Alex R H.M.S. Enterprize Build Log

AllanKP69 said:
Hi Grant,
I was just going to look up when the change from wood to metal occurred on the hull and the decks. :) Thanks for the little push:)

For the hull, David Steel gives diameters of treenails for bottom planking of a 28 gun ship at 1 3/4" diameter PLUS one bolt in the timber next to each butt and clenched inside - 7/8" diameter He does not name what type of bolt material was used. So, it sounds like there is a combination, at least in the late 18th century. There is no information on the size of the trennals in the Establishments that I could find so I have no idea when metal came into use along with the wooden treenails.

From the contract for Enterprize's sister Aurora 16 July 1776,
All the treenails to be dry seasoned, clear of sap, & converted from timber of the growth of Sussex, or equal in goodness thereto, to be well mooted, not overhauled with an ax in driving, & all to be caulk’d or wedg’d at both ends ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is information on iron work in general, but no mention of copper or iron for securing planking anywhere in the contract. I do not want to assume anything from this, just that there is no mention of it.

Any more information on this would be great to see.

Allan
Click to expand...
Hi Allan. Here is what I found in Goodwins’ The construction and fitting of the sailing man of war; Reading this you are correct in that the planking is secured by treenail while the copper bolts seemed to be used below the waterline. Some pics from the book.
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Cheers Grant
 
Hi Grant, I did see the information in Goodwin, and he shows wooden treenails in the planking. As you wrote he does say copper bolts are used below the waterline, but where? Does he mean for the frames, planking, and/or inboard works? If for the planking do these replace the wooden treenails or would these only be used at the butts as Steel describes. In the end, I would not be surprised to see variations from ship to ship, year to year. Part of the confusion for me is that Goodwin shows sketches of some applications for the bolts, but none of the sketches show them are used for the hull planking. My copy of Goodwin is literally falling apart due to how often I search it for information as it is a fantastic book, but in this case and era if I had to choose between Goodwin 1987 and Steel 1805 I would rely on Steel. I read up on Peter Goodwin a short time ago and he has a really interesting background/experiences that go from being a marine engineer on submarines to author and curator to being the history consultant on the movie Master and Commander. That is a man I would love to meet with over a good bottle of wine and nice dinner.

Allan
 
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