1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 238 Victory Port Shipyard ([-])
The fabrics purchased by the Guangzhou Office and "Furuifeng" from the mainland are definitely qualified for making ordinary clothes, but to be used as canvas, the strength is far from the requirements of the Ministry of Shipping. The trial-produced The sails are slightly larger and are easily torn in strong winds.Although there are relatively big troubles in the material of the sails, the Ministry of Shipping believes that there is no solution.A local tailor surnamed Wang who was involved in making the sails came up with a very good idea. He used tougher multi-layer fabrics to make reinforcements. After sewing a large number of reinforcements on the larger sails, the boat The strength of the sail has been significantly improved. Although the overall strength is not yet up to the technical requirements of the Ministry of Shipping, at least it can be used as a spare sail, and the weight of the sail has not increased significantly.And Tailor Wang was also fortunate to have obtained an early promotion of the labor rank with this small contribution.

The Executive Committee has issued the latest instructions to the Guangzhou Office, asking them to try to customize a large number of tougher and thicker fabrics from Songjiang Prefecture, which is rich in cotton, and at the same time see if they can catch the Spanish or Portuguese thread. I got some Indian canvas from the foreign devils.The executive committee has now included canvas in the list of strategic materials. Under the situation of lack of textile industry, even if it costs more money and takes more detours, it must find a canvas trade channel with stable supply as soon as possible.

The sail design based on hydrodynamics is the most obvious difference in appearance between the new sailboat developed by the Ministry of Shipping and the existing ships, but this improvement with the highest technical content is relatively the easiest to imitate.Even those aborigines who don't know what the "Bernoulli effect" is, will quickly imitate it out of practical considerations after knowing that the use effect of this new type of sail will be much better than that of the old type.

Of course, this kind of sail with technical advantages must also have a large enough area to fully reflect the advantages in performance, so the Ministry of Shipping will spare no effort to increase the sail area by raising the mast.According to the shipbuilding technology of this era, either it can only use a relatively low mast like a Chinese-style sailboat, or it can use a large number of stays to ensure its stability like a Western-style sailboat. It is technically impossible to make a hollow steel pipe as a mast.Therefore, even if this new type of sail is stolen by someone in the future, the performance of its ship will still have a relatively large gap compared with the genuine goods of the Transit Group.

Li Nai listened for a while, and he could basically understand what everyone said, but he didn't understand the meaning of many terms, and it was inconvenient for him to keep explaining to him, so after a while, he felt more confused .However, Li Nai noticed that it wasn't just Haihan people who participated in the discussion, there were also seven or eight Ming shipwrights who would occasionally interject a few words to express their opinions.Among them, a shipbuilder surnamed Zhang seemed to be particularly prominent, and even Yue Zhiyun and Sun Changmi would call him "Master Zhang" from time to time.

Li Nai heard that Master Zhang spoke with a Fujian accent, and turned his head to Jiang San and asked in a low voice, "What is the origin of Master Zhang?"

Jiang Sanying said: "Master Zhang Tiangui is a good hand in the shipyard. The chiefs promoted him to be a senior foreman. Now all the shipbuilders in the shipyard are under his supervision. When Chief Yue and Chief Sun are not in the shipyard, they are Master Zhang has the final say... By the way, Master Zhang seems to be recruited by your firm in Guangzhou and sent to Shengli Port."

"There is such a thing?" Li Nai did not expect that the number one shipbuilder of the Haihan people was actually recruited by himself. "Furuifeng" is also one of the most famous sea merchants in Guangzhou. Although the ships under its name are not comparable to the provincial sea merchants like Xu Xinsu, there are twenty or thirty ships, large and small, which usually need to be repaired. There is also a lot of compensation, and after getting in touch with the Haihan people, Li Jifeng is already considering whether he needs to build a shipyard and build a few more ships for the route of Shengli Port.If he had known that Zhang Tiangui was one of the craftsmen he recruited, he should have stayed and worked for him.

However, seeing the scale and operation of the shipyard of the Haihan people, Li Nai knew that even if he could afford a high enough commission, it would be difficult for a shipbuilder like Zhang Tiangui to have enough room to play.First of all, if the family really wanted to open a shipyard, the scale would definitely not be comparable to that of the Haihan people. How many ships would have to be built in a year to balance the income and expenditure for hundreds of workers?As far as Li Nai knew, the Haihan people invested in this shipyard regardless of the cost. What they wanted was the results, not the investment. This mode of operation certainly cannot be applied to "Furuifeng".

Secondly, the Haihan people give Zhang Tiangui a high degree of respect and freedom. Many boat construction details, the Haihan people still rely on his opinions, and the shipyard is building test boats one after another, which can be used seriously. The ship that came for shipping has not been finalized for half a year. If it had been left in another shipyard, the foreman responsible for the construction would have been fired long ago. How could he still be regarded as the honored guest like the Haihan people.

Li Nai finally made it to the end of the seminar, everyone got up and patted their buttocks, and went to work.Yue Zhiyun walked up to Li Nai and asked, "Mr. Li, do you want to see our new boat?"

"Stick to what you want, and dare not ask for it." Li Nai replied very respectfully.In terms of attitude towards craftsmen, Li Nai is different from a considerable number of scholars in the Ming Dynasty, because he was born in a family of merchants, and the social status of merchants in this era is still not high. .Of course, after a businessman's net worth reaches a certain level, his status will still rise significantly, but if the son of a businessman wants to become an official, the disadvantage of his background will be magnified. In order to continue to participate in the imperial examination, there is also this reason.

It is precisely because of this deep-rooted concept that Li Nai has always been gentle and humble when dealing with craftsmen, not to mention that the shipbuilder in front of him has the identity of Haihan.In Li Nai's view, although Yue Zhiyun and Sun Changmi are not as high-status as Tao Donglai, Schneider and others, they are at least one party in charge, and they should give them enough respect.

And Yue Zhiyun was also very satisfied with Li Nai's attitude, he stretched out his hand and said, "Then please come with me, Mr. Li."

Out of the need for confidentiality, there is a bamboo fence as high as a person outside the berth of the No. [-] test ship. It is difficult to see the working conditions inside from the outside.When Li Nai entered the port the day before, he only saw a small part of the hull protruding from the top of the fence.This time Yue Zhiyun led him into the fence, and he really saw clearly this experimental ship that Haihan people valued very much.

This semi-finished ship that is still on the berth and supported by many props is about ten feet long, and because the upper deck is still under construction, the width of the hull is not easy to discern. Based on his own experience, Li Nai estimated that the ship's The width should be between two feet and two feet five, but judging from most of the hulls that have been built so far, the depth of the hull is greater than that of Fuchuan or Guangzhou Ship of the same level. Look, this ship should be slightly larger than the usual four-hundred-meter sea-going ships, especially in terms of draft, which is almost one-third larger than ordinary sea-going ships of the same class.The shape of the hull still basically maintains the shape of a Chinese-style sailboat with a wide top and a narrow bottom. It can be imagined that a deeper draft hull will bring better seaworthiness to this ship.

The number of shipwrights working on this berth is obviously much less than that of the other berths. Li Nai can tell that this must be due to the consideration of confidentiality by the Haihan people.But judging from what he has seen so far, Li Nai feels that there is nothing particularly outstanding about this ship, but Li Nai thinks this is mostly a matter of his own knowledge, otherwise there would not be so many people who listened to the seminar before. I don't understand the content.

If Li Nai was more knowledgeable, he should be able to see that the keel of this ship has a tendency to tilt towards the stern, and there is an inconspicuous difference from the existing sailing ships.This structure can obtain a larger draft of the tail, and can greatly move the lateral hydrodynamic center of the underwater hull backward, which is conducive to tackling sailing and reducing the lateral drift of the hull, and effectively improves the stability of the ship on the sea. sex and speed.

This structure comes from the "Baltimore schooner" that only appeared in the 200th century. The North American schooner that appeared in the Chesapeake Bay in North America [-] years later can be regarded as a prominent role in the history of world navigation. It was after the [-]th century. One of the best fast sailing boats, it represented the most advanced ship design ideas at that time, and also had a revolutionary impact on the subsequent shipbuilding technology - the flying scissor sailboat that appeared later was developed on this basis. sailboat.

As for the design of the bow, the Ministry of Shipping has indeed borrowed from the design of the flying shear ship. The shape of the underwater part is like a sharp axe, which is almost the shape of the least resistance.There was also some debate about the design of the bow, and some people proposed the design of using a bulbous bow, but it was rejected by the Ministry of Shipping.Firstly, the construction of bulbous bow is relatively difficult technically, and secondly, the drag reduction and speed-up effect of installing bulbous bow on small and medium-sized ships is not obvious, and the crossing group may not have enough in recent years. Conditions to build that kind of large ships with a displacement of several thousand tons.

These excellent design proposals were also adopted by the Ministry of Shipping and integrated into the trial production of new sailboats.Of course, the Ministry of Shipping still insisted on its own opinion on the design of the sailing system. After all, it is a black technology work designed based on the principles of fluid mechanics, and it has also passed the practice test of later generations. The technical content is comparable to the diapers of foreign devils. Full sail is much higher.However, even if Li Nai saw such small technical details, he didn't realize the significance of this to promote the advancement of navigation technology. At most, he just intuitively felt that the shape of the ship was very smooth, which looked more pleasing to the eye.

Yue Zhiyun said: "Mr. Li, you can look here casually, but please don't ask any more questions about the construction of this ship. As for the reason, I won't explain it further, you know it."

Li Nai nodded, indicating that he understood.This is not the first time he has encountered this kind of thing in Shengli Port. When he came last time, he asked many unanswered questions, such as how the iron ships moored in the port were built, and why the output of the saltworks was so low. Far beyond the level of Daming, glass making technology and so on.Every time Haihan people are unwilling to answer these questions, they use the "Confidentiality Regulations" to prevaricate themselves.Li Nai didn't know what the "Secrecy Regulations" of the Haihan people specifically stipulated, but it was obvious that the craftsmanship of all the things they manufactured were within the jurisdiction of the "Regulations", and now this list obviously had to One item has been added.

Li Nai doesn't dislike the attitude of the Haihan people. Technical barriers are the magic weapon for craftsmen in this era to make money. Isn't it because the Haihan people can sell their products at such a high price because they have mastered unique manufacturing techniques?How can these housekeeping skills be easily revealed to outsiders? It would be nice to have something to see.Li Nai secretly wondered, after returning to Guangzhou this time, should he go to a shipyard to refresh his knowledge of ship construction, so that he might be able to understand a little bit about the technical superiority of this new type of sailing ship like Hai Han? .Li Nai made up his mind, kept the shape of the ship firmly in his mind while looking at it, and planned to seek professional consultation after returning.

However, it is a pity that Li Nai came to visit a little bit earlier. The deck superstructure has just entered the construction stage. As one of the design essence of No. [-] experimental ship, the steering wheel steering system, Li Nai has no chance to see it this time. .

Regardless of Chinese or Western style sailboats, in this era, the helmsman still uses the method of directly operating the rudder stock at the stern to adjust the direction of the rudder.The disadvantages of this steering method are very obvious. First, on a ship with a slightly larger hull, the helmsman’s line of sight will be blocked by the poop deck, and he cannot observe the movement of the sails on the ship. In this way, the rudder can only be commanded by indirectly conveying instructions. Secondly, this steering method almost relies on pure manpower. If bad weather is encountered at sea, the manpower may not be able to match the power of nature. If the wind and waves are too strong, it is likely to lose Initiative at the helm.

In history, the nautical black technology of the steering wheel was only invented at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The arrival of the time-traveling group made its appearance nearly a hundred years earlier.The technical advantages of the rudder wheel are as obvious as the disadvantages of the old rudder. This thing is installed on the poop deck, and the operation is light and flexible. The user can also intuitively see the movement of the sail and adjust accordingly. The old way can be described as an epoch-making progress.The most important thing is that although this thing is not high-tech for the time travelers, it is not something that can be copied from the outside like a new type of sail. Its main transmission structure is hidden inside the hull. Well, even if non-professionals have seen the operation of the steering wheel, they can't imagine how such a small wooden wheel turns the whole ship.

And the nautical black technology that was invented in the eighteenth century in the original history, in addition to the steering wheel system, also has a sextant and a nautical astronomical clock.The sextant experienced many improvements in the 90th century. From the original octant with a measuring angle of only 120 degrees, it was gradually transformed into a sextant with a measuring angle of [-] degrees.This instrument is more convenient to use than the astrolabe and rectangular quadrant used to measure latitude in the past, and its accuracy has also been greatly improved.

The necessity of a nautical astronomical clock in ocean navigation is no less than that of a sextant. In order to use the speed to estimate its relative position, ocean-going ships need a stable and reliable chronograph to calculate the speed. The accuracy of the chronograph that can be used on board is far from meeting the requirements of navigation. Once there is a storm, the pendulum of the mechanical structure will have errors. In 1656, the Dutch scientist Huygens invented the spiral balance spring to replace the pendulum, but such a nautical clock still had poor time accuracy.It wasn't until 1736 that a British watchmaker built the first truly nautical clock for the reward of the British Parliament.

However, the early nautical clocks were big guys, and the Ministry of Shipping did not intend to use that kind of clumsy navigation device.Whether it is a sextant or a nautical clock, they were all included in the list of strategic materials in the material procurement before crossing.Of course, the organizing committee with limited funds at that time didn't buy any high-end goods, and directly purchased a batch of marine quartz navigation clocks from the Internet, and they have already been put into use on the Heitu Port route.The technical department did not forget to purchase a few mechanical nautical clocks as backups. When the level of metal processing technology rises, they can be copied, so that in a few years, the battery of the quartz clock will run out and everyone will be caught blind.

It is worth mentioning that in terms of navigation, Tom Wang is the leading expert in the time travel group.His professional level is not only in terms of navigation theory and experience, but also in terms of equipment level, which is first-class and excellent.The nautical clock used by this guy is a super limited edition in the Villeret 1858 series produced by Montblanc-a set consisting of an analog dual time zone chronograph and a large analog nautical clock.Especially the 120kg luxury nautical clock made of ruby, granite, brass, aviation aluminum and carbon fiber is enough to blind the eyes of every visitor.It is said that this set of nautical clocks is limited to 16 sets worldwide, and it can become epic equipment in any nautical game. I don’t know how much this guy spent to get it.

Tao Donglai can be regarded as a well-informed and rich man in the Time Traveling Group, but he was also surprised when he saw this outfit.According to what he said afterwards, the average price of watches in this series of Montblanc is more than seven figures in RMB. Based on this calculation, Tom Wang’s set of equipment is probably much more valuable than the two catamarans combined.Before time travel, there were actually quite a few members with assets in the six or seven figures, but as the saying goes, the poor play cars and the rich play watches, so it seems that Tom Wang is the real local tycoon who hides deeply.If Tom Wang hadn't stayed at sea all day and few people knew his details, I'm afraid there would have been a large group of wives who wanted to give birth to Tom Wang in Victory Port long ago.

(End of this chapter)