Research & Development
“From Experience to Evidence — Fueling Heritage Innovation.”
The Excelsior Heritage Hub is more than a keeper of tradition — it’s a springboard for innovation. In the DEVELOP programme, we invite researchers, designers, policy makers, and educators to partner with us in unlocking the value of maritime heritage data.
From sea trials and sail training analytics to archival datasets and digitised ship drawings, we provide access to real-world insight for those shaping the future of maritime design, safety, training, and culture.
Whether you're building an AI training set, analysing vessel performance, or reconstructing maritime narratives, we offer deep access to historic data, observational knowledge, and lived experience.
Gerry Skews - Trustee & Technical Lead
>11,000
Individuals taken to sea aboard Excelsior since 1983, providing unmatched human experience data for behavioural and safety analysis.
9,000
Historic records including logs, crew lists, cargo manifests, and voyage documentation, fully catalogued and partially digitised.
1,200
Artefacts in storage covering tools, textiles, instruments, and equipment used aboard Excelsior and sister vessels over a century.
700+
Original design drawings and rebuild schematics of Excelsior, offering a complete structural and design evolution across decades.
The Excelsior Trust - Expert Reference Data
Research Collaborations: Joint projects with universities and maritime institutions Data Access Services: Tailored datasets for academic or technical inquiry Publications & Whitepapers: Insights from longitudinal data, training programs, and refit cycles Innovation Challenges: Co-design competitions and research calls in heritage-tech
