Page 164 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

Chapter Two
94. Step the Masts
Large masts were generally composed of several lengths of pinewood from Riga, called gekuipte masten (coopered masts). To keep the par ts together the mast was wound with rope or iron bands at several places, the s ame as with the cooperage of casks.
The mast was planed into an oct agon at the foot and also at the hounds, the upper par t of the mast to which the trestletrees were n ailed. Crosstrees were let into the trestletrees, and the top was bolted on top of them. To strengthen the hounds, cheeks were applied.
The length of the m ain mast was twic e the total of the depth plus the width. For the pi nas this should result in 84 feet, but Witsen indicates 80 feet. The length of the masts was apparently also a characteristic that the ship- builder could vary according to his wishes.
The thickness of the mast was one foot for every 6 feet of depth. For the pinas, this comes to 21⁄6 feet (59 centi- meters).Thismeasurementisthediameterof themast, but in hi s lists Witsen used c ircumferences only in the measurements for the masts and spars of the pinas. This may imply that he took the measurements from the ship itself, which is another indic ation that the ship act ually existed and was not simply “built in our thoughts” ( 53 I 28), as Witsen says himself.
The head of the m ast is the par t above the hou nds. The thickness there is still three fourths of the total thick- ness because the mast became thinner toward the head. The head was often cut to an octagon as we ll, or rather a square with beveled corners.
The dimensions of all the other spars were arrived at in this way, although it must be said that Witsen does not supply all the formulas. (F or the formulas used by Witsen as well as Van Yk, see t able 1 in the appendi x.) Accord- ing to Van Yk, the length of the head of the mast was one tenth of the total length, and the leng th of the head of a topmast one twelfth (p. 170). Witsen is thriftier: 7 instead of 8 feet for the 80- foot main mast. Perhaps this repre- sents a gr adual change. Over time m astheads became longer.
Mast length was measur ed in feet and thickness in palms, giving the circumference. A palm was one third of an Amsterdam foot (95.4968 millimeters). To arrive at the diameter, divide the circumference by 3.14 (pi).14
The raising or stepping of the masts was done with cranes at some yards andsometimes with floating sheers. Another tec hnique employed improvised sheer legs stepped on deck, but this was mainly done in case of damage underway.
Trestletrees and Crosstrees
The trestletrees and crosstrees were fixed on the hounds. They were longit udinal and were cros sed by the cros s- trees, surrounding the m ast closely and suppor ting the top. When no top was made, they served only to separate the mast from the topmast, to support the fid (which held up the topmast), and to spread the topmast shrouds.
According to Van Yk, the length of the trestletrees was one third of the ship’s width; they were five inches thick for every six feet of its length, while their br eadth was three quarters of the thickness (Van Yk, p. 177). The cross- trees were a bit shorter.
For the trestletrees of the foremast Van Yk counted one sixth less; those of the mizz enmast, bowsprit, and m ain topmast were h alf the s ize of the m ain trestletrees. The others were even smaller (see table 1 in the appendix).
Mast Caps
A heavy, semicircular block of w ood, the mast cap, was placed on the he ad of the m ast; it held the topm ast and was grooved for the halyard ties of the yard. As with many other parts, the s ize of the m ast cap depended on its place in the rigging: the m ain mast had the largest mast cap, the rest in diminishing sizes.
The mast cap drawn by Witsen (see fig. 2.195) is one of a shape unknown to me.
Tops
The top was the pl atform lying on the
trestletrees, onto whic h the de adeyes of the topm ast shrouds were fixed. It was a working platform for taking in the topsails and as a place for snipers during battle.
In the seventeenth c entury the mast tops were round, becoming square with a rounded front in the eighteenth century.
Hoops were laid around the edge, fixed on low knees lying radially on the top.
95. And the Bowsprit.
The foot of the Bowsprit stands against the foot of the Foremast, to support one another, and supply rmness, without which it makes no di erence whether the bowsprit comes far or short into the ship.
. ..
On the bowsprit, mainl y on very large Ships, often laths are nailed, to be used as steps.
The bowsprit rests on the stem or on a breasthook, beside the stem: often comes between the riding bitts,
crosstrees and
146
(256 II 34 )
(133 II 30)