Need help on storage of cannon balls on deck of a 74 gun 3rd rate

[Nearshore]

Hello,

I am currenty building the HMS Bellona at a 100 scale from Corel. I can not find any referance of how the cannon balls were stored on deck. The plans do not show any provisions for there storage and none of the books I have explain where or how they were stored. I am hoping that the experts here can explain how they stored the cannon balls on deck or direct me to a resource that can show me how they stored the cannon balls and there positioning on deck. It seems strange to me that they would not of had any storage for the cannon balls on deck. I have seen other builds that have included storage for them on deck, but i don't want to include this on my build if in fact there were no provisions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Nearshore

[Thukydides]

They would have been stored in shot garlands. There are lots of examples that you can find in build logs of ships all over the forums.

 

Many of them would have been stored below deck, but some would have been kept close at had for loading. There are three basic types of shot garlands that you will find:

 

First those on racks on the bulwarks (see the below contemporary drawing example from 1797):

https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-145388

 

Second those around the hatches. I have seen some examples of these where there appears to be a lip under them such as the below one from 1820:

https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-147286

 

Finally I have read about movable shot garlands. These could be carried around, but I have never seen any contemporary images of them. If anyone has seen any I would love to see an example.

Edited yesterday at 02:37 PM by Thukydides

[Kris Avonts]

This is what Brian Lavery has to say about the subject in 'The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War 1600-1815'.

 

 

So for Bellona, I would go for the sides of the ship between the gun ports.

 

best regards,

   Kris