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Last weekend, while visiting one of England's country houses, I came across a painting which depicted a British ship at the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1871 against the Dutch.  The ship appears to have canvas wrapped around the ratlines.  I'm new to the hobby and have limited knowledge of rigging and sailing ships, but what is this?

post-8131-0-84760500-1398424074.jpg

Edited by barkingmad

Geoff

 

Remember 'It was a professional who built the Titanic, It was an amateur who built Noah's Ark.

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I already saw this in books as further protection. Normal one or just for Battle?

 

So I would like to ask on top: When was this introduced?

 

XXXDAn

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It almost looks like the crew's hammocks packed around the channels to protect the dead eyes/lanyards. Makes sense when you think about the vulnerability there.

Wayne

Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope.
Epictetus

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dogger_Bank_(1781)

 

Almost certainly hamocks etc.

 

Norman

Norman

 

 

Current build Trumpeter Arizona 1:200 with White Ensign PE and a Nautilus Wooden Deck.

Built Caldercraft Convulsion, HM Brig Badger and HMS Snake.

Awaiting - Zvelda HMS Dreadnought planning to get the Pontos Deck and PE Upgrades, Panart 1:23 Gun deck model and couple of the cannon kits Manatu - French siege mortar, and American coastal cannon.

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I must admit that when I saw this painting, my first thought was, was it protection against small arms fire?  It would be interesting to know exactly what it was and what was used (hammocks, sail cloth etc).  Would/could you include this detail on a build and be sure that you were following some form of standard rig on a battle-ready ship?

Edited by barkingmad

Geoff

 

Remember 'It was a professional who built the Titanic, It was an amateur who built Noah's Ark.

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This particular Battle of the Dogger Bank (there have been several, the most famous taking place in 1915) was actually fought in 1781 (which I presume is what you meant), between a British convoy under Sir Hyde Parker, and a Dutch convoy.

 

Parker sent his convoy home, whilst he set about the Dutch with the escorting warships. The Dutch appeared to be considerably disorganised, and Parker won the engagement due to his superiority and discipline – despite many of his ships being in disrepair. I believe he resigned on returning home, due to the condition of his ships.

 

I am surmising that the painting show this latter fact, and that they are indeed hammocks to protect the weak deadeyes. I don't know who painted it but it was most likely commissioned, perhaps by officers who were there, and the artists would have been prompted to get the details right. I have not seen this before in any other painting.

Kester

 

Current builds: Sherbourne (Caldercraft) scale – 1/64th;

 

Statsraad Lehmkuhl (half model) 1/8th" – 1'.

 

Victory Bow Section (Panart/Mantua) scale – 1/78th  (on hold).

 

Previous build: Bluenose ll (Billings) scale – 1/100th.

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Thank you Stockholme tar.  1781 it was - I hadn't spotted that I had transposed the figures in the date, and thank you for the explanation.  I knew that someone would come up with an answer.  The painting hangs in a country house once owned by a family who were both military seafarers and Privateers.

Geoff

 

Remember 'It was a professional who built the Titanic, It was an amateur who built Noah's Ark.

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Thanks for posting this interesting image. This is something I've never seen in other paintings and is perhaps an important historical detail. Are you free to tell us the location of this painting, Barking?

Edited by druxey

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She is Princess Amelia (80) launched in 1757.  Her captain (Macartney) was killed during the battle while his son stood next to him.  She was so old and in such poor condition that Parker resigned in protest for having been sent out with her.  On the other hand, Princess Amelia served as a flag ship on several occasions subsequent to the battle.  The three decker 80's of the 1745 establishments were poor sailors and ill-suited for battle.  In the painting, notice the entry port on the middle gun deck; there is no main course bent to the main yard; the ship to the left in the background does not have a topgallant sail bend to the yard but the yard is in the raised position; the sprit yard on Princess Amelia just seems wrongly placed.  So, the painting has some accurate details but has other features that might be questioned.  Whenever a painting has details you don't understand, see if details you do know are accurate.  In this case, the matter might be in doubt.

  

How much protection would hammocks give to the lanyards on the deadeyes?  I suspect the answer is: none.  Nor would it be needed even for a ship in bad repair since the shrouds being ratted together would have to have most of them cut before the structural function would be compromised.  The painting shows similar hammocks on the tops (I think) where they might make sense as barriers to small arms fire (but I can't think that this was done either).  

 

In short, this is a baffling rendering.

 

(I conclude she is Princess Amelia since she has three decks, and Princess Amelia was the only 80 present, the next largest ship being 74's.)

Edited by wrkempson
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Perhaps to make boarding more difficult. Without the dead eyes and lanyards available, boarding at the shrouds would be difficult, especially with  weapon in your hand. Sometimes loose netting was used for that purpose.

jud

Edited by jud
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Harland´s Seamanship mentioned "Sword mats" on page 259 to protect the lanyards from chafing.

 

DAniel

Edited by dafi
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Brady, in Kedge-Anchor, 1847, has mats and chafe gear all over the ship and specifically mentions covering the lanyards on the shrouds with mats. Specifically sword mats. Relevant passage on pages 129 and 235 of my copy. Here is a quote from page 129: ..." (Sword mats) are...the breadth of the dead-eye, and long enough to take in both-the lanyards are laced inside. They are hardly ever used on topmast rigging; they look heavy, and are of no use, except on the foreward shrouds and backstays."......

  

Quote

 

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If I am not mistaken, there is a model in the NMM that has such 'sword-mats' fitted (as pictured in James Lees' book on rigging). Ships on long cross-ocean passages rigged all sorts of (usually unsightly) chafing gear, when they expected to be sailing on the same bow for weeks on end.

 

Protection against small-arms fire and boarding seems to me the most likely explanation of the strange arrangement on the picture shown. The seamen's hammocks were used for this purpose until the end of the last quarter of 19th century.

 

wefalck

wefalck

 

panta rhei - Everything is in flux

 

 

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Thanks for posting this interesting image. This is something I've never seen in other paintings and is perhaps an important historical detail. Are you free to tell us the location of this painting, Barking?

 

I had a busy week looking at a number of National Trust houses over the period when I saw this painting, but I have fanally whittled it down to Melford Hall in Suffolk, which just happens to be the family seat of Sir Hyde Parker who fought at the Battle of Dogger Bank.

Edited by barkingmad

Geoff

 

Remember 'It was a professional who built the Titanic, It was an amateur who built Noah's Ark.

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