This morning, Chen Zuwang was taken away by two soldiers.
Chen San was a little panicked and didn't know what had happened. Chen Zuwang gave him a reassuring look before leaving and told him to do everything as usual.
The soldiers took him directly to the dock.
Only when we got here did we realize that today was the day when the keel was laid.
Ming Yan and Chen Liang saw him and shook hands with him. He had already learned the etiquette here and knew that the etiquette here mainly consisted of bowing and shaking hands, and abolished the hand-bowing and kneeling ceremonies.
Bowing is suitable for formal occasions and grand occasions. The depth of the bow depends on the status gap between the two people. But it should not exceed 45 degrees at most.
The handshake is suitable for normal communication. A slight nod is suitable for people of the opposite sex.
"Master Chen, starting from today, the keel of our new ship has been laid. You are a senior helmsman. In the future, this ship will need you to helm and navigate. We hope that first, you can be familiar with its performance and structure. Only by understanding
Only then can you control it well.”
"Second, during the construction process, we hope that you, as a senior helmsman, can provide valuable practical suggestions. After all, the designer is not a user, and he lacks experience. The ship is designed for operators and is not suitable for operation.
The ship was a failed design, so your opinions are especially valuable."
Chen Zuwang nodded, what he said was very reasonable.
"Third, we have received a reply from the master. The master has decided to send you to Zunhua at the end of the month to enter Xinghe Academy, learn arithmetic and sextant, and at the same time simply learn drawing operations. Receive telescopes and other navigation equipment."
Chen Zuwang is not young, and his memory is not as good as that of young people, but he has experience, which is the most precious. Yang Fan decided to invest resources in him and focus on training him.
The subsequent laying of the keel opened Chen Zu's eyes.
Pieces of I-shaped steel are placed and fixed on wooden frames to form the skeleton of a ship, and then steel ribs are installed.
After the installation was completed, Chen Zuwang could already see the outline of the ship.
This is a slender ship. The length-to-width ratio actually reached a shocking level of nine to one. The Ming Dynasty's Fu Ship was only three to one. No wonder the keel is made of steel. It is impossible for wood to be so slender and still maintain enough
Strength of.
Chief Engineer Chen Liang asked proudly: "Do you think the design of this keel is beautiful?"
"I don't quite understand why the keel of this ship is designed like this. Is its bow hollow?" Chen Zuwang asked doubtfully.
Before he finished speaking, Chen Zuwang noticed that Chen Liang and Ming Yan had their mouths wide open in surprise. Then they asked in unison: "How did you see that?"
"From the structure of the bow keel, I feel that after installing the ship plate, the bow should be hollow. The purpose of the hollow bow design should be to make it easier for the ship to lift its head in the waves and improve its course stability in the waves.
sex."
Chen Liang repeatedly lamented that we really can’t build things behind closed doors. Look at people, experts are experts, and only those who really run boats can understand useful designs. It seems that he will go to sea more often with ships in the future, and his disciples will also be found among sailors.
.
After the keel and ribs are fixed, hot riveting begins.
People from Xinghe Iron Works heated the rivets red, inserted them into the joints of the keels, and used hammers to hammer out the iron caps on both sides. After cooling, the two keels were firmly connected together.
Chen Zuwang's eyes were opened. It was actually possible to build a ship in this way. Wouldn't it be possible to make the ship as large as he wanted and in any shape he wanted? It completely got rid of the restriction of looking for natural special-shaped wood.
Over the next few days, the keels and ribs were formed. The wooden frames were removed.
It's too fast. Originally, laying the keel and ribs is the most difficult and time-consuming part of the shipbuilding process. If you don't pay attention, the keel will be bent due to uneven stress, or even be scrapped in severe cases.
The craftsman must keep an eye on it at all times to prevent accidents from happening at any time.
It was actually completed in five or six days, even though it was only a small boat.
After seeing the ribs, Chen Zuwang guessed that this experimental ship was not a warship in the true sense because the spacing and density of its ribs were insufficient.
A few days later, the process entered the stage of attaching ship boards. He saw that although the ship boards were seamed, they were only three inches thick, which completely confirmed his suspicion.
This is a pure clipper ship, it does not need strong armor because no other ship can catch up with it.
The shipyard is busy with work, and the factories outside are not idle either. The woodworkers are working in three shifts day and night to produce wooden components. The sailworkers are busy making cables, and many female workers are sewing sails. The blacksmiths are making pure steel.
Copper pulleys and rigging.
The paint shop was boiling glue and paint, and processing asphalt. What surprised him most was the heat treatment workshop. They boiled the finished ship boards in a large pot, and then judged the processing time based on the experience of the old masters, and then they were able to
Just like taming a bow, bend the ship board into the required shape little by little and break the wooden fibers of the ship board as little as possible to ensure the strength.
This shipyard with 2,000 people was actually busy building a small boat with a cost of 200 materials. It can be seen that although this boat is small, it involves a lot of processes.
When the ship planks were being attached to the outside, the pulley crane actually began to lift the ship planks to the inside, and the inner decks began to be laid layer by layer at the same time. This put forward high requirements for the organizational ability of the project.
Chen Zuwang expects that the entire hull will be completed within half a month. Then he will start installing the watertight compartment transverse plates.
The twisting work can start at the beginning of next month, which means treating the gaps in ship plates and watertight compartments to prevent water leakage.
After the twisting is completed, start applying asphalt to the part below the waterline of the hull to further waterproof and prevent insects, especially shipworms.
After the asphalt is applied, look at the design of the drawing. Finally, a thin copper plate must be installed below the waterline to completely wrap the bottom of the ship. This is used to prevent seawater from corroding the wood and prevent molluscs such as barnacles from adhering to the bottom of the ship and slowing down the ship. It is also beneficial to every interval.
I have been in dock scraping the bottom of the ship for maintenance for several years.
The service life of a boat manufactured in this way is greatly extended, and its strength is far superior to the pure wooden boats of this era. After all, too many advanced designs are used.
After all these are completed, there is still half a month left for outfitting. Outfitting is the most complicated stage of the process and the most prone to problems. At this time, the mast, steering wheel, and rudder must be installed.
Install the anchor, windlass, and anchor chain. Install the superstructure and sails. Decorate the three-story advanced cabin at the stern.
Finally the whole boat was painted.
After the paint is dry, you can launch it into the water. In the era of sailing warships, if the dockyard was not in a hurry to build the next ship, it could be outfitted in the dry dock. Finally, just open the dock gate and let the water in, and the ship can sail out.
At this time, the sea ice has also melted, and the trial voyage can begin for half a month. Any problems can be corrected at any time, so that in mid-March, the first clipper ship in this time and space can sail to Vladivostok.
This chapter has been completed!