A small schooner with big ideas
Peggy is under 27 feet long, but she carries an unusual set of features.
The Peggy is a real boat, built in Castletown in the Isle of Man. Every fact is in our own words with its source linked beside it. Where good sources disagree, we show each version.
Hull and size
She is clinker-built, with overlapping planks, and open, with sawn frames. National Historic Ships UK
She began as a small working-boat shape with six oar holes, schooner rigged with a bowsprit. National Historic Ships UK
She is 26 feet 5 inches long overall, with a beam of 7 feet 8 inches and an inside depth of 6 feet. castletown.org.im
Her Admiralty licence of 1793 describes her as of 6.5 tons burthen. castletown.org.im
Her main planking is pine, between 6 and 8 inches wide and 7/8 inch thick. castletown.org.im The rubbing strakes on the top three planks seem to be teak, like the moulding on the transom. castletown.org.im
Her ribs and floors are oak, and the hull is held with heavy iron bolts. castletown.org.im
She was a little narrow for her length, with low sides, so she was rather wet to sail. National Historic Ships UK
Rig
Her rig seems to have been a gaff mainsail, a gaff foresail and a jib. castletown.org.im
In her form and rig she is the only surviving direct link with 18th-century working vessels and naval cutters. MNH statement of significance, 2021
Craft like her were carried by Captain Cook’s ships Resolution and Adventure. National Historic Ships UK
Boats of her shape were used in Manx waters, the Irish Sea, and on the American coast north of Boston. National Historic Ships UK
She is about the size of the Bounty’s launch, in which Captain Bligh made his 4,000-mile voyage, but with much sleeker lines. castletown.org.im
Sliding keels
She had three sliding keels fitted through her keel, forerunners of the centreboard. National Historic Ships UK
A 1791 letter from Quayle’s brother Thomas describes meeting the sliding keel’s inventor, Captain (later Admiral) Shank. National Historic Ships UK
Shank may have used her as an experimental craft for his design. National Historic Ships UK
Her present keel is a replacement, but the original, with its three slots, survives. National Historic Ships UK
Manx National Heritage’s 2021 statement calls her the earliest known and only surviving boat with sliding keels, a technology now everywhere. MNH statement of significance, 2021
Try it: keels up or down?
Pick one to see the difference.
Both views are shown below.
Keels up
Our explanation: with the keels pulled up, less of her sits below the water, so she needs less depth.
Keels down
Our explanation: lowered keels give the water more to push against, so she slips sideways less when sailing across the wind.
They made her much more manoeuvrable, and the slots can still be seen. castletown.org.im
Instead they put down the sliding keels, which let them keep going and reach Castletown Bay. castletown.org.im
Guns
She carries eight small cannon: six a foot long, three a side, and two slightly longer as stern chasers. National Historic Ships UK
Her 1793 licence lists six small swivels and six fowling pieces. castletown.org.im
When she was built, war with France was coming again, and privateers haunted the seas round the Island. castletown.org.im
How was she armed?
Her 1793 licence lists six small swivels and six fowling pieces. castletown.org.im
She carries eight small cannon: six a foot long, three a side, and two slightly longer as stern chasers. National Historic Ships UK
Two boats in one
Early on she was heavily altered: a new strake and gunwale raised her sides, the six oar ports were plugged and the thwarts moved higher. National Historic Ships UK
National Historic Ships UK dates those alterations to 1802. National Historic Ships UK The sliding keels were taken out in the 1802 renovation. National Historic Ships UK
Her transom was raised too, yet the letters PEGGY still show on the old paint, matching the earlier, shallower transom. National Historic Ships UK
The changes turned a light, fast rowing boat into a heavier sailing one. National Historic Ships UK
The extra strake spoiled her looks a little but probably made her more seaworthy. National Historic Ships UK
It also says she is really two boats in one: her 1802 form laid over the original of 1789. MNH statement of significance, 2021
Paint
Her painted transom survives, with a decorative motif and the words George Quayle Castletown. castletown.org.im
Underneath, an earlier scheme shows the name PEGGY in gilt on green. castletown.org.im
The sliding keels are the reason Peggy matters beyond the Isle of Man: a 1790s experiment with an idea that ended up on dinghies everywhere.
Next: the 1796 voyage →