Structural model; Keelblocks and wedges

Scale: Unknown. The model is made entirely in wood and shows a section of slipway or dock floor mounted with a series of wooden blocks and keel wedges. The model is stained and varnished and consists of sixteen individual blocks of wood on top of which are a series of V-shaped wedges which would support the keel of a ship during construction or maintenance within a dry dock or slipway. The baseboard is a long rectangular shape and has a wedge shaped insert for a thumb to presumably pull it out from another part of the model. There is a small gap before the keel blocks start at the highest point and gradually reduce in size.

Object Details

ID: SLR2493
Collection: Ship models
Type: Structural model; Keelblocks and wedges
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Unknown
Date made: circa 1800
People: South Kensington Museum; Read, Mr Read, Mr
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Overall model: 50 mm x 1045 mm x 40 mm