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Ships & Shipbuilding:
Designing and Building a Wooden Ship |
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Building any ship begins with design. In nineteenth century Maine, once the owner and builder decided on the basic size and shape of the hull, the designer or master carpenter carved a half hull model, made from a number of boards or lifts pinned together. Once finished and accepted, the designer removed the pins and separated the model’s lifts. He then measured these and drew the shape of the hull full-size on the loft floor.
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Keel and Frames
The keel is the ship’s backbone and provides the most important longitudinal strength for the ship. The keel was built up from 12” x 12” lumber, or larger, and the long pieces were scarfed and bolted to provide a solid backbone. The stem piece, which defines the bow of the ship, and the sternpost, on which the rudder is hung, were scarfed and bolted to the keel.
The ship’s ribs, or frames, were made up of straight and curved timbers. Frames were made of a number of pieces called futtocks. Bottom futtocks are called floors. The shipbuilder made patterns from the design on the loft floor, which he used to choose the best-shaped timbers. [Ship's carpenters] cut the wood to shape, and dubbers refined the shape using adzes to chip off unneeded material. The futtocks were scarfed, bolted, and fastened with treenails, or trunnels.
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Shipbuilders hoisted the finished frames into place one by one, atop the keel, forming the basic skeleton of the ship. To strengthen the skeleton, a second keel, called a keelson, was built over the keel, on top of the floor timbers of the frames.
Planking and Caulking
As additional structure was added to the ship, it became ready for planking. Long planks were bent length wise around the hull Not only did they have to be cut correctly to fit the hull, they had to have their edges prepared for caulking. When all of the deck beams were in place, ship's carpenters laid the deck planking. Another type of planking is called the ceiling: an inner skin planked inside of the frames. Despite its name, the ceiling acts as a floor to the cargo hold, and it provides additional longitudinal strength for the hull.
Caulking makes the hull watertight. Oakum, a coarse, tar-impregnated yarn of manila or hemp strands from old ropes, is driven into seams between planking or decking. The caulker drove a few strands into the seam with a caulking iron and caulking mallet. The mallet made a knocking sound that told the caulker how far the oakum was in the seam. After the seam was fully caulked, it was payed, or covered with tar, completely sealing the seam.
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Finishing and Outfitting
Ship joiners became more active when much of the primary structure was finished. They built and finished the deck houses, the galley, the hatches, and other deck furnishings. They often finished the captain’s cabin in furniture woods like mahogany, walnut, or butternut, prefabricating it ashore. The woodwork in captains’ cabins on Down Easters was often very elaborate and required highly-skilled joinery work.
Painters applied coatings to protect the wood. After the ship was launched, the crew became painters, for painting never ended.
Sometimes a vessel had a figurehead, made by a ship carver who chiseled it out of a large built-up block of wood. The figurehead was mounted on the bow of the ship, underneath the bowsprit.
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Rigging
While the hull was being built, spar makers fabricated masts, yards, bowsprit, and other spars. After the Civil War, most spar timber came from the West Coast, which had a large supply of Sitka spruce and Douglas fir. After squaring and tapering the timber, spar makers shaped the spar into an eight-sided timber and finished it round. Shipbuilders used shear legs to lift and place the masts onto the ship.
Riggers set up the ship’s standing rigging—the lines that hold up the masts. To protect it from rot, rigging was given a waterproof cover, a process called worming, parceling and serving. Running rigging, the lines that move through blocks, were cut to length and whipped, or were given eye splices if needed. Then the rigger set up all of the spars, preparing them to receive sails, attaching iron work and blocks, and running all of the rest of the lines.
Launching
A ship was constructed on large wooden blocks and posts called shores. Before launching, ship carpenters built a cradle under the ship’s hull and greased the ways: the rails that carried it into the water. Dozens of wedges made up the cradle and were driven just before launching to transfer the weight of the ship from the blocks to the cradle. When the ship’s sponsor broke a champagne bottle on the stem, a pin was pulled that allowed the ship to slide down the ways, stern first, into the water. A festive launching could attract hundreds of friends, neighbors, and curious spectators.
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