Explore the almanac
Museum boats are often remembered for dramatic voyages or impressive size. An everyday working vessel offers another route into maritime history: asking how…
A ship’s name beside an object can look like a finished identification. Sometimes the most useful word on the label is the small qualification explaining…
From a quay, much of a vessel is hidden below the water. A ship displayed in a dry dock changes the view: the surrounding structure becomes part of the…
A launching photograph often places a bottle, a sponsor and a crowd at the centre of the frame. The ship may be enormous, yet this small ceremony supplies…
The ridges along a wooden hull can reveal something more interesting than decoration. On a clinker-built boat, neighbouring planks overlap. Looking along…
A ship model mounted against a board can present only one side of the hull. That partial form is worth understanding before assuming that the object has…
The harbour on the front of a postcard may seem to explain the object. Turn it over, where permitted, and a different story can appear: who sent it, what…
A quick sketch made after a sailing lesson can become confusing when boats, pontoons and lines all receive the same kind of mark. Separate the things that…