Heart of Oak

Our newest vessel, Heron, is currently under construction in our New England shipyard. Her keel was laid in June 2009, and we estimate her hull will be done by fall 2011. Rigging will happen all winter, and with any luck, she’ll finally be done in time for the 2012 reenacting season.

Follow her progress with our news updates!

Heron is being built along the general hull lines of a Bantry Bay gig, with the notable difference that she will be decked over to provide sheltered sleeping room and cargo space. Her rig will probably be some variation of a gaff square-fore-tops’l ketch, but the final rig configuration will depend on initial testing and further experience. (As our captain & chief builder points out, “The numbers look good on paper, but we sail on water.”) She has a full-length shoal keel, with a dead-plum stem and bluff bow, buxom wineglass transom, & small false gallery at the stern. Heron’s bulwarks will be low, with the rail pierced for belaying pins and swivel guns along the full length at an average six-inch spacing. Our swivel guns are designed so the yokes will fit into the standard pinrails on our vessels. Despite her size, Heron is still road-legal on her trailer, thus giving her the unique position of being one of the very few trailerable small tall ships!

Length: 33′ at the waterline; 35′ on deck.

Sparred length: Approximately 50 feet.

Beam: 8 feet

Depth of hold: Approximately 4′ 8″ (from keel to decking)

Theoretical draft: 3′ 6″ – this is what we’re calculating; obviously, we won’t know for certain until she’s in the water.

Hull construction: White oak single-sawn frames, lap-jointed, with hemlock planking and decking of Douglas fir. Fastenings: predominantly black locust trunnels, wrought-iron nails, and galvanized bolts. All joints and fasteners are tarred to intercept corrosion and rot.

Tonnage (register): Approximately 4.7-5.2

Ballast: Outside – Iron keel shoe, approximately 600 lbs. Lead keel-blocks, approximately 600 lbs. Inside – Water tanks (secured screw-lid plastic barrels) filled with drinking water for longer trips. Adjusted as required for situation.

Mast heights:
Main: Estimated 30′ proud of deck
Mizzen: Estimated 25′ ditto

Spars:
Main boom: Estimated 16′
Mizzen boom:  Estimated 9 ‘
Main gaff: Estimated 12′
Mizzen gaff: Estimated 7′

Top-masts will depend on her stability testing.

Armament: Will vary, lots. Dependent on suppliers/location/funds. Ideally, eight swivels, one three-pounder and whatever else we can find room, budget and crew for. We are hoping to find that there will be stability and room for one of the artillery units to set up on deck now and then.

Propulsion: Sail, oar, auxiliary engine. Heron will be set up to show eight sweeps (each about 12′ long) and be set up for an optional steering oar. Non-authentic auxiliary power is currently under investigation. (The current favorite is a “cavitation-plate mount” large saltwater trolling motor on a “receiver-hitch” mounted to the rudder-stock. The battery bank would be charged with the option of either PV and/or a small diesel generator set in a deck-box.)

Crew: We estimate Heron will require a crew of 2-3, and probably carry a crew of up to 5-6 at reenactments and tacticals. Anything else is just guesswork right now.