Since iron is not enough, is it better to build wooden ships?
There is no shortage of timber as a resource in frontier towns, and it is everywhere in the mountains on the east and west sides.Even if the carpenters in Frontier Town have no experience in shipbuilding, as long as they have the design drawings of wooden ships, they will definitely be able to build them after study.The only problem is the construction time, it is said that the most important part of a ship, the keel, has to wait a long time for it to completely dry before you can start building on it.Coupled with the fact that no one is experienced, the first wooden ship will definitely take a long time to build.But Owen couldn't wait to send a fleet to purchase raw materials outside, and waiting for such a long time would undoubtedly slow down the development of the territory.It was bothersome that neither wood nor iron was suitable for shipbuilding, and Owen finally decided to consult with Winster.The emergency call rang out in Owen's head with Winster's lazy voice.
[Ha-Owen, what's wrong with you again?]
】[Winster, I want to quickly form a fleet dedicated to transporting raw materials......]
Owen told Winster about the idea of forming a fleet and some thoughts on building wood ships or iron ships.【…… That's it, do you have any good ideas?
】[Since you think that wooden ships and iron ships are not easy to build, then give up these two schemes.] 】Winster replied casually.
[Huh?
What materials do you want me to use to build a ship?
】Wooden shipbuilding is a navigation technique that has been used by humans for a long time.Today, you can see that there are various wooden boats sailing around the rivers and seas, and they are currently the most important means of water transportation in the world.As for the big steel ship, Owen learned about it from Winster.What will it look like one day in the future when massive bodies of steel will pass freely on the water?
Owen had been looking forward to seeing it.Is there any other ship?
He couldn't think of it for a moment.
[Use cement to build a ship, anyway, you're just using it to transport raw materials.] 】Winster suggested.
【Cement......
That's right!
Cement can also be used to build ships. 】Owen has always regarded cement as an important building material.When it comes to shipbuilding, subconsciously forget about it in a corner.Even heavy steel can be used to build ships, and cement can certainly be used as well.This involves the principle of buoyancy, where the buoyant force experienced by an object in water is equal to the gravitational force of the object discharging the water.Therefore, as long as the design drawings of the ship are properly constructed after careful calculation, the buoyancy of the ship can be equal to the weight of the ship itself, and the boat can float on the water without sinking.
[You suggest using cement for shipbuilding, can this meet my requirements?]
】Owen asked.
[Of course, don't you want to build a ship quickly?]
The construction process of cement ships is much simpler than that of wooden ships and iron ships, as long as there is enough cement, fill the formwork with cement, and then wait for it to solidify. 】The advantages are far more than these, the border town already has a large number of means of firing cement, the material is easy to obtain, and the cost is low.The resulting cement ship is corrosion-resistant, durable, durable, and low-maintenance.In this respect, both wooden and iron ships are inferior to cement ships.For example, iron ships need to be derusted and painted regularly, which is a bit troublesome to maintain.Of course, cement ships are not without their drawbacks.For example, cement ships have a large dead weight, making it difficult to use sails as power to navigate rivers.To solve this problem, it is also simple, just install a steam engine on the cement ship and use it as a power to sail.Moreover, without the large mast in the middle, there is a lot of space on the ship to store raw materials, increasing the carrying capacity of each voyage.In addition, cement ships have poor impact resistance and can only be used within a certain range.This is not a problem at all, Owen just uses cement ships to transport raw materials, mainly on inland waterways, and there is no problem at all.After listening to Winster's explanation, Owen was quite satisfied with the cement ship, and had already finalized in his heart to build a cement ship in the border town.
[It does meet my requirements, however, I don't have the design drawings of the cement ship in my folder.] 】[Oh, I'll ask a shipbuilding expert to draw design drawings later, and I'll send them to you later.] 】[Please.] 】…… The next morning.Owen called Clive into his office and told him in detail about his shipbuilding plans."
Lord Marquis, are you really planning to build a ship?!"
The surprise on Clive's face flickered, and he seemed to have some resistance to Owen making an unusual decision."
That's right."
Owen nodded, "Please wait for you to issue a recruitment order and recruit some people." ”"However, we don't have carpenters with shipbuilding experience here, and captains and sailors are also a problem."
Clive frowned slightly, "It's better to go out and buy a ship and come back, and hire the captain and sailors of that ship by the way." ”"Going out to buy?
That's going to cost a lot of money, so forget it. ”Owen waved his hand and decisively rejected the proposal."
I'm not going to build a wooden ship, but a brand new cargo ship, and I don't need a carpenter with shipbuilding experience.Sailors are good to say, the key is the captain, if you can't recruit people locally, you can recruit people from other places, as long as you have experience in driving ships. ”Although Owen also has no experience in shipbuilding, according to Winster, the design drawings of the cement ship he provided are not very technical, and the current level of technology in Frontier Town is completely fine.In this case, Owen should be up to the task.No matter how bad it was, he could call and ask Winster for advice, and he didn't have to worry about it at all.It wasn't a wooden ship to be built, well, it was probably a new thing that the Marquis had come up with.In that case, Clive didn't know what to say, and the next task was to take the task."
Understood, I'll do it."
A few days later, a large fenced shack was erected somewhere on the banks of the Ulshui River.Shipbuilding sites are usually located close to the river bank or coast, which makes it easy to get into the water.In addition to sheltering from the wind and rain, the shed can also adjust the temperature in the house by using hot magic stones, so that it is at the right temperature to speed up the hardening of cement.Owen first asked the carpenter to cut out the pieces of wood formwork and put together the basic outline of the hull.The bow of the boat is elliptical and curved, but the stern part is square, which is said to increase the load area.The width of the ship is ten meters, and the length-to-width ratio is four to one.Generally speaking, the larger the length-to-width ratio and the longer the hull, the less resistance and the easier it is to reach high speeds, but the maneuverability is poor, and the roll is large in wind and waves, and at the same time, the space in the hull is small, and the cargo can be carried.Owen requires that the cement ship has a large carrying capacity, and it doesn't matter if the speed is slow, as long as it is stable.Therefore, Winster asked experts to design such a cement ship according to the requirements.Although the cement ship was a little fatter than a regular ship (usually eight or seven to one), Owen didn't care.This lord is backed by a tech tycoon