Shipwright
Of Wooden Ships & Sailing, Construction, Maintenance, Repair & Rescue.
277 topics in this forum
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The ship in question is La Belle, which went down to Davy Jones in 1686, Matagorda Bay. In an attempt to effect preservation, the boffins came up with... Freeze Drying. Thats right, the same process from which you get "Space Ice Cream" How to Freeze Dry a Ship
Last reply by Dutchman, -
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I ran across this animation that shows how to tie onto a cleat and thought that it might be helpful...
Last reply by privateer, -
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When the USS United States captured the HMS Macedonian during the War of 1812, the chagrined British commander reported that the American vessel had "howitzers in her tops." That rather amazed me. I think of howitzers as being very heavy guns. How could the mast stand up to the weight and recoil of a large gun being fired on the top? How big of a howitzer would they put up there? And, most importantly, was this done during the Golden Age of Piracy?
Last reply by Dread Pyrate Greyhound, -
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OK all... Coastie kinda was the bug starter here, so Coastie gets some credit here. With her talk of wanting a certain vessel but not enough funds to obtain it, purchase it, commandeer it, etc.... she's looking for donations. Now... again, she was the bug.. got me looking at vessels... looking at just any type of sailing vessels led to looking at wood vessels. Finally that led me to look for pirate ships for sail. Yes... I admit it.. I'm a fool at the moment... following a dream that may never come true.. but, hell! Who knows! Oh, I found this lovely little pirate vessel for such a lovely price! But there is NO way I could buy her all by m'self. Let alone her upkee…
Last reply by Rumba Rue, -
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Ahoy all, The Colonial Seaport Foundation is in search of wooden spars to complete the rigging of Luna, our reproduction 18th century Bermuda sloop. In light of recent weather events there may be destroyed boats with wooden masts and booms remaining. We are also looking for stainless steel rigging. The spars we are looking for are a boom 35 feet long- most likely this will be a mast refitted, and a 27 foot bowsprit, again most likely a mast refitted. We can arrange for shipping anywhere on the east coast. If anyone has any leads please let me know. Thanks, Dutch www.colonialseaport.org
Last reply by Dutchman, -
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1. What is the difference between a jib and a fore staysail? That is, if you had a ship with three triangular sails forward of the foremast, and one person called them (from aft to fore) the inner jib, outer jib, and flying jib, and another person called the same sails the fore staysail, inner jib, and outer jib, is it just a matter of opinion, or is there an objective difference? 2. When were jibs (or fore staysails, if that was what they were first called) first introduced? Harland's Seamanship in the Age of Sail shows the Sovereign of the Seas in 1637 without a jib, and a 1756 warship with a jib. That leaves pretty well the whole GAoP in limbo. Would Morgan's sh…
Last reply by capn'rob, -
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Dutch in New York, who woulda thunk? Painting says: Kaaterskill Ketch, Hudson River 1645
Last reply by Dutchman, -
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These quotes from a June 10, 2013 HuffPost Detroit article. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/04/lake-michigan-shipwreck-griffin-_n_3384312.html "During its maiden voyage in September 1679, the Griffin departed from the area near present-day Green Bay, Wis. Carrying a crew of six and cargo of furs, the ship was never seen again." "The Griffin was the first full-sized ship to sail on the Great Lakes, and its fate is one of the Great Lakes' most enduring mysteries." "The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the state archaeologist's office approved a plan by Great Lakes Exploration Group, which hopes to identify the vessel as the Griffin"
Last reply by Littleneckhalfshell, -
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So I'm looking at plans of a 3rd rate ship of 74 guns- Nelson era and have run across a room I'm not familiar with. Just above the keelson, forward of the rudder is a small room called a lady's hole. it fills the angled void between the rudder deadwood and the next room forward, which in this case is a bread room. So essentially there is no floor and a hatch is showing to enter from the gun room floor above it. Any ideas what its use is?
Last reply by Fox, -
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The Benjamin Noble, a steamer loaded with iron rails, was lost with all hands in April 1914. It had long been condidered a sort of "holy grail" for wreck divers, and was recently discovered by accident. Full story here. and here. Here's a side-scan sonar image of the wreck:
Last reply by Jonathan Hawks, -
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Found this and thought it was worth sharing.
Last reply by Dutchman, -
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OK, I was scolded at FTPI last year for calling rope 'rope' and not 'line.' Now I find this in Alexander Hamilton's A New Account of the East Indies (17th - 18th Centuries): "...every Thing in the Ship fast, our Yards lowered as low as conveniently they could be, and our Sails made fast with Coils of small Ropes, besides their usual furling Lines." (Hamilton, p. 485) I take it rope may have been called 'line' when it was attached to the masts and sails (or It may not have been. In fact, I have no idea.) However, he also calls the stuff rope in the same sentence. So I am thinking I was wronged at FTPI, when looking for what was small coils of whatever-you-want-to-call-it…
Last reply by DSiemens, -
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This hurts my heart to post, as these are some of my small group of close friends, but read on...........LORD JIM Sunk; All are Safe
Last reply by Mission, -
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_REVOLUTIONARY_NAVAL_MYSTERY?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US BOSTON (AP) -- Somewhere along an industrial stretch of river pocked with rotting piers and towering salt piles north of Boston lies the answer to one of the great riddles of the Revolutionary war. Where is the final resting place of the British schooner, the HMS Diana?
Last reply by Story, -
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Dry docked Mayflower needs timber for restoration http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/06/01/plimoth/ePujzV6XfIQLIWd2DN9bVP/story.html
Last reply by Jas. Hook, -
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I need some historical information, and the knowledgeable people here seem to be the ones to ask. I need to know what would be the minimum crew needed to sail and fight with a 10 gun Bermuda sloop. Also, info on the specific make-up of the crew members would be very useful. Thanks
Last reply by Coastie04, -
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Aye, Sir Henry, he were hard on his ships, so he were...seems he lost some off Panama...everyone looked, but couldn't find 'em at all... http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/04/7245795-capt-morgans-lost-fleet-found
Last reply by Capn Bob, -
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When it came to venturing into the blue pirates used more or less whatever was available to them from galley to frigate. However, was there a particular type of ship which gets the most historical references? Also, as an unrelated question - When were bomb ketch's brought into common usage?
Last reply by Captain Jim-sib, -
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Wonder if they'll try to raise it like the Wasa. Hopefully they do, it sounds interesting. Mystery Snow Brig Coastie
Last reply by RyannMacGregor, -
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Can anyone please tell me if they can identify this ship? It looks here like it was dressed up for a movie..but I am curious about it. If anyone else has a mystery ship they need help with.post here :)
Last reply by MajorChaos, -
Since we decided wot we be wantin' in a ship a few posts down, now ye gets ta name it. Why be yer namin' 'er that though? 'Tis yer vessel, NOW NAME 'er . . .
Last reply by Grymm, -
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Just in case you would ever want to know what ships were named, FYI, I found this handy site: Pirate Ship names
Last reply by beef, -
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Does any mate know of any periodical devoted to historic nautical matters? Something that would concentrate on the great age of sail, and discuss shipbuilding and battles, navigation, sailor's dress, weaponry and battle tactics, piracy and privateering, nautical skills and crafts, etc. I'm not interested in how-to-do-it publications for yachtsmen, sentimental stories about contemporary declining fishing communities, or How I Won First Prize for My Dashing Captain LeBloodie Pirate Costume; but things that will help me understand the age of sail, and help me be a better, more authentic reenactor. Any thoughts? Capt. William
Last reply by Red Maria, -
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When you go up onto a mast-head or yard you "lay aloft"; when you're going below decks you "lay below," and when you're coming up from below deck onto the upper deck you "lay topside." But what is the correct phrase for coming down from the yard or mast-head onto the upper deck? I've seen the phrase "lay down from aloft" in Harland, but that phrase seems unduly cumbersome compared to the others. Was it generally used?
Last reply by angelgal918, -
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We are building a boat for a build your own boat race, there is going to 6 of us paddling and one at the helm (tiller) we want to incorperate a working square mast on it, so in some of your opinions, how would we make the sail work? we already have a 6 1/2 foot mast on it that is a solid 4 by 4, and we're working on the rudder right now. It has to be team made, man and/or wind powered, and viking themed. last year it was pirate themed and we won agianst the three time winners (of course, because they faced a REAL pirate!! LOL)
Last reply by Coastie04,