Build the Cutty Sark
- by Frans Dekker
In the autumn of 2007, the secretary of our club asked the members to make a model of the Cutty Sark in a contest before our first meeting in October 2008. Immediately I wrote back that I want to join the contest in the master class. The master class had to built a S.I.B in a bottle in more than 1 litter, others in a bottle les than 1 litter.
I started whit making the hull out of two parts of lindewood with inside two dregs. I wanted a full body model on two pilasters. After the hull was completed all the parts were made that studded on deck. They ware made of Mahoney-wood.
And of course, the figure-head. I now the story of Tom O’Shanter with the witches in the forest and I made a witch out of a special hard wood with the size of 7 mm long, 4 mm high and 3 mm wide. (if you use your imagination you really can see a witch with in here left-hand the tail from the hors of Tom O’Shanter).
The hull was painted more than 5 times. After the first times I was not satisfied. The under water part was painted in copper colour. Before the paint was dried out I made in the soft paint the model of the “copper plates” whit a sharp iron needle. It really looked great. The masts where completed out of 3 parts. After the masts were completed the backstay’s are fitted on the masts and the masts were rigged out on the right place with the backstay’s. After the backstay’s the rigging was completed with the stags and ratlines.
The time was right to put all the parts on deck. Deckhouses, life-boats, spars, fife-rail, chicken-fowl’s etc.etc.
I have made the sails out of paper. I had decided to put ALL the sails on the model she ever sailed with. (that includes the studding-sails/stunt sails) Therefore the spars were lengthen with studding sail boom’s. Made out of rattan. Very thin and the do not break easily.
The different parts on the sails ware made with a very thin pencil. Than the sail were “panted” with linseed. It made the sails looked older. I good not place one sail, the crossjack, at the mizzen-mast. There were to many rope’s that stud in the way when the ship goes in to the bottle and it was to difficult to place it afterwards. To put the sail on the spars I used a glue that dried very fast.
And than came the final day. I had to put the model in to the bottle. I was a bit nervous before that day. Every time it is like the berth of a child (S.I.B.’s had always the child delivery backwards). On Thursday the 4th of September was the great day. And it was successfully! Only one studding sail boom was damaged but not broken. It was repaired in the bottle.
After the last studding sails were put in there booms and the spar’s (it took me two weeks to do it) de spar’s where placed horizontal and the sails were tinged on the spars under them, with glue to be sure that the did not move ever a gain. Then, I made a Turkshead knot on the bottleneck and it was ready.
A beautiful model in my collection.
Size of the Bottle:
length: 320 mm
Width: 180 mm
Bottle Opening: 40 mm
Size of the Cutty Sark (including studding sail booms):
length: 185 mm
height: 108 mm
hull width: 24 mm
length of largest spar: 94 mm