The royal barge (on loan to the National Maritime Museum) was built in 1732 for Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales (1707- 1751), by a team of craftsmen led by the London shipwright John Hall who was responsible for the hull, working to a design by William Kent. Much of the carving - including the fish masks and six sea lions - was by Jason Richards (who succeeded Grinling Gibbons as Master Carver to the Crown) with gilding by Paul Petit. The work was presumably supervised by Kent and the bills were attested by Charles Calvert, fifth Lord Baltimore, the Prince's Gentleman of the Bedchamber. The barge is a flat-bottomed open rowing boat of the type known as a shallop. The prow, stern and rail are carved and gilded with the royal coat of arms and Garter Star among riotous sea-creatures, festoons and Vitruvian scrolls. The state house or cabin, originally surmounted by a Prince-of-Wales coronet and now with a State Crown, has upholstered seats (by Hercules Taylor and George Cure), a carpet and a painted ceiling. The plan may have been to launch the barge on the Prince's birthday in January 1732 or soon after, but it was not afloat until March, and the bill for £1,002 9s 1d from John Hall was not submitted until July. Its first outing was to take Frederick with his five sisters from Chelsea Hospital to Old Somerset House to view paintings that were being restored by Parry Walton. They were attended by two more barges, one with courtiers as passengers and the other with musicians.