J-class Rainbow, 1934 defender of the America's cup

The days at home recovering from treatments get longer and longer. So, as I mentioned in my previous blog, I decided to start building a model of a J-class yacht. I had been looking for a completed model in shops for many years, but always found them too ugly. I needed one with enough realism and detail to enjoy the beauty of her lines and feel the sheer size of her class.

Enjoy a short video of her history and how she has been brought back to life.

Rainbow - a J-class yacht with a past

Here are some images I found on-line which provide an example of how she was sailed and how the rigging looked like. I use this to make the model more realistic, and not just follow the instructions. 

Action on deck

Leaning in

Close hauled

It will take a year. to build this model.

The owner Vandebilt at the helm

The owner Vandebilt in port

Look at how tiny the blocks are at a scale of 1/80. This took me an hour! You can see it hanging next to Mr Vandebilt in the picture of him at the helm of his yacht.
Its really tough to get it right so I use the contraption shown below.

Not happy yet with the first mainsheet block I made

The contraption to help my eyes to focus