In a recent exchange of e-mails about his book East sails West I asked Dr Davies about the Keying II. This is his (slightly abridged) reply:

I do indeed know of the Keying II ... I even tramped her decks when she was languishing in the temporary berth in Lowestoft where she stayed awhile when the Exeter Maritime Museum had folded and the collection - terribly neglected - was in the long and troubled hunt for a new home....

By the 1970s/80s when she was built, the build system and hull design were entirely hybridised and I doubt had much straight line derivation from any more traditional Chinese lines. The build system was a curious, Pear River Delta blend of frame first and traditional Chinese build that resulted in a wide frame spacing and very light scantlings with few if any internal solid frames (aka bulkheads). The generic for the type was da tuo (in Putonghua) and dai to (in Cantonese) ... They shared a common hull and rig but different fishing arrangements for their tasks - the first a shrimp trawler, the second a drift netter and the last a unique Pearl River Delta, shallow water hang net trawler My hunch is that the basic hull design is a late 19th century, possibly early 20th century derivative of something like the Hong Kong sampan (with design origins in a western ship’s launch) and the fast Chinese police junks that owed their design lines initially to rice carrying junks in the mid-Qing, but I suspect got a fair bit of design tweak from emulating the finer waterlines and entries of western vessels.

There was an amazing study produced in the late ‘50s, based on fieldwork done in the mid-50s by Soviet and Chinese researchers, which gave the lines and rigs of around 150 different coastal and seagoing wooden craft, some entirely motorised and ‘modern’, some auxiliary, some traditional of the Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong coasts. What is fascinating about it is the way that certain Pearl River Delta craft lines (esp. the da tuo) leap out at one as bearing little or no relation to the very much more traditional looking lines of the majority of vessels, and very clear resemblance to the lines of the one (as I remember) lorcha and the couple of ‘modern’ motorised coasters.

Anyway, I don’t think anyone here is likely to help. It proved impossible to raise the money (about GBP300,000) to save the very last sailing coaster/trawler (basic da tuo design) extant on the Guangdong coast (thought to have been about 60 years old). Still I’ll ask around - it maybe that Sir YK’s family, some of whom I know, would not want to see their revered pater familias' donation die an unnecessary death.

I suppose it's a bit of a long shot, but there isn't a Chinese community in the vicinity of Eyemouth that might be interested in this vessel?

Our chairman has forwarded the following letter and asked that it is made available to members:

Dear Jonathan
I am a recently-elected Trustee of EISCA, the charity set up by Andrew Thornhill for the preservation of the boats from the ISCA Exeter Maritime Museum.
You may well know of the Keying II, a replica of the the first Chinese junk to visit Britain.
You may also know that the history of Keying II since the ISCA museum closed has been rather sad.  The end result is that she is now in Eyemouth harbour and taking water fairly rapidly and is in danger of destruction.
EISCA do not have funds at present to look after her and I am concerned that she might be rendered into scrap if assistance is not found.
EISCA would be delighted if your association could assist with this task.  We would be happy to transfer the ownership to any interested party who would be interested in her salvation.
With best wishes
Colin

Dr Colin Byfleet
EISCA


My thoughts on this:

The Keying was the first recorded Chinese sailing ship to penetrate the Atlantic, sailing from Hong Kong and visiting New York and London in 1848.The boat was a three-masted, 800-ton vessel tentatively identified by Worcester as a Foochow trading (pole) junk - although with Guandong influences also visible, her type is difficult to identify – and possibly 50 to 100 years old when purchased in 1846

You can read about this 60 ft. 'replica' here, and I have posted some photos in my members photo album folder. She is clearly not a replica of the Keying, which was almost certainly a Foochow-style Junk, of around 140-180 feet in length and c. 800 tons - see pictures from Sokoloff and Worcester posted in the same folder. This 'replica' looks more like one of the 20th Century Honk Kong fishing junks.

Nevertheless, as such she appears authentic, and I would think she was worth saving. Any ideas? Anyone live near Eyemouth and fancy taking a look?


Edit:
Having properly read the news article linked above, I see that she is there stated to be a Ha Kau trawler from Hong Kong - much more likely, see GRG Worcester sketch in folder linked above. Don't know why she is being presented as a replica of, and is named after the Keying.