Page 41 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

(182 I 36) Elm does not tak e treenails well. Lime is recommended, because it does not su er tearing and cracking so easily.
(182 II 23) Fir was chosen for yards, and to make sprits; it is pliant, but rots in saltwater, which is why it is bet- ter used on sweet rivers than in sea. It is used on Ships above the water, where it is adequate for its ligh tness; the trees are distinguished in male and female speci- men, of which the male is thought to be stronger and sounder.
(183 II 33) Lime and White Poplar, are good for pumps and other tubes, because they are soft inside and hard on the outside.
(183 II 25) Much more could be said here on the qual- ity of wood and trees, but seeing as much of it is of no importance to Shipbuilding, we shall not pursue it be- yond stating that Lignum Vitae and Walnut are good for sheaves, because they are hard and strong.
Witsen mentions other kinds of wood, such as Brazil- ian, Biscayan, Irish, and Engli sh wood, and espec ially many sorts about which the ancients gave their opinion, such as fi g wood, the pine tree, the ju niper tree, and so on; yet he makes the following clear:
(181 I 12) For Shipbuilding oak tops everything, above all other trees, because it is tough, bends well, is strong and not too heavy.
Witsen also discusses the quality of wood:
(180 I 53) The shipbuilder should mind the quality of
woodusedforbuilding,andfork eelandframeshe chooses the best wood; for car vings and decorations bad wood is adequate, and all the inner paneling ma y be light and badly constructed, as long as it does not interfere with the rmness of the ship: but sapwood and rotted wood he must avoid everywhere.
(179 II 28) It is importan t to see to it, that the wood used for constructing the Ship is dry and not wet; moist wood, when it dries when fastened to the Ship, produces crevices and cracks and often causes great discomforts when at sea.
(181 I 20) The fewer knots there are in the wood, and the longer the grain, the more useful it is for build- ing.
Wood which contains the most resin, gum or tur- pentine, is the most water-resistant. Here r and deal surpass oak.
Wood of a brown color indicates that it is wet and
moist, which is w hy one should choose the yellow color. The heartwood and cen ter of the tree, gives the best timber, which is why one should choose trees, which have the widest heartwood.
(183 II 47) Wood which has lain between wind and wa- ter, is liable to much rot. The quality of masts lies in their thickness, roundness and length, and also in be- ing without knots and long-grained.
Never should a tree be cut as long as it bears fruit: it is with trees as with women, weak w hen they carry. Take notice of the M oon, and cut the trees w hen she is absent, for it is believed she increases the moisture in the trees.
And also do not let wood dry too much, so that it does not crack and disintegrate.
(184 I 46) It is also best to fell a tree after a long spell of quiet and dry weather, because rain wets the wood, and wind closes it, such that the water inside cannot seep out.
(179 I 34 ) Wood cut in win ter, when the leaves have fallen and the tree is closed , is the strongest. Before felling trees it is helpful to pierce them across the base four or ve days beforehand, so that the living juices can ooze out and the wood can dry.
(183 II 8) This can be taken for a general rule, that one does not choose wood of the largest size for shipbuild- ing, because large trees are old trees, and old trees are like old people, weak and brittle.
Apart from wood and its qualities, Witsen also gives full attention to the w ay shipbuilders should h andle the wood, offering these extremely practical suggestions:
(179 I 27) In building and cleaving wood one should pay attention to the grain, the more one works with the grain, and the less one saws, the stronger the work will be: as dry wood is to be preferred to wet wood , which is solid and liable to split.
(179 II 48) It is a sound rule amongst carpen ters, that when they have both good and bad wood to build a Ship from, they will sort the good from the bad , and use the bad for the inside.
(180 II 9) One has to watch carefull y the wood from which the ship’s treenails are made: because brittle- ness has been the cause of man y a lost ship. Dry and young wood is the best suited , and much of it comes to us from East Ireland and elsew here; pins turned from Knots, which are very hard, in my opinion are strong and good enough for this.
Introduction
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