Hammocks or Tarpaulins?

4/30/2015: I had a notion that the tarps covering the hammocks were black in 1856, so I went back to the images to verify this and ran into a dilemma. None of the images showed tarps at all, only rolled hammocks sticking out of the top of the bulwarks. The images below shows the ship depicted in three paintings c.1856, one in 1862, and the earliest known photo in 1871. In three she's at anchor and in two she's underway, albeit in the harbor. Do I need to figure out how to depict hammocks in the hammock rails?

Bow Bulwark and Deck Fittings

When I resumed working on the model some 10 years after starting it, one of the first things I did to the hull was cut it down to the sheer strake. The only thing left above that level were the bulwarks right at the bow. Now it seems that they are shorter than they ought to be, so today I will begin to address that.

I begand by epoxying a layer of 1/16" sheet bass inside the existing bulwaks. When that set up, I epoxied another layer outboard of the first, and on top of the existing bulwarks. I'm letting that set up over night.

There's a bunch of eye bolts at the bases of the masts where blocks and some other items attach. I installed those, mostly brass screw eyes, but a pair that will anchor the main stays are eye-spikes set into the deck at a 45 angle. I also set the brass rods that will be the pins for the bitts. The placement of these items is mostly based on the 1888 spar deck plan.

5/1: I feel I've gotten a lot done in the past 3 weeks or so, and I'm on something of a roll, so, in that spirit....
Installed the mizzen bitts. They'll get a bit of copper foil on them and they'll be done. Yes, they're supposed to lean that way. Continued on with the forward bulwarks adding two more layers of sheet bass and trimming it all to size as well as padding out the bowsprit hole and mounting a block above the bowsprit all of which closes up the bow a bit. Once all the epoxy is thoroughly set, some more sanding and some paint will have things looking spiffy.

5/2: A touch of paint on the bare wood and to make things look a little nicer.

5/3: I made one of the bitts with the three pronged crown on it but the idea of mounting it on a brass rod set into the deck as I did the mizzen bitts wasn't working out. These have two sheaves in their base and the rod interfered with them, so, back to the drawing board... I made a new set, this time with an inch of extra length at the bottom that I carved a drew threw a 5/16" hole in a metal plate and basically made into a dowel. I pulled the brass rods and drilled 5/16" holes in the deck where they had been. There's no actual sheaves in these bitts, just 5/32" holes where the line will pass through. I tried covering the "crown" with copper tape, like I did on the caps of the mizzen bitts, but that wasn't working out very well because of those three fingers. On the real ones the "crown" is cast bronze and has taken on that green patina that bronze does. I think I'll wind up painting mine that way.

Catheads

5/4: I made one of the catheads by layering seven pieces of 1/16" bass sheet. This gave me the 7/16" square stock of the cathead, but made it easy to leave open the slots for the sheaves. The tricky part was fitting in the the hull. I fingured out it's size, placement, and angle by the 1888 spardeck plan, and photos both old and new.

5/5: Today I picked up from last night an made the starboard cathead. It was made the same way, laminating sheet bass and using slices from a walnut dowel for the sheaves.

Then it too had to be fitted to the hull which was done by drilling successively larger holes, and then squareing out the final hole with a burr on a roto-tool, knives, and files. With both catheads fitted, I made the oak knee that will support it. This was glued to the cathead and will be reenforced with brass pins.

Once the knees set-up, I drilled them and pegged them. I did a little research and didn't find anything that needed the catheads loose to install, so I went ahead and epoxied them into the hull. I pegged them at the bottom of the knee for now, but once the epoxie cures I'll pin them with brass at the hull which should anchor them firmly enough to stand up to the bowsprit rigging that attaches to them.

Bending Sail

5/6-8: Went around the hull looking for spots to fill and sand, then touched up the paint in places. Time's getting short for her to be ready to sail, so I began bending sails to yards. All three tops'ls are bent on, and set on the model. All three heads'ls will be set, the driver, of course, and the t'gallants. With all this extra sail (the main t'gallant is as large as the mizzen tops'l!) I'll be rigging some rudimentary stays on the masts. The bowsprit too, has received some rigging.