1779 Frigate color scheme

[tennfox]

Im in the process of building the 1740 frigate The Greyhound by Corel as a 1779 Frigate The Protector.  The ships design are similar enough.  My question is in the coloring of the whales.   Historically speaking, which is correct for this age of ship?  The Protector was built in Mass and is contemporary to the Boston. or 

 

The whales are black and  above the ports,  or are they natural?  did they make them both or is the black the more accurate version?  The   wood is yellow and not paint.    just trying to figure it out before I finish the 2nd planking ..

 

Thanks

 

[Thukydides]

For British ships of this period it is a time of transition from the more colorful painted friezes to the simple yellow and black. This is also the period when ships start having their bottoms coppered (mass use of copper plates starts around 1776). However much of this depended on the ship in question and you might want to do some research into the specific ship. I took a quick look at threedecks.org and couldn't see much info on the protector.

 

In general the wales and often the strake of thickstuff just above the wales were painted black. Often the planking below the wales was also painted black down to the waterline, but on some the white came all the way up to just below the wales (search on RMG for the frigate Amazon 1773). How much of this practice the American navy copied I can't say.

[Chuck Seiler]

Attachd are some representations of Continental frigates.  The single one is, I believe, CONFEDERACY, but not sure.  Continental frigates seem to have had wider 'stripes' above the wales and I buff or natural in color.

 

[tennfox]

thank you so much... this does help...