Fundamentals of Rigging

OH OH Let me answer this. I actually have an answer. Well partially.

Firstly Donnie, That is the question of the so to speak. Rigging, rigging, rigging.

You will find tons of information here in the forum. Most of use are a bit weird, but nice enough anyhow.

Firstly, just start going through this forum. I went from the first page and read up to present. I am now on my second read. Very informative.

Secondly, you may try this site:

http://www.all-model.com/wolfram/content.html  A great site. A bit daunting for a "beginner" like myself, but sure gets you thinking.

Thirdly, you may want to get some books. I have ordered some but they have yet to arrive.  my sugestions may be off. Others will probably be able to steer you in the right direction.

Books:

The neophyte shipmodeller's jackstay By Campbell

Historic Ship Models  a detailed book of the link provided above.

Sailing ship rigs and rigging By Underhill

And perhaps a few ship building beginners books.

Search Amazon or similar under scale model ships.

I know this isn't exhaustive, but hopefully a start.

By the way, welcome to the club!

Robert

Donnie - Spelunko has given you some excellent advice.  The first acquisition I'd recommend is the first one he listed:  Campbell's Neophyte Shipmodeler's Jackstay.  It's a bit dated nowadays (its primary focus is the solid-hull wood kit), but it's a congenial, non-intimidating introduction written by a man who really knew his stuff.  It's also relatively cheap.  Model Expo ( www.modelexpoonline.com ) sells it for, if I remember right, about $15.00. Anbody who learned everything in that book would be well on the way toward being a knowledgeable ship modeler.

The Underhill book is excellent, but it only discusses merchant ships from about 1850 through the early twentieth century.  A classic reference for that period, but not so useful for earlier ones.

I think you're wise in wanting to start by surveying the whole subject of rigging throughout the sailing ship period.  (You're right:  rigging has some fundamental elements that have stayed pretty constant, though they've evolved considerably.  And some elements of rigging don't make much sense until you read a bit of the history behind them.  That explains why, for instance, the model you're working on has topsails that are next to the bottom, and Spelunko's Pamir has upper and lower topsails.)  The Mondfeld book on Spelunko's list does a pretty good job of it, but an awfully brief one.  (He covers hull design and modeling techniques in the same, relatively small volume.)  The very best study of the subject, to my knowledge, is John Harland's Seamanship In the Age of Sail.  It's an oversized, beautifully illustrated book that covers just about everything anybody could ever want to know about how sailing ships worked - and how they came to work that way.

Good luck.  It's a great hobby.

Donnie, If you would like it, I have a copy of The Ship Model Builder's Assistant I can let you have if you contact me, Ibemeron@aol.com.  I have read, skimmed, perused, and flipped through the thing repeatedly, and find myself moving it around the shelf when I'm looking for something else.  There are better books but it does include diagrams and text on rigging.  Keep in mind the content is "as published" in 1926.  In the process of learning myself, I have been blessed with some very helpful advice and other things, and sometimes free goodies, so this is a way to kind of pay back.   

There is a site with photos of a model of this ship.  I have it on my favorites list.  Just out of curiosity I tried typing in the URL but it says "unable to link" so it may be down, I'm not sure what the deal is, but if you can get there somehow, there are photos of a La Flore showing some rigging.   www.chez.com/rimbr/sommaire

If you can get on it, click "Les Modeles".  You'll see La Flore listed.  Or, look near the bottom and you will see "Toutes Les Photos De Mes Modeles".  That section has extreme close-ups of the same model (wood) among others. 

You will find many very nice folks on this forum who are very generous when it comes to sharing information and experiences.  When you have plenty of spare time to read lots of information, enter La Flore in the forum search.   

E-mail me if you're interested in das book.

Ron