Page 153 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

Figure 2.181. Hawsehole.
Plate XXVI.
four cables ran through the h awseholes). For the model I chose this design, as it also worked better on the outside: the anchor cable thus risks damaging the beakhead much less than when entering the ship at a higher level.
The size of the hawseholes depended on the thickness of the anchor hawse or cable, which in turn was derived from the size of the ship. Witsen’s illustration (fig. 2.181) shows a cresc ent-shaped fairing under the h awsehole, but other iconography shows a thick “boxing” around the hawseholes on the outside of the hull.
84. [erroneously numbered “83”] The Bitt Knees.
84. The Bitt Knees
The bitts were fi tted in section 7 6 (Place the Bitts ) and are reinforced in this section with two large knees forward. At the same time, they provided an important support for thebowspritbecausetheyheldthetwoknights orstan- dards in between which the foot of the bowsprit rested.
85. The Covering Board.
(56 I 55) The Covering Board , also called Plank Sheer: is the wood , which covers the Ship’ s side, and closes it o , so that the water cannot come between thesides,andtotheframes,thepostsw hicharede- picted in the plate, are the ends of the frames.
hung to the hook s of the hing es that had been n ailed to the chocks above the gunports.
83. Hawseholes.
(55 I 26) Hawsehole: a hole, in a thick plank, standing in the side, against the stem, through w hich the cable runs, with a fairing made around it on the outside.
. ..
(276 I 1) Forward against the bow , on the upper deck, one can see a trough, w hich is called the pis- bak: it serves to catch the water coming in through the hawseholes in bad weather , named such because of it similarity to that trough on the main deck, w hich the sailors use as their urinal.
How Ships Are Built in Holland Today
(79 II 50) 36. About the Hawseholes.
1. The rst hawsehole is wide 12 inches, the second
10 inches, the third 9 inches.
2. To starboard are 2 hawseholes, one of 1 foot, and
one 10 inches wide.
(79 II 45) 7. The bitt knees, long 10 feet, thick 10 inches. The bitt knees at th e bitts posts broad 2 feet 2 inches, forward 12 inches.
83. Hawseholes
Curiously enough, this pinas ha d three hawseholes to port and two to starboard of varying size.
The proper placement of the hawseholes was a prob- lem in thi s ship. Usually inside, underneath the h awse, there was a tr ough to c atch the water c oming in through the hawseholes in bad weather and dripping from the an- chor cables when they are hauled up. It was c alled the pisbak (urinal), which explains its second function.
Although Witsen mentions the manger, he does not in- clude one in his description of the pinas. That leaves two possibilities: either the h awseholes were pl aced at the usual height and Witsen just forgot to mention the m an- ger(andthescupperbelongingtoit);ortheh awseholes were so low above the deck that manger and scupper be- came unnecessary, as the drippings could drain through the hawseholes themselves. (It is also pos sible that the curious fifth hawsehole served as thescupperwhen
Figure 2.182.
(right) Plate XXXVII. Bitt knee.
(77 I 15) About the Covering Board.
The Covering Board, thick 11⁄2 inches,
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