Page 64 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

Chapter Two
Figure 2.12.
Plate XLVIII (drawing C)
made about as thick as the back side of the Sternpost, long one third of the thickness of the keel, and broad one third of the Sternpost, as can be seen at q, from c to k it is so much thinner as the planks of the Gar- board strake which are to come there are thick: And this fades to naught at the inside at r. Then the Skeg is fastened with nails and bolts, as can be seen at the dot- ted line. . . , at a and b is the inner face, which should be curved a little, as shown from s to t; the lower the longer the bolts have to be. [. . .]
The inner piece is necessaril y made of one timber , as also the outer Skeg: but the inner Skeg may be made
3. The Sternpost
I have not previously discussed the r abbet in the k eel, stem, and sternpost, in whic h the pl anks are fi tted, be- cause these rabbets will be dealt with in connection with section 15 ( Then the garboard stern rabbet is made, with the keel rabbet). Yet the garboard stern rabbet must be mentioned briefl y here bec ause of its effect on the thickness of the sternpost.
On each side, the ends of the lowest two or three strakes slowly turn to the vertical and ru n right through to the aft face of the sternpost instead of terminating with hood ends in r abbet, as was done according to English practice. To keep the stern from bec oming unreasonably thick as a result, the sternpost was slimmed down accord- ingly. In the case of the pinas, this was 11⁄2 inches on each side, up to a height of 51⁄2 feet (1.56 meters).
Figure 2.13. (top) Plate XLVIII (drawing B)
Figure 2.14. (bottom) Plate XLVIII (drawing D)
of two parts. All this can be seen at the letter D [fig. 2.14], but many shipwrights do make the Sternpost a little thicker than shown here.
(72 II 35) 1. The sternpost, high 24 1⁄4 feet; rake 4 feet.
2. The back thick 9 inches, or outside beneath the square on the inside thick 131⁄4 inches. [The square is the top of the stern o ver the tot al thickness of the w ing transom, where it is kept square and not decreased at the back side like the rest of it.]
3. Above broad 19 inches; below broad 6 feet.
(147 I 5) The wide part aft is long 16 and 1⁄2 inches, is called the square, is thick 13 inches, below the square it is thick 9 inches.
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