I'm Jake O'Neal, creator of Animagraffs, 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 oak wood, with some elm, pine and fir. 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 this way. Thick planks enclose the frame inside and out.
At the waterline, the hull is nearly two feet (70 cm) thick.
It's a floating tank clad in wooden armor The masts, the tallest of which tower some
200+ feet (70m) 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 hull below the
waterline 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. The hold is the main storage area. A bed of rocks
provides drainage 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
(front) and aft (back) for improved air quality. At the back of the hold, there
are 10 tons of flour 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
2 tons of butter among many other items. A shot locker holds 120 tons of
cannon balls 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 gunpowder 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 flour and
biscuit storage readily available for meals. Daily rations are dispensed from the steward’s
room to mess cooks. The steward may sleep here, if needed, to prevent food theft.
The steward’s appointed cabin is nearby. There's the purser’s cabin and store for
the purser, who handles accounts and money. And a marines’ clothing store. Across the other side, there's a
dispensary for medical supplies. The surgeon has their own cabin 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 berth 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 hold 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 sails when
not in use, or when held for repairs. Cable tiers hold coils of anchor cables or
ropes, with open walls to allow proper drying. There are cabin and store rooms for the boatswain
(bow-sn), who oversees some of the deck crew. The boatswain's 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 the each
side of the Orlop deck called the carpenter's walk ensures unobstructed
access to the hull at the waterline, which is especially important for any damage
sustained in this critical area during action. At the front of the Orlop deck, there's
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 (91 metric 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. A 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. A 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 were 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 bitts,
whose beams extend to 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.
The cranks drive a chain with leather discs to lift water up into removable
wooden tubes on the deck floor that guide pump water to
drains at the ship's side. All four pumps operating simultaneously
can move 465 gallons (1760 L) of water per minute out of the hold.
In front and behind the pump area there are large rotating capstans (cap-stn) 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 draw up sea water from a hole in the bottom
of the ship, for cleaning or fighting fires. Middle gun deck Twenty-eight guns of the 24-pounder class
are positioned along the middle gun deck. Shot garlands with projectiles line the grating
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 saltwater. 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. 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, roundhouses 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 6 open-air
toilets called seats of ease. Simple canvas partitions form
a small sick bay as needed. Non-commissioned officer’s 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-o-nine-tails for disciplinary action. Heading aft, there's the
admirals' 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. Quarter deck 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,
and the ship master's cabin at the other side. The steering wheel sits at the
center, exposed on one side but shielded overhead by the poop deck floor.
A single rope wraps around the steering drum and extends through the quarter deck 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. As the wheel rotates, ropes move,
guiding the tiller gracefully along its arc. The attached three-storey tall rudder swings on
metal hinges which are fastened tight to the keel. Focusing back to the quarter deck, there's
a binnacle 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 poop deck beams above. Various 12-pounder guns line 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 carronade-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.
Poop deck The short poop deck is a
raised section at the rear. Its name derives from the
French word for stern: la poupe, which I suspect would somehow sound even funnier
among age groups predisposed to such humor. A skylight illuminates 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
So far, we've seen hammocks for officers and other higher-ranking
individuals. However, most of the ship's 800+ crew were barely allotted a shoulder's width of space
in which to occupy their respective hammocks. Cannons are secured to the ship 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. During action, rolled hammocks are stacked in
side-netting to make a protective barrier around the quarter and poop decks. Hammocks are also
regularly transported above decks to be aired out. Anchors
The ship carries 7 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 lbs (4,536
kg) a piece, with the cables weighing even more. There's a crane on either side
in a beam called the cathead, which is used to safely lower the
anchors from their ship-side perch. Once in position, the massive 8-inch
diameter anchor cables handle the rest. Depending on the scenario, raising or
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 6 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 capstan base. Instead, a messenger rope makes a
loop, winding around the capstan and passing behind pillars at the front.
As the capstan turns and the messenger rope
travels, crew use sections of rope called "nippers" to tie the anchor cable 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 fore 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 staysails hang between masts to aid in various maneuvers or make
better use of available winds. The bowsprit (bau-sprit) at the front
originates from the upper deck below, extending up and outwards, to provide
rigging for the foremost sails, 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 studding sails beams that extend laterally with attached sails of the
same name, for added speed in good weather. The impressive density of these 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 ship's
hull to platforms above, and from platforms themselves
further up the masts. Deadeyes allow adjustment as
lines may stretch over time. Horizontal ratlines inbetween turn shrouds into rope ladders that sailors will climb to
interact with sails and rigging 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
one sail (setting sail). 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. Buntlines run through the sail,
with leechlines at the sides. These lines are let down,
allowing the sail to drape. Clewlines at the corners are then loosed
as well, allowing the corner to lower, as the sheet line at the back,
and the tack line at the front are hauled 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 fife rails with
many pins for tie off points. It takes all of these lines to
set and operate just one sail. Add all other sails to the mix, and the amount
of rope on deck at any one time becomes enormous.