or cotton lines.
4. Treating the Lines
Worming, Parceling, and Serving:
Lines on
ships were wormed, parceled, and
served wherever chafing might occur.
Shrouds are a prime example. Worming
inserts thin pieces of line (worms)
between the strands. Parceling winds
canvas strips saturated with tar around
the wormed part. Happily, that isn’t
necessary for the model. Only consider
serving (binding the wormed and
parceled area in the opposite direction
with spun yarn). Use fine silk or linen
thread. Avoid cotton. It’s too fuzzy.
Although serving adds authenticity and
elevates the model’s quality, many mod-
elers elect to not to do it. They simply
give the line a heavy coating of
beeswax. Don’t be afraid to try serving.
All it takes is practice. Serve only the
heaviest shrouds and stays.
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:
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 out. Do this several times to
thoroughly coat the line.
5. Belaying Pins and Their Lines
Sheet 6 includes a complete belaying
pin plan. Each belaying point and its
appropriate line have the same num-
ber. Some lines run through fairleads
before they belay. Sketches on the plans
show which lines have fairleads.
6. Rigging Tools
Some homemade tools are essential for
the rigging process (Figure 7-2). Similar
shapes are commercially available.
7. Blocks and Deadeyes
The kit may or may not include
bullseyes. If not, take a deadeye and
ream its center. Wooden bullseyes and
hearts are sometimes not available in the
required sizes.
Stropping 3/16” scale blocks is diffi-
cult. Some alternatives are shown in
Figure 7-3.
8. Sailmaking
Choosing the proper material is critical.
Sailcloth must be lightweight, yet fairly
opaque. Tightly woven cotton is
acceptable and available from Model
Expo. 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 and
set the stitch so it doesn’t pucker the
material. (Figure 7-4).
When done, iron the sails. Be careful not
to burn them. Next, cut the sail’s shape
using Line A in Figure 7-4. Fold over 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 now
ready for stretching.
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 7-5.
For the restored period,
Morgan
had no
reef bands and reef points on any sail.
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 7-6), or
buy a lighter material such as Silkspan
(model airplane covering tissue).
Depending on their size, even Silkspan
31
Fig.7-5 Boltropes
Boltrope
Boltrope
Form a
cringle
Sew by hand through
the boltrope, not
around it
Fig. 7-6 Shapes for Furled Sails
Cut to this size to
reduce bulk for furling
Full sail
Less than .016"
.009"
.016" - .020"
.017"
.024" - .032"
.030"
Greater than .032"
.048"
Range of lines
shown on plan
Kit supplied line
diameter to use
