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Update# 1 – History of the General Hunter The General Hunter was a British Warship which fought in a numerous actions during the War of 1812 before being lost to the U.S. Navy in the famous Battle of Lake Erie. In August of 1816, sailing as the U.S. transport ship Hunter, it was caught in a gale and wrecked on the Southampton beach. Early in the 19th century, British North America became a bit of a magnet for shipbuilders with many Scotsmen amongst them. Numbering among these individuals was William Bell who hailed from Aberdour in Fifeshire. By 1799 he had hired on as a shipwright at the naval yard in Amherstburg. This was just the start of his career with the Provincial Marine. He soon became the Master-Shipwright and was responsible for the draughting and construction of all the major vessels produced there until the British burned the yard during the War of 1812 (Garcia, 2000). In 1803 Bell drew up plans for the General Hunter. Initially rigged as a schooner, but later as a brig, the Hunter reflected the dual role of the Provincial Marine. The hold accommodated troops, with partitions so that any cargo carried would be safe from theft. The railings were to be strong enough to take ringbolts for gun breechings. Bell's draughts show a relatively shallow draft vessel, of single deck, which would be capable of replacing two smaller vessels, the Francis and Maria (Library and Archives of Canada). Construction began on the Hunter in 1804 and the vessel was launched the following year. The dimensions of the vessel upon launching were reported as length of 54 feet, 18 feet at the beam and a displacement of 80 tons. Armament carried varied, but it was envisioned that she would have eight 18 pounder carronades and four 4 pounder long guns (Fort Malden National Historic Site Resource Centre Files). The dimensions cited for the General Hunter are of particular interest, and will be revisited several times during the course of this research. The General Hunter, as noted above, was originally rigged as a schooner. It is uncertain the exact date that the rig was changed to a brig, although the first references to a brig are made during 1812. In Select British documents of the Canadian War of 1812, (Wood, William (ed), 1968) there are numerous references to the vessel during the 1811 to 1813 time period. 30 August 1811 - Proposed Marine Establishment for the year 1812 - Described as 60 Tonnage Schooner with 19 officers and men (Vol. I pg 246). 16 September 1811 - Schooner General Hunter carries ten 12 pound carronades (Vol. I pg 239). 7 December 1811 - Reported as fast falling into decay and needing to build a replacement (Vol. I pg 241). 9 March 1812 - Undergoing repairs and being equipped with six 6 pounders (Vol. I pg 254). 16 August 1812 - Transported 80 returned prisoners of war (Vol. I pg 49). 2 October 1812 - Lake Erie Proposed Manning - General Hunter listed as desired to have 25 officers and men plus 9 marines. Actual complement at the time was 8 officers and men plus 17 marines (Vol. I pg 557). 10 September 1813 - Captured - two 6 pounder long guns, four 4 pounder long guns, two 2 pounder long guns, and two 12 pounder carronades (Vol. II pg 276 & 315). Works Cited Fort Malden National Historic Site Resource Centre Files. (n.d.). General Hunter Files. Garcia, B. (2000, September 16). The Provincial Marine at Amherstburg 1796-1813. Retrieved May 2, 2013, from The War of 1812 Website: http://www.warof1812.ca/provmarine.htm Library and Archives of Canada. (n.d.). 'C' Series, Record Group 8. Volume 726 page 75-76. Wood, William (ed). (1968). Select Documents of the Canadian War of 1812 .

Sweet! This is definitely knot a site I was aware of before - thanks for sharing it, Kevin!

Hope you have a great time, Sjors - will be here when you get back!

Wow - what a beautiful model! your details are great, and that stand is fantastic! Very nicely done!

Just need to send some wabbits to keep him company.....

That is a neat story, Kevin - thank you! Just think about the consternation if you had used that photo in the Name That Ship game!!!!

Herewith begins my first extended journey into the esoteric art of developing a set of rigging plans pretty much from scratch. On the MSB forum there is an ongoing project to develop plans and build a prototype of the British brig General Hunter (referred to hereafter as the GH). I have, perhaps naively, agreed to tackle the development of a rigging plan for the model. I enjoy a challenge, and particularly enjoy research and analysis, as well as the whole concept of understanding the masting and rigging of a ship is, to me, highly fascinating, so here I go. What I intend to do, since this is research and development rather than actually building the vessel, is to document my research process and decisions here in the same manner as a build log, but likely with fewer pictures. At least, few that represent the output (or input) of spars on a model. I would like this to be a contributory endeavor - please feel free to interject suggestions, ideas, recommendations, or other critical analysis of the process and results. My goal is a set of plans that is representative of the type of rig that the GH may have carried, realizing that the 100% benchmark is not attainable. I will be drawing heavily on research already conducted by Daves, Winston and several others at MSB, as well as information in a set of unpublished manuscripts by Joshua Humphreys and his son from the Pennsylvania Historical Society (transcription from handwritten ye' Olde English into searchable documents is currently well underway by a team at MSB), and archival information both by the archeological team that is excavating and studying the wreck as well as by others such as Stevens of Parks Canada. At some point, may even be touching on Australia and other regions as well - hint hint!). Upcoming topics include (but are by no means limited to) the following: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Current Knowledge related to the GH Pictorial Analogs and Similar Vessels Dimensions of Masts Dimensions of Yards Furnishing the yards So, pull up a seat, grab some popcorn (I think Sjors was bringing it) and hang on for what could be a fun journey into the Great Lakes and 1812! Best wishes - Wayne

Gorch Foch?

Uncleb - I have done a little searching without any results yet. Will be turning my 2 internet sleuths loose and see what they can turn up for you.

Matti - I just stumbled across your log. Thank you for those pictures from the museum! Your model is looking very, very sharp - will be following this log as you move forward!

Maybe not a destination, but you certainly do have the journey!!!! Thanks for the clarification on the mast caps - they look good, by the way!

NICE!!!!! She keeps getting betterer and betterer - and BIGGER!!!!

Buck - I can only echo what the others have said. What a beauty!!!!

Glad you are enjoying the build - and the cake! Your first steps look really good! Someday I may try one of these...maybe...

I find these to be rather useful, but also danged difficult to control.

Thanks, Dubz! Should be starting back in on the ranger very soon - had this irrational phobia about the hull planking which I am working to overcome

Hello, John, and welcome aboard! Grew up in Connecticut - lived in Groton for many years. Glad to see folks from the old stomping grounds! Ditto what Bob suggested - start a build log when you get a chance. It is a great way to learn from the folks here.

Your Victory is looking really good, Jerry!

Those look good, Andy. One question - and I apologize up front if it is a silly one - most mast caps I have seen in various illustrations had a square hole for the lower mast and round for the top mast. I notice yours are both round. Is this something that was done differently in the 1770 timeframe? Glad to see you back at it - can only imagine the frustration (consternation?) when your drill based lath became a type of visual art!

Wonderful work, wefalk! Happy Birthday!!!!!

Geesh. Youse guys is enuff too cause someone of us to gotta laugh or sumtin. What're ya gonna do when you need to connect that whatsit on the front end to the thingy that hangs from the stick? You guys are certainly more better at reinventerating things than my kids are!

Beautiful work on the pintles. Those arachnids sure are out of practice - may need to send them out for an apprenticeship!

Thanks, Salty. Your numbers for the Ranger match mine. Note the plans and the manual are at different scales in the kit.. my deck was slightly off when matched to the plans. Those perimeter thingies are I think the bulwarks. I like your style!

Bingo, Danny. A grand ole' gal that served well for more than 80 years.

No, sorry, not the Eppleton Hall.