Hull colour for 18th century ships

[Brechin Castle]

I am curious as to the correct colour for Royal Navy vessels of the 17-18th century.
Some contemporary paintings show them in dry dock with a white lower hull colour , below the waterline.
They were covered with copper plates and many models show the natural weathered copper colour. Were the plates over-painted with white paint when launched or were they natural copper?

Thanks if anyone can offer any advice and clarification on what standard practice was during this time, and what would be correct.

 

[Uwek]

Hallo and a warm welcome here on board of our forum.

The copper sheating under the waterline was never painted afterwards.....

But copper plates were first installed on more ships in 1779:

According Lavery in his "Arming and Fitting....." on page 62 ff is written:
The programme (of copper sheating) began in May 1779, when it was ordered that all ships of 32 guns and less should be coppered next time they were in dock........ By the end of war in 1783, it was accepted that all ships should be coppered,......

from wikipedia:
The use of copper sheathing was first suggested by Charles Perry in 1708, though it was rejected by the Navy Board on grounds of high cost and perceived maintenance difficulties. The first experiments with copper sheathing were made in the late 1750s: the bottoms and sides of several ships' keels and false keels were sheathed with copper plates.

In 1761, the experiment was expanded, and the 32-gun frigate HMS Alarm was ordered to have her entire bottom coppered, in response to the terrible condition in which she had returned from service in the West Indies. HMS Alarm was chosen because, in 1761, a letter had been sent regarding the ship's condition, saying that the worms from the waters had taken a significant toll on the ship’s wooden hull.

So before the ships were not coppered !! But had often the so called "White stuff" "Black staff" or even "Brown stuff" painting of the lower hull, depending of the mixture.

Copper sheathing - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Brechin Castle]

Uwe,

Many thanks for your welcome and informative reply

I had a look round the ‘Edwin Fox’ in Picton, New Zealand a couple of years ago, and the remnants of the copper cladding plates are still visible on some parts of the hull.

Admittedly this is a later non Admiralty sailing ship but is a surviving example with some original copper plating nevertheless.

Thanks for the explanation on the correct hull colours.

B C

 

[danielsje]

Prior to copper plating all sorts of compounds were tried to prevent fouling and destruction of hulls. From ancient times to the Middle Ages, a mixture of tar, tallow and resin was used to protect the hull. Also, a mixture of arsenic and sulfur in oil, wax and resin mixtures and lead plating of the hull were used. In the antique period, the hull was also protected by metal coatings that reduced fouling and protected against pests. A common mixture ended up looking like white tar which is why so many pre-copper hulls are depicted as white. So hull color indeed depends on the historic year being represented by the model. Even the same ship could have different hull color dependent on the year...or, pre-copper or post-copper. Darn those worms anyway!

 

[Bryian]

Here you go- this company sells the most accurate paint colours for British 18th century models-

JoTiKa Ltd. ~ Admiralty Paints Page 1.

JoTiKa Ltd. manufacturer and distributor of classic scale model kits from Caldercraft, Mini Fleet, Nelsons Navy, Heritage series - including The Mary Rose - Krick, HFM Marine and many more.

www.jotika-ltd.com

 

[Masters Mate]

HMS Dolphin (24) launched in 1751 was coppered in about 1773 prior to 2 circumnavigations of discovery under Captain Byron (1764-66) and Captain Wallis (1767-68). The Dolphin outsailed both her consorts - Tamar and Swallow - to such an extent that Wallis abandoned the Swallow sloop in Magellan Strait and completed his voyage alone. The Admiralty then set about coppering the bottoms of many of the heavier warships, leaving most of the lighter ships until last as mentioned above by Lavery. Nicholas Rodger has put forward the very plausible theory that one of the main reasons for the massive mutinies at Spithead and the Nore in 1797 was because ships were not required to spend so long in dock once thay had coppered bottoms and sailors were therefore denied the extent of shore leave they had been used to.

 

[Masters Mate]

HMS Dolphin (24) launched in 1751 was coppered in about 1773 prior to 2 circumnavigations of discovery under Captain Byron (1764-66) and Captain Wallis (1767-68). The Dolphin outsailed both her consorts - Tamar and Swallow - to such an extent that Wallis abandoned the Swallow sloop in Magellan Strait and completed his voyage alone. The Admiralty then set about coppering the bottoms of many of the heavier warships, leaving most of the lighter ships until last as mentioned above by Lavery. Nicholas Rodger has put forward the very plausible theory that one of the main reasons for the massive mutinies at Spithead and the Nore in 1797 was because ships were not required to spend so long in dock once thay had coppered bottoms and sailors were therefore denied the extent of shore leave they had been used to.

Correction. As Uwe stated above, quoting Brian Lavery. The ships under 32 guns were copppered first, then the heavier ships.