Page 236 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

Chapter Three
as well as pitch, tar , oakum and moss, as well as have the Ship well caulk ed inside and out, doweled , and clenched with bolts, furth ermore a galley , buttery, cable tiers and boatswain’s room, pump wells, powder and bread room, berths, all to the wishes of the Cli- ent, furthermore whatever the work requires, because not everything can be thought of beforehand, to set to Sea. But the ironwork and nails the Clien t shall pay for himself, the chasing and doweling, the careening at the expense of the Client, all in Amsterdam feet and inches.
Whereas the above contract was of a legal nature, full of agreements concerning quality and sou ndness, the following contracts are cle arly of a different nature—the financial responsibilities are not as important as the di- mensions of the parts and the spaces. These contracts or certers appear as though they came straight from a ship- wright’s notebook.
(105 II 25) But to get even more acquainted with
the business of Shipbuilding: there will follow some Contracts of Ships, made by Mr. Dirk Raven, famous master Shipwright in Amsterdam.
A Ship called Deventer, Anno 1627 December the 11th.
Long 112 feet, wide 26 feet inside the planking, deep 11 and 1⁄2 feet at deck level. An upper deck above that high 6 and 1⁄2 feet in the sides. The stem 173⁄4 feet high in the right angle, is curved 5 feet, raking 21 feet, thick 12 inches, the fron t side thick 7 inches. The sternpost 19 feet high in the right angle: raking (but it is half a foot too man y) 5 and 1⁄2 feet, thick 12 inches, the backside thick 7 inches, broad 6 feet below. In the
right angle the tuck stands 10 feet from the upper side of the keel, the wing transom of the tuck is 1 5 feet 3 quarters long. The keel is thick 15 inches square. The stern timbers rise 13 feet above the wing transom, and there they stand 8 feet apart. The bottom is 17 feet wide, the turn of the bilge plank ed 5 feet, and the tops of the bilges there are 24 feet wide, then the sides hang out 14 inches [11 inches]. The wale rise 1 1⁄2 feet forward, 9 feet aft.
(106 I 1) A Ship named Campen, Anno 1628, March the 7th.
Long112feet,wide261⁄4 feet,deepatdecklevel 11 feet 1⁄4, the bottom is wide 17 feet, rising 1 5 inches, the bilges planked at 5 feet 1⁄4, and there it is 241⁄2 feet wide, the wale is rising 11⁄4 feet forward, aft 9 feet, the stem 181⁄2 feet high, raking 20 feet, cur ving 41⁄2 feet, thick 12 inches, the sternpost 20 feet high, raking 5 feet, thick 12 inches, the face aft 7 inches thick, the wing transom of the tuck 16 feet long, the stern tim- bers 21 feet long, where there are wide 8 feet 4 inches, the tuck is 10 feet 3⁄4 high above the k eel, the keel is 14 inches deep, broad 16 inches, the upper deck 6 feet and 1⁄2 high in the sides, the gunroom from the coun- tertothebulkheadislong, 20feet,thebeakheadat the upper side of the lower knee of the head is 20 feet long, the lion is 6 feet long, the trail board is deep 20 inches.
(106 I 24)
A Ship named Swol, Anno 1628 June the 20th.
Long 115 feet, wide 2 7 feet, deep at deck level 12 feet, the upper deck 6 feet 1⁄2 high in the sides, the stem 18 feet and 1⁄2 high in the right angle, the sternpost 21
Figure 3.30. Basic dimensions of the Deventer (1627), 112 × 26 × 111⁄2 feet. The ship was probably a man- of-war. A-B, the length between stem and stern; C, the main frame; D, the height of the main deck; E, the height of the upper deck; F, the upper face of the lowermost wale; G, the width of the bottom (the rise of the floor is not given in the contract); H, the bilge planking; I, the height of the master ribband; J, the height of the tuck; K, the wing transom; L, the stern timber; M, the main deck; N, the upper deck (Drawing by A. J. Hoving)
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