The Great Republic 1:48

[Roger Pellett]

Sanding: I have a small Makitia palm sander. While this with some 220 grit paper might work for final sanding I would not use lt to fair the planking. Any powered sander loaded with aggressive paper is likely to cause over sanded dips.

I would make or buy a longboard; used by auto body shops. This allows you to clip a long sheet of paper, and to sand with both hands. When you get to concave areas at the bow and stern you will need to make contoured sanding blocks.

Roger

 

[ClipperFan]

Rob, great catch on this! I meant to share the original sketch produced by Donald McKay for his promotional booklet. By mistake, I took the one from the Hall publication instead. Here is the correct plate no 4 screencapped from the proper McKay source. I would toss the other one. There's still some interesting conundrum left. The list of spars includes a mizzen skysail that the illustration leaves out. The bow in the McKay illustration has a splash rail which you say the Great Republic didn't have. A minor detail but it is there. Regardless, for the purpose of giving Pete a correct sail plan, the one from the McKay booklet is what I would consider the most reliable. As for the controversial mizzen skysail, I guess that's a personal decision.

 

[rwiederrich]

See...this is the real problem. The description claims, she had a main sail, a lower and upper top sail, a topgallant, royal and a sky. THAT is what she was refitted out with! She was refitted out with *Howes* upper and lower topsails. When she was originally built, she only had a single large topsail. Because that is the design behind the *Forbes sail plan. A single topsail that ran up and down the top mast doubling. The Forbes topsail could be raised and lowered. You don't raise the lower Howes designed lower topsail. It is fixed to the its crane on the mast cap.
The description goes on to say she was rigged with the *Forbes* sail design. If she was...indeed, she would not have a double topsail . She would have a main course, a large movable topsail, a topgallant, royal, and a sky.

This painting....IMHV depicts her correctly as she was originally built. I think I recall reading that she didn't have any higher than a royal on her mizzen.


Rob

 

[rwiederrich]

Notice the *reef tackle* on the outer edge of the topsail . This was employed when shortening sail. You reefed these in and pulled the sail up to the yard....at the same time lowered the yard keeping tension on the sails clew points on the yard below. this was the typical method of short sailing and lowering the single large topsail. Notice the practice on the staghound on the Butterfield painting... you don't take in lower topsails of a Howes design this way.

Rob