Shipbucket

Could someone possibly explain the difference between the various types of lifeboats I keep seeing? (Cutters, launches, whaleboats, etc.)

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"The first phase of the operation did not go as planned." - Anonymous

Think of them more as work boats than life boats, The names just refer to different designs (of hull shape, sails, oars and motors) and sizes and for different jobs.

Ah, okay.

I will soon be posting what I think is a rather odd merchant ship.

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"The first phase of the operation did not go as planned." - Anonymous

And here is said odd merchant ship.

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"The first phase of the operation did not go as planned." - Anonymous

One issue I can see is the lack of forwards view and the shallow bridge

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Work list(Current)
Miscellaneous|Victorian Colonial Navy|Murray Riverboats|Colony of Victoria AU|Project Sail-fixing SB's sail shortage
How to mentally pronounce my usernameRow-(as in a boat)Don-(as in the short form of Donald)Dough-(bread)
"Loitering on the High Seas" (Named after the good ship Rodondo)
There's no such thing as "nothing left to draw" If you can down 10 pints and draw, you're doing alright by my standards

I couldn't find any sort of viewing platform on any examples of this type of ship.

And the bridge is not a room, it's just the front and side walls.

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"The first phase of the operation did not go as planned." - Anonymous

Enclosed bridges for almost all ocean going ships became a norm just before 1901.

Also you have a blindspot that seems actually longer than the ship itself, which in itself is a huge issue for a ship which is half the length of ships with similar sized blindspots

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Work list(Current)
Miscellaneous|Victorian Colonial Navy|Murray Riverboats|Colony of Victoria AU|Project Sail-fixing SB's sail shortage
How to mentally pronounce my usernameRow-(as in a boat)Don-(as in the short form of Donald)Dough-(bread)
"Loitering on the High Seas" (Named after the good ship Rodondo)
There's no such thing as "nothing left to draw" If you can down 10 pints and draw, you're doing alright by my standards

A nice looking ship, but the greatest problems with the design were already mentioned by Rodondo.
Some details are obviously lacking, such as vents, specifically near the funnel area (engine and boiler rooms), some portholes for crew accommodation, these being mostly near the bows and stern of the ship, officers were usually quartered in the bridge house (which is too small in your ship BTW).
A small life boat near the bridge is also needed
Some more details in the drawing will also enhance the look of the ship.

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Thank you Kim for the crest

"Never fear to try on something new. Remember that the Titanic was built by professionals, and the Ark by an amateur"

A typical 1901 build ship. SS Mount Temple

(Hilarious big picture)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... C_1901.jpg

Cutters were a specialized type of ships' boat that could be either powered by sails, oars, steam plant or petrol (gas) or diesel engines, depending on era. They could be armed with a small caliber gun, and usually transported officers around the fleet or ashore. The usual sizes varied between 35 ft up to 54 ft. A launch was a fairly long, broadbeamed, and relatively shallow longboat, which could hoist sails on, usually one, but occasionally two masts; usually some kind of schooner or yawl rigging. due to their generous beam, they could be armed in various ways, including fitting a torpedo tube at the prow.
A pinnace really was introduced as a ships' boat only with the advent of steam. The original pinnace was a small-to-medium sized Dutch merchant vessel, mainly from the 17th c. marked by a considerable tumblehome (though not as extreme as the Fluyt-type) and a flat stern and also a fairly flat, shallow bottom. The ships' boat pinnace also had a flat stern, was either steam or motor powered and had one or several cabins, some detachable. Like the cutter, the pinnace lent itself handidly for arming. It was usually one of the biggest ships' boats, reaching a length of upwards of 56 ft This type was usually used to shuttle the senior officers around, as well as being employed during notable visits to the fleet (such as a Monarch); though the Imperial Russian Navy, albeit possessing the pinnace-type, was noted for having its senior officers being rowed in a serene, stately manner in a whaleboat or oar/sail cutter, which brings us to the whaleboat, which originally was conceived as a specialisized craft for - you guessed it! - whale hunting! The type's sturdy construction attracted the navies, however, and soon enough every big ship carried, at least two of the type, usually slung from davits. In the navy, the whale boat was the Jack-of-all-Trades; it was used as a water carrier, food and supply carrier, to shuttle crews from and to ships, and, as already pointed out, in special circumstances, also carry senior officers. It was used for maintenance and as a workboat, for instance when painting the hull. Their length could vary from 30 - 57 ft in the RN.
Then there were smaller, often collapsible types such as skiffs, balsa rafts and dinghies. The latter was a really compact dedicated work- and utility boat,often no more than, say 8 to 10 ft long.
I hope this little expose will help you decide how to outfit your ships. Don't forget that I made a dedicated RN ship boat parts sheet, which you can find in the parts discussion section.

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My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen