A VISIT TO THE HISTORY OF SAILING CUTTERS
AS EMPLOYED DURING THE 17th, 18th AND 19th CENTURIES
BY THE SMUGGLERS, THE REVENUE AUTHORITIES,
THE NAVY, AND AS CUTTER YACHTS.
!!! UPDATE 21-12-2002 !!! (THIS SITE IS CURRENTLY BEING REBUILT)
***** LATEST PAGES! *****
Coast Guard Regulations of 1831 - an interesting extract!
Life at Sea on a Revenue Cutter - I attach this extract from one of my papers in response to a number of questions received via E-Mail.
For the Future - I have had a significant number of E-Mails raising queries about revenue vessels, ie,. were they Customs, Excise or Coast Guard.I have identified a number of naval vessels that became Coast Guard vessels and will post these shortly. This is an area that needs more research.
In addition a number of questions have been asked of the revenue service in Ireland during the early 19th century. My notes do not tell me very much but I have found some sources and will post these shortly.
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Researching the history of the Sailing Cutter has absorbed a great deal of my private time in recent years and I anticipate allocating much more in the future as I take my next career change at the magical age of 60 years! Into the "third age" go I! I have gathered a great deal of material on the subject of sailing cutters, and other matters, along the way and through this web site I hope to share my work, bits and bobs, and my thoughts and gather contributions to move my research forward. I find it a quite fascinating subject area.
Other Web Pages:-
1. mcs.htm - my background and abstracts of papers available
2. yachts1.htm - my views on the connection between smuggling cutters and cutter yachts from Solent shipbuilders
3. Revenue Fleet 1 - a brief history of the revenue fleet under sail
4. Thomas Shepheard, Cutter builder - part of the tale of a late 18th/early 19th century cutter builder from Mevagissey, Cornwall.
5. Who Were the 18th Century Smugglers? - free traders or enemies of the state?
6. Cutter Definition - the Cutter during the 18th and 19th centuries was a small fast, single masted, fore-and-aft rigged vessel hard at work in English waters. Today the Cutter is a type of vessel employed my many government agencies for maritime law enforcement and customs duites. What is the link?
7. Rowing of Cutters - a note following a request for more information.
8. Whats in a Name? - a few references on the origins of the Sailing Cutter gathered during my research - the Cutter in English waters can be traced to the 14th century.
9. Catamarans - did you know a catamaran was sailing in English waters in 1663?
10. 18th Century Cutters - having received a large number of requests by E-Mail I decided to post these notes on my site - about 10,000 words and two tables.
11. Retirement or into the Third Age - a personal update.
12. Legislation - a list of some of the 17-19th century legislation enacted against the smugglers.
13. The Beginnings of the Revenue Fleet - recent findings
14. Defining the Yacht - a few thoughts on the subject of yachts and yachting.
15. The Revenue Fleet and the Coastguard - a brief explanation of events during the first half of the 19th century
Useful Links:-
Any thoughts and comments would be appreciated. You can contact me at my E-Mail address given below.
My E-Mail Address is olsen@sailcuts.freeserve.co.uk
Date of Compliation = 24-09-99
This Update = 21-12-2002