This morning, Chen Zuwang was taken away by two soldiers.
Chen San was a little panicked, not knowing what happened. Chen Zuwang gave him a reassuring look before leaving. Let him carry on as usual.
The soldier took him directly to the dock.
Only when we got here did we realize that today was the day when the keel was laid.
Ming Yan and Chen Liang saw him and shook hands with him. He had already learned the etiquette here and knew that the etiquette here mainly consisted of bowing and shaking hands, and abolished the hand-bowing and kneeling ceremonies.
Bowing is appropriate for formal and solemn occasions. The depth of the bow depends on the status gap between the two people. But no more than forty-five degrees.
The handshake is suitable for ordinary normal communication. A slight nod should be used between members of the opposite sex.
"Master Chen, starting from today, the keel of our new ship will be laid. You are a senior helmsman. In the future, this ship will need you to helm and navigate. We hope that first, you will be familiar with its performance and structure. Only by understanding It can handle it well.”
"Second, during the construction process, we hope that you, as a senior helmsman, can provide valuable practical suggestions. After all, the designer is not a user and he lacks experience. The ship is designed for operators and is not suitable for operation. The ship was a failed design, so your input is especially valuable."
Chen Zuwang nodded, what he said was very reasonable.
"Third, we have received a reply from the master. The master has decided to send you to Zunhua at the end of the month to enter Xinghe Academy to learn quick arithmetic and sextant, as well as simple drawing operations. Receive telescopes and other navigation equipment."
Chen Zuwang is not young, and his memory is not as good as that of young people, but he has experience, which is the most precious. Yang Fan decided to invest resources in him and focus on training him.
The subsequent laying of the keel opened Chen Zu's eyes.
Pieces of I-shaped steel are placed on wooden frames and fixed in place to form the skeleton of a ship, and then steel ribs are installed.
After the installation was completed, Chen Zuwang could already see the outline of the ship.
This is a long, slender ship. The length-to-width ratio actually reached a frightening level of nine to one. The Ming Dynasty's Fortune Ship was only three to one. No wonder the keel was made of steel. It was impossible for wood to be so slender and still maintain sufficient strength.
Chief Engineer Chen Liang asked proudly: "Do you think the design of this keel is beautiful?"
"I don't quite understand why the keel of this ship is designed like this. Is its bow hollow?" Chen Zuwang asked doubtfully.
Before he finished speaking, Chen Zuwang found that Chen Liang and Ming Yan's mouths widened in surprise. The two then asked in unison: "How did you see it?"
"From the structure of the bow keel, I feel that after installing the ship plate, the bow should be hollow. The purpose of the hollow bow design should be to make it easier for the ship to lift its head in the waves and improve its course stability in the waves. sex."
Chen Liang repeatedly lamented that we really can't do things behind closed doors. Look at other people, experts are experts. Only those who are truly successful can understand useful designs. It seems that he will go to sea more often with ships in the future, and his disciples will also be found among sailors.
After the keel and ribs were fixed, hot riveting began.
People from Xinghe Iron Works heated the rivets red, inserted them into the joints of the keels, and used hammers to hammer out the iron caps on both sides. After cooling in this way, the two keels are firmly connected together.
Chen Zuwang's eyes were opened. He could actually build a ship like this. Wouldn't it mean that the ship could be as big as he wanted and in any shape he wanted? Completely get rid of the restrictions of finding natural special-shaped wood.
Over the next few days, the keel and ribs took shape. The wooden shelves were removed.
It was too fast. Originally, laying the keel and ribs was the most difficult and time-consuming part of the shipbuilding process. If you are not careful, the keel will be bent due to uneven stress, or even be scrapped in severe cases.
The craftsman must keep an eye on it at all times to prevent accidents from happening at any time.
It was actually completed in five or six days, even though it was only a small boat.
After seeing the ribs, Chen Zuwang guessed that this experimental ship was not a true warship. Because his ribs lack spacing and density.
A few days later, the process entered the stage of attaching ship boards. He saw that although the ship boards were seamed, they were only three inches thick, which completely confirmed his suspicion.
It was a pure clipper ship, it didn't need strong armor because no other ship could catch it.
Work was in full swing in the dock, and the factories outside were not idle either. The woodworkers work in three shifts day and night to produce wooden components. Sail workers are busy making cables, and many female workers are sewing sails. The blacksmith is forging pulleys and rigging made of pure copper.
The paint maker is making glue and paint. Treat the asphalt. What surprised him the most was the heat treatment workshop. They boiled the finished ship plates in a large pot, and then judged the processing time based on the experience of the old masters. Then they were able to bend the ship plates little by little, just like how to train a bow. into the desired shape. And try to break the wooden fibers of the ship as little as possible to ensure the strength.
This shipyard with 2,000 people was actually busy building a boat with a cost of 200 materials. It can be seen that although this boat is small, it involves a lot of processes.
When the ship planks were being attached to the outside, the pulley crane actually began to lift the ship planks to the inside, and the inner decks began to be laid layer by layer at the same time. This places high demands on the organizational capabilities of the project.
Chen Zuwang expects that the entire hull will be completed within half a month. Then start installing the watertight compartment transverse panels.
Twist work can start early next month, which means treating the gaps in ship plates and watertight compartments to prevent water leakage.
After the twisting is completed, tarring is applied to the part below the waterline of the hull to further waterproof and prevent insects, especially shipworms.
After the asphalt is applied, look at the design of the drawing. Finally, a thin copper plate must be installed below the waterline to completely wrap the bottom of the ship. This is used to prevent seawater from corroding the wood and prevent molluscs such as barnacles from adhering to the bottom of the ship and slowing down the ship. It is also beneficial to every interval. I have been in the dock for several years scraping the bottom of the boat for maintenance.
Boats made in this way have a greatly extended service life and are far stronger than pure wooden boats of this era. After all, too many advanced designs were used.
After all these are completed, there is still half a month left for outfitting. Outfitting is the most complex stage of the process and the most prone to problems. At this time, the mast, steering wheel, and rudder need to be installed.
Install anchor, windlass and anchor chain. Install superstructure and sails. Renovation of three levels of premium cabins at the stern.
Finally the whole boat was painted.
Once the paint is dry, you can go into the water. In the era of sailing battleships, if the shipyard was not in a hurry to build the next ship, it could be outfitted in the dry dock. Finally, just open the dock gate and let the water in, and the ship can sail out.
At this time, the sea ice has also melted, and the half-month trial voyage can begin. Any problems can be corrected at any time, so that in mid-March, the first clipper ship in this time and space can sail to Vladivostok.
