Full hull model; Plank-on-frame
Unknown Artist
Scale: 1:24. A contemporary full hull model of a Greathead lifeboat, circa 1808, built plank on frame. The hull is double-ended with a distinct curve or sheer in shape and built with clinker planking on heavy wooden frames. It is fitted internally with cork blocks, for additional buoyancy, around the gunwale underneath the thwarts, or seating. It is also fitted with an external cork banding again for buoyancy as well as providing extra protection when coming alongside a casualty.
Being double-ended, it could be rowed in either direction and was pulled by up to ten oars (missing) on thole pins, with a larger single oar (missing) over the stern for steering. It is thought that this model represents the 25 foot version that Henry Greathead produced in 1808 when he was trying to persuade the Navy to adopt them as onboard lifeboats.
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London