Antarctic explorer ship (1901)

We picked up our rental car at the Edinburgh airport and hit the road toward Aberdeen.  We decided to take a stop midway in Dundee, that used to be a major shipbuilding town.  It is now home to the RRS (Royal Research Ship) Discovery that made a 2 year trip to Antartica in 1901-04.  The ship was custom built for the expected conditions of the antarctic, with extra layers in the hull (made of wood so it could flex more with the pressure of the ice).

 This model shows the cross sections of the multilayered hull.  It was made with different woods, but I don't remember which was which now.

The ship is no longer sea worthy.  They have replaced some timbers, but are trying to maintain much of the original structure.

 These are cut off cross beams that reached across the beam of the ship (from side to side) to help brace the sides against damage from the ice.

There was a hollow section between the layers of the hull that contained salt. This absorbed moisture, and also help preserve the timbers from rot and disease.

 The original steering mechanism was fully mechanical with the chains reaching to either side to pull the rudder one way or the other.

These were small sky lights that shone down into the deck below.  They used these instead of portholes because the portholes would weaken the integrity of the hull and make it more vulnerable to ice.  They called these skylights "ankle knockers". 

It was amazing the stores that they had to take on with regard to provisions and coal.  The ship was mainly sail powered, but had a steam engine that could move it when there were no winds.  They had to load 400 tons of coal on board, in addition to food and scientific equipment.  The ship got stuck in the ice in Antarctica for two years and supply ships came to help them resupply and continue their work.  If they had not been able to break free of the ice after the second year, the crew was going to abandon the ship and go back on the supply ships, but they were able to blast their way out of the ice in the end and return.

The kitchen

The scientists made all kinds of discoveries that were new at the time when very little had been discovered about the Antarctic.

Science lab.  The officers ate on their dinner table which was also used for dissection during the day (ew!)

Crew's Mess

 Officers/Scientists' bunks

 Captain's room.  The captain's log notes that the hull was not insulated and the bunks were very cold, often with ice on them when the crew would wake.