Currently, a ship is called a warship. Tankers, bulk carriers, bulk carriers, passenger liners, container ships, icebreakers and other representatives of the technical fleet of civil or merchant fleets are not included in this category. But once upon a time, at the dawn of shipping, when humanity was still filling the white spaces on sailing directions with the vague outlines of new islands and even continents, any sailing ship was considered a ship. Each of them had guns on board, and the crew consisted of desperate young men who were ready to do anything for the sake of profit and the romance of distant travels. Then, in these troubled centuries, there was a division into types of ships. The list, taking into account modern additions, would be very long, so it is worth focusing on sailboats. Well, maybe we can add some rowing ships.

Galleys

Getting into them is an unenviable lot. In ancient times, such punishment awaited inveterate criminals. And in Ancient Egypt, both in Fincia and in Hellas they were already there. Over time, other types of ships appeared, but galleys were used until the Middle Ages. The main driving force was those same convicts, but they were sometimes assisted by sails, straight or triangular, mounted on two or three masts. By modern standards, these ships were not large, their displacement was only 30-70 tons, and their length rarely exceeded 30 meters, but in those distant times the size of the ships was not gigantic at all. The rowers sat in rows, according to historians, in no more than three horizontal tiers. The armament of galleys consists of ballistae and bow rams; in later centuries, these weapons were supplemented by artillery. The progress, that is, the speed of movement, was controlled by the overseers, setting the rhythm with special tambourines, and, if necessary, with a whip.

Barki

So, a barque (the name of the species comes from the Flemish word “bark”) is a ship with a number of masts from three to five. All its sails are straight, with the exception of the mizzen (stern mast) rigging. Barks are quite large vessels, for example, “Kruzenshtern” has a length of about 115 meters, a width of 14 m, and a crew of 70 people. Since it was built in 1926, when steam engines were already widespread, its design also includes auxiliary power plant with a power of almost one and a half thousand kilowatts, loaded at two constant steps. The speed of the vessel even today does not seem low; under sail, the speed of this barque reaches 17 knots. The purpose of the type, in general, was common for the merchant fleet of the 19th century - delivery of mixed cargo, mail and passengers along sea lines.

Brigantine raises sails

In fact, the same barques, but with two masts, are called brigantines. All differ in their purpose and navigability. Brigantines stand out for their speed and lightness. The sailing rig is mixed, with straight sails on the foresail (front mast) and oblique sails on the mainsail. Favorite ship of pirates of all seas. Historical sources mention brigantines with the so-called “Bermuda mainsail”, that is, a triangular sail stretched between the luff line and the luff, but none of the surviving representatives of the species can boast of it. However, these nuances are of interest only to specialists.

Frigates

As the fleet developed, some types of warships appeared, others disappeared, and still others acquired a different meaning. An example would be a frigate. This concept survived later types such as ironclads, dreadnoughts and even battleships. True, a modern frigate roughly corresponds to the Soviet concept of a large anti-submarine ship, but it sounds shorter and somehow more beautiful. In its original sense, it means a three-masted ship with one artillery deck for 20-30 guns. To the word "frigate" starting with XVII century for a long time they added the adjective “Dunkirk”, which meant predominant use in a separate zone of the naval theater of operations adjacent to the Pas-de-Calais. This type was distinguished by its speed. Then, as the range of autonomy increased, they began to be called simply frigates. Displacement is average for that time, approximately. The most famous Russian frigate was called "Pallada", on which a glorious expedition to the shores was undertaken in 1855 East Asia under the command of Admiral E.V. Putyatin.

Caravels

“She passed like a caravel...” is sung in a famous pop song. It's not harmful to study the species sailing ships, before composing lyrics for future hits. The compliment turned out to be somewhat ambiguous. Not every girl wants to be compared to a lifting, large and rather heavy vessel. In addition, the caravel’s nose is raised high, which can also be seen as an undesirable hint.

However, in general this type certainly has good seaworthiness. It is most famous for the fact that Columbus made his expedition to the shores of the New World on three caravels (“Santa Maria”, “Pinta” and “Nina”). Externally, they can be distinguished by the mentioned raised tanks (bow superstructures), as well as by sailing equipment. There are three masts, a foresail with straight sails, and the rest with lateen (oblique) sails.

Purpose: long-distance sea and transoceanic voyages.

Morphologically derived from the word “caravel” Russian word"ship". It gave the name to the famous French passenger airliner, very beautiful.

Clippers

All types of ships are created for fast sailing and are not always remembered, but there are exceptions. Someone will say the word “cruiser”, and immediately everyone around will think something - some “Aurora”, others “Varyag”. Regarding clippers, there is only one option - “Cutty Sark”. This ship with a long and narrow hull went down in history for several reasons, but its main and most important quality was speed. Delivering tea from China, quickly bringing mail to distant colonies and carrying out especially delicate orders from the queen was the lot of clipper ships and their crews. And these ships carried out their work until the advent of steamships, and in some cases even later.

Galleons

Looking through the ancient types of warships, one cannot help but recall the Great Armada, which competed with the British fleet in the 16th century. The main unit of this formidable force was the Spanish galleon. No sailing ship of that time could compare with it in perfection. At its core, this is an improved caravel, with a reduced tank superstructure (that same “raised nose” has practically disappeared) and an elongated hull. As a result, ancient Spanish shipbuilders achieved increased stability, reduced wave resistance and, as a result, increased speed. Maneuverability has also improved. Other types of military ships XVI the centuries looked shorter and too tall next to the galleon (this was a drawback, such a target is easier to hit). The outline of the poop (stern superstructure) acquired a rectangular shape, and the crew’s conditions became more comfortable. It was on galleons that the first latrines (latrines) appeared, hence the origin of this word.

The displacement of these “16th century battleships” ranged from 500 to 2 thousand tons. Finally, they were very beautiful, they were decorated with skillful carvings, and the nose was crowned with a majestic sculpture.

Schooners

There are types large ships, which have become “workhorses” designed to transport a wide variety of cargo. Schooners occupy a special place among them. These are multi-masted vessels, distinguished by the fact that at least two of their rigs are oblique. They are topsail, staysail, Bermuda or gaff, depending on which masts are equipped with oblique sails. It should be taken into account that the line between a two-masted topsail or topsail schooner and a brigantine is very arbitrary. This type has been known since the 17th century. It reached its greatest popularity in the American merchant fleet, in particular Wolf Larsen, the character of Jack London, and his crew hunt on a schooner. Compared to it, other types of ships are more difficult to control (According to J. London, this process is accessible even to a lone sailor). Most often, schooners were two- and three-masted, but there are cases when the equipment was much more numerous. A kind of record was set in 1902, when a ship with seven masts (Thomas Double Lawson, Quincy Shipyard) was launched.

Other types of ships

Photos of sailboats arriving at the international regatta from all over the world are published in newspapers, magazines and on websites. Such a parade is always an event; the beauty of these ships is incomparable. Barques, brigantines, corvettes, frigates, clippers, ketches, and yachts represent all types of ships that, fortunately, have survived to this day. This spectacle distracts from everyday life and takes the viewer to bygone centuries, full of adventure and romance of distant travels. A real sailor must master the art of sailing navigation, as they believe in many countries, including ours. Having climbed up the shrouds, unfurled the sails and breathed in the free wind of the sea, you can take your places at the modern control panels of dry cargo ships, bulk tankers and cruise ships. You can safely trust such a sailor with the fate of the cargo and the lives of passengers; he will not let you down.

A mast is a structure that stands vertically on a ship and is supported by shrouds. It is a component of the sailing equipment of yachts and ships (sailboats). There are ships with straight and oblique types of sails. There are the following ships with 3 letter oblique sails:

  • Iol is a relatively small two-masted ship with oblique sails.
  • A brigantine is a two-masted ship with a slanting sail.
  • A ketch is a sailing vessel with two masts with slanting sails.

Types of a two-masted sailing ship with oblique sails

  1. Iol is an oblique type of sailing weapon. Thus, a two-masted ship is equipped with a mainmast located in the front part of the ship and a mizzen mast, which is located in the rear part. The mizzen area of ​​the total sailing equipment of the ship is equal to 8-10%. Until a certain time, this type of ship was used in the North Sea, but it was not necessarily equipped with an ice.
  2. A ketch is a type of two-masted sailboat. This type of vessel also has a mainmast and a mizzenmast. To the question of how to distinguish an iol from a ketch, the answer is quite easy to give. In a ketch, the head of the rudder stock is located behind the mizzenmast. If the vessel is equipped with a ketch, the area of ​​the rear mast must be at least 15% of the area of ​​the ship. The same name is borne by a sailing ship, which began to be armed with a ketch in the 19th century. According to certain characteristics, a characteristic is added to the name, for example, Baltic ketch.
  3. A brigantine is a two-masted ship that is armed with mixed sailing equipment, that is, straight sails are located on the former part of the ship, and oblique sails are located on the rear. Interestingly, from the very beginning, brigantines were propelled by oars. In the 16th-19th centuries, two-masted sailing ships were used by pirates and robbers, hence the name - brigantine, translated from Italian, meaning “pirate”. The brigantine was armed with no less than twenty cannons.

Today, brigantines are equipped with a foremast and a mainmast with oblique sails.

What are the masts of a two-masted sailing ship?

In ancient times, masts were made from solid wood, which was installed as a post and attached to a deck socket. The mast was supported by guy wires - stays and shrouds.

Naturally, with an increase in the number of sails, the mast should be more complex. So, at the time of the invention of the heat engine, its shape began to resemble a tripod, an openwork or hollow metal tower. It is important to know that the top of the mast is called the top, and the bottom is called the spur. The part connecting the mast to the base of the ship was called the lower mast. Since ancient masts were made from a whole tree trunk, they were called single-staff masts.

To build the mast, fir, pine, and other resinous woods were often used. Preference was given to these breeds due to their lightness.

Of course, today on sailing ships (including sailing yachts) wood is no longer used to build the mast. The same lightweight but artificial materials are used. For example, plastics, metals with hollow structure, etc.

When starting out in the shipping business, there are a number of factors you should pay attention to. First you need to contact maritime dictionary, for even if you go with the captain, you will want to understand the commands he gives. So, in the first stages this will be enough. If you rent a yacht for a party or romantic walk, you should remember that in the event of a disaster, navigational knowledge will also come in handy.

papyrus boat

An ancient Egyptian ship made of papyrus, one of the most ancient in the world.

At first it was just a papyrus raft, but by about 3500 BC. e. it was already a ship. It was used almost exclusively for sailing on the Nile. Its bow and stern were specially raised to make it easier to drag over shallows. But, having provided for the possibility of raising the bow and stern even higher with the help of cables, the Egyptians eventually began to go to sea on these ships.

Egyptian sailboats were built by tying together papyrus bundles, with the thickest of them placed on the outside. The sail was square, linen or papyrus. It was supported by two yards, connected into one long one, which was attached to a two-legged mast. When moving down the Nile, the wind was always headwind, and when moving up the current had to be overcome, so the sail was useful. Rafts and vessels of this type are used in East Africa, V Persian Gulf and in South America to this day.

Thor Heyerdahl's expeditions on the papyrus boats "Ra" (1969) and "Ra-2" (1970) showed that papyrus can withstand two months of sailing at sea. True, “Ra” sank earlier, but this was due to high seas and the fact that the crew did not tighten the gear that controlled the bend of the stern. On the Ra-2, the stern was pulled up quite high from the very beginning of the voyage. "Ra-2" sailed from Safi and two months later, having crossed Atlantic Ocean, reached Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados. Structurally, “Ra-2” was built from short bundles of papyrus. Long strands absorb water much less. "Ra-2" was built by the Bolivian Aymara Indians living on Lake Titicaca. Since ancient times, they still sail on such reed ships, calling them totoras.


Papyrus boat "Ra-II" (Kon-Tiki Museum, Oslo, Norway)

Sunny Egyptian boats

Two full-size rowing ships, sealed in hiding places at the foot of the Cheops pyramid more than 4.5 thousand years ago (about 2550 BC).


First rook

In May 1954, during the removal of stone fragments from the area near the Cheops pyramid, a hermetically sealed triangular underground chamber was discovered. Its ceiling was formed by 40 heavy limestone slabs. After the northernmost slabs, on which the cartouche of Pharaoh Djedefre, the son of Cheops, was depicted, were raised, a large wooden boat, disassembled into 1224 parts, was found in the pit.

The royal boat was made of Lebanese cedar and was 43.3 m long and 5.6 m wide. The low draft (only 1.5 m) allowed her to float along the river. There were 2 cabins on the boat: in the middle of the hull, approximately 9 m, and on the bow. The boat moved with the help of 10 pairs of oars. A small number of parts were made from Egyptian acacia, which involves repairing broken parts.

The assembly process lasted 10 years, only wooden stakes and edges were used, no nails or metal devices. The assembled boat was placed in a special hangar in 1971 - the Solar Boat Museum in Giza (English), not far from its burial place.

The boat retains traces of its use (river silt on the ropes): perhaps the body of Khufu was transported on it from Memphis to Giza, or the pharaoh used the ship to visit temples along the Nile banks. “Solar boats” also had a symbolic meaning: in the afterlife The pharaoh could swim in it across the heavenly surface together with the sun god Ra.

Second rook

The existence of a second chamber next to the first became known back in the 1950s. The Egyptian Society for Antiquities Research decided not to open it. In 1987, using an underground radar developed jointly with the National geographical society, a camera study was conducted. It showed the presence of a second boat, smaller in size and in much worse preservation.

In 2008, Waseda University allocated $10 million to excavate the second dismantled boat. In 2011, fragments of the ship began to be brought to the surface. It is assumed that after restoration, the second boat will replace the first in the museum near the pyramid, and the first will take a place in the exhibition of the Great Egyptian Museum.

Drakkar

(Norwegian Drakkar, from the Old Scandinavian Drage - “dragon” and Kar - “ship”, literally “dragon ship”) - this is how today it is customary to call a wooden Viking ship, long and narrow, with its bow and stern raised high. Hence another name for such a vessel - “ long ship"(Langskip). It is generally accepted that a drakkar is a “big long ship.” In Europe it is also called Draka/Dreka. The spelling of a word may vary depending on the language.

Oseberg ship, bow (Museum of Drakkars, Oslo).


“Overseas Guests”, Nicholas Roerich, 1901, Tretyakov Gallery.

Ship

Large warships, or all ships in general, were historically called ships.

Currently, a common division is: the ship is military, the ship is civilian.

Ships of ranks 1, 2, 3 and 4

In the days of the sailing fleet, ships were divided into ranks according to the number of guns mounted on them and/or their displacement.

In the overwhelming majority of cases, the ships were wooden sailing ships and carried about 40-100 different guns.

Battleship

In the days of the sailing fleet, the largest and most armed ships were called linear, which were created specifically for linear combat and capable of withstanding any enemy ships in a firefight.

They often had more than a hundred guns.

Frigate

Initially, a frigate was a sailing ship, usually a three-masted one.

It differed from battleships in its smaller size and fewer guns on board (about 20-45).

Frigates could operate both as part of linear fleets and independently.


A fifth-rate frigate with one deck and an open battery behind the bulwarks. XVII-XVIII centuries


"Nadezhda" is a three-masted training ship (a ship with full sailing rigs, listed as a frigate in the register).

Currently it belongs to the Federal State Unitary Enterprise of the Far Eastern Basin Branch "Rosmorport". IMO 8811986, call sign UABA.

Fifth sailing training ship type "Friendship".

Karakka

(Italian: Carassa, Spanish: Carraca) - a large sailing ship of the 15th-16th centuries, common throughout Europe. It was distinguished by exceptionally good seaworthiness for those times, which is associated with the active use of karakkas for sailing in the oceans during the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries.


Karakka. Detail from Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s painting “The Fall of Icarus.” 1558


Modern copy of Magellan's carrack "Victoria"

Corvette

Historically, a corvette was a three-masted sailing ship, inferior in size and armament to frigates, and carrying about 15-30 guns.

Typically used for reconnaissance or courier service.


French steam corvette Dupleix (1856-1887)

Shnyava

Shnyavs are relatively small two-masted ships carrying 10-20 guns. They had straight sails and a bowsprit, jib and jib. Were distributed in northern countries in the XVII-XIX centuries.

Schnau-Takelage, "Architectura Navalis Mercatoria", 1768

Brig

A two-masted ship with square sails on the foremast and mainmast and one oblique gaff sail on the mainsail


Brig Endymion

Brigantine (schooner-brig)

(Italian brigantino - schooner-brig, brigantina - mizzen) - a two-masted sailing vessel with a mixed sailing rig - straight sails on the front mast (foremast) and with slanting sails on the rear (mainmast). Initially, brigantines were equipped with oars.

Brigantine Asgard II (Ireland)

Barquentine (barque schooner)

A three- to five-mast (sometimes six-mast) sea sailing vessel with slanting sails on all masts except the bow (foremast), which carries straight sails.


Barquentine "Mercator"


Barquentine "Sirius", after decommissioning, converted into the "Kronverk" restaurant, Leningrad, Kronverksky Strait, 1984.

Galleon

(Spanish galeón, also galion, from French galion) - a large multi-deck sailing ship of the 16th-18th centuries with fairly strong artillery weapons, used as a military and commercial ship. The main impetus for its creation was the emergence of constant transport between Europe and the American colonies. Galleons gained the greatest fame as ships carrying Spanish treasures and in the battle of the Invincible Armada, which took place in 1588.


Dutch galleon of the early 17th century


Galleon "Neptune" in Genoa

Sloop

A rather vague term, originally denoting a sailing ship, inferior in size and armament to frigates.

Also, the word “sloop” currently denotes a type of sailing rig for ships with one mast.


The sloop Beagle (center) in Owen Stanley's 1841 watercolor on her third voyage off the coast of Australia.


USS Constellation (USA)


Sloop "Vostok" - sailing sloop of war, ship of the 1st Russian Antarctic round the world expedition 1819-1821 under the command of F.F. Bellingshausen, who discovered Antarctica (the expedition also included the Mirny sloop).

Schooner

Schooners are ships with slanting sails.

Two-masted topsail gaff schooner of the French fleet "Etoile" (Étoile)

Three-masted gaff schooner Linden, Mariehamn, Åland Islands.

Barque

(Dutch bark) - a large sailing ship with straight sails on all masts, except for the stern (mizzen mast), which carries a slanting sailing equipment.

In other words, all the masts of the barque, with the exception of the last one, have only yards from the transverse spar, while the last mast has no yards.

The number of masts on a barque is three or more (two-masted sailing ships with similar weapons are called brigantines).

"Pallada" is a three-masted training ship (a vessel with full sailing rig), owned by the Far Eastern State Technical Fisheries University (Vladivostok).

Built in Poland at the Gdansk shipyard in 1989. The flag was raised on July 4, 1989.

Named in honor of the frigate "Pallada" of the Russian navy, which in 1852-1855, under the command of Captain I. S. Unkovsky, sailed with the diplomatic mission of Vice Admiral E. V. Putyatin from Kronstadt through the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific Oceans to the shores of Japan. The writer I. A. Goncharov took part in this voyage.


Barque "Gorkh Fok" (1948-2003 "Comrade"), built in 1933.

"Kruzenshtern" is a four-masted barque, a Russian training sailing vessel. Built in 1925-1926 at the shipyard of J. Tecklenborg in Gestemünde near Bremerhaven (Germany), when launched it was named Padua, in 1946 it became the property of the USSR due to reparations and renamed in honor of the famous Russian navigator Admiral Ivan Fedorovich Krusenstern. The vessel's home port is Kaliningrad. The ship made numerous transatlantic and round-the-world expeditions.


"Kobenhavn" (Danish: København, Copenhagen) is the last five-masted barque, built in 1921 by the Scottish shipyard Ramage and Ferguson, commissioned by the Danish East Asia Company after the First World War in Copenhagen.

Clipper

A sailing or sail-screw ship characterized by high speed.


"Cutty Sark" (Scottish Cutty Sark) is one of the most famous and the only tea clipper that survived into the 21st century. It was built in 1869. Since the mid-20th century, it has been a museum ship and is in dry dock in Greenwich (UK).

The ship was seriously damaged during a fire on May 21, 2007. The re-opening after restoration took place in April 2012.

Caravel

A type of sailing ship common in Europe, especially in Portugal and Spain, in the second half of the 15th - early 17th centuries. One of the first and most famous type of ships with which the Age of Great Geographical Discovery began.

The image of a caravel is usually represented by a two- or three-masted ship with an oblique lateen sail (caravel-latina). Although caravels often used direct sails (caravel redonda).

Thanks to its poetic name, the Caravel is associated with all medieval ocean voyages and discoveries of new lands, thereby undeservedly displacing the carracks, which were more suitable for sea voyages and more common at that time. Although caravels did participate in ocean voyages, this was during the early stages of the Age of Discovery, during the first Portuguese expeditions along the West African coast. Later, caravels played a secondary role in squadrons consisting of carracks, including in the campaigns of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Ferdinand Magellan.

Two-masted caravel-latina

Luger

Lugers are small three-masted ships of the first half of the 19th century, armed with 8–14 cannons and intended for messenger service.


Three-masted lugger "Corentin" with folding bowsprit and boom