How an 18th Century Sailing Battleship Works

I'm Jake O'Neal creator of animographs and this is how an 18th century sailing Battleship worked we've based our model on the HMS Victory which was first launched in 1765. however our goal is to present a high quality teaching model with period correct generalizations as opposed to a history lesson on the victory herself let's start with the frame which is constructed primarily from Oakwood with some Elm Pine and fur Timbers are joined for example by pinning diagonal surfaces together in a scarf joint secured with wood or metal fasteners and then formed into the desired shapes floor beams are connected to these vertical Timbers and supported by horizontal and vertical knee braces the shell or Hull of the entire ship is formed in this way thick planks enclose the frame inside and out the water line the hull is nearly two feet thick thick floating tank clad and wooden armor the masts the tallest of which Tower some 200 plus feet above the water level are supported at each floor as they extend to the massive Keel Beam at the ship's very bottom where they're anchored with large wooden blocks called steps at the exterior the hole below the water line is covered with copper plating to protect against harmful Marine growth and for improved water tightness now let's tour each floor starting with the hold in the belly of the ship a hold is the main storage area a bed of rocks provides draining and stability for stored items as well as ballast which is weight added to balance the ship the victory had 38 tons of extra ballasting on one side when built iron blocks were also used to supplement ballast weight there are wooden ventilation ducts at the fore and aft for improved air quality at the back of the hold there are 10 tons of flower storage the nearby Spirit Room holds 50 tons of beer the main area carries 300 tons of water 50 tons of coal or wood fuel 20 tons of Timber for repairs or other needs 30 tons of salted meat 45 tons of biscuits 15 Tons of peas and two tons of butter among many other items a shot Locker holds 120 tons of cannonballs and other projectiles a hold well collects water in the lowest part of the ship to be pumped out the Grand Magazine stores 35 tons of gunpowder and is lined with copper to keep the powder dry protect it from Sparks and keep rats out in the nearby filling room Sailors prepare gun powder cartridges for the ship's cannons called guns the orlop deck is above the hold and straddles the water line as such there are no side openings to provide light or airflow there's a network of removable floor gratings through every deck at the ship's center line for ventilation and for transferring items including cannons and so on throughout the vessel at the rear of the orlop deck additional gratings provide more ventilation for the hold this is the bread room with flower and biscuit storage readily available for meals daily rations are dispensed from the stewards room to mess Cooks the steward may sleep here if needed to prevent food theft the steward's appointed cabin is nearby the purses cabin and store for the Purser who handles accounts and money and a Marine's clothing store across the other side there's a dispensary for medical supplies the surgeon has their own cabin here for sleeping and Performing mostly non-battle related procedures there are also stores for the captain and lieutenant a large area in front of these rooms is the midshipman's birth for junior ranking officers usually in their teenage years hammocks are hung here for sleeping front and back hanging magazines hold racks full of ready-made gun cartridges which are specially prepared sacks of gunpowder for cannons the hanging magazines are framed between decks suspended in a fashion for enhanced protection from catastrophic damage sustained in action light comes from an adjacent room with a lantern behind glass panes for safety there are hatches throughout the orlop deck floor called scuttles many of these are in strategic areas for guarded access to the ship's valuable stores in the hole beneath the cockpit area in the middle of the floor is used to treat crew members during battle moving towards the front of the ship sail rooms provide storage for sales when not in use or when held for repairs cable tiers hold coils of anchor cable or ropes to open walls to allow proper [Music] there are cabin and storerooms for the boson who oversees some of the deck crew the Bose in stores have items related to rigging cordage anchors sails boats flags and so on the onboard carpenter has a cabin and fully stocked workshop for ship maintenance and repair a narrow passageway along each side of the orlop deck called The Carpenter's walk ensures unobstructed access to the hull at the water line which is a is especially important for any damage sustained in this critical area during action orlop dick the the Gunner's store for all things related to armaments including rifles pistols and supplies for the many onboard cannons lower gun deck the lower gun deck is built to support 30 guns of the 32-pounder class weighing in at over 100 tons in total 32-pounder refers to the 32-pound shot these guns are designed to fire guns are maneuvered for aiming through a system of ropes and pulleys at either side and at the rear tools with long handles are mounted above the gun Sailors must lean out of the gun port to access the barrel in order of usage for firing the worm with a metal spiral at its end is inserted into the barrel and turned several times to catch any unburned bits left inside next the wet sponge extinguishes any remaining Embers the cartridge is loaded and rammed home with the rammer then a shot round or otherwise is loaded and also rammed home nearby fire buckets hold water or sand for fire extinguishing wooden poles lift the barrel to allow adjustment of a wedge at the back which controls gun pitch thick rope limits rearward roll due to the powerful recoil after a shot is fired at the front of the lower deck there's a Manger where animals are sometimes kept anchor cables enter the ship through holes at the bow and can also be laid here for temporary storage or drying sturdy wooden structures called bits beams extend the deck below for added support provide tie-off points for anchor cables to prevent any movement while anchors are deployed moving further back there are four bilge or chain pumps with long handles so that many sailors can operate them in unison these pumps remove water from the hold well cranks drive a chain with leather discs to lift water up into removable wooden tubes on the deck floor the guide pump water to drains at the ship's side all four pumps operating simultaneously can move 465 gallons of water per minute out of the hold and behind the pump area there are large rotating capstans for hauling in the anchor cables more on this process later in this same area there's also an elm tree pump so called for the rot resistant Elm wood used in its construction these general purpose pumps drop seawater from a hole in the bottom of the ship for cleaning or fighting fires metal gun deck 28 guns of the 24-pounder class are positioned along the middle gun deck shot garlands with projectiles lined the grading and stairways called ladders at the center the ship's main entry Port is situated in the middle there's a dedicated Sick Bay at the front behind that the main Galley for food preparation and distribution for some of the officers and all of the regular crew members with a large iron stove that exhausts through Upper Decks to the outside the stove includes a water condenser for distilling fresh water from salt water capstans at the center are connected to those of the middle deck below the rear of this deck has officer's quarters and the wardroom for officers to eat and congregate with a nearby pantry the panel walls are either folded up and secured or carried away entirely to make space for guns during action [Music] as such those inhabiting these quarters often share the limited space with onboard guns a wooden cover at the back can be removed to expose the rudder especially for emergency access upper gun deck the upper gun deck holds 30 12 pounder guns moving to the front of the deck roundhouse is at either side are accessible to officers for a more private restroom experience Sailors of lower ranks must venture outside the ship entirely to The Forecastle where there are six open-air toilets called seats of ease simple canvas partitions form a small Sick Bay as needed non-commissioned officers cots can be hung nearby for sleeping there's a skylight for the galley below nearby chests hold rifles and pistols removable tables are slung between guns with equipment chests as benches there's a bag that holds flogging ropes and the famed cat of nine tails for disciplinary action heading aft there's the Admiral sleeping quarters dining quarters and day cabin the nearby quarter gallery has a private toilet as well as with other floors wall paneling can fold out of the way or be removed to clear the floor for action Quarterdeck the captain's accommodations make up the rear of the quarter deck including a private toilet day cabin dining area and sleeping cabin with the captain's relatively luxurious hanging bed moving forward there's a cabin for the captain's personal secretary ship Masters cabin at the other side the steering wheel sits at the center Exposed on one side but shielded overhead by the poop deck floor single rope wraps around the steering drum and extends through the Quarterdeck floor passing through the upper and middle deck floors to the ceiling of the lower deck where pulleys redirect the Rope as it spreads to either side of the arced tiller sweep metal rings in the tiller arm guide the Rope to tensioning gear at either side the wheel rotates ropes move guiding the tiller gracefully along its Arc the attached three-story tall Rudders swings on metal hinges which are fastened tight keel focusing back to the quarter deck there's a binacle in front of the ship's wheel which holds two compasses for redundancy and so that Sailors on either side of the wheel may take accurate readings a lamp sits at the center with a small chimney to let off Lantern smoke a row of fire buckets hangs from the poop deck beams above various 12-pounder guns lined the sides the center of the quarter deck is open to the upper deck below with skid beams and cradles to secure various onboard boats there's the launch which is the largest boat able to handle the anchors or a ship's Cannon Pinnacle boats transport senior officers while the barge is for the Admiral Cutters the smallest and fastest of the boats are mostly used for emergencies during battle action all of these boats are used in some capacity there's a belfry and Bell nearby the frontmost part of the quarter deck is called The Forecastle hearkening to older ships where this area was raised up from the deck there are two 68-pounder caronade style guns at either side they use a special sliding frame for aiming and recoil with small wheels underneath the large heavy shot paired with a shorter thinner Barrel uses less gunpowder to deal maximum damage at close range the short poop deck is a raised section at the rear its name derives from the French word for stern La poop which I suspect would somehow sound even funnier among age groups predisposed to such humor a skylight eliminates the captain's dining quarters below there are cranes called davits on both sides for hoisting items to and from the ship including the onboard boats shelves at the rear contain many flags for signaling hammocks are we've seen hammocks for officers and other higher ranking individuals however most of the ship's 800 plus crew were barely allotted a shoulder's width of space in which to occupy their respective hammocks cannons are secured to the ship's sides to make room for sleeping sailors while decks can accommodate many hammocks this way because of watch routines aboard the ship only half of the crew would be asleep at one time [Music] during action rolled hammocks are stacked in side netting to make a protective barrier around the corner and poop decks hammocks are also regularly transported above decks to be aired out anchors the ship carries seven anchors the Bowers anchors at the front are the main set with a backup pair of anchors slung nearby these heavy anchors weigh around 10 000 pounds apiece with the cables weighing even more there's a crane on either side in a beam called the cat head which is used to safely lower the angers from their ship side perch once in position the massive 8-inch diameter anchor cables handle the rest depending on the scenario raising and lowering anchors could be grueling work taking hours and involving many sailors capstans are vertically connected through the lower and middle decks guns are rotated as ladders and pillars are carried away to make room for large removable wooden bars with six or more Sailors to a bar the capstans can accommodate tens to hundreds of sailors at a time the anchor cables are too thick to warp around the Capstone base instead a messenger rope makes a loop winding around the capstan and passing behind pillars at the front Capstone turns and the messenger rope travels crew use sections of rope called Nippers to tie the anchor cables to the messenger line and they both move together cables pass through decks to the previously shown cable storage in the orlop deck masts sails and rigging there are three masts called the mizzen main and four masts respectively each has various sails which hang from horizontal beams called yards since the yards are perpendicular to the masts this is said to be a square rigged ship triangular State cells hang between masts to Aid in various Maneuvers or make better use of available winds a bow sprit at the front originates from the upper deck below extending up and outwards to provide rigging for the form of sales called jibs a driver or spanker sail at the rear is also used for maneuvering or to balance Helm orientation as needed some yards have studied sail beams that extend laterally with attached sails of the same name for added speed in good weather the impressive 's rigging lines can be daunting at a casual glance let's break things down for easier visualization shrouds support the masts side to side they extend up from the Chip's hole to platforms above platforms themselves further up the masts dead eyes allow adjustment as lines May stretch over time horizontal rat lines in between turn shrouds into rope ladders that Sailors will climb to interact with sails and wreaking above stays provide front to back stability many of these structural lines are coated in black tar for increased durability against harsh sea life finally the running rigging controls the sails themselves let's focus on setting just Sailors Ascend the shrouds and do their work from ropes suspended Beneath The Yards when stowed the sail is lashed neatly to the yard with sections of rope called gaskets these gaskets are untied and coiled to begin the unfurling blunt lines run through the sail with leech lines at the sides these lines are let down allowing the sail to drape clue lines at the corners are then loosed as well allowing the corner to lower sheet line at the back tack line at the front are hold tight the yard hoist lines are hauled to lift the yard upwards into place the sail is now fully set the yard is secured to the Mast but can rotate around it yard brace lines at the sides and sheet and Tack lines at the corners must be loosed or hauled in careful orchestration to position the sail the lines for this sail are operated from deck level some may tie off at the shrouds or to Dedicated five rails with many pins for tie-off points it takes all of these lines to set and operate just one Sail add all other sales to the mix and the amount of rope on deck at any one time becomes enormous

Channel: Animagraffs

Views: 5,050,587

Keywords:

Id: 4Nr1AgIfajI

Length: 25min 27sec (1527 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 10 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/TheGillos]

Now I want to watch Master and Commander again.

[u/hgaterms]

6 open air toilets for 800+ men? Oof.

[u/labadimp]

This channel is so impressive. Imagine thinking of the next thing you are gonna 3D animate and deciding on a fucking centuries old ship. I cannot think of many more distinctly complex and historically difficult things to 3D animate than this fucking ship. I mean the channel has done modern airplanes and shit too. Its crazy to think of the amount of time and research let alone the 3D animating/editing skills this requires. Really great work IMO.

[u/real_bookie]

This by far is the most complete model and guide I have ever seen, living in those ships was brutal, those were hardcore men, and battles must have been so terrifying.

[u/turnturnburn]

Reminds me of Stephen Beistys Incredible Cross-Sections

[u/brynleighfuxx]

As someone that's in a pirate based D&D campaign that I've somehow become the captain of a ship for, this was great!!

[u/FammerHall]

Hehe ... "poop" ...

[u/Due_Start_3597]

Any other channels like this?

In spanish or english?

[u/cheap_walmart_art]

Y’all should give this video a watch. It’s a self made documentary from a guy who did one of the last commercial routes around Cape Horn on a tall masted ship. https://youtu.be/eeQU0Wo7p2E