![]() Ships like the Mediterranean galleys and the nordic drakkar relied mainly on oars for propulsion aided by square sails when there was a following wind. In what follows, I concentrate on the evolution of larger craft destined for trade, war and long distance travel.īefore the Age of SailIn Europe, for a long time, boats were small, had one mast and seldom left sight of land. I cover those prehistoric boats in another section. Prehistoric boats Anything that floats can be lashed together to serve as a primitive boat and, starting with log rafts, early man went on to develop dug-out canoes, reed boats and kayaks. ![]() But during the 15th century (1405-1433), massive fleets under Admiral Cheng Ho (or Zheng He) went on voyages to India, Arabia and Africa. China is not known as a seafaring nation and, for many centuries, it promoted a policy of isolation to the extent that China relied on the Portuguese then Dutch for trade with Japan. Chinese ships also developped many other features before the west, for example: the stern mounted rudder, multiple masts, water-tight hull sections and the magnetic compass. These give the sail better aerodynamics and allow reducing the sail area for different wind conditions. Its most distinguishing feature are sails divided into a number of horizontal panels by bamboo slats ( battens). The typical vessel is the junk, an efficient design that is fast, easy to handle and able to sail upwind. Chinese ships Before discussing European vessels, we take a quick look at Chinese sailing ships. On these pages, I summarize what I found. One question led to another and I went on a wild tour of the Internet. Note: I got interested in the history of sail while transcribing the letters of a Swiss relative who died in Shanghai in 1902 while working for a European silk importer and I wondered how long it took his letters to reach home. Jack Lafitte back in the day used this ship frequently.Early Sailing Ships Development of Sailing Ships Today's sailing Yacht is essentially a sloop. She was used mainly in the Caribbean and Atlantic. She could sport additional sails both square and lateen-rigged. She was generally rigged with a large mainsail which was attached to a spar above, to the mast on its foremost edge and to a long boom below. Used commonly by pirates. The Sloop was fast, agile and had a shallow draft. Sloop - another fast ship, capable of up to 11 knots, could carry up to 75 crew and mounted 14 cannon. This ship was used for 300 years and was more commonly used in the United States than elsewhere. It was a favorite among both pirates and smugglers. The Schooner is very fast and large enough to carry a plentiful crew. She had a shallow draft which allowed her to remain in shallow coves waiting for her prey. Other sails sometimes were added, including a large headsail attached to the bowsprit. She is generally rigged with two large sails suspended from spars reaching from the top of the mast toward the stern. Schooner - a fast ship with a shallow draft, capable of up to 11 knots, could carry up to 75 crew and mounted 8 cannon and 4 swivel guns. The Schooner has a narrow hull, two masts and is less than 100 tons. The HMS Surprise of "Master and Commander" fame was rated a 6th rate light frigate. ![]() A great prize, but probably never used by a pirate since they required large crews, approx 800, and were expensive to operate.Ģnd Rate: 90-98 gun ship of the line, next largest.ĥth Rate: 36 gun ship, as long as a first rate, but fewer cannons.Ħth Rate: 28-30 gun ship, also long and low. Used by the established navies of the day. The rating system for large warships described below, for example, only came into being relatively late, being used by the British Royal Navy from the late 1700s through the 1800s.ġst Rate: A Ship-Of-The-Line, the largest ship on the water at the time. Some classes went out of use and new classes came into use. Creating one list that defines the different types of ships is difficult since over the four or five centuries of the age of sail, the definitions of different classes of ships changed.
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