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Ship Classes


Ned Loe

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Ship classes and their description.

Become more familiar with ship classes and their history.

Feel free to provide additional info.

 

 

BARK (BARQUE)

    Before the 1700's the name was applied to any small vessel. Later it applied to a small ship having three masts. The first two being square-rigged, and the third ( aft mast ) being fore-and-aft rigged. Fast ship with shallow draft. Favorite of Caribbean pirates. Crew around max. of 90.

 

BRIG

    Very popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries. A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. To improve maneuverability, the aft mast carries a small gaff rigged fore-and-aft sail. The brig actually developed as a variant of the brigantine. Re-rigging a brigantine with two square-rigged masts instead of one gave it greater sailing power, and was also easier for the crew to manage. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and maneuverable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. When used as small warships, they carryed about 10 to 18 guns. Due to their speed and maneuverability they were also popular among pirates, although they were rare among American and Caribbean pirates.

 

BRIGANTINE

    In sailing, a brigantine is a two-masted vessel with foremast fully square rigged and her mainmast rigged with both a fore-and-aft mainsail (a gaff sail) and a square topsail, and possibly a topgallant sail. Its speed, maneuverability and ease of handling made it a favorite of the Mediterranean pirates. Its name is derived from the Italian word brigantino, meaning brigand. Brigandage refers to the life and practice of brigands: highway robbery and plunder, and a brigand is a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery. By the 17th century the term was adapted by Atlantic maritime nations. The word eventually was split into brig and brigantines. Each word meaning a different class of ship. The brigantine had no lateen sails but was instead square-rigged on the foremast and had a gaff-rigged mainsail with square rig above it. The main mast of a brigantine is the aft one. The brigantine was generally larger than a sloop or schooner but smaller than a brig.

 

CARAVEL

    A small ship meant for trading. Originally lateen-rigged they later developed into square-masted ships and were used by the Spanish and Portuguese for exploration. Around 80 feet long.

 

CARRACK

    Before the advent of the galleon, carracks were the largest ships. They often reached 1,200 tons. They were used for trading voyages to India, China, and the Americas by the Spanish and Portuguese. They were 3 masted with square sails on the fore and main masts and lateen-rigged on the mizzen. They had very high fore and aft-castles. She carried an immense amount of power and thus was able to easily fend off pirates. Only through surprise could one hope to take one of these towering giants.

 

CLIPPER

    A very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, had a large total sail area, and could carry limited bulk freight. These ships came to be recognized for there great speed rather than cargo space. There speed was crucial to compete with the new steamships for commercial use. China clippers are the fastest commercial sailing vessels ever made. Clipper ships were mostly constructed in British and American shipyards. They sailed all over the world, primarily on the major trade routes of the era. The ships had short expected lifetimes and rarely outlasted two decades of use before they were broken up for salvage. Although they were built a century after the golden age of piracy, given their speed and maneuverability, clippers frequently mounted cannon or carronades and some were used for piracy, privateering, smuggling, and interdiction service.

 

CORVETTE (CORVET)

    The term corvette seems to have begun with the French Navy in the 1670s, to describe a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, smaller than a frigate and larger than sloops-of-war. Most sloops and corvettes of the late 17th century were around 40 to 60 feet in length. They carried four to eight small guns on a single deck. These early corvettes grew quickly in size over the decades, and by the 1780s they reached lengths of over 100 feet. Most of these large versions had three masts, and carried about 20 guns. The British Navy did not adopt the term until the 1830s, to describe a small sixth-rate vessel somewhat larger than a sloop.

 

CUTTER

    Cutters were widely used by several navies in the 17th and 18th centuries and were usually the smallest commissioned ships in the fleet. A cutter is a small single-masted boat, fore-and-aft rigged, with two or more headsails, usually carried on a very long bowsprit, which was sometimes as long as half the length of the boat's hull. The mast may be set farther back than on a sloop. The rig gave the cutter excellent maneuverability and they were much better at sailing to windward than a larger square rigged ship. Later larger naval cutters often had the ability to hoist two or three square-rigged sails from their mast to improve their downwind sailing performance as well. Over time the cutter grew in size to include ships of two and three masts. Pilot cutters were widely used near ports to ferry harbor pilots to the big ships. Navies used cutters for coastal patrol, customs duties, escort, carrying personnel and dispatches and for small 'cutting out' raids. As befitted their size and intended role naval cutters were lightly armed, often with between six and twelve small cannon.

 

DHOW

    Dhows were meant to be trading ships, having a single mast which was lateen-rigged. They were from 150 to 200-ton ships. Arab pirates arming her with cannon would use these ships.

 

DUTCH FLUTE (FLEUT)

    An early 17th century merchant ship, similar in design to a bark (barque). These were inexpensive to build, and could carry a large cargo.

 

EAST INDIAMAN

    Designed out of the experiences gathered from long and arduous voyages to india. This class of ships were one of the largest merchant vessels of there era, having three masts and weighing 1100 to 1400 tons. Built from the early 1600's to the end of the 1700's, to transport goods between Asia and Europe. They were usually well armed with cannons to defend themselves.

 

FRIGATE

    The Venetians called a frigate a small oared boat around 35 feet in length and around 7 feet wide. The English adopted the word for a larger ship which may have carried oars. Around 1700, the English limited the word to mean a class of warship which was only second in size to the Ship-of-the-Line (Man-O-War). Frigates were three-masted with a raised forecastle and quarterdeck. They had anywhere from 24 to 38 guns, and were faster than the ship-of-the-lines. Frigates were used for escort purposes, and sometimes to hunt pirates. Only a few pirates were ever in command of a frigate as most would flee at the sight of one.

 

FUSTE (FUSTA)

    A favorite of Barbary Corsairs, it was a small ship with both sails and oars. It was fast, long and had a low profile.

 

GALIOT (GALLIOT) Mediterranean

    In the 16th century, a galiot was a type of ship with oars, also known as a half-galley. The Galiot was long, and sleek with a flush deck. Then, from the 17th century forward, a ship with sails and oars. As used by the Barbary pirates against the Republic of Venice, a galiot had two masts and about 16 ranks of oars. Warships of the type typically carried between two and ten cannons of small caliber, and between 50 and 150 men. She was used by the Barbary corsairs in the Mediterranean.

 

GALIOT (GALLIOT) North Sea

    In the 17th thru 19th century, a galiot was a type of Dutch or German trade ship, similar to a ketch, with a rounded fore and aft like a fluyt. They had nearly flat bottoms to sail in shallow waters. These ships were especially favored for coastal navigation in the North Sea and Baltic Sea.

 

GALLEON

    Galleons were large ships meant for transporting cargo. Galleons were sluggish behemoths, not able to sail into or near the wind. The Spanish treasure fleets were made of these ships. Although they were sluggish, they weren't the easy target you would expect for they could carry heavy cannon which made a direct assault upon them difficult. She had two to three decks. Most had three masts, forward masts being square-rigged, lateen-sails on the mizzenmast, and a small square sail on her high-rising bowsprit. Some galleons sported 4 masts but these were an exception to the rule.

 

GALLEY

    Galleys have an extremely long history, dating back to ancient times. They were used until the Russo-Swedish war of 1809. They had one deck and were mainly powered by oars. They were costly to maintain and fell into disuse. However they were still being used by the Barbary corsairs in the Mediterranean. As they were meant to carry soldiers they were used in a few large-scale raids. There was a version of the galley used in the Atlantic by the English. They had a flush deck and were propelled by both oar and sail. They were rigged like frigates. Captain Kidd made his name in one of these, the "Adventure Galley".

 

GUINEAMAN

    A guineaman was a large cargo ship engaged in trade with the Guinea coast of Africa. Many were specially converted or purpose built for the transportation of slaves, especially newly purchased African slaves to the Americas. Their hulls were divided into holds with little headroom, so they could transport as many slaves as possible. Unhygienic conditions, dehydration, dysentery and scurvy led to high mortality rates on average 15% and up to a third of captives. Slave ships adopted quicker, more maneuverable forms to cross the Atlantic faster to increase profits, and later to evade capture by naval warships once the African slave trade was banned by the British and Americans in 1807. The guineaman's speed and size made them attractive ships to repurpose for piracy, and also for naval use after capture. The USS Nightingale(1851) and HMS Black Joke(1827) were examples of such vessels. Several well-known pirates like Blackbeard and Samuel Bellamy captured and converted them for piracy.

 

JUNK

    The word junk derives from the Portuguese junco, which in turn came from the Javanese word djong, which means ship. The ship has a flat-bottom with no keel, flat bow, and a high stern. A junk's width is about a third of its length and she has a rudder which can be lowered or raised providing excellent steering capabilities. A junk has two or three masts with square sails, made from bamboo, rattan or grass. Contrary to belief, the junk is capable of operating in any seas as she is a very sea-worthy vessel.

 

KETCH

    A two mast vessel with a large sail on the mainmast and a smaller mizzen. Historically the ketch was a square-rigged vessel, most commonly used as a freighter or fishing boat in northern Europe, particularly in the Baltic and North seas. During the 17th and 18th centuries, ketches were commonly used as small warships. In the latter part of the 18th century, they were largely supplanted by the brig, which differs from the ketch by having a forward mast smaller (or occasionally similar in size) than the aft mast. The ketch continued in use as a specialized vessel for carrying mortars until after the Napoleonic wars, in this application it was called a bomb ketch. In modern usage, the ketch is a fore-and-aft rigged vessel used as a yacht or pleasure craft.

 

LONGBOAT

    Much like a rowboat except they were very long. These were carried on ships and used for coming and going to the ship. They were normally rowed but often had a removable mast and sail. Also some were armed with one or more very small cannon.

 

LUGGER

    A vessel with a lugsail rig, normally two-masted. When they were used for smuggling or as privateers, extra sail was often added aft. These small ships were mainly used by merchants in coastal waters.

 

PINK (MERCHANT)

    There are two classifications of Pink. The first was a small, flat-bottomed ship with a narrow stern. This ship was derived from the Italian pinco. It was used primarily in the Mediterranean as a cargo ship. In the Atlantic the word pink was used to describe any small ship with a narrow stern, having derived from the Dutch word pincke. They were generally square-rigged and used as fishing boats, merchantmen, and warships.

 

PINNACE

    The Dutch built pinnaces during the early 17th century. They had a hull form resembling a small "race built" galleon, and were usually square rigged on three masts, or carried a similar rig on two masts, like the later "brig". Pinnaces were used as merchant vessels, privateers and small warships.

 

POLACCA

   A polacca (or polacre) is a type of seventeenth-century sailing vessel, similar to the xebec. The name is the feminine of "Polish" in the Italian language. The polacca was frequently seen in the Mediterranean. It had three single-pole masts, often with a lateen hoisted on the foremast (which was slanted forward to accommodate the large lateen yard) and a gaff or lateen on the mizzen mast. The mainmast was square-rigged after the European style. Special polaccas were used by Murat Reis, whose ships had lateen sails in front and Fore-and-aft rig behind.

Some polacca pictures show what appears to be a ship-rigged vessel (sometimes with a lateen on the mizzen) with a galley-like hull and single-pole masts. Thus, the term "polacca" seems to refer primarily to the masting and possibly the hull type as opposed to the type of rig used for the sails.

 

SCHOONER

    The Schooner has a narrow hull, two masts and is less than 100 tons. She is generally rigged with two large sails suspended from spars reaching from the top of the mast toward the stern. Other sails sometimes were added, including a large headsail attached to the bowsprit. She had a shallow draft which allowed her to remain in shallow coves waiting for her prey. The Schooner is very fast and large enough to carry a plentiful crew. It was a favorite among both pirates and smugglers.

 

SHIP OF THE LINE (MAN-O-WAR)

    From the 17th century into the 19th, these ships were the "heavy-guns" of the naval fleet. At first they resembled galleons in design, but carried massive firepower with an average of 60 guns. Over the course of time, they developed into larger and heavier beasts. They were designed to be large enough for use in line of battle tactics, hence there name. In the 18th century they ranged from fourth rate ships of 50 guns, up to first rate ships of 120 guns. Most were around 2,500-2,900 tons and had 3 masts, but others giants could reach as much as 4,609 tons. Man-o-war sails were square-rigged, except for a lateen sail on her aft-mast. The major sea-powers of that time were: (Spain, England, France, Dutch, Portugal, Russia, Ottoman Empire, Denmark-Norway and Sweden) and had an extensive use of these ships.

 

SLAVE SHIP (SLAVER)

    These were large cargo ships converted for the purpose of transporting slaves. They reached their peak use between the 17th to early 19th century. There large size and ability to handle long ocean voyages made them attractive targets for pirates. Early western slave ships would have mostly been square rigged merchant/galleon types. Later these ships became more purpose built. See Guineaman description above.

 

SLOOP

    The Sloop was fast, agile, and had a shallow draft. They usually had a speed of around 12 knots. Her size could be as large as 100 tons. She was generally rigged with a large mainsail which was attached to a spar above the mast on its foremost edge, and to a long boom below. She could sport additional sails both square and lateen-rigged. She was used mainly in the Caribbean and Atlantic. Since piracy was a significant threat in Caribbean waters, merchants sought ships that could outrun pursuers. Ironically, that same speed and maneuverability made them highly prized and even more targeted by the pirates they were designed to avoid.

 

SLOOP-OF-WAR

    In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war in the British Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. A sloop-of-war was quite different from a civilian or merchant sloop, which was a general term for a single mast vessel rigged like what would today be called a gaff cutter. In the first half of the 18th century, most naval sloops were two mast vessels, usually carrying a ketch or a snow rig. A ketch had main and mizzen masts but no foremast, while a snow had a foremast and a main mast but no mizzen. The first three mast sloops-of-war appeared during the 1740s, and from the mid-1750s on most were built with three masts. The longer decks of the multi-mast vessels also had the advantage of allowing more guns to be carried. In the 1770s, the two mast brig sloop became popular with the British Navy as it was cheaper and easier to build and for crews to sail it.

 

SNOW

    In sailing, a snow, snaw or snauw is a square rigged vessel with two masts, complemented by a snow- or trysail-mast stepped immediately abaft (behind) the main mast. The word 'snow' comes from 'snauw' which is an old Dutch word for beak; a reference to the characteristic sharp bow of the vessel. The snow evolved from the (three-masted) ship: the mizzen mast of a ship was gradually moved closer towards the mainmast, until the mizzen mast was no longer a separate mast, but was instead made fast at the main mast top. As such, in the 17th century the snow used to be sometimes classified as a three-masted vessel.

 

 

XEBEC (CHEBEC or SHEBEC)

    The xebec was favored among Barbary pirates for she was fast, stable and large. They could reach 200 tons and carried from 4 to 24 cannon. In addition she carried from 60 to 200 crewmen. The xebec had a pronounced overhanging bow and stern, and three masts which were generally lateen-rigged. In addition to sails she was rowed.

 

Information was was found using Wikipedia.

https://www.wikipedia.org/

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The Ship of the Line is much heavier than 1000 tons.

 

RN 1st rates were considerably heavier, though not the heaviest contemplated.

Victory, a relatively small 1st rate of between 98 and 104 guns was some 3500-3700 tons displacement.

The 120 gun follow ons were up to 4609 tons and 205 ft on the water line.

A 74 gun 3rd rate was around the smallest "line of battle" ships, and could be around 2500-2900 tons.

A frigate was again much smaller, but depending on armament and scantlings could range from 500 tons to well over 2000 tons. A typical large frigate (of ~1000 tun berthen) could be expected to displace some 1450 tons or more.

Chapman provides schemes for the estimation of dimensions and displacements for a set of 'common form' hulls, for Ships of the Line (3 deck and 2 deck), Frigates and other related types and "privateers", which although not uniform with earlier practice are grounded in the best features of tradition.

He gives 4035 tons for a 110 guns 3 deck of 209 feet, 3387 tons for a 94 gun two deck of 198 feet, 2835 tons for a two deck 80 gun of 188 feet, 2546 for a two deck 74 of 181 feet and 2343 tons for a 64 gun two deck ship of 177 feet.

His "frigate built" dimensions are 148 feet for a "46" of 1465 tons and 117 feet for a "28" of 728 tons (roughly comparable to "Leda" 18pdr and 28 gun 9pdr class frigates respectively).

He also had 'rules of thumb' for balanced ship designs based on intended armament, with indications of crew size required, provisions, and 'time on station' from the design principle, aimed at "privateering", but probably balanced well for 'on station' or 'on patrol' Frigates as well, as they seem to be broadly consistent with the general design practices that are apparent.

Note burthens are generally much lower, but have minimal relation to either displacement (far too low), or deadweight capacity (far too high). E.g. a "1045 tun" frigate has a deadweight capacity around 795-800 tons, and a displacement of around 1465 tons.

Thanks updated.

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Originally the brigantine was a sail and oar driven small warship used in the Mediterranean in the 13th century. It was lateen rigged on two masts and had between eight and twelve oars on each side. Its speed, maneuverability and ease of handling made it a favorite of the Mediterranean pirates. Its name is derived from the Italian word brigantino, meaning brigand.

 

You could as well remove the section about the 13th century 'small oar driven warship' because, other than its name, it has no relation to the Brigantine of later ages.

As an illustration, I present these:

2a0eu00.jpg

(In the left hand side painting, the Brigantin is the the vessel on the right)

Cheers!

 

Brigand

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You could as well remove the section about the 13th century 'small oar driven warship' because, other than its name, it has no relation to the Brigantine of later ages.

As an illustration, I present these:

2a0eu00.jpg

(In the left hand side painting, the Brigantin is the the vessel on the right)

Cheers!

 

Brigand

Updated, thanks.

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As an Asian, I'm proud to say our "chou", or junk as in foreign language, is one of the best ship developed in naval history. Many of you might know it possesses many variants for different purposes, though most weren't given a specific name.

I like the way junk sails were made, its rigging provide duo purpose sailing which enables it to sail in multiple wind directions while using only single type of sail. The battens however has its pros and cons, the additional horizontal beams give the sail more strength then single paneled ones, but these beams also brings more weight which means ships which such sails are more prone to capsize if the load or ballast weren't heavy enough.

Regarding hull designs, one of the less known facts is the development of watertight compartments. Junks have a very long history of utilizing such techniques since along the coast of east Asia we have straits with unease waters and risks of encountering typhoons, such threats forced our Chinese ancestors to come up with a better and safer preventive solution known as watertight compartments, the west weren't aware of such designs until the 20th century whereas Chinese had records of using them as early as Song Dynasty, 1119 AD.

Sad to say that junks might not be able to enter this game due to its geological background, western ships are certainly grand and powerful, but when it comes to seaworthy and sturdiness junks are my preferred options.

-Alpha

Edited by AlphaCentauri
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With detailed links in spoiler. Most of them, if not all are Wikipedia links, if you have better please change it. Also I'll probably suggest "Anchor" bbcode, if that gets implemented it would be nice to add them to this post.
 
p.s. Copy/Paste if you want to use it and ignore wrong color coding...
 
Preview:

Ship classes and their description.

Become more familiar with ship classes and their history.

Feel free to provide additional info.

BARK (BARQUE)
Before the 1700's the name was applied to any small vessel. Later it applied to a small ship having three masts. The first two being square-rigged, and the third ( aft mast ) being fore-and-aft rigged. Fast ship with shallow draft. Favorite of Caribbean pirates. Crew around max. of 90.

BRIG
Very popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries. A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. To improve maneuverability, the aft mast carries a small gaff rigged fore-and-aft sail. The brig actually developed as a variant of the brigantine. Re-rigging a brigantine with two square-rigged masts instead of one gave it greater sailing power, and was also easier for the crew to manage. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and maneuverable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. When used as small warships, they carryed about 10 to 18 guns. Due to their speed and maneuverability they were also popular among pirates, although they were rare among American and Caribbean pirates.

BRIGANTINE
In sailing, a brigantine is a two-masted vessel with foremast fully square rigged and her mainmast rigged with both a fore-and-aft mainsail (a gaff sail) and a square topsail, and possibly a topgallant sail. Its speed, maneuverability and ease of handling made it a favorite of the Mediterranean pirates. Its name is derived from the Italian word brigantino, meaning brigand. Brigandage refers to the life and practice of brigands: highway robbery and plunder, and a brigand is a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery. By the 17th century the term was adapted by Atlantic maritime nations. The word eventually was split into brig and brigantines. Each word meaning a different class of ship. The brigantine had no lateen sails but was instead square-rigged on the foremast and had a gaff-rigged mainsail with square rig above it. The main mast of a brigantine is the aft one. The brigantine was generally larger than a sloop or schooner but smaller than a brig.

CARAVEL
A small ship meant for trading. Originally lateen-rigged they later developed into square-masted ships and were used by the Spanish and Portuguese for exploration. Around 80 feet long.

CARRACK
Before the advent of the galleon, carracks were the largest ships. They often reached 1,200 tons. They were used for trading voyages to India, China, and the Americas by the Spanish and Portuguese. They were 3 masted with square sails on the fore and main masts and lateen-rigged on the mizzen. They had very high fore and aft-castles. She carried an immense amount of power and thus was able to easily fend off pirates. Only through surprise could one hope to take one of these towering giants.

CLIPPER
A very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, had a large total sail area, and could carry limited bulk freight. These ships came to be recognized for there great speed rather than cargo space. There speed was crucial to compete with the new steamships for commercial use. China clippers are the fastest commercial sailing vessels ever made. Clipper ships were mostly constructed in British and American shipyards. They sailed all over the world, primarily on the major trade routes of the era. The ships had short expected lifetimes and rarely outlasted two decades of use before they were broken up for salvage. Although they were built a century after the golden age of piracy, given their speed and maneuverability, clippers frequently mounted cannon or carronades and some were used for piracy, privateering, smuggling, and interdiction service.

CORVETTE (CORVET)
The term corvette seems to have begun with the French Navy in the 1670s, to describe a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, smaller than a frigate and larger than sloops-of-war. Most sloops and corvettes of the late 17th century were around 40 to 60 feet in length. They carried four to eight small guns on a single deck. These early corvettes grew quickly in size over the decades, and by the 1780s they reached lengths of over 100 feet. Most of these large versions had three masts, and carried about 20 guns. The British Navy did not adopt the term until the 1830s, to describe a small sixth-rate vessel somewhat larger than a sloop.

CUTTER
Cutters were widely used by several navies in the 17th and 18th centuries and were usually the smallest commissioned ships in the fleet. A cutter is a small single-masted boat, fore-and-aft rigged, with two or more headsails, usually carried on a very long bowsprit, which was sometimes as long as half the length of the boat's hull. The mast may be set farther back than on a sloop. The rig gave the cutter excellent maneuverability and they were much better at sailing to windward than a larger square rigged ship. Later larger naval cutters often had the ability to hoist two or three square-rigged sails from their mast to improve their downwind sailing performance as well. Over time the cutter grew in size to include ships of two and three masts. Pilot cutters were widely used near ports to ferry harbor pilots to the big ships. Navies used cutters for coastal patrol, customs duties, escort, carrying personnel and dispatches and for small 'cutting out' raids. As befitted their size and intended role naval cutters were lightly armed, often with between six and twelve small cannon.

DHOW
Dhows were meant to be trading ships, having a single mast which was lateen-rigged. They were from 150 to 200-ton ships. Arab pirates arming her with cannon would use these ships.

DUTCH FLUTE (FLEUT)
An early 17th century merchant ship, similar in design to a bark (barque). These were inexpensive to build, and could carry a large cargo.

EAST INDIAMAN
Designed out of the experiences gathered from long and arduous voyages to india. This class of ships were one of the largest merchant vessels of there era, having three masts and weighing 1100 to 1400 tons. Built from the early 1600's to the end of the 1700's, to transport goods between Asia and Europe. They were usually well armed with cannons to defend themselves.

FRIGATE
The Venetians called a frigate a small oared boat around 35 feet in length and around 7 feet wide. The English adopted the word for a larger ship which may have carried oars. Around 1700, the English limited the word to mean a class of warship which was only second in size to the Ship-of-the-Line (Man-O-War). Frigates were three-masted with a raised forecastle and quarterdeck. They had anywhere from 24 to 38 guns, and were faster than the ship-of-the-lines. Frigates were used for escort purposes, and sometimes to hunt pirates. Only a few pirates were ever in command of a frigate as most would flee at the sight of one.

FUSTE (FUSTA)
A favorite of Barbary Corsairs, it was a small ship with both sails and oars. It was fast, long and had a low profile.

GALIOT (GALLIOT) Mediterranean
In the 16th century, a galiot was a type of ship with oars, also known as a half-galley. The Galiot was long, and sleek with a flush deck. Then, from the 17th century forward, a ship with sails and oars. As used by the Barbary pirates against the Republic of Venice, a galiot had two masts and about 16 ranks of oars. Warships of the type typically carried between two and ten cannons of small caliber, and between 50 and 150 men. She was used by the Barbary corsairs in the Mediterranean.

GALIOT (GALLIOT) North Sea
In the 17th thru 19th century, a galiot was a type of Dutch or German trade ship, similar to a ketch, with a rounded fore and aft like a fluyt. They had nearly flat bottoms to sail in shallow waters. These ships were especially favored for coastal navigation in the North Sea and Baltic Sea.

GALLEON
Galleons were large ships meant for transporting cargo. Galleons were sluggish behemoths, not able to sail into or near the wind. The Spanish treasure fleets were made of these ships. Although they were sluggish, they weren't the easy target you would expect for they could carry heavy cannon which made a direct assault upon them difficult. She had two to three decks. Most had three masts, forward masts being square-rigged, lateen-sails on the mizzenmast, and a small square sail on her high-rising bowsprit. Some galleons sported 4 masts but these were an exception to the rule.

GALLEY
Galleys have an extremely long history, dating back to ancient times. They were used until the Russo-Swedish war of 1809. They had one deck and were mainly powered by oars. They were costly to maintain and fell into disuse. However they were still being used by the Barbary corsairs in the Mediterranean. As they were meant to carry soldiers they were used in a few large-scale raids. There was a version of the galley used in the Atlantic by the English. They had a flush deck and were propelled by both oar and sail. They were rigged like frigates. Captain Kidd made his name in one of these, the "Adventure Galley".

GUINEAMAN
A guineaman was a large cargo ship engaged in trade with the Guinea coast of Africa. Many were specially converted or purpose built for the transportation of slaves, especially newly purchased African slaves to the Americas. Their hulls were divided into holds with little headroom, so they could transport as many slaves as possible. Unhygienic conditions, dehydration, dysentery and scurvy led to high mortality rates on average 15% and up to a third of captives. Slave ships adopted quicker, more maneuverable forms to cross the Atlantic faster to increase profits, and later to evade capture by naval warships once the African slave trade was banned by the British and Americans in 1807. The guineaman's speed and size made them attractive ships to repurpose for piracy, and also for naval use after capture. The USS Nightingale(1851) and HMS Black Joke(1827) were examples of such vessels. Several well-known pirates like Blackbeard and Samuel Bellamy captured and converted them for piracy.

JUNK
The word junk derives from the Portuguese junco, which in turn came from the Javanese word djong, which means ship. The ship has a flat-bottom with no keel, flat bow, and a high stern. A junk's width is about a third of its length and she has a rudder which can be lowered or raised providing excellent steering capabilities. A junk has two or three masts with square sails, made from bamboo, rattan or grass. Contrary to belief, the junk is capable of operating in any seas as she is a very sea-worthy vessel.

KETCH
A two mast vessel with a large sail on the mainmast and a smaller mizzen. Historically the ketch was a square-rigged vessel, most commonly used as a freighter or fishing boat in northern Europe, particularly in the Baltic and North seas. During the 17th and 18th centuries, ketches were commonly used as small warships. In the latter part of the 18th century, they were largely supplanted by the brig, which differs from the ketch by having a forward mast smaller (or occasionally similar in size) than the aft mast. The ketch continued in use as a specialized vessel for carrying mortars until after the Napoleonic wars, in this application it was called a bomb ketch. In modern usage, the ketch is a fore-and-aft rigged vessel used as a yacht or pleasure craft.

LONGBOAT
Much like a rowboat except they were very long. These were carried on ships and used for coming and going to the ship. They were normally rowed but often had a removable mast and sail. Also some were armed with one or more very small cannon.

LUGGER
A vessel with a lugsail rig, normally two-masted. When they were used for smuggling or as privateers, extra sail was often added aft. These small ships were mainly used by merchants in coastal waters.

PINK (MERCHANT)
There are two classifications of Pink. The first was a small, flat-bottomed ship with a narrow stern. This ship was derived from the Italian pinco. It was used primarily in the Mediterranean as a cargo ship. In the Atlantic the word pink was used to describe any small ship with a narrow stern, having derived from the Dutch word pincke. They were generally square-rigged and used as fishing boats, merchantmen, and warships.

PINNACE
The Dutch built pinnaces during the early 17th century. They had a hull form resembling a small "race built" galleon, and were usually square rigged on three masts, or carried a similar rig on two masts, like the later "brig". Pinnaces were used as merchant vessels, privateers and small warships.

POLACCA
A polacca (or polacre) is a type of seventeenth-century sailing vessel, similar to the xebec. The name is the feminine of "Polish" in the Italian language. The polacca was frequently seen in the Mediterranean. It had three single-pole masts, often with a lateen hoisted on the foremast (which was slanted forward to accommodate the large lateen yard) and a gaff or lateen on the mizzen mast. The mainmast was square-rigged after the European style. Special polaccas were used by Murat Reis, whose ships had lateen sails in front and Fore-and-aft rig behind.
Some polacca pictures show what appears to be a ship-rigged vessel (sometimes with a lateen on the mizzen) with a galley-like hull and single-pole masts. Thus, the term "polacca" seems to refer primarily to the masting and possibly the hull type as opposed to the type of rig used for the sails.

SCHOONER
The Schooner has a narrow hull, two masts and is less than 100 tons. She is generally rigged with two large sails suspended from spars reaching from the top of the mast toward the stern. Other sails sometimes were added, including a large headsail attached to the bowsprit. She had a shallow draft which allowed her to remain in shallow coves waiting for her prey. The Schooner is very fast and large enough to carry a plentiful crew. It was a favorite among both pirates and smugglers.

SHIP OF THE LINE (MAN-O-WAR])
From the 17th century into the 19th, these ships were the "heavy-guns" of the naval fleet. At first they resembled galleons in design, but carried massive firepower with an average of 60 guns. Over the course of time, they developed into larger and heavier beasts. They were designed to be large enough for use in line of battle tactics, hence there name. In the 18th century they ranged from fourth rate ships of 50 guns, up to first rate ships of 120 guns. Most were around 2,500-2,900 tons and had 3 masts, but others giants could reach as much as 4,609 tons. Man-o-war sails were square-rigged, except for a lateen sail on her aft-mast. The major sea-powers of that time were: (Spain, England, France, Dutch, Portugal, Russia, Ottoman Empire, Denmark-Norway and Sweden) and had an extensive use of these ships.

SLAVE SHIP (SLAVER)
These were large cargo ships converted for the purpose of transporting slaves. They reached their peak use between the 17th to early 19th century. There large size and ability to handle long ocean voyages made them attractive targets for pirates. Early western slave ships would have mostly been square rigged merchant/galleon types. Later these ships became more purpose built. See Guineaman description above.

SLOOP
The Sloop was fast, agile, and had a shallow draft. They usually had a speed of around 12 knots. Her size could be as large as 100 tons. She was generally rigged with a large mainsail which was attached to a spar above the mast on its foremost edge, and to a long boom below. She could sport additional sails both square and lateen-rigged. She was used mainly in the Caribbean and Atlantic. Since piracy was a significant threat in Caribbean waters, merchants sought ships that could outrun pursuers. Ironically, that same speed and maneuverability made them highly prized and even more targeted by the pirates they were designed to avoid.

SLOOP-OF-WAR
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war in the British Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. A sloop-of-war was quite different from a civilian or merchant sloop, which was a general term for a single mast vessel rigged like what would today be called a gaff cutter. In the first half of the 18th century, most naval sloops were two mast vessels, usually carrying a ketch or a snow rig. A ketch had main and mizzen masts but no foremast, while a snow had a foremast and a main mast but no mizzen. The first three mast sloops-of-war appeared during the 1740s, and from the mid-1750s on most were built with three masts. The longer decks of the multi-mast vessels also had the advantage of allowing more guns to be carried. In the 1770s, the two mast brig sloop became popular with the British Navy as it was cheaper and easier to build and for crews to sail it.

SNOW
In sailing, a snow, snaw or snauw is a square rigged vessel with two masts, complemented by a snow- or trysail-mast stepped immediately abaft (behind) the main mast. The word 'snow' comes from 'snauw' which is an old Dutch word for beak; a reference to the characteristic sharp bow of the vessel. The snow evolved from the (three-masted) ship: the mizzen mast of a ship was gradually moved closer towards the mainmast, until the mizzen mast was no longer a separate mast, but was instead made fast at the main mast top. As such, in the 17th century the snow used to be sometimes classified as a three-masted vessel.


XEBEC (CHEBEC or SHEBEC)
The xebec was favored among Barbary pirates for she was fast, stable and large. They could reach 200 tons and carried from 4 to 24 cannon. In addition she carried from 60 to 200 crewmen. The xebec had a pronounced overhanging bow and stern, and three masts which were generally lateen-rigged. In addition to sails she was rowed.


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[center][b][size=6]Ship classes and their description.[/size][/b][/center]
[center][b][size=6][size=4]Become more familiar with ship classes and their history.[/size][/size][/b][/center]
[center][color=#0000ff][b]Feel free to provide additional info.[/b][/color][/center]

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barque][b]BARK (BARQUE)[/b][/url]
    Before the 1700's the name was applied to any small vessel. Later it applied to a small ship having three masts. The first two being square-rigged, and the third ( aft mast ) being fore-and-aft rigged. Fast ship with shallow draft. Favorite of Caribbean pirates. Crew around max. of 90.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brig][b]BRIG[/b][/url]
    Very popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries. A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. To improve maneuverability, the aft mast carries a small gaff rigged fore-and-aft sail. The brig actually developed as a variant of the brigantine. Re-rigging a brigantine with two square-rigged masts instead of one gave it greater sailing power, and was also easier for the crew to manage. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and maneuverable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. When used as small warships, they carryed about 10 to 18 guns. Due to their speed and maneuverability they were also popular among pirates, although they were rare among American and Caribbean pirates.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigantine][b]BRIGANTINE[/b][/url]
    In sailing, a brigantine is a two-masted vessel with foremast fully square rigged and her mainmast rigged with both a fore-and-aft mainsail (a gaff sail) and a square topsail, and possibly a topgallant sail. Its speed, maneuverability and ease of handling made it a favorite of the Mediterranean pirates. Its name is derived from the Italian word brigantino, meaning [u]brigand[/u]. [u]Brigandage[/u] refers to the life and practice of brigands: highway robbery and plunder, and a brigand is a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery. By the 17th century the term was adapted by Atlantic maritime nations. The word eventually was split into brig and brigantines. Each word meaning a different class of ship. The brigantine had no lateen sails but was instead square-rigged on the foremast and had a gaff-rigged mainsail with square rig above it. The main mast of a brigantine is the aft one. The brigantine was generally larger than a sloop or schooner but smaller than a brig.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravel][b]CARAVEL[/b][/url]
    A small ship meant for trading. Originally lateen-rigged they later developed into square-masted ships and were used by the Spanish and Portuguese for exploration. Around 80 feet long.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrack][b]CARRACK[/b][/url]
    Before the advent of the galleon, carracks were the largest ships. They often reached 1,200 tons. They were used for trading voyages to India, China, and the Americas by the Spanish and Portuguese. They were 3 masted with square sails on the fore and main masts and lateen-rigged on the mizzen. They had very high fore and aft-castles. She carried an immense amount of power and thus was able to easily fend off pirates. Only through surprise could one hope to take one of these towering giants.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper][b]CLIPPER[/b][/url]
    A very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, had a large total sail area, and could carry limited bulk freight. These ships came to be recognized for there great speed rather than cargo space. There speed was crucial to compete with the new steamships for commercial use. China clippers are the fastest commercial sailing vessels ever made. Clipper ships were mostly constructed in British and American shipyards. They sailed all over the world, primarily on the major trade routes of the era. The ships had short expected lifetimes and rarely outlasted two decades of use before they were broken up for salvage. Although they were built a century after the golden age of piracy, given their speed and maneuverability, clippers frequently mounted cannon or carronades and some were used for piracy, privateering, smuggling, and interdiction service.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corvette][b]CORVETTE (CORVET)[/b][/url]
    The term corvette seems to have begun with the French Navy in the 1670s, to describe a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, smaller than a frigate and larger than sloops-of-war. Most sloops and corvettes of the late 17th century were around 40 to 60 feet in length. They carried four to eight small guns on a single deck. These early corvettes grew quickly in size over the decades, and by the 1780s they reached lengths of over 100 feet. Most of these large versions had three masts, and carried about 20 guns. The British Navy did not adopt the term until the 1830s, to describe a small sixth-rate vessel somewhat larger than a sloop.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutter_(boat)][b]CUTTER[/b][/url]
    Cutters were widely used by several navies in the 17th and 18th centuries and were usually the smallest commissioned ships in the fleet. A cutter is a small single-masted boat, fore-and-aft rigged, with two or more headsails, usually carried on a very long bowsprit, which was sometimes as long as half the length of the boat's hull. The mast may be set farther back than on a sloop. The rig gave the cutter excellent maneuverability and they were much better at sailing to windward than a larger square rigged ship. Later larger naval cutters often had the ability to hoist two or three square-rigged sails from their mast to improve their downwind sailing performance as well. Over time the cutter grew in size to include ships of two and three masts. Pilot cutters were widely used near ports to ferry harbor pilots to the big ships. Navies used cutters for coastal patrol, customs duties, escort, carrying personnel and dispatches and for small 'cutting out' raids. As befitted their size and intended role naval cutters were lightly armed, often with between six and twelve small cannon.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhow][b]DHOW[/b][/url]
    Dhows were meant to be trading ships, having a single mast which was lateen-rigged. They were from 150 to 200-ton ships. Arab pirates arming her with cannon would use these ships.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluyt][b]DUTCH FLUTE (FLEUT)[/b][/url]
    An early 17th century merchant ship, similar in design to a bark (barque). These were inexpensive to build, and could carry a large cargo.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Indiaman][b]EAST INDIAMAN[/b][/url]
    Designed out of the experiences gathered from long and arduous voyages to india. This class of ships were one of the largest merchant vessels of there era, having three masts and weighing 1100 to 1400 tons. Built from the early 1600's to the end of the 1700's, to transport goods between Asia and Europe. They were usually well armed with cannons to defend themselves.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frigate][b]FRIGATE[/b][/url]
    The Venetians called a frigate a small oared boat around 35 feet in length and around 7 feet wide. The English adopted the word for a larger ship which may have carried oars. Around 1700, the English limited the word to mean a class of warship which was only second in size to the Ship-of-the-Line (Man-O-War). Frigates were three-masted with a raised forecastle and quarterdeck. They had anywhere from 24 to 38 guns, and were faster than the ship-of-the-lines. Frigates were used for escort purposes, and sometimes to hunt pirates. Only a few pirates were ever in command of a frigate as most would flee at the sight of one.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusta][b]FUSTE (FUSTA)[/b][/url]
    A favorite of Barbary Corsairs, it was a small ship with both sails and oars. It was fast, long and had a low profile.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galiot][b]GALIOT (GALLIOT) Mediterranean[/b][/url]
    In the 16th century, a galiot was a type of ship with oars, also known as a half-galley. The Galiot was long, and sleek with a flush deck. Then, from the 17th century forward, a ship with sails and oars. As used by the Barbary pirates against the Republic of Venice, a galiot had two masts and about 16 ranks of oars. Warships of the type typically carried between two and ten cannons of small caliber, and between 50 and 150 men. She was used by the Barbary corsairs in the Mediterranean.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galiot][b]GALIOT (GALLIOT) North Sea[/b][/url]
    In the 17th thru 19th century, a galiot was a type of Dutch or German trade ship, similar to a ketch, with a rounded fore and aft like a fluyt. They had nearly flat bottoms to sail in shallow waters. These ships were especially favored for coastal navigation in the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleon][b]GALLEON[/b][/url]
    Galleons were large ships meant for transporting cargo. Galleons were sluggish behemoths, not able to sail into or near the wind. The Spanish treasure fleets were made of these ships. Although they were sluggish, they weren't the easy target you would expect for they could carry heavy cannon which made a direct assault upon them difficult. She had two to three decks. Most had three masts, forward masts being square-rigged, lateen-sails on the mizzenmast, and a small square sail on her high-rising bowsprit. Some galleons sported 4 masts but these were an exception to the rule.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galley][b]GALLEY[/b][/url]
    Galleys have an extremely long history, dating back to ancient times. They were used until the Russo-Swedish war of 1809. They had one deck and were mainly powered by oars. They were costly to maintain and fell into disuse. However they were still being used by the Barbary corsairs in the Mediterranean. As they were meant to carry soldiers they were used in a few large-scale raids. There was a version of the galley used in the Atlantic by the English. They had a flush deck and were propelled by both oar and sail. They were rigged like frigates. Captain Kidd made his name in one of these, the "Adventure Galley".
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_ship][b]GUINEAMAN[/b][/url]
    A guineaman was a large cargo ship engaged in trade with the Guinea coast of Africa. Many were specially converted or purpose built for the transportation of slaves, especially newly purchased African slaves to the Americas. Their hulls were divided into holds with little headroom, so they could transport as many slaves as possible. Unhygienic conditions, dehydration, dysentery and scurvy led to high mortality rates on average 15% and up to a third of captives. Slave ships adopted quicker, more maneuverable forms to cross the Atlantic faster to increase profits, and later to evade capture by naval warships once the African slave trade was banned by the British and Americans in 1807. The guineaman's speed and size made them attractive ships to repurpose for piracy, and also for naval use after capture. The USS Nightingale(1851) and HMS Black Joke(1827) were examples of such vessels. Several well-known pirates like Blackbeard and Samuel Bellamy captured and converted them for piracy.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_(ship)][b]JUNK[/b][/url]
    The word junk derives from the Portuguese junco, which in turn came from the Javanese word djong, which means ship. The ship has a flat-bottom with no keel, flat bow, and a high stern. A junk's width is about a third of its length and she has a rudder which can be lowered or raised providing excellent steering capabilities. A junk has two or three masts with square sails, made from bamboo, rattan or grass. Contrary to belief, the junk is capable of operating in any seas as she is a very sea-worthy vessel.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketch][b]KETCH[/b][/url]
    A two mast vessel with a large sail on the mainmast and a smaller mizzen. Historically the ketch was a square-rigged vessel, most commonly used as a freighter or fishing boat in northern Europe, particularly in the Baltic and North seas. During the 17th and 18th centuries, ketches were commonly used as small warships. In the latter part of the 18th century, they were largely supplanted by the brig, which differs from the ketch by having a forward mast smaller (or occasionally similar in size) than the aft mast. The ketch continued in use as a specialized vessel for carrying mortars until after the Napoleonic wars, in this application it was called a bomb ketch. In modern usage, the ketch is a fore-and-aft rigged vessel used as a yacht or pleasure craft.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longboat][b]LONGBOAT[/b][/url]
    Much like a rowboat except they were very long. These were carried on ships and used for coming and going to the ship. They were normally rowed but often had a removable mast and sail. Also some were armed with one or more very small cannon.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugger][b]LUGGER[/b][/url]
    A vessel with a lugsail rig, normally two-masted. When they were used for smuggling or as privateers, extra sail was often added aft. These small ships were mainly used by merchants in coastal waters.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_(ship)][b]PINK (MERCHANT)[/b][/url]
    There are two classifications of Pink. The first was a small, flat-bottomed ship with a narrow stern. This ship was derived from the Italian pinco. It was used primarily in the Mediterranean as a cargo ship. In the Atlantic the word pink was used to describe any small ship with a narrow stern, having derived from the Dutch word pincke. They were generally square-rigged and used as fishing boats, merchantmen, and warships.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full-rigged_pinnace][b]PINNACE[/b][/url]
    The Dutch built pinnaces during the early 17th century. They had a hull form resembling a small "race built" galleon, and were usually square rigged on three masts, or carried a similar rig on two masts, like the later "brig". Pinnaces were used as merchant vessels, privateers and small warships.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polacca][b]POLACCA[/b][/url]
    A polacca (or polacre) is a type of seventeenth-century sailing vessel, similar to the xebec. The name is the feminine of "Polish" in the Italian language. The polacca was frequently seen in the Mediterranean. It had three single-pole masts, often with a lateen hoisted on the foremast (which was slanted forward to accommodate the large lateen yard) and a gaff or lateen on the mizzen mast. The mainmast was square-rigged after the European style. Special polaccas were used by Murat Reis, whose ships had lateen sails in front and Fore-and-aft rig behind.
Some polacca pictures show what appears to be a ship-rigged vessel (sometimes with a lateen on the mizzen) with a galley-like hull and single-pole masts. Thus, the term "polacca" seems to refer primarily to the masting and possibly the hull type as opposed to the type of rig used for the sails.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schooner][b]SCHOONER[/b][/url]
    The Schooner has a narrow hull, two masts and is less than 100 tons. She is generally rigged with two large sails suspended from spars reaching from the top of the mast toward the stern. Other sails sometimes were added, including a large headsail attached to the bowsprit. She had a shallow draft which allowed her to remain in shallow coves waiting for her prey. The Schooner is very fast and large enough to carry a plentiful crew. It was a favorite among both pirates and smugglers.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_the_line][b]SHIP OF THE LINE[/url] ([url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-of-war]MAN-O-WAR[/url]])[/b]
    From the 17th century into the 19th, these ships were the "heavy-guns" of the naval fleet. At first they resembled galleons in design, but carried massive firepower with an average of 60 guns. Over the course of time, they developed into larger and heavier beasts. They were designed to be large enough for use in line of battle tactics, hence there name. In the 18th century they ranged from fourth rate ships of 50 guns, up to first rate ships of 120 guns. Most were around 2,500-2,900 tons and had 3 masts, but others giants could reach as much as 4,609 tons. Man-o-war sails were square-rigged, except for a lateen sail on her aft-mast. The major sea-powers of that time were: (Spain, England, France, Dutch, Portugal, Russia, Ottoman Empire, Denmark-Norway and Sweden) and had an extensive use of these ships.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_ship][b]SLAVE SHIP (SLAVER)[/b][/url]
    These were large cargo ships converted for the purpose of transporting slaves. They reached their peak use between the 17th to early 19th century. There large size and ability to handle long ocean voyages made them attractive targets for pirates. Early western slave ships would have mostly been square rigged merchant/galleon types. Later these ships became more purpose built. See Guineaman description above.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloop][b]SLOOP[/b][/url]
    The Sloop was fast, agile, and had a shallow draft. They usually had a speed of around 12 knots. Her size could be as large as 100 tons. She was generally rigged with a large mainsail which was attached to a spar above the mast on its foremost edge, and to a long boom below. She could sport additional sails both square and lateen-rigged. She was used mainly in the Caribbean and Atlantic. Since piracy was a significant threat in Caribbean waters, merchants sought ships that could outrun pursuers. Ironically, that same speed and maneuverability made them highly prized and even more targeted by the pirates they were designed to avoid.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloop-of-war][b]SLOOP-OF-WAR[/b][/url]
    In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war in the British Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. A sloop-of-war was quite different from a civilian or merchant sloop, which was a general term for a single mast vessel rigged like what would today be called a gaff cutter. In the first half of the 18th century, most naval sloops were two mast vessels, usually carrying a ketch or a snow rig. A ketch had main and mizzen masts but no foremast, while a snow had a foremast and a main mast but no mizzen. The first three mast sloops-of-war appeared during the 1740s, and from the mid-1750s on most were built with three masts. The longer decks of the multi-mast vessels also had the advantage of allowing more guns to be carried. In the 1770s, the two mast brig sloop became popular with the British Navy as it was cheaper and easier to build and for crews to sail it.
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_(ship)][b]SNOW[/b][/url]
    In sailing, a snow, snaw or snauw is a square rigged vessel with two masts, complemented by a snow- or trysail-mast stepped immediately abaft (behind) the main mast. The word 'snow' comes from 'snauw' which is an old Dutch word for beak; a reference to the characteristic sharp bow of the vessel. The snow evolved from the (three-masted) ship: the mizzen mast of a ship was gradually moved closer towards the mainmast, until the mizzen mast was no longer a separate mast, but was instead made fast at the main mast top. As such, in the 17th century the snow used to be sometimes classified as a three-masted vessel.
 
 
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xebec][b]XEBEC (CHEBEC or SHEBEC)[/b][/url]
    The xebec was favored among Barbary pirates for she was fast, stable and large. They could reach 200 tons and carried from 4 to 24 cannon. In addition she carried from 60 to 200 crewmen. The xebec had a pronounced overhanging bow and stern, and three masts which were generally lateen-rigged. In addition to sails she was rowed.

 

edit: Added preview...

Edited by uldo
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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

As I cant find a place for posting Artillery related data, here you have one that may be useful:

 

8HoRhkq.jpg

The carriage weight can be assumed the same for all guns as the size differences are very little.

 

Shot elevation is measured in degrees from the horizontal plane. Maximum efective range is given.

 

Most common guns for all fleets were those designated as 24 pounds.

 

A remark:

 

CORRECTED TABLE.

Please note that the density difference can be solved by taking into account the Bore-Ball allowed clearence.

Edited by IonAguirre
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  • 4 weeks later...

"DUTCH FLUTE (FLEUT)"

 

It's fluyt, in old spelling. Fluit in modern spelling. :)

It also seems to be :

- "fluijt" in traditional spelling

- in english, "fluyt", "fluit" or "flute"

- and in french "flûte"...  :D

I guess everybody understands "Flute". It seems to be the more international word for... that kind of ship.

 

Source :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluyt

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flûte_(bateau)

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It also seems to be :

- "fluijt" in traditional spelling

- in english, "fluyt", "fluit" or "flute"

- and in french "flûte"...  :D

I guess everybody understands "Flute". It seems to be the more international word for... that kind of ship.

 

Source :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluyt

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flûte_(bateau)

I think his point was that the parenthesis should be changed from fleut?!? to fluyt.

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