Page 40 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

Chapter 1
Figure 1.15. Materials for shipbuilding were imported to Holland from all over Europe (Drawing by
A. J. Hoving)
building materials he mentions. Wood is the most impor- tant of these materials, and Witsen deemed it necessary to warn the shipbuilder against false economy:
(263 II 31) In my building I will use wood without meanness: give each part its due, according to the di- mensions it requires, sparing no wood , knowing well that in building, the masters often mak e the parts more delicate and weak, trying to save material: but am conscious of the fact, that avarice costs man y a man his neck.
Timber for shipbuilding was obtained from several re- gions in Europe: str aight oak trunks were fl oated down the Rhine, forming gig antic rafts on whic h hundreds of people lived, to be sold in Dordrec ht. Crooked oak was imported via Hamburg. Timber was always named af ter the harbor where it was purc hased, seldom af ter its re- gion of origin.
Oak and pinewood were impor ted from “K oninkx- bergen” (Königsberg in Prus sia, now c alled Kaliningrad). Pinewood for masts and spars was obtained from Riga as well. Norway supplied pinewood, too, par ticularly deal (deal is pinewood s awn into pl anks). Pegs for treen ails came from Irel and. Domestic beech, elm, and a sh were used for pumps, blocks, carvings, handspikes, and tops.
(178 II 4 1) That the material from w hich one builds Ships is wood, everyone knows. Nec in navi cadentem lignum attingere, falling in a Ship without touching
wood, as the ancien ts said, when discussing a case which seemed impossible to them.
In this country it is mostly Oak from which Ships arebuilt,whichcomestousfromtheRhineandWest- phalia.Thiswoodforits densityadmitslittlewater. Westphalian crooked timber and Rhineland straigh t timber are much recommended.
Ships are also built of Pinewood, but it is light and not as strong as oak, for which reason it is seldom used for Ships of war , or ships exposed to much violence; yet for the upper and inner works, where not much force is exerted , it is very apt, as for Ships destined for loads; because pinewood is ligh t, and Ships made of pinewood oat high on the water , and therefore can take more cargo. This wood is brought to us from Norway and the East, as is deal , which is lik e pin- ewood, but ligh ter and more fragile. Both kinds of wood are di cult to bend , and have much sapwood . Masts from Norway and Muscovy are judged the best in our country, and are the most used. Koninkxbergen supplies the best planking in pinewood as well as oak, Norway the best deal.
(180 I 3) Elm and Lignum Vitae are good for making Ship blocks and sheaves.
Domestic Beech is recommended above domestic oak.
(180 I 41) Alder and Lime grow fast, but yield a ligh t and fragile material: but Alder will grow tough and strong if left in water, or in the ground for many years.
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