Otto had fantasized about her size more than once. Now that he finally saw this giant ship, he realized how naive his previous estimation was.
Because people cannot imagine things they have never seen or heard of.
He stood up holding on to the wooden staff, stepped on the cleared snow and compacted the land with his feet, and continued to marvel at the size of the ship.
"Two thousand pounds of silver coins, did you really spend the money to build a mountain?"
Rurik smiled when he heard this: "It is an unsinkable mountain."
"So, how will she get into the sea? I saw that the big ship is obviously lying in a huge pit. Is it impossible to pull it out manually?"
"Haha, that's not necessary. Just look to the right."
Following Rurik's straight right arm, Otto saw a channel, which was now covered by ice and looked nothing special at first glance.
"What is that? A small bay?"
"It's the channel leading to the sea." As he spoke, Rurik pointed at the "strange wall" built of wood and soil. "Look, that's the gate. At the critical moment, it will be smashed open by an axe, and the sea water will destroy it.
, so that the ship can float and enter the sea."
"Is this still possible?"
"That's it. Didn't we talk about it during the banquet?"
Rurik thought his father understood, but in fact Otto didn't understand at all unless he could conduct an on-site investigation today.
The dry dock shipbuilding method was too novel for Otto, who claimed to know a little bit about shipbuilding. In fact, it was also the same for the Hotla family. Stein, the eldest son of the family, carried out this initiative under the instruction of Rurik.
, even for some so-called design innovations, Rurik himself drew conceptual sketches, and the two discussed the plans in detail.
In this way, Stein is not afraid of failure, and everything is borne by King Rurik. This is the king's promise.
The father and son kings, accompanied by their attendants, stood on the edge of the dry dock. When everyone knocked down, they could see the craftsmen who were still busy working under the deep pit.
"It's so cold, but they still work selflessly. Are there many young people?"
"They are all my people." Rurik sighed happily, "Just like I trained the blacksmith slaves, these young people are my chosen children. They are my shipbuilders. When they learn the skills, I
I can command them to build ships directly. I... don’t really want to be manipulated by the masters of the Hotla family.”
"Hotra!" Otto couldn't help but repeat the name solemnly: "I remember he is in the capital. This old guy should still be alive, right?"
Rurik nodded: "Yes. It's just that he is too old. He doesn't even have the energy to attend our banquet. But he must see you this time."
"Is this why we're standing here waiting? Well, I can keep waiting."
At the same time, Stein hurriedly helped his old father put on thick clothes. When the old man came to see him on a sleigh, the two kings had to wait for a long time.
The old man was wrapped up in a polar bear skin, and the white fur covered his aging and shriveled body.
Originally, this old man from Mälaren was going to spend his old age with his eldest son in his hometown of Rossburg. Since the largest ship in the kingdom had to be launched in the spring of 842, he rushed over to witness the grand launch.
The sleigh stopped in front of Otto, and the reindeer was still twisting its neck uneasily, as if it was frightened by the phantom of the big ship.
"Yes! It's the big leader. You are indeed here. Please atone for your sins and let you wait for a long time." The old man stood up with Stein's help. He wanted to salute the two kings, but Otto stopped him immediately.
"We are old friends. Let's take a look at this big ship!"
"Yes. This is a big ship that our family has devoted all its skills to build. With the blessing of God Thor, when the sea ice melts, it can be launched into the water."
Take a closer look at Hotela, who has been plucked. He is almost seventy years old now. He is not out of breath when talking, but his body is relatively weak. His once skillful hands are now shaking a little when holding tools. After all, his strong arm muscles are not enough.
A lot of shrinkage was avoided.
Here, Rurik can clearly see the existence of the elevator. Its essence is a squirrel cage elevator. With the successful attempt of the "timber elevator" in Ellenburg in the north, this type of equipment has a larger scale in engineering construction.
heroic.
Otto knew what this behemoth was and thought that he would have to rely on him to board the ship.
"Any description is worse than seeing it in person. Brother Huotra, I want to go up and have a look." As he said that, he pointed his big hand directly to the sky.
"Oh! I am your servant. It is a great honor to call me brother."
"It's nothing. The Ross Navy is indestructible, and your family deserves all the credit."
The excitement of the spirit also seemed to give new strength to the aging body. Otto was in an excellent mood, even though the sky was still silently falling with snow, his enthusiasm was like the sunshine in July, and now his body was warm.
The squirrel cage crane relies on the ratchet set and gear set to slowly transport heavy objects to the uppermost deck of the ship.
There are two squirrel cage cranes serving this giant ship whose keel alone is close to 50 stikas, equivalent to about 48 meters.
Sea Monarch, according to Rurik himself, was the first galenic ship built by Rus.
What is a Galen ship, and what is the difference between it and the Karak-like ship of Ross's eight major battleships?
Such a huge ship has never appeared in Northern Europe, and any definition comes from Rurik's mouth.
The reason why she is huge is that the cabin alone has as many as three floors!
The ceiling of the upper cabin is the surface deck of the ship.
At the beginning of the period, the largest ship in Ross, taking the Aurora as an example, had only one large inner cabin, and the deck was equipped with a forecastle and a stern building.
The Sea Monarch has undergone a large-scale upgrade based on the construction technology of the Aurora. The spliced keel has been lengthened, and the sun-dried oak ribs are densely arranged.
On the first deck, oak beams are connected to one ship rib on the left and right with a mortise and tenon structure. Each beam is also connected by longitudinal wooden beams to ensure the full structural strength. Finally, oak planks are laid. Since this layer is basically used for shipping cargo, the planks must have
With a strong load-carrying capacity, strong oak planks are the best choice. This deck divides the bottom and middle compartments, and according to Rurik's requirements, the bottom compartment is divided into up to ten watertight compartments.
This is actually the first time that the Russians built a ship that used a large number of watertight compartments. It was not even built to prevent the ship from running aground and sinking, but to enhance the strength of the bottom of the ship.
More wooden beams pulled the left and right ribs of the ship, and the wooden beams were forcibly pieced together into vertical wooden boards. According to the cross-sectional drawings provided by the Hotla family, the bottom compartment of the ship could be as many as ten "strong wooden shells". The frame structure ensured as much as possible.
The most important thing is the strength of the bottom warehouse.
On the second deck, the wooden beams still have to pull the ship's ribs to further enhance the overall structural strength, but the wooden boards laid are already common pine wood, so cost issues really need to be considered in this regard. This deck divides the second deck
Second and third floors.
The third deck divides the third floor of the ship and the open space on the top. The biggest problem is that the length of the ship's ribs has reached the limit. For this reason, the shipbuilders have to mortise and tenon each of the ship's ribs. The newly added
The oak parts are installed in a restrained manner on the ship's ribs. According to the cross-sectional sketch, the third-level cabin of the ship is trapezoidal, so that the deck on which the third level steps is larger than the top deck.
The core of the bottom of the ship is a huge assembled keel. The bottom is solid, and the top begins to converge significantly. The overall plane plan resembles the structure of a tumbler.
This is intentional. After all, we are building an unprecedented large ship. Based on the experience of building large ships in the past, her main purpose is to transport cargo and troops, and safety considerations are the first priority. As for its speed, the tall and multi-rooted
The mast is enough to give it super driving ability, and people believe that the speed is definitely enough.
There are two large bases installed in the keel. The bilge tank has been greatly strengthened, and these two bases have been strengthened to the extreme.
At that time, installing the mast of this large ship became a lively event, and thousands of people came to watch the fun.
The squirrel cage crane lifted the prepared giant redwood piece by piece, and then carefully inserted it into the two prepared bases.
Nordic redwoods are known for their tall and straight trees. They are widely distributed and are perfect for building houses and large ships.
The redwoods to be used as masts have been stored since the beginning of the excavation of the dry dock. The bark of the big tree was peeled, the surface was treated with a scraper and polished, and it was left to stand for more than two years before the installation work began. If possible
After ten years of drying in the shade, it is the best shipbuilding material. However, it must be installed. Firstly, Ross cannot afford to wait, and secondly, leaving it alone for two and a half years has already made the Hotla family feel that time has passed.
The large ship has one main mast and one auxiliary mast. Secondly, there are bow masts and stern masts installed at an angle, which are smaller in scale.
Because the big ship has reached a certain level, it is still impractical to use triangular Latin sails.
The mainmast and auxiliary mast are equipped with sail spars, which are used to hang the huge scale sail. It is completely fixed. The mainmast also needs to be driven by a manual winch to retract and unfurl the sail. The mainmast has two sails, and the largest one requires a winch to retract.
Putting up the jib sail on the next level completely requires manpower.
The compound mast still has two sails, and its area is much smaller than that of the mainmast. To retract and unfurl the sails, manual operation of the pulley is required.
The bow mast is "lying", and its existence is to catch the wind from the lower part of the ship. It has only one side and is installed on the only transverse girder. This special sail can only be lowered when sailing at full speed is required.
.
The most special thing about the ship is the stern mast, which is equipped with the only triangular Latin sail on the whole ship. With the triangular sail, the big ship has the minimum ability to sail against the wind, but the displacement of the big ship is too large, and no one expects it.
It really has seaworthiness against the wind. The biggest significance of this triangular sail is to correct the course of the ship when sailing. After all, the ship is so big that it is really difficult to turn quickly just relying on the stern rudder. It is better to use the triangular Latin sail.
Special assistance.
There are three winch systems in the big ship, one is to control the raising and lowering of the mainmast and mainsail, one is to control the free retraction and expansion of the anchor, and the other is to control the stern rudder.
The cast iron gears are specially made. With the existence of this system, one person can control the steering of the huge rudder, but the operator needs to keep rotating the wheel to achieve four or two turns.
No, Rurik Otto and others are already standing on the top deck. The workers here have been busy. Huge sails are piled on the deck. They are putting cables in a large number of reserved holes. Even if the nobles climb on
The ship was inspected and these people were still busy working.
Rurik looked at the sky, staring at the top of the mast, and was delighted to see that an observation tower was indeed installed there.
Taking a closer look at the deck, he urgently needed to go to the lower level to take a look.
Portholes are specially reserved on the third floor, and it will be completely dark when you reach the second and lower floors. The design requirement for the two lowest floors is to transport goods, and the third floor is mainly for transporting people. The reserved portholes are not only for people to see the scenery
, can also be used as a shooting hole for a torsion slingshot.
Is there any other force that dares to fight the Russian navy at sea? It is like a mountain floating on the sea. Even if the rope ladder is put down, people sitting on a traditional long boat have to climb for a while before they can get on the ship.
The Sea Monarch canceled the forecastle and retained the stern. The reason for this is precisely because the rudder winch system and the stern mast take up a lot of space. Secondly, the captain's cabin is located here, which is one of the most important cabins in the entire ship.
And Rurik also has selfish motives. When he needs to sail on this new flagship of the Russian Navy, he will inevitably stay in the best room to spend the boring days of slow sailing.
When Otto got older, he walked along the wooden ladder to the bottom floor. Here he could still hear the sound of tinkling.
"What are you doing? Is anyone else digging at the bottom of the ship?" he asked.
Stein hurriedly explained: "In order to prevent the ship from bumping around on the sea, we are currently busy installing the bilge keel."
"Oh? When I first came here, I saw someone busy under the pit, seeming to be nailing some wooden boards. Could this be it?"
"Exactly," Stein added.
The so-called bilge keel is to deliberately install a bulge on the side of the bottom of the ship. The so-called deliberate increase of sea wave damping, the bilge keel is accompanied by ballast stones. In order to make the ship more stable and safe, it is better to sacrifice some speed.
However, the length-to-width ratio of the entire ship is still somewhat imbalanced. On the one hand, the Hotla family is very radical in accordance with Rurik's requirements, and on the other hand, they are very conservative.
Compared with the Aurora, the spliced keel has grown by nearly 20 stikas, and the length has increased by up to 60%, while the width of the ship remains unchanged.
Because the Hotla family cannot build a large ship with a maximum width of 10stika (9.8 meters).
The maximum width of the ship appears on the second deck, and it converges to a maximum of 8 stikas on the top deck. Then on the stern deck, it converges to only 6 stikas. Such an aspect ratio makes this large ship quite
To be slim.
Everything started from big trees, iron ore, linen and wool, countless ordinary things, and finally turned into such behemoths in the hands of skilled craftsmen.
Otto began to feel that she was more than just a two thousand pound investment, she was huge on the outside and delicate on the inside.
It is quite appropriate to call him the King of the Sea.
The crane slowly lowered the visiting king to solid ground. Otto was so satisfied that his legs even trembled with excitement.
He had to hold his son's shoulders and smile to cover up the uncontrollable trembling of his lips.
"Hotra, you...your family is a hero. You! God Thor really gave your family strength."
Of course, Hotela himself was also surprised. The construction of the big ship was completely coming to an end, and all that was left was the time to install various superficial facilities. It turned out that there was plenty of time, and the launch and seaworthiness in April would not be delayed at all.
For the first time, Hortra simulated the identity of an outsider and re-examined his family's giant ship. He recalled that three years ago he took on this epic task on behalf of the whole family, but now the actual operation is entirely dependent on the huge number of soldiers sent by his second son and Rurik.
apprenticeship.
It no longer matters whether the master is starved to death by teaching his apprentice, because today’s big ships are full of new technologies.
Hearing Otto's praise, while happy, Hotela couldn't help but feel his heart beating.
"What if the ship suddenly leaks after the gate is opened and the water is released? What if it rolls after entering the ocean? If so, I would be embarrassed even if I die to apologize!" Hotela did not dare to put it into the sea.
I didn't dare to express the worries in my heart and make the two kings displeased.
But he is indeed a devout believer of God Thor. He stayed in the capital this winter and went to the Great Temple many times to pray in front of the gilded statue of God Thor.
There is even a small altar not far from the dry dock, where a silver-plated iron statue of Thor is enshrined. The statue particularly emphasizes Thor's hammer. People regularly pray to the statue on the spot for the safety of the project and the future of the sea.
Try it safely.
So, can the Sea Monarch take over the historical responsibility of the old flagship Aurora immediately after it is launched?
There was no possibility of failure in Rurik's mind.
He saw the current situation of the big ship with his own eyes and directly told himself that success was inevitable.
Of course, huge ships require more people to operate them. In an era without electric motors and internal combustion engines, there were not even steam boilers. Turning such a large ship, retracting and lowering the anchor, and raising and lowering the sails all required manpower, which required a large number of sailors.
"In the new war, this big ship does not have combat or transportation capabilities. I must train new sailors and expand the navy's strength."
Rurik is already starting to do this. This chapter has been completed!