18th century royal navy pinnace

[Jim Fortnam]

These were Monomoy whale boats and there was no rudder on the ones at the academy, only steering oars. Fun times! Found this pic of a Monomoy with steering by oar.
View attachment 521440

Out of interest, was the steering oar always rigged on the port side?

the 'Steer board' gave its name to starboard, and its existence meant that the side you attached to land - the port, was named port side.

I don't see a collar or similar on any of the oars - I guess that if a man lost an oar he'd be keel hauled in the navy. If it was the steering oar more drastic repercussions probably followed, broaching in a heavy sea being only one option.

J

 

[Alby]

Out of interest, was the steering oar always rigged on the port side?

the 'Steer board' gave its name to starboard, and its existence meant that the side you attached to land - the port, was named port side.

I don't see a collar or similar on any of the oars - I guess that if a man lost an oar he'd be keel hauled in the navy. If it was the steering oar more drastic repercussions probably followed, broaching in a heavy sea being only one option.

J

Yes i know they had collar rings didnt put any on
Just tried to get ot finished and handed over before my holiday would of liked to have had more detail on but timescale was going over time will be making them another one but maybe a cutter visiting Greenwich museum sometime this year to get more info

 

[Alby]

Your boat is neatly done. Is this from a kit? The reason I ask is that the location of the tholes is odd. Pinnaces were typically single banked with one thole on each thwart, alternating port and starboard. Your model has two tholes on one thwart, then none on the next one and so forth I realize this is a common mistake because some contemporary drawings (second boat below) only show tholes on one side as they are cutaway views and then some viewers assume there is a matching thole on the opposite side of the same thwart which is not the case for a pinnace. I hope this is making sense.

Drawings follow

Allan

View attachment 520840
Single banked rowing
View attachment 520847

Getting back to the pinnace you are probably right about the tholes funny enough i was wondering about the amount of space on the thwarts for 2 people rowing but took it off a drawing which i think was a kit i couldn't find any pictures like the one you show me here but will bare that in mind nxt time i build one which i think is going to be a 18th century cutter to go on Hms venerable just got to find the info

 

[AllanKP69]

Assuming you are speaking about the HMS Venerable (74) 1784 she would have carried two 25 foot cutters and an 18 foot cutter along with her other boats. (W.E.May The Boats of Men of War, page 57). There are detailed boat scantlings in the The Boats of Men of War, Scantlings of Royal Navy Ships, and The Elements and Practice of Naval Architecture.
Allan

Plans for a 25 foot cutter:

25ft Cutter | Royal Museums Greenwich

www.rmg.co.uk

Plans for an 18 foot cutter:

18 ft Cutter | Royal Museums Greenwich

www.rmg.co.uk

 

[Roger Pellett]

I realize that it’s 120 or so years later but the 1900 US Navy launches were rowed with single thole pins. These were metal and shaped like a belaying pin. There was a hole drilled through the shank to allow the pin to be fitted with a lanyard. When not in use the pin could be pulled from its hole to dangle from its lanyard.

Roger

 

[Alby]

Assuming you are speaking about the HMS Venerable (74) 1784 she would have carried two 25 foot cutters and an 18 foot cutter along with her other boats. (W.E.May The Boats of Men of War, page 57). There are detailed boat scantlings in the The Boats of Men of War, Scantlings of Royal Navy Ships, and The Elements and Practice of Naval Architecture.
Allan

Plans for a 25 foot cutter:

25ft Cutter | Royal Museums Greenwich

www.rmg.co.uk

Plans for an 18 foot cutter:

18 ft Cutter | Royal Museums Greenwich

www.rmg.co.uk

allan much appreciated thank you

 

[AllanKP69]

allan much appreciated thank you

My pleasure. Keeps the research bug hopping around in my head so a win-win for both of us. Will you be working with the scantlings or from a kit? If the former, give a shout if you need them.
Allan

 

[Jim Fortnam]

I realize that it’s 120 or so years later but the 1900 US Navy launches were rowed with single thole pins. These were metal and shaped like a belaying pin. There was a hole drilled through the shank to allow the pin to be fitted with a lanyard. When not in use the pin could be pulled from its hole to dangle from its lanyard.

Roger

Hi Roger,
Projecting, unused pins are a nuisance and a hazard. How were the oars secured? One a single pin it’s usual to have something to keep the oar for the return.

Jim

 

[Alby]

My pleasure. Keeps the research bug hopping around in my head so a win-win for both of us. Will you be working with the scantlings or from a kit? If the former, give a shout if you need them.
Allan

Scratch building allan so as much info of the inside of hull thank you

 

[AllanKP69]

Hope the attached is helpful. The PDF has the scantlings from David Steel. The drawing is not a cutter, but I thought the names of various parts might be helpful. Note that Steel gives dimensions for the ears but I have not seen any contemporary models with ears on cutters.
Allan

 

[Alby]

Thank you will definately help allan

 

[Roger Pellett]

Jim,

The simple answer is I don’t know. My reference is a quality reprint of the US Navy’s 1900 “Boat Book.” In the late 1890’s the US Navy decided to design a range of standardized boats to be issued to ships as “outfit.” Previously, they had designed a boat outfit for each class of ships. This book includes very highly detailed drawings for every boat. I believe that it was the design document sent to the various naval shipyards that built boats. It also includes drawings and specifications for the various oars used.

As a design document, it says nothing about how these boats were used. I also have a copy of Luce’s Seamanship from more or less the same era. When I get a chance later today, I’ll see what it says.

Roger