Nefyn and Porthdinllaen Built Ships
brig.gif

Llongau cafodd eu Adeiladu yn Nefyn a Porthdinllaen
{short description of image}
Back to Gwynedd Ships/ yn ol i Llongau Gwynedd

Guest Book and Contact Details {short description of image}
Click here to go back to previous page!

According to David Thomas in his book "Hen Llongau Sir Caernarfon" 120 vessels were built at Nefyn between 1760 and 1880. Some 45 ships were built at nearby Porthdinllaen between 1776 and 1864.
Henry Hughes in his booklet "Ships and Seamen of Wales" notes...........

"The Nevin locality was famous for its ships as well. They were not always the best lookers, hut they were designed and constructed on highly scientific lines with seaworthiness always uppermost in the de- signer's mind. It was not necessarily the clipper or yacht design that created profitable ocean passages, rather was it the vessel that held mastery over the sea and could continue on her course, and "make good," in spite of adverse conditions. I remember on one occasion "being hove to" in a storm off the Cornish coast and in spite of this defensive action on our part we were making bad weather of it, we tumbled ponderously between the great waves. Suddenly we watched with great interest and surprise the appearance of a small schooner; although under reefed sails, she was holding her course in spirited manner and making excellent progress. She was named Ellen. Our skipper remarked in a self-satisfied way "un o longau Porth Dinlleyn ydi hi"-she is a Nevin ship. In other words, we are not competing. A famous Nevin ship- was the 190 tons barquentine Linus. On one voyage she sailed round Cape Horn as far as a group of islands in the Pacific called Tierra Affuera de Lobos-"Distant land of wolves." At this point the little Linus and her crew of seven were 10,000 miles from their native Nevin. Some way to go for a crust of bread ! "


The Linus
Linus.gifThe LINUS was one of the fine strong vessels built at Nefyn by Robert Thomas. She left the blocks, as a brig, in 1857. Her dimensions were 183 nrt/105.6'LOA/ 22.7' Beam and max draft of 13.5'. At some stage she was converted to a barquentine. She was owned and managed by David Morris of Porthmadog and was considered a ship of that port. She was a "clipper" and well known for her fast passages to all corners of the world. In addition to the voyage around Cape Horn to the guano islands she did a trip around the Cape of Good Hope to Calcutta.

For over forty years this little workhorse ploughed the seas with Welsh coal and slate, phosphate rock from the West Indies and Morrocco, salt to Newfoundland and Labrador and stockfish back to the Catholic countries. She was sold to owners in Lerwick, Shetland in 1901.

(Anybody know what happened to her after she was sold? RDC) 


This list represents only a few of the ships built there. Any more information would be most welcome.

Y mae y rhestr hon yn cynrychioli ond ychydig o'r llongayu adeiladwyd yn y fan. Byddwn yn ddiolchgar am mwy o wybodaeth


Tonnage is complicated as the method of measuring  changed. The figures below are for general indication only.

The list requires "Frames and Tables" support. It may not work with old versions of Internet Explorer.
 

Mae gorfod defnyddio "forms" i weld y rhestr oddi tan. Efallai neith o ddim weithio gyda hen versiwn o Internet Explorer.

Name Tons Built/ Known By Rig Fate/Notes
Catherine Alice 98 Built1850 ? Brigantine Owners, Owens & Co
Catherine Thomas 104 Built 1850 ? Schooner Owners, Thomas & Co
Cevn Amlwch 80 Built1838 ? Schooner Owners, Jones & Co
Ellen 55 Built 1848 ? Smack Owners, Owens & Co.
George the Fourth 93 Built 1824 ? Brigantine Owners Davies and Co
Jane Roberts 100 Built 1848 ? Schooner Owners, Roberts & Co
Maria Catherine 89 Built 1841 ? Schooner Jones & Co
Diligence       Schooner Wrecked Abersoch 22nd Jan 1862 Bound for Newry with pipe clay.
Joseph Nicholson 99 1868 Rees Davies Schooner Owner/master David Davies. Lost in Collision with the WALTER URIC 1884?
Maria 95 1786   Bgntine Michael Hughes of St Helens, David Richards of Swansea etc,
Mary Reynolds 67 Built 1848 ? Schooner Jones & Co
Mary Watkins 130 Built 1850 ? Schooner Williams & Co
Miss Pritchard   Built 1870   Schooner Sank off Cape Wrath 1904 Bound Copenhagen with slates
Prosper 130 Built1848 ? Schooner Griffiths
Reindeer 75 Built 1841 ? Schooner Griffiths & Co 12th Oct 1874. 75grt. Cargo of slates for Coles of London. Foundered - Bardsey bearing NNW x 10'. Crew landed in own boat in 30 mins.
Richard 101 Built 1843 ? Schooner Davies & Co
Sedelous   1849 R.Thomas Schooner Owner Hugh Roberts Porthmadog. Wrecked on PM bar 3rd Jan 1882. Cargo of Iron ore and dynamite.
Sisters 27 1788   Sloop Amlwch trader? Lost1805
Superb 91 Built 1839 ? Schooner Davies & Co
Three Brothers 93 Built 1845 ? Schooner Jones & Co
Two Brothers       Schooner Wrecked Abersoch 16th march 1907
William Henry 72 Built1847 ? Schooner Evans & Co
Ocean Maid   Built 1863   Schooner  
Linus 183 1857  R.Thomas Barquentine Built as a brig. Owned by David Morris of Porthmadog. Sold to Lerwick, Shetland 1901

wheel_top.gif TOP
TOP