TUTORIAL: String Rigging

[Captain Green Hair]

Ok, before i start i should say that rigging a ship takes a lot of time and patience.

I will explain my technique in the following pictures.

First the rope, this time i use household rope from the local grocery store.

You can use any rope you like, it should be about 2mm thick.

Next we need some parts, in the upper left you see parts i build in the hull, to tie the rope.

On the right there's the planking to make the rope ladders, red being the hull.

The pins are to add thickness to the lower end of the rope ladders, it makes it look like it's smeired in with tar.

We'll start withe the rope ladders in the lower section.

Take one rope for the entire ladder, so here i needed 5 times one length.

Use the pins in the lower end as shown, be shure to tie them tight, when finished it should look like this:

Now to make the ropes even we tie a rope around the top end as shown:

When you have done all the masts it should look like this:

Now we shall tie down the bowsprite as shown in the picture:

Next we'll take a long rope to fit all around the top of the masts to the back of the ship.

Start by makin a small loop at one end:

Now tie a rope around the lower bow, with the loop end in the middle:

Now go all the way around the ship, note the black catroll in the rear:

Now we'll tie down the masts in the middle, be sure the ropes don't hinder the sails / yards:

Now we'll add a rope to the top of the bowsprite:

Now we'll tie down the foremast as shown, again beware not to hinder the yards.

I haven't used catrolls here, so i can simply add the foresails later:

Now tie down the masts on the sides, note the ropes with the black catrolls, do this for all the masts:

Now for the second part of the rope ladders, note the start point, the black antenna on the side of the platform and the long black pins:

For the third and last part of the ladders we'll add the ratlines.

Just tie 'm off with a single nut, weave them in and tie them of with a single nut on the other end.

Be sure to tighten everything, cause errors are hard to re do...:

Next we'll tie down the yards, in the picture is the one on the bowsprite, do this for every yard:

Well this covers the basics, you can always add rope as you see fit. I do add a lot more, i just wanted to show you the basics.

After all the steps it should look something like this:

Well i hope this was helpfull, good luck!

Edited March 3, 2021 by Brickander Brickumnus
Indexed

[Commander Andrew of 501 st]

i would cry if that got broken :'-(

[Scouty]

'Tis a thing of beauty *wub* .

I'll have to try this sometime *sweet* .

Thanks Captain Green Hair!!

[Mister Phes]

At long last we have Rigging Tutorial from Captain Green Hair *y*

I shall have to update the Tutorials Page on Classic-Pirates.com soon.

[Bonaparte]

I've added this one in the Tutorial section of our Indexes - Libraries - Tutorials - Reviews thread.

This is a super useful tutorial for me, because when I build the L'Orient, I always felt it needed better rigging.

I'll certainly give this a try when I get to buy some good rope.

[El Bucanero]

Captain Green hair you're a true genius *y*

Thanks alot for the tutorial!

Are you going to expand it later to the level of the rigging of Le Requin?

[Captain Green Hair]

No, this just covers the basics.

I wanted to leave room for a little imagination, and when you finish this tutorial your rigging already should look like it is on Le Requin.

But when there's specififc questions, just ask and i can put it in the tutorial when needed.

Edited December 6, 2007 by Captain green hair

[Lord Of Pies]

Thanks Captain Green hair fot this tutorial, it was helpful! *y*

[Hinckley]

Wow!! 8-

[Axle]

The brick you circled, Hinkley is an 8x1 brick with holes and an 8x1 tile on top.

Brilliant technique, Captain Green Hair!

But I wont do this. If I ever use string I make a big mess.

And to get rid of my frustration I grind the string between my teeth.

But I like how it looks on you ship!

[Lukemax]

hmm, no pictures load up for me : (

[Errorist]

what a great tutorial captain *y*

do you use other pieces than the technic ones to make the...takels? (don't know the english word) :-P

maybe someday when i actually can buy more lego i will use it on a ship *sweet*

[Captain Green Hair]

what a great tutorial captain *y*

do you use other pieces than the technic ones to make the...takels? (don't know the english word) :-P

maybe someday when i actually can buy more lego i will use it on a ship *sweet*

No, all de takels (catrolls) are the same.

I saw some in brown, but i didn't buy them.I still regret that...

[Capn Frank]

Great work Cap'n!

I'll have to give this type of rigging a whirl on me constitution. *y*

Or any other future ship for that matter X-D

Thanx for sharing *sweet*

P

[Hinckley]

The brick you circled, Hinkley is an 8x1 brick with holes and an 8x1 tile on top.

Aha! Now I see it clearly! Thanks axle! X-D

[natelite]

nice!

i swear EB is addictive. after reading several topics in the pirates forum, i just had to bid on pirate sets on ebay. i should be getting eldorado, carribbean clipper and imperial flagship soon. still bidding on BSB and SES and ITP.

"and the point?" you asked. hehehe...i thought those official ships were well designed, but looking at your realistic rope-made ladders *wub* whoa...it's good enough to sell. :-P

[Captain Green Hair]

nice!

i swear EB is addictive. after reading several topics in the pirates forum, i just had to bid on pirate sets on ebay. i should be getting eldorado, carribbean clipper and imperial flagship soon. still bidding on BSB and SES and ITP.

"and the point?" you asked. hehehe...i thought those official ships were well designed, but looking at your realistic rope-made ladders *wub* whoa...it's good enough to sell. :-P

Well err, me ships is not for sale.

One could attempt to steel them....but beware of me canons harr!

[Captain Green Hair]

Sorry for the double post,

I've added 2 new pictures of the finished rigging that i was working on in the first post.

Enjoy!

[Bonaparte]

Those last 2 pictures look really impressive!

How long did it take you to make all the rigging for this ship?

[Siegfried]

Sorry for the double post,

Yeah, you're in trouble now! :-D This is just plain stunning work. If I ever finish off a pirate ship (I think I need a better hull than the 4+ one first! :-$ ) I'll be sure to visit here for some tips. Thanks very much for taking the time to post this great tutorial. *wub*

[El Bucanero]

Thousand Sharks!! That's looking really good. You're definitly the Realism king *y* .

Do you know how many meters went into this?

[Captain Green Hair]

Thanks for the nice comments! *y*

In time i don't know, but about 55 meters of rope went on.

I've used two of those 25 meter balls and a bit extra from a third.

I now have serious RSI, but no pain no gain ey? :-D :-D

[El Bucanero]

I now have serious RSI, but no pain no gain ey? :-D :-D

I really can't tell if you're joking there.. 8-|

[Siegfried]

I now have serious RSI, but no pain no gain ey? :-D :-D

With all seriousness, when I last tried to make Lego sails it turned a minor wrist ache into Carpal Tunnel Syndrome! *sing* It's only now that my wrist is on the mend... 8-|

[Captain Green Hair]

With all seriousness, when I last tried to make Lego sails it turned a minor wrist ache into Carpal Tunnel Syndrome! *sing* It's only now that my wrist is on the mend... 8-|

So, what did the sails look like? X-D