hull framing

Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)

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sometimes researching hull framing leaves you scratching your head and wondering WHAT!
just when you think you got it figured out you are thrown a curve ball for example the Royal George designed and built by John Coleman then taken apart as a kit shipped to Canada and reassembled. It is a very nice looking ship so I thought I might draw it out.

first head scratcher is how the framing are identified usually it starts with 0 at midship that is called the flat because there is no bevel. Then forward it is lettered A B C D E etc. to the forward cant frames. then numbered 1 2 3 4 5 6 etc to the stern frames.

look at the Colemans drawing for the Royal George

rgm.jpg

he started with the midship flat with a double line as 0 then forward with B then A and C D E etc aft he went 2 1 3 then 4 5 6 etc WHY?

looking at the other ship Coleman built he did the same thing on the Ontario plan

mid2.jpg

what is going on here the blue arrow on the Royal George between 3 and A are all the same dead flat frame between 3 and B on the Ontario are all the same dead flat frame.

Reason could be both Colemans ships were armed transports so a big belly was needed for cargo space

step two any other examples of double frames with fillers and repeated dead flats? yup a frame drawing in the admiralty archives show the same arrangement of close spaced triple frame at mid ship

mid1.jpg

any archaeological support for such framing

mid3.jpg

how about placing the midship frames closer together again seems so with the Eagle another great lakes ship

Eagle framing section.jpg

working out a framing plan for the royal George would look like this

rg.JPG

s framing.jpg
 
hull framing was done according to the use of the ship such as this one

pl2.jpg

looking closer we can see solid framing and double frames, triple frames and doubled double frames.

pl2c.jpg

Here we see overlapping floors with the first futtocks then a solid wall of timber

A45.jpg

here we have a room and space setup this is a lightly built hull and it was done for speed or to keep weight down so heavier cargo can be carried. This type of framing was not very strong so iron strapping was used on the outer side of the hull.

cargo.jpg

older styles of framing was the bends and fillers where a sister frame was built and the space between the double frames were filled with chunks or timbers

fourfram.jpg
 
this method of framing was common in the 18th century by the English, Dutch and Spanish ship builders. Awhile back on different forums it was told this style of framing was just a modeling style until archaeology began to uncover actual ships using this method.

dockyard.jpg

here you can see this type of construction

San-Juan1.jpg
 
Very interesting topic, where we all can learn something.......I am looking forward to see (and learn) much more....

Two questions:

pl2c.jpg
Was this a real ship? - I am wondering, that the height of the keel is rizing - and I never saw such an extreme mixture of the different frames, also at midship around frame 26 there is not any space between the framing

dockyard.jpg
this kind of framing I understand as a standard framing at the time, but

A45.jpg
was this also executed on real ships, that the spaces between the frames over the whales were completely filled ?
 
Was this a real ship? - I am wondering, that the height of the keel is rizing - and I never saw such an extreme mixture of the different frames, also at midship around frame 26 there is not any space between the framing

yes it was a real ship now once you view the entire ship the framing makes sense. The solid framing was done as an engine bed and they were all nailed together to form a solid base to take the weight and vibration of the engine.

those doubled sister frames were the used to support the boiler.

the triple frames were there for strength first of all above them were the coal bunker and the reason for the rise of the stem at the bow was for riding up on ice and the weight of the coal bunkers helped the bow to crushed down breaking the ice.
Owners of these passenger ferry boats tried to keep them in operation as long as possible as winter approached. So they designed them to break ice. But as winter set in the ice became to thick and the boats were not in operation. Most passengers actually could walk across the Detroit river when it froze solid. What the boat owners did to keep an income during the winter was set up shacks on the ice and served hot drinks and a shot of ye ole spirit for commuters

pleasure.jpg
 
was this also executed on real ships, that the spaces between the frames over the whales were completely filled ?

taken from an archaeological study for the state of New York of the wreck of the war ship Jefferson also William Bell who built the lake Erie warships used Cedar timbers to fill the upper works solid. He used Cedar so the hull would not be top heavy.

img105.jpg


keep in mind this was a trap many early model ship builders fell into. That is taking information and applying it to everything in general. Take for example this statement

ships were framed with the room and space method that is the space between the frames were equal to the width of the frame.

this is true but not for war ship they were almost a solid wall of timber and in most cases they actually were solid timber above the wales. The room and space was used in lightly built schooners and merchant ships.
 
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