Model Shipways Bluenose, Instruction Manual

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Seizings: Seize lines with cotton, nylon,
or silk thread. Do not secure lines with
knots. Knots are for shoelaces. Touch
seizings with diluted white glue
(Figure 7-1).
Beeswax: Protects lines against moisture
and lays down fuzz. To soften beeswax,
hold it to a light bulb. Run the line
across the beeswax, then through your
fingers to soften and smooth it. Do this
several times to thoroughly coat the line.
5. Belaying Pins
Sheet 6 includes a complete belaying
pin plan. Each belaying point and its
appropriate line have the same number.
Some lines run through fairleads before
they belay. Sketches on the plans show
which lines have fairleads.
Because no belaying plan exists for
Bluenose , general fishing schooner prac-
tices were followed.
6. Rigging Tools
Some homemade tools are essential for
the rigging process (Figure 7-2). Similar
shapes are commercially available.
7. Blocks & Deadeyes
Bluenose
had internally stropped blocks.
This is difficult to do at 3/16” scale.
Figure 7-3 offers some alternatives.
8. Sailmaking
Choosing the proper material is critical.
Sailcloth must be lightweight, yet fairly
opaque. Tightly woven cotton is accept-
able and available from Model Expo
(MS0567). Although linen is ideal, most
is too heavy for 3/16” scale models.
Wash sailcloth several times to
preshrink it. When dry, iron the cloth,
but be careful not to scorch it. Next,
lightly draw the seams and hem
(tabling) lines in pencil, then sew the
seams using light tan cotton thread. A
sewing machine makes fast work of the
project. Practice on scrap cloth. Balance
the needle thread tension so it doesn’t
pucker the material. No reinforcement
patches are required. Instead, simply
sew two lines to represent reef bands
(Figure 7-4).
When done, iron the sails. Be careful not
to burn them. Next, cut the sail shape
using Line A in Figure 7-4. Fold the
hem, iron it flat, and sew as close to
Line B as possible. Tuck the ends and
hand stitch the corners. The sail is ready
for stretching.
Sewing Aids : Visit a fabric shop and pur-
chase a bottle of
Fray-Chek
. Running or
brushing it along the edge of the cloth
prevents the material from unraveling
when cut and produces a sharp edge.
Apply it to the sail before rolling the hem.
Stitch-Witchery and Wonder-Under
are
basically the same product. They are
heat fusible bonding tapes.
Stitch-
Witchery comes in a roll and is bond
sensitive on both sides. To join two
pieces, simply place a strip between
them and iron.
Wonder-Under
comes in sheets with a
thin, paper backing on one side. This
material is useful for bonding letters
and numbers to a scale sailboat’s sail.
First, buy the colored fabric for the
numbers. Place the Wonder-Under sheet
on the cloth with the paper backing up.
Iron the sheet to bond it to the material.
Next, cut out the letters, numbers, logo,
or whatever with scissors or a sharp
blade. Peel off the paper backing, posi-
tion the letter on the sail, and iron. This
technique also works for making flags
from colored cloth.
When racing, Bluenose’s mainsail car-
ried an arabic “1” or “2” near its head.
Stretching the Sails
: This step assures the
sail’s proper shape, since sewing may
have altered it. Using the original pat-
tern, trace the sail’s outline onto a piece
of paper. Place the paper on a solid, but
porous backing, such as a wood or cork
board. Now wash the sail again and lay
it over the outline. Stretch the wet mate-
rial to the sail’s outline, then secure
with stick pins through its outer edges.
When dry, the sail will have resumed its
proper shape. Iron it one more time.
Boltropes and Reef Points : Boltropes can
be omitted, since they are nearly invisi-
ble at 3/16” scale. However, to include
them, follow the tedious method in
Figure 7-4. The sketch also shows how
to install reef points.
Furled Sails
: Don’t furl sails made from
sailcloth and cut to the original’s scale
size. The material is usually too heavy,
resulting in a bulky furled sail. To solve
this problem, either proportionally
reduce the size of a sail by one-third
when using sailcloth (Figure 7-5), or
buy a lighter material such as Silkspan
(model airplane covering tissue).
Depending on their size, even Silkspan
sails may require being reduced by one-
third. Test the percentage reduction to
determine how much material is needed
for a neat, tight furl.
Even furled sails need some seams and
hems, as these details are visible.
9. Rigging the Model
Without Sails
Include most of the lines, such as hal-
liards and downhauls, that remain
when sails are removed. These are
shackled together, tied off, or secured to
some other stowage point. Sketches here
and on the plans show some details.
Standing Rigging
Standing rigging is black. Before start-
ing, sort lines by size, coat with
beeswax, and keep them handy. Use
cotton, silk, or nylon thread for seiz-
ings. Treat this with beeswax. Keep
white glue at the ready for dabbing on
a seizing if necessary. Usually sewing
through the shroud followed by a half
hitch will prevent a seizing from
unraveling.
Shackles
: These are difficult to make at
3/16” scale, so substitute a split ring.
1. Shrouds
Begin the standing rigging by making
the lower shroud chain plates from
brass strip (Figure 8-1).
The lower shrouds are set up in pairs
(Figure 8-2). To do this, make a tempo-
rary brass wire fixture to space the dead-
eyes as seizing progresses (Figure 8-3).
The fixture should be longer than the
final spacing of deadeyes. Reeving the
lanyards will tighten the shrouds to their
final proper spacing. Make a test shroud
first to see how much it stretches.
Stage 8