# Loch Torridon 1881 - 1915



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

I am about to begin the British four-masted barque LOCH TORRIDON at a scale of 32'=1". The hull will be about nine inches long on the waterline & the ship will be under full sail. I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, so the building progress will be completely dependent on the number of people who view the progress pictures.
Bob


----------



## 6639 (Apr 20, 2006)

what will you use for the rigging on such a small scale?, Bob.


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

As this is my normal scale, the usual methods will be used. The masts & spars will be a combination of brass tube, brass rod, copper rod & silver steel. The rigging, including ratlines, will all be of fine copper wire.
Bob


----------



## liteflight (Jan 25, 2008)

Bob,

She has lovely lines - the colour scheme emphasises the sheer, too.

I will be observing with interest and , I have no doubt, admiration.

andrew


----------



## stein (Nov 4, 2006)

An interesting project. She does look wonderful in the appended photo. Do keep us informed of your progress even if there are few of us interested. Regards, Stein.


----------



## 6639 (Apr 20, 2006)

cheers Bob. neil.


----------



## erkki mikkola (Nov 6, 2007)

Hello from Turku, Finland. 
It,s been said, that LT was one of the most beautiful 4-mast barque ever. She was bought to Uusikaupunki Finland in 1912. In December 1914 she departed from Norway to Australia under command of captain K.G. Rosenberg from Aland islands, and headed to Atlantic via north of Fär-islands when she was hit by a fearce storm. All her masts went over board. Her crew fought to keep her floating almost one month, until January 24. 1915 s/s Urduna finally managed to save the crew. Loch torridon´s timber cargo was set on fire when the crew abandoned the ship, and she burned like a giant torch until she finally sank.

Erkki mikkola


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

Thanks for replies. I also think that LOCH TORRIDON was one of the best looking four-masted barques. The picture does not show her at her best as the jiboom is hove in. When it is out & rigged, the ship looks a whole lot smarter. I am planning on beginning in the morning.
Bob


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

Work began this morning with the selection of the wood (obeche). The first cuts will be made soon & the hull should be showing some sort of shape by this evening.
Bob


----------



## Fred Wood (Jul 8, 2005)

I for one look forward to watching your progress. She was a beautiful looking ship, and I'm sure your model will be equally so.

Fred


----------



## jerome morris (May 27, 2008)

I also am looking forward to this build. There's nothing quite like a sailing ship.


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

Thanks for replies. I decided not to update until 12 visitors had looked at the last picture. That condition has now been met, so next picture coming up soon. During a couple of days of brilliant sunshine (although freezing cold), I was able to work outside & assemble the display case, together with it's veneered quandrant molding, and the sea base edged in bevelled molding.
The hull has been roughly shaped & the clipper bow & counter stern fitted. The raised poop & forecastle are in postion & the planked maindeck. A bit too dark to photograph progress today, but maybe able to do it tomorroww.
Bob


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

Not done any more as yet & still too dark to take photographs as we have been doing a bit of Christmas shopping during the mornings when it was light.
Bob


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

I managed to get the sea fitted this morning. Although it is not a part of model shipbuilding that I particularly enjoy, it doesn't normally take very long. Today, however, the plasticine was unusually hard despite having been kept next to the hot water cylinder for several days. I found it very difficult to work with. It took three times as long as usual, but it is now in position and I can forget about it, having handed it to my wife for painting. The actual tray that the sea is in lifts out of the bevelled hardwood surround, so when it it being painted, there is no need to worry about messing up the adjacent woodwork. I can now turn my attention back to the model itself.
Bob


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

I have now fitted the bulwarks, plated & painted the hull. It should soon start to look a sailing ship under construction.
Bob


----------



## Fred Wood (Jul 8, 2005)

Starting to look good.


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

Some more progress has been made. Deckhouses built & panelled. Donkey boiler completed, hatches & fife rails fitted, capstans fitted, figurehead fitted, lower masts cut to length, compasses turned, deck winches turned, but not yet assembled. Not much interest being shown in this one & to be honest, I am working a lot slower that I once did. By the time I finished today, it was too dark to take photographs, but I will do it in the unlikely event of a bit of sun showing itself in the morning.
Bob


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

A lot more progress has now been made as you can see. Soon be ready for rigging now.


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

I am now ready to post the latest picture of the LOCH TORRIDON as the number of required views of the last picture (12) has at last been met! Too late to do it now as it is pitch dark. The four masts & bowsprit/jibboom have now been completed & painted, including mast tops & topmast crosstrees/spreaders. Providing the UK climate condescends to give us a few minutes sunshine in the morning, I will post another picture.
Bob


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

This is the time I like least when building a sailing ship. The hull is complete and the masts, bowsprit/jibboom are all in position, but there is not a single item of rigging or any sails set. It always seems a daunting task to think of all those shrouds & backstays, ratlines, sails and rigging that have to be put on. Rigging is not at all difficult, but it is very repetitive. Each of thirteen staysails is practically identical and can get quite boring, but the work can be broken up by working from the bottom to the top & putting shrouds & backstays on between working on the sails. Same with the 15 square sails – more repetition. Fortunately, after a couple of days, the whole thing will not be looking anywhere near as bare as it is today and work should progress at a fair speed.
Bob


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

I have now set & rigged three staysails. The mizzen spencer has been set, but not yet rigged. The lower shrouds & ratlines on fore & main have been rigged. I have also completed all the remaining shrouds/ratlines, but not yet fitted them. Lines rigged from fore & maintops down to fife rails.
Bob


----------



## K urgess (Aug 14, 2006)

Excellent work, Bob.
I wish I had the patience and the skill.
Don't take the number of views of your thumbnails as too much of a guide. I've noticed in the past that the count is not very accurate. The overall viewing score is a better indication.
Cheers
Kris


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

Some progress has been made, but I am not working wnywhere near as fast as I once did. In times past, I could complete a four-masted barque like this one in thess than a month! I suppose the main reason is a general declining of interest, plus the World-wide financial crisis making overseas buyers more cautious when they go to the sales. With the age of 65 now being less than 100 days away, I often feel there is less urgency to carry on working in the face of all the rules than the EEC force on such as me!
Despite this, I expect the LOCH TORRIDON will be completed within a couple of weeks or so.
Bob


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

I have now completed all the standing rigging and fitted and rigged all the fore and aft sails on all four masts. There are now just over 2,000 soldered joints holding the copper wire ratlines to the wire shrouds. The rest of the rigging, although also copper wire, is only glued in position. The masting and rigging so far has taken just under twenty hours. The next task is to make and paint the fifteen yards for the square sails. The setting and rigging of these sails should take about a week, so I hope the model will be completed in about 8 or 9 days. The display case is already complete and the sea is just awaiting painting. I am getting a bit fed up of this one now, but not long to go.
Bob


----------



## arfabuck (Dec 11, 2008)

Shipbuilder said:


> With the age of 65 now being less than 100 days away, I often feel there is less urgency to carry on working in the face of all the rules than the EEC force on such as me!
> Despite this, I expect the LOCH TORRIDON will be completed within a couple of weeks or so.
> Bob


Please excuse my ignorance, but what has the EEC to do with your retirement age and model making?

Don't tell me you are regulated to such an extent that your hobbies and leisure time is controlled please!

Police State? Ha.

from liberated Godzone,

Art


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

Hi Art,
the rules affect and UK hobby seller regardless of retirment age. It is just that when I do reach that magic age, I will get a pension.

The UK/EEC rules that affect any paying hobbies are: The moment you make anything to sell, you are considered to be a business, no matter how small the profits. You must then comply with the business rules. One of them is that name and address and all terms & conditions must be displayed at all times on websites. I am not too keen on displaying full address for secrirty reasons, but could go along with that (maybe). Once anyone displays business details, the local authorities require them to pay "business rates." The UK/Distance SAelling rules say that the safe delivery of the goods is completely the responsibility of the seller, but they cannot legally pass off any insurance costs to the buyer (It is not the buyer's problem). Not that it makes any difference, because shortly after these rules came in, couriers changed their rules and will not offer any realistic transit cover - most will pay out on "cost of materials" only. Premiums for realistic cover are almost the value of the item itself. There is also the "cooling off" time. If I did send out a model (to America, fro instance) the recipient could change their mind about having it as long as they told me within seven days. I would then be legally bound to refund the cost, plus transport costs to the buyer even before I got the model back. Neither are they legally required to send it back, but just to have it ready to be "picked up!" I see in the paper this morning that they have introuduced a new tax for small businesses earning less than £10,000 a year! As if all this is not enough, the self employed must pay their income tax IN ADVANCE, in two installments. This is based on what they THINK you will earn next year! I have just got a bill for the first half of 2009 advance tax that will take ALL my profits that I made in 2008 - it simply isn't worth carrying on any more!
All I can do now is build them for pleasure in the hope that someone will buy one "privately" i.e. face-to-face. That way the Distance Selling Rules don't apply. But I have seen my sales plummet dramatically over the last year since they started enforcing the rules. You would think that in these hard time they would leave the "hobby seller" alone as long as they were paying tax on what they produce, but that is too much to hope for!  It is not the police that are the problem - I suspect they have better things to do - it is the EEC!
Bob


----------



## arfabuck (Dec 11, 2008)

Thanks for that Bob,

Aaaaaaah......... I see your point, is it worth it? Next they will be taxing you every time you choke the ******. What a world you live in! No wonder I bailed out in 1970. Never had any regrets and now I can see why there are so many Brits emigrating down under.

Our scenario is completely the opposite. I receive an order by say 5:00 pm Monday, the cash is in my account per Paypal by 5:30, I then package the item and have it on the plane that evening per FEDEX and it is delivered to their door by 10:30 Tuesday morning Stateside. Everybody is happy. I get my money, the client gets his product and......... no taxes, customs, or any other deductions. If it is not delivered on time I get the freight cost back to boot.

Until you are making $39k per annum here you do not have to be GST (VAT )registered, and exports are GST free anyway.

Maybe that is why we are so cost competitive and can take on the Chinese at their own game?

I feel for you. Thank you for explaining the system.

Art


----------



## NoR (Mar 24, 2008)

http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=4037


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

I have now fitted & rigged the three big lower sails on fore, main & mizzen. Namely Foresail, mainsail & cro'jack. In a miniature, these are particularly difficult to get correct because in the real ship, they are pulled out of shape by the wind so that when the weather clew is hove down in the correct position, well forward, the sail is nowhere near the shape that it was when it was set. I have been messing about for most of the day, experimenting with shapes before moulding the sails round an ostrich egg to get the correct wind-filled effect. All done now & looking good. The six topsails (3 lower & 3 upper) are less difficult as far as the shape is concerned, but their braces are quite complex. Once they are set & rigged, the single t'gallants & royals are fairly simple, so I am not far from completion. My wife has promised to paint the sea over the week-end.
I have not put today's progress on because the last pic has only been viewed twice! The next picture will probably be of the completed model. Although I am getting pretty fed up with this one, I really like the looks of it, so it will probably end up in our "permament" collection until such a time as I build something better! Looking forward to getting back to propellers & funnels land.
Bob


----------



## erkki mikkola (Nov 6, 2007)

Hello from Turku Finland again.
Here are some pictures of Loch Torridon. The texts are in Finnish, though.
http://www.kolumbus.fi/jamikko/Purjelaivat_Loch Torridon.htm
The last picture shows her when wrecked and the last men abandoning her.
Erkki Mikkola


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

Hello Erkki,
Thank you for the link. Looking at the abandoned LOCH TORRIDON, I wonder why they didn't make greater efforts to save her. Tonnage at that time was worth its weight in gold. I know the masts have gone, but they have got two temporary spars (upended yards?) in position and the sea is quite calm. I wonder why they didn't try & get her in? I suppose if she was leaking badly, that might have been a reason.

I have now set & rigged the three lower topsails and set & partially rigged the fore upper topsail. During the afternoon, my wife completed the sea, so we are now only days away from completion.

Bob


----------



## erkki mikkola (Nov 6, 2007)

Hi again.
In the text about Loch Torridon's disaster is said that the crew had to work four weeks after the storm to keep the ship floating. When going over board the masts had broken life boats, jig, compasses, her wheel and skylights. Due to broken skylights she took several days water inside the cabins and holds. She took so much water in, that her halfdeck was floating. Then the timber cargo started to get wet, and the crew had to start throwing it over board. Seems like people onboard were quite tired and exhausted. She was set on fire to prevent other ships hitting her. The text said that the route where she was lying was quite busy. But if it was a busy route, why did it took four weeks until another ship saw them? There was an other ship trying to come close before ss Urduna, but the sea was so heavy that they went away. This information comes from a 1976 book by Kaiku Varjonen, a former master pilot from Uusikaupunki.
Erkki


----------



## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

Hello again Erkki.
Thanks for further information. I have now set and rigged the six topsails. They were the mst complicated sails to rig because of their braces. Setting and rigging the three big single t'gallants and royals is no great problem, so should be complete either later today or tomorrow. I have fitted the completed sea into the base.
Bob


----------



## Franktheboat (Jan 19, 2009)

i am starting a new model but i am having difficulty finding the timber its usually mahog or red pine ,
i have loads of pieces so i will glue them together till ihave six pieces five foot long twelve inches wide by an inch thick ,
im making a twelve rater of 1935 by j DANIELS a famous model designer , she weighs 19 pounds and has a lead keel of six pounds. 
i sail them on a lake in NEW BRIGHTON WIRRAL ,
during the summer i will be sailing my yachts on the lake


see you franktheboat


----------

