Sailing ships, their types and characteristics. Sailing yachts. Photo. Seagoing vessels of the past Types of sailing vessels

The sailing fleet is one of the founders of the modern maritime fleet. Around 3000 BC, rowing ships already had primitive sails, with which people used the power of the wind. The first sailing rig was a rectangular piece of cloth or animal skin tied to the yard of a short mast. Such a “sail” was used only in favorable winds and served as an auxiliary propulsion device for the vessel. However, with the development of society, the fleet also improved.

During the period of the feudal system, large rowing ships with two masts and several sails appeared, and the sails had already taken on more advanced forms. However, ships with sails did not receive much use at that time, since the development of the fleet in a slave-owning society was determined by the use of slave labor and the ships of that time still remained rowing. With the fall of feudalism, free labor gradually disappeared. The operation of large ships with a large number of oars became unacceptable. In addition, with the development of international maritime trade, the sailing areas of ships have also changed - sea voyages have become longer. There was a need for vessels of a new design capable of making long sea voyages. Such ships were sailing ships - naves, which had a length of up to 40 m and a carrying capacity of up to 500 tons of cargo. Later, three-masted sailing ships - carracks - appeared in Portugal, with straight sails on the first two masts and triangular lateen sails on the third mast. Subsequently, both types of ships merged into one type of more advanced sailing vessel, which served as a prototype for ships and frigates.

At the end of the 16th century, sailing ships - galleons - began to be built in Spain. These had a long bowsprit and four masts. The bow mast of the galleon carried two or three straight sails, and the stern mast carried oblique lateen sails.

At the end of the 18th century, due to new geographical discoveries and the subsequent growth of trade, the sailing fleet began to improve. began to build depending on their purpose. New types of cargo sailing ships have appeared that are suitable for long-distance travel. The most common among them were barques, brigs, and later two-masted schooners. With the continuous development of shipping at the end of the 18th century, the design and armament of sailing ships improved significantly. During this period, a unified classification of sailing ships and ships was established. Warships, depending on the number of guns and type of weapons, will be divided into battleships, frigates, corvettes and sloops. Depending on the sailing equipment, merchant ships were divided into ships, barques, brigs, schooners, brigantines and barquentines.

Currently, it is customary to classify them according to their sailing equipment. Depending on the type of sails, all sailing ships are divided into ships with direct sails, ships with oblique sails sailing equipment and vessels with mixed sailing equipment.

square-rigged ships

The first group of classification of sailing ships includes ships whose main sails are straight. In turn, this group, based on the number of masts armed with straight sails, is divided into the following types:

a) five-masted ship (five masts, with straight sails);

b) four-masted ship (four masts with straight sails)

ship (three masts with straight sails)

a) a five-masted barque (four masts with straight sails, one at the stern with slanting sails);

b) four-masted barque (three masts with straight sails, one with oblique sails)

a) barque (two masts with straight sails, one with oblique sails);

b) brig (two masts with straight sails)

ships with oblique sails

To the second group sailing ship classifications include vessels whose main sails are oblique sails. The predominant type of ships in this group are schooners, divided into gaff, topsail and Bermuda-rigged schooners. The main sails of gaff schooners are trysails. Topsail schooners, unlike gaff schooners, have topsails and topsails on the foremast, and sometimes on the mainmast.

b) two-masted topsail schooner (masts with forward sails and several upper square sails on the foremast) ;

V) three-masted topsail schooner - Jekas (all masts with oblique sails and several upper straight sails on the foremast);

On a Bermuda-rigged schooner, the main sails are triangular in shape, the luff of which is attached along the mast, and the lower one - to the boom.

Bermuda-rigged schooner

In addition to schooners, this group includes small seagoing single-masted vessels - tender and sloop, as well as two-masted vessels - ketch and iol. A tender is usually called a single-masted vessel with a horizontal retractable bowsprit.

Unlike a tender, a sloop has a short, permanently installed bowsprit. On the masts of both types of sailing ships, oblique sails (trisails and topsails) are installed.

a) tender (one mast with slanting sails);

b) sloop (one mast with slanting sails)

On ketch and lol type vessels, the forward mast is rigged in the same way as on a tender or sloop. The second mast, located closer to the stern, is small in size compared to the first, which is what distinguishes these ships from two-masted schooners.

a) ketch (two masts with slanting sails, with the mizzen - the mast is located in front of the helm);

b) iol (two masts with oblique sails, the smaller one - mizzen - is located behind the steering wheel)

mixed-rigged vessels

The third group of sailing ships uses straight and oblique sails as their main ones. Vessels in this group include:

a) brigantine (schooner-brig; one mast with straight sails and one with oblique sails);

b) barquentine (barque schooner; three- or more-masted vessels with straight sails on the front mast and slant sails on the rest)

a) bombard (one mast almost in the middle of the ship with straight sails and one shifted to the stern - with oblique sails);

b) caravel (three masts; the foremast with straight sails, the rest with lateen sails);

c) trabacollo (Italian: trabacollo; two masts with lugger, i.e., raked sails)

A ) shebek (three masts; fore and main masts with lateen sails, and a mizzen mast with slanting sails);

b) felucca (two masts inclined towards the bow, with lateen sails);

c) tartan (one mast with a large lateen sail)

a) bovo (Italian bovo; two masts: the front one with a lateen sail, the rear one with a gaff or lateen sail);

b) navicello (Italian navicello; two masts: the first is in the bow, strongly inclined forward, carries a trapezoidal sail,

attached to the mainmast; mainmast - with a lateen or other oblique sail);

c) balancella (Italian: biancella; one mast with a lateen sail)

cat (one mast with a gaff sail is strongly offset towards the bow)

lugger (three masts with raked sails, used in France for coastal navigation)

In addition to the listed sailing ships, there were even larger seven-, five- and four-masted schooners, mostly of American origin, carrying only oblique sails.

In the middle of the 19th century, the sailing fleet reached its perfection. By improving designs and sailing weapons, shipbuilders created the most advanced type of ocean sailing ship -. This class was distinguished by speed and good seaworthiness.

clipper

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Barque

Bark is a three- to five-masted large sea sailing vessel for transporting cargo with straight sails on all masts except the stern mast (mizzen mast), which carries oblique sails. The largest barges that are still in service are “Sedov” (Murmansk), “Kruzenshtern” (Kaliningrad).

Barquentine

Barquentine (barque schooner) is a three- to five-masted (sometimes six-masted) sea sailing vessel with oblique sails on all masts except the bow (foremast), which carries straight sails. Modern steel barquentines have a displacement of up to 5 thousand tons and are equipped with an auxiliary engine.

Brig

A brig is a two-masted ship with a straight sail rig of the foremast and mainmast, but with one oblique gaff sail on the mainsail - the mainsail-haff-trisail. In literature, especially fiction, authors often call this sail a counter-mizzen, but it should be remembered that a vessel with the sailing rig of a brig does not have a mizzen mast, which means there are no accessories for this mast, although the functional load of the brig's mainsail-trisail is exactly the same the same as the frigate's counter-mizzen.

Brigantine

A brigantine is a light and fast ship with the so-called mixed sailing rig - straight sails on the front mast (foremast) and slanting sails on the rear (mainmast). In the 16th-19th centuries, two-masted brigantines were usually used by pirates. Modern brigantines are two-masted sailing ships with a foremast rigged like a brig and a mainmast with slanting sails like a schooner - a mainsail, trysail and topsail. A brigantine with a Bermuda grotto apparently does not exist in our time, although references to the very fact of their existence are found.

Galleon

A galleon is a large multi-deck sailing ship of the 16th-18th centuries with fairly strong artillery weapons, used both military and commercial. Galleons became most famous as ships carrying Spanish treasures and in the battle of the Great Armada, which took place in 1588. The galleon is the most advanced type of sailing ship that appeared in the 16th century. This type of sailing ship appeared during the evolution of caravels and carracks (naves) and was intended for long ocean voyages.

Junk

A junk is a wooden sailing cargo vessel with two to four masts for river and coastal sea navigation, common in Southeast Asia. During the era of the sailing fleet, ships were used for military purposes; Modern trucks are used to transport cargo, and they are often used for housing. D. have a shallow draft, load capacity - up to 600 tons; characteristic features are very wide, almost rectangular in plan, raised bow and stern, quadrangular sails made of mats and bamboo slats.

Iol

Iol is a type of two-masted sailing ship with slanting sails. The position of the stern mast (behind the rudder axis) distinguishes the Iol from the ketch, in which the stern mast is located in front of the rudder axis. Some large yachts and fishing vessels have sailing rigs of the Iola type.

Caravel

Caravel is a 3-4 mast, single-deck, universal sailing wooden ship, capable of ocean voyages. The caravel had a high bow and stern to resist ocean waves. The first two masts had straight sails, and the last one had a forward sail. The caravel was used in the XIII-XVII centuries. In 1492, Columbus completed his transatlantic voyage on three caravels. In addition to being seaworthy, the caravels had a high carrying capacity.

Karakka

Karakka is a large merchant or military three-masted sailing ship of the 16th-17th centuries. Displacement up to 2 thousand (usually 800-850) tons. Armament: 30-40 guns. The ship could accommodate up to 1,200 people. The ship had up to three decks and was designed for long ocean voyages. The Karakka was heavy on the move and had poor maneuverability. This type of vessel was invented by the Genoese. 1519-1521 The carrack "Victoria" from Magellan's expedition circumnavigated the world for the first time. On the karakka, cannon ports were used for the first time and guns were placed in closed batteries.

Ketch

Ketch, ketch (eng. ketch), a two-masted sailing vessel with a small stern mast located in front of the rudder axis. Some fishing vessels and large sports yachts have sailing rigs of the K type (Bermuda or gaff).

Flutes

Flute is a type of sailing vessel that had the following distinctive features:
* The length of these ships was 4 - 6 or more times greater than their width, which allowed them to sail quite steeply to the wind.
* Topmasts, invented in 1570, were introduced into the rigging
* The height of the masts exceeded the length of the vessel, and the yards became shortened, which made it possible to make narrow and easy-to-maintain sails and reduce the total number of upper crew.

The first flute was built in 1595 in the city of Hoorn, the center of Dutch shipbuilding, in the Zsider Zee Bay.
Vessels of this type were distinguished by good seaworthiness, high speed, large capacity and were used mainly as military transport. During the 16th-18th centuries, flutes occupied a dominant position on all seas.

Frigate

A frigate is a three-masted military ship with a full sail rig and one gun deck. Frigates were one of the most diverse classes of sailing ships in terms of characteristics. Frigates trace their origins to light and fast ships that were used for raids in the English Channel starting around the 17th century. With the growth of naval fleets and their range, the characteristics of the Dunkirk frigates ceased to satisfy the Admiralty, and the term began to be interpreted broadly, meaning, in fact, any light fast ship capable of independent action. Classic frigates of the sailing age were created in France in the mid-18th century. These were medium-sized ships with a displacement of about 800 tons, armed with approximately two to three dozen 12-18 pound guns on one gun deck. Subsequently, the displacement and power of the frigates' weapons grew and by the time of the Napoleonic wars they had about 1000 tons of displacement and up to sixty 24-pound guns.

Sloop

A sloop (small corvette) is a three-masted warship of the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries with a direct sail. Displacement up to 900 tons. Armament: 10-28 guns. It was used for patrol and messenger services and as a transport and expedition vessel. In addition, a sloop is a type of sailing rig - one mast and two sails - a front one (a jib with a Bermuda rig, a jib with a straight rig) and a rear one (mainsail and foresail, respectively).

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel that has at least two masts with forward sails. According to the type of sailing rig, schooners are divided into gaff, Bermuda, staysail, topsail and topsail. A topsail schooner differs from a topsail schooner by the presence of a topmast and another additional straight sail - a topsail. Moreover, in some cases, topsail and topsail two-masted schooners (especially with a briefock) can be confused with a brigantine. Regardless of the type of slanting sails (gaff or Bermuda), a schooner can also be topsail (topsail). The first ships with schooner rigging appeared in the 17th century in Holland and England, but schooners were widely used in America.

Yacht

A yacht was originally a light, fast vessel for transporting important people. Subsequently - any sailing, motor or sail-motor vessel intended for sporting or tourist purposes. The most common are sailing yachts.

Modern use of the term Yacht.
In modern usage, the term Yacht refers to two different classes of vessels: sailing yachts and motor yachts. Traditional yachts differed from work ships mainly in their purpose - as a fast and comfortable means of transporting the rich. Almost all modern sailing yachts have an auxiliary motor (outboard motor) for maneuvering in port or sailing at low speeds when there is no wind.

Sailing yachts

Sailing yachts are divided into cruising yachts, those with a cabin, and those designed for long-distance voyages and racing, pleasure yachts and racing ones - for sailing in the coastal zone. Based on the shape of the hull, a distinction is made between keel yachts, in which the bottom goes into a ballast keel (more precisely, a false keel), which increases the stability of the yacht and prevents it from drifting when sailing, shallow-draft yachts (dinghies), with a retractable keel (centerboard) and compromises that have a ballast and a retractable keel. There are double-hulled yachts - catamarans and three-hulled yachts - trimarans. Yachts can be single- or multi-masted with different sailing rigs.

The sailing ship appeared in ancient times. It is believed that the primacy belongs to the civilization of Egypt, which arose more than 6 thousand years ago.

Installing a sail on a boat was due to the need to overcome large spaces with minimal physical effort.

Centuries and millennia have passed. Primitive ships were replaced by different types of ships with one or more masts and a system of sails of different shapes.

A modern liner does not depend on the direction and speed of the wind, because it runs on the power of its engines, but a sailboat is still considered the most graceful vessel.

Structure of a sailing ship

A sailing ship is a structure consisting of a hull (or several hulls) where equipment, supplies, and crew are placed.

The horizontal area is called the deck. The front part of the hull is the bow, the rear part is the stern, the side restrictions are the left and right sides, the lower underwater part is the keel.

Also the main elements are:

• spar(masts with yards, gaffs, topmasts, boom, bowsprit);
• rigging– standing, running (various ropes, steel ropes, chains);
• sail(oblique, straight).

Gaff– this is a yard inclined at an angle to the mast, an oblique sail in the form of a trapezoid is attached to it; A geek– horizontal lower yard. Topmast is attached to the mast, being its continuation.

Bushpritom sailors call a wooden beam, which is an extension of the bow and is located at a slight angle to the sea surface; slanting sails are attached to it.

Standing rigging, as one can infer from its name, it is motionless. Such rigging gear firmly secures masts and topmasts; they are divided into:

• shrouds and forduns located on the sides (similar to rope ladders);
• stays that secure the masts at the front;
• backstays securing the bowsprit.

Running rigging when fixed, it is motionless, but when it is necessary to perform work on steering the vessel, it can move gear in space.

The following types of rigging are distinguished:

• tack(attaches the corner of the sail to the deck, bowsprit, boom);
• sheet(manages sailing equipment);
• halyard(raises the sail);
• bras(designed to rotate the yard in a plane parallel to the deck).

The classification of sails is based on several criteria. There are rectangular, triangular and trapezoidal shapes.

By location - across the hull or along - straight (mainsail, topsail, topsail) and oblique (staysail, jib - both are additional), lower sail and upper (lower foretopsail, upper foretopsail).

The main types of sailing weapons are shown in the photo.

There are also lateen sails - triangular in shape, which are attached with the long side to a yard, inclined relative to the mast at an angle of approximately 45-55 degrees.

Each tackle, in addition to the general, group name, also has an additional name, which indicates which element of the spar or sail it belongs to. Thus, the topmast of the first mast is the foremast; the sheet on a jib sail is a jib sheet.

Types of sailing ships

Sailboats are very diverse. They are distinguished by the number of masts, features of the sails, and purpose. The table will help you determine the type of ship.

A table with types of sailing ships showed how the appearance of ships changed, the relationship to the length and number of masts, and the sail structure.

Sailboats of Russia

Russia for a long time did not have access to the southern seas and the Baltic. The first ancient Russian ships sailed along the rivers. These were sailing and rowing single-masted boats.

In the north, the Pomors went out into the cold seas on boats with one sail.

Up to the 18th century. There was no navy in our country, and only on the orders of Peter I, who sailed first on a boat and then on a yacht, a shipyard was founded.

From there the first sailing battleship (battleship) went to sea. Later, many sailing ships were built at foreign shipyards.

There are ships that have gone down in the history of our country.

The sloops "Vostok" and "Mirny" off the coast of Antarctica

Russian explorers discovered Antarctica on the sloop Vostok.

The legendary frigate Pallada, recognized as a model of perfection, is widely known thanks to the writer I. A. Goncharov who sailed on it.

The corvette "Vityaz" delivered N. N. Miklouho-Maclay - the first European - to the shore of New Guinea, inhabited by primitive Papuans.

Modern sailing ships

Modern sailing ships are widely known:

Conclusion

The age of iron ships with nuclear reactors could not remove majestic sailing ships from the sea routes. The latter not only help cadets master maritime skills in practice.

With their appearance, they awaken an interest in travel in children and teenagers, helping them get in touch with the history of geographical discoveries, as well as the military glory of our country.

The topics in , but there is still room to roam. For example, a topic from german_ukraine About sailing ships, with drawings and tips for building models. Interested in the period 16-18 centuries.

Regarding ship modeling with drawings and advice, for now I offer. For now, let’s quickly and briefly “run” to the 15th century, and then we’ll discuss the issue in more detail. So let's start:

The first sailing ships appeared in Egypt around 3000 BC. e. This is evidenced by the paintings decorating ancient Egyptian vases. However, the birthplace of the boats depicted on the vases is apparently not the Nile Valley, but the nearby Persian Gulf. This is confirmed by a model of a similar boat found in the Obeid tomb, in the city of Eridu, which stood on the shores of the Persian Gulf.

In 1969, the Norwegian scientist Thor Heyerdahl made an interesting attempt to test the assumption that a ship equipped with a sail, made from papyrus reeds, could sail not only along the Nile, but also on the open sea. This vessel, essentially a raft, 15 m long, 5 m wide and 1.5 m high, with a 10 m high mast and a single square sail, was steered by a steering oar.

Before the use of wind, floating craft either moved with oars or were pulled by people or animals walking along the banks of rivers and canals. The ships made it possible to transport heavy and bulky cargo, which was much more productive than transporting animals by teams on land. Bulk cargo was also transported primarily by water.

Papyrus vessel

The large naval expedition of the Egyptian ruler Hatshepsut, undertaken in the first half of the 15th century, is historically attested. BC e. This expedition, which historians also consider a trading expedition, traveled across the Red Sea to the ancient country of Punt on the east coast of Africa (roughly modern Somalia). The ships returned heavily laden with various goods and slaves.

When sailing short distances, the Phoenicians used mainly light merchant ships that had oars and a straight rack sail. Vessels designed for long-distance voyages and warships looked much more impressive. Phenicia, unlike Egypt, had very favorable natural conditions for the construction of a fleet: near the coast, on the slopes of the Lebanese mountains, forests grew, dominated by the famous Lebanese cedar and oak, as well as other valuable tree species.

In addition to improving sea vessels, the Phoenicians left another remarkable legacy - the word “galley”, which probably entered all European languages. Phoenician ships set sail from the large port cities of Sidon, Ugarit, Arvada, Gebala, etc., where there were also large shipyards.

Historical materials also speak of the Phoenicians sailing south through the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. The Phoenicians are credited with the honor of the first voyage around Africa at the end of the 7th century. BC e., i.e. almost 2000 years before Vasco da Gama.

The Greeks already in the 9th century. BC e. They learned from the Phoenicians to build ships that were remarkable for that time and began colonizing the surrounding territories early. In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. the area of ​​their penetration covered the western shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the entire Pont Euxine (Black Sea) and the Aegean coast of Asia Minor.

Not a single wooden antique ship or part of it has survived, and this does not allow us to clarify the idea of ​​​​the main types of galleys, which has developed on the basis of written and other historical materials. Divers and scuba divers continue to survey the seabed at the sites of ancient naval battles in which hundreds of ships were lost. Their shape and internal structure can be judged by indirect evidence - for example, by accurate sketches of the location of clay vessels and metal objects preserved where the ship lay. And yet, in the absence of wooden parts of the hull, one cannot do without the help of painstaking analysis and imagination.

The ship was kept on course using a steering oar, which compared to the later rudder had at least two advantages: it made it possible to turn a stationary ship and to easily replace a damaged or broken steering oar. Merchant ships were wide and had ample hold space to accommodate cargo.

The ship is a Greek war galley, approximately 5th century. BC e., the so-called bireme. With rows of oars located on the sides in two tiers, she naturally had greater speed than a ship of the same size with half the number of oars. In the same century, triremes, warships with three “floors” of rowers, also became widespread. A similar arrangement of galleys is the contribution of ancient Greek craftsmen to the design of sea vessels. Military kinkerems were not “long ships”; they had a deck, internal quarters for soldiers and a particularly powerful ram, bound with copper sheets, located in front at water level, which was used to break through the sides of enemy ships during naval battles. The Greeks adopted a similar combat device from the Phoenicians, who used it in the 8th century. BC e.

Although the Greeks were capable, well-trained navigators, sea travel at that time was dangerous. Not every ship reached its destination as a result of either a shipwreck or a pirate attack.
The galleys of ancient Greece plied almost the entire Mediterranean and Black Seas; there is evidence of their penetration through Gibraltar to the north. Here they reached Britain, and possibly Scandinavia. Their voyage routes are shown on the map.

At their first big clash with Carthage (in the First Punic War), the Romans realized that they could not hope to win without a strong navy. With the help of Greek specialists, they quickly built 120 large galleys and transferred to the sea their method of combat, which they used on land - individual combat of warrior against warrior with personal weapons. The Romans used the so-called "crows" - boarding bridges. Along these bridges, which were pierced with a sharp hook into the deck of the enemy ship, depriving it of the ability to maneuver, the Roman legionnaires burst onto the enemy deck and started a battle in their characteristic manner.

The Roman fleet, like its contemporary Greek fleet, consisted of two main types of ships: “rounded” merchant ships and slender war galleys

Certain improvements can be noted in sailing equipment. On the main mast (mainmast) a large quadrangular straight sail is retained, which is sometimes supplemented by two small triangular upper sails. A smaller quadrangular sail appears on the forward inclined mast - the bowsprit. Increasing the total area of ​​the sails increased the force used to propel the ship. However, the sails continue to be an additional propulsion device; the main one remains the oars, not shown in the figure.
The importance of the sail, however, undoubtedly increased, especially on long voyages, which took place as far as India. In this case, the discovery of the Greek navigator Hippalus helped: the August southwest and January northeast monsoons contributed to the maximum use of sails and at the same time reliably indicated the direction, much like a compass much later. The road from Italy to India and the return journey, with an intermediate crossing by caravans and ships along the Nile from Alexandria to the Red Sea, lasted about a year. Previously, the rowing journey along the shores of the Arabian Sea was much longer.

During their trading voyages, the Romans used numerous Mediterranean ports. Some of them have already been mentioned, but one of the first places should be Alexandria, located in the Nile Delta, whose importance as a transit point increased as Rome’s trade turnover with India and the Far East grew.

For more than half a millennium, the Viking knights of the high seas kept Europe in fear. They owe their mobility and omnipresence to drakars - true masterpieces of shipbuilding art

The Vikings made long sea voyages on these ships. They discovered Iceland, the southern coast of Greenland, and long before Columbus they visited North America. The inhabitants of the Baltic, Mediterranean and Byzantium saw the snake heads on the stems of their ships. Together with the squads of the Slavs, they settled on the great trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks.

The main propulsion device of the drakar was a rack sail with an area of ​​70 m2 or more, sewn from separate vertical panels, richly decorated with gold braid, drawings of the coats of arms of leaders or various signs and symbols. Ray rose with the sail. The high mast was supported by stays running from it to the sides and to the ends of the ship. The sides were protected by richly painted shields of warriors. The silhouette of the Scandinavian vessel is one of a kind. It has many aesthetic advantages. The basis for recreating this vessel was a drawing of the famous carpet from Baye, telling about the landing of William the Conqueror in England in 1066.

At the beginning of the 15th century, two-masted coggs began to be built. The further development of world shipbuilding was marked by the transition to three-masted ships in the mid-15th century. This type of vessel first appeared in northern Europe in 1475. Its foremast and mizzen masts were borrowed from Mediterranean Venetian ships.

The first three-masted ship to enter the Baltic Sea was the French ship La Rochelle. The plating of this ship, which had a length of 43 m and a width of 12 m, was not laid face to face, like tiles on the roof of a house, as was done before, but smoothly: one board close to the other. And although this method of plating was known before, nevertheless, the merit of its invention is attributed to a shipbuilder from Brittany named Julian, who called this method “carvel” or “craveel”. The name of the casing later became the name of the type of ship - “caravel”. Caravels were more elegant than coggs and had better sailing equipment, so it was no coincidence that medieval discoverers chose these durable, fast-moving and capacious ships for overseas campaigns. Characteristic features of caravels are high sides, deep sheer decks in the middle part of the ship and mixed sailing equipment. Only the foremast carried a quadrangular straight sail. The lateen sails on the slanting yards of the main and mizzen masts allowed the ships to sail steeply to the wind.

In the first half of the 15th century, the largest cargo ship (possibly up to 2000 tons) was a three-masted, double-decker carrack, probably of Portuguese origin. In the 15th-16th centuries, composite masts appeared on sailing ships, which carried several sails at once. The area of ​​the topsails and cruises (upper sails) was increased, making it easier to control and maneuver the vessel. The ratio of body length to width ranged from 2:1 to 2.5:1. As a result, the seaworthiness of these so-called “round” ships improved, which made it possible to make safer long-distance voyages to America and India and even around the world. There was no clear distinction between sailing merchant and military ships at that time; For a number of centuries, the typical military vessel was only a rowing galley. The galleys were built with one or two masts and carried lateen sails.

"Vasa" Swedish warship

At the beginning of the 17th century. Sweden has significantly strengthened its position in Europe. The founder of the new royal dynasty, Gustav I Vasa, did a lot to bring the country out of medieval backwardness. He freed Sweden from Danish rule and carried out a reformation, subordinating the previously all-powerful church to the state.
There was a Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648. Sweden, which claimed to be one of the leading countries in Europe, sought to finally consolidate its dominant position in the Baltic.

Sweden's main rival in the western part of the Baltic Sea was Denmark, which owned both banks of the Sound and the most important islands of the Baltic Sea. But it was a very strong opponent. Then the Swedes concentrated all their attention on the eastern shores of the sea and, after long wars, captured the cities of Yam, Koporye, Karela, Oreshek and Ivan-gorod, which had long belonged to Russia, thus depriving the Russian state of access to the Baltic Sea.
However, Gustav II Adolf, the new king of the Vasa dynasty (1611-1632), wanted to achieve complete Swedish domination in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea and began to create a strong navy.

In 1625, the Stockholm Royal Shipyard received a large order for the simultaneous construction of four large ships. The king showed the greatest interest in the construction of a new flagship. This ship was named "Vasa" - in honor of the Swedish royal Vasa dynasty, to which Gustav II Adolf belonged.

The best shipbuilders, artists, sculptors, and woodcarvers were involved in the construction of Vasa. The Dutch master Hendrik Hibertson, a well-known shipbuilder in Europe, was invited as the main builder. Two years later, the ship was safely launched and towed to the outfitting pier, located just under the windows of the royal palace.

Galion "Golden Hind" ("Golden Hind")

The ship was built in the 60s of the 16th century in England and was originally called "Pelican". On it, the English navigator Francis Drake, in 1577-1580, as part of a squadron of five ships, undertook a pirate expedition to the West Indies and made his second circumnavigation of the world after Magellan. In honor of the excellent seaworthiness of his ship, Drake renamed it the "Golden Hind" and installed a figurine of a doe made of pure gold in the bow of the ship. The length of the galleon is 18.3 m, width 5.8 m, draft 2.45 m. This is one of the smallest galleons.

Galleasses were much larger ships than galleys: they had three masts with lateen sails, two large steering oars in the stern, two decks (the lower one for oarsmen, the upper one for soldiers and cannons), and a surface ram in the bow. These warships turned out to be durable: even in the 18th century, almost all maritime powers continued to replenish their fleets with galleys and galleasses. During the 16th century, the appearance of the sailing ship as a whole was formed and preserved until the mid-19th century. Ships increased significantly in size; if in the 15th century ships over 200 tons were rare, then by the end of the 16th century single giants appeared reaching 2000 tons, and ships with a displacement of 700-800 tons ceased to be rare. From the beginning of the 16th century, oblique sails began to be used more and more often in European shipbuilding, at first in their pure form, as was done in Asia, but by the end of the century mixed sailing equipment had spread. Artillery was improved - the bombards of the 15th and the culverins of the early 16th centuries were still unsuitable for arming ships, but by the end of the 16th century the problems associated with casting were largely resolved and a naval cannon of the usual type appeared. Around 1500, cannon ports were invented; it became possible to place cannons in several tiers, and the upper deck was freed from them, which had a positive effect on the stability of the ship. The sides of the ship began to roll inward, so the guns on the upper tiers were closer to the axis of symmetry of the ship. Finally, in the 16th century, regular navies appeared in many European countries. All these innovations gravitate towards the beginning of the 16th century, but, given the time required for implementation, they spread only towards the end. Again, the shipbuilders also needed to gain experience, because at first ships of the new type had the annoying habit of capsizing immediately upon leaving the slipway.

During the 16th century, the appearance of the sailing ship as a whole was formed and preserved until the mid-19th century. Ships increased significantly in size; if in the 15th century ships over 200 tons were rare, then by the end of the 16th century single giants appeared reaching 2000 tons, and ships with a displacement of 700-800 tons ceased to be rare. From the beginning of the 16th century, oblique sails began to be used more and more often in European shipbuilding, at first in their pure form, as was done in Asia, but by the end of the century mixed sailing equipment had spread. Artillery was improved - the bombards of the 15th and the culverins of the early 16th centuries were still unsuitable for arming ships, but by the end of the 16th century the problems associated with casting were largely resolved and a naval cannon of the usual type appeared. Around 1500, cannon ports were invented; it became possible to place cannons in several tiers, and the upper deck was freed from them, which had a positive effect on the stability of the ship. The sides of the ship began to roll inward, so the guns on the upper tiers were closer to the axis of symmetry of the ship. Finally, in the 16th century, regular navies appeared in many European countries. All these innovations gravitate towards the beginning of the 16th century, but, given the time required for implementation, they spread only towards the end. Again, the shipbuilders also needed to gain experience, because at first ships of the new type had the annoying habit of capsizing immediately upon leaving the slipway.

In the first half of the 16th century, a ship appeared with fundamentally new properties and a completely different purpose than the ships that existed before. This ship was intended to fight for supremacy at sea by destroying enemy warships on the high seas with artillery fire and combined significant autonomy at that time with powerful weapons. The rowing ships that existed up to this point could only dominate over a narrow strait, and even then if they were based in a port on the shore of this strait, in addition, their power was determined by the number of troops on board, and artillery ships could act independently of infantry. The new type of ships began to be called linear - that is, main (like "linear infantry", "linear tanks", the name "battleship" has nothing to do with lining up in a line - if they were built, it was in a column).

The first battleships that appeared on the northern seas, and later on the Mediterranean Sea, were small - 500-800 tons, which approximately corresponded to the displacement of large transports of that period. Not even the biggest ones. But the largest transports were built for themselves by wealthy merchant companies, and battleships were ordered by states that were not rich at that time. These ships were armed with 50 - 90 guns, but these were not very strong guns - mostly 12-pounders, with a small admixture of 24-pounders and a very large admixture of small-caliber guns and culverins. Seaworthiness did not stand up to any criticism - even in the 18th century, ships were still built without drawings (they were replaced by a mock-up), and the number of guns was calculated based on the width of the ship measured in steps - that is, it varied depending on the length of the legs of the shipyard's chief engineer. But this was in the 18th, and in the 16th the correlation between the width of the ship and the weight of the guns was not known (especially since it does not exist). Simply put, ships were built without a theoretical basis, only on the basis of experience, which was almost non-existent in the 16th and early 17th centuries. But the main trend was clearly visible - guns in such numbers could no longer be considered as auxiliary weapons, and a purely sailing design indicated the desire to obtain an ocean-going ship. Even then, battleships were characterized by armament at the level of 1.5 pounds per ton of displacement.

The faster the ship was, the fewer guns it could have in relation to its displacement, since the more the engine and masts weighed. Not only did the masts themselves, with a mass of ropes and sails, weigh a fair amount, but they also shifted the center of gravity upward, therefore they had to be balanced by placing more cast-iron ballast in the hold.

Battleships of the 16th century still had insufficiently advanced sailing equipment for sailing in the Mediterranean Sea (especially in its eastern part) and the Baltic. The storm playfully blew the Spanish squadron out of the English Channel.

Already in the 16th century, Spain, England and France together had about 60 battleships, with Spain more than half of this number. In the 17th century, Sweden, Denmark, Türkiye and Portugal joined this trio.

Ships of the 17th and 18th centuries

In northern Europe, at the beginning of the 17th century, a new type of vessel appeared, similar to a flute - a three-masted pinnace (pinnace). The same type of ship includes the galion, which appeared in the mid-16th century - a warship of Portuguese origin, which later became the basis of the fleets of the Spaniards and the British. On a galleon, for the first time, guns were mounted both above and below the main deck, leading to the construction of battery decks; the guns stood on the sides and fired through the ports. The displacement of the largest Spanish galleons of 1580-1590 was 1000 tons, and the ratio of hull length to width was 4:1. The absence of high superstructures and a long hull allowed these ships to sail faster and steeper to the wind than “round” ships. To increase speed, the number and area of ​​sails were increased, and additional sails appeared - foxes and underlisels. At that time, decorations were considered a symbol of wealth and power - all state and royal ships were luxuriously decorated. The distinction between warships and merchant ships became more distinct. In the middle of the 17th century, frigates with up to 60 guns on two decks, and smaller warships such as a corvette, sloop, bombard and others began to be built in England.

By the middle of the 17th century, battleships had grown significantly, some already up to 1500 tons. The number of guns remained the same - 50-80 pieces, but 12-pounder guns remained only on the bow, stern and upper deck; guns of 24 and 48 pounds were placed on the other decks. Accordingly, the hull became stronger - it could withstand 24-pound shells. In general, the 17th century is characterized by a low level of confrontation at sea. England throughout almost its entire period could not deal with internal troubles. Holland preferred small ships, relying more on their numbers and the experience of the crews. France, powerful at that time, tried to impose its hegemony on Europe through wars on land; the French were of little interest in the sea. Sweden reigned supreme in the Baltic Sea and did not lay claim to other bodies of water. Spain and Portugal were ruined and often found themselves dependent on France. Venice and Genoa quickly turned into third-rate states. The Mediterranean Sea was divided - the western part went to Europe, the eastern part to Turkey. Neither side sought to upset the balance. However, the Maghreb found itself within the European sphere of influence - English, French and Dutch squadrons put an end to piracy during the 17th century. The greatest naval powers of the 17th century had 20-30 battleships, the rest had only a few.

Türkiye also began building battleships from the end of the 16th century. But they were still significantly different from European models. Especially the shape of the hull and sailing equipment. Turkish battleships were significantly faster than European ones (this was especially true in Mediterranean conditions), carried 36 - 60 guns of 12-24 pound caliber and were weaker armored - only 12 pound cannonballs. Armament was pound per ton. The displacement was 750 -1100 tons. In the 18th century, Türkiye began to lag significantly behind in terms of technology. Turkish battleships of the 18th century resembled European ones of the 17th century.

During the 18th century, the growth in the size of battleships continued unabated. By the end of this century, battleships had reached a displacement of 5,000 tons (the limit for wooden ships), armor had been strengthened to an incredible degree - even 96-pound bombs did not harm them enough - and 12-pound half-guns were no longer used on them. Only 24 lbs for the upper deck, 48 lbs for the middle two and 96 lbs for the lower deck. The number of guns reached 130. There were, however, smaller battleships with 60-80 guns, with a displacement of about 2000 tons. They were often limited to the 48-pound caliber, and were protected from it.

The number of battleships has also increased incredibly. England, France, Russia, Turkey, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Portugal had linear fleets. By the middle of the 18th century, England seized almost undivided dominance at sea. By the end of the century, it had almost a hundred battleships (including those that were not in active use). France scored 60-70, but they were weaker than the English. Russia under Peter churned out 60 battleships, but they were made in a hurry, somehow, carelessly. In a rich way, only the preparation of wood - so that it would turn into armor - should have taken 30 years (in fact, Russian ships later were built not from bog oak, but from larch, it was heavy, relatively soft, but did not rot and lasted 10 times longer than oak). But their sheer number forced Sweden (and all of Europe) to recognize the Baltic Sea as Russian internal. By the end of the century, the size of the Russian battle fleet even decreased, but the ships were brought up to European standards. Holland, Sweden, Denmark and Portugal each had 10-20 ships, Spain - 30, Turkey - also about that, but these were not ships of the European level.

Even then, the property of battleships was evident that they were created most of all for numbers - to be there, and not for war. It was expensive to build and maintain them, and even more so to staff them with a crew, all kinds of supplies and send them on campaigns. This is where they saved money - they didn’t send it. So even England used only a small part of its battlefleet at a time. Equipping 20-30 battleships for a voyage was also a task on a national scale for England. Russia kept only a few battleships in combat readiness. Most battleships spent their entire lives in port with only a minimal crew on board (capable of moving the ship to another port if urgently needed) and unloaded guns.

The ship next in rank to the battleship was a frigate, designed to capture water space. With the accompanying destruction of everything (except for battleships) that existed in this space. Formally, the frigate was an auxiliary ship for the battle fleet, but given that the latter was used extremely sluggishly, frigates turned out to be the most popular of the ships of that period. Frigates, like cruisers later, could be divided into light and heavy, although such a gradation was not formally carried out. A heavy frigate appeared in the 17th century; it was a ship with 32-40 guns, including falconets, and displacing 600-900 tons of water. The guns were 12-24 pounds, with a predominance of the latter. The armor could withstand 12-pound cannonballs, the armament was 1.2-1.5 tons per pound, and the speed was greater than that of a battleship. The displacement of the latest modifications of the 18th century reached 1,500 tons, there were up to 60 guns, but usually there were no 48-pounders.

Light frigates were already common in the 16th century, and in the 17th they made up the vast majority of all warships. Their production required wood of significantly lower quality than for the construction of heavy frigates. Larch and oak were considered strategic resources, and pine trees suitable for making masts in Europe and the European part of Russia were counted and registered. Light frigates did not carry armor, in the sense that their hulls could withstand wave impacts and mechanical loads, but did not pretend to be more, the thickness of the plating was 5-7 centimeters. The number of guns did not exceed 30, and only on the largest frigates of this class there were 4 24-pounders on the lower deck - they did not even occupy the entire floor. The displacement was 350-500 tons.

In the 17th and early 18th centuries, light frigates were simply the cheapest warships, ships that could be made in a whole bunch and quickly. Including by re-equipping merchant ships. By the middle of the 18th century, similar ships began to be specially produced, but with an emphasis on maximum speed - corvettes. There were even fewer guns on the corvettes, from 10 to 20 (on 10-gun ships there were actually 12-14 guns, but those that looked at the bow and stern were classified as falconets). The displacement was 250-450 tons.

The number of frigates in the 18th century was significant. England had little more of them than ships of the line, but it still amounted to a lot. Countries with small battle fleets had several times more frigates than battleships. The exception was Russia; it had one frigate for every three battleships. The fact was that the frigate was intended to capture space, and with it (space) in the Black and Baltic Seas it was a little tight. At the very bottom of the hierarchy were sloops - ships intended for patrol service, reconnaissance, anti-piracy, and so on. That is, not for fighting other warships. The smallest of them were ordinary schooners weighing 50-100 tons with several guns less than 12 pounds in caliber. The largest had up to 20 12-pound guns and a displacement of up to 350-400 tons. There could be any number of sloops and other auxiliary ships. For example, Holland in the mid-16th century had 6,000 merchant ships, most of which were armed.

By installing additional guns, 300-400 of them could be converted into light frigates. The rest are in sloops. Another question is that the merchant ship brought profit to the Dutch treasury, and the frigate or sloop consumed this profit. England at that time had 600 merchant ships. How many people could there be on these ships? A - in different ways. In principle, a sailing ship could have one crew member for every ton of displacement. But this worsened living conditions and reduced autonomy. On the other hand, the larger the crew, the more combat-ready the ship was. In principle, 20 people could control the sails of a large frigate. But only in good weather. They could do the same thing in a storm, while simultaneously working on the pumps and battening down the port covers knocked out by the waves, for a short time. Most likely, their strength would have run out earlier than the wind. To conduct a battle on a 40-gun ship, a minimum of 80 people were required - 70 loaded the guns on one side, and another 10 ran around the deck and directed. But if the ship performs such a complex maneuver as a turn, all the gunners will have to rush from the lower decks to the masts - when turning, the ship will certainly have to tack against the wind for some time, but for this, all straight sails will need to be tightly reefed, and then, naturally, open them again. If the gunners have to either climb the masts or run into the hold for cannonballs, they won’t shoot much.

Typically, sailing ships intended for long passages or long cruising had one person on board for 4 tons. This was enough to control the ship and for combat. If the ship was used for landing operations or boarding, the crew size could reach one person per ton. How did they fight? If two approximately equal ships under the flags of warring powers met at sea, then both of them began to maneuver in order to take a more advantageous position from the wind. One tried to get behind the other - this way it was possible to take away the wind from the enemy at the most interesting moment. Considering that the guns were aimed by the hull, and the maneuverability of the ship was proportional to its speed, no one wanted to move against the wind at the time of the collision. On the other hand, if there was too much wind in the sails, it was possible to rush forward and let the enemy into the rear. All these dances were original in the sense that it was practically possible to maneuver only by direction.

Of course, the whole story did not fit into the framework of LiveJournal, so read the continuation on InfoGlaz -

The first means of transportation on which people crossed water barriers during their migrations or while hunting were, in all likelihood, more or less primitive rafts. Rafts undoubtedly existed already in the Stone Age. Great progress was made at the end of the Middle Stone Age by a boat hollowed out of a tree trunk - a canoe. Over time and with the further development of productive forces, boats and rafts became better, larger and more reliable. We have most information about the development of shipbuilding in the Mediterranean region, although, of course, shipbuilding technology and navigation on the rivers and seas of other parts of the world developed in parallel. The oldest known to us are the boats and ships of Ancient Egypt. A variety of floating craft sailed along the Nile and the seas surrounding Egypt: first rafts and boats made of wood and papyrus, and later ships on which it was possible to make long sea voyages, such as the famous expedition during the 18th dynasty to the country Punt (Ript - probably Somalia or even India) around 1500 BC. e.

Ancient Egyptian papyrus river rowing boat

Due to the low strength of papyrus, a thick rope was used as longitudinal reinforcement, stretched between short masts, bow and stern. The boats were steered using an oar located at the stern. Ancient Egyptian sea vessels, like the river vessels that sailed along the Nile in those days, were flat-bottomed. As a result of this, and also due to the lack of frames and insufficient strength of the building material (papyrus or low-growing trees, acanthus), the seaworthiness of sea-going vessels of Ancient Egypt was very low. Sailing along the Mediterranean coast or the calm waters of the Red Sea, these ships were propelled by oars and a rack sail.

Antique Egyptian ship with raked sail

Egyptian merchant and military ships were almost no different from each other, only military ships were faster. It should not be forgotten that military campaigns and trade were closely interconnected. However, the Egyptians (residents of the Nile Valley) cannot be called good sailors. Their achievements in the field of shipbuilding and long sea voyages are relatively modest. The inhabitants of the island of Crete were the first to begin building merchant ships. According to some ancient researchers, they used a keel and frames, which increased the strength of the ship's hull. To move the ship, the Cretans used both oars and a rectangular sail. It is believed that it was partly due to these technical improvements that Crete became the first maritime power in the Mediterranean. Its heyday was in the 17th - 14th centuries. BC e. The Phoenicians borrowed the method of building ships with frames from the Cretans. The Phoenicians lived on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in a country rich in cedar forests, which provided excellent shipbuilding material. On their ships, the Phoenicians carried out military and trade expeditions to the most remote places of the modern world. As Herodotus wrote at the beginning of the 7th century. n. e., Phoenician ships skirted Africa from east to west. This testifies to the great seaworthiness of the ships: on their way they had to go around the Cape of Good Hope, where there was often a storm. Although Phoenician ships were significantly larger than Egyptian ships in size and strength, their shape did not change significantly. As the surviving bas-reliefs testify, for the first time, rams appeared on the bow of a Phoenician warship to sink enemy ships.

Phoenician sailing ship

The sea vessels of Ancient Greece and, later, Rome were modifications of Phoenician ships. Merchant ships were predominantly wide and slow-moving, usually propelled by a sail and controlled by a large steering oar located at the stern. Warships were narrow and propelled by oars. In addition, they were armed with a rectangular main sail mounted on a long yard and a small sail mounted on an inclined mast. This inclined mast is the forerunner of the bowsprit, which will appear on sailing ships much later and will carry additional sails to facilitate maneuvering. At first, one tier of oars was installed on each side of a military vessel, but as the size and weight of ships increased, a second tier of oars appeared above the first tier, and even later, a third. This was explained by the desire to increase the speed, maneuverability and force of the ram's impact on the enemy ship. One tier of rowers was located below deck, the other two were on deck. This is what the most popular type of warship of antiquity looked like, which, starting from the 6th century BC. e. called a trireme.

Triremes formed the backbone of the Greek fleet that took part in the Battle of Salamis (480 BC). The length of the triremes was 30-40 m, width 4-6 m (including supports for oars), freeboard height approximately 1.5 m. The ship had a hundred or more oarsmen, in most cases slaves; the speed reached 8-10 knots. The ancient Romans were not good sailors, but the Punic Wars (1st War - 264-241 BC; 2nd War - 218-210 BC) convinced them of the need to have their own navy to defeat the Carthaginians. The Roman navy of that time consisted of triremes built on the Greek model.

An example of a Roman trireme of this type is the ship shown in the figure. It has a raised deck at the stern, as well as a kind of tower in which the commander and his assistant could find reliable shelter. The nose ends in a ram covered with iron. To facilitate combat at sea, the Romans invented the so-called “raven” - a boarding bridge with a metal load in the shape of a hawse, which was lowered onto an enemy ship and along which Roman legionnaires could cross to it. At the Battle of Actium (31 BC), the Romans used a new type of ship - the liburne. This vessel is significantly smaller than a trireme, equipped with rams, has one tier of oars and a rectangular transverse sail. The main advantages of Liburns are good agility and maneuverability, as well as speed. Based on a combination of structural elements of triremes and liburns, a Roman rowing galley was created, which, with some changes, survived until the 17th century. n. e.

The improvement of rowing military vessels with additional sailing weapons was in the nature of leaps. The need for these ships increased, for example, during military campaigns. From the end of the XII to the XIV centuries. galleys appeared in the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. But the main area of ​​action for the galleys was, as before, the Mediterranean Sea; The Venetians contributed greatly to their further development. Light combat galleys served as warships, while heavy ones served as military transports. They were also used as merchant ships. The disadvantage of galleys was their large crew. Thus, one galley up to 40 m long required 120-180 rowers (and with two tiers of oars - 240-300 rowers). When you factor in the crew required to maintain the rudder and sail, and the crew in the galley, the total was well over 500 men. Such a galley had a draft of approximately 2 m and a freeboard height of 1-1.5 m. On medieval galleys, one oar was served by 2-5 oarsmen; the weight of an oar with a length of 10-12 m was up to 300 kg. In addition to oars, galleys were equipped with an auxiliary sail. Later, two and then three masts began to be installed, and the rectangular sail was replaced by an oblique sail, borrowed from the Arabs of the Mediterranean. In the course of further development, ships began to be built that were a combination of a galley and a sailing ship. Such ships were called galleasses. Galleasses were larger than galleys: the largest ones reached 70 m in length, 16 m in width, and displaced 1000 tons; the crew was 1000 people. They were used as both military and merchant ships.

Galleass

Regardless of the development of shipping in the Mediterranean Sea, shipping also developed in Northern Europe, where excellent sailors - the Vikings - lived already in the early centuries. Viking ships were open wooden boats with a symmetrical fore and stern post; on these ships it was possible to go both forward and backward. Viking ships were propelled by oars (they are not shown in the picture) and a straight sail mounted on a mast approximately in the middle of the ship.

Viking ships had frames and longitudinal braces. A characteristic feature of their design was the way of connecting frames and other beams with the outer skin, which usually consisted of very long wooden strips running from one stem to another and located overlapping. The largest Viking ships, which were called “dragons” based on the nasal decoration and the shape of the dragon’s head, had a length of 45 m and approximately 30 pairs of oars. Despite the difficulties of sailing through the stormy northern seas on open, undecked ships, the Vikings very soon penetrated from Scandinavia to the coasts of England and France, reached the White Sea, conquered Greenland and Holland, and at the end of the 10th century. penetrated into North America.

The ancient Russian ice-class koch was a real conqueror of the northern seas

Under feudalism, shipbuilding continued to develop in parallel with the development of trade in Northern Europe. Large merchant ships of the 12th and 13th centuries, called naves, had the same shape of bow and stern. They were driven exclusively by a transverse sail mounted on a mast in the middle of the ship. From the end of the 12th century. so-called towers appeared in the bow and stern. At first these were probably fighting bridges (possibly a remnant of a Roman bridge), which over time moved to the bow and stern and became the forecastle and poop. The steering oar was usually located on the starboard side.

Nave

Hanseatic merchants, in whose hands European trade was concentrated in the period from the 13th to the 15th centuries, usually transported their goods on cogs. These were strong, high-sided, single-masted ships with almost vertical fore and stern stems. Gradually, small tower-like superstructures appeared on the coggs in the bow, relatively large superstructures in the stern and peculiar “crow’s nests” at the top of the mast. The main feature that distinguishes a cogg from a nave is the articulated steering wheel with a tiller, located in the center plane of the vessel. Thanks to this, the maneuverability of the vessel has improved.

Single Mast Cogg

Until about the 14th century. shipbuilding in the northern regions of Western Europe developed independently of shipbuilding in the Mediterranean. If the rudder, placed in the plane of symmetry of the vessel, became the greatest achievement in the art of shipbuilding and navigation of the North, then the triangular sail introduced in the Mediterranean Sea, which in our time is called the Latin sail, made it possible to sail steeper to the wind than was possible with a rectangular sail. Thanks to contacts between north and south in the 14th century. A new type of vessel arose - the caravel, a three-masted vessel with lateen sails and an articulated rudder. Over time, a transverse sail began to be installed on the bow mast.

Columbus era carrack

The next type of vessel, which appeared at the end of the 15th century, was the karakka. This vessel had a much more developed forecastle and poop. Carracks were equipped with an articulated rudder and both types of sails. There was a straight sail on the bow mast, one or two straight sails on the middle mast, and a lateen sail on the stern mast. Later they began to install an inclined bow mast - a bowsprit with a small straight sail. With the advent of caravels and carracks, long voyages became possible, such as the journey of Vasco de Gama, Columbus, Magellan and other navigators to unknown lands. The Santa Maria, Columbus's flagship, was most likely a carrack. It had a length of 23 m, a beam of 8.7 m, a draft of 2.8 m and a crew of 90 people. The ship was a medium-sized ship (for example, the ship Peter von la Rochelle, built in 1460, had a length of 12 m). Subsequently, the typical stern superstructure of the karak was replaced by a superstructure that rose in steps to the stern. A mast was added (sometimes inclined), and the number of sails increased. Straight sails were predominantly used, only a gaff sail was installed at the stern. This is how the galion arose, which in the 17th and 18th centuries. became the main type of warship. The most common type of merchant ship of that time was the flute, whose hull tapered towards the top. Its masts were higher and its yards shorter than those of ships built earlier. The rigging was the same as on galleons.

Flutes

Powerful trading companies under the tutelage of the state (the English West India Company, founded in 1600, or the Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602), stimulated the construction of a new type of ship, which was called “East India”. These ships were not very fast. Their full contours and high sides provided a very large carrying capacity. To protect against pirates, merchant ships were armed with cannons. Three, and later four, straight sails were installed on the masts, and a slanting gaff sail was installed on the aft mast. There were usually lateen sails in the bow, and trapezoidal sails between the individual masts. These vessels, due to their resemblance to a warship of a similar type and with the same rigging, are also called frigates.

Frigate

A significant achievement in sailing shipbuilding was the creation of clipper ships. Clipper ships were narrow vessels (length to width ratio was approximately 6.7 m) with advanced armament and a carrying capacity of 500-2000 tons. They were distinguished by high speed. The so-called “tea races” of this period are known, during which clippers loaded with tea on the China-England line reached a speed of 18 knots.

Tea clipper

At the beginning of the 19th century. After many thousands of years of dominance of the sailing fleet, a new type of engine appeared on ships. It was a steam engine - the first mechanical engine. In 1807, the American Robert Fulton built the first ship with a steam engine, the Claremont; it walked along the Hudson River. The ship performed especially well when sailing against the current. Thus began the era of the steam engine on river boats. The steam engine began to be used in maritime navigation later. In 1818, a steam engine was installed on the sailing ship Savannah, which drove paddle wheels. The ship only used the steam engine for the short trip across the Atlantic. For the first time, the ship Sirius, a steam sailing ship built in 1837, whose hull was still wooden, crossed the North Atlantic almost exclusively with the help of a mechanical drive.

Steam ship - Sirius

Since that time, the development of mechanical drives for sea vessels began. Large paddle wheels, which were hampered by rough seas, gave way in 1843 to a propeller. It was first installed on the Great Britain steamer. The Great Eastern, a huge ship at that time, 210 m long and 25 m wide, built in 1860, was a sensation. This ship had two paddle wheels with a diameter of 16.5 m each and a propeller with a diameter of more than 7 m, five pipes and six masts in total. with an area of ​​5400 m2, on which a sail could be set. The ship had accommodations for 4,000 passengers, holds for 6,000 tons of cargo and a speed of 15 knots.

Great Britain

Great Eastern

The next step in the development of ship drives was made at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries; in 1897, a steam turbine was installed for the first time on the Turbinia ship, which made it possible to achieve a hitherto unprecedented speed of 34.5 knots. Built in 1906, the British passenger ship Mauritania (length 241 m, width 26.8 m, carrying capacity 31,940 register tons, crew 612 people, 2,335 passenger seats) was equipped with turbines with a total power of 51,485 kW. During the crossing of the Atlantic in 1907, she achieved an average speed of 26.06 knots and won the symbolic award for speed - the Blue Riband, which she held for 22 years.

Mauritania

In the second decade of the 20th century. Diesels began to be used on sea vessels. In 1912, two diesel engines with a total power of 1,324 kW were installed on the cargo ship Zealandia with a carrying capacity of 7,400 tons.