1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 371 The Developing Hanzhou Shipbuilding Industry

"How?" Qi Tian asked.

"With the help of the wind, this boat should be faster than ordinary boats, and the number of people operating it should be much smaller." Niu Jinmin said: "But if such a big boat is not equipped with any force, isn't it a bit unsafe? ah?"

"Professional immigration ship, as the name suggests, the main purpose of this ship is to transport people from the Ming Dynasty. When it goes to sea, it will inevitably go with the large fleet, and it does not need to be equipped with force." Qi Tian said: "Didn't you just say that as long as there is wind to help , It runs a little faster than ordinary ships. At that time, when encountering an enemy ship attack, just run away with the sails."

"I always feel that I don't feel at ease if I don't put a few cannons on board." Niu Jinmin said.

"If it is equipped with artillery, it will inevitably pile up a lot of gunpowder and a considerable number of gunners. In this way, a lot of space on the ship will be occupied." Qi Tian looked at the big ship coming back from the dock, his eyes brightened. Bright, said softly: "This ship, if you don't consider carrying too much supplies, can hold 1000 people at full load, which is twice the transport capacity of other large ships."

The big ship in the dock that Qi Tian was referring to was the first immigration-only ship built by Jianye Shipyard in early April, with a full load displacement of more than 800 tons. Because loading was not considered, the bottom of the cabin was watertight. The mode has greatly improved in terms of security.

Moreover, the ship is not equipped with armed equipment such as artillery, so the entire hull is set up as three low decks. The highest bilge is 1.7 meters high, while the middle layer is only 1.5 meters. People who are slightly taller must bow their heads. The waist can pass through it.

This immigration ship is the largest ship Hanzhou has built so far, and there is another immigration ship of the same model on the berth. Most of the hull has also been built, and it is expected to be launched smoothly in mid-to-late May. trial voyage.If the situation is ideal, they can still go to Daming in June and July to participate in the annual immigration mission.

At present, the construction of medium and large ships of more than 200 tons in Hanzhou is concentrated in Jianyecheng Shipyard.And those small boats with dozens to hundreds of tons have been transferred to Weiyuan City (now Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea).There was originally a ship repair yard established before the outbreak of the Han-Dutch War.In January of this year, based on this, some shipwrights were dispatched to expand the ship repair station into a small shipyard.

Weiyuan Shipyard mainly builds some [-]-[-] ton galleys and fishing boats, which are used for short-distance round-trip transportation and offshore fishing between Hanzhou mainland and Weiyuan Island.

In fact, if the population size of Hanzhou is to be counted, the shipbuilding industry of Hanzhou can already be regarded as the leading existence in the entire Far East.The Cavite shipyard of the Spanish in the Philippines was jointly destroyed by Hanzhou and the Dutch, and it has not recovered until now.The Batavia shipyard of the Dutch was not originally a workshop for building large ships. When it was besieged by the natives last year, most of it was destroyed by the lurking black guard design.However, the Ming Dynasty's Nanjing shipyard, due to various reasons, could hardly build a decent ocean-going ship.

That is to say, the population base of Hanzhou is not large, and there are not enough sailors and craftsmen. Otherwise, with the advanced production organization model of Hanzhou, although it is impossible to build hundreds of ships at the same time like the Netherlands, it can still be built. According to standard design and modular production, it is possible to start construction of several large ships at the same time.

We must know that in the global shipbuilding industry, until the middle and late 18th century, the design and construction of ships had not implemented standardized design and production on a large scale.The specifications and shape of each ship are often changed by the experience of the shipbuilder, or even changed on a whim.Shipbuilding in that period did not rely on any design drawings, and all design models were in the minds of shipbuilders.

However, at the Jianye Shipyard, Qitian has set a standard for all shipwrights. Before the ship is built, design drawings must be formed, and the dimensions of each functional module must have a uniform measurement mark.After the ship is built, according to the feedback after use, when corresponding improvements are made, the original design drawings must also be changed, and a set of mature ship shape design drawings will eventually be formed.

When the ship shape of the same regulation is built again in the future, the production and construction can be carried out quickly according to the standard according to the design drawing, which can not only eliminate the subjective and personal factors of the shipbuilder, but also carry out large-scale production and construction.

For example, this newly-built immigration special ship was designed and built while drawing design was formed, which took more than five months. However, because its sister ship was built according to the original design drawing, from the laying of the keel to the expected completion and launch, there was a gap. more than three months.Moreover, in the process of production and construction, according to the order planning of the Ministry of Communications of the Civilian Government, several more sets of such ship plates and rigs were produced, which saved more time for the production and construction of the same type of ships in the future.

"Sir, we have successively built two 400-ton fast cruising warships, and now we have perfectly designed an 800-ton immigrant ship. I think our next step should be to design and build a more than 800-ton ship Large warships." The chief designer of Jianye Shipyard, the Spaniard Doniel Francis, came to Qi Tian and Niu Jinming, and said in unproficient Chinese: "In the Spanish Navy, large gunboats are the absolute main force of naval battles. .”

When Niu Jinming heard the words, he also nodded to express his agreement with this idea.Although Hanzhou has more than a dozen large ships, most of them are former armed merchant ships, and the two professional warships built by ourselves are only medium-sized warships of about 400 tons. Armed merchant ships do not have an absolute advantage.

He has also heard many times from the Spanish shipbuilders in the shipyard that in Europe, the Spaniards own large warships of 60 to [-] tons, equipped with as many as forty or fifty artillery pieces.Even, they have a huge ship of more than [-] tons, and they are equipped with more than [-] artillery pieces.If there is such a warship, then, in the entire Nanyang region, with the Dutch armed merchant ships of [-] to [-] tons, they will definitely have to be slaughtered when encountering such a huge ship.

"At present, we don't need such a large warship for the time being." Qi Tian smiled and said to Donier Francis: "We in Hanzhou do not have enough strength to have such a warship. Moreover, our current sea power is weak. It is not the time to compete with the Dutch for consumption. Building more fast cruisers will help us effectively intercept and attack Dutch merchant ships."

The giant cannon ship is a man, who wouldn't like it!
However, the current population of Hanzhou is not large, and there is a shortage of sailors. A large gunboat of 500 to [-] tons has [-] sailors and gunners alone.The problem is, if you only have one or two such gunboats, it will be difficult to get a good deal in the face of the siege of many armed merchant ships of the Dutch East India Company.

Qi Tian may not know that in October last year, the Downs naval battle broke out between the Netherlands and the Spaniards. The Dutch relied on many flexible and light armed merchant ships to block more than 10 large Spanish gunboats in the Downs. Anchorage, and wiped out most of them, severely damaged the Spanish navy, and made its sea power unable to recover.

Similarly, in the Nanyang region, if you have built too many large warships, not to mention whether you can afford them or not, even if you encounter Dutch armed merchant ships, they can't beat you, and you can slip away quickly with the light and light shape of the ship.

Huge ships with cannons must be military weapons that can only be afforded by big countries. As for Hanzhou, maybe in a few years, there will be several such huge ships with a scale of [-] tons.Now, it is reasonable to develop fast cruisers honestly and start a war with the Dutch.

"Boss, I have a new idea for shipbuilding design." A Chinese craftsman beside him said timidly.

"Oh, let's hear it." Qi Tian said with great interest: "It doesn't matter if you are wrong. But if the rationalization suggestions put forward can improve shipbuilding skills or improve efficiency, we will reward them."

"I think that a winch can be set up on the ship, just like those booms on the pier, and the cables on the sails are connected to the winch. Using the principle of levers, when raising and lowering the sails and adjusting the sails, you only need to turn the winch. It can control the sails. In this way, the number of sailors on the boat can be reduced accordingly." After the boatman finished speaking, he looked at Qi Tian expectantly.

After listening to Qi Tian, ​​he felt that what he said was very reasonable. He used the principle of leverage to stir the traction cable and control the sail, saving a lot of manpower.But he was not a professional, so he turned to look at the chief engineer of the shipyard, Donier Francis, and wanted to hear his opinion.

"Zhuang's words are very constructive. This is a very good idea." Donier Francis said in surprise: "With his method alone, at least three or four sailor positions can be saved on each ship. Your Excellency , I think that Zhuang's suggestion must be rewarded!"

"Okay, I'm very happy to make this reward." Qi Tian was also very happy to see that the suggestion of the Chinese craftsman was accepted by the Spanish chief engineer.This shows that we Han people are relatively creative and pioneering in practical operations, as long as they are given a chance.

"My lord, I have another idea here, but it's a bit immature. I don't know if I should bring it up." Zhuang Shanfu was greatly encouraged by the affirmation of the chief manager and chief engineer of the shipyard, so he boldly said again.

"Continue talking. The chief engineer of your shipyard is here, and there are several senior craftsmen. They will definitely make a correct assessment of your suggestion." Qi Tian encouraged.

"A few days ago, I made a small wooden boat for my little boy to play with. One day, I saw him tie a rope to the bottom of the boat, and then tied a small piece of wood to the rope. Stir on the rope. I found that when the small piece of wood broke free from the rope, it rotated quickly, driving the boat forward. Then, can we also make a wheel device at the bottom or stern of the big boat, and then connect it with a winch , so that it can rotate quickly in the water, so as to drive the boat." Zhuang Shanfu finished speaking in one breath, and then looked at the crowd, but his face was a little unconfident.After all, it is just a child's toy, whether it can be loaded on a big ship is still unknown.

After hearing this, Qi Tian became a little sluggish. A turning wheel device was installed on the bottom or stern of the boat to make it rotate and drive the boat to move.Isn't this the propeller structure!

"Test this device immediately!" Without waiting for other shipwrights to express their opinions, Qi Tian directly ordered: "You can use a small boat to test it first, and if it is feasible, immediately move it to a larger ship."

(End of this chapter)