Trans RINA, Vol 152, Part A2, Intl J Maritime Eng, Apr-Jun 2010


large iron hulls – the largest wooden hull was no more than about 360ft long (110m) owing to the difficulty of making strong tensile joints in timber), while William Froude was working out his theories on ship resistance and rolling. Hull


process based on previous vessels


form was very much an empirical regarded as


‘successful’ and on concepts we now know to be flawed, e.g. minimising midship section area, as the hull was deemed to ‘plough a furrow through the sea’.


Iron beams were used in the construction of decks of wooden sailing ships, which allowed a simpler stronger structure. The same concept was applied to some hulls, where composite construction used wood planking on iron frames. This had the added advantage of permitting thin copper sheathing to be added to reduce fouling and worm attack in tropical waters (as in tea clipper Cutty Sark preserved at Greenwich). As such sheathing could not be used on iron hulls owing to electrolytic corrosion, new copper-based anti-fouling paints were developed in the 1860s. Sailing vessels started to use wire rigging – stronger and longer life than fibre ropes. Wire ropes were also being used in cargo handling appliances such as hydraulic dockside cranes, pioneered Armstrong, a lawyer turned engineer, an


by William unlikely


transition today! The 1860s


also saw steam applied to auxiliary


machinery. The massive Great Eastern was found soon after completion to need steam steering gear, progressively extended to the larger steamships, although hand operated gear continued to be used in smaller coastal vessels into the 20th century. Steam powered deck winches with derricks were introduced (and even a few steam deck cranes), with steam


for anchor


windlasses and bilge pumps. Salt water ballast had long been recognised as more efficient and cheaper than sand or


shingle which had to be laboriously loaded and


discharged from wooden sailing vessels. Early designs included canvas bags in the bottom of the holds. But water ballast tanks integral with the ship’s structure were the way ahead, which were developed from about 1854. Coupled with steam driven pumps and piping systems, ballast


handling time was greatly reduced, and


seaworthiness improved, although there was usually insufficient capacity in double bottoms and peak tanks to fully immerse the large diameter slow revving propeller.


Figure 4. The steam reciprocating engine had developed to power most deep sea ships by 1860, but nearly all with low pressure boilers and single expansion. The 1870s saw the compound engine, and the 1880s the triple expansion, with high, intermediate and low pressure cylinders. That became the mainstay propulsion of most lower powered ships for the next half century. New engine works sprang up to produce fifty or more such engines a year. The photo shows Smith’s Dock erecting shop on the Tees, building triples for their cargo and fishing vessels.


Figure 3. Steam powered auxiliary machinery enabled A - 52 In the late 1860s, the compound steam engine was ©2010: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects


bigger ships to be built, by mechanising the steering gear, anchor windlass and deck winches. The latter (illustrated) speeded up cargo handling in conjunction with derricks. Captain Paasch’s “Illustrated Marine Encyclopedia” not only illustrated ships and their fittings from the late 19th century, but his dictionary “From Keel to Truck” also gave translations in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.


Separate condensers had been introduced in the 1850s, whose vacuum not only improved efficiency but reduced the need for salt water feed in the boilers, which caused problems with deposits and corrosion. Steam evaporators did not become common until later, so that all the fresh water for boilers, passengers and crew had to be carried, and topped up on port calls.


The 1860s saw the first underwater telegraph cables laid (including some


by Great Eastern) which greatly


improved commercial communications and operating efficiency, as shipowners, agents and masters could be advised of available cargoes and market opportunities. Equally important was the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which gave a boost to long distance trade to the eastern hemisphere, significantly reducing transit times to India, Australia and the Far East, and putting another nail in the coffin of sailing ships. Although some continued to be built right up to 1905, they were increasingly displaced to secondary trades with long port times.


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