Page 47 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

Introduction
and chips were gathered by the chip pickers in the yard.31 The chips were c ollected in a c hip basket (17) and used as fuel.
A Klaes Jacobszen (8) was an instrument with which the garboard strake, if slightly awry, was forced into place. This tool was also c alled a Houten Kl aas (Numb Hand), which in c ommon speech meant someone who never does anything spontaneous or unexpected.
A type of clamp known a s tongs or boeitang ( 9) was an important tool in shaping the bottom planking. It was used with the hook and chain (14) to squeeze the planks tight and k eep them from jutting upward. A wedg e (11) and chocks (12) were used tog ether with the tongs (see fig. 2.45). A lever (16) was also used for this.
Treenails were h ammered into the pl anks with a wooden mallet (10), as an iron h ammer would dam age the nails.
The bevel (13) was used to c opy angles. Plumb bobs
Figure 1.22. Plate LXXV (left)
(185 I 44) 35. A gin.
36. A trestle. There should also be a measuring rod of 20 feet [measuring rod shown as 34].
Figure 1.23. (above) The gin depicted by Witsen can be oriented
in two directions. This model from
the collection of navy models at the Rijksmuseum shows the alternate way. (Courtesy Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)
and levels (18, 19) were used to check the symmetry of the ship at various building stages. The familiar crowbar (20) was used to pry things apart, as it is today.
Ringbolts (21) were not tools, strictly speaking, but were drilled through the hull and anchored with a wedge or forelock. Thus the bolt could always be u ndone. The ring could be used, for in stance, to hit ch the breec hing of the gu ns. The holes for the bolts were dril led with an auger (24), and the bolts were h ammered through w ith an iron ram.
The wooden r am (25) was u sed to drive a number of wedges (26) underneath the k eel when the ship was launched.
Other tools included a mold ( 33), such as for a fut - tock, part of a frame, which did not dramatically change in shape over the leng th of the ship . It was eas y to plane it down to another shape, if necessary.
The ribband was a temporary but important device with
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