The Elements Of Wood Ship Construction | by W. H. Curtis
"The Ship's Foundation" Every structure must have a suitable foundation. Floating structures, such as ships, are built on temporary foundations called slips. When completed they are then launched, or permitted to slide into the water. While the slip is purely a temporary foundation for the ship during construction, it usually is permanent in itself and may be used for many ships.
| Title | The Elements Of Wood Ship Construction |
| Author | W. H. Curtis |
| Publisher | The McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. |
| Year | 1918 |
| Copyright | 1918, The McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. |
| Amazon | The Elements Of Wood Ship Construction |
By W. H. Curtis, Naval Architect And Marine Engineer
General Preface- Preface to Pamphlet, Part I, issued by the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation, for use in its classes in Wood Shipbuilding. This text on wood shipbuilding was prepared by W. H. ...
- Chapter I. Keels, Stems And Stern Posts. Keel Blocks - "The Ship's Foundation"
- Every structure must have a suitable foundation. Floating structures, such as ships, are built on temporary foundations called slips. When completed they are then launched, or permitted to slide into ...
- Laying Out The Keel
- The first step in laying out the keel is to locate and scribe across the top and down each side all frame centers on each piece of the keel, as shown on the plans. These are then numbered in the same ...
- Stems
- There are several good arrangements of stem construction in common use. A few of these are shown in Figs. 17, 18 and 19. In some cases the inner rabbet line is laid out on the joint between the stem a...
- Rudder Posts
- In single-screw vessels having a wood rudder there will be a rudder post abaft the stern post. The space between the two posts is called the propeller aperture. A typical construction for this post is...
- Shaft Logs
- Every powered vessel, whether single- or twin-screw, must be fitted with a shaft log or tube, for each shaft, so, arranged as to provide support for the shaft bearings and secure watertightness where ...
- Chapter I. Glossary
- Athwartshiu Across the ship - at right angle to the keel. Dimensions. Molded Length The extreme distance from plank rabbet on the stem to the plank rabbet on the stem. Length between perpendiculars...
- Chapter II. Frames In General
- As nearly as possible, In these chapters, the various features of the ship will be discussed in their order of erection, or emplacement, upon the vessel. This is not altogether possible, as many items...
- Square Frames
- Square frames may be divided roughly into two types; namely, those having long and short arm floors, and those having long and short floors. Figure 38 shows a typical long and short arm floor midship ...
- Molding
- The operation of marking out the timbers of the frame by means of patterns or molds furnished from the loft is called molding. It is a highly specialized operation, requiring some knowledge of lofti...
- Bevels And Harks
- Bevels are marked in degrees followed by letter U for under and S for standing; 2« U means two and one-half degrees under, and 3 S means three degrees standing. Where there is no bevel, that ...
- Frame Horning And Assembling
- As soon as the keel has been laid a framing stage is erected over the forward end of the keel, as shown in Figs. 49 and 50. In some yards a stage is built at each end of the keel and two framing crews...
- Frame Horning And Assembling. Continued
- Next, on the one side the first futtock is laid down on the blocks and brought into position so that its lower butt fits the butt of the floor, while the upper butt is shifted until, with the end of t...
- Plumbing And Squaring The First Square Frame
- The first square frame set up must be squared with the keel. Since the keel has a declivity, and in addition is laid with a spring, this cannot be done by the ordinary method of squaring. While there ...
- Half Frames And Cants
- When the square-frames have been set up, the stem and main stern-frames are then erected and the keelsons and deadwood put down and fastened, after which the half frames or cants are set up, thus comp...
- Frame Fastening
- Immediately after a square-frame has been up-ended in its proper location on the keel a small drift-bolt is driven through the center of one of the floors into the keel to hold the frame in place. The...
- Stern-Frames
- There are many styles of stern-frames, three of which, being typical, are shown in Figs. 63, 64, 65 and 66. Figure 63 shows the center-line construction of a stern-frame that is almost universally use...
- Chapter II. Glossary
- Bevel A term used to indicate that one side of a timber is not square with another side. Bevels in ship work are referred to as standing or under. See Fig. 72. Bevels are indicated from the moldi...
- Chapter III. Inboard Hull Details. Keelsons
- Mention has already been made of the order in which the keelsons and frames are placed in the ship, and of the fact that the ship's frame is in reality not completed until the main keelsons are down. ...
- Keelson Scarfs
- Keelson scarfs are proportioned by the same rules that already have been given for keel scarfs. However, the lower nib, when falling against a floor where it is concealed, is frequently made only one ...
- Clamps And Shelves
- In general, there are three arrangements of clamps and shelves in common use. First, as shown in Figs. 87 to 89 inclusive, we have clamps only, an arrangement that may be used only where a hanging kne...
- Clamp And Shelf Fastenings
- Practice in the method of driving clamp and shelf fastening varies considerable, although the number of fastenings to the frame is rather uniform. For instance, in Fig. 87 there are four fastenings to...
- Ceiling Lining
- The lining of the ceiling is a very simple operation though requiring some skill and experience to obtain a result pleasing to the eye. The first line to be established in the lining operation is tha...
- Ceiling Lining. Continued
- Second, the bevels thus obtained are transferred to the bevel board. It is not always necessary to number them. If they are taken, say at every other frame, and in order, then it is only necessary for...
- Pointers And Transoms
- Pointers are placed in vessels for two reasons, the first being to furnish additional stiffening to the hull at the locality where the pointer is placed, to aid in resisting panting movements and stre...
- Hold Bulkheads
- Hold bulkheads in wood ships are fitted for two general purposes. The first is, to subdivide the interior of the hull into small compartments so that if any one of the compartments is flooded, through...
- Deck Beams
- Deck beams for weather decks must always have a round up, or to use another term, camber. The standard amount of this camber, or spring from a straight line, is one-quarter of one inch for each foot o...
- Hanging Knees
- Where heavy shelves are not fitted, it is the rule to place a hanging knee under each end of each beam. This practice is confined principally to the Western Coast where there is a great supply of natu...
- Hold Stanchions
- Stanchions, or pillars, must be fitted under the beams for supporting the deck above and the cargo load that may be placed on that deck. The greater the number of decks above a stanchion or pillar the...
- Chapter III. Glossary
- Hoods The first and last members in a strake of ceiling, planking, etc. The forehood abuts the stem or apron. The afterhood abuts the stempoet, rim, or after deadwood. The term hood end refers to the...
- Chapter IV. Deck Details. Deck Beams, Half Beams, Etc
- The author desires at this time to again remind the reader that the details of wood ship construction which maybe considered the best practice in the different localities where such ships are built ar...
- Hatch Framing
- Three types of hatch framing have been selected as being the most representative of the many different constructions used. That shown in Fig. 122, type I, is in use at the present time in large vesse...
- Hatch Coamings
- Three of the principal types of coamings used on weather deck hatches are shown in Figs. 125 to 127 inclusive. Type 1, Pig. 125 may be said to be the most commonly used and is the type shown in the d...
- Deck And Breast Hooks
- There is some confusion in different localities in the use of the terms Breast Hook and Deck Hook. The author has always considered the breast hook as being properly a member landing in way of th...
- Mast Partners And Chocks
- Typical mast partners are shown in Fig. 129. They are not fitted until the beams have been sprung to the full camber. One of the best methods of obtaining the correct shape of the upper and lower face...
- Waterways And Decking
- Main and lower deck waterways with one or two exceptions do not vary greatly in type or arrangement. There may be either two or three strakes. In a two-strake waterway there will be the outer strake a...
- Waterways And Decking. Part 2
- Where waterways are extended to the stem, or around the stern, the various members have to be worked to shape as shown in Figs. 139 and 140. It will be noticed that not only is it necessary to use a c...
- Hatch Details
- In general, a hatch is any opening in the deck, rectangular in shape, and which is fitted with a coaming. They are framed in the deck for various purposes. A cargo hatch is for the loading and unloadi...
- Hatch Covers And Miscellaneous
- Hatch covers are generally built up of two planks edge bolted together as shown in Fig. 147. The total width of the cover depends upon the length of the hatch and the number of covers to be fitted, bu...
- Chapter V. Planking, Erections And Joiner Work. Diagonal Strapping And Planking
- There are several special operations connected with ship work, particularly shipsmithing, sparmaking, and rigging, which will not be explained in detail, as they are highly specialized trades in thems...
- Planking, Erections And Joiner Work. Diagonal Strapping And Planking. Continued
- Diagonal iron strapping generally consists of a wide band, set at or slightly below the sheer line, extending from approximately abreast the stern post to a short distance abaft the stem. As shown in ...
- Hull Planking
- The most important single operation in connection with the planking is without doubt the lining. Upon the man who does this work, called the finer, depends not only the ease or difficulty as the case ...
- Hull Planking. Continued
- Figure 152. Planking Layout On Section Having The Greatest Girth. The frequent adjustments of taper necessary to keep the untapered planking near natural lines will in all probability prevent the l...
- Spiling
- Spiling battens may be used to determine the shape of either one or both edges of a plank and the principles of taking the spiling are the same in each case. Fore and after hoods of the first garboar...
- Plank Fastenings
- Number and arrangement of fastenings for planks from 5 to 16 inches in width are shown in Fig. 161. It should be noted that two spikes count as one fastening. As a rule, the number of fastenings to b...
- Hull Erections
- Hull erections include any erection on the hull proper which extends above the main rail. They are sometimes called deck erections, but since this latter term is also applied to the joiner houses, it ...
- Hull Erections. Continued
- Since the main rail is not carried around the stern it is necessary to either stop it off short, forward of the break of the poop, or carry it up to the poop deck as shown in the figure. The latter ar...
- Main Rail
- The main rail has already been mentioned but only in a general way. In ordinary types of ship construction this member forms one of the principal upper strength members, and is therefore carefully fit...
- Joiner Work
- Joiner work in general includes all houses above the bridge, or shelter decks, also all subdividing bulkheads, or partitions in the poop and forecastle compartments, as well as any erection, or housin...
- Joiner Work. Part 2
- As a rule, the light beams used in houses are called car-lines. The heavier members over the studding at the ends are called end beams. Reference may also be made at this time to the different terms u...
- Joiner Work. Part 3
- In setting the glass in the sash it is customary to tack a small molding, or bead, against the glass to hold it in place, instead of puttying it in as is done with the sash in buildings. The glass is ...
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