Hello Prof Tilley:
I was particularly pleased that you responded with a wealth of information about the problem with finding historic plans to recreate a famous ship.
So much so that I ordered the coffee table book "The Ships of John Paul Jones" by Gilkerson.
I'm a retired Navy CPO who was once stationed in Portsmouth, NH, the location of the original ship yard that built the Ranger. There is actually a
document on the web site NHSeacoast.com that details the size and colors
of the Ranger as reported by the British Admiralty after she was captured and
renamed Halifax. So, if can somehow obtain the plans for the refitted Halifax
I might have a better idea of how she (Ranger) looked.
It's interesting because the British document indicated that the hull of the Ranger was black above the waterline and had a broad yellow stripe running
accross the gunports. This is strikingly similar to the Rattlesnake which was
built about the same time just down the coast from Portsmouth, NH in Salem,
MA.