Their size and stability allowed mounting of cannons.Д¬arracks were also used by Vasco de Gama for the first successful trip to India around the Cape of Good Hope. Large carracks had ample room for large crews, provisions and cargo required for east Indies trading. The square rigging with a lateen mizzen is typical of the age but we see a second row of top sails needed to drive this heavy ship. The forecastle located directly above the stem, with the bowsprit rising from its top made sailing to windward difficult and would disappear in gallions which come next. The high sides made it virtually impregnable to attack from small craft, which was often a problem in the East Indies. It rode high in the water with the prominent forecastle (along with the usual sterncastle) giving it a characteristic 'U' shape. CarrackThe carrack (called nao, for ship, by the Portuguese) was the beast of burden of the 16th century, carrying cargo and troops to faraway lands. In 1492 Colombus's used 2 caravels, the Nina and the Pinta, and a larger carrack, the Santa Maria, as his flagship. Top speed for a caravel was about 8 knots the average was 4 knots for 90-100 miles in a day. Caravels were usually built with a double tower at the stern (the aftercastle, or sterncastle) and a single tower (or none) in the bow (the forecastle). Later versions, the redonda, replaced the main lateen sail which required a large crew by a square sail which also made for more speed when running offshore. About 75 feet (23 m) long, the typical caravel had two or three pole masts, lateen-rigged (i.e., with triangular sails). high platforms at front and back from which to fire at opponentsД¬aravelThe design of caravels underwent changes over the years, but a typical caravel of the late 15th century may be described as a broad-beamed vessel of 50 or 60 tons burden some were as large as 160 tons.larger ships for war and commerce: carracks.cargo space for voyages of up to a year.ability to sail to windward (lateen sails).a shallow draft to chart unknown waters.Deadweight Tons (Port en lourd): Maximum cargo weight.Old: volume in 'tuns' or wine barrels ( 1 m 3 or 40 cu.Size measurementsReported ship sizes in tons are confusing because there are 3 variants Building techniques improved to allow the construction of larger crafts with multiple masts. In the Mediterranean, lateen sails working as windfoils allowed sailing upwind. In the north, the rudder had replaced the side oar for steering.

Renaissance ShipsIn the 1300s, larger loads for war and commerce were handled by Cogs. They would be steered with a 'side oar' that would hang off the back of the boat. Ships like the Mediterranean galleys and the nordic drakkar relied mainly on oars for propulsion aided by square sails when there was a following wind. In what follows, I concentrate on the evolution of larger craft destined for trade, war and long distance travel.Д«efore the Age of SailIn Europe, for a long time, boats were small, had one mast and seldom left sight of land. I cover those prehistoric boats in another section. Prehistoric boats Anything that floats can be lashed together to serve as a primitive boat and, starting with log rafts, early man went on to develop dug-out canoes, reed boats and kayaks. But during the 15th century (1405-1433), massive fleets under Admiral Cheng Ho (or Zheng He) went on voyages to India, Arabia and Africa. China is not known as a seafaring nation and, for many centuries, it promoted a policy of isolation to the extent that China relied on the Portuguese then Dutch for trade with Japan. Chinese ships also developped many other features before the west, for example: the stern mounted rudder, multiple masts, water-tight hull sections and the magnetic compass. These give the sail better aerodynamics and allow reducing the sail area for different wind conditions. Its most distinguishing feature are sails divided into a number of horizontal panels by bamboo slats ( battens). The typical vessel is the junk, an efficient design that is fast, easy to handle and able to sail upwind. Chinese ships Before discussing European vessels, we take a quick look at Chinese sailing ships. On these pages, I summarize what I found. One question led to another and I went on a wild tour of the Internet. Note: I got interested in the history of sail while transcribing the letters of a Swiss relative who died in Shanghai in 1902 while working for a European silk importer and I wondered how long it took his letters to reach home. Early Sailing Ships Development of Sailing Ships

European ship simulator types of ships