Ship Construction

[Legioneod]

What was the common space between the frames of ships of this time? And how would I go about finding info like the thickness of a certain ships hull or the thickness/width of the frames/planking. Can this be found in ship plans or is it something that can't be 100% known?

I'm planning on starting a project soon but I need to figure out the construction of ships and how to determine how a particular ship was constructed. (Is this possible with ships that no longer exist?)

For instance with the Constitution I know the thickness of the hull varies but it's near 2ft thick at the waterline. What I don't know is the thickness of the planks and frames and how much space was between the frame. How would I go about finding this out?

[Surcouf]

There are several ship monographs. What is your project, which ship?
If you search a little, you will also find a lot of information on naval architecture.
There are differences between nations and periods. To answer simply is not easy. You need more information about your project.

An example where you can find monographs in English: https://ancre.fr/en/13-monograph

Edited August 26, 2020 by Surcouf

[Legioneod]

22 hours ago, Surcouf said:

There are several ship monographs. What is your project, which ship?
If you search a little, you will also find a lot of information on naval architecture.
There are differences between nations and periods. To answer simply is not easy. You need more information about your project.

An example where you can find monographs in English: https://ancre.fr/en/13-monograph

 

8 hours ago, Sir John said:

I can't comment on the usual space between frames since it was highly variable between nations and types of ships. For finding the thickness of frames in the Royal Navy, there are several sources available to you, depending on the period in which you're interested.  Scantlings of the Royal Navy, 1719-1805 by Allan Yedinsky is a comprehensive book on this subject, but you could alternatively look into some of its sources.  I know that prime among these (post-establishments) are The Shipbuilder's Repository 1788 and Steel's Elements and Practice of Naval Architecture. The 1812 edition of this last is available online:  https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=TWsmw-QqvmAC&rdid=book-TWsmw-QqvmAC&rdot=1

For US ships, I can't say. When I return to my book on USS Essex, I'll see if I can check the bibliography for you.

 

It is certainly possible, but it would be challenging for a beginner if you're looking for high levels of detail... what are you interested in doing, if I may ask?

To start, I recommend looking at some books of the Anatomy of the Ship series, which go in-depth into the construction of individual ships and might be a great introduction to the process of researching and rebuilding a ship. Since you mention USS Constitution, there are two in that series on US ships (Essex & Constitution).

If you are looking to begin a higher level project, there are plenty more modern treatises to check out.

 

Best of luck to you!

Thanks for the tips. I plan on making a 3d damage "simulation" that takes into consideration frame thickness, frame spacing, plank thickness, wood type and characteristics, etc. Gonna use it to compare various ships ability to sustain damage at certain ranges/cannonball weights.

Basically I just need the thickness of the planks/frames and the space between each frame, etc. that way I can make an accurate 3d model of the hull of the ship.

EDIT: Focusing on ships that were in use between 1800-1820 especially the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic wars.. (Frigates, Ships of the Line, etc)

USS Constitution

USS Chesapeake

HMS Guerriere

HMS Endymion 

HMS Shannon

HMS Victory

etc.

 

 

Edited August 27, 2020 by Legioneod