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History of Full Rigged Ships
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This History of Full Rigged Ships in America describes the development of sailing ships, such as Schooners and Clippers, from the beginning of the 18th century onwards. Today, they are commonly referred to as tall ships.
Origins and Rigging
At the peak of their influence, full rigged ships dominated the seas and inland waterways, transporting much of the world's commerce.
The era of Great Tall Ships may have begun with the invention of the schooner rig in 1713-14, although some marine historians believe the Dutch were using a schooner rig in the early 1500s. The name Schooner may derive from an obscure verb "to scoon", which means to skim across the water. "The earliest mention of the word schooner in the written record is from Boston in 1716: "James Manson ye Skooner Mayflower from North Carolina." If earlier Dutch ships are not considered, surviving correspondence establishes that Schooner Captain Andrew Robinson (whose first name may have been Tyler) of Gloucester, Massachusetts designed and built the first schooner around 1714.
Compared to the square rig, the schooner rig handled better in variable coastal winds, had a shallow draft that was well suited to shallow coastal waters, and the number of crewmen necessary to sail the ship was reduced. Sailing speed and efficiency had increased and the cost of doing business had decreased. These characteristics not only favored the widespread use of schooners in maritime commerce, they also made superb blockade runners and privateers. Several early racing yachts were schooners as well (, ). A schooner must have at least two masts and in the basic rig, the smaller sail is on the foremast while the larger mast has a gaff rig. became more complicated as vessel size and number of masts increased. When a square topsail ('topsail schooner') is present on the foremast and occasionally a square fore-course (together with the gaff foresail), we have the famous 'topsail schooner' that has been immortalized in many sea chantys. Schooners quickly became very popular in the United States, England, France, Russia, Denmark, Sweden and Germany.
Schooners were originally only small ships with two masts and weighing 50 to 100 tons. Three masted schooners began to make their appearance in the 19th century and by the 1890s, four and five masted schooners of considerable size had been built worldwide. Medium size and large schooners made the journey from America's coastal ports to the West Indies and back. They also crossed the Atlantic and sailed to Hawaii. Maritime commerce was booming both on the oceans and inland waterways. By the 1890s in North America, over 2,000 schooners were sailing the Great Lakes. Schooners were fast and cost efficient, crews were half that needed for a square rigged vessel.
The term full-rigged ship refers to any sailing vessel of considerable size, and encompasses a diverse number of rigs. Barque, Barquentine, Brig, Brigantine, Clipper, Hermaphrodite Brig, Jackass-barque, Ketch, Sloop, Square rig, and Yawl were/are the most commonly used rigs;. Tall ship is an appellation used today to refer to a 'full rigged ship' with an implied requirement that this ship have at least two masts and be rather large.
Four masted, steel barques were the most prevalent cargo carriers in the early 20th century and gave rise to the term 'full rigged ships'. The largest barques were five masted and the last of these was built in France in 1890. The Barquentine is a three masted ship with the fore mast square rigged, the other two masts fore and aft rigged. Barquentines were favored in the Baltic and North Sea as well as the deep water Atlantic trade. The largest barquentines were six masted and built in America.
The Brig is a smaller two masted ship, each mast is square rigged with a gaff sail on the main mast. The Brigantine is also a two masted vessel with her fore mast square rigged and a fore-and-aft rig on the main mast with a and a square topsail. An hermaphrodite brig is a two-masted ship with foremast fully square rigged and fore-and-aft rig on the mainmast. rigged. To complicate the classification of full rigged ships, in Scandinavia brigs are sometimes considered a type of schooner.
Three Famous Full Rigged Ships
Chosen for their dramatic histories, these three full rigged ships exemplify business and adventure during the great age of sail.
Clipper Ship - Cutty Sark
The extreme clipper ship , launched at East Boston, Massachusetts is well known both for her exceptional design and many speed records. However, likely the most famous full-rigged ship ever built was the three masted, barque , an English clipper ship that plied the Pacific for the tea trade with China. 221' long, with a 36' beam and 21' drought, Cutty Sark had an uncommon structure which contributed to her success. A composite wrought iron frame covered wooden planking and her hull had a Muntz metal coating. Cutty Sark displaced 2100 tons and could carry 1700 tons. How fast were the famed clipper ships whose speed usually outpaced that of contemporary steamships? Cutty Sark's best run, "360 nautical miles (666 km) in 24 hours (an average 15kt, 27.75 km/h), was said to have been the fastest of any ship of her size". Cutty Sark survives, and was open to the public at Greenwich (see London) until this spring. A fire on May 7, 2007 caused major damage, and rescue/restoration work is underway.
Whaling Barque - Charles W. Morgan
A barque carries three masts, and all but the last mast are Square rig The stern-most mast carries a Fore and aft rig. Three masted wooden barques dominated the deep water cargo trade by the middle of the 19th century. Whaling ships were commonly three masted barques as typified by the sole surviving, wooden hulled, American whaler the whose long career began in the famous New England whaling port of New Bedford, Massachusetts. She was 105' long, with a beam of 27.7' a draft of 12.6' without cargo and weight displacement of just under 314 tons. Charles W. Morgan cost approximately $53,000 to build and she carried 3,000 barrels of whale oil, each holding 32.5 gallons when fully loaded. Her long career ended in 1921 by which time the Charles W.Morgan had earned over one million dollars.
Whaling Barque - Essex attacked by a sperm whale
Perhaps the most famous whaling ship of all time was the . Small for a whaler at 87 feet long and 238 tons, the Essex was attacked and pushed several times by a huge sperm whale on November 20, 1820. The Essex sank, but not before food and other essential items could be taken off. Only 8 of the 21 crewmen survived the weeks that followed until rescued, either in small boats on the open ocean or on tiny, isolated Ducie Island. This incredible experience by the crew of the Essex included cannibalism by those in the small boats. In subsequent decades, several other whaling ships were attacked and sunk by large, angry whales that were likely sperm whales.
Two Masted Fishing Boats to Giant Coal Freighters
Ship Building in Essex County, Massachusetts
Ship building in Essex County, Massachusetts, came to dominate the American shipbuilding of fishing schooners. By the 1850s, over 50 vessels a year were being built and launched from 15 shipyards. During the most productive years 1849-1853, Essex County launched 256 fishing schooners. Essex County completely dominated the building of two masted, fishing schooners, most of which worked with the Gloucester (Massachusetts) fishing fleet. Shipbuilding "gangs" partitioned themselves according to specialty and their members often came from the same family. Until the 1860s, almost everything needed to build and outfit a fishing schooner was made in the small industry shops of Essex County. Until 1847, the workday was dawn to dusk, seven days each week. By 1895, that had been reduced to nine hours each day, six days each week. Seven of Essex's schooners from this era survive.
Ship Building in Waldoboro, Maine
The state of Maine had one of the most important ship building industries in the country. That industry was typified by Waldoboro, Maine, a small town on the mid-coast that was situated on the Medomak River. Maine ship builders had begun to work here in the 1790s and by the mid 1800s, Waldoboro was home to several major schooner shipyards. By the end of the New England wooden ship building era in the first years of the 20th century, Waldoboro yards had built 600 ships. Other important Maine shipbuilding ports were to be found both south and north of the Medomak River. Waldoboro's history typifies that of many coastal New England ports where shipyards could draw upon a host of local talent to build strong, seaworthy schooners.
Five Masted Schooners
After the Civil War, American investors put their money into cities and railroads with less interest in the new steel hulled, steam ships. The era of wooden hulled, full rigged ships was able to continue with the building of the largest schooners the world had yet seen. The first five-masted schooner in the United States was the David Dows, built in 1888 at Toledo, Ohio. The first five masted schooner to be built on the American west coast was the Inca, built at Port Blakely, Washington, in 1896. One year later, the first five masted schooner was launched on the American east coast when the slid down the shipways and into the waters of the Medomak River at Waldoboro, Maine. Her portrait may be seen today in the post office of Waldoboro.. The last five masted schooner on record was the concrete hulled 'Perseveranza' built in 1922 at Lavagna, Italy. Eleven, six masted schooners were built in the United States, nine in Maine and seven of these were built and launched at the Percy & Small yard in Bath. The largest six masted schooner ever built, and one of the largest wooden ships ever built, was the , launched from the Percy & Small Yard in 1909. The only seven masted schooner ever built was the steel hulled , launched in 1902 at Fore River Ship and Engine Company on July 10, 1902. These largest schooners had good speed, but unavoidable design flaws resulted in water leakage and hogging - amidships had a slight bow. Master ship builders typically lofted, that is designed, the hull - complex curves and all - by eye.
The quantity of wood and iron needed to build such giant schooners was staggering: 1,100,000 feet of yellow pine, 350,000 feet of oak, 75,000 feet of white pine and spruce, and 200 tons of iron. More than 12 miles of caulking could be used to seal the hull planking on a six masted schooner, the caulking crew was yet another essential specialty. "Almost as staggering as the amount of materials, is the fact that a four-masted schooner was built in six months and a six-master in eight months. Most of this work was done using hand tools, which included drilling thousands of holes, some through 30 inches of hard wood and shaping timbers with adze, slip, plane and hand saw."
Final costs to build a six masted schooner could be under $180,000, only 8 to 15 crewmen were needed and coal could be hauled for $2/ton, a P&L ratio that guaranteed a good profit to owners and investors. Large schooners were typically financed by the taking up of shares by investors and returns of nearly 200% were possible. These largest of wooden ships were coal schooners and they traveled a route from Hampton Roads Virginia, or Delaware Bay, to ports in the Gulf of Maine.
Footnotes
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