Object data
wood
height 3.4 cm × width 12.6 cm × depth 5 cm
anonymous, anonymous
Model of a Set of Rudder Irons
United Kingdom, Netherlands, United Kingdom, c. 1830
Inscriptions
- number, on the parts: N1 // N2
- inscription, on the part labelled 'N1': uitvinding / vanden heer Lihou
Provenance
...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883
Object number: NG-MC-224
Copyright: Public domain
Entry
Two models representing a set of rudder irons of Lihou’s design. The rudder iron with the friction pintle and gudgeon is incomplete: the friction plates are missing. The other rudder iron is similar to an ordinary rudder iron except for the pintle, which can be removed and has a flat ring around it.
These rudder irons were patented by Lihou in London in 1829, no. 5781. They minimized friction and facilitated repairs and were generally adopted in the British Navy around 1830. The Dutch Navy rejected them, however, not convinced about the advantages, and because pintles were seldom damaged on Dutch ships,1 on which, contrary to British practice, the rudder was not locked vertically into its pintle scores.
The Dutch Navy experimented with these rudder irons in Antwerp in 1830, with the vessels Ortelius and Van der Werff. The irons were fabricated for the occasion by J. van Leemputte in Antwerp, but the precision required for production was a major obstacle. Another experiment was carried out in 1832 with the brigantine Postillon.2
Literature
J. Lihou (trans. C.J. Glavimans), Gebeurtenissen en opmerkingen wegens het gevaar en de moeijelijkheden vergezellende de tegenwoordige wijze van het aanhangen der scheepsroeren ... , [London 1830]; A. Oudijk van Putte, ‘Nieuwe uitvinding betrekkelijk de roerstellen’, Tijdschrift toegewijd aan het zeewezen 1 (1831), pp. 239 ff.; A.E. Tromp, ‘De zamenstelling der roerstellen, naar de uitvinding van John Lihou’, Tijdschrift toegewijd aan het zeewezen 1 (1831), pp. 243 ff.; J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 224; A.A. Lemmers, Het marinemodellenkamerprojekt, coll. cat. Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum) 1986, p. 32
Citation
J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'anonymous or anonymous, Model of a Set of Rudder Irons, c. 1830', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.244036
(accessed 25 April 2024 07:46:06).