The Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries

For many years, the sailing vessels of asia and the mediterranean, all used triangular sails, but after the triangular sails were replaced by the the square sail in the mid 14th century, ship building started on a quest to create great ships. The northern Europeans first used the square sails, and when they came to the Mediterranean to fight the crusades, the shipbuilders there began to see the benefits of the square sail.

Their own ships differed from those of the northern Europeans, mainly with the hull. The European ships were clinker-built, or built with overlapping planks laid down, making a more jagged appearance of the hull. The Mediterranean hulls on the other hand, didn’t overlap, but were stacked one on top of the other facing out, or carvel-built, appearing smooth. The shipbuilders began to produce larger ships however, and the clinker hulls became obsolete, as were not as compatible with the greater length.

The 15th century brought in the two-masted ship. Earlier on, the majority of square-rigged ships carried only a single upright mast, but had a forecastle and aftcastle* built on. These offered more space below decks, and were useful for offense and defense during combat. The single sail that was used on these ships (mainsail) was hung from a yard* so it could be raised, lowered, and turned at will by braces, or lines attached to the yardarm and the bowsprit, or quasi-mast that stuck off of the forecastle.

During the next years, a second mast was considered and placed on the aftcastle. The sail on this mast was a triangular sail, dubbed the mizzen, and thus the mizzen mast was made. This sail made steering much more efficient.

The development of the single rudder on the sternpost, or ridge on the back of the ship, increased steering and manouevrability even more. Before the single rudder, ships often carried two or more rudders from the sides of the ship, which resembled oars. The person in charge of steering, or helmsman, now had to stay below decks where the rudder was levered, and receive commands from people above in charge of the sails.

Galleons

Due to the inefficiency of the earlier hulls, the new design was created for and all ships using these improved hulls were called galleons. This new hull offered a greater width, and better hydrodynamics in the flow around the ship. These new ships also had improved on the forecastle by moving it forward, so it was directly above the stem*, as opposed to behind it. This reduced the possibility of the wind swinging the ship around. Yet another addition was the head. This cabin extended under the bowsprit, and was used as the crew’s restroom.

The newer galleons were smaller, more manouevrable and more heavily armed. These new developments showed weakness in the hull design, and thus hull frames were born. These frames widened at the bottom, but were narrower near the top to provide stability with weight distribution on the ship, concerning the cannons. The next advancement was the gallery. This was a balcony surrounding the stern that was later covered and turned into more officer’s cabins and toilets.

All these new advances in galleon technology were paving the road to the great ships of the later years. New ideas such as the movement of the foremast, were introduced. Previously, it had been located ahead of the forecastle, but was completely moved so the rails of the forecastle were on its either side. The next invention was the topsail, located first on the mizzen mast. This new advance dubbed the ships frigates (not the warships with a complete deck of guns though.) This final galleon design was the end-product that modeled square-riggers for the rest of ship building.

Naval warfare really began picking up during this century. The navies of the countries of the world were gaining strength and power. The British Navy formed a list of classes warships would fall into.

First Rate- over 90 guns (often flagships of fleets)

Second Rate- over 80 guns

Third Rate- over 54 guns

Fourth Rate- over 38 guns (often frigates)

Fifth Rate- over 18 guns

Sixth Rate- over 6 guns

The ships and their war plans grew and evolved. The ships now carried more guns, and were designed to be better for combat. The waist, or decks in the middle, previously covered with nets for easy access to storage, was now covered with wood, for walking on, sailing manouevres such as reefing,* were introduced, the size of the yards evened out(as the different masts had previously posessed varying sized yards,) and the staysail was invented. The staysail is the sail between the bowsprit and the foremast.

The eighteenth century was the masterpiece of square-rigger history. In this century were the Napoleonic wars, where some of the most brilliant naval battles took place. Few new sailing technologies were introduced or created, but the ships were all the more magnificent. All the British ships-of-the-line were well crafted and overly armed, while the French had smaller ships, with better guns.

The Clipper

The Americans had realized their need for speed after the war of 1812, where the British Navy obliterated that of the United States. Several men of the marine industry got to gether and planned out the clipper based on the good elements of the various other ships of the day, and thus the clipper was born. The clipper, a behemoth among ships, was thought to be the perfect sailing vessel. These new ships were fast, something the cargo ships of the East India convoy lacked. The clipper could pull over 20 knots*, while the other cargo ships usually only did 5 or 6 knots because of their heavy arsenal of cannons.

It’s hard to rival the last 400 years of ship building with any other technology. The great power and magnificence these ships showed over time ranks up there with wonders of the world, and will never be forgotten.