Ranger – Barking Fish Carrier – Vanguard Models

Ranger – Barking Fish Carrier – 1864

The set includes:

• Laser-cut and engraved elements made from MDF and pear wood.

• Maple deck, laser-cut and engraved, with details replicating wooden treenails.

• 2 chemically etched brass sheets.

• High-resolution 3D printed components.

• Small auxiliary boat (cutter) – made from wooden and 3D-printed parts.

• Double hull planking: first layer in linden wood, second layer in pear wood.

• Walnut dowels for making the mast, gaff, and boom.

• Various thicknesses of rigging thread (black and natural) and all the necessary blocks and fittings.

• A full-color, richly illustrated manual and eleven plan sheets, also including detailed rigging and running rigging drawings.

• The model can be built either with sails or without them.

Model dimensions:

• Scale 1:64

• Overall length: 517 mm

• Overall height: 487 mm

• Overall width: 94 mm

Instrukcja – Instrukcja Ranger – Barking Fish Carrier

History – Ranger – Barking Fish Carrier – 1864

Sea fishing from the port of Barking was already mentioned in 1320, when local fishermen were penalized for using nets with overly fine mesh. At that time, it was a small-scale business. List from the 1960s. The 17th century shows that Barking had 14 fishing boats (smacks), crewed by 70 men and boys.

By 1814, this number had risen to 70 units; by 1833, there were already 120, and by 1845 around 150. In 1850 – at least 220. This phenomenal growth was the achievement of one family – the Hewetts: Scrymgeour (1765–1850) and his son Samuel (1797–1871). In 1833, their fleet, known as the Short Blue Fleet (after the color of its pennant), consisted of 10 ships.

The main type of vessel used in Barking at the time was the so-called Well Smack – a boat with a tank for keeping live fish. However, since the 1960s By the 19th century, the operating costs of such vessels were rising, and pollution in the River Thames was making it increasingly difficult to keep live cod in crates in Gravesend.

Instead of transferring the daily catch aboard one of the Well Smacks, fast cutters specially built for this purpose began to be used — the so-called Fish Carriers.

The Ranger was a typical example of these modern vessels. It was built in Barking in 1864, measuring 22.6 m (74 ft 3 in) in length and with a displacement of 52 tons. These vessels could sail close to the wind faster than any other craft of their time — which was crucial when transporting highly perishable cargo such as fresh fish. The worst weather for them was calm conditions or very light wind.

Those that survived the steam era often found a new life as fast yachts.