Cutty Sark Tea Clipper Model, Clipper Ship Model, Model Ship, Wood Model The Cutty Sark Ship Model No Sails This Tall Ship Model Measures 34.5" (long) 24.5" (high) x 12" (wide) app. The Cutty Sark Tall Ship Model is shipped fully assembled, ready to be displayed. This is one of the finest models available anywhere. Great Gift Item! The Cutty Sark Tall Ship Model sits perfectly on the included base, which is made of a high-quality, conditioned wood, and has a brass name plate. The Cutty Sark Tall Ship Model is built from scratch by experienced master artisans and is not from any sort of kit. To create the subtle details and definitions of the deck and hull, the plank on frame method of construction is used, which requires hundreds of hours of pain-staking, detail work. The highest quality, rare woods (including Ebony, Rosewood, Blackwood, Mahogany, Jack wood, and Sycamore) used to construct our models are subjected to specific seasoning procedures to ensure that the model will withstand severe climate and never warp or split.

Ornaments and decorations on this Cutty Sark model (which may include cannons, portholes, anchors, muskets, and other details) are sculpted of brass, chrome, and other metals. Extensive research is required to build each Cutty Sark Tall Ship Model to scale, using various pictures, original plans, drawings, and digital imaging. Each Cutty Sark model ship is examined during various processes of manufacturing and shipment to ensure the highest quality and accuracy possible for your investment. Historic Past The Cutty Sark was launched on November 22, 1869, in Dumbarton on the Scottish Clyde. She was built to carry tea in the China Run. Due to a new hull shape that was stronger, could take more sail and be driven harder than any other, the Cutty Sark was the fastest ship taking the Cape of Good Hope Route. Her name comes from Robert Burns' poem, Tam O' Shanter. Tam meets a group of witches, most of whom are ugly, but for Nannie, who is young and beautiful and is described as wearing only a "cutty sark" (a short chemise or shirt).

Although her early years under her first master, Captain George Moodie, saw some sterling performances, fate was to thwart her owner's hopes of glory in the tea trade: in the very same year of her launching, the Suez Canal was opened, allowing steamers to reach the Far East via the Mediterranean, a shorter and quicker route not accessible to sailing ships, whose freights eventually fell so much that the tea trade was no longer profitable. So Cutty Sark's involvement in the China run was short lived, her last cargo of tea being carried in 1877. For the next several years, the Cutty Sark was forced to seek cargoes where she could get them, and it was not until 1885 that she began the second (and more illustrious) stage of her career. The ship's heyday was in the Australian wool trade, which was overseen by Captain Richard Woodget, from 1885 to 1895. After 1895 she served under the Portugese flag for twenty five years. Crafted to race across the globe to sack immense profits before other European traders, the Cutty Sark was built for speed.

In the memorable race between the Cutty Sark and Thermopylae in 1872, the Cutty Sark lost her rudder after passing through the Sunda Straight and arrived in London a week after their competitor. What makes the Cutty Sark the hero of this race was that she continued the race with a makeshift rudder instead of putting into port for repairs, and in spite of that only lost by a week. Inevitably, the clipper ships lost out to the more powerful steam boats, which were more reliable, and thus returned goods more consistently. The Cutty Sark won the reputation as the fastest ship in her size when she ran 360 nautical miles in 24 hours during a run for the Australian Wool trade. The Cutty Sark is the world’s sole surviving extreme slipper, with the majority of her hull fabric surviving from her original construction in the 1860s. The Cutty Sark is preserved as a museum ship in Greenwich, which is in south-east London. She now belongs to the Tames Nautical College and stands dry docked at Greenwich London. In May of 2007 she sustained damage from an accidental fire during a $5 million dollar restoraion project.

Fortunately her sails, rigging, and most of her planking were safely in storage and the Cutty Sark is still being restored. The Cutty Sark is drydocked in Greenwich, where the River Thames widens into an estuary before joining the North Sea. It sits next to the former Royal Navy College - now the National Maritime Museum - and the Royal Observatory on the zero longitude line, where Britain developed the navigational technology that enabled it to rule the waves. Measuring 280 feet long, the ship weighed 979 tons and its main mast soared 152 feet above the main deck. The ship was used for training naval cadets during World War II, and in 1951 it was moored in London for the Festival of Britain. Shortly afterward, the ship was acquired by the Cutty Sark Society. Cutty Sark had been closed to visitors since last year for the restoration, which had been due to be complete in 2009. Conservationists promised to redouble their efforts to save the ship and raise funds for its preservation.

The Cutty Sark, which inspired a popular brand of Scotch, was the world's only surviving example of an extreme clipper, regarded as the ultimate merchant sailing vessel. The Cutty Sark is drydocked in Greenwich, where the River Thames widens into an estuary before joining the North Sea. It sits next to the former Royal Navy College - now the National Maritime Museum - and the Royal Observatory on the zero longitude line, where Britain developed the navigational technology that enabled it to rule the waves. The tea trade increased dramatically in the 19th century after Britain forced China to open its ports to Western ships through the Opium Wars in 1842 and 1858. The demand for tea was voracious, and the ship arriving with the first tea of the year made the highest profits - fueling demand for ever-faster ships, rather than ones with enormous carrying capacity. Cutty Sark, launched in 1869, was designed to win those races for profits. It was launched the same month that the opening of the Suez Canal gave steamships the advantage over sail; the faster clipper ships had to travel around Cape Horn to take advantage of the trade winds. The Cutty Sark lost its most famous test.

It made the journey from China to London in 122 days - a week after its rival clipper ship. Still, the trip marked the birth of the ship's legendary reputation. Two weeks into the journey, the Cutty Sark rudder broke but its captain sailed on. Measuring 280 feet long, the ship weighed 979 tons and its main mast soared 152 feet above the main deck. The ship was used for training naval cadets during World War II, and in 1951 it was moored in London for the Festival of Britain. Shortly afterward, the ship was acquired by the Cutty Sark Society. Cutty Sark had been closed to visitors since last year for the restoration, which had been due to be complete in 2009. Conservationists promised to redouble their efforts to save the ship and raise funds for its preservation. DeeDee on 12/18/2012 11:41am Cutty Sark (ship) | Article about Cutty Sark (ship) by The Free Dictionary Cutty Sark (ship) | Article about Cutty Sark (ship) by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Wikipedia .

Cutty Sark, three-masted British clipper ship, launched 1869 from Dumbarton, Scotland. The last tea clipper to be built (and the only to survive), she set out on her maiden voyage from London to Shanghai in Feb., 1870. Later (1883–95) she plied the British-Australian wool trade. Sold (1895) to a Portuguese firm, she carried cargo until 1917, when she was re-rigged as a barquentine. In 1922 she was bought and restored to roughly her original appearance, and was used as a cadet training ship until 1938. Acquired by the Cutty Sark Society in 1953 and restored, the ship became (1957) a maritime museum at Greenwich, SE London. A new restoration begun in 2006 was set back by a fire (2007) that badly damaged the ship. Cutty Sark clipper ship, built in 1869, broke speed records in the tea trade. [Br.

Hist.: EB, (1963) V, 830] Cutty Sark · National Historic Ships UK 963.00 History Built in 1869 by Scott & Linton at Dumbarton, for the original owner John Willis, CUTTY SARK is the sole surviving extreme clipper, designed to be very fast. She was one of the last tea clippers built, but as this trade was taken over by the steamers using the Suez Canal, she turned to general trading including transporting wool from Australia. It was during this time that she made her legendary fast voyages. In 1895 she was sold to a Portuguese company and renamed FERRIERA. She was re-rigged as a barquentine following a dismasting in 1916. Captain Dowman of Falmouth decided she should be preserved and in 1922 bought the ship and made her part of a floating nautical school he was operating. In 1938, his widow presented the ship to the Thames Nautical Training School at Greenhithe.

They maintained the ship until 1952 when the Cutty Sark Preservation Society was formed under the leadership of Frank Carr, Director of the National Maritime Museum, and the patronage of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. The ship was permanently installed in a stone dry-dock at Greenwich on the Thames, and fully restored to her appearance as an active sailing vessel. In the 1990s, structural problems were first identified in her hull and plans were put in motion for a full restoration. She was awarded a grant of £13 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund and, in November 2006, her rig was dismantled prior to work commencing. On 21 May 2007, a fire broke out onboard CUTTY SARK in the early hours of the morning and was later put out by the London Fire Brigade. The Cutty Sark Conservation Project is a £25 million scheme, not only to preserve the fabric of the ship, but also to ensure that she has a sustainable future. The vessel will be lifted and suspended three metres above her current position, allowing her visitors to walk, dine or dance under her and, for the first time, be able to properly appreciate her beautiful lines.

A sophisticated glass 'bubble' meeting the ship at the waterline will give year-round protection to visitors in the dry berth and to the lower hull itself. These new works will be clearly distinguishable so that each visitor knows what is historic and what is not. A new interpretation scheme will be installed to give a more atmospheric, more dramatic sense of life and times of the ship. This vessel is a survivor from the First World War. You can read more about her wartime history by visiting our First World War: Britain's Surviving Vessels website . Significance 1. What is the vessel’s ability to demonstrate history in her physical fabric? Evidence for designs, functions, techniques, processes, styles, customs and habits or uses and associations in relation to events and people. How early, intact or rare these features are may impact on significance. CUTTY SARK has undergone numerous repairs during her lifetime, including conservation work in 1954-1957, and then, following a 1998 survey, a six-year project commencing in 2006.

However, she retains the majority of her original wrought iron structure, which comprises 139 iron hull frames, deck beams, stringers, keel plate, box keelson, bilge keelson, side keelson, stanchions and the fore and aft collision bulkhead (openings have been made in the hull for access reasons) making her one of only two surviving composite vessels in the world. The iron hull frames have survived intact with only a small area of loss behind the aft bulkhead. Significantly the original markers stamp of ‘monkland’ and rating of the quality of the wrought iron as ‘Glasgow best’ (the poorest quality iron) are evident. These frames have been preserved, using modern methods, in their current condition. With 70% of fixing holes wasted below the bilge strake, and 90% of fixing above the bilge strake still usable, the hull planks under the bilge strake have been re-attached to ‘sister frames’ which consisted of new steels inserted in-between the original frames, attached from the bilge strake down to the keel plate.

Where frame fixings had wasted away, the original muntz bolts (60:40 copper zinc ratio) fixings remained in the timber planks. Approximately 87% of the vessel’s hull planks are original ‘as built’, being made of teak and rock elm. Fractured planks have been repaired using like-for-like materials before being laminated and treated with epoxy resin. Her diagonal plates, fitted in pairs at an angle of 45 degrees from her bilge strake to sheer strake, have structurally deteriorated and have been over plated with new mild steel. The original rivets had to be removed to fix the new steels, but most of the original material remains intact. Similarly, 19% of butt plates to which the hull plank ends are attached have completely corroded and been replaced. The bilge strake has been over plated its entire port and starboard length. The floors have corroded substantially and have been treated with new steel support angles. The keel was originally constructed in rock elm, but was replaced circa 1921, with longleaf pine.

The fore and aft deadwoods, stern and stem post are all made from teak, with repairs carried out in the same material. The rudder has been lost numerous times over her life and is currently made from teak. The majority of the iron panelling in the counter and all the rivets have been replaced due to structural failure. A large proportion of the iron bulwarks and flare have been replaced. The topgallant pin rail and wooden bulwark panelling has all been restored with teak, keeping examples of rope marks from her working life. Almost all of the deck furniture, mooring bitts, mooring pipes fairleads, cleats, hawsepipe, cable compressors, eye plates, davits, the majority of the chain plates, deck and brace winches, bilge pump, bowsprit, steering gear, are from her working life. Her windlass, catsheads, heads, anchors, nameboards, billboard, gingerbread, sheathing and majority of her yards, jiboom, stuns’l booms and mast have been replaced since she has been in dry dock. All her concrete ballast has been removed. Her main cargo hatch still has her Lloyd’s number and tonnage marks.

Damage to the ship’s decks after the fire of 2007 meant that the main deck, monkey fo’csle, and poop deck have been newly constructed using modern technology, with a teak laminate on a marine ply base. During the project the 1920s ‘tween deck was removed and replaced with a traditionally constructed deck made from Douglas fir. The forward and aft deck houses were reconstructed in the 1950s, with restoration of the Birdseye maple and teak panelling in the saloon. The Portuguese alterations to the accommodation were left in during the 1950s restoration for ease of visitor flow. The ship has been re-rigged as a square rigged sailing ship, representing her days in the China tea trade. Her running rigging has been replaced with natural rope fibres. A number of adaptations have been made to the hull and decks to facilitate access and interpretation in her role as a museum ship. 2. What are the vessel’s associational links for which there is no physical evidence? Associations with people or places. Off-ship research. CUTTY SARK is the sole surviving example of an extreme clipper of the late nineteenth century tea trade.

She was built in 1869 on the Clyde in Dumbarton for ship owner Jock ‘white hat’ Willis and has connections to Scottish literary heritage, being named after a witch’s attire in Robert Burns poem ‘Tam O’Shanter’. CUTTY SARK was designed by Hercules Linton and built by Scott & Linton - a relatively new firm, being only the sixth ship they had constructed. CUTTY SARK was originally built for speed, bringing back the freshest tea from China, which helped to make the beverage popular in the British consciousness. Tea clippers would race to be the first vessel back in London and CUTTY SARK is remembered for a race with her rival, the THERMOPYLAE, in 1872, which saw her lose her rudder off the Cape of Good Hope, arriving home a week later. CUTTY SARK is also associated with the Australian wool trade and, under her famous master Captain Richard Woodget (Master 1885-1895), she had her most successful years setting a record passage of 73 days from Sydney to London.

In 1889 she was spotted overhauling the P&O steamship BRITANNIA, noted in the BRITANNIA'S log simply as “sailing ship overhauled and passed us”! CUTTY SARK has clear international links, not only because of her history with the tea and wool trade, but also because of 25 years of operating under the Portuguese flag. In 1895, she was sold to the firm J. Ferreira & Co. and re-named FERREIRA, sailing to ports around the globe with a variety of cargoes, rigged, after 1916, as a barquentine. Returning to the UK in 1922, CUTTY SARK was restored to her appearance as a tea clipper, she was opened to the public in Falmouth and served as a sail training vessel. In 1938, she was transferred to the Incorporated Thames Nautical Training College at Greenhithe.

She participated in the festival of Britain in 1951, which year also marked the founding of the Cutty Sark Preservation Society by National Maritime Museum director Frank Carr, with HRH Duke of Edinburgh becoming patron (a role he remains active in). CUTTY SARK is now on permanent display, as a memorial to the men of the merchant navy who lost their lives in two world wars and is the only vessel in England to have been awarded Grade I listed status. 3. How does the vessel’s shape or form combine and contribute to her function? Overall aesthetic impact of the vessel, her lines, material she was built from and her setting. Does she remain in her working environment? CUTTY SARK‘s lines were influenced by past designs, notably the ‘Tweed’, another ship in the Willis fleet. He instructed designer Hercules Linton to build ‘into the midship, attributes of Firth of Forth fishing boats, creating a beautiful new hull shape that was stronger, could take more sail and be driven harder than any other’.

She was designed in response to a need for fast ships to compete in the China tea trade and her 963 tonne hull, with its composite construction, gave her the necessary strength and speed to fulfil this demand. CUTTY SARK has a sharp bow with fine lines, a large sail area and a relatively small cargo carrying capacity. She was built from high quality teak and rock elm attached to a wrought iron frame and her square rig carried 32,000 feet of canvas. Relative to her size, this was a greater sail area than that carried by any other clipper, achieving a top speed of 17.5 knots. CUTTY SARK was built to carry cargo and, on her first voyage, she returned with 1.3 million pounds of tea in her lower hold and ’tween deck, accessed by three cargo hatches for loading. Her crew quarters originally consisted of senior officers in the Liverpool house, petty officers in the forward deck house, with bunks to accommodate 22 seamen in the foc’sle of the ship, with only one companion way for entry and exit.

However, this was altered in 1872, adding the aft deckhouse on the main deck for the petty officers and apprentices, with the ABs and OS’s moved into the forward deckhouse, offering easier access for the able seamen. Although no longer operational, CUTTY SARK has been displayed in an appropriate heritage setting since 1954, set in a purpose built dry berth in the world heritage site of maritime Greenwich, in the city she was registered in, with her bow overlooking the river she used to serve. For 50 years, she was held in position by wooden and steel dock shores along her hull, but this caused the hull to sag. In addition, the degeneration of her iron framework put her in danger of collapse. During the 2006-2012 conservation project, a decision was taken to lift her 3.3 metres above her original position, supported by a triangular steel cradle, thus taking the stress off the original structure. The ship was also enclosed below the waterline in a modernist glass structure protecting the lower hull from the elements. Source: NHS-UK team, 5 August 2015.

This statement was developed as part of the Heritage Lottery funded First World War project. Previous names Key dates 1869 Built by Scott & Linton of Dumbarton for London ship owner John Willis 1870-1877 Sailed mainly as a tea clipper, the first voyage took 98 days to Shanghai, returning with 1.3 million pounds of tea 1872 In the first and only race with THERMOPYLAE from Shanghai CUTTY SARK was 400 miles ahead in the Indian Ocean when she lost her rudder and the race 1877 Last tea cargo carried which ended the decade transporting jute from Manila to New York 1880-1882 Carried Welsh coal for the American fleet in Japan.

First Mate killed a crew member and, in the ensuing mutiny, the Captain committed suicide His replacement was an alcoholic and when cholera gripped the crew a second mutiny ensued due to 1880-1883 Vessel used as a wool clipper and, in her first voyage, she made the passage from Newcastle NSW to London in 83 days beating her nearest rival by 25 days 1885 Sold to Portuguese company and renamed FERREIRA Carried general cargo between Lisbon and Brazil, East Africa and New Orleans 1895 Sold to Portuguese company and renamed FERREIRA Carried general cargo between Lisbon and Brazil, East Africa and New Orleans 1916 Dismasted in a gale off theCapeand due to the difficulty of replacing large spars in wartime, she was re-rigged as a barquentine 1921 Returned to London with a cargo of timber and word spread that she was for sale, but an offer was refused 1922 Forced into Falmouth for repairs where Captain Wilfred Dowman, owner of the Falmouth training ship, spotted her She returned to Lisbon and was sold to new owners who renamed her MARIO

 DO AMPORO, but later that year Captain Dowman bought he 1922-1938 Falmouthtraining ship for boys entering the Royal Navy and Mercantile Marine 1924 Restored to her former glory as a clipper 1938 Presented to the Incorporated Nautical Training College TSS WORCESTER and berthed alongside WORCESTER as part of the college at Greenhithe 1938-1953 Used as a Thames training ship 1951 Moored at Greenwich for the Festival of Britain 1953 Handed over to the Cutty Sark Preservation Society Received on their behalf by the Duke of Edinburgh 1954 Permanently installed in purpose built dock at Greenwich 1954-1957 Restored to 1870 condition and opened to the public by HM the Queen in 1957 1990 Structural problems were identified in her hull and plans were put in motion for a further full restoration 2006 Having been awarded a grant of £13 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund, her rig was dismantled prior to work commencing 2007 Fire broke out

 onboard and was put out by the London Fire Brigade 2008 The Heritage Lottery Fund increased its award to the vessel by £10 million 2012 April 25, Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, officially re-opened CUTTY SARK to the public Bibliography 1941 Mariner's Mirror A Survey of the Cutty Sark in 1937 1952 Sea Breezes Preservation of the Cutty Sark 1954 Yachting World Cutty Sark - Last of the Clippers 1966 Royal Institute of Naval Architects 1965, The Restoration of Cutty Sark 1972 Ships Monthly Too much 'ship' 1972 Ships Monthly Lines of the Cutty Sark: New Reconstruction 1974 Mariner's Mirror Thermopylae v Cutty Sark - the 1872 official logs 1978 Old Ships, Boats and Maritime Museums - Sullivan, Dick 1993 International Register of Historic Ships - Brouwer, Norman J 1993 Sea Breezes Condition of the Cutty Sark causes concern 1997

 Classic Boat Cutty Sark skills 2003 Classic Boat Cutty Sark trust needs 8m to 'stay afloat' 2004 Classic Boat Last Chance for Cutty Sark 2010 Classic Boat CB report: chief executive replies 2014 Cutty Sark: The Last of the Tea Clippers - Kentley, Eric Grants 1996-97 The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded £160,000 for restoration 1996-97 The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded £96,432 for conservation plan 1998-9 The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded £198,000 for removal and restoration of the Mizzen mast 2004-5 The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded £50,000 for Phase One project planning 2004-5 The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded £25,001,000 for the Conservation Project 2007 A grant of £40,000 was given towards a technical skills apprenticeship by The Headley Trust 2008 HLF increased their award to the CUTTY SARK by £10 million.

Source: Cutty Sark website, May 2008 If you are the owner of the vessel and would like to provide more details or updated information please contact info@nationalhistoricships.org.uk The Ship Cutty Sark The Ship Cutty Sark The tea clipper Cutty Sark may have been the fastest ship of her day, but the wool trade Cutty Sark obviously was. By a wide margin, too - she won the race from Australia to England ten years out of ten under Captain Woodget. A clipper in the tea trade made her name by her performance in the doldrums. The greater the sail area that could be carried there without being thrown on her beam ends, the better. But for the wool trade, the supreme achievement was the exact opposite - the strength to keep going in the huge swells and high winds of the Southern seas when lesser ships had to hove to, to face the wind with bare poles. Small strong sails, high off the water, were the best there. And, it was there that the staunch hull and strong stern of the Cutty Sark made her unquestionably the Queen of the Seas.

My grandfather joined her at Cardiff in June 1880 to complete his apprenticeship, just after she had been cut down for work as a freight carrier. He lived long enough to teach me my knots. He's at right here in the 1940's, accepting yet another print of a sailing ship as he retired after 35 years as a school trustee. The Cutty Sark inspired much of my childhood learning. Beginning with the places my grandfather sailed to in her, I was drawn into reading of the history and geography of the world, a fascination that has continued throughout my life. And so it is that, after his death in 1962, I began a 1:100 Revell model of her in the rig in which he first saw her, full of coal and being pulled out of dock. Rigging We know precisely her rigging as a tea clipper, for we still have Jock Willis' specification for her and the work book of her carpenter detailing the exact sizes of every stick of her. But, there seems to be no document that survives to detail her rig after she was cut down.

All we have is a work order, dated March 1880, specifying that her lower masts were to be reduced by 9'6", the lower yards shortened by 7', other spars 'in proportion', and the skysail mast and stunsails removed. There is, however, a superb photograph of her taken a few years later by Captain Woodget in Sydney harbour. My grandfather got a copy early this century, also the photo below it, either from Sir Basil or from Captain Woodget. It is shown at right. The rigging is squared to perfection, and the photo can be scaled (perspective-corrected) to a consistency of a few percent except for the bowsprit and gaffs. Here are the results of my scaling relative to the hull, compared to the original lengths quoted in The Log of the Cutty Sark, Basil Lubbock: mast heights above deck m yard lengths m the Cutty Sark in Sydney harbour becalmed in the Doldrums These measurements are reasonably close to the dock order except for some of the top yards, which are shorter. This is the way I'm making it. And, despite grandfather, without stunsails.

The original kit was for a simplified rigging, but Revell kindly provided me with an extra group of blocks to allow me to fully rig mine. Grandfather insisted for all his life that the Cutty Sark was only cut down in 1881 after he left her, and his copy of the Log, dedicated to him by the author, Basil Lubbock, contains an indignant correction to this effect. And grandfather offered specific evidence: the dock order specified that stunsails were to be removed, whereas at least some were still present during his voyage. "Cutting down" a ship's rig was done in most cases simply to save money, which indeed is what Jock Willis had in mind. It was considered an indignity by seamen, which is why Lubbock preferred the date on the dock order to Grandfather's view in this specific instance, although he relied heavily upon Grandfather's journal when writing of the voyages in which he took part.

I suspect that there were two cuttings-down, the first at the date of the dock order that left at least some stunsails, the second in 1881, after grandfather left her, that removed all the stunsails and perhaps shortened the upper yards even more. G.F.Campbell made detailed drawings of her 1870 tea rig for the Cutty Sark Preservation Society, which are essential for any accurate model. However, see my companion page on The Painting of the Ship Cutty Sark before you start painting anything - several of Campbell's colours are wrong. It's not easy repainting deckhouses and blocks through a forest of rigging as I've had to. After surviving WW2 bombs, being rejected by the National Maritime Museum and about to be broken up by the training college that then owned her, she was saved by the London County Council and placed in a display dry dock at Greenwich England under royal patronage. There were several terrible decisions made at that time, mostly due to lack of funds. The worst by far was to cut two gaping holes through her fine hull so the hold could be used for display rooms; she could never sail again.

And, since she was rebuilt to the early tea trade specifications, most of the masting and rigging has never seen salt water, and one of the deckhouses, expanded in later sailing years, was replaced as well. Her hull was prettied up with new sheathing (shown here during my first visit in 1955). As if that wasn't enough, almost all the original teak deck was replaced by new material in the early 1970s and her original decking was thrown out. There were also two curious and highly visible decisions made then with regards to painting. Based apparently on the secondary evidence of a single painting once owned by Jock Willis, and contrary to documents and photos of the time, the house panels and wood masts were varnished rather than being painted white and black respectively. And now, thanks to a faulty vacuum cleaner, even more of her is gone. I hoped that, after the fire, the Cutty Sark Trust would follow the magnificent example of Coventry Cathedral. After its destruction, there was no pretence made that 1945 was the 14th century. Instead, the ruins were stabilised and left as a monument to the destruction of war.

A new cathedral was built in the spirit of its own time, one that has attracted so much pride over the years that in the mid-1960s when I visited, I calculated that if 2s had been paid by each visitor by that time, the amount would already have been sufficient to pay for its entire construction. But, for the Cutty Sark, it isn't to be. Sadly, the Trust is rebuilding her after the fire as a tourist attraction, replacing damaged elements, pretending that nothing has happened. Worse still, they are hoisting her up into the air like a Disneyworld Peter Pan pirate ship. That is fake. The Cutty Sark was genuine. She was a flower of the tea trade, a hard working tramp carrier, the greyhound of the wool trade, once again a general cargo carrier, then a teaching ship, all of it for real. She experienced the ice of the north Atlantic and the southern seas, the heat of the Doldrums, and one of the largest waves ever recorded; salt spray all the time. She is the last survivor of a British technical tour-de-force, the marriage of the strength of a steel hull with the anti-fouling capabilities then only available with copper.

And, she is a symbol of the British mariners who built the empire on which the sun never set. She was all ship. Her spirit and that of her age should be conserved too, not just her fabric. She could be lifted just enough to correct the sagging that has resulted from having all her weight on her keel for so long. She could be placed alongside the port wall of the drydock, with visitor access to view her hull the other side. A transparent 'sea' could still be fitted there, with all-weather facilities under. The port side could be a timber dock, made of timbers of her time from one of the many ports she visited. Access to her deck could then be by gangplank through the taffrail sections used for access throughout her life, and could even be handicap-accessible without destruction of fabric. As the only surviving extreme clipper with full stunsails, she could have all her working lines installed, not just a few as at present, to show dramatically to all who visit the skill required of an able seaman, to correct the dismissive port landlubbers' distortions of those who sailed her and her contemporaries.

My grandfather can never stand on her again, as Captain Woodget was able to when she was returned to the British flag. But, if he could, I wish with all my heart that he could recognise the spirit of the ship he sailed on so many years ago. Greenwich London Cutty Sark Greenwich England Greenwich London Cutty Sark Greenwich England This wooden ship is one of the main tourist attractions in Greenwich, London, England. The Cutty Sark is a Clipper Ship. It is definitely worth a look while you visit London and a few photo's for the holiday album. Over 15 million people have had a tour which has included this wonderful old ship. It makes a memorable trip for the family. A devastating fire, in May 2007 has meant the ship is in need of some urgent repairs. The intent is to restore it fully. The projected date for completion was not available at the time of this publication. Email us The Cutty Sark This fabulous ship is well into its retirement. It still stands proud as a popular tourist attraction in Greenwich, London. This fate is much better than her predecessors and contemporaries. She is second in the hearts of British seamen, only after Nelson's HMS Victory.

The site and ship's number of visitors has easily exceeded 15 million people. Her purpose was to carry tea from China. During her years employed in the tea trade, the Cutty Sark would prove to be exceptionally fast. Clipper Ships - Description and History The Cutty Sark is a clipper ship. These are fast, slender sailing vessels developed in the USA in the mid-1800's. A clipper has a narrow hull that was deeper in the back than at the front. It has many large sails mounted on tall masts. The term "Clipper" came from the way the ships "clipped off" - made short work of - the miles. They would be used both for trade and passengers. The Rainbow, designed by John W. Griffiths and launched in 1845, was the first true clipper ship. Architecture The Cutty Sark was one of the fastest sailing ships ever built. It measured 212' (64.5m) in length and 36' (11m) in width. It had a sail area of 32,292 square feet (3,000 square m).

It could reach speeds of up to 19 miles (31 km) per hour, or 17 knots. Launched for a Purpose The Cutty Sark was launched on a Monday, November 22nd 1869. It was built for John 'Jock' Willis. He was dissatisfied by his current ships. He wanted a vessel that was capable of better performance standards. John Willis had a desire to break the speed record in the annual race, bringing home the first of the new season's tea from China. Cutty Sark's Design Hercules Linton designed it. He molded the bowline of Willis' earlier vessel, The Tweed. He put this into the mid ship attributes of Firth of Forth fishing boats. The result was a new hull shape that was stronger, took more sail and could be driven harder. Unfortunately, it's soon to be owner drove the designer's company into bankruptcy prior to its completion. Denny & Brothers finally finished it. The First Suez Crisis Fate struck again as the French opened the Suez Canal the year she was completed. Her first voyage was to China on a tea run. She left London on this journey, 16th February 1870.

Her hopes of glory would appear to have been thwarted at her birth, because the Suez Canal was not available to clippers. The New Technology of Steam Ships Ruled the Waves Steamer ships, were able to use Suez. These could now reach the Far East via the Mediterranean. The Cutty Sark's freights fell. The tea trade was no longer profitable for the company that owned her. Her last tea cargo was in 1877. Sold and Renamed Fate smiled when the wool trade began in Australia in 1885. She was to be used to her fullest capacity again. But, by 1895, her fortunes plummeted again. This time, because she was no longer profitable, she was sold to a Portuguese group. They renamed her Ferreira. She remained in this company for almost three decades moving between Portugal's colonies. During wartime there was a shortage of timber. Her dismasting in 1916 obliged her owners to re-rig her as a "barquentine" which carried less sail. She was sold to another Portuguese group in 1920 and renamed again asMaria do Amparo.

Purchased by the British and Restored The ship arrived in London's Surrey docks for repairs. Here, she was recognized and purchased by a British captain for over 3700 British Pounds in 1922. Renamed a final time as Cutty Sark, she was restored and re-rigged to her original specification. Upon the owners death in 1938, his widow gave the ship to the Thames Nautical Training College at Greenhithe. She remained there until after the Second World War. The Royal Family Rescues the Cutty Sark Following discussions of her fate, she was towed to Greenwich for the festival of Britain in 1951. After this, HRH Duke of Edinburgh formed the Cutty Sark society. She was moved into a specially built dry dock at Greenwich, where she still stands today. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened her to the public in 1957.

Ten things you should know about Cutty Sark | Royal Museums Greenwich | UNESCO World Heritage Site In London Ten things you should know about Cutty Sark 10 things you should know about Cutty Sark The world's sole surviving tea clipper Find out when she first set sail and where her name came from Previous Next You are here: Home Cutty Sark experience History of Cutty Sark Ten things you should know about Cutty Sark Ten things you should know about Cutty Sark Share What do you need to know about the world famous tea clipper Cutty Sark? 1. Cutty Sark takes her name from a poem by Robert Burns called Tam O’Shanter. It refers to a short nightie worn by one of the main characters in the poem, a young, attractive witch called Nannie. Read more about Robert Burns and Cutty Sark 2. Cutty Sark is the world’s only surviving extreme clipper. Most of the hull fabric you see on her today dates back to her original construction. She has survived heavy seas, war, neglect, obsolescence, fire and old age to be here in Greenwich. Read more about the Merchant Navy 4.

Construction on Cutty Sark began in Scotland in 1869 and she embarked on her maiden voyage from London to Shanghai on 16 February 1870. On her first voyage, Cutty Sark carried ‘large amounts of wine, spirits and beer’, and came back from Shanghai loaded with 1.3 million pounds of tea. Find out more about her tea clipper days 5. The opening of the Suez Canal and the advent of the steamer age made Cutty Sark’s role as a tea clipper obsolete, so she started to carry different cargoes including coal, jute, castor oil and even Australian post from Calcutta to Melbourne. Cutty Sark | Article about Cutty Sark by The Free Dictionary Cutty Sark | Article about Cutty Sark by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Wikipedia . Cutty Sark, three-masted British clipper ship, launched 1869 from Dumbarton, Scotland. The last tea clipper to be built (and the only to survive), she set out on her maiden voyage from London to Shanghai in Feb., 1870. Later (1883–95) she plied the British-Australian wool trade.

Sold (1895) to a Portuguese firm, she carried cargo until 1917, when she was re-rigged as a barquentine. In 1922 she was bought and restored to roughly her original appearance, and was used as a cadet training ship until 1938. Acquired by the Cutty Sark Society in 1953 and restored, the ship became (1957) a maritime museum at Greenwich, SE London. A new restoration begun in 2006 was set back by a fire (2007) that badly damaged the ship. Cutty Sark clipper ship, built in 1869, broke speed records in the tea trade. [Br. Hist.: EB, (1963) V, 830] Greenwich Guide - The Cutty Sark The Cutty Sark The Cutty Sark The Cutty Sark before the fire The Cutty Sark is the most famous tea clipper built, and is the only one to survive, apart from the City of Adelaide aka RNVR Carrick which is now in Australia and being restored before being opened to the public. She is now in dry dock at Greenwich.

She was launched at Dumbarton on the River Clyde, Scotland, in 1869. The name comes from Robert Burns' poem, Tam O'Shanter; Tam meets a group of witches, most of whom are ugly, but for Nannie, who is young and beautiful and is described as wearing only a "cutty sark", i.e., a short chemise or shirt. The ship's figurehead is a representation of this witch. The Cutty Sark's sleek lines and enormous area of sail made her the fastest ship in the race via the Cape of Good Hope for the then particularly money-spinning tea trade with China. Unluckily for her owners, the Suez Canal was opened in the same year as her launch, which is not navigable by sailing ships. Her last cargo of tea was carried in 1877. Later, from 1885 to 1895, she was used in the wool trade with Australia, bringing the new season's clip from Sydney to London, setting new speed records year after year.

By 1895, she was again losing money for her owner and was sold to the Portuguese as the Ferreira, although interestingly enough her crews called her Pequina Camisola ('little shirt'). She was worked by her new owners between Oporto, Rio, and Lisbon for over thirty years until 1920, when she was sold again, this time becoming the Maria do Amparo. In 1922 she underwent a refit in the Surrey Docks, London, and was driven to shelter from a storm in Falmouth harbour on her way home. A Captain Wilfred Dowman saw her there, and bought her from the Portuguese owners, returning her to British ownership again. On Capt. Dowman's death in 1938, his widow presented her to the Thames Nautical Training College at Greenhithe on the Thames, where she was used as a training vessel. After the Second World war she again became surplus and eventually she was towed to Greenwich and placed in a specially constructed dry dock in 1954. After a lot of restoration work she was opened to the public in 1957. Since then more than thirteen million people have visited her.

The ship was badly damaged by fire that broke out around 4.45 am on 21 May 2007. Thankfully, she was undergoing restoration work at the time of the fire, and about fifty per cent of the ship had been removed, including the iconic figurehead, the masts and rigging, the coach house, and a significant amount of planking, so the damage could have been a lot worse. After nearly five years, on 25 April 2012, Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, officially re-opened Cutty Sark Cutty Sark Cutty Sark Cutty Sark, 1872 by Frederick Tudgay (Photo: Cutty Sark Trust) The UK is rich in feats of Victorian architecture and engineering, from Brunel’s graceful and elegant suspension bridge at Bristol, to the vast arches of station roofs like St Pancras, and from grand civic architecture to palatial palm houses. However, of the hundreds of clippers to be built in the early 19th century, only two remain with any degree of integrity; Cutty Sark has recently been restored, while the other, City of Adelaide is awaiting restoration.

The innovation of the Victorian engineers who designed clippers was to combine state of the art materials with a sleek hydro-dynamic hull shape that could slip through the water with least resistance. Cutty Sark’s hull was of composite construction with rock elm planks below the water line and teak above, fixed to a wrought iron framework. This composite construction gave her narrow hull far more cargo space than would have been possible with an all-timber construction, and the rigidity to support three huge masts – the tallest 152 feet. The hull was sheaved in Muntz metal, a type of brass designed primarily as an anti-fouling measure, reducing the growth of weed and barnacles. By the time it was launched in 1869, propeller-driven steam-powered shipping was already competing with sailing craft for the global trade routes. Furthermore, the Suez Canal was completed in the same year. As the canal was unsuitable for sailing ships, it was only steamers that benefitted from the shortcut to Eastern Africa, India and the Far East. As a result this clipper belongs to the final generation of great sailing ships designed for cargo, and she was among the fastest ever to be built.

HISTORY The hull prior to lifting in March 2011, supported on steel props off the sides of the dry dock (Photo: Tim Keeler Photography) The ship today with replica masts and rigging and a painstakingly conserved hull, rises from the roof of Grimshaw’s visitor centre (Photo: Jonathan Taylor) The term ‘clipper’, which simply means a fast ship, had previously been associated with the schooners and brigs used by the Americans to beat the British naval blockade during the War of 1812. The term was adopted to describe the fast, three-masted, narrow-hulled ships of American merchants which emerged in the 1830s and were quickly adopted by the British too. With masts as tall as a 20-storey building, each bearing a number of huge, square sails and with triangular stay sails between, clippers had the ability to carry their cargo much faster than any previous sailing ship. With good winds they could cover 250 miles a day. Cutty Sark was commissioned by the magnate Jock Willis in the 1860s and designed by Hercules Linton of ship builders Scott and Linton at Dumbarton, Scotland.

However, the firm had never built anything of this size before and went bankrupt before the hull was finished. Construction had to be completed by neighbouring shipbuilders William Denny & Brothers. On 22nd November 1869, the ship was launched at Dumbarton, towed to Greenock for closing work on her mast and rigging, and then sailed to London where she was packed and loaded for Shanghai with barrels of alcohol. Cutty Sark set sail on the 16th of February 1870 on the first of eight voyages to carry tea from China. Cutty Sark never lived up to her commissioner’s hopes of winning the race to bring tea back to England, but in 1883 the ship started transporting wool from Australia, and it was here that she found her forte. Her first trip from Gravesend to Newcastle NSW was completed in just 83 days. This was 25 days faster than other vessels on that route at that time. Then, in 1885 the ship, loaded with wool, made a name for herself by covering the distance from England to Sydney in 77 days, and her return voyage took just 73 days.

This was the start of a ten-year reign in which every merchant would know her name. On the night of 25th July 1889 the ship overtook the steam ship Britannia doing 17 knots to the amazement of its crew. Robert Olivey, second officer on the Britannia recorded the incident in the ship’s log: ‘Sailing ship overhauled and passed us!’ By 1895 steamships were taking over every route and Cutty Sark’s owner, who was now making little profit out of her, sold the vessel to a Portuguese firm. In 1916, a year after Portugal declared war on Germany, the ship, which was now named The Ferreira, was badly damaged in heavy seas. With her masts broken, she was hauled into table bay, South Africa and re-rigged as a barquentine due to the high war-time price of masts. In this arrangement only her foremast was square-rigged while the other two were rigged fore-and-aft. In 1922 the ship was spotted by an Englishman named Wilfred Dowman while again being repaired, and a year later he bought her for substantially more than she was worth.

The vessel was brought back to Britain for restoration and she returned to her original name. SAVING CUTTY SARK FOR THE NATION Despite the shortage in materials caused by the first world war, Dowman did well, restoring much of the clipper’s original beauty, and he opened the vessel to the public. After his death in 1936 the ship was sold to Thames Nautical Training College in Greenhithe, Kent where she was used for training cadets. During the second world war Cutty Sark’s masts were dismantled to reduce her visibility, leaving just the stumpy lower sections, and little maintenance was carried out. It was in this condition that the now redundant ship attracted the attention of the National Maritime Museum and, with the help of the Duke of Edinburgh, the Cutty Sark Preservation Society was formed in 1953. After some preparatory repairs the Cutty Sark was moved a new purpose-built dry dock at Greenwich. The plan was to preserve the clipper as a memorial to the Merchant Navy, including those who had lost their lives in the two world wars.

The floor of the ’tween deck was the principal casualty of the fire in 2007 and is now laid with Douglas fir and caulked as in the past, but the ironwork survived (Photo: National Maritime Museum) A programme of restoration and repair followed, primarily to keep out the rain and to consolidate her surviving fabric. By this time the iron frame no longer provided the rigidity required to support her masts, the lower sections of which were of wrought iron and integral with the structure of the hull. Repairs focussed on arresting the decay of the surviving timbers and metalwork, and two of the deck houses which provided the living accommodation for the crew were completely reconstructed. However, the work did not address the fundamental problem posed by the high salt content retained in the structure, which acts as a catalyst for corrosion, and for the next 30 years the ironwork continued to deteriorate. A survey carried out in the 1980s by Three Quays Marine Services found that the structure was dangerous. Props supporting the sides of the ship had begun to cause the hull to deform, some 60 per cent of its fastenings had failed and the surveyors concluded that there was a risk of catastrophic collapse.

THE CONSERVATION PHILOSOPHY By definition, ‘restoration’ means to return a structure to the form it had at a particular point in the past. According to internationally recognised principles set out in the Burra Charter, this may include the removal of accretions or the reassembly of existing components without the introduction of new material. The addition of new material is termed ‘reconstruction’ by the charter, while ‘conservation’, on the other hand, means ‘all the processes of looking after a place so as to retain its cultural significance’. Traditional boat restoration, where the vessel is to be kept sailing, generally involves a much greater degree of renewal than is associated with building restoration. Both the functionality of the boat and the safety of the crew depend on the ability of structure and fabric to withstand constant exposure to abrasion, UV radiation, often violent seas and even collisions. The least intervention possible may therefore involve the replacement of large elements of fabric. The raised hull after completion with information panels in the converted dry dock (Photo: National Maritime Museum) A bid made in 1998 to the Heritage Lottery Fund for assistance with restoration did not take full account of the ship’s new environment and its change in status.

Not only was the ship no longer afloat, Cutty Sark had been a Grade I listed ‘building’ since 1973. The HLF rejected the bid but encouraged a further application that was more conservative in its approach. The Cutty Sark Trust, as the preservation society was now known, formed a limited company to manage the work in 2000, and engineering consultancy Buro Happold was appointed to oversee the conservation and restoration aspects. In turn, a conservation steering group was set up with representatives of the trust and its professional consultants, with meetings attended by representatives of the HLF, English Heritage and Greenwich Council’s conservation officer. The programme commenced in 2002 with a programme of investigation and assessment that lasted four years. Prime considerations were: to stop degradation, including corrosion promoted by chloride to preserve fabric from her sailing days (ie pre 1922) to prevent further distortion of the hull. The Heritage Lottery Fund agreed a programme of restoration in January 2005 and contributed £11.25 million towards an estimated cost of £25 million. This included a visitor centre with a controversial glass bubble designed by Eden Project architects Grimshaw. The programme of investigation continued following funding approval.

Clinker concrete ballast in the hull was hacked out and boards were carefully removed to expose the extent of corrosion. Then, in May 2007, a fire broke out in the ’tween deck, which is the large cargo deck immediately below the top deck. It raged for several hours and initially it was feared that the ship would be lost. Fortunately by then most of the original timberwork had been taken down and stored. The main casualty was the timber flooring of the ’tween deck and some from the main deck, which were to have been reused. Some of the wrought iron of the hull was also damaged, including areas of horizontal plating which braced the frame. Although badly distorted, the wrought ironwork was found to be sound, and some areas of damage were left unstraightened to tell the story. CORROSION The need to halt deterioration of the composite hull structure proved to be one of the most difficult conservation challenges. Investigations had discovered that some timbers retained levels of sodium chloride similar to those of seawater (20,000 parts per million).

As it was not feasible to remove the salt content from all the timbers, the focus was on cleaning and desalinating the ironwork, and on isolating it from its environment with the best paintwork possible. Section through the hull at the entrance to the ship showing one new timber and a conserved original, packed out to restore the shape of the hull. The bolts were fitted into the original holes to avoid damaging original work. Caulking was left out to enable the structure to breathe. (Photo: Jonathan Taylor) Preliminary trials indicated that desalination could be achieved using electrolysis, with small containment tanks constructed around the metal frame. The process was originally developed for ferrous archaeological artefacts recovered from shipwrecks. In essence it involves attaching the negative terminal of a battery to the ferrous artefact (in this case the frame) and the positive terminal to a separate metal object such as titanium mesh. both are immersed in water so that the artefact becomes the cathode and the titanium mesh becomes the anode. Salt (sodium chloride) breaks down in the electrically charged solution (or ‘electrolyte’), with chloride ions drawn to the anode and sodium ions drawn to the cathode.

In the event the process proved impractical for a structure as complicated as this, as well as being expensive and time consuming, and adequate results were found to be achievable through the cleaning process alone. After the timber boards of the hull had been carefully removed, the wrought ironwork was therefore cleaned, first with a low-pressure air abrasive to remove corrosion products, and then by grit-assisted water jetting, again at low pressure. The surface was then tested for residual salts using a salt-contamination meter. If the level exceeded acceptable levels, further cleaning was carried out until a satisfactory level was reached. The metalwork was painted immediately after cleaning to prevent further corrosion using two-pack epoxy zinc phosphate primers, two-pack epoxy micacious iron oxide intermediate coats and two-pack acrylic urethane gloss-finish top coats. Film thickness of the paint system was meticulously controlled throughout. Original ironwork was painted white, as originally, and new steelwork which was introduced alongside to supplement the originals without altering them, was painted grey. RAISING THE HULL Designed as a tea clipper, Cutty Sark was a dry ship.

The reinstated lead flashings and the new composite main deck ensure that rainwater is once again excluded from the structure below (Photo: Steve Perryman, English Leadworks) To prevent further distortion it was essential to remove all the props and take the weight off the keel. The chosen solution was to suspend the hull, once repaired and consolidated, from a series of beams that pass though it from side to side just above her waterline. Each beam has two cables just inside the hull on either side of the ship which are fixed to the keel at the bottom – in essence forming a series of giant inverted coat hangers within the hold of the ship. Each beam is supported off the sides of the dry dock by struts. The system raised the keel off the floor of the dry dock so that it was held in suspension, and the decision was taken to raise Cutty Sark by a further three metres, creating a large visitor facility below and enabling the sleek shape of the hull to be admired from below. However, from outside the appearance of the raised ship now surrounded by Grimshaw’s glass bubble is bizarre, and the design was derided by both the architectural press and the historic ship fraternity.

Inside the ship the new structural support does not detract from the original architecture. Much of the wrought ironwork of the hull is heavily corroded, and the use of the additional ribs has enabled the original wrought ironwork to be retained. KEEPING OUT THE RAIN Although the new roof over the dry dock enables the environment surrounding the hull to be controlled, the environment inside depends on keeping out the rain. In particular leaks in the deck and the drainage system had meant that salt used in frosty weather to keep the main deck safe had contributed to metalwork corrosion below. The integrity of the main deck was essential. As the fire destroyed what little remained of the teak stored for reuse on the deck, Cutty Sark’s main deck was replaced with a modern composite material with a teak veneer. This, combined with traditional leadwork particularly in the scuppers, and repairs to the structural framework ensured its integrity. The degree of renewal necessitated by the fire and by the loss of fabric during her latter years in service means that some parts of Cutty Sark’s fabric have been added to make sense of those elements that are historic. The rigging and masts for example are a reconstruction of her days as a clipper.

Other elements have been added simply to maintain its structural integrity and to avoid further loss of fabric, or for fireproofing. The results may leave the visitor feeling a little uneasy at times, unsure exactly what is original and what isn’t. Below deck, the history is clearer. like it or not, the reconstruction and restoration work does provide an extraordinary illustration of the different philosophical and practical considerations of conservation. The Building Conservation Directory, 2013 Author JONATHAN TAYLOR is the editor of The Building Conservation Directory and a co-founder of Cathedral Communications Limited . This article was prepared with the help of Cutty Sark Trust director Richard Doughty, Steve Perryman of English Leadworks and conservation engineer Jim Solomon of Buro Happold. Historical research was carried out by Aysha Taylor.

Question: What was the main cargo carried by the clipper Cutty Sark
Answer: Tea