Well, with the aid of the Oxford English Dictionary, a Glossary of Nautical Terms and, would you
believe it, a medical dictionary, I have converted the 1880 document into
landlubberese. I had hoped that there would be naval architects or something
similar amongst my readers, but if there are, they kept a low profile! Not so
one of my more nostalgic readers, who ignored the maritime history and went
down the Kenneth Williams side-track, reminding me that the radio program was
called ‘Round the Horn’ and featured such unlikely characters as J. Peasemould Gruntfuttock and Daphne Whitethigh. However he
missed the important one - Rambling Sid Rumpo – who actually used the ‘clench’
in one of his ditties …
“When I was a clencher’s bogle man in famous
Lincoln town,
I often clenched my bogling fork for less
than half a crown.”
But thanks anyway Colin.
Back to business. Referring to the
paragraph I quoted last time, ‘Scantlings’
I discovered did not refer to particular
pieces of a ship - in a boat plan it was the list of all the necessary
construction materials, dimensions, hardware and fittings complete with
specifications, quantities and sizes. No wonder this document is 19 pages long!
‘Clenched’
means nailed and a ‘Scarf’ is an
overlapping joint. I will not explain the whole document, but the medical
dictionary solved ‘Intercostal’. ‘Inter’ of course means ‘in between’
and ‘costal’ refers to ‘ribs’, which
of course makes sense in a ship with a framework. Perhaps the bashful nautical gurus could just
assure me that I have got the right labels on the photo…..
Meanwhile I have set Simon the task of finding where the
foremast was located. I suspect he is looking for a patch over the hole (which
would be about 14 inches in diameter) put there during the 1943 re-modelling.
My search for a similar vessel has turned up one possible
candidate. The Puffin was built in 1886/7 for the Commissioners of Irish
Lights, but not by the same shipyard as Cormorant. I would be surprised if CIL, having gone to
the trouble of producing a comprehensive specification in 1880, did not use it
for Puffin in 1886/7. Comparing the details of Puffin in the Board of Trade
wreck report (Puffin sank in a hurricane in October 1896 off Daunt’s Rock) with
the 1880 specification, there are numerous exact matches and a few very close
matches, especially in the construction of the three masts. I would therefore
classify them as sister ships.
Unfortunately I can find only one poor picture of Puffin,
but that is better than no pictures at all for Cormorant. At least I now know
what I am looking for! Can anyone out there help?
David
No comments:
Post a Comment