On 16 Nov 2003 at 18:55, Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe wrote: > Now how they could actually make repairs at sea is another story! > They get bombed to smitherines and then all heave to and make repairs > and the ships back to 'perfect'. yeah right! only in da' movies! Actually, that's not too far from reality. Naval frigates carried a considerable inventory of spare parts (notably spars and such) as well as iron and oak (and an enormous amount of rope). The ship's carpenter and blacksmith were responsible for being able to make almost anything as required. They carried all the tools and a forge on board. Heaving to at sea or pulling into a bay and grounding the vessel at high tide and doing repairs at low tide were common. Routine maintenance was a way of keeping idle hands busy. Given the conditions for the average seaman, keeping busy was better than being idle (and brewing a mutiny). They were constantly fixing and painting. If you were going around the world for a year of more in those days, being independent was critical. Guns were about the only thing that couldn't be made away from your home port. BTW, the last time I was on board the USS Constitution in Boston, it looked pretty much "perfect". However, there are only a few board feet of wood in that ship that are original. Essentially, the whole vessel has been rebuilt several times over since it was first constructed. I'm looking forward to seeing the film - I've read all 20 Aubrey- Maturin novels and a couple of O'Brian's others. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Nov 17 2003 - 10:54:56 PST
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