Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 171 400 Material Canton Ship

Wen Desi followed Zhang Jiji to see the ship.There have always been many models of Western ships, and Chinese sea-going ships have also dabbled a little out of interest.What makes Wen Desi quite dissatisfied is that domestic research in this area is far less than that of foreign countries, and it is not as professional as foreign countries. Even the models of ancient Chinese ships are collected more abroad.There is very little information available.

There is no dry dock in the ship yard, it is placed directly on the ship frame.Wen Desi knew that the history of dry docks can be traced back to the Northern Song Dynasty. This method was used to repair dragon boats during the Xining period, but it seems that not many people used it later, and it is basically an isolated case.If it weren't for Shen Kuo's records, I am afraid that most people would not know that this happened. "

"How does this boat go into the water?" Wen Desi was very interested in how to go into the water when there were no slipways and docks in ancient times.

"Smear the beachhead with mud, and then pull it with a rope."

It's really simple.Wen Desi nodded, the so-called wisdom of the people is infinite, not empty talk.

The progress of this ship is almost [-]% complete, the hull has been formed, but the deck has not been installed.With his limited knowledge of ancient ships, Mr. Wen could tell that this was a so-called "Guangzhou Ship".It is a large ship among the ancient Chinese sea ships. The hull is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, and the stern has a false tail (false tail).The biggest feature is that there is a plugboard that is deeper than the keel at the center line.This plate plays the role of slowing down the swing and drift, which is a major feature of Guangzhou Shipyard.In terms of size, it is about [-] material ships, which is the largest ship allowed by the Ming government to be built by the people.Although Chinese boatmen are undoubtedly capable of building large ships of the thousand-ton class, it is difficult to operate a ship that is too large, and it has no practical significance.

Wen Desi visually measured the length. The length of the ship is about 27 meters and the width is more than 5 meters. It is roughly estimated that the displacement is 70 tons.This is almost the same as the other 400 material ships in their hands.It can be seen that the 400 material ship has a certain standard.Wen Desi asked Zhang Jiji if he used the ship book for building the ship. Zhang Jiji was embarrassed and said with a blushing face: "There is no ship book".

Wen Desi knew that he wanted to keep his technical secrets, and thought that he would not overwhelm you. He was afraid that there would be a lot of long-winded words in the future, so he cleared his throat and reported a series of numbers in Cantonese:

"400 material warships, 8 feet 6 feet 9 inches long, 1 foot 7 feet wide, labor 2487,..."

(Note: The ruler here is the ruler of the Ministry of Industry, which is 0.311 meters. There is another city-use ruler, which is 0.283 meters)

Before the words fell, Zhang Jiji fell to his knees with a common sound, his face full of panic: "Big...big...people..."

Wen Desi said: "Get up, what are you afraid of?!"

"My lord knows-"

"When you arrive at Bopu and look at our large and small iron ships, you will realize the depth of ingenious things in the world. What is a ship book?" Wen Desi thought to himself that this is just the most basic reading material for ancient ship lovers Stuff from "Southern Ships".

"Yes, yes." Zhang Jiji knew that this master was an expert, and he heard that there were completely different iron boats to see, so he couldn't help it for a long time, and it became much more enjoyable to introduce the boats.

The ship that is about to be completed is a two-masted ship, and the hull is made of fir. This is different from the information in Wen Desi's memory. He remembers that the characteristic of the Guangzhou ship is "iron wood" in the book. The Fubo they captured The ship is also Guangzhou Ship. Although iron wood is not used, lychee wood, which is also a hardwood, is also used.

Faced with Wen Desi's inquiry, Zhang Jiji said that it was entirely a matter of cost. The price of iron wood was high, while Chinese fir was plentiful and cheap, and its strength was acceptable.According to him, it was ordered by a marine merchant in Guangdong. Every time he went to Nanyang Trading, he would buy a new ship. He didn’t want the ship to be good, as long as it could arrive safely. Come back by other boat.Therefore, the boat is almost disposable, and the materials used can be saved as long as it is cheap.

"How much silver does such a ship cost?"

"The price is 800 taels. If you use good wood, add 200 taels."

So the price of a boat is 1000 taels.It seems that the navy has been a big burner since ancient times.For shipbuilding, it is better to introduce private capital.

From the structural point of view of this ship, the whole ship is divided into 12 cabins by 13 bulkheads. The bulkhead panels are made of large camphor boards with a thickness of more than 10 cm.This is the world-leading structure of ancient Chinese sailing ships: the watertight cabin.There are beam-holding ribs at the junction of the watertight bulkhead and the hull plate and are fixed with iron nails.There are two water holes in the bulkhead and the beam ribs near the bottom of the ship, which surprised Wen Desi—with the water holes, how can this watertight cabin be waterproof?

Zhang Jiji explained that these water holes are to facilitate the discharge of accumulated water in the cabin, and they can be blocked with special wooden plugs during sailing.

The planks of the ship are all made of fir, the thickness of the bottom plate is more than 20 centimeters, the side plank is 15 centimeters, and the width of the planks is 8-20 centimeters.The horizontal connection of the ship board adopts the butt joint type, the longitudinal connection adopts the flat joint connection, and the seam of the board is filled with twist material.It is made of hemp silk, tung oil and oyster shell ash. The component of tung oil is tungoleic acid glyceride, which is easy to oxidize and polymerize. The formed paint film is tough and water-resistant. The calcium carbonate content of oyster shell ash is more than 90%. Lime fired at high temperature is most suitable for blending tung oil. Lime itself has strong cohesiveness. Mixing lime and tung oil can promote the polymerization and drying of tung oil, forming calcium tung oilate, which has excellent water resistance.Iron nails were also used for nailing between these ship boards, and the places with nail holes were sealed with putty twisting materials.

In front of the third and seventh bulkheads, there are fore-mast and main-mast seats.The mast seat is a large piece of camphor wood fixed on the bulkhead and the hull. There are two square holes on it. The mast clips are inserted into the square holes, and the mast can be fixed through the mast clips.One of the characteristics of Chinese-style sailboats is that the mast can be laid down and disassembled. A rotating shaft is set on the mast seat and a square hole for the mast is left on the bulkhead.

The ballast is the pebbles that can be seen everywhere on the beach. Zhang Jiji said that it is mainly placed under the third and fourth cabins.There are dragon ribs on both sides, which are used to lay the bottom deck, and the goods and personnel are living on this deck.

The rudder is made of hardwood, and although it is a one-off vessel, the key parts are still unambiguous.The rudder is a primitive balance rudder that can be raised and lowered, and there are many holes on the rudder plate. According to Zhang Jiji, this can make the rudder less labor-intensive to operate, and it is also a unique design on Guangzhou Shipyard.

What interested Wen Desi the most was the many shipbuilding materials piled up in the workshop.Especially iron pieces.Chinese ships have been using iron nails to connect ship boards since the Warring States Period, and it was fully mature in Tang and Song Dynasties. Wouldn't it be exciting to see these things with his own eyes now?There are six or seven types of iron nails here: shovel nails, square nails, date stone nails, climbing head nails, and flat head nails, all of which have different forms and different uses.There is also a peculiar ruler-shaped iron member, about 50 cm long, 5 cm wide, and 0.6 cm thick. One section is folded into a right angle, and there are four small holes in the ruler.Zhang Jiji said that these are the curly nails used to nail the ship's planks, and their function is to connect the outer plates to the bulkheads.The method is to pre-open the curium grooves on the bulkhead first, open holes and slits on the outer plate, drive the curium nails from the outside to the inside and place them in the curium grooves of the bulkhead.Fix the curly nails on the bulkhead with nails.

Wen Desi wandered around the ship, looking at this real bright ship, wondering if it is possible to turn this ship into a sail cruiser.But when I think about it carefully, I feel that this ship is still too small. The deadweight ton of a 400 material ship is only 30 to 40 tons. A warship can only have 6 to 8 cannons at most. Its transportation volume is too poor for the massive raw materials needed for industrialization. .The speed of making an expedition ship is too slow, it seems that he still wants to build the two-masted schooner he is most familiar with and favorite.

"Old Zhang," Wen Desi said, "what do you think of the red-haired boat?"

"The ships are tall, with cannons, and pirates who are not afraid of wind and waves."

"anything else?"

"The sails are exquisite," Zhang Jiji said honestly, "the speed is fast. I have seen it for a long time on the red-haired ship, probably because the mast is high, the canvas is much, and the wind is strong. But the real mystery is still not obvious. "

"Well, I know all this."

Zhang Jiji looked at Wen Desi, and there was a light in his eyes.But he knew that craftsmanship is the capital of eating, how could this master tell him so easily, he couldn't help but become gloomy again.

Wen Desi smiled: "Let me tell you, in Australia where we came, special schools teach shipbuilding. The boat skills you and I know are just superficial. If you are interested, someone will teach you in the future." you."

Zhang Jiji hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed a few times: "Master Ruomeng taught me the secret technique, Zhang Jiji is very grateful, and will be driven by the master all his life."

"Well, get up now." Wen Desi found a big rock and sat down, and opened the book in his hand, which contained a line drawing of a sailboat

"Can you build this boat?"

Zhang Jiji looked at it for a long time. This picture is completely different from the one he saw in the ship book: the proportion is strict, and the lines are clear and accurate. It is not a simple outline. The special three-view is more intuitive.He clicked his tongue inwardly—after learning the art of drawing, he would be able to eat and drink for a lifetime, and this group of people really is not the idle ones.

He asked a few questions about proportions, and roughly estimated that the boat was about [-] materials.Such a large boat machine has never been built.

"The small one has never made such a big one." Zhang Jiji said cautiously, "The small one is willing to give it a try."

The ship chosen by Wen Desi is a two-masted schooner. This kind of fast schooner is flexible and fast. Regardless of the armed situation, it can be operated by less than 10 people. In addition to cargo, it can also carry 30 official passengers. .Ideal for oceangoing adventures and naval patrols.The famous America is a two-masted schooner, which won the regatta in 1851, and there were only 9 sailors and captains.It was later used as a smuggling ship for the Confederate Army during the Civil War.It has a displacement of 170 tons, a total length of 30 meters and a width of 7 meters.Draft 3 meters.Equipped with two 24-pound short guns (broadside guns) and one 12-pound long gun (central rotary gun position), if equipped with a lighter 6-pound gun, 6-8 can be installed.

Note: Regarding Guangzhou Shipbuilding, the information of 400 materials comes from the history of Chinese shipbuilding. There are many opinions on the concept of materials. Here, one material in the history of Chinese shipbuilding is equal to 60kg load.

(End of this chapter)