Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[raflaunches]

Hi everyone


I'm trying to find some pictures of the steam winches fitted to the Majestic class battleships of 1893-7.
I would like to detail the kit parts in my Prince George build in the Warships section but I can't find any good references at the moment. They were the single drum variation according to the NMM drawings but they only a rough out line with the description I have just given.
Any help will be most gratefully received.

[derekwarner]

Nick...I cannot provide a definitive answer, but believe steam anchor winch bollards of the foredeck would not have changed in design or operation from 1893 to WWI

The only component above deck would have been sets of single vertical axis drum bollards

The anchor chains link sizing would determine the diameter & height of the drums

Here is an image of HMAS Australia's fwd deck area vertical axis drum bollards  from approx. 1913....three anchor chain bollard drums......I am assuming the larger bollard drum on the vessel centre axis was a rope hauling for mooring alongside??

Derek

[Ian K]

Hi Nick,


Which winches do you require info on?
Do you mean, the four main boat handling steam winches on the central superstructure deck?
Or as Derek mentions, the Anchor, and Torpedo net defence capstans, on the fore and aft decks?


Very little info is available on t'internet, but Naval steam winches, didn't vary that much from their merchant counterparts.
I will have a look in some of my books, and see what I can find for you.


Ian

[Ian K]

Hi Nick,


These might be of some use, although not RN.


Ian

[raflaunches]

Thanks Ian and Derek


To clarify they are are the ones fitted inside the central superstructure- I didn't know that they were for boat handling but makes sense considering their location.
Thanks for the help so far

[Colin Bishop]

This is where those old builders models that the Museums are rushing to take off display come in so useful. Photos & illustrations are hardly ever going to show fittings tucked away behind superstructures. If you can get to view a 1:48 scale builder's model of a similar vessel then you could well strike lucky.

I'm not really sure to what extent merchant ship practice is relevant as most merchant vessels of the period carried their lifeboats on the side of the ship and used hand worked gear. Even the Titanic's lifeboat gear was hand worked. It is only the big warships where large heavy boats such as picket boats were stored amidships that needed power worked handling gear.

It is possible that Brian King's 'Modelling Late Victorian Battleships' might have some useful information. I don't have a copy myself but there is bound to be somebody on here that does.

Colin

[Ian K]

Hi Colin,


The main steam winches x 4, were used to lift, and swing out 2 large booms. one on each lower mast section. In theory, essentially the same as cargo handling booms.


I have Brian's book on modelling late Victorian era battleships, and will have a nosey through it for you Nick.


Ian

[tghsmith]

http://books.google.com/books?id=fK8fAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=ship+building&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AL8eVLTwApenyATd0oGgDw&ved=AEwB0CDwQ6DgK#v=onepage&q=ship%20building&f=false  US stuff but there wasn't that much different, when you get towards the back the advertisement section has great views some with dimensions .

[dodes]

Hi Nick, next time in London, visit the National Maritime museum, this model of the Yashima of 1893, built by Elswick is a battleship of the period and may answer some of your queries.

[ballastanksian]

Darn. I was at the Sub museum at Gosport last week and would have taken a picture of HMS Latona for you. She was 1:48th and definity detailed sufficiently to show such details.

[Colin Bishop]

Latona was a cruiser and carried her boats in conventional davits - so no steam winches that I could see.

Colin

[raflaunches]

Hi everyone


Thanks for the replies so far, from what I can make out in the original ship's drawings of the Majestic class they are very similar to Ian's picture 2 of a steam winch with the large drum mounted horizontally, the ones supplied in the kit are closer to the coaling winches (according to the drawings anyway! ) Don't know how accurate they are, for all I know they could be representations and not the actual one fitted.

[Ian K]

Hi Nick,


I am pleased that one of the images was useful.
Sadly, there are no images of R.N pattern steam winches, in any of Brian Kings books. I am still looking for info for you.


Ian

[raflaunches]

Thanks Ian
I'm still looking too, if I find anything I'll upload the info too.

[dodes]

Nick, when you go into old bookshops or try googling for one look for old RN Seamanship books of about 1900, I had one of 1903 which would have answered a lot of your questions perhaps but I lent it out some time ago and never saw it again.

[Netleyned]

The Admiralty Manual of Seamanship is what you
should be looking for Nick.
It  is the  Seamans Bible.
There is also a Seamans Hand book but not much
detail in it.

Ned

[raflaunches]

Thanks Dodes, Ned


I'm going to see if I can find a copy, love old books, I'm in Kent at the moment so if anyone knows of any good old book shops near Canterbury I'd be most grateful.

[tonyH]

Hi Nick,

Dunno whether this is any use but the ones for the current Frenchie project are as below. They're pretty much the same time and while I know to my cost that they had some strange ideas, there may be un peu de verite!

Cheers

Tony

[dodes]

Hi Nick try EBay seen two Admiralty Manual of Seamanship dated 1908, starting at £10.70.

[raflaunches]

Thanks Dodes


Just bought one two minutes ago after your recommendation, I discovered I had a 1937 edition siting on my shelf, helpful but obviously only for post WW1 ships. So fingers crossed the 1908 edition will be a massive help.

[dodes]

Hope it works for you, otherwise I owe you a drink.
David