Serving or plicing truss boom rigging

[Tony Frohnhoefer]

Since the typical riverboat was very shallow draft hence very little
structure below deck they tended to hog. I'm sure we all know this.
The truss and cable used to shift forces to the center would be a
metal cable I'm sure. My thoughts are they would be spliced and
probably served to cover frayed ends. How would be the best way to
represent this on a model.
Tony F
Austin TX

[Paulrjordan]

Tony, you'll have to educate me here. Are these cables visible (I
read somewhere there were internal cables to keep the hull rigid and
prevent it from hogging)

PJ

[Tony Frohnhoefer]

Pj The cables are seen. Take a look at my pictures on the files you
can see three booms fore center and aft. there is a cable, shown
black, in my pictures that attaches at the fore deck and runs through
the booms to attach at the aft deck.
I think they should be served. with black line smaller than the cable.
Tony F

[HBelflower]

I may be all wet here (no pun intended) but in my experience and studies with
the Merchant Marine and later the U. S. Navy, I was always taught that a ship
that hogged was higher in the center than at either end. Conversely, a
sagging ship would be lower in the center. In constructing long, rather
hollow ships intended for the transport of heavy cargo or liquid (tankers),
it was usually desirable to build a slight hog into the ship. This can be
likened to an arch or a preload on a truss. When the ship is properly
loaded, the hog will virtually disappear and the strain of the load is less
than if the ship were built perfectly level and then loaded.

Also, in extremely high seas with long swells, hogging and sagging can occur
as the waves travel from one end of the ship to the other. I have
experienced seas where the ship literally climbed up one side of a swell
(wave) and then pitched over and raced down the other side. Quite a
vibration is set up when the prop(s) momentarily leave the water.

In reviewing numerous photographs and drawings of sternwheelers that operated
in Western Florida and the adjoining rivers of Alabama and Georgia, it
appears that all have truss supports built into them. These are in the from
of large beams (poles?) that originate in the hull and below the waterline
and extend upward at an approximate 30 degree angle from the vertical usually
protruding through the top deck. Where they can be see above the upper deck,
they are tied together longitudinally with what appear to be taut cables.
Some are even tied athwartship. What type of load distributing structure
that is internal can only be guessed at. However, it seems a good guess that
theses beams and cables are there for the express purpose of strengthening
the ship's structure much like a truss bridge across a creek (that's a small
river way down South).

Harry

[Tony Frohnhoefer]

Harry your exactly right. a system of booms (poles) were used to
distribute forces. If you'll note the cables on the "King of the
Mississippi" i built attach to the deck far forewrd and far aft. My
question was where they are attached there would have to be a
turnbuckle and eyebolt or some manner of attachment. If you put line
through an eyebolt and back to itself. It would need to be served or
something to keep it in place. How best to similate this attachment to
the deck.

[Paulrjordan]

Tony:

I don't think I can help with an answer to your question (although
I'm sure TJ must have an answer somewhere).

However I copied some stuff I wrote a few months ago about rigging
which you might find interesting. I've put it in

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Paddleducks/files/

> "A PADDLEDUCKS TIPS AND TOOLS" FOLDER look for the eyebolts and
rigging text files.

If you (or anyone else) have some "kewl" tips on rigging then please
feel free to add a "how to" text file. In fact if any of you have any
"cheats" or "tips" on any modeling subject, throw em into the
"TIPS and TOOLS" folder
PJ

[HBelflower]

Tony,

It would seem logical to me that the cables would run from the top of the
"booms" vertically down through the ship and be anchored to the bottom
structural timbers with through bolts. About the easiest, simplest, and most
direct way to do it. However, this is only a guess but is probably one way
that I would construct a boat of that type.

Harry