Monthly Archives: October 2014

The Wonders of Scale

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Another great Tuesday! Sometimes, we just have to step back from our scale model and remember how huge the real RELIANCE was. Case in point: Bill was working on our spreader when I took this picture. Bill is well over six feet tall. Then it hits you. How long was the real spreader? Answer, 34 feet! (I had to check our plans to make sure we hadn’t goofed. It didn’t seem real.) Wider than the beam of RELIANCE as shown in the photos.
And then Burr delivered the final version of our anchor windlass. Another piece of high fashion jewelry for RELIANCE. More bling!
Bob Dollar from R&W Rope also brought the first spools of our “manila.”
Meanwhile, Herb made another scale serving mallet and is practicing worming, parcelling and serving (worm and parcel with the lay, serve the other way) and wire splicing. Next step to practice worming and serving with wire. Keith continues to fashion our rudder – equally as monstrous as the spreader.
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A Look Back, One Year From Now

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Sometimes when you think progress is slow, all it takes is to look back one year. These pictures taken in Oct. 2013 show the hull on her side so we could drill rods through the keel for a display cradle. Nothing yet on deck. In fact we still had to open up her top to insert innards. Wow! We have done a lot in the past year.

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We’ve had great crowds of visitors this Columbus Day weekend, despite the first cold and rainy spell of fall. Time to break out the winter gear for our shop!

Burr delivered the first of four finished deck capstans (photos 1 and 2); fine jewelry-like quality as always from him! One down and three to go! We are lucky to have him! He’s grumbling a little – the first one is always a fun challenge, but his creative, problem solving genius wanes a little with the subsequent carbon copies. No Burr Juniors to hand off to on this project! Wish we had an apprentice program to go along with this…

Did I really say “carbon copies” ??? Wonder what the age cut-off is to know what carbon copies are? Ah, mimeographs and the smell of mimeograph ink? Or white-out? Just another geezer criterion…

A visitor took these pictures of Reliance which I thought I’d pass along–thank you Mary F. (The real boom crotch looks much better than previous support). I’m in the background talking to a young Naval Academy Prep School student and his family. Had several NAPS families come through over the weekend. Great “kids!!”  Also had several students and families with Webb Institute connections. Fun to talk boat anatomy with all.

1. New Capstan 2. Capstan 3. Foredeck View 4. Aft view 5. Aft View with new boomcrotch

The Work Continues.

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Just returned from ten day trip to Santa Fe, Taos and the Canyons of NM, AZ, and UT. Must say that our RELIANCE is certainly the equal of the great art of Santa Fe and Taos (no bias all all!) but it is very hard to compete with the grandeur, scale, and beauty of nature. No contest, it is nature every time….  We flew home from Las Vegas: I am still struggling to wrap my head around the mirage of Las Vegas appearing out of the desert after visiting Grand, Glen, Bryce and Zion Canyons and Monument Valley…..

In my absence, work continued on RELIANCE with multiple efforts underway.

We are starting to splice wire. In the first photo Herb and Bill are developing splicing jigs. In the second photo, hands of our new “expert” are worming, parceling and serving – complete with miniature serving mallet – (see 1938 instruction manual in background) 
Bill is also working on the spreaders (photo 3). 
Keith is placing miniature rivets in pad eyes (photo 4). (These latest fittings bring RELIANCE into conformity with our “Configuration Date” (First AC race). From pictures we can see that fittings and components were added, moved and changed during the racing campaign. 
Steve is working on the boom crotch (photo 5). Although our RELIANCE will ultimately be posed underway with sails, we anticipate that for a short interim period until the atrium is built, she’ll be displayed at a mooring with topmast housed, and gaff, boom and mainsail resting on the boom crotch.
Meanwhile Mike and Harrison Casting Co are making our gooseneck assembly, and Burr is completing the capstan assemblies.

1. Discussing splicing jigs 2. Hands of the splicing expert 3. Rosey the Riveter 4. Roughing out the Spreader 5. Working on the boom crotch