What is "flat-floored, apple-cheeked hull"

[RussR]

Been reading Captain Cook Society web site.

They says that the ship Resolution was "flat-floored, apple-cheeked hull" as opposed to what?

Thanks,

RussR

 

 

[uss frolick]

As opposed to a regular man of war built hull, with sharp lines for speed. It refers to a fat-hulled merchantman, with a round midship section and a bluff bow, whose main concern was carrying as much cargo as possible from A to B, and as such, rather slow, usually used for British coastal trade. But they were strong, and they didn't draw as much water as even a regular merchantman, and so they were perfect for exploration, where speed didn't matter, and a shallow draught, in the remoter oceans, might mean the difference between life and death. Patrick O'Brien novel fan will be familiar with their type, by the uncomplimentary phrase, "A fat-arsed dutch-built bugger". Bounty fits the type well.

[RussR]

10 minutes ago, uss frolick said:

As opposed to a regular man of war built hull, with sharp lines for speed. It refers to a fat-hulled merchantman, with a round midship section and a bluff bow

Thanks,

That makes sense, I just wasn't familiar with that term.

RussR

[druxey]

Here is a model of Resolution that shows these features:

[michaelpsutton2]

In "flat floored ships" the piece of the frames that crossed over the keel tended to extend  out straighter rather than rising. As I result as you can see from the above illustration, the turn of the bilge on flat floored ships was lower than on sharp built. Among other benefits it allowed ships such as the Resolution to remain upright when grounded at low tide in shallow undeveloped harbors. The Resolution had been in the coastal coal trade where good moorings were few and far between. These ship could carry more cargo for their registered tonnage than so called clippers, an early tax advantage of a kind. An extreme version of this hull form was the kettle bottom used in the mid 19th century in the United States.