"Lightning" Sailboat

[mm2snipe]

Started on this a while back. It's larger scale than I usually do. Following is what I've done so far. This is a commission build. I figure it'll work out to about 8 cents an hour . I'll not get into detail, but the pictures tell the story.

The client wanted it to be built to his recollection of a boat his father had owned when the client was a kid. The first thing was it had to be waterlined so he could display it in a diorama he was making. Second, some of the details shown in the kit instructions, and the materials supplied needed to be altered. That included the rigging - I'll deal with that in the next post. Third, was colors. That was not a problem.

Waterlining - I built the hull as normal, then took it out in the shop and with the wide belt sander, ground the bottom off to a waterline shown on the drawings and scribed on the hull with a machinist's surface gauge.

I'm now up to installing the mast and spars, standing and running rigging.




































Next up, the standing and running rigging.

[mm2snipe]

The rigging and sails,

The boat he remembers was built in the 60's and had wire rope for the standing rigging - backstay, jib stay and shrouds (2 each side). I found some picture framing wire to experiment with. 7 strands of .0115" forming a .035" wire rope. Stripped one strand out and used it to wrap the bends at the eyes. Was going to make something that looked like turnbuckles. Not knowing much about sailing vessels, I've been looking in a couple books I have on the subject, but most everything I find is for larger boats/ships. "The art of rigging" and "Practical small boat designs" are of some help, but any suggestions from the forum will be of great help.





I just got some brass turnbuckles that really work. This will help a lot in tensioning the rigging and getting the mast positioned exactly. I'll set the turnbuckles with a bit of threadlocker when done to prevent loosening but still allow them to be adjusted later if required. Also, some stainless steel wire, a bit smaller, .0085" per strand, 7 strands, .027" overall. It is much more symetrical than the picture wire.





Which do you think looks more like real wire rope used in sailboats and ships?

Lastly, the sails. They will be furled. The mainsail will be lowered and tied to the boom. The jib will be wrapped around the jibstay and tied.

The material in the kit is kinda like a very thin embossed plastic material. I've tried "bunching" it up to look like furling, but it is too stiff for that. Soaking in water didn't help at all. I ordered some silkspan, I guess used to make sails, but I'm not familiar with the stuff and how it would be used. It looks to me like very thin, unwoven filter material. I can see my hand right through two layers of it. Anybody know where I can find information on it's use?

I also played with a piece of an old, white bedsheet, that was just a bit yellowed, that the client brought over. I cut the sails out of it. The tunnel that slips over the jibstay was stitched on a sewing machine. I cut the sails from along an edge of the sheet, so one edge of each sail is a factory edge, The other edge was hemmed with a very narrow double turned hem and machine stitched. I havn't tried to install any of it yet, so I don't know what it will look like, as I'm still working on the standing rigging.

Last, a few bits of trim, tiller and rudder, centerboard.



Any comments and suggestions appreciated.

EJ

[Leon]

EJ,that is looking fantastic! Your doing an awesome job.

[joelsmith]

EJ, Silkspan is used on R/C aircraft. I don't know of a tutorial. but I suspect if you ask at your local R/C shop, you would get the help you need. HTH, Joel.

[wbill76]

Looks like you're making good progress on this one EJ!

[panzerjager2]

Very cool build..... Definitely outside my comfort zone..... 
PJ2

[wing_nut]

Looks great... and the "rope" on the left.

I would like to know how you twisted 7 wires that evenly. I always get that 1 wire that gets out of line… literally… and makes bumps running down the cable/rope.

[John Everett]

Metal and wood are wonderful, more tactile and satisfying than plastic.

[mm2snipe]

Jun 17, 2017 11:56:55 GMT -5 wing_nut said:

Looks great... and the "rope" on the left.

I would like to know how you twisted 7 wires that evenly. I always get that 1 wire that gets out of line… literally… and makes bumps running down the cable/rope.

Actually, I purchased it. That's the way it came. Also, I found some more Stainless wire at WallMart of all places. It's the same size dia strands, 7 strands, same dia overall as the picture wire, But, the twist is about I/2 way between the picture wire and the stainless wire in the picture, and more evenly twisted than the picture wire, $3.50 for 9 feet.
The "rope on the left" was  mail order, SS, catalog said 100 feet, but what I got was 12 feet for $9.95.
The "rope on the right" was picture wire from the hardware store, about 12 feet for $1.79.

EJ

[TRM]

Very cool!! Looking great so far! Enjoy the ride!

[mrt51]

Wow that is outstanding so far.