Boat Facts

-- Constructed in approximately 1817 as one of 12 survey ships whose main purpose was to map distant coastal regions. Darwin joined the ship's third commission under Commander Robert FitzRoy.

-- Surveyed the coastal waters and harbors of various South America countries, Tierra del Fuego, The Galapagos Islands, Tahiti, and New Zealand during a voyage lasting almost 5 years.

-- Charles Darwin served as an unpaid naturalist on the ship at age 22. His journal became the book "The Voyage of the Beagle." Darwin's evolutionary ideas formed during his passage on the Beagle were written in his famous work, "On The Origin of Species."

-- After Darwin's Voyage, the Beagle was attached to Britain;s customs and excise department to apprehend smugglers.

-- In 1870, the ship was sold to scrap merchants.

-- Remains of a boat matching the Beagle may have been located in the marshes of Essex, east of London, buried under 12 feet of mud.

Model Facts

-- Details for the model HMS Beagle came from various books describing Darwin's Boat. Plans were scaled primarily from details furnished in the excellent book, "Anatomy of the Ship, HMS Beagle," by Karl Heinz Marquardt, Conway Maritime Press, 1997.

-- Materials. Decking: poplar; Planking: alder;

Deck pins: bamboo; Masts and booms: tapered birch dowels. Ships boats: made with planking and decking of same materials as the ship (note ore details); Rigging lashings: tied with the use of hemostats and magnifying glasses; Anchor winch and ratchet: carved and hand-filed wood gears and drum. Hammocks: foam rubber (originals were canvas, stored above deck, and taken below for sleeping by half the crew at a time.

-- Time to completion: approximately 8 months work, 8 hours per day.

Rigging Detail

Topside View