Clipper Ship Cutty Sark

[sarongsong]

May 21, 2007
LONDON: A fire caused heavy damage to the clipper ship Cutty Sark...the world's only surviving example of an extreme clipper, regarded as the ultimate development of a merchant sail vessel... Herald Tribune

Foul play?

[Doctor Know]

If it is arson, I hope that the culprit if caught, is hung from whatever is left of the yardarms. Sad. Hopefully, due to the restoration work underway parts of the ship are safe.

There is actually an older surviving clipper City of Adelaide in Glasgow. Hope it doesn't get scorched too.

[Frog march]

I hope that they dont repair it with lots of modern material.

If they did that they you wouldnt know what was original or not.
It would be better to leave it in the dry dock all burnt.

[Maksutov]

Original materials are typically used for restoration by those who know what they're doing. Check out the Mystic Seaport website for information on just how careful persons doing professional restorations can be.

BTW, one of their most prized craft, schooner Brilliant, was piloted by my son back in 1989, on a journey from Mystic out around Cape Cod and the Atlantic to Boston Harbor.

Shame about the original Cutty Sark material that was lost though. What a fine ship she was! And hopefully will be again!

[Ronald Brak]

I hope that they dont repair it with lots of modern material.

If they did that they you wouldnt know what was original or not.
It would be better to leave it in the dry dock all burnt.

I wouldn't sweat it. There are temples in Japan that are hundreds of years old and completely rebuilt every 25 years or so.

[Damien Evans]

cause of earthquakes, or materials used?

[Argos]

The Cutty Sark entry on Wikipedia is already updated with information on the fire. The author of the edit quotes the Chairman of Cutty Sark Enterprises as saying: "The decks are unsalvageable but around 50% of the planking had already been removed; however, the damage is not as bad as originally expected."

[captain swoop]

The hull is ok, About 60% of the ship is in storage. Last news report was about an extra £5 mil on top of the £25 they have for the restoration. Having lived in greenwich I am suprised it wasn't burned years ago.

[The Supreme Canuck]

The hull's okay? Last I heard, there was concern about warping.

[Ronald Brak]

cause of earthquakes, or materials used?

Both these reasons. Earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, war and because they are made of unpainted wood.

[Frantic Freddie]

I'd like to see the Cutty made seaworthy,what a magnificient sight that would be,all her sails set & flying along at what,30+ knots?

[captain swoop]

I had the tour back in the 90s when i lived in Greenwich.

It would be cheaper and easier to build a new ship than to get this one back in the water. Even with £25 mil restoration it won't ever float again.

[Jens]

cause of earthquakes, or materials used?

I'm not an expert at all, but I think it has more to do with the availability of materials. Japan is covered with mountainous forests, and the road system wasn't very well developed early on, so I think it would have been hard to transport stones. But good trees (like cedar) are available anywhere.

Maybe somebody with architectural knowledge could give an answer. But I have a feeling it's related to this question: why are houses in the northern US typically wood houses, whereas those in the south are often made of brick?

BTW, temples in China are also typically made of wood, I think.

[lti]

why are houses in the northern US typically wood houses, whereas those in the south are often made of brick?

Termites

[Nicolas]

Am I right that the cutty sark has metal "ribs" onto which the wooden hull planking is attached, over which a metallic finish is painted or something like that?

I've seen at least two tall ships races, so I've seen my deal of large sail ships. Still have a very nice pic of a huge sail ship (Amerigo Vespucci or something in that class) with an even larger modern Ro-Ro in the background. Never seen the Cutty Sark though, mainly because it isn't seaworthy which is a basic requirement to participate in a boat race and hence be spotted therein .

btw the Vespucci actually is a quite recent ship and has a metal hull. But it's an excellent training ship, and it looks just as impressive as the old ones.

I've seen the Vespucci at 2 tall ships races, once in Ghent and I think I even ran into her once in Denmark (can't remember whether it was the Vespucci or a similar ship, maybe the Christoforo Colombo). That ship is tracking me. Oh well, it suits my class better than those ordinary loud black choppers.

[Donnie B.]

Am I right that the cutty sark has metal "ribs" onto which the wooden hull planking is attached, over which a metallic finish is painted or something like that?

I think (though I could be wrong) that the Cutty Sark's hull was of fully wooden construction (exept for external copper anti-fouling cladding). It was one of the last great tall ships built before the onset of iron and steam.

I built a plastic model of her when I was a teenager. The rigging was rather time consuming. I ended up getting hired to build another copy for a friend of my Dad's.

[Nicolas]

Hey, my GF built the Bismarck at over 1m length..as a paper model. It was NUTS I tell you . Even had fully detailed airplanes on board.

[Nicolas]

Apparently it does indeed have these iron "ribs":

[re the fire]they are most worried about the iron framework to which the fabric is attached

[Zachary]

Oh dear . I hope it wasn't arson; why would people deliberately burn such a beautiful piece of heritage? Nevermind, I already know the answer :roll:

But I doubt they'll use modern materials to repair it; it wouldn't cost £30 million to restore if they did! :P