The method of building, rigging, apparelling, & furnishing his Majesties ships of warr, according to their rates

[trippwj]

After nearly 8 years of occassional search in various archives and libraries for a digital copy, I have finally been able to locate a PDF version of the subject treatise from about 1685 by Edward Battine.  For those interested in the evolution of ship building and design this would be a nice addition to the collection.

 

Battine, Edward. 1685. The Method of Building, Rigging, Apparelling, & Furnishing His Majesties Ships of Warr, According to Their Rates. https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/17268860.

 

At 60mb the document is a bit too large for me to upload here.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

[bruce d]

Wayne, ... Good grief, good find, many thanks.

👍

 

Bruce

[glbarlow]

good thing, it's subject to copyright laws.

[druxey]

Excellent find! Thank you, Wayne.

[Mark P]

Good Evening Wayne;

 

Thanks for this. Battine was, if I remember correctly, clerk of the cheque at Portsmouth dockyard. He produced one of these books every year, and dedicated each of them to potential/actual patrons who could help with advancing or safeguarding his position. I am sure that at least a dozen different copies survive in various archives and collections. William Keltridge, a shipwright/ship's carpenter produced a similar book, in a similar size, which is more detailed, but of which I know of only one copy, and possibly one other. Keltridge knew his stuff, certainly, as he ended his career as the carpenter of the Royal Sovereign in the 1690s, the highest possible position for a ship's carpenter. I presume that he either died or was pensioned off shortly before the Sovereign burned, as he was not her carpenter by that date, and I have not seen any record of his appointment as an assistant master shipwright in a dockyard, which was the next step in a ship's carpenter's career. His work is not available as a pdf. 

 

The various copies of Battine's book seem to be written in different hands, interestingly, with some very neat, and others noticeably less so.

 

Such books came into existence due to the need to educate ships' commanders who had not grown up at sea, and consequently were lacking in all but the most basic knowledge of ships. The competition for an appointment to the command of a warship was eagerly sought by many who considered it their birthright due to their rank in society; and their appointments were hotly contested by those who held themselves more suitable due to their hard-won experience of extensive sea-service. The debate and competition over which source provided the better commanders occupied a large part of the 17th century. 

 

All the best,

 

Mark P

 

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by Mark P

[mtaylor]

18 minutes ago, Mark P said:

Such books came into existence due to the need to educate ships' commanders who had not grown up at sea, and consequently were lacking in all but the most basic knowledge of ships. The competition for an appointment to the command of a warship was eagerly sought by many who considered it their birthright due to their rank in society; and their appointments were hotly contested by those who held themselves more suitable due to their hard-won experience of extensive sea-service. The debate and competition over which source provided the better commanders occupied a large part of the 17th century. 

Not an uncommon thing about the "potential" captains.   Seems to still be going on with all navies with politics and "friendship" counting more than experience.  This is most notable at the admiral's level.  Same for other branches of military service.  

[trippwj]

2 hours ago, glbarlow said:

good thing, it's subject to copyright laws.

I somehow doubt that a 337 year old British manuscript is under copyright in the US, but "Fair Use" should protect me!

[trippwj]

26 minutes ago, Mark P said:

The various copies of Battine's book seem to be written in different hands, interestingly, with some very neat, and others noticeably less so.

I have only found the one digital version, so can't comment on the different penmanship. There is a copy listed in the R.C.Anderson papers at (I think) the RMG.  The various handwriting may reflect having a clerk hand copy it to provide to another "patron".  The dedications would be an interesting comparison.

[glbarlow]

2 hours ago, trippwj said:

I somehow doubt that a 337 year old British manuscript is under copyright in the US, but "Fair Use" should protect me!

It's there on the link you provided....

[trippwj]

9 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

It's there on the link you provided....

Stock language that the item may be subject to...

 

Again, the copyright would reside in the UK where it was "published".  The generic verbiage is on many manuscripts on that site.  Sort of a CYA.

Edited September 28, 2022 by trippwj
correct typos

[Gregory]

No good reason to upload it here, since it is free to download at the link provided..

[glbarlow]

Your choice - 

[Gregory]

It's a curiosity.  I wouldn't have the time to slog through it..

[trippwj]

On 9/28/2022 at 3:37 PM, Mark P said:

William Keltridge, a shipwright/ship's carpenter produced a similar book, in a similar size, which is more detailed, but of which I know of only one copy, and possibly one other. Keltridge knew his stuff, certainly, as he ended his career as the carpenter of the Royal Sovereign in the 1690s, the highest possible position for a ship's carpenter. I presume that he either died or was pensioned off shortly before the Sovereign burned, as he was not her carpenter by that date, and I have not seen any record of his appointment as an assistant master shipwright in a dockyard, which was the next step in a ship's carpenter's career. His work is not available as a pdf. 

Mr. Keltridge is elusive! Brown University lists a copy of "His Book", and the RMG Archives show a copy in the R. C. Anderson Collection. RMG also list seven ships plans in the collection, none available online.

 

Unnamed 28-gun and 22-gun Sixth Rates
Scale 1:48. A comparative plan depicting the hulls of two unnamed Sixth Rates; one of 87ft 8in length and 28 guns and the other of 70ft length and 22 guns. For each vessel, the plan shows the sheer lines with outboard detail above the waterline, longitudinal half-breadth, sternboard, aft body and fore body. Additionally, there is what appears to be a generic midships section of a Sixth Rate, illustrating the positions of the various decks, pillars and placement of the guns. The latter, in this case, are shown as 12cwt demi-culverins with a barrel length of 6ft.

The Keltridge Draughts all carry a very high level of detail, paticularly in relation to the exterior fittings and decoration of the ships depicted. On these vessels, the ornate letters 'I R' can be seen. At first glance, this would seem to suggest vessels that were built or drawn as they appeared during the reign of James II [1685-1688]. However, this is unlikely, given that the Keltridge drawings are supposed to date from the end of Charles II's reign. No explanation for this can be found on the drawings.

 

Adventure (1646)
Scale 1:48. A plan with an accompanying table of mast and spar dimensions showing the after body with sternboard, sheer lines with outboard detail above the waterline, fore body and longitudinal half-breadth of the Adventure (1646), a 40 gun Fourth Rate two-decker.

The Keltridge Draughts all carry a very high level of detail, paticularly in relation to the exterior fittings and decoration of the ships depicted. On this vessel, the ornate letters 'C R' can be seen, suggesting a vessel that was built or drawn as she appeared during the reign of Charles II [1660-1685].

 

Unnamed 20-gun Sixth Rates
Scale 1:96. A comparative plan depicting the hulls of two unnamed 20 gun Sixth Rates; one of 92ft 6in length and the other of 93ft length. For each vessel, the plan shows the after body with sternboard, sheer lines with outboard detail above the waterline, fore body and longitudinal half-breadth.

The Keltridge Draughts all carry a very high level of detail, paticularly in relation to the exterior fittings and decoration of the ships depicted. On this drawing, the vessels are shown with their lower masts in place, each flying a large flag (the usual practice for new vessels when they were launched). The flags depicted include the naval ensign squadron flag [the colour is not specified on the plan], the Royal Standard, the Lord High Admiral's flag, and the 1606 Union flag.

 

Unnamed 103ft, 44-gun Fifth Rate
Scale 1:48. A plan showing the sternboard, after body, sheer lines with outboard detail above the waterline, fore body, longitudinal half-breadth and gun deck beams of an unnamed 103ft, 44-gun Fifth Rate. An accompanying table contains a key guide to the various component parts of the illustrated ship. The plan was draughted by William Keltridge.

The Keltridge Draughts all carry a very high level of detail, paticularly in relation to the exterior fittings and decoration of the ships depicted. This plan is executed in the same general style, but there are also some notable differences. The ports are illustrated with guns run out, a feature not seen in the other hull lines draughts. The illustration of the profie is a combination of a side elevation with a three-quarter starboard bow perspective (note the lanterns at the stern and the angle at which the frame lines are drawn in green ink). The detail of under-plank framing on the gun deck is also a feature not seen on the other draughts.

 

Various unnamed Rates used for comparative purposes.
Scale 1:32. This contents of this sheet are in two distinct parts. To the left is a plan showing the midships section of an unnamed two-decker. The purpose of this drawing appears to be instructional, as the component beams and frames are all named. Accompanying text discusses the calculation of weight and displacement in relation to hull size, shape and capacity. Guns with individual members of their crews are also drawn in, presumeably to scale. The types illustrated are 6 pdrs on the upper deck and 12 pdrs on the gun deck.

To the right of this plan is a table of weights showing a breakdown of the total tonnages of equipment and stores required by ships of various Rates. Although no direct reference is made, it is very likely that the ships used as examples in this table are the same ships represented in the other Keltridge drawings.

 

Unnamed 124ft, 46-gun Fourth Rate two-decker
Scale 1:48. A plan showing the after body with sternboard, sheer lines with outboard detail above the waterline, fore body and longitudinal half-breadth of an unnamed 124ft 46-gun Fourth Rate two-decker. An accompanying table of armament disposition demonstrates how the number and size of guns carried can be varied.

The Keltridge Draughts all carry a very high level of detail, paticularly in relation to the exterior fittings and decoration of the ships depicted. On this vessel, the ornate letters 'C R' can be seen, suggesting a vessel that was built or drawn as she appeared during the reign of Charles II [1660-1685].

 

 

[Mark P]

Good Evening Wayne;

 

Thank you for your comment re Browns University; I was not aware of this one. Would you mind sending me a copy of their collection listing for this.

 

The Keltridge draughts are available as prints from the RMG. They are not as large as 18th century draughts, and are therefore not as expensive to purchase. They do indeed show a lot of detail, but most are not identified with any particular vessel, and may be an exercise in drawing rather than an actual vessel. I stand to be corrected in this, of course. The RMG Keltridge book has some unfinished pages, and whilst greatly detailed, does have some gaps, regrettably. Perhaps the Browns version has these pages completed.

 

All the best,

 

Mark P

[BANYAN]

Great find Wayne, much appreciated.  

 

cheers

 

Pat

[trippwj]

21 hours ago, Mark P said:

Thank you for your comment re Browns University; I was not aware of this one. Would you mind sending me a copy of their collection listing for this.

Here is the link to the Brown University manuscript:

https://bruknow.library.brown.edu/permalink/01BU_INST/9mvq88/alma991016540869706966

 

 

[Mark P]

Good Morning Wayne;

 

Many thanks for this. I will see if I can find out anything about it from the Library.

 

All the best,

 

Mark P