SB Kathleen: Difference between revisions
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===The rig=== |
===The rig=== |
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[[File:Sail names on Thames sailing barge (en).svg|thumb|left|Sails on a Thames barge]] |
[[File:Sail names on Thames sailing barge (en).svg|thumb|left|Sails on a Thames barge]] |
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When she was built, the Kathleen |
When she was built, the Kathleen had a [[main mast]] in a mast-case (or tabernacle) so that it could be winched up and down, to clear low bridges. The [[sprit]] (pron: spreet). was attached to the mainmast using a muzzle. The [[topmast]] that could be lowered. The [[mizzen mast]] was mounted afore the stern post. She carried a [[bowsprit]] that could be topped (raised) to allow her to use short wharfs. |
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This rig was changes several times in Kathleens history. She was rerigged in 1926 without a bowsprit. In 1946 she lost her mizzen when an engine was added. From 1954 her rig was reduced to a motor barge- and from 1961 to 1965 she was used as a [[lighter (barge)|lighter]], with engine and mast stripped away. When she was converted to a barge yatch for the 1966, 1967 sailing races, her rig was similar to that in 1926. {{sfn|Walsh|pp=51,105}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 10:57, 6 March 2018
.svg) Sail plan of Kathleen from 1901 until 1926
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | Kathleen |
| Operator | Daniels Brothers |
| Builder | Glover, Gravesend |
| Commissioned | 1901 |
| Identification | Official number 113708 |
| General characteristics | |
| Length | 82.8 ft (25.2 m) |
| Beam | 19.7 ft (6.0 m) |
| Draught | 6 ft (1.8 m) laden, 30 in (0.76 m) light |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Speed | 8 knots (15 km/h) maximum speed |
| Capacity | 167 tonnes |
| Crew | 2 |
The SB Kathleen was a spritsail Thames barge built by Glover at Gravesend, Kent in England in 1901, and registered in Rochester. Her official number was 113,708. She was built to carry grain- for capacity rather than speed.[1] she was 82.8 feet (25.2 m) long and had a beam of 19.7 feet (6.0 m). Light, she drew 30 inches (76 cm) of water, and laden 6 feet (1.8 m).[2]
History
She was launched in 1901 and worked for Daniels Brothers as a grain barge.[3] In the first world war she carred other dry cargoes such as coal, timber and iron pipes. Modifications were made to her hold for easier loading, though this was later reversed. She continued to do cross channel work until 1920: as a barge she could safely sail over the Goodwin Sands if the leeboards were raised. Minefields continued to exist and passage through the swept channel was only permitted in daylight. In the twenties regular work was in grain and animal foodstuffs all within the confines of the estuary and the river.[4]
On 6 March 1923, she and two other other Whitstable barges were taking on cargo in Greenwich when the Cunard steamer, Virgilia (1918-1944) lost control and smashed into them, sinking two of them. Why Not was built at Faversham in 1866 (38 Reg Tons) and W H Randall was constructed at Sittingbourne in 1876 (44 Reg Tons). Kathleen was a little larger at 53 tons. The Virgilia was steel built, registered at 5,697 tons. All three barges re-entered service.[3][5]
She was converted to an auxiliary in 1945, launched again as a sailing barge in 1953 then turned into a full motor barge in 1954. [6]
In 1944, the Kathleen was in Whitstable for a refit and was spotted by Edgar March, the naval historian. He used the opportunity to make a full survey of the Kathleen, making notes and producing five sides of engineering drawings of her, and commenting on the sails and the rigging. This was published in 1948, making her one of the most thoroughly recorded barges.[7] In 1946 the auxilary engine was fitted, and the cabin detailed by March was changed.[8]
On the night of the Great Storm of 1953- the night the tide came in and didn't go out, Kathleen was on the slipway at Anderson, Rigden and Perkins yard, Island Wall, Whitstable. She was washed up and demolished the slipway and many buildings in the shipyard, ending up at right angles to the slip, A special temporary slip had to be built in order to launch her again.[6]
By 1954 the Kathleen was relying increasingly in her engine, and her sprit and mainmast were removed. The top mast was lowered into the mastcase. The rigging had become a hindrance when loading cargo, so in September she had a leg of mutton, trysail bent to the topmast. [9] The Kathleen was a Whitstable barge sailing for Daniels: the port was in decline and on the death of the owner, the remaining barges were sold to the London and Rochester Trading Company Ltd. Though there were forty-two freights in 1958 they were mainly part loads. Fred Wraight Jnr left the boat in 1960- she took her last cargo in October 1961, her engine was removed, and she was laid up and decommissioned at Strood on 23 November 1961. [10]
She was re-rigged as a barge yacht at Heybridge in 1965. Parts for the work, came from all over the region. The topsail and a foresail came from Lower Halstow, the mast case came from Pin Mill from the hulk of the Charles Hutton. Many blocks came from Reuben Wests barge yard. The mizzen spars and leeboard winches of the Dorothy, came from Cubitt's Yard the main horse was the fore horse from the Orinoco. [11] The main mast and the standing rigging came from Erith, from the Lady Mary, built in 1900 as an F.T. Everard's coaster.[12] A leeboard was made from a wood called keruing, another was borrowed, and in 1966 the mainsail was lent by the Nellie Parker,[13] In 1967, Kathleen raced using a mainsail lent by the Venta.
She had a new owner, Pat Murphy who invested in a new mainsail and a pair of Kelvin 44 hp diesels. [14]
She was sold and moved to the Netherlands in 1975 where she served as a motor-sailor houseboat with a six-cylinder diesel. She was finally hulked in 1983 near Spaarndam.[6] Her engine and shafts were removed to use in a ketch yacht in Amsterdam by Jan Witterman, her spars and fitting were removed and used in the 1981 restoration of the Wyvenhoe.[15]
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The grain barge from 1901 - 1926 -
1926- 1946: Rigged without a bowsprit -
1946- 1954: Rigged with auxiliary engine -
1954- 1960: Motor barge -
1961- 1965: A lighter without sails or motor
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
Construction
Thames barges were built for strength. They had flat bottoms to allow them to be easily beached or lie on the river mud, and were rigged to allow them to be operated by two men and possibly a lad. They were built in bargeyards adjacent to a river or creek on bargeblocks- a series of trestles raised about a metre from the compacted ground, that allowed working access above and below. Kathleen was built at Gravesend in 1901. Over time her rig was changed to suit commercial conditions.[16]
The keel was a 12 by 4 inches (30 by 10 cm) piece of elm. It was broader than it was deep and 82.8 feet (25.2 m) long. At the bow the stempost was raised vertically and at the stern the sternpost, these were made from 6 feet (1.8 m) lengths of 12 by 9 inches (30 by 23 cm) English oak. The apron and the inner sternpost were strengthening timbers. The fore and aft deadwood would raise the floors to give shape at the bow and the sweep to the fashion timbers of the transom. Across the keel and deadwood were laid the floors, these were 8 by 6 inches (20 by 15 cm) oak timbers at 20 inches (51 cm) centres. The length of each floor would be taken of a half hull model, most would be 19.7 feet (6.0 m) long, the same length as her beam. On top of the floors, on top of the keel, on earlier barges was bolted a massive Oregon pine 14 by 14 inches (36 by 36 cm) keelson. This used 1 inch (2.5 cm) iron bolts. On the Kathleen the keelson was a made of a 49 feet (15 m) steel section, in profile similar to railway line (6 by 11 inches (15 by 28 cm))[17]: it was cheaper but could distort.[18]. The keelson would be scarfed into the apron and deadwood and would be shorter than the keel. There were equivalent stemsons and sternsons.
The futtocks (side-frames) were dovetailed onto the end of each floor and every other joint was strengthened with an iron angle plate.The futtocks were of 8 by 6 inches (20 by 15 cm) oak and of varyng length averaging 6 feet (1.8 m). Temporary cross-poles were used to hold the ends of the futtocks in place. The barge was now in frame, and the shipwright approved the lines. Ribbands were temporarily nailed to the outside of the frames to hold this position. The inner angle between the floor and the futtocks were stiffened by inner chines or chine keelsons, made of a single piece of 12 by 6 inches (30 by 15 cm) pitch pine This was bolted to each floor and futtock. Above it was a 12 by 3 inches (30.5 by 7.6 cm) oak stringer that was bolted to the futtocks and led out to stem and stern post.
Ceilings and Linings
The ceilings were now laid on the floors.These would be pine planks 3 inches (7.6 cm) thick, and as wide as available. The height of the deck was marked on the frames- forming a beam-line, and a beam thickness beneath it, a 15 by 4 inches (38 by 10 cm) oak inwale was bolted to the futtocks. The inside of the hold was lined with 2 inches (5.1 cm) thick pine.[19] The inwale formed a ledge on which the 8 by 8 inches (20 by 20 cm) curved beams of the deck, and the carlings rested.[20] The two large holds made it impossible to use deckbeams alone. There were 3 beams afore the forehold, three beams under the mast-case between the holds, 2 between the mainhold and the companionway to the cabin, two supporting the transom. On the Kathleen, the port and starboard decks were of differing widths.
The rig
.svg)
When she was built, the Kathleen had a main mast in a mast-case (or tabernacle) so that it could be winched up and down, to clear low bridges. The sprit (pron: spreet). was attached to the mainmast using a muzzle. The topmast that could be lowered. The mizzen mast was mounted afore the stern post. She carried a bowsprit that could be topped (raised) to allow her to use short wharfs.
This rig was changes several times in Kathleens history. She was rerigged in 1926 without a bowsprit. In 1946 she lost her mizzen when an engine was added. From 1954 her rig was reduced to a motor barge- and from 1961 to 1965 she was used as a lighter, with engine and mast stripped away. When she was converted to a barge yatch for the 1966, 1967 sailing races, her rig was similar to that in 1926. [21]
References
- ^ March, p. 90.
- ^ March, p. 201.
- ^ a b "Rescue by Whitstable barge skipper George James Packman in 1923". www.simplywhitstable.com. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- ^ Walsh 1986, pp. 35–40.
- ^ Walsh 1986, pp. 41–46.
- ^ a b c "Thames Barges at Whitstable during the Flood of 1953". www.simplywhitstable.com. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- ^ March, pp. 201–241, 267–272.
- ^ Walsh 1986, pp. 71–73.
- ^ Walsh 1986, p. 90.
- ^ Walsh 1986, pp. 93–97.
- ^ Walsh 1986, pp. 103–111.
- ^ Walsh 1986, pp. 130–131.
- ^ Walsh 1986, pp. 137–139.
- ^ Walsh 1986, p. 174.
- ^ Walsh 1986, pp. 180–182.
- ^ March.
- ^ Walsh, pp. 15, 16.
- ^ March, pp. 196, 197.
- ^ March, p. 197.
- ^ Walsh, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Walsh, pp. 51, 105.
- March, Edgar (1948). "Spritsail barges of Thames and Medway". London: Percival Marshal.
- Walsh, Richard (1986). Kathleen : the biography of a sailing barge. Lavenham: Terence Dalton. ISBN 0861380460.