I am back on the historical trail again, thanks initially
to Harry Gibbons, who suggested that I contacted John Gore-Grimes, a Board
member of the Commissioners of Irish Lights for many years. I am indebted now
to John, who has come up with a copy of the original “Specification for
Building a Light Vessel on the Composite or Combination Principle” dated April
1880 ‼ It is signed by one Joshua Cole, Com. R.N. Inspector of Irish Lights and
Alex F Boxer, Assistant Inspector. It is 15 pages of detail about the
construction of such vessels, plus two extra pages of details about the steel
mast signed by W Douglass (sic). As Cormorant was built between 1876 and 1878,
I am fairly confident that she was built to these specifications. Unfortunately
although the text refers many times to drawings, none seem to have survived.
Until I find a
dictionary of maritime terms, much of what is stated is double Dutch to me, but
many of my naval-type followers will have little trouble with paragraphs like
this one :-
SCANTLINGS
Keel
To
be of best East India teak, amidship, sided 12 inches, moulded 13 ½ inches, to
be in three lengths, the foremost length and after length to be of Irish elm,
connected together with scarphs, the scarphs to be 5 feet long and to be
vertical, each to have a tabling 3 inches wide and 2 inches deep, to be laid
together with flannel and a heavy coat of white lead, and fastened with six
through copper bolts 1 inch diameter, driven and clenched on copper rings.
At first sight
I would have guessed the author to be the late Kenneth Williams!
To be serious, the
mast pages have settled one question that was puzzling me. Several sources of
information on the Cormorant have stated that she had a steel mast and fixed
lantern, while others spoke of a lantern weighing over two tons which was ‘wrapped’
around the mast and hoisted about 30ft above the deck. This document talks
about three wrought iron girders 36ft 5 inches in length, which should be
attached “…perfectly true and parallel to the centre of the mast, ..…one of
them, to be used as a guide for the lantern, is to be planed on all sides; the
other two, which are to be used as a roller-path only, need not be planed.” To me this means the lantern was hoisted, not
fixed.
Talking of
masts, I had assumed that the Cormorant had only the two masts visible in the
1956 photographs on station in Belfast Lough – the main, stubby mast carrying
the fixed lantern and the mizzen which was removed during its early days in Hoo.
In my search for similar vessels pre-1943, I have discarded any with more than
two masts. However, on Page 13 there are two wooden masts detailed – a foremast
and a mizen (sic). They are both pitch pine, the foremast 54ft long and the mizen
50ft long. So I shall have to do my searches again and find vessels with three
masts!
So, with the
aid of a glossary I have found on the Internet, I shall begin translating the
document into landlubberese. Watch this
space.
David
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