Restoration of a Large Sailing Model, 3
Just finding out what needs to be done took quite a long time with this model. Here, we continue the findings, moving further on with the spars and the aft cabin.
THE FOREMAST had sustained some damage a long time ago. The broken section was at the top of the mast. It is called the masthead and it is where the lower mast and topmast sections overlap. There was no attempt to replace the missing section of the mast. They simply pushed the topmast further down on the lower mast and held it in place with a nail, causing still further splitting. I also believe that by the time this ill advised repair was attempted, the model had already lost its sails. I think this because if the sails had been present, the repairs made would not have allowed the sails and their rigging to be re-installed in their correct place.
Figure 6 The broken and then badly repaired foremast head.
THE FORE GAFF is not original to the model and was made slightly longer than would comfortably fit between the two masts, if it were actually required to function.
THE MAINMAST had similar issues to the foremast, but at the opposite end. When I examined the mainmast, I found a metal (tin?) sleeve about 2-1/2” long just at the spot where the main boom jaws would make contact with the mast. At first glance, this could be mistaken for a collar installed there to protect the mast from wear as the boom swung from side to side. However, I also noticed that the mast wiggled right at that spot. It was clear this was not meant to protect the mast. It was another less than proper repair. The sleeve was installed with 4 or 5 carpet tacks, some of which had to be filed down as they broke though the other side of the mast. Upon removal of the sleeve, I found the mast was broken into four pieces, one of which was missing.
Figure 7 Metal sleeve concealing the multiple breaks in the main mainmast.
Figure 8 Multiple breaks, uncovered.
BOTH THE MAIN BOOM AND GAFF are in good condition. The only thing that needs to be done is to attach blocks for the halyards and sheets.
THE AFT CABIN
As I mentioned earlier, the ROOF OF THE CABIN was speckled with white paint. This will be repainted. There are two base moldings on one side and one end of the cabin. These are not original to the model. A closer inspection revealed that the original molding was about half the size of the replacement. I was able to discern this because the “ghost” image of the original molding was still visible, both on the deck where the cabin sits and on the sides of the cabin.
Mr. Rogal asked if I could clean up the windows on the cabin. During a painting session, someone got quite a few smears and smudges on all the ports.
Figure 9 Aft cabin with the oversized molding and smudgy windows.
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