Nautical Research Journal


my searches, much of the information I have encountered online about specifi c ships is a reprise of information from Winfi eld, errors and all. You can do better than that with only a little eff ort.


Models and plans Table 4.


T ere are many good and useful secondary sources, but wherever possible, be sure to verify modern information with contemporary documents. Logs and musters will be particularly useful for sorting out inconsistencies and inaccuracies in your initial timeline. T ey will give you the best information about ship location, crew identities, and the like, and can be trusted over details you may have obtained from Winfi eld and the Warship Histories.


As a practical matter, the more recent a secondary source, the more careful you might consider being about specifi c details; verify them from contemporary sources wherever possible. You may be surprised how frequently modern authors have their facts askew.


I have found the secondary sources in Table 4 particularly useful in my hunt for information about the eighteenth-century Royal Navy and its fl eets.


Finally, be wary of online information about your ship. Websites may be one of your fi rst stops in your search but should by no means be your last stop. In


NMM lists many plans available in its extensive collection on its website. You can conveniently shop from home and order online. Delivery to North America usually takes several weeks. Lyon (1993) will give you some clues as to which plans you might expect to fi nd. In case you cannot locate


a plan on the NMM website that you expected to fi nd, you might have some luck if you contact the museum directly. It appears that their full plans collections are not yet catalogued on the website.


If you can identify contemporary models of your ship in museum collections, photographic sessions with the models can be valuable sources of information. NMM has catalogued many models in their collection on their website. Sometimes books and other publications will give you hints about models that might be useful in your search. To arrange a photographic session, you will need to contact the collection owner directly; they may have staff that can help you arrange it while you are in London. Besides the extensive NMM collection of models housed at the Chatham Dockyard, the London Science Museum has an important collection. T ere are other collections in the United Kingdom as well. Be persistent, and start your search early.


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