HMS Investigator Model Ship

The HMS Investigator Circumnavigated Australia

About the HMS Investigator wooden scale Model Ship

This model ship of the HMS Investigator was custom built from the following information:

• The original construction drawings.

About the construction of the HMS Investigator wooden scale Model Ship

• The hull is built using the Double Plank-on-Bulkhead construction method
• The bulkheads and keel are cut from marine grade pine plywood
• The first layer of planking is done plank by plank using Mahogany planks
• The second layer of planking is done using Mahogany Veneer strips
• The deck is made of Anagre, a light brown timber from the Amazon
• The hull is sheathed with real copper plates below the waterline
• The gunwale and stringers are made of American Walnut
• The fife rails and pin racks are made of American Walnut
• The deckhouses and gangways are made of Teak
• The masts and yards are made of Mahogany dowels
• The sails and ropes are made of linen
• The model is painted with acrylic paint
• The ornaments are cold cast in bronze and painted

Learn more…

History of the HMS Investigator

The Investigator is a ship-sloop build in Sunderland and was launched in 1795 under the name Fram.   She had a complement of 88 and an armament of 22 guns.

In 1798 she was purchased by the Royal Navy to serve as an escort vessel and was renamed Xenophon.

Three years later she was renamed the Investigator. Under the command of Lt Matthew Flinders, the Investigator set sail from Spithead for Australia on 18 July 1801, calling at the Cape of Good Hope before setting out across the Indian Ocean. On 6 December 1801 sighting Cape Leeuwin of South West Australia. The Investigator circumnavigated Australia (with its fair share of troubles) between 6 December 1801 and 9 June 1803.

In 1804 Governor King of Sydney ordered a survey, which found that the Investigator could be repaired and returned to service.

In 1805 the Investigator sailed back to England, carrying two of Flinders’ botanists, Robert Brown and Ferdinand Bauer and their collections.

The Investigator continued in naval service for another few years, but in November 1810 the Investigator was sold with the intent to break her up. However the Investigator was not broken up but rebuilt as a commercial sailing vessel, brig or snow rigged and reverted to her former name Xenophon. As such, she continued to sail the globe up until 1861. In 1861 in Melbourne she was converted to a storage hulk and was registered as such.

In 1868 was the last change of ownership.

In 1872 the register was closed with the comment “broken up”.

Member of The Nautical Research Guild

Learn more about the HMS Investigator: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Investigator_(1801)