Page 60 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

Chapter Two
(72 II 18) 2. Of the stem.
1. The stem, high 25 feet, has a rake of 26 feet.
2. Thick on the inside 13 1⁄4 inches, at the fron t 9
inches thick, broad 3 feet bel ow, above 2 feet, inner curve 5 feet.
3. The boxing scarf, long 8 inches.
4.TheScarf,long6feet,andthick3 1⁄2 inches,the scarf clenched with 4 bolts.
5. The overlap on the keel, long 5 feet and 5 inches, and thick 4 inches.
(149 I 48) How the Stem is made.
a On the gure at P [fig. 2.5] is the Scarf.
b The Scarf coming onto the keel.
c The boxing scarf [kinnebak, lit., “jawbone”].
d The small Bolt, clenched with the plate.
The other points are bolts, treenails, and nails with
which it is fastened to the Scarf.
(149II35) Tocontinuethemakingofthe Stem,the pieces are laid onto each other as said, and one checks if the curve is as required, if so, then one lays a batten from a to b, which is the height of the stem, as can be seen on the plate at Q [fig. 2.6], and a batten from c to b which indicates the rake of the stem: then one tak es the try square and holds it at the inside of the battens at b, where it is in the right angle, and draws the joint of theboxinginthesquareat c and e, asfrom d to c, which is the overlap on the keel, and when it is drawn from d to c and from c to e, this will give the rak e of the stem; the bolts in the scarfs of the stem are then hammered in from above and below.
2. The Stem
The molded dimension of the stem, viewed from the side, was, according to Witsen, three times its thickness; ac- cording to Van Yk, it was only tw ice its thic kness. If we check this dimension with the me asurements of the pi- nas, Van Yk’s formula is closer to the result . In other c on- tracts the bre adth appears to be arou nd two and a h alf times the thickness, a bit more above and below, and it is clear that some liberty was taken with this proportion.
The height of the st em was obt ained by simple addi- tion: first the depth of the ship was taken, to which the ris- ing of the dec k forward was then added, and fi nally the height between lower and upper dec k. The total gave the height of the stem, but only in the c ase of an open fore- castle. With the so-called closed forecastle, the forecastle
(56 II 39)
. ..
The boxing scarf joins the keel.
42
Figure 2.5. Plate L (drawing P)
Figure 2.6. Plate L (drawing Q)