Iberian (Basque) Atlantic Whaler ca. 1550 — as, dos, tres…

[Waldemar]

 

Although the extremely important wreck of a mid-16th century seagoing ship built in the Basque region of Spain has already been studied in great detail and presented to the public in the comprehensive, multi-volume monograph The Underwater Archaeology Red Bay. Basque Shipbuilding and Whaling in the 16th Century, published by Parcs Canada in 2007, nevertheless, the following presentation will not be a repetition of the material contained therein, but rather to complement certain omissions or even a different interpretation of this archaeological find. In a nutshell, the aim of this exercise is to recreate and present the method of designing a ship in terms of its geometrical conception, an issue that is fundamental to naval architecture and yet so little understood today for the early modern period.

 

Somewhat retrospectively, it can already be said that the Red Bay Vessel is an example of the then classic proportion as, dos, tres (breadth : keel length : total length = 1 : 2 : 3), recommended by authors of numerous works of the period, and applied in this particular case in a very literal, astonishingly precise manner.

 

Apart from the main proportions of the ship, no less important from the point of view of the history of naval architecture is the method used to form the shape of the hull, and taking into account its specific details. In this ship, one of the widespread Mediterranean methods of hull forming was used, which, nota bene, was also adopted at about this time in England, and was still used there in its generic form in the first decades of the 17th century, before being creatively developed into the more sophisticated ways generally referred to today as English moulding.

 

 

Archaeological model of the wreck of San Juan, the Basque whaling ship, scale 1:10 (Parcs Canada)

 

 

 

Shapes of the ship's hull reproduced by applying the found method of designing the vessel:

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to the monograph of the wreck itself, which may be not available to everyone, much interesting material regarding the hull structure of the shipwreck can also be found in the provided below publication by Robert Grenier, The Basque whaling ship from Red Bay, 2001 (public domain).

 

Grenier Robert - The basque whaling ship from Red Bay - 2001.pdf

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 03:27 PM by Waldemar

[Martes]

Extremely sleek and elegant hull form, even accounting for a very deep flat tuck.
In a design sense she is a small carrack?

[Waldemar]

 

1 hour ago, Martes said:

In a design sense she is a small carrack?

 

The general proportions (as, dos, tres) do indeed correspond to what is usually referred to as nao or carrack, but already the way the hull shapes are formed is more universal and was employed for a variety of vessel types of a very different proportions. In fact, it is most suitable for long galley-type vessels.

 

As a curiosity I will also say that the length-to-width ratio of this ship at the height of the waterline is only about 2.8 : 1, and apparently these vessels were able to cross the ocean successfully and in both directions . Thanks precisely to these quite pointed hull lines. However, at the expense of payload capacity...

 

Edited Sunday at 02:50 PM by Waldemar

[Doreltomin]

You bet it's an extremely sleek and elegant hull form!

 

It may not seem evident today, but during the15th century the Basques were the most advanced in terms of hull design and navigation onto the unfamiliar (for other Europeans) waters of the Atlantic, and one of their most advanced boats was called a "txalupa" - that's precisely from where our name "shallop" comes in all languages!

 

Also trying to answer your question about "a small carrack". I have been long been puzzled by this name, which sounds so distinct of any common European language, be it of Romance or Saxon origin. It was only later when I accidentally stumbled upon the name of a Crusaders' stronghold that I came to guess the origin of the word. The place was  called "Krak des chevaliers" and was given in 1142 to the Knights Hospitaller by Raymond II, Count of Tripoli and it fell in 1271 to the Mamluk Sultanate after a 36-days long siege. The name "krak" itself comes from the Syriac language (Has nothing to do with today's Syria except of the geographic area; it comes straight from the language used by the old Phoenicians and, while called "Aramaic" it was precisely the language used by Jesus and all his disciples).

 

So in this Syriac language the word "krak" means a fortress ready to withstand a siege therefore my own theory is that after the fall of the said fortress into the Muslim hands, which actually ended any dream of European domination in the area, instead of calling krak a fortified city, they slowly started to call krak a fortified ship, prepared for war. Remember at the time the distinction between warships and merchants was muddled and probably if need arose, they could have taken any merchant available and prepare her for battle.

 

So in some respects, to my eyes a krak/carracca/carraque/carrack is what we would call today a warship and not specifically a type of ship, as the ships at the time were called nao/nau/nave/navire (all coming from the Latin navis) in the Mediterranean area. So what we have here, being a Basque whaler, I would daresay would not be properly called a carrack as it is not intended to go to war.     

 

Waldemar, sorry for my digression, but I felt it had to be told! Now bringing it back to our sheep, that is going to be another VERY interesting journey which I will follow with much interest!

[Alvb]

50 minutes ago, Waldemar said:

 

 

The general proportions (as, dos, tres) ... In fact, it is most suitable for long galley-type vessels.

 

 

Am I misunderstanding something?

As, dos, tres doesn't sound like a long ship to me.

[Waldemar]

 

 

40 minutes ago, Doreltomin said:

Waldemar, sorry for my digression, but I felt it had to be told! Now bringing it back to our sheep, that is going to be another VERY interesting journey which I will follow with much interest!

 

Thank you, @Doreltomin. Interesting and erudite posts are always welcome .

 

[Waldemar]

 

4 hours ago, Alvb said:

5 hours ago, Waldemar said:

 

 

The general proportions (as, dos, tres) ... In fact, it is most suitable for long galley-type vessels.

 

 

Am I misunderstanding something?

As, dos, tres doesn't sound like a long ship to me.

 

 

5 hours ago, Waldemar said:

The general proportions (as, dos, tres) do indeed correspond to what is usually referred to as nao or carrack, but already the way the hull shapes are formed is more universal and was employed for a variety of vessel types of a very different proportions. In fact, it is most suitable for long galley-type vessels.

 

[Alvb]

Ok, you explain your passage, which I don't quite understand, with this very passage. 

Not very helpful, don't you think?

[Waldemar]

 

3 hours ago, Alvb said:

Ok, you explain your passage, which I don't quite understand, with this very passage. 

Not very helpful, don't you think?

 

Indeed, the difficulty in understanding is not helpful probably in any venture. And it's nice that you also seek some help here .