18th Century Ship Design Question

[Hugo van Grojt]

Dear ship design enthusiasts,

 

I have a humble question:

 

I have personally sailed on three-masted schooners, the oldest having been built in 1889 as a British sailing yacht "Amphitrite". All these schooners (like the Lynx ingame) have a very narrow and sleek bow.

 

However, the ship models we see ingame from the 17th/18th century all have a kind of round shaped bow that does not seem overly hydrodynamic. Can anyone point me to an explanation why ship builders of the time did not really go for sleek bows but rather the roundish design we see in most ships in the game?

 

Looking at the model of Le Gros Ventre below as an example, I cannot see how this bow design could be particularly good for reaching any sort of top speed....

 

 

 

Additionally, could anyone explain why the part that holds the bow figurehead in most ships was shaped the way it was? It does not seem to support the bow spreet in most cases, but that shape must have some kind of functionality, other than looking good (referring to the golden part in the picture above, but also present in most of the ship designs we see ingame).

 

Thanks for your input and for pointing me in the right direction   Knowledge is power 

 

Cheers,

 

Hugo

Edited May 14, 2016 by Hugo van Grojt

[SteelSandwich]

IIRC:

The shape of the bow was rounded initially to ensure some buoyancy. You can imagine having a sharp wooden bow will result in the ship effectively 'cutting' through waves, which is very bad is rough weather.

 

Please correct me if ^ is incorrect.

[Malachi]

Quote

Can anyone point me to an explanation why ship builders of the time did not really go for sleek bows but rather the roundish design we see in most ships in the game?

 

 

Wooden ships carry a lot of weight at the bow (foremast + cannons), so they need volume there to ensure the necessary amount of buoyancy, otherwise they´d start hogging.

And, as Steel already said, a sharp bow isn´t always a good thing.

 

 

Edit:

 

 

 

This is the draught of one of the first vessels with a classic frigate design (and a pretty extreme example, with very reduced upper works and a pronounced tumblehome).

As you can see, the underwater part at the bow is pretty sharp.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Malachi

[Hugo van Grojt]

Thanks for the response, guys. Sacrificing speed for sturdiness/buoyancy makes sense.

 

Now on to the question of the weird design of the front part of the keel / round golden shaped wooden parts below the bow spreet ...

[Mirones]

Thanks for the response, guys. Sacrificing speed for sturdiness/buoyancy makes sense.

 

Now on to the question of the weird design of the front part of the keel / round golden shaped wooden parts below the bow spreet ...

 

visual apealing other wise they would look very dull and ugly. later on past 1800-1820 they started filling these out with wood like an primitiv atlantik bow.

[maturin]

The beakhead is largely an aesthetic feature, but it cradles a little platform where the heads are. It also provides a better lead for the rigging that holds the bowsprit down, and perhaps protects it from large waves somewhat.

[Hugo van Grojt]

Thanks for the feedback guys - my curiosity is satisfied

 

And as icing on the cake - here is the bow of the S.S. Amphitrite I had the pleasure of sailing on for several weeks:

 

Edited May 14, 2016 by Hugo van Grojt