Page 141 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

reason, but the pleasure of the shipwrigh t: but the height of the knob, above the lion, never comes higher than the railings of the forecastle, if the ship has a forecastle: some years back the beakhead was made fairly long: today it is made short again, cur ved, and steep, which, in my opinion, is not to be recommended on large ships, because it gives too little space, for the required use, for w hich Beakheads are suitable. T o ships though, made only to sailing performance, short beakheads t best, and short bowsprits, because, the longertheseare,thegreatertheangleofmovemen t they give to the en tire ship, when the sea happens to blow against them, w hich greatly impedes the head- way of the ship: the ligh ter of wood they are, the less resistance the water, blowing against it, feels, and sub- sequently, the less force and momen tum it passes on to the ship. W hen all too heavy and long Beakheads break down at sea, it is often necessary to saw them o : because they cannot be repaired because of their size and risk damaging the ship if left hanging loose and dangling. If made too heavy, they also make ships heel over forward too much, an d dive in to the water: on men-of-war the largest beakheads are required: they serve the quarters of the sailors, for cleaning, wash- ing, urinating and for one’ s relief: as also to manage the rigging of the bowsprit from there; and especiall y for the adornmen t of th e ships. On men- of-war the Beakheadisusedforaprison,inw hichthefettered criminals are lock ed. The beakhead is gammoned with tight ropes for strength: it is made heavy or light, according to the ship’ s sturdiness or tenderness, and such to get the cen ter of gravi ty in a suitable place: for this reason it can be seen that beakheads of ships are changed, made lighter or heavier, when ships have become tender, by placing this or that heavy thing on it, like masts etc. or also when it has become sturdy, by planking it from below, or in another fashion.
In these countries it is practice, to place a Lion on the fore end of the Beakhead , the coat of arms of the state: and aft, at the top, the coat of arms of the town, where the ship was built, and belongs.
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(267 II 50) Forward on the Beakhead tarpaulins and pap-doeken [lit., “drenched cloths,” perhaps a synonym for “tarpaulins”] are laid, across which drag the anchor cable and sheet.
The Beakhead and the Foremast are sawn o in an emergency, when the ship pitches, or is leaking for- ward.
Figure 2.157.
Plate XLIV
Figure 2.158.
Plate XXXVI. The beakhead.
How Ships Are Built in Holland Today
(60 I 1) The Beakhead rises, from A to C [fig. 2.157] 21⁄2 feetless,thanhalfofAB,measuringisdoneupto the underside of the lion’s mouth, only halfway A to B, straight on. The hawseholes, sh own at E, are 8 inches thick,thesupportingkneetothespurofthehead,which are against the front of the stem, broad 1 foot, thick 6 1⁄2 inches, and long there 6 feet.
The lower cheek timber , comes 2 inches over the second wale. The upper , stands 13 inches, below the third wale, as to coincide with the pin.
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