[3e] Le Renard

[Phaelen Bleux]

Le Renard (TL5)
The original cutter, Le Renard, which was heavily armed for its size, was the last privateer to be equipped in the infamous pirate city of Saint Milo. The ship was commissioned by the famous pirate Robert Surcouf, whose exploits at the beginning of the 19th century took him as far as the waters off India, and made him one of the wealthiest shipowners in France. Le Renard was his 8th command, and was launched in 1812. She carried 10 guns and 46 men. Her most famous engagement came on September 9th, 1813. Le Renard engaged the 16-gun English schooner Alphea, crewed by 80 elite sailors. In a fierce battle that lasted into the early morning, Le Renard emerged victorious only when the Alphea exploded spectacularly at 3 am, presumably from a hit to the powder magazine. All were lost on the Alphea; Le Renard returned home with only 13 surviving crew.

Subassemblies: Body with Mediocre lines +6, one 85' Main Mast +2, 4 open mounts +0.
Powertrain: 4,994 sf of Full-Rigged Cloth Sails.
Occupancy: 12 bunks, 10 hammocks. Minimum crew is 1 driver + 2 sailors.
Cargo: 1,000 cf

Armor: 3/5W overall

Weaponry:
10x 8-pdr carronades [Body:L,R] (100 shots each).
4x 1-pdr cannons [OMs:R,L] (100 shots each).

Body: Navigation instruments, 12 bunks, 10 hammocks, 1,380 man-days provisions. On Deck: Capstan (4,800-lb. winch with 6-man muscle engine), primitive controls, one cockboat.

Statistics:
Size: 64'x20'x85' Payload: 29 tons Lwt.: 74 tons
Volume: 7,000 cf. Maint.: 57 hours Price: $121,445

HT: 10. HPs: 3294 Body, 187 Mainmast, 12 each OM.

wSpeed: 16 wAccel: 1.4 wDecel: 1 wMR: 0.05 wSR: 1
Draft: 9'. Flotation Rating: 200 tons.

Design Notes:
Structure is Medium, with Standard materials. Waterproofed. Armor is DR 5 Standard Wood. The volume of the armor is figured into the design, as per the rules on p. VEii5. The ship’s volume was taken as 100 cf per displacement ton. Using the Builder’s Old Measure, volume was calculated as 11,064 cubic feet; this made the overall design too heavy and was abandoned. The height of the main mast, the sail area and the draft are “historical figures” taken from a reproduction ship built in 1991. Design draft was 3.9’; design sail area was 3,251 sf.
Some sources listed “12 guns,” others listed “10 carronades and 4 long guns.” The reproduction carries 10 8-pdr carronades. The design was given 10 8-pdr cannons from p. AN110, plus 4 swivel guns.
The reproduction ship has an active crew of three and can carry 27 passengers on day cruises. She can be hired out of St. Malo in Brittony, France.