"Is there anyone from Mu Zuo?" Yang Fan asked.
Carpentry is the largest and most important department of the shipyard. It is much larger than lacquer work, copper and iron work, sail rope work, twisting work, etc.
They handle the vast majority of wood.
Then the boatmen assemble it.
"The old man is brave enough to be the master carpenter." A tall old man stepped forward and clasped his fists as he spoke. Yang Fan looked around and saw that the old man had a red face and white hair. He was strong and tall, about five feet seven inches tall, and his voice was as loud as a bell.
"Master Tang, does our factory use the overlapping method or the seaming method for shipbuilding now?" Yang Fan asked.
Unexpectedly, Yang Fan asked such a professional question, Tang DaDa was obviously stunned for a moment.
He quickly and respectfully replied: "Proprietor, now large ships generally use the seaming method, and if they are small ships, they use the overlapping method. Our factory has not built large ships for a long time, and now we use the overlapping method to build small fishing boats." It’s made by law, so the cost is lower.”
"Is the stitching technique still there? It hasn't been lost, right?" Yang Fan will build large ships in the future, and he is more concerned about this technology.
"Don't worry, proprietor, these technologies are all there. As long as there are orders, we can build large ships at any time."
In terms of the shipbuilding process, the keel is generally laid first. After the keel is laid, the ship ribs are installed from the keel to both sides. Naturally curved thick timber square columns are often used.
After the ship ribs are completed, connecting beams must be installed in the middle and above the ship ribs on both sides.
Forming a semi-circular structure connected to the keel.
From the bow to the stern, there are semicircular structures of various sizes. The decks are laid on the beams, and from the top to the bottom are the first deck, the second deck, and so on.
The interior of the semi-circular structure is completely closed up and down with ship boards, which is a watertight compartment. From the bow to the stern, there are the first warehouse, the second warehouse, and so on.
The outside of the ship's ribs should be attached to the ship's siding longitudinally from the bow to the stern. These sidings are the hull of the ship as we see it from the outside.
The lap joint method and the seam joint method are two ways of attaching ship boards.
The so-called overlapping method means that when installing ship panels outside, the upper ship panels are installed against the lower ship panels, just like the installation of tiles on the roof of our house, with the upper tiles resting on the lower tiles.
The advantage of this is that it is easy to install, just nail it on. Shipbuilding is fast. The gaps between the ship boards are very small, and there can even be no gaps. The later anti-seepage process is simple and low-cost.
However, there is a problem with the overlapping method, that is, it can only overlap one ship plate, and multiple layers of ship plates cannot be overlapped at the same time.
If you are building a small boat, there is no problem in attaching a layer of ship planks. It is cheap and light, and the weight saved can increase the load capacity.
However, the ship plates of large ships are also stress-bearing parts, especially on ocean-going ships. In order to be strong, multi-layer ship plates need to be arranged inside and outside in a staggered manner. In this way, there is no way to overlap, so the seaming method must be used, that is, upper and lower ship plates. They are connected in parallel, so there will be a gap.
After each layer of shipboard is installed, a twister is required to fill the gaps with twisting material to make it waterproof.
There are seams between the planks of wooden boats. Based on the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, the seams will become more obvious after a winter of cold contraction. Therefore, the beginning of spring is the best time to add twisting materials. After the weather gets hot, the ship plates expand, which will compress the gaps tighter, achieving the best effect of preventing water seepage.
Old ships are usually repaired in the beginning of spring. Barnacles are scraped off the bottom of the ship, rotten planks and components are replaced, and the twisting material is refilled.
New ships will also choose to fill twisting materials in this season, when the effect is best.
Therefore, no matter new or old ships, these gaps must be sealed before launching, which is called twisting the ship. The twisting ship uses putty mixed with lime and tung oil, and uses a hammer and chisel to chisel the twisting material into the gaps little by little. This is a truly technical job, and it is impossible to do it without years of experience and step-by-step instructions from masters.
Ordinary ships will leak if they are not bent for one or two years. Therefore, the maintenance cost of wooden boats is very high.
"Is the twister here?" Yang Fan asked. Since there is no problem with the stitching method, it is necessary to find out the level of the twister in the shipyard.
Don't dare to launch a leaky boat.
"Old Chen Shu is a master twister. He has been doing this for forty years. Don't worry, proprietor. I dare to be second in this craftsmanship in Beitangkou. No one dares to be first." The craftsman had a look on his face. Said proudly.
These craftsmen are not very educated. People give their children cheap names to make a living. There are cats and dogs everywhere. It is not unusual for this one to be called a mouse.
"Master Chen, what unique skills do you have? Let me tell you." Yang Fan knew that people who dare to be so arrogant usually have some real abilities.
"My boss, the general twisting formula is lime plus tung oil. The secret lies in the proportion, but I have a better ancestral recipe." Chen Mouse said, stroking his goat's beard.
"What's the effect of your prescription?" Yang Fan is not interested in the prescription, only the effect.
After all, he wants to build an ocean-going ship. After traveling on the sea for a few years, if water leaks halfway, the vast sea will scream every day and the earth will not work, and the people on the ship will be killed.
"In general, the boat needs to be repaired every year, pulled into the dry dock, and the leaking areas are re-twisted. The better ones need to be repaired every two years. The best ones usually only take about four years. Re-twist the boat.”
Chen Mouse said this, shaking his sleeves with some satisfaction, and then continued: "This old ancestral prescription contains a specially prepared hemp, which can absorb oil and has good tensile strength. Added to the putty, it can keep it from rotting for many years."
"How many years can the old man's skills guarantee that he won't have to twist the boat?" Yang Fan asked.
"The boat built by the old man and his children and grandchildren can last for fifteen years without leaking."
"What!" Yang Fan stood up directly, shocked, with a look of disbelief on his face. "how did you do it."
"It's simple to say, just crush the hemp silk into less than a quarter-inch length, mix lime and tung oil to form a hemp board, use wooden wedges to widen the seams in the board, and then fill the hemp board."
"When filling, there is also a unique skill. You must gouge one after the other, and press the gouge tightly. Otherwise, the hemp silk cut into the gap will be of different thicknesses, and there is a possibility of water leakage."
Yang Fan understands that despite what others say, it is simple. This is a unique skill passed down from generation to generation. Even if I tell you the principle, you won’t be able to understand it.
What kind of hemp is this, how to prepare it, how to select the ingredients, the specific procedures, and how to stuff the ingredients. They are all very complex knowledge and are the accumulation of the hard work of generations of people.
Yang Fan looked at the others, who all nodded in admiration. It seemed that Chen Shu's craftsmanship was really amazing. I didn't expect that there would be such a powerful master chef here. If it weren't for the fact that he is a local and his family members are here and he doesn't want to go to the south, the Fujian boss would definitely take him away.
This is truly a treasure.
Sealing and waterproofing are the real technical barriers to shipbuilding, and there is no place to find such talents.
These few thousand taels of silver were well spent. Not to mention the dock, even if the old gentleman and his family asked for 8,000 taels of silver, Yang Fan would buy it without hesitation.
"The old gentleman has this unique skill, how much is the salary now?" Yang Fan asked,
"Oh, the shipyard is like this. The big boss takes care of me, and I get one or two and a half silver a month. The other brothers get such little, and I don't have the nerve to ask for more."
"From now on, it will be increased to five taels of silver every month, and for every ship built, an additional bonus of ten taels of silver will be given."
There was a sound of inhalation all around. The treatment of craftsmen in Ming Dynasty was really too low. Sixty taels a year is enough to make these people envious. There were whispers all around. Sixty taels. Although Chen Shuuseu has a family of more than 20 people, one tael of silver a month is enough to feed the whole family.
Yang Fan looked at everyone's desolation and felt a little unbearable in his heart. Real skilled workers must make a decent living and relieve all worries, so that they can devote themselves to work wholeheartedly and create more inventions.
He really wants to turn this shipyard into the most technologically advanced shipyard in the world, so he must give him the best treatment, not only to cultivate talents, but also to retain them.
"In the future, in addition to the basic salary, everyone's salary will also include several subsidies and bonuses such as professional title, position, workload, overall efficiency of the shipyard, technological inventions, etc. In terms of benefits, each person will receive fifty rice per month according to their rank. It ranges from one kilogram to one hundred kilograms, and is used to support the family. Another person is given four sets of clothes and shoes every year. A canteen is set up, and three meals are free during working hours. All the children go to Xinghe Academy for free."
As soon as Yang Fan finished speaking, the craftsmen suddenly became excited. It seemed that the new owner not only increased wages for everyone, but also provided new subsidies and bonuses. The benefits are so good. They were all as happy as if they were about to celebrate the New Year.
Unexpectedly, the good news was not over yet. Yang Fan continued: "The factory will build a new brick house as a dormitory. All craftsmen and boatmen who have families can apply for housing with no rent. The factory hires doctors to stay in the factory and provide medical treatment and medicine. free."
