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Role Models

Following the last two newsletters on preparatory sketches for paintings and furniture, this one looks at shipbuilding.  

Wilson Chilton’s mahogany Naval Architect's/Naval draughtsman's box of
curves and templates, probably by Gillows

Naturally drawings for ships are immensely technical and have to be totally accurate. Before help from computer programmes, naval architects used templates and pre-drawn curves. We are lucky enough to have a draughtsman’s box full of such curves which belonged to
Wilson Chilton in 1820.

Naturally drawings for ships are immensely technical and have to be totally accurate. Before help from computer programmes, naval architects used templates and pre-drawn curves. We are lucky enough to have a draughtsman’s box full of such curves which belonged to
Wilson Chilton in 1820.

A shipyard model of the wooden steam ship ‘S.S. F.W.Harris’

Although the shipwrights would work from drawings or blue prints shipyards employed entire workshops of specialist model makers. Their models ensured that laymen could envisage the finished vessel – and hopefully place an order! To save space, time and costs for these speculative builds they often only made half a hull, and placed it on a mirror.  

The next step was to make a scale model with lines for planking (wooden ships) or plating (iron or steel ships) drawn in. This model of U.S.S. Hartford, has plating lines and much more besides – all possible details right down to the rungs on the boarding ladders and locations for the ship’s fenders. U.S.S. Hartford is still crossing the Atlantic (not under her own steam) and is going to star in our next edition of Britain on the High Seas so will not be posted on the website until September.

A cased ship’s boardroom model of three sister ships

Post production models were made for owners or the boardrooms of shipping companies. These could also be mirror backed or free standing and were visual expressions of status and wealth - after all you could not bring several hundred tons of ship into your office but you could certainly advertise it.

Above we have an Italian walnut clipper with one side planked and the other exposing the open ribs of the ship with small doors which open to show the inner workings. It is a full 6 feet in length. Was it an owner’s model or made for a museum?

One yacht was so famous she became a true role model. America was the ultimate racing machine. Designed and built by James and George Steers for the New York Yacht Club specifically to win the first America’s Cup race - she sailed across the Atlantic and did just that in 1851. Britain has never won the Trophy back. Intriguingly this half hull model was built to scale by G L Watson, the Scottish builder of numerous vanquished America’s Cup Challengers which included: Thistle, Valkyrie, Valkyrie II and Shamrock II – was he trying to discover her secrets? (We are indebted to Dr William Collier, Managing Director of G. L. Watson & Co. Ltd. for letting us reproduce the original plans). 

Next Show – LAPADA

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