An extra-ordinary thing is that the helmsman was unable to see anything of the upper sails from his position, standing on a low bench by the whipstaff. Several contemporary Dutch paintings show an opening for the helmsman and it is believed that he was able to see the weather leech on the topsails with this arrangement. In latter days it was customary to steer by the weather leech of the royal sails when on the wind. Hourigan, however, mentions in his Manual of Seamanship (1902), that at night when the royal sail could not be seen, the lower weather clew, not the leech, of the mainsail was a good guide. On account of the belly of that sail, the weather clew of this sail is further in than any part of any other sail and will be lifting first. This was further accentuated by the dipping of the weather yard-arm when on the wind, a deficiency common up to the third quarter of the 17th century, when the lifts were moved up to the mast-caps.
On the other hand, ships at the 17th century seldom sailed on the wind but rather before it, due to excessive leeway. This practice was followed by merchant ships up until the end of the sailing ship era. It is thus possible that, when on the wind, the ship was steered by the weather mainsail clew rather than the upper sails' leech. The helmsman was probably conned by the quarter master standing where he had a better view. This would explain the limited field of vision from the helmsman's position.
As far as is known there was a binnacle (a cupboard with compass and lightning) in front of the helmsman. A model at the Musée de la Marine in Paris, from the middle of the 18th century, has a development of this in front of the wheel which is situated under the quarter deck.
Three booklets with instructions for Swedish naval officers, warrant officers and non-commissioned officers have been found in the library of the Marinmuseum in Karlskrona.
There is an interesting passage in one of them referring to both a steering wheel and a whipstaff.
There were no publishers data but from internal evidence they may be dated
to about 1710. These pamphlets were later collected with others into one volume and reissued in 1741.
I have not seen a reference to the introduction of the steering wheel in
Sweden, but the first Danish ship to be fitted with one was the
Ebenezer built in 1709 [1].
The following is passage from Thomas Rajalin's Nödig Underrättelse om Skiepz-Byggeriet, 1730, dealing with the rudder and steering.
Somliga taga och för hwar 10de foot Skieppet är långt öfwer Stäfwen 4. tum Rodrets bredd i understa ändan.
Jemwäl brukas at taga efter Skieppens bredd, så många tum Roder, som Skieppet är bredt i foot.
Men til Jachter, Espingar och andra små Fartyg, efter Medelwägen tagas för hwar 10. foot Fartyget är långt öfwer Stäfwen 9. tum, och smärre Fartygen 11. tum.
Bemärck. Wid Rodrens bredd kommer mycket at confideras efter Fartygens
skapnadt under, ty skarpa Fartyg kräfwa intet så bredt Roder som de
flacka och påsiga achter.
Hufwudet af Rodret är gemenligen 1. fierde del tiockare
än som achterstäfwens achterkant upp uti.
Bemärck. Wed Hwalfwets inrättande måste observeras det hålet blifwer så stort at Rodrets Hufwud kan flyta där uti obehindrat.
Hålet til Roderpinnen brukas twärskiepz 2. tridie delar af Roderhufwudets tioklek och lijtet högre än som det är bredt på Föörkanten, men Achterkanten lijtet smalare.
Roder-Pinnen af Trä til Skiepp brukas half tunnare uppå ändan än som det är i Hufwudet.
Roder-Hakarne hafwa warit brukeliga tiocka i krysset,
af godt Järn uppå hwar 40. foot Skieppets Längd öfwer Stäfwen 3. fierde dels tum de understa, och Fingerlingare giöres proportionaliter der efter.
The following is a translation of Rear Admiral Jacob Hägg's notes on the restoration which relates to the tiller and the whipstaff.
Note: The whipstaff must have been curved which follows partly from
the curved recess in the block above the rowle, partly by the fact that
this form forces the whipstaff during the athwart ship movement also
to move in the fore-and-aft direction, which enables the fork to
follow the tiller's arc of a circle.
Hägg gives no reference for the handle on the whipstaff.
I do not believe that tackles were ever applied to the whipstaff itself.
The natural point to attach the relieving tackles was at the tiller.
Tackles on the whipstaff would not have been effective partly due to
the fact that the end of the whipstaff does not follow a
circular arc.
The other reason is that the whipstaff compared to the tiller,
was a light spar of fir or oak [3]
which would easily break if tackles were applied at its end.
Assuming that relieving tackles were required in heavy weather, applying
them at the end of the whipstaff would be to subject this light spar to
unnecessary strain.
If the rudder under these conditions was midships a great force on the
rudder would certainly break the whipstaff at the rowle or break the fork.
In the case of an extreme rudder angle, the whipstaff itself would
probably stand a heavy jerk due to the elasticity of the relatively
long part below the rowle, but the joint between the tiller and the
whipstaff or the rowle [4]
might receive damage.
In the case of the Wasa the joint between the tiller and the
whipstaff consisted simply of a swelling of the lower part of the
whipstaff with a hole to take the tiller.
Without reinforcements, e.g. in the form of an iron band, this swelling
would split along the grain if subjected to sufficient force.
Eva Marie Stolth, at the Wasa Museum, has calculated the extreme rudder angle on the
Wasa to be only 7°, at greater angles the mask above
the rowle would hinder the movement of the whipstaff.
My personal opinion is that if people at that time found that
greater rudder angles were required the whipstaff was simply disengaged
and the tiller was operated directly or through tackles.
Alternatively the mask would either be removed or split in two to allow larger
movements.
As reconstructed by Rear Admiral Hägg at the turn of the century,
the whipstaff of the Amarant model does not allow greater
rudder angles than about 5° before the handle touches the deck. [5]
Besides the fork at the lower end of the whipstaff do not allow
too much movement of the tiller from the centre line before it
gets disengaged.
If we instead turn to the diagrams by Jean Boudriot in Neptunia
No. 129, let us consider extreme rudder angles, in this case 20°. [6]
While it perhaps was possible to push the whipstaff to this position,
drawing it back without a handle would be impossible if the least
pressure on the rudder counteracts it.
There are two more facts which limits the rudder angle achievable with
the whipstaff.
Firstly, the fore end of the tiller drops as the rudder angle increases.
The amount of vertical drop (δ) is related to
the rake of the stern (β), the length of the tiller (r)
[measured perpendicular from the sternpost to the fore end of the
tiller] and the rudder angle (α). [7]
At small rudder angles this drop is negligible but at larger angles the
sweep beam must conform to this drop.
The turning force F applied to the tiller by the whipstaff
consists of two components, one pushing force (Fp) applied
along the whipstaff and a turning force (Fv) perpendicular to
the whipstaff.
At zero degree rudder the first component is zero but increases as the sine of the whipstaff angle to a maximium at 90° where it is equal to F.
The friction of the whipstaff in the rowle is disregarded for this discussion.
The magnitude of Fv is dependent of the leverage of the whipstaff.
I.e. as long as the part of the whipstaff above the rowle [8]
is longer than the part below a positive gain is received.
From this follows that at certain whipstaff angles the force that has to be applied in its upper end is greater than F, the force achieved at its lower end.
All this discussion is actually unnecessary since Manwaring states that the whip[staff] was unpractical in "foul" weather.
Reshipping the rudder at sea must have been a very difficult operation at least during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Judging from a quick look through some contemporary manuals of seamanship this operation is not normally described.
Hutchinson, 1777, mentions only actions to prevent accidental unshipping of
the rudder.
However, Alston gives in his Seamanship, 1860, an example of shifting a rudder.
A prerequisite for this was a spare rudder which due to its weight was not normally carried aboard.
To me this seems more like a harbour operation.
I found a note in a 19th century book in the library at the NMM
(I did not take any notes) where the author advocates his patented
method for preventing the accidental unshipping of the rudder at sea.
He also states that without access to a dry dock it would be impossible
to reship the rudder or repair it.
One should better be cautious about the last statement as the author
obviously tries to emphasise the excellence of his method.
In the case of the Wasa we have a rake of the stern of
11°30' and a tiller length of 8 meters.
At a rudder angle of 5° we get a drop of only 6 mm,
but at 20° the drop has increased to 96 mm.
or [?]
hΔ = √(((r×sinβ×(1 - cosα))2 + 2r×sin½α2)
The first part calculates the drop of the fore end of the tiller.
The total length of the Wasa's whipstaff was 4 meters.
From this follows that at 20° rudder the length of the
whipstaff below the rowle has increased with 2,8 meters.
3:° Kommer honom till att se effter roret, huru den är conditionerat, att han på den är wähl försäkrat, item roorpinnan, kollerstocken, brillen, ledwagen, nachterhuus och roortallian, att alt är i godt skick, och der något fehlas, draga omsorg att alt blir lagat förr än han går till siöes, i synnerhet om fingerlingana nötta att dymlingar påsättas, att förhindra mycket buller och stööt i hohl siö, som är farliget både för roret och stamben. Löös roorpinna, kollerstock och roormalla drar han jembwähl sorg före att sådant är i förråd, det och timmermannens skylldighet är att taga med sig.
4:° …
8:° Uthi seglens förande, jämkande och brassande efter winden, har styrmannen så wida at säya, at när skieppet är lofgirit, eller elliest ei wil Lystra Roret och giöra sin skyldighet, som det bör; Så kommer honom til, at hielpa och moderera sådant med Achter- eller Förseglen, til at antingen skiärpa, breda, upbrassa, fyra eller hala, giga eller fälla, såsom och särdeles emot aftonen och om natten, at minska och påöka Seglen, alt som han gissar och tycker sig hafwa siö och driften wara, aldenstund honom åligger, at ackta sig för lägerwall …
Sjöhistoriska Samfundet |
The Maritime History Virtual Archives.
Copyright © 1995 Lars Bruzelius.
Rodret Bredt har warit brukeligt at taga för hwar 12. foot
Skieppet är långt öfwer Stäfwen 5. tum til rodrets bredd i understa ändan, men öfwer Wattn linean half der emot.
The sources used by Hägg for the restoration of the so called Amarant model were besides the model itself, the models of Prins Carl and Roland [Not known to me], in Stockholm's Modellsal, Rålamb's Skeps Byggerij, 1691, Witsen's Aeloude en hedendaegsche scheeps-bouw, 1671, van Yk, De Nederlandsche Scheeps-bouw-konst, 1697, Rajalin's Nödig Underrättelse om Skiepz-Byggeriet, 1730, a model from the second half of the 17th century in the Museum of Amsterdam and a model in the cathedral of Haarlem.
This drawing (in full size) shows how the steering equipment was
arranged.
The oblong opening (see the model) just aft of the mizzen mast serves as a
travelling passage [vandringsgatt in Swedish] for the "whipstaff"
A [Dutch kolderstock], the lower end of which goes through
the rowle B (still left on the model) and with a fork works
upon the tiller C, which travels upon the sweep beam
[ledvangsbalken] D.
The whipstaff may be forced up and down through the rowle to transmit
the movement [2],
the fork has likewise play for the peg on the tiller.
(The tiller which remains, is broken in both ends, but may be used as
guidance in the reconstruction).
On the model the whipstaff is probably disengaged from the tiller as while the whipstaff is inclined to larboard the rudder is still midships.
Footnotes:
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δ = r×sinβ×(1 - cosα)
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hΔ = √((r×sinβ×(1 - cosα))2 + (2r×sin½α2)
[Back]
WERNER VON ROSENFELDT: SIÖMANS MEMORIAL, C1685-1693.
…
Styremannen
…,
KUNGL. MAJ:TS SJÖREGLEMENTE …, 1741.
Underrättelse om en Öfwer-Styrmans giöremål och plikter under påstående Siö-resor.
…, Giörandes sig jämwäl kunnig, huru med Roderhufwudet och Rorpinnan, Kullerståcken, Drillen, Drill-Tåget, Läwagnen, Swanhalsen, Not-taljorne, Förråds Roderpinnan och Kullerståcken kan wara beskaffat.
…, Dessutom har han af Skiepparen at affodra Hand- och diup-loden, Lodlijnor, Trotz och kabbelslagne Lågg-Lijnor, Woit, Lodtalg, Segelduk, Lod-Balja, Nachthusen, Liusstakar eller Lampor, med mehra;
…, han bör ock derpå hafwa ett wakande öga, at ankarne hållas klara, antingen igenom Besan, krysseglet eller inhalande,
…,
Updated 1995-03-05 by
Lars Bruzelius