Page 161 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

The length of the yard, is according to the width of the ship: Example:
Alargeyacht,themastthick161⁄2 palms,longon the shrouds 54 feet, the top 17 feet.
A schietschuit [?], the mast long 50 feet, thick 11 palms.
twice
281⁄2 width
2
56 [should be 57] 13 depth
69. [should be 70]
depth once
comes to
The foreyard is one 7th shorter than the main
(133 I 46)
. ..
Proportionate measure of the thickness of the Masts.
yard, which in this case is 60 ft. and a little less than
When a mast is thick 16 palms at the foot, then it should be 12 palms thick at the platform and 11 palms at the top.
When the topmast is 10 palms thick at the foot, as will be appropriate for a mast such as above, then at the top it shall be 61⁄2 palms.
The crosstrees come 6 inches beneath the octagon.
The Upper end of the mizzenmast, is thick two thirds of the lower end.
As goes for the topgallant masts, mizzen and sprit- sail topmast. A yard is made thick at the ends, at two
fths from where it is thick in the middle.
To arrive at the thickness of the main mast, tak e
one foot thickness at the partner for every six feet of the depth.
Masts on East Indiamen have a considerable rak e, and are shrouded for ward, but the topmast is held backward with the backsta ys: such that the mast is bent in misshape. [The iconography—i.e., the work of Nooms—suggests that Witsen has this reve rsed: lower masts were raked aft while topmasts were bowsed forward with the stays.]
The lower foot of the masts, w here they stand inthebottom,andalsounderneaththemast- top,is planed in eigh t or six sides, w here often cheeks are placed, for strength, below the mast top chocks are nailed to the mast, on which it comes to lie.
(94 II 49) Necessary observations on the Main and Fore mast.
The mainmast is set at about the middle of the ship. The foremast at one fth: and the mizzen at the rst part from the stern, when the entire Ship is divided in
ve and a half.
. ..
(133 I 36) The masts are tarred at the top, about where the yards and the tops are, for durability; as also below andeverywhere,wheretheysu ermost.
. ..
3⁄4 of a foot.
The thickness of the yard is
1⁄4 part less than the
mast.
The lateen yard a foot or two longer, than the miz-
zen mast.
The spritsail yard, 1⁄4 shorter than the length of the
bowsprit: for Example, the bowsprit is long 60 feet, the length of the spritsail yard comes to 45.
The main topsail yard, is nearly half shorter, than
the main yard is long.
The fore topsail yard , hardly half as short as the
foreyard.
Thespritsailtopsailyard,isshorterby 2⁄3 ofthe
bowsprit: for example, the bowsprit long 60 feet, comes to 20 feet for the length of the spritsail topsail yard.
The spritsail topmast, is one foot or two longer than 1⁄3 of the bowsprit.
The mizzen and main- topgallant masts, have a length, 1⁄3 of the main topmast, or a little more.
The fore-topgallant is 1⁄9 part shorter , than the main-topgallant mast:
Example 18
comes to 16.
At the end the masts are a little thicker, for ropes to
pass through and 8-sided.
. ..
(132 I 15) The Ship’s masts are made, thus
For a Ship of 135 feet length, wide 34: found the mast to be long 85 feet, thick 211⁄2 palms.
A Ship of 130 feet length, and 30 feet wide: the mast long 83 feet, thick 20 palms.
A Ship of 100 feet, the mast long 74 feet, thick 151⁄2 palms.
A buss of 7 4 feet, the mast long 55 feet, being a square sail, thick 11 palms.
Aboyerof86feet,themastthick19palms,and long at the shrouds 58 feet, the top 19 feet.
A galliot of 88 feet, the mast thick 20 palms, and long at the shrouds 59 feet, the top 19 feet.
How Ships Are Built in Holland Today
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