The origin of the Navy’s use of these clinker built Cutters was the Luggers and Punts used by the Deal Fishermen who worked them off the beach to serve ships anchored in the Downs and awaiting a favorable wind to round South Foreland into the Channel. They were so obviously useful that the Navy purchased numbers of them built locally, as the Royal Dockyards were not equipped for clinker building, and ships from Frigates upwards were issued with them. Carried in Davits they could be launched and recovered quickly for carrying messages from one ship to another or to shore. They were also used extensively to "cut out" enemy ships at anchor, hence they were called cutters. The remainder of the ships boats were stowed forward of the quarter deck - over the open space above the upper gun deck. In action these would be a dangerous source of flying splinters so they were often lowered over the side and towed astern.

Brian Lavery’s research at the The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich produced a ‘sheer draught of a Cutter of the correct date, 1805, and a building specification which showed that it would have been clinker built with wych elm planking on grown oak frames notched for the planks. It transpired that steamed timbers were not in use until the 1850s.

Austin Farrar translated the Sheer Draught- the type of drawing from which every thing up to battle ship size was built in those days (and which comprised a rudimentary lines plan combined with a construction plan)- into a regular orthographic lines plan and offset table, and a construction plan, which would be understood by today’s boat builders. See Fig 1 below (click on the image to enlarge).

The stem is laminated from 1/8-inch mahogany veneers, and is scarphed and glued onto the iroko keel. The sternpost is also iroko, mortised into the keel and glued and pegged. Temporary building moulds made from lofted ‘screive board’ were set up on the keel at 25 inch centre's, and a laminated frame fixed alongside each to take the planking. Additional frames at half-stations were laminated in place after the planking was complete, and floor timbers across the keel were glued and fastened to the frames. On each frame are wedges filling the space between frame and plank, to simulate the notched grown oak frames of the specification.

There are 12 planks of ½ inch marine grade plywood each side with the wash strake above the gunwale cut out for the oar ports and supported by the rowing thole pins. These are structural and are set into the open gunwale, which also houses the heads of the frames. Three of the six thwarts are structural with knees to the side and gunwale, while the others are lighter and portable and could be removed if the cutter was carrying a bulky load with a reduced number of oarsmen. While not indicated on the draught it was found necessary to fit stanchions under each thwart as they sprung up and down when pulling on oars.

Mast positions were shown on the draught with the mainmast housed in the mid ship thwart and the foremast in a gunwale-height thwart 3 feet from the stem. Reference to the 1794 New York edition of Steel’s Elements of "Mast making, Sail making, and Rigging" made it possible to devise the complete rig, and the sails were made from a synthetic fabric which closely resembles traditional flax, and roped and finished by hand using a synthetic rope indistinguishable from the now unobtainable hemp.

The masts which are of the appropriate sections for the period appear heavy compared to current practice but once again look right when stepped. There is no standing rigging and making fast the halyards on the weather side provides the sole support. The sails were very well made with modern rot proof material by James Lawrence of Brightlinsea, which gives every appearance of being old time sail cloth, and is a pleasure to handle. Both Sheets and Halyards also appear to be of hemp but are in fact made of modern fibres. Both fore and main are of dipping lug.

Sailing trials in Portsmouth Harbour confirmed that the cutter, with no drop keel would normally have been rowed if the wind were contrary; but with sheets eased on a reach her easily driven hull allows her to overtake modern yachts of a greater size, as demonstrated at the Cowes Classic in 1997. The older seamanship manuals advised the carriage of water ballast in rum barrels to enable the boat to carry her way better. In all, the 1805 Cutter is a pleasure to sail and with a good crew the very simplicity of the rig is an asset. One can now appreciate why, when the dipping lug rig was replaced by the sloop rig, some dipping lug boats were retained for training as they were, in the words of the manual, ‘the only remaining type of boat in which competitive sail drill can be carried out satisfactorily.

Under way with square section oars and rowlocks the 1805 cutter compares favorably with the 27-foot Montague whalers of a century later. When under oar she settles down with a rhythmic clunk of the oars in the rowlocks, and one can see why the oars were muffled on clandestine operations.

One has to remember that the Cutters were essential as the ship seldom berthed alongside. Ships boats were also used to carry boarding and landing parties. Fitted with a boat gun and an armed crew, including marines, they proved an effective weapon.

They could also carry a field gun, usually a six pounder slung underneath the boat which could be landed on a suitable beach and, once the water had been tipped out of the barrel, was ready for immediate use.

Examples of the above can be viewed in the Photo Book

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