Page 112 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

Chapter Two
Figure 2.104.
are both let into the deck beam. From their grooved sides the ledges (c) run, supported alongships by carlings (d), which are let into the deck beam (e). The weight of the guns was thus distributed over structural components in both directions.
The length of both the binding strake and the waterway was important for strength. (Courtesy G. A. de Weerdt)
51. Caulk the Bilges and the garboard stern rabbet.
51. Caulk the Bilges and the Garboard Stern Rabbet
Caulking was done with unraveled rope c alled oakum, or with moss; this ma terial was driven into the seams be- tween the pl anks with the c aulking iron (no. 4 3 in fi g. 1.27), which looks like a blunt chisel with a groove instead of a cutting edg e, and the c aulking mallet (no. 4 1 in fi g. 1.27). The seam was then sealed with pitch and, on some ships, even with a batten, fastened with sintels, small cir- cular clips.
52. Make the side planking.
(153 I 46) On the plate FF [fig. 2.105] the side planking isshownata,atbtheSternpostshores,andat cthe bilge leveling shores.
And on the plate GG [fig. 2.106], the bottom a is shown, when the Ship lies on its side, w here b is the side planking. Here the outer planks of the ship are applied from the top down, but in Rotterdam from the bottom up.
When having nished going around above, the Sca oldingislowered,toclosetheside,andplaceita little below the upper edge of the bilge planking, after which it is laid underneath the W ales to close imme- diately, and w hen it is closed , it is then treenailed , nailed and bolted; when it has been faired, it should be caulked to the bilges, but the bilges should be faired , nailed and caulked a little before.
52. Make the Side Planking
The open part between the bilges and the lower wale (huid- dicht, here tran slated as “side pl anking”) was planked next. The planks were joined with long scarfs in the same way as those of the bottom and bil ges. It is hard to u n- derstand Witsen’s formulation of planking methods. We know from Van Yk’s treatise that in Rotterdam ships were planked from the w ale downward. As Witsen indicates a difference between the R otterdam and the Amsterdam method, he must have meant to s ay that in Amsterdam the planking was done from the bilges upward toward the wales.
The binding strake (a) and the waterway (b)
Figure 2.105. Plate LIV (drawing FF)
94