A ship replica is a reconstruction of a no longer existing ship. Replicas can range from authentically reconstructed, fully seaworthy ships, to ships of modern construction that give an impression of an historic vessel. Some replicas may not even be seaworthy, but built for other educational or entertainment purposes.
Reasons to build a replica include historic research into shipbuilding, national pride, exposition at a museum or entertainment (e.g., for a TV series), and/or education programs for the unemployed. For example, see the project to build a replica of the Continental brig Andrew Doria.[1] Apart from building a genuine replica of the ship, sometimes the construction materials, tools and methods can also copied from the ships' original era, as is the case with the replica of the Batavia in Lelystad and the replica of ship of the line Delft[2] in Rotterdam (Delfshaven).
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The term "replica" in this context does not normally include scale models. The term museum ship is used for an old ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public.
A ship replica may also be a generic replica, one that represents a certain type of ship rather than a particular historic example, like the Kamper Kogge, replicating the Cogs that were used extensively in Northern Europe by the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages, but where there is little knowledge of specific ships.
Some generic type replicas such as Thor Heyerdahl's Ra II, qualify as true replicas as these ships were built to investigate the craft and or culture of the original era. That they do not replicate a specific vessel is mainly because no details of such a specific vessel are available.
Some other ships that are modeled after ships of a certain type or era (and are in that sense replicas) do not quality as true replicas. Some ships may be borderline cases, such as the Kanrin Maru, which is actually twice the size of the original, but built following the plans of the original.
Replicas can be temporary, cheap and very simple, such as the replica of a Viking ship that was burnt at the Leixlip Festival.
Notable historic type ships that are not replicas include:
Another ambiguous case subject to the Ship of Theseus dilemma is the US Brig Niagara. The original was sunk in 1820 for preservation, and the ship has been rebuilt three times since. The third reconstruction was considerably more extensive, and the only parts from the original which were retained are non-structural, leading many authorities to classify her as a replica, rather than a reconstructed original.
Some sailing ship replicas with their home port; and key information of the original (many articles are about the original ship):
It was commissioned as part of the 500th Anniversary Jubillee of the Voyage of Christopher Columbus, in 1992.
Ship name | Type | Current porta | Current affiliation | Country | Original affiliation | Original built | Notable for | End | Remark |
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Ra II | Reed boat | Oslo, Norway | Bygdøy maritime museum |
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Ancient Egypt merchant. Heyerdahl crossed Atlantic in it |
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Class replica | ||
ULUBURUN II[1] | Merchant | Bodrum, Turkey | Bodrum Underwater Archaeological Museum |
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Late Bronze Age merchant |
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Oldest known merchant shipwreck. | ||
Olympias | Trireme | Faliro, Greece |
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Main warship of ancient Greece |
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Class replica | |||
Kyrenia II | Merchant | ? |
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Merchant ship of ancient Greece |
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Sea Stallion from Glendalough | Viking ship | Roskilde | Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde |
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Main warship of the Viking age |
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Lisa von Lübeck | Caravel | Lübeck, Germany |
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Main medieval merchant |
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Class replica | |||
Kamper Kogge | Hanseatic cog | Kampen, the Netherlands |
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Main medieval merchant |
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Class replica | |||
Santa María | Carrack | 1)Palos de la Frontera, Spain 2)Columbus, Ohio, US 3)Edmonton, Canada 4)Funchal, Portugal |
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Columbus 1492 squadron |
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Several replicas, all based on conjectures | |||
Pinta | Caravel | 1)Palos de la Frontera, Spain 2)Bayona, Spain |
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Columbus 1492 squadron | Several replicas, all based on conjectures | ||||
Niña | Caravel | 1)Palos de la Frontera, Spain 2)Grand Cayman, UK |
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Columbus 1492 squadron | Several replicas, all based on conjectures | ||||
Matthew | Bristol, UK |
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John Cabot's ship to America in 1497 | ||||||
Victoria | Carrack | Seville, Spain |
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Only survivor of Magellan's 1519-1522 travel | Achieved to survive the circumnavigation of the globe again in 2006. | ||||
Grande Hermine | carrack | Jordan Harbour, Ontario | c.1520 | brought Jacques Cartier to Saint-Pierre on 15 June 1535 | abandoned, vandalised and arsoned, beached | ||||
Real | Galley | Barcelona, Spain |
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Flagship of Don John of Austria in the Battle of Lepanto | |||||
Golden Hinde | Galleon | London, UK |
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1577-1580 circumnavigation | |||||
Duyfken | East Indies Explorer | Perth, Australia |
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discovery of Australia 1606 |
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Discovery | Barque | Jamestown, USA | Jamestown Settlement museum |
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first permanent English settlement in North America, 1607 | ||||
Godspeed | Brigantine | Jamestown, USA | Jamestown Settlement museum |
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first permanent English settlement in North America, 1607 | The 1984/85 replica sailed the Atlantic (without the aid of engines) departing London on April 30, 1985 with a crew of 14. | |||
Susan Constant | Merchant | Jamestown, USA | Jamestown Settlement museum |
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first permanent English settlement in North America, 1607 | ||||
Halve Maen | Maine to Virginia Explorer | Albany, USA |
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original explorer of what is now called the Hudson River, Henry Hudson, 1609 | |||||
Mayflower II | Merchant | Plymouth, MA, USA |
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Pilgrim ship 1620 |
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Kalmar Nyckel | Dutch Pinnace 280 tonne ship rigged | Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, USA |
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Founded New Sweden colony at Fort Christina (Wilmington, Delaware, USA) |
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Charters, Daysails, Appearances | |||
Batavia | East Indies Merchant | Lelystad, The Netherlands |
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mutiny 1629 |
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Prins Willem | East Indies Merchant | Den Helder, the Netherlands |
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Nonsuch | Merchant | Winnipeg, Canada | Manitoba Museum |
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First trading in Hudson Bay 1668-69 |
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De Zeven Provinciën | Ship of the Line (80 guns) | Lelystad, the Netherlands |
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Flagship of Michiel de Ruyter |
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Under construction | |||
Götheborg | East Indies Merchant | Gothenburg, Sweden | Globetrotter |
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Sail training vessel (volunteers) | ||
Amsterdam | East Indies Merchant | Amsterdam, the Netherlands | Scheepvaart Museum |
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Lady Washington | Brig | Aberdeen, USA |
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first US merchant to reach Japan |
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Jacobstads Wapen | Galeas | Jakobstad, Finland |
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Surprise/Rose | Frigate | San Diego, USA | San Diego Maritime Museum |
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1776 attack New York. Master and Commander |
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Renamed Surprise after movie | ||
HMS Sultana | Schooner | Chestertown, USA |
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US colony coast patrol | auctioned 1772 | ||||
Endeavour | Bark | Sydney, Australia | Australian National Maritime Museum |
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Captain Cook's ship |
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Endeavour | Bark | Stockton-on-tees, United Kingdom |
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Captain Cook's ship |
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Hector | Fluyt | Pictou, Canada | Ship Hector Foundation |
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Immigrant Ship | ||||
l'Hermione | 12-pounder Concorde class frigate | Rochefort, France | L'Association Hermione-La Fayette | 1779 |
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sank 1792 | Under Construction | ||
Delft | Ship of the Line (56-gun) | Rotterdam, the Netherlands | Scheepswerf De Delft[2] |
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Battle of Camperdown |
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Under Construction | ||
Bounty | Armed Transport | 1) Greenport, New York, 2) Discovery Bay, Hong Kong |
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Mutiny 1789 |
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Maryland Federalist | Miniature square rigger | Maryland State House, Annapolis, USA | Maryland State Archives |
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Original vessel presented as a gift to George Washington | Original vessel sunk in a storm in the Potomac River in 1788 | |||
Grand Turk | Frigate | Saint-Malo, France |
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Generic Nelson age war ship replica used in Hornblower |
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Lady Nelson | Brig | Tasmania, Australia |
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Explored Australian coastline | 1825 capture by pirates | ||||
Lynx | Schooner | Newport Beach, USA |
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UK blockade running privateer | |||||
Pride of Baltimore II | Topsail Schooner | Baltimore, USA |
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UK blockade running privateer | Type replica | ||||
Niagara | Brig | Erie, Pennsylvania, USA | Erie Maritime Museum |
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Battle of Lake Erie | Sunk for preservation 1820, rebuilt three times since | Sail training vessel and museum | ||
USS Monitor | Ironclad warship | Newport News, Virginia, USA | Mariners' Museum |
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Battle of Hampton Roads | Original vessel sunk in storm off Cape Hatteras, NC, 13 Dec 1862, rediscovered 1973; propeller, anchor, engine, turret, cannons and other artifacts raised 1998, 2001 and 2002, displayed or undergoing restoration at Mariners' Museum[5][6] | full-size exterior replica; museum exhibit | ||
Amistad | Schooner | New Haven, USA |
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Involved in Slave trading incident 1839 | unknown after 1844 | |||
Enterprize | Schooner | Melbourne, Australia |
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Transported European settlers to Melbourne | Replica of Australian built ship. Charters, School Trips, daysails | |||
William the Fourth | Steam Paddle Wheeler | Newcastle, NSW, Australia | Newcastle City Council |
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Ocean going steam powered side paddlewheeler | Replica of Australian built ship | ||
Pilgrim | Brig | Dana Point, USA | Ocean Institute |
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1834 memoir by Richard Henry Dana, Jr. |
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Used in Amistad movie | |
Dunbrody | Barque | New Ross, Ireland |
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Famine Ship |
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A Famine History Museum | ||
Jeanie Johnston | Barque | Dublin, Ireland |
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Famine Ship | Sail Training vessel, a Famine History Museum and a Corporate Entertainment venue | |||
Californian | Schooner | San Diego, USA | patrolled Californian coast app. 1850 | based on C.W. Lawrence | |||||
Bluenose II | Schooner | Lunenburg, Canada |
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Winning Racing Schooner |
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Fundraising for Bluenose III |
a If more than one replica is made the home port of the different current ports are given in a numbered list
At the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, replicas of Viking ships are built.