Coastie04

I would love for the technology of the Maltese Falcon to be used in a commercial vessel. And, it's got to have one of the most comfortable bridges I've ever seen. Coastie

Iron Bess, can I move this topic, or do you have to? Move it wherever. I almost posted it in Twill, but since it's not really historical, I figured it might fit here. Sjöröveren, I believe the boat you're thinking of is the Shin Aitoku Maru, a Japanese tanker that uses square sails to reduce fuel costs when the wind is right. There is also a product (bulk) carrier that underwent a feasability study. However, it was found that this technology would increase the operating costs by 10% Major drawbacks to both of these designs is the same that plagued sailing vessels 100 years ago. The rigging all costs money (though manpower has been greatly decreased), and relying only on wind is more dangerous and less reliable for maintaining a modern schedule. The solution to this is to have both sails and engines. However, having two systems to maintain costs money, and therefore the only financial benefit would be lower fuel costs. Thus, it is only a savings in fuel that is compared to the cost of building a new boat, installing and maintaining the rigging and sails (whatever the material, construction method, etc). In response to this, the kite/sky sail technology has been developed that can be added to existing vessels relatively reasonably, without taking up valuable deck space, or adding too much weight, and having less rigging to maintain. Personally, this is the way I forsee wind power developing in the near future. Coastie

I'm surprised I missed this last year, and I apologize if this has already been discussed, but I found the following article recently: Tall Ships used for Cargo I know the more recent technology of the 'sky sail', as well as yachts such as the Maltese Falcon have been discussed, but this is the first time in a long time that I've seen a traditional tall ship used for transporting goods. Coastie

To see the USS Constitution fire that cannon, visit her any day at sunset for colors (she probably does it at 0800 as well, but I haven't been there at that time, so I can't confirm it). The cannon I've seen that they fire from has a smaller internal bore diameter (though the outside is the same size as the other cannons onboard). Nonetheless, impressive if you ever get the chance to see it. Coastie

Well, to throw yet another wrench into the mix, there's also the sentiment of treating a wreck site as a grave and generally leaving it all alone (such as the Titanic). I think that for the most part, the finding organization and the government can come up with some sort of agreement that both allows the government to get a large share, while also allowing the salvagers to cover their costs and make a handsome profit. However, there are always exceptions. Coastie

I'm currently brewing a robust porter and plan on bottling it in the next day or so. Just last week my wife and I bottled her second English IPA (for a traditional IPA, I highly recommend Meantime IPA). Haven't tried it yet, but the first one was great. Occasionally, we also make limoncello, a lemon flavored liquer. Within a week or so, we're probably going to make a heffeweissen. In our closet, we have a selection of some of our more recent beers, including coffee porter, american stout, nut brown ale, curry heffeweissen, barleywine, and belgian golden strong ales. Coastie

The guns onboard vessels were not always large. Small merchant vessels, if they were even armed, would not want to waste deck space with large guns that were expensive to purchase, maintain, and used more powder (which would take away from precious cargo space). Additionally, small boats warranted smaller guns. Take the following examples: USRC Massachusetts: The first of the USRCS vessels. A square sterned, two masted schooner of approximately 60 feet in length launched in 1791. Her armament was either four or six swivel guns. On the other end of the spectrum was USS Eagle: a 58 foot schooner built in 1798 and acquired by the USRCS. Her armament was 14 six pounders. So, these are vessels of similar size, built within the same decade, and used by the same government service. Yet, one carried 4-6 swivels, and one carried 14 six pounders. Depending on the trade routes, whether there was a war going on, and how much protection a merchant could afford, there was a large difference in armament of vessels. Coastie

As far as quakers, it's more than just cost that dictates their use. The HMS Victory has quakers due to the weight. Since she's in dry dock, the hull cannot support the weight as she was designed to. That, combined with the age, makes it unsafe to put real cannons onboard. I have seen a video of her firing a full broadside for the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar, but it was all pyrotechnics, not actual cannon fire. I know on the USS Constitution, there's at least one reproduction (the one they fire) and it's bore is sigificantly smaller inside than the others. As for the rest, I'm not sure if they're originals, reproductions, or quakers. My guess would be reproductions. Coastie *EDIT: P.S. In case I caused any confusion, the cannons currently on the HMS Victory (or at least as of about 5 years ago when I visited her) were fiberglass quakers. However, they looked authentic at first inspection and saved literally tons of stress on the decks, hull, and drydock structure.

Just because it belongs to a government still does not mean that it cannot be excavated with permission (and usually a large portion of all loot found). This is fine if the wreck is either in that home country's waters (within 24 nm from land) or in international waters. It gets more tricky when that warship is in foreign national waters, say French or Spanish. Then, you need permission from both governments, and each government generally wants their share of the loot. Further complicating this is the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends to 200 nm from land. In this zone, it's international waters when concerned with commerce and enforcement of laws, but the country 'owns' the resources found in that area, such as fish, oil, etc. Well, do shipwrecks with large stashes of gold fall under a country's control if it's in their EEZ? Last I heard, this is an ongoing debate. Add to this the likelihood of a ship being a warship of a nation that no longer exists. Does France have a claim to warships that belonged to the French monarchy? Does Germany have claim to warships from before WWII? Technically the governments are different, but is it part of that country's national heritage? Well, what if it's a USSR warship? Which country which now makes up a fragmented former USSR owns it? It's a messy situation that generally takes cooperation from many different organizations and governments. Coastie

I know for many tall ships today (for sure the Lady Washington, Hawaiian Chieftain, Pride of Baltimore and Pride of Baltimore II, and I know there are a number of others), South Bend Replicas makes the cannons. Theirs are some of the best reproductions on the market today. However, I can't speak to all the tall ships, and I'm sure there's some more good suppliers out there. Coastie

Drool!

Best of luck with the recovery. Can't wait to hear the pirate version of your injuries (hey, always look for that silver lining). As for the car, well it did it's job. Time to shoot it and get a new one. Coastie

That's called a lead line and yes, it's used for taking depth measurements. As for the bell, I was thinking more of navigational equipment, not just announcing ship's time. And the item I identified as a telescope, I'm not 100% sure, but that's what it looked like from the picture, so I made that assumption. Also, upon further inspection, there's a pair of brass dividers just behind the chip log, near the 28 sec glass. Coastie

Well, I've set sail and maneuvered using shanties as a cadence. It's all a matter of picking the right song for the job. A windlass would require a long, slow song to, say, hoist an anchor. A captstan could be a little quicker, depending on the strain of the anchor chain/cable. Hauling a halyard to rais a sail can actually be done rather quick to a medium-paced shanty. Some short shanties are great for one unified movement (say bringing the sail to the top of the yard when furling). Haul on the Bowline is one that I've used like this. It get's everyone unified for one movement per verse. Then again, there are still plenty of songs that were just sung for fun or to pass the time. Coastie

Well, there appears to be a telescope behind the "earth". Definitely useful for terrestrial navigation. Additionally, behind and between the bell and the hour glass appears to be a magnifying glass and a sundial compass or sea ring. Of course, that's if you're not including the tankard to hold down the charts on a windy day, or the leather flask to fill the tankard when it's windy and the charts just don't matter anymore. Coastie

Well, not having seen the episode, I just have to say that on any boat, there are a lot of noises, movements, etc. that are unusual to those not accustomed to them. A wake, odd set of waves, etc. can make a boat move all sorts of ways, especially when tugging at mooring lines. Then, you're also in a large, steel hull that can alter and magnify all sorts of unusual sounds, from the boat itself creaking, to rubbing against fenders, and even the sound of other boats' motors as they pass. Add to that the age of the vessel, all sorts of rigging up top (wind can be another factor in both movement and sound), and people can hear almost anything. So, I guess my point is to be skeptical. Coastie

As I've said before...you head up to the Alaskan waters, and you've got yourself a pilot. Trained in tall ships, black powder, and the inside passage. Coastie

Count me in as well (if it's happening)! It's one of the things I look forward to every year now. Coastie

More early, but beautiful firearms. Circa 1556, Southern Germany. Circa 1580. Coastie

While I love the 16th Century wheel locks, this one looks more period (although I admit that I don't have a date on this one, it looks about right for the period). However, if you want to make everyone in this pub drool, go for something more like these. Circa 1580, flask 1600. Coastie

While I agree about the Lady Washington being beautiful (sailed her as crew myself), if you look at the evolution of rigging, it's all about having more sail with less rigging to maintain. Just as an example, the Lady Washington has approximately four miles of running rigging, and two miles of standing rigging. She's 112 feet long, from the tip of the jib boom to the end of the main boom and rigged as she would have been in the late 18th Century as a two masted brig. USCGC Eagle, a 295 foot, three masted barque, has 5 miles of standing rigging and 7 miles of running rigging (I've heard up to 20 miles of rigging, but that's not what I learned when sailing onboard her, and seems like a gross exaguration). Although Eagle has twice as much rigging as the Lady Washington, when you facter in that Eagle has twice as many sails, five times as much sail area, a third mast, larger masts, and is almost three times the length, twice as much rigging doesn't seem like that much. The reason? 150 years of sail evolution. The combination of better materials (steel spars and rigging vs. wood spars and natural rope rigging), streamlined rigs (got rid of unnecessary lines, changed the construction of sails to be more efficient, didn't need as much support for the spars, etc. Just think of how far airplanes or cars have come in the last 100 years and try to apply that to sailing ships. We have a much better understanding of the forces involved, computer design AND operating technology, hydraulics, carbon fiber for the masts and yards, and kevlar for sails. Those were just the ones I could come up with off the top of my head. That's not to mention hull design, smaller auxiliary engines, etc. So, the trend throughout history is to eliminate as much unnecessary rigging as possible. If this is the next step, I say go for it! However, I still would like to see those traditional ships sailing, as I do agree that they're prettier. Coastie

As a side note, when I was sailing on the Lady Washington, we pretty much used the same method for her cannons. However, we used tin foil as the cartridge, and rammed the whole thing down the barrel. Just as on the links provided, we used an appropriately sized dowel and flattened one end. Then poured in the measured powder, sometimes threw a bit of bisquick in the top for wadding (though never when we were firing at other boats - only when it was being used as a signal cannon), and then twisted the top end. Cartridge went in flat side down and got rammed, was pricked and primed when ready to fire, and touched off with slow match on a lanyard. Coastie

Seen the green flash a number of times from boats, both on the east and west coast. Never seen it at sunrise, though. Seen the auroras a number of times up here in Alaska, though my wife keeps bragging that the ones up in Fairbanks were better. However, I'm quite satisfied with most of the ones I've seen, especially underway with no town lights to interfere. Coastie

Here's some Black Strap (if I recall, a favorite of yours). Welcome back onboard. May you keep those bilgepumps going and come back to an even keel soon. Coastie

Well, I can point out a couple of basics that are unsafe, and I am not a gunner (although familiar with basic firearms, black powder, etc.). First off, leaning over a railing lower than your waist is a good way to go swimming. One of them even has a foot up, so you know she's near her balance point leaning on the rail. Being a ship that's sailing and all, it's that much more likely to loose one's balance. Second, both their heads are in front of the muzzle, and should there be a spark when reloading that sets off the charge, they'll lose a bit more than their hands. This, of course, is a bit more likely, since there is nobody checking the touch hole when they're swabbing it to make sure that smoldering embers, sparks, etc. are not coming out before they put the next charge in. They are also both out in front of the guns at the same time, so that if one of them has a some sort of problem, they're both in front of a possible live muzzle. Instead of one casualty, possibly two. One has a harness dangling down that's just asking to get caught on something, which if she goes overboard, might be a blessing. And, lastly for my first glance, I'd assume that the two red boxes by the ladder are filled with powder charges and the likes. It would be better to keep them farther away from the cannons, and not in front of the fire hose which appears to be right behind them. However, as I said, I'm not a cannon expert. I'll stand back and await the experts' additional judgement. Coastie