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: Un ...

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 River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

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 Is ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, 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 early flying boat that won the Mortimer Singer prize. 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