not even spaced as in many depictions, including the Payne engraving. If something in a source doesn't make sense from a practical standpoint, it's probably not accurate.
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Mike Dowling said:
Can I ask why you have left such a small space between the upper and lower deadeyes? The diagrams given show a much larger gap to avoid the gun ports. The rigging gets in the way regardless.
Click to expand...
Tbh the spacing in the instructions look way too much so I went with what was depicted in some books I have.

IMG20261021181803.jpgIMG20261021181945.jpg

This really is a poor kit with second rate instructions can't wait to be finished with it tbh
 
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Need a little help guys, I just made some rope and although not too bad, still not happy I would like a tighter twist, does that mean more weight ?

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Getting your amount of twist is something you want to make consistent before you start using the line for rigging, or else one like will appear different than another, and you will notice that difference. Perhaps you need to make more ropes on your ropewalk. More experience will make you more consistent the twist will be. If you are still experimenting with the weight and the around of turns imparted to the rope, it may be premature to use those ropes because they will have different twists.

The poly thread you are using has a decent amount of elasticity, which is an advantage in that even with different tensions, all shrouds can still be slack free. However, try you best to apply the same tension to all the shrouds, and realize that as you add shrouds, the forces on the masts are increasing with each line. As shroud pairs are added, the mast see more and more force, and may begin to be bent rearward little by little, stretching the stays. So, if you apply an overly strong tension to all the shrouds, then at about 4-5 shroud pairs done, the first set of shrouds may go slack because the mast bent. If all the shrouds are tensioned from first to last with just enough tension to put SOME stretch beyond slack-free, then by the time you get to rigging the backstays, the first few shroud pairs will still be slack free, and the mast will not have been pulled out of position. The balance of force between the stays pulling the mast forward and the shrouds pulling the mast rearward has to carefully studied as you add shrouds. Sometimes applying a small bit of excess tension to the stays such that the mast is drawn forward a slight amount is desirable if you counter that force using the shrouds to pull the mast rearward back to its prior position, but this is only if you use elastic rope such as poly or poly blend, and not rope material which has very low elasticity such as many natural fiber ropes such as linen.

As for bending the mast to port or starboard, rigging shrouds in pairs, one port, the one starboard, and repeating that pattern with properly consistent tension will maintain the mast angle.
 
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