There are three sailboats in Guangfengshui that can sail offshore. This is the first time for Huo Xi to ride on one of them.
After leaving the outer city dock, Huo Xi began to look at it curiously.
I used to go fishing with Huo Erhuai on the inland river, and my family's boat relied on paddle boats to generate power. There are paddle boats and paddle boats in the inner city. This sailboat uses the wind to generate power, and is at least faster than the paddle boat.
More than double.
The size of the ships is different, and the number of masts on the sailboats is also different. There are single masts, two masts, three masts, and multiple masts.
In front of us is a flat-bottomed single-masted sand ship, with a length of ten feet, a width of more than two feet, a depth of one foot and five feet, and a single mast. The mast is set in the middle of the ship, the sail is about one foot wide, and the mast is nearly three feet high.
The larger the wind-receiving area of the sail, the greater the power. My boat is considered a small and medium-sized sailboat for offshore sailing, and this sail should be enough.
Otherwise, if the sail is too big, the wind will be too strong, causing the ship to lose its balance, and it may capsize. Therefore, the bigger the sail is, the bigger the sail is. It depends on the size of the ship.
Sailboats are driven by wind, and the area of the sail is adjusted according to the strength of the wind.
When there is no wind or insufficient wind, it will not be stranded. The oars will be driven by manpower to push the sailboat forward and berth. The larger the ship, the more oars will be installed. The oars will be placed on both sides of the ship, with fulcrums
Located on the side of the ship.
Huo Xi raised his eyes and looked up the mast, and found that there was a tub-shaped object at the top of the mast. He thought that it must be the mast, which is what sailors call the crow's nest.
In addition to being used for retracting and retracting sails and fixing wind ropes, the mast is also a place for crew members to climb high and look out. If there is danger, they will also climb high to shoot the thieves with arrows.
"Is this your first time sailing on a sailboat?" Cao Jin, the team leader and the boss of the boat, walked over and said with a smile.
Huo Xi smiled and nodded at him: "Uncle Cao, don't laugh at my lack of knowledge."
"Hey, there are a few people who have the knowledge of the boss."
Not to mention the creation of Guangfeng Water at a young age, it only took a few years for it to gain a foothold in the capital. Several generations of his family have been making a living on the water, and it was a coincidence that they invested in the name of Guangfeng Water.
"Let me introduce it to my boss." Cao Jin took Huo Xi to visit various places.
Sailboats and oars are very similar. Like the Huo family's oars, a single oar board is enough for one person, and at most one person can be added to change the oar. A sailboat requires a lot of manpower.
In addition to the captain, which is the boss of the ship, there are also helmsmen, pilots, pilots, bucket hands, helmsmen, sailors, chief stewards, etc.
The helmsman is the person who controls the rudder and steers the ship. Generally, the ship boss is an excellent helmsman, but the ship boss has to control the entire ship. Cao Jin is the helmsman invited by Guangfeng Shui, but now he is the ship boss, and his son Cao Cuo is the helmsman.
The sailor who controls the sail rope is called a sailor, and there are two sailors on the Guangfeng Shui ship.
Large merchant ships also have specialized sailors, who are sailors who climb the mast to take advantage of the wind and water. Guangfeng Shui's two sailors also did this job.
As for Ikarate, he is the sailor who lifts and lowers the ship's anchor. The chief cook is responsible for cooking, and there are two people who cook for the crew.
In addition to these, there are four sailors who rock the oar when there is no wind. When the oar is not required, they also perform other tasks.
There are only so many people in the small and medium-sized Guangfeng watercraft. There are a total of eleven people including the boss of the ship.
On large merchant ships, the division of labor among shipwrights and sailors is even more detailed. There are also incense workers who offer incense, tea and fruits to the ship god, as well as sampan workers, and treasurers who are responsible for purchasing and accounting. There are as many as many sailors performing their respective duties.
Dozens or even hundreds of people.
This time Huo Xi brought two sailboats to Ningbo. In addition to eleven sailors on each boat, there were five bodyguards and two Guangfeng sailors. Plus she and Shen Qianzhong.
There are quite a few people.
"How far can this sailboat sail in a day?"
Cao Jin estimated the cargo carried on the ship and said: "It can travel 80 miles in an hour with a favorable wind. If our trip goes well, we should be able to reach Ningbo Port in four or five days."
"That's pretty fast." Huo Xi turned to Shen Qianzhong and said, "Then when we go back to Songjiang next time, wouldn't it be twice as fast as before using a sailboat?"
Shen Qianzhong smiled and said: "That's the reason, but we have to keep our boat empty. Usually they go north, so they have just enough time for the boss to catch up. If we have more money in our account this year , we will buy a few more ships next year.”
In fact, it is not impossible to buy such a boat now, it is just that it costs a lot to hire sailors, maintain the boat and other expenses.
You still have to make money. Once you make money, you can buy more ships and form a larger fleet in Guangfengshui.
Nowadays, there is not even a treasurer on the ship, and the purchasing and accounting are all done by the ship's boss and a few sailors. This is also to save a lot of money. Of course, they do a lot of work, and the monthly salary they receive is also high accordingly.
After visiting the deck, Huo Xi went into the cabin to check.
In addition to a few cabins below the deck, go down the wooden ladder, there is also a layer of cabins below, which is a warehouse for storing goods, and rooms for shipwrights and sailors. The bodyguards also sleep below and cook and cook. Also in the cabin below.
Huo Xi saw the two chief nurses packing the ingredients, so she went over to take a look.
"Ship owner."
Huo Xi greeted them with a smile: "Have you prepared enough ingredients?"
"It's enough. We are not traveling far, only on inland rivers and offshore seas. If we don't have enough food, we can still replenish it every day when we dock."
"That's good." Huo Xi felt relieved when she saw that there were plenty of rice, noodles and other ingredients. These twenty people had three meals a day and had a lot of ingredients to prepare for several days.
The kitchen room was full of things.
After visiting the lower level, I went up to the deck again. I saw that the escort flags of the Shengshui Escort Agency were planted on the bow, stern and stern of the boat. I thought about the things I had prepared in the cabin. I think this trip should be safe.
I chatted with some escorts and reassured her.
The head guard whispered to her: "The young master told her when we came here that the ship is here and the people are here, and we are here."
Huo Xi was stunned and said to him: "It doesn't have to be like this. Although the cargo on the ship is important, people are even more precious. If you keep the green mountains, you won't be afraid of running out of firewood. If the water thieves are stronger than us, we will try our best to save our lives. You can earn the money back in the future.”
After hearing this, the escort leader Lei Da felt warm in his heart.
Before coming out, the young master specially called him to give him a lecture, saying that this was the first escort trip and he must be protected so that the reputation of the escort agency could be publicized. Moreover, the owner of the ship this time was an important partner of the young master, and the goods shipped back must also be protected. Transported to the young master's shop and sold.
Then the ship owner is one of his own. In addition to protecting the cargo of the two ships, he must also protect his people.
"With us here, the ship owner can rest assured."
Huo Xi nodded, and Mu Yan introduced these ten people to him. He thought they were all capable. He thought of something and asked, "Are you all good at water?"
Don't just fight in close quarters, you're all landlubbers and you'll suffer.
"Don't worry, owner of the ship, we all have good water skills. We are all good at land, ship and ship warfare. We are better than the Water Escort Agency. The young master has said that he will be the main water escort from now on. The first thing for the escorts is to train their water skills."
That's good. Huo Xi felt relieved.
After a day's sailing, when it got dark, the two ships prepared to find a sheltered place to berth.
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