| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
During the C16th Shipwrights in England were so few in number as to be granted direct employment by the Crown. The first list of ‘Master Shipwrights’ appointed ‘by Patent’ was issued by Henry VIIIth and included ‘John Smyth, Robert Holborn, Richard Bull and James Baker’ (father of Mathew Baker). Peter Pett the son of John was summoned from his place of residence, then at Harwich to work on the King’s Ships at Portsmouth, and in 1543 was granted a wage and fee for life (vadium et feodum). The authority for the letters patent not being by the usual Writ of Privy Seal, but ‘Per Ipsum Regent’, i.e, by ‘direct motion of the King’, Henry VIII'th.
On the 23rd April 1548 Robert Holborn, Smyth and Bull received similar Patents, the very fact of which should be considered of some significance, and it was added as Shipwrights they should instruct others, by reason of their long and good service.
Evidence from ancient Egypt shows that the early Egyptians already knew how assemble planks of wood into a watertight hull, using treenail s to fasten them together, and pitch for caulking the seam s. The ships of the Eighteenth Dynasty were typically about 25 meters (80 ft) in length, and had a single mast, sometimes consisting of two pole lashed together at the top making an "A" shape. They mounted a single square sailA sail is a surface intended to generate thrust by being placed in a wind. Depending on the incident angle of the wind on the surface of the sail, one side of the sail will have a higher air pressure than the other one according to Bernoulli's principle. on a yardThis article is about the unit of measure known as the yard''. For other definitions, see Yard (disambiguation). A yard (abbr. yd is an imperial unit of length, defined as 3 feet or 36 inches, which is exactly 0. 9144 metres, presuming international inche, with an additional sparFor the convenience store, see Spar (store). Sailing ships A spar is a round timber or metal pole used on a sailing ship. Masts, booms, gaffs, or yards are all examples of spars. Wooden ships from the age of sail often carried many extra spars of all type along the bottom of the sail. These ships could also be oarThe paddle oarsmen use when rowing is called an oar. Oars are long (250 to almost 300 centimeters) poles with one flat end about 50 centimeters long and 25 centimeters wide, called the blade. The part of the oar the oarsman holds while rowing is called th propelled.
The ships of PhoeniciaPlease see the article's for more information. Phoenicia was an ancient civilization with its heartland along the coastal plain of what is now Lebanon and Syria. Phoenician civilization was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread right across seems to have been of a similar design. The GreekAncient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. It refers not only to the territory of the present Greek state, but also to those areas settled in ancient times by Greeks: Cyprus, the Aegean coast of Turkey (then knos and probably others introduced the use of multiple banks of oars for additional speed, and the ships were of a light construction, for speed and so they could be carried ashore.
Viking longshipLongships or landskipet were boats used by the Vikings and Saxons for mostly military purposes. They were the epitome of Viking power and high in their admiration of material possessions. The long ship was relatively shallow going (allowing for rapid depls developed from an alternate tradition of clinkerIn metallurgy, clinker is the term for the material remaining after the process of smelting a metal ore. It may contain ash from the smelting fire, and also the impurities, rock, and unreduced metal oxides. Clinker is used in the manufacture of Portland c-built hulls fastened with leather thongs. Sometime around the 12th century, northern European ships began to be built with a straight sternpost , enabling the mounting of a rudder, which was much more durable than a steering oar held over the side. Development in the Middle Ages favored " round ship s", with a broad beam and heavily curved at both ends.
The introduction of cannon onto ships encouraged the development of tumblehome , the inward slant of the abovewater hull, for additional stability, as well as techniques for strengthening the internal frame. These kinds of considerations, as well as the demand for ships capable of operating safely in the open ocean, led to the documentation of design and construction practice in what had previously been a secretive trade, and ultimately the field of naval architecture. Even so, construction techniques changed only very gradually; the ships of the Spanish Armada were internally very similarly to those of the Napoleonic Wars over two centuries later.
Iron was gradually adopted in ship construction, initially in small areas needing greater strength, then throughout, although initially copying wooden construction. Isambard Brunel 's Great Britain of 1843 was the first radical new design; built entirely of iron, using stringers for strength, inner and outer hulls, and bulkheads to form multiple watertight compartments. Despite her success, many yards only went so far to use composite construction , with wooden timbers laid over an iron frame (the Cutty Sark is so constructed). Steel supplanted iron when it became readily available in the latter half of the 19th century.Wood continued to be favored for the decks, and is still the rule for modern cruise ships.