It's all still 'mebbe' but I think that it's probably closest to the truth.
There are what seem like thousands of photos of almost all members of almost all classes.
There are photos of the wrecks, above and below the water.
There are crew lists and histories.
There are stories of storms and almighty 'b****-ups' which indicate the lack of steering in the ships.
There is nothing yet to confirm anything.
The bracket/roller thingy in the photos of Reply 81 could, in fact, be a 'bolt-on' version of the rig shown on the steam launch and the lines which run round the bow could play a further part.
It just seems a bit, well, inelegant.
The shed is snowed in/out for the moment and I'm waiting for a price for the laser cutting of the grating for the flying deck.
Happy Christmas to all
Tony