Convulsion is a ketch rigged mortar boat.

She was built in 1804 at Rotherhithe and commissioned for shore bombardment duties. She was over 60ft long and had a displacement of 76 tonnes. She was armed with one 10 inch mortar and four 18 pounder carronades.

Scale:  1:64  Length:  600mm   Beam:  200mm  Height:  440mm

H.M. Chatham Yacht was launched in Chatham dockyard in 1741, for use as a pleasure craft for the more affluent members of Georgian society.
Yachts were of Dutch origin and came to Denmark and Sweden as pleasure craft. They were introduced in Britain in 1660 when Charles II, on his return to England was presented the Yacht Mary.
In the early days, the yacht was thought of as a pleasure and transport craft only. However, they these vessels found their way back into the merchant service as well as serving very successfully as fleet reconnaissance vessels. Also, as these vessels were very fast sailor, yachts were commissioned as dispatch vessels or packet yachts.
Chatham yacht was rebuilt in 1794, again at Chatham dockyard and was not broken up until 1867, after a very long life.
This kit depicts H.M. Yacht Chatham as she was after this rebuild (1794).

Scale:   1:64   Length:   530mm   Beam:   200mm   Height:   470mm

Ballahoo was the named schooner of its class of 'Fish' Class Schooners built in Bermuda, of which 17 were built to the same design.
Ballahoo was ordered in 1803 and launched in 1804. She was commissioned as an armed dispatch schooner.
She was 55.4 feet long and displaced 71 tonnes. With a compliment of 20 men Ballahoo was armed with four 12 pounder carronades.

Scale:   1:64   Length:   520mm   Beam:   90mm   Height:   320mm

Twelve bomb vessels, including Granado (the sixth), were built at the outbreak of the War of Jenkins's Ear in 1739.
Granado was ordered on September 14th 1741 and the keel was laid on November 18th 1741. Although it is uncertain who designed the Granado, it is commonly attributed to Thomas Slade, the naval Surveyor who oversaw the construction of the ship at Ipswich. Thomas Slade also went on to design famous ships such as H.M.S. Victory.
Granado was unusual in that she was designed to be used as either a sloop or a bomb vessel, being constructed with a conventional square stern.
Launched on June 22nd 1742, Granado was taken to Harwich, fitted out and put in commission as a sloop.
An Admiralty Order on July 15th 1745 was issued 'to fit her (Granado) as a bomb' but this order was reversed on July 17th 1745 and Granado remained as a sloop. It was not until 1756 that Granado was fitted for the first time as a bomb vessel from an Admiralty Order on July 26th 1756.
Between the launch of Granado on June 22nd 1742 and her fitting as a bomb vessel July 26th 1756 a number of changes had been made to Granado's configuration as compared to the original Admiralty plans the most noticeable of these are as follows:
1.     Two extra 4pdr carriage guns were added (Admiralty order of June 20th 1745) bringing the total 4pdr carriage guns to 10.
2.     Two bow chaser gun ports were added allowing accommodation of the extra guns either under the forecastle as bow chasers or at the fifth gunports.
3.     The mortars as shown in the Admiralty plans are two 13 inch mortars however when fitted as a bomb vessel this was actually changed to 1 x 13inch and 1 x 10inch mortar. This is confirmed by the provisions list on March 30th 1757 which details 50 large and 50 small shells.
Granado remained as a bomb vessel until the Admiralty Order to fit her as a sloop on March 20th 1760. It was during this period as a bomb vessel that Granado was involved in her most active role.
On January 22nd 1759 Granado and the squadron under command of Commodore John Moore anchored off Basse Terre. The following morning the citadel and batteries of Basse Terre were bombarded. By January 24th troops had occupied the forts of Basse Terre and Fort Royal, the town had been devastated by fire caused by the carcasses discharged from the bomb vessels.
On February 7th, the fleet moved to attack Fort Louis at the entrance to Cul de Sac Bay. The attack began the following day and by February 15 the bombardment ceased with the capture of the Fort.
Granado was again converted to a bomb vessel in August 1761 and she remained as such until she was sold on August 30th 1763 for £575. During this period Granado was involved in the action of capturing Morro Castle and El Morro in the West Indies and the capitulation of Havana on August 13th 1762.

Scale:   1:64   Length:   785mm   Beam:   340mm   Height:   590mm

Purchased by the Royal Navy in 1795, William, under the direction of Sir Sidney Smith, was fitted as a hoy rigged gunboat at Plymouth Yard.
As fitted, William was armed with 1x24pdr cannon, 2x12pdr carronades and a compliment of 25 men.
Of special interest is the innovative design of an early form of turret mounting for the 24pdr cannon. The cannon and carriage were mounted onto a bed which in turn sat on a bearing race made up of cannon balls, allowing the whole assembly to rotate on the flat (camber less) forecastle.
Although capable of sail, with a fore-and-aft style hoy rig, William would have been more commonly rowed. This is further illustrated not only by the evidence of rowlocks and oars but by the way the mast is mounted on a pivot allowing it to be rotated down to deck, extending aft, guided by the fore and aft mast carlings. The mast would have been lowered in this manner in order to lower the centre of gravity and reduce resistance making the boat far more manoeuvrable by oar power.
Built for anti-invasion duties, William was manned by 25 men. These men would usually be members of the 'Sea Fencible', the maritime equivalent of the Militia and volunteers.
Although unclear, William is believed to have been wrecked in Guernsey Roads on 4th November 1801.

Scale:   1:32   Length:   760mm   Beam:   200mm   Height:   605mm

The Endeavour, made famous by Captain James Cook's first historical voyage in her in 1768-71, was originally the Collier Earl of Pembroke. She was chosen for Cook's voyage because of her strong construction. She was purchased by the Royal Navy at Whitby and then converted to an exploration ship at Deptford.