Consuta was a form of construction of watertight hulls for boats and marine aircraft, comprising four veneers of

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus '' Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: U ...

planking interleaved with waterproofed

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

and stitched together with copper wire. The name is from the latin for "sewn together". The technique was patented by Sam Saunders of Goring-on-Thames and was first used on the 1898 umpire's steam launch of the same name. Having been restored, the steam launch Consuta was returned to service on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

on 15 October 2001. After opening the S. E. Saunders boatyard at

East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

, the technique was further used to build the crew and engine gondolas for HMA1 Mayfly, Britain's first airship. Later, the same technique was used to construct the hull of the

Sopwith Bat Boat The Sopwith Bat Boats were British flying boats designed and built from 1912 to 1914. A single-engined pusher biplane, the Bat Boat was the first successful flying boat and amphibious aircraft built in the United Kingdom, with examples used by ...

, the early

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fuselag ...

that won the

Mortimer Singer prize Sir Adam Mortimer Singer, KBE, JP (25 July 1863 – 24 June 1929) was an Anglo-American landowner, philanthropist, and sportsman. He was one of the earliest pilots in both France and the United Kingdom. Childhood and family Singer was born in ...

. The technique remained in use until waterproof glues became available in the 1950s.

External links

The Consuta Trust

References

Shipbuilding Steamboats Composite materials {{shipbuilding-stub