Consuta was a revolutionary form of construction of watertight hulls for boats and marine aircraft, comprising four veneers of mahogany planking interleaved with waterproofed calico and stitched together with copper wire.

The technique was patented by Sam Saunders of Goring-on-Thames

Goring-On-Thames

Goring-on-Thames is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, about south of Wallingford.-Geography:...

 and was first used on the 1898 umpire's steam launch of the same name. Having been restored, the steam launch Consuta was returned to service on the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 on 15 October 2001.

After opening the S. E. Saunders boatyard at East Cowes

East Cowes

East Cowes is a town and civil parish to the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina next to its neighbour on the west bank, Cowes....

 on the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

, the technique was further used to build the crew and engine gondolas for HMA1 Mayfly, Britain's first airship. Later, the same technique was used to construct the hull of the Sopwith Bat Boat, the early flying boat

Flying boat

A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...

 that won the Mortimer Singer prize

The technique remained in use until waterproof glues became available in the 1950s.