Rigging Period Fore-and-aft Craft (Hardcover)

by Lennarth Petersson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The rigging of period ship models is arguably the most complex and daunting task for the modeler. An eighteenth-century man-of-war boasted mile upon mile of rigging, over 1,000 blocks, and acres of canvas. To reduce the rigging in scale and yet retain an accurate representation is a formidable undertaking.

This follow-up to Lennarth Petersson s highly successful Rigging Period Ship Models does for fore-and-aft rig what his earlier book did for square rig. Taking as examples a French eighteenth-century lugger, an English cutter, and an American schooner, Petersson demonstrated in beautifully drawn diagrams how each item of both the standing and running rigging is fitted, led and belayed. A must for all period modelers and all those with an interest in historic sailing ships.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (June 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591147212
• ISBN-13: 978-1591147213
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #265,506 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthy companion to Rigging Period Ship Models, November 1, 2007

By	Mike Graff (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

Petersson has added a significant resource for builders of model sailing ships. As with his earlier work on the square rig, the layout and content of the new volume leave little to the imagination of the reader. Clearly drawn and fully labeled illustrations not only show how individual rigging elements go together, but also impart understanding of how the rigging 'works'.

Detailed attention is given to three 19th century ship types (cutter, lugger, and schooner) from three different countries (Britain, France, and the U.S. respectively). The line by line sequences of illustrations are easier to work with and understand than the tangles of numbered lines that often appear on plan sheets accompanying models. The reader can quickly determine where and how the standing end of a line is fixed, it's route through blocks, and where and to what the line is belayed.

The book does not address related matters such as basic line preparation procedures (whipping, worming, parceling, serving, etc.), knots and splices, line size or type, or sail making.

One element that might be added in a future edition would be station lines on the profile, deck plan, and generalized body plan views of each of the subject vessels. Their addition would help relate location of individual rigging elements to the shape of the hull as well as to mounting and belaying locations on the ship.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice but disappointing, May 1, 2008

By	JCK (Lexington, MA) - See all my reviews

I love the concept of this book and should get to know the earlier volume on square rigged ships. Wonderful clear drawings break the rigging of three museum models of vessels typical of their types into easy to follow units. But this is surely a great opportunity missed.

I am not qualified to critique the two sections of the book for my interest lies in the English cutter, and here I have to say that I was disappointed. The rigging on the museum model is reproduced without comment and without apparently any investigation of its authenticity. The rigging shown for the cutter is that of a late C18th vessel, and some of it does not ring true. The running (adjustable length) bowsprit for example is shown with stays too long to work at the shortest setting of the bowsprit, and these are pulled tight not with tackle operable from inboard but with lashings that would have been inaccessible at sea.

It would be fabulous to marry accurate drawings of this quality to descriptive and thus educational labels identifying features of the rigging by name and authorative notes explaining why the rigging was set up this way and describing its unusual features. Notes indicating typical proportions for pendants or the spacing between rows of deadeyes for example would be nice. Adding the sizes for rope and blocks taken from Steel or some other period source would be very helpful to the modeler. Some discussion of rigging not seen on the museum model would good too -- the boom guy or mainsail reef tackle for example. The drawing of the shrouds is very nice, but it shows only one side of the vessel with the fall of the shrouds turned up on the aft side of the shroud -- how is the modeler to figure out that on the other side of the vessel they would be turned up on the fore side?

This is a good book, and I do not regret owning it. It does not pretend to be an academic work and it springs from the author's considerable tallent as a draughtsman, but I can't help feeling that with some collaboration this could have been spectacularly succesful.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rigging Period Fore-and-Aft Craft , September 13, 2007

By	George D. Shaeffer - See all my reviews

This excellent book is of special use to the ship modeler of any experience level. It shows the correct way to run the rigging lines for three different examples of this type of craft. It also allows modelers working on similarly rigged craft to make some well-informed decisions about how to rig those craft AND on what details to add that are not mentioned in the plans and instructions. Since rigging plans are usually one of the weakest points in the plans and instructions in kits, this book can be invaluable.