Posted by Charles Coull on May 21, 2003 at 10:06:27 from 212.137.57.41 user Charles_Coull.
In Reply to: Re: Death & Glory DESIGN posted by Jonathan Labaree on May 19, 2003 at 18:17:27:
The Dulcibella was an ex RNLI life boat but Knights "Falcon" was an ex P&O ships life boat as he describes: (Sorry if someone's already noted this but the threads got rather large!)
"The Falcon — for so I named her after my former vessel — was an old P. and O. life-boat, and had doubtless made many a voyage to India and back on a steamer's deck. As is the way with life-boats, her bow and stern were alike, and she had far more sheer than is ever given to a yacht. She had been built in the strongest manner by the well-known life-boat builder White, of Cowes. She was double-skinned, both skins being of the best teak, the outer of horizontal, the inner of diagonal, planking.
The gentleman from whom I bought her had converted her into a yawl, or, to be more correct, a ketch, for her mizen-mast was well in-board, so that her mainsail was smaller and her mizen larger than is the case with yawls (an advantage as far as handiness is concerned). The water-tight compartments had been taken out of her, a false keel had been fastened on, and she had been decked all over with the exception of a small well. There was no appliance for covering over this well in bad weather, but I have never seen a pint of water tumble into it, so buoyant and admirable a sea-boat did the little vessel prove to be."