After seeing the result of my efforts for the main mast and mizzen mast ratlines I became very disappointed with my first attempt at the fore mast ratlines. They really did look ratty. So I decided to remove them and try again. Wasn't quite sure how that would work out as I had glued all the knots. However, with a bit of patience and some careful working with a knife and some water I was able to clean the shrouds up fairly well. In fact, I think they look absolutely fine...so now on to my second attempt at ratlines on the fore mast.

That looks like a lot of scary work Tenderfoot, but it looks great mate.
Regards
Paul

It's been way too long since I had time to work on the hobby. I was able to get an hour in here and there over the past several weeks, but never the opportunity to dedicate a solid chunk of time. Well, this past weekend I was finally able to relax and set into more ratlines.

First off was the foremast ratlines. I finally completed take 2 of installing these things and I am much more pleased with the results than I was with my first attempt. I did not use the white background when installing these, but did use it for the photos to help visually. Without the white background it was too difficult to see the work done. Also included a super close up. These are in no way perfect, but the are much better than my first attempt which you can compare with my earlier posts on this.

And finally, the port side of the mizzen mast. Although the knots and all I am good with it is really obvious that I pulled in a bit on the stern most shroud. However, when I remove the white backing that I have in there for photography it is really difficult to see this inward bow, so leaving it as is.

No on to the upper ratlines on the port side.

I was originally going to move right on to the starboard ratlines. However, after about six weeks of working on the port side ratlines I came to the conclusion that I needed a short break...mostly to retain my sanity. I did want to continue with the Connie, so I decided to do a little side project - something that I figured I could complete in a day.

As I have previously mentioned, I started this ship several years ago and it was my second official attempt at one of these. Since then I have learned a lot about sailing vessels and have also improved my modeling skills. Also, I have recently obtained a copy of "Anatomy of the Ship - USS Constitution" and it has revealed many things to me. One thing that stands out is how unlike reality the fore and main stays if done per the kit instructions. It has been bothering me for a few weeks so I decided to take on the foremast stays and try to get them a bit closer to reality.

The kit has us using deadeyes for the stays - in reality, the block are more similar to heart blocks. Now I know, they are actually a bit different and I also know I have seen blocks that really resemble those used on the Connie Foremast stays. However, at this scale I am totally okay with using some heart blocks that I had on hand. Also, the instructions call for a single stay that starts at the bowsprit, wraps around the mast, and returns to the bowsprit (at least that is how I read the instructions). In reality, they should separate. Also, instead of simple knots to hold the stays in place I want to go with the eye and mouse. Finally, I have decided to also add crows feet.

Below is what I had done a couple years ago. Per the instructions, but I just do not like em. If I am to be honest, it is also my poor craftsmanship at the time that is bothering me as well.

Here are the heart blocks I will use. First thing I needed to do was ensure I put the mouse in the correct spot. To achieve this I threaded the stay rope (using .8mm per the instructions) around the mast. I adjusted things until they looked pretty close to the drawing I am referencing. I then marked the position of the mouse with a small piece of tape and then removed the stay from the mast.

I am going to need two stays that are practically identical, so I will make the first one and use it as a template for the second once I am confident I have everything position correctly.

I then rigged two heart blocks to the bowsprit where there used to be two deadeyes. Not sure how accurate I was with this, but based on some photos I found online it looked like these were held in place by ropes and not by metal strapping as the kit has indicated - I could absolutely be wrong on this. Regardless, I like the idea of strapping them with rope so I rigged both to the bowsprit as such. I am totally cool with the final look. However, if anyone has insight into what is truly historically accurate for the Connie around 1900, please share.

Using some .25mm tan rope I strapped the stays to the bowsprit. I did about seven passes through each. Again, not sure how historically accurate that count is, but I like the look of the finished product, I felt if I did any more they would start to overlap and look like a mess. The final look is so much better to my eyes and I am glad I took on this effort.

The crows feet was a complete learning experience for me. First off, I had never even heard of them; however, the did exist on each mast on the Connie -at least they did in the early 1800's. The drawing below also highlight another bit I had never heard of before - the euphroe. This is a type of block that is used for crows feet. Obviously, I didn't have one of these so I need to get to work making one. Photos snippets credit of "Anatomy of the Ship: The 44-Gun Frigate USS Constitution" by Karl Heinz Marquardt.

To make the euphroe I took a scrap piece of 2x3mm wood. I marked the location of the five holes and the final size of the euphroe. The drawing from the book had a scale on it in feet so I did some quick calculations to determine the size of the euphroe. However, I am not entirely sure how accurate my measurements were.

After drilling the holes and then cutting the piece free I went ahead and used a needle file to carve the grooves around the edges for the ropes. Finally, I rigged everything together, the euphroe, the tackle block, the dark brown thread for the crows feet, and also I rigged up the second tackle block that will attach to the stay rope.

For the crows feet thread I left about 18 inches of thread. This will need to weave back and forth from the crows next to the euphroe, so wanted to be sure I had plenty of length.