Hi Rhiannon and Gavin, I am very interested in this conversion and I hope you don't mind if I join because I have a similar problem. My Gibson family owned about 9 "colliers/merchant ships" over the time period 1827 t0 1871 at North Shields and thanks to Adi, I have the ships names and most ON numbers and measurements. Most were built in Sunderland and some in Shields. I am researching the movements and history of these ships and am also a keen but novice model builder. It is now clear that they were not only coastal operators but went to the Canada, East and West Indies at the time. I would very much like to have a plan of a Merchant sailing ship of about 400 tons and about 120x23x17 feet from that time. Any advice would help! Regards, Albie Gibson South Africa -----Original Message----- From: mariners-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:mariners-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of rhiannon lewis via Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2015 10:35 PM To: Gavin McLelland; Mariners Subject: Re: [MAR] Ship's plan Hi Gavin Thank you for your reply. I really am stuck! The ship was built by Laird Brothers and it was a fast mail ship for Chile. Are you saying that similar ships built by Lairds at the time would be close to the same design? Or that the subsequent owners of the ship would have plans? The Compania Sud Americana de Vapores have lost all their records from what I understand so are unlikely to have anything. Perhaps a trip to Wirral archives is on the cards to see what else they have which might help. Soon after launch the 'Imperial' was commandeered for the Chilean Civil War and fitted out for battle so she had an interesting time of it.The closest ship in shape (although not in size) that I have found was Harland and Wolff's Majestic. I just wish I had a maritime background and understood more about ships! Rhiannon > Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2015 21:14:25 +0100 > From: gavin.mclelland@btinternet.com > To: rhiannonglynn@msn.com; mariners@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [MAR] Ship's plan > > Rhiannon > > There's an old Naval Architects joke that goes something like this > > Metal Shop workers work to the nearest 1/1000th of an inch Carpenters > work to the nearest 1/4 of an inch Shipbuilders work to the nearest > ship > > Any ships built in the area that were intended for a similar purpose > will probably be very similar. > > You may have tried this already but if the ship was built for a > reasonably large shipping line you may be able to find some drawings > of the vessel in their archives > > Gavin > > > On 13/04/2015 11:06, rhiannon lewis via wrote: > > > > > > Dear all > > I would appreciate any help at all this - I have hit a brick wall! > > I have been searching for a ship's plan for the 'Imperial' launched in 1889 by Laird Brothers of Birkenhead. She was a screw steamer with 3 masts and 2 funnels. I have a photograph for her but try as I might I cannot find a ship's plan. I have tried Wirral archives (where all the Laird Brothers archives are stored) and the National Maritime Museum with no luck. It seems that the plans no longer exist. > > The next step is to find a similar ship's plan. I cannot post a photograph here but if anyone thinks they might be able to help me locate a similar plan then I can send the photograph on to them. I even have a picture of her saloon. > > Thank you in advance! > > Rhiannon > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > MARINERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MARINERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message