Page 96 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

Chapter Two
When the beams are in place, then the lower scaf- folding is made on the beams, and the frame trusses are placed as shown at n in gure X [fig. 2.61].
34. Lay the Beams, with the Deck Clamp Underneath
As Witsen states, the dec k beams were let into the dec k clamp with dovetails, resulting in a very firm construction for both inwardly and outwardly directed forces.
Usually the be ams would lie about three and a h alf feet (one meter) apar t in the ship, except where the m ain hatch was, which always had to be seven feet to allow for the largest barrels.
35. Raise the Sca olding.
35. Raise the Scaffolding
To prepare for the raising of the beams of the upper deck and to give support for the installation of the first top tim- bers, the scaffolding was raised to the beams of the main deck. It is noteworthy that large scaffoldings with poles driven into the e arth, as described b y Van Yk, are not mentioned by Witsen. The ship itself was almost always used to support the scaffolding.
36. Place the Molds.
(262 II 54) It ts a man-of-war to be wide above, for the managing of the gun, and to enhance defense.
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(266 II 38) That our men- of-war then are cur ved above, is done for prettiness and because a large crowd of men can better ght from such a ship, than from narrow ships, and because their better ability to ght is preferred over their speed in sailing.
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(266 I 51) Most of the ships, which in this country are built for war, are wider above than the ship, described before: or, to speak more clear ly, the cur ve given to the frames w here they rise abov e the lower bod y of the ship is pulled more inward , than is usuall y done with men-of-war; because although on toda y’s men- of-war it may go somewhat inward, yet a little farther up it goes outward again and th us makes that the ship is fairly wider, than the ship I describe [the pinas.]. So it is with my ship, because we trust that ships, having their topsides slightly curving inward, are more easily managed and defended with less crew; w hich is use- ful on a ship that has other purposes besides ghting.
Narrowness above gives little windage: it bene ts the sails, which is also w hy narrow and low cabins are made on ships with little tumble home.
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(265 II 20) Between the upper deck and the main deck, especially on men- of-war, there should be as much room for a man to walk easil y, unless, to obtain more space in the hold, it is made slightly less deep.
(266 II 44 ) Ships are best narrow above, for then they are di cult to board; because her bulging bel- lies make the side di cult to jump over: they are less praiseworthy because, w hen lying on one side, they heel over more and more easil y take in water in the sides; of which the curved sides, along which the wa- ter rolls, are the cause; they heel over more, because the shrinking sides do not fall at on the water, as the bulging bellies below, and so do not help the ship to
oat. Ships that are too wide above have this discom- fort, that they become crank and easily capsize.
36. Place the Molds
These molds would not have consisted of much more than planks sawn in cu rves, but their p urpose was clear: this was the moment when the ship above the waterline was shaped. Witsen does not provide any details, but in prac- tice, while I was w orking on the model, it became clear that with top timbers or molds taken over from the eight initial frames, the sh ape can be determined per fectly by eye. The stern timbers mounted on the t uck, which at an early stage predicted the shape of the hull to some extent, no doubt served as a point of departure in this. After plac- ing a top timber at the bo w and one in the middle, the upper works were wel l shaped by using ribbands and b y adding more top timbers or molds as one went along.
37. Make the Ceiling between the bilges and the beams.
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When the beams are laid , then one goes ahead with the ceiling between the Bilge ceiling, and underneath the Deck clamp, and by dubbing o , as is shown with the man standing on the sca olding at a in the plate AA [fig. 2.72]; then also the knees for the hold beams are made, as can be seen at b, and then the Keelson is laid down, as at e, and the top timbers are raised, as at g, and the waterways are laid, as at c, and the Binding strakes, as seen at d.
(152 II 7 )