Composite ship

Composite ship

The technique of composite ship construction (wooden planking over a wrought iron frame) emerged in the mid-19th century as the final stage in the evolution of fast commercial sailing ships.

Construction of wrought iron hulled vessels had begun in the 1820s and was a mature technology by the time of the launch of the SS Great Britain in 1843. However iron hulls could not be sheathed with copper alloy (due to bimetallic corrosion) and so would become festooned with drag-inducing weed during long voyages in the tropics.

The wooden planking of a composite ship allowed the copper sheathing essential for fast ocean crossings under sail while the iron frame made the ship relatively immune from hogging and sagging, and took up less interior space than wooden framing.

The brief reign of composite clippers as the fastest mode of transport between Europe and Asia was brought to a close by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1857 and ongoing improvement in the performance of steam ships.

Today only four ships of this type survive, in various states of preservation or decay.

  • Ambassador (1869), Tea Clipper, Beached skeleton, Estancia San Gregorio, Chile[1]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Seidel, Guido. "Last port: ULTIMO PUERTO DE AMARRE - AMBASSADOR" (in Spanish). HISTARMAR - Historia y Arqueologia Marítima. http://www.histarmar.com.ar/InfHistorica/Last%20Port%20of%20Call/Ambassador.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-23. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Composite ship — Composite Com*pos ite (?; 277), a. [L. compositus made up of parts, p. p. of componere. See {Compound}, v. t., and cf. {Compost}.] 1. Made up of distinct parts or elements; compounded; as, a composite language. [1913 Webster] Happiness, like air… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Composite — Com*pos ite (?; 277), a. [L. compositus made up of parts, p. p. of componere. See {Compound}, v. t., and cf. {Compost}.] 1. Made up of distinct parts or elements; compounded; as, a composite language. [1913 Webster] Happiness, like air and water …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Composite carriage — Composite Com*pos ite (?; 277), a. [L. compositus made up of parts, p. p. of componere. See {Compound}, v. t., and cf. {Compost}.] 1. Made up of distinct parts or elements; compounded; as, a composite language. [1913 Webster] Happiness, like air… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Composite number — Composite Com*pos ite (?; 277), a. [L. compositus made up of parts, p. p. of componere. See {Compound}, v. t., and cf. {Compost}.] 1. Made up of distinct parts or elements; compounded; as, a composite language. [1913 Webster] Happiness, like air… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Composite photograph — Composite Com*pos ite (?; 277), a. [L. compositus made up of parts, p. p. of componere. See {Compound}, v. t., and cf. {Compost}.] 1. Made up of distinct parts or elements; compounded; as, a composite language. [1913 Webster] Happiness, like air… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Composite portrait — Composite Com*pos ite (?; 277), a. [L. compositus made up of parts, p. p. of componere. See {Compound}, v. t., and cf. {Compost}.] 1. Made up of distinct parts or elements; compounded; as, a composite language. [1913 Webster] Happiness, like air… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Composite sailing — Composite Com*pos ite (?; 277), a. [L. compositus made up of parts, p. p. of componere. See {Compound}, v. t., and cf. {Compost}.] 1. Made up of distinct parts or elements; compounded; as, a composite language. [1913 Webster] Happiness, like air… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Composite Superman — Composite Superman, from World s Finest Comics #283, 1982. Art by Rich Buckler and Frank Giacoia. Publication information …   Wikipedia

  • Composite aircraft — can also refer to aircraft made using composite materials. A composite aircraft is made up of multiple component craft. It takes off and flies initially as a single aircraft, with the components able to separate in flight and continue as… …   Wikipedia

  • Composite Unit Training Exercise — COMPTUEX, or Composite Training Unit Exercise, is a rehearsal each US Navy Carrier Strike Group performs before departing for deployment. Each ship and aircraft in the battle group trains in its speciality, COMPTUEX brings ships together to… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”