....cont
From the evidence of the 2013 recreation of the voyage, we can see clearly that the replica of the Caird was not the easiest boat to steer and the rudder wasn’t sufficiently effective enough to allow for such fine manoeuvres, the Caird was certainly not a sailing dinghy with a responsive, balanced helm.
Seb’s research into the Caird is ongoing. Seb concludes that the James Caird was deliberately commissioned as a modified lifeboat of carvel rather than clinker build His quest to build the most accurate replica of the boat is leading him to make further discoveries about how and why she was built the way she was. One of the biggest challenges he has to overcome is unravelling 100 years of legend, flawed memories and opinion and get back to the original facts. We’ll be following his progress closely and will report on any further discoveries he makes.
Sail Arrangement & Rigging by Seb Coulthard
There are no photographs of the James Caird under full sail, only artist impressions of what the rig would have looked like as described by Worsley and Shackleton in their individual accounts. Close examination of the James Caird at Dulwich College, and Frank Hurley’s iconic photographs, reveal that various original components in the currentrunning and standing rigging are missing.
All known features are reproduced in the J. Caird replica including fittings not installed on the original lifeboat during her last restoration in 1968. By close scrutiny of historical records and photographic archives, the J. Caird (its proper name as stencilled by the crew) is the most accurate seaworthy representation of Shackleton's lifeboat in the world.
The mizzen mast and mizzen sail fitted to the original James Caird were removed from the Stancomb-Wills and cut down to size. In the iconic photographs of the James Caird departing Elephant Island, its possible to see the Stancomb-Wills and the Dudley Docker without masts as both vessels had donated many of their fittings to equip the James Caird.
The current suit of sails fitted to the James Caird are not authentic to the 1916 period, they are replicas produced around the late 1960s. These sails have been cut flat and wouldn't perform well at sea. Sail canvas has to be lofted leaving enough curvature in the material so that it can take shape over time; this process gives sails the ‘bulgy’ appearance we are so familiar with. This method of sailmaking, better known as broadseaming, has now been replaced by computerized sail design. The bolt rope stitched around the periphery of the sails maintains the shape and prevents the edge from fraying or stretching. Fortunately, the original mizzen sail still survives and can be seen at Dulwich College. Today, if you stand in the North Cloister of the college and when compared with the sails fitted on the original James Caird, you will notice a distinct difference.
With sail making experience gathered over a lifetime at sea, traditional sailmaker Philip Rose-Taylor has determined that the material used for the original sails was a natural fibre, probably Royal Navy No.7 duck canvas made by Francis Webster’s of Arbroath. Only the mainsail and jib sail can be reefed, their reef points aligned with the clews of the sails so that the sheet leads don’t require re-positioning.
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