FROM THE CELTIC FRINGE
It was suggested in the last issue of Blue Flag, that when a Dutch word is used the pronunciation should also be included. I have also been asked to include pronunciation in my books. I have thought long and hard on this, is Blue Flag really the forum for learning to speak Dutch? I could, with the help of Margreet, produce a series of articles explaining the subtle rules of Dutch grammar and the sounds of the different letters. All very interesting and enlightening, but not in a magazine about boats surely? It’s your magazine, what do you want? In any case, those of you who speak a little Dutch must surely agree that the sounds made when speaking the word "scheepvaart", for example, are hard enough to acquire let alone explain. The number of Dutch words encountered in my article on registration documents is extreme to say the least. To try to explain them all would double the length of the article and end up filling the whole magazine! However, perhaps a compromise is in order and I will try to give pronunciation hints (at least in my Celtic Fringe pieces) when a commonly encountered word is used. At the end of the day, I suppose the best advice I can give is to attend an evening class, spend a little time in Holland, or better still do as I did and marry an intelligent, patient and pretty Dutch girl!!
As I write this another wet January day is drawing to a dim and dismal close. It has been so wet that the other day, to my total chagrin, I found a mushroom growing out of one of my lee-boards! All this despite the boards still smelling strongly of last years creosote. However, despite the almost non-stop rain, I have managed to get this years re-fit under-way once more. Just before Christmas I lowered the mast using the mast lowering legs known as "bokkepoot" (bok-er-pote), and the wire-drum part ("strijklier" strike-leer) of the anchor winch ("ankerlier" an-ker-leer). This is a relatively easy task provided proper precautions are taken to prevent things getting out of control. Those of you with counterweighted masts are probably looking smug at this point, but I don’t have a thumping great weight and mast foot taking up space in my fore-cabin so yah-boo to you!
If this makes little sense to some of you, I will explain further. The Dutch inland barge fleet encountered bridges with monotonous regularity. These bridges ranged from small and low wooden constructions over tiny drainage canals, to huge iron railway bridges over the great rivers. This meant that although the majority of the bridges were of the movable variety, swinging or lifting, some were fixed and it was important to be able to lower the mast or masts with minimum effort or fuss. The barges used mainly on small waterways tended to employ a counterweighted mast. This is typically encountered on the Friese "Skutsje" (scoot-cher) although it was occasionally used on many other types when necessary. These ships did not go to sea and the relatively short mast with a short gaff was often completely unstayed. The mast was stepped on the floor of the forecabin and the bottom part was fitted with iron ballast weights. The spar then passed up through the deck and into a tabernacle ("mastcoker" pronounced exactly as it looks), where a pin passed through it and the tabernacle. When it was time to lower the mast it was only necessary to release the forestay ("voorstag", vor-star-g) and give a gentle tuck on the topping lift ,to cause the mast to pivot backwards and downwards under complete control. The bottom section of the mast passed up through a hatch in the foredeck. Careful manipulation of the balance weights meant that the weight of the mast and sails could be balanced almost exactly and with a little help the spar, complete with sails and rigging, could be induced to "fall" upwards and back into position again. This could all be done without the ship losing steerage way.
When a ship did not need to lower its mast as frequently and on the larger ships which tended to have greater freeboard and thus a greater vertical internal distance from deck to floor, a different method of mast lowering was employed. The mast was still pivoted at a point in the mastcoker, but here it was conventionally deck stepped. Clearly it would still fall backwards if the voorstag was released, but without a balance weight on its foot it would fall out of control. The answer was in the use of the bokkepoten. A pair of long and strong poles were hooked into eyes or sockets in the bulwarks ("potdeksel", again pronounced as it looks). The other ends of the two poles came together at the point of location of the forestay. The forestay was shackled to the bokkepoten and these were shackled to the stempost ("voorsteven", vor-stave-en). The anchor winch would have a wire drum as well as a chain gypsy. The wire was shackled to the bottom of the bokkepoten via a four or six way purchase. This is the system employed on my own ship. When it is time to lower the mast, tension is taken up with the winch and the bottom shackle released. Again a gentle tug on the back-stays is needed to induce the spar to move and then by winding the winch carefully backwards, or allowing it to run out, under control, by means of the brake, the mast is lowered safely into its deck support. The bokkepoten were often left in position all the time, but those ships that made less use of them would stow them on deck and shackle the voorstag to the voorsteven in the conventional way. On a ship with perhaps three or four shrouds per side and extra sails carried on a bowsprit, the mast lowering process became more complicated and not something that would be contemplated or undertaken on a whim. The bokkepoten themselves were originally made from American Oregon pine wood. In later years as the supply dried up it was necessary to use other pine such as Douglas fir. They were mostly rectangular in section with rounded ends. The ends would be protected from splitting by means of an iron pipe slipped over the end and this was fitted with the hooks and eyes necessary to locate it to the potdeksel and the voorstag. Some bokkepoten were made from thick walled iron or steel tube, those on "Jan Willem" are, but, although by virtue of their weight they provide a natural counter balancing force, these are very heavy to move around the deck when not in use.
Anyway, since I built and fitted "Jan Willems" mast five years ago, replacing the original which had rot at both top and bottom, it has solidly stood through tempest and calm, but after five years a more detailed examination than that possible from a bosun's chair was due. I am glad to report that all is in fine order. We bought the mast as a growing tree from the local forestry plantation on the banks of the river Fal and brought it home, along with seven other trees, lashed alongside "Jan Willem". That event, coupled with details of how we turned a tree into a mast, will be the subject of another article at some time in the future. I thought that the mast would be in good order and the other reason for lowering it was to replace all the shrouds and stays with new galvanised wire. The bottom sections particularly suffer as they are exposed to most salt spray. The forestay has to also take the added wear of the piston hanks holding the sail to the stay. Luckily, I had the good fortune to pick up a load of brand new wire surplus to stock from our local ships chandlers across the river. So hopefully by the time you read this the mast will once again tower above the neighbouring spars, complete with new standing and running rigging, well oiled blocks and topped off with a brand new "vleugel" (vlerg-hul) which is the long tasselled red pennant seen on all classic Dutch ships.
STANDING RIGGING
The standing rigging of a ship is made up of all the flexible ropes that hold the mast or masts in position and at the required tension. Nowadays these ropes are mostly made of wire, but 150 years ago ships were voyaging great distances with standing rigging made from natural fibres, or to put it another way- ropes! In the case of Dutch barges, many of the smaller ships and also those bigger vessels used exclusively on inland waters, retained rope rigging until way into the twentieth century. Whatever medium is used for the rigging, the layout and detail is broadly similar. When mention is made of natural fibre or rope rigging, it is probable that the fibre in question is either Manila from the Philippines, or Hemp (yes, that stuff!) widely grown in the southern countries of Europe along with India and New Zealand. Only the most traditional of owners will attempt to use these fibres today, as they are prone to expanding and contracting, slackening and tightening, as the weather changes from dark to light, hot to cold and from wet to dry. This all entails constant adjusting and re-adjusting of the rigging. However, where rope is used, possibly of a natural and man-made fibre mix such as "Hempex", it needs treating differently and attaching in a slightly different manner than the more common wire rope rigging which I will deal with later. Most Dutch barges have what is known as a pole mast, that is to say a solid spar rather than a hollow made-up mast. A pole mast is immensely strong, has in-built flexibility and hates to be restrained by too-tight rigging. At the top of the mast, below the various attachment points for the blocks involved in the running rigging, is to be found a built up area known as the "hommer". This consists of a number of tapered wooden sleepers let into the mast and through bolted to form a "collar" right around the mast. The standing rigging which prevents the mast from sagging to either port or starboard are called the shrouds ("wanten", in Dutch). These may number from two, to four on each side, depending on the size and type of ship. A seagoing Tjalk or Klipper may well have four on each side and a purely inland ship such as a Skutsje may have no shrouds at all, depending only on the masts’ inherent stiffness. (Having said this, it is also true that the eminently seaworthy little Dutch fishing boat the "Botter" often ventured to sea with no shrouds. However, they did not generally employ a mast anywhere near as tall as the average Dutch barge.) The shrouds are attached in two ways. On smaller ships a single rope may be used with a large eye spliced into the centre. This is called a "soft eye". This eye is slipped over the mast head to rest upon the hommer, the two ends then form the two shrouds for one side. This is then repeated for the other side. Where separate shrouds are used, a large eye is spliced into the end of each rope and these are then placed in turn over the mast to lie on top of each other and on top of the hommer. There is a traditional order in the placing of these shrouds, namely: The first is the forward starboard shroud, the second is the forward port followed by the aft starboard and aft port. It can be seen that as they lay on top of each other that each is of a different length and will only fit in its appointed position. The first shroud must have its’ soft eye parcelled and served, to prevent it from chafing against the mast.
It is worth taking a few moments here to discuss the various esoteric and salty sea dog type words that are beginning to appear, and will of necessity occur frequently in any article dealing with rope work, be it natural, man-made or wire.
WHIPPING
This is a technique employed to stop the end of a rope from fraying or coming un-layed. Twine or marline is bound tightly around the ropes’ end and either sewn or knotted in place.
SEIZING
Seizing is used to hold two ropes side by side or to complete an eye. It again uses twine or marline bound tightly around the two ends to hold them together. To form a tighter piece of work, the twine is taken around both parts in a figure-of-eight shape. This is called Racking Seizing. If wire rope is being seized, then laid-up, flexible seizing wire is used, or thin single-strand galvanised wire.
WORMING
This is the process whereby the external grooves inherent in any laid-up, stranded rope, are filled by winding smaller twine into them to achieve a smooth surface prior to future work.
PARCELING
Traditionally tarred strips of canvas, two inches wide, were wrapped around the wormed rope to keep the salt water and weather away from the finished work beneath.
SERVING
The parcelling on a rope may be held in place with multiple windings of marline. This is much like a common whipping, but done properly, using a seizing mallet it becomes very tight. The work is finished off with black varnish or tar.
SPLICING
A rope is spliced when the separate strands are un-woven from one end and fed back into the lay of the rope to form an eye, or to finish off the end of the rope neatly. This is not recommended for running rigging, as the fatter, back-spliced end of the rope will not pass through a block that the rest of the rope can run through.
LAY
The lay of a rope is the way that it is laid up, the way in which the "thread" runs, either right or left handed.
So, to get back to our shrouds, whether wire rope or natural fibre, they will traditionally have been spliced or seized to form the soft eye and then wormed, parcelled and served. For those of you of a traditionalist nature the following rhyme may be of use.
"Worm and parcel with the lay, turn and serve the other way."
When wire rope became available, first made from iron, then steel, latterly galvanised steel and most recently stainless steel, it was readily adopted by the barge skippers. It was more expensive it was true, but it needed much less management and maintenance and was generally stronger for a given diameter. Initially the same attachment techniques were used at the mast head, but by the end of the nineteenth century different methods were adopted. For the barges, the commonest new method was to make an iron collar in two halves and clamp it around the mast, resting on the hommer. To this collar were welded attachment eyes and rings to take the wire rope shrouds. The wire rope would have a "hard eye" worked into it. This is where the rope is passed around a metal thimble and then either spliced back into itself, or seized in place. Modern rigging hard eyes are most often formed by a patent pressed sleeve being compressed into place around both parts under pressure. Another common method is the use of bulldog grips. These "U" shaped clamps in two halves are slipped around the two ends of the rope and clamped up tight by means of two nuts. Again, salty dog sailors may sneer at the use of bulldog grips, but they were in common use and the pragmatic barge skipper used what ever was convenient and practical at the time. When bulldogs are used on their own, without splicing or seizing, then three is the traditional number. Never use stainless grips on galvanised rigging. Another neat option is to use bulldogs in conjunction with seizing wire. One clip next to the hard eye followed by a rakking seizing of galvanised wire and finished off with a final bulldog, forms a "belt and braces" job. If the whole piece of work is then bound with twine or marline and then liberally doused in tar or bitumen, it gives all the appearance of having been wormed parcelled and served and the final covering of twine and tar covers all the sharp edges of the bulldog clips that will otherwise snag any stray sail or flag.
So, what of wire rope itself, what is it and how is it made? Wire rope consists of a number of thin solid wires twisted together, often around a central core of oil impregnated hemp, or maybe some man-made fibre, to form strands. Six of these strands are then laid up right handed around another central core of hemp or similar. This is the type of rope that is commonly used for ships rigging. A lesser number of strands can make a stiffer rope and take a thicker layer of galvanising, thus making a stiff, corrosion resistant rope. A greater number of strands can take a thinner layer of galvanisung, but will make a much more flexible rope. "You pays your money and takes your choice!" How do you look after your wire rope? Many ignore it and replace it only when its’ appearance, or guilt, makes it a necessity. There are however several good guides here. Firstly, any one spiky snag of wire poking out through the lay is one too many. Secondly, rusty wire is probably worn out, but it is worth scratching the surface to see what the layer underneath looks like. If it is shiny and the rust is localised, possibly at the lower end where salt water is frequently dowsing it, the shroud may gain an extended life by cleaning and then parcelling and serving it. On sailing ships the forestay gets a hard life, as the piston hanks on the sail soon wear away the galvanising. If the wire stay is kept well oiled with linseed oil and remains flexible to the touch, it will last a while longer. The moment any part of a wire rope becomes stiff to the touch it should be replaced.
Meanwhile back at the hommer.
So we now have nicely finished wire rope shrouds, with a well made hard eye in the end. The simple method here is to attach them to the metal collar on the mast by way of shackles. These should be ideally one size larger than the rope they are attached to. Many Dutch barges at the beginning of the century tended to have iron hooks permanently attached to the mast band and the hard eyes were simply dropped over these. Where natural fibre rope was still used then a single rope with an eye spliced into the middle formed a pair of shrouds.
So much for the top of the shrouds, but what of the lower end and how is tension achieved and maintained. On Dutch barges there are three main ways of attaching the shrouds at the lower end. The first is the simplest and was used with both natural fibre shrouds and wire rope shrouds. In both cases a hard eye is spliced or seized in the end. A metal loop, or hoop, is fixed in place at the top of the chainplates on the side of the ship and a simple lanyard joins the two together by way of a number of turns. Traditionally this should not be less than seven. This simple technique is low cost and easy to tension and adjust. It relies on the strength and integrity of the lanyard for its’ security. The next method is what in England is called a "deadeye" and in the Netherlands a "jufferblok". This is a thick, round, piece of hardwood, with three holes in it, spliced to the end of the shroud. An identical block is attached to the side of the ship. A lanyard is threaded through the three holes in each block in turn and drawn tight to achieve tension. This is a well proven method and looks good, although of course it means an additional four wooden blocks to maintain and again relies on the integrity of the lanyard. The final and by far and away the most common method of attachment, is the rigging screw, sometimes called a bottlescrew or turnbuckle. These consist of a central metal barrel shaped body, having an internal opposing thread at top and bottom. A yoke on a threaded section is wound into each end. The upper yoke is attached straight to the hard eye in the bottom of the shroud and the bottom yoke is fixed to a tang on the chainplate. The threaded part should be between one and a half and twice the size of the shroud it supports. When the central barrel is turned, it either forces the yokes apart, or draws them together. This makes the adjustment of tension a very simple and precise job. (Bottlescrews must be kept full of grease at all time. Having said this, in my experience, whatever you do, they will still contain water whenever you dismantle them!)
A variation on the standard bottlescrew is the "pelican" type rigging screw. These are the same as a normal rigging screw, but the bottom part, instead of having a clevis fitment, has a hook with a very long end that reaches back up to the top of the barrel where it is secured with a clip. By lifting the clip and pushing down on the hook, it is possible to relieve the tension on the stay and thus quickly disengage the hook from the chainplate eye through which it passes. These were especially useful on the sailing barges, where the mast was regularly raised and lowered. In later years the various motor barges also used them on their masts, for the same reasons and also as often the mast was used as a lifting derrick. The quick release rigging screw was useful to get rigging out of the way when working cargo.
And finally
How tight?
This is a perpetual problem with no straight-forward answer. I think it was Eric Hiscock who said "Tight to the eye and slack to the touch." This is still a good answer. A shroud should look taut with no obvious signs of slackness, but should be free to move when pulled on, without being "bar-tight’. A wooden mast is a substantial piece of equipment, well able to stand up for itself. The shrouds and indeed the running backstays, are there to provide support when a force is applied, from sails or cargo handling, that seeks to move the mast from the vertical.
David Evershed "Jan Willem"
17
ANCHORS & GROUND TACKLE.
As long as man has been sailing and floating about the rivers lakes and oceans of this planet he has been faced with the twin problems of getting his ship moving in the right direction and having successfully achieved that he had to consider how to stop it moving when it wasn't supposed to. The invention and development of the anchor went on alongside that of the ships that carried them. Some of the earliest preserved examples are those from Roman times. It seems a 250ft galley would carry two anchors, one of iron, around 13ft long and to all intents and purposes a "fisherman's" type and the other, around 16ft long with much fatter flukes, was made of wood, bound with iron, and weighted with lead. The Romans then basically carried a main anchor and a bower anchor. There is no evidence that they used chain cable and so natural fibre rope must have been used. Chain first seems to have replaced rope in 1809 when Capt Samuel Brown RN had it installed on HMS Penelope, replacing the hemp rope used by naval ships up until then.
Originally on the older barges a manual spike and barrel type windlass called an "ankerspil" was used and this was in turn replaced by the more familiar mechanical windlass. This recovered the chain by manually rotating a round wheel constructed with elegantly curved spokes. The larger ships sometimes used a small "donkey "engine to operate the windlass and this was soon succeeded by hydraulic or electric power. However, basically this type of windlass continues more or less unaltered to the present day.
Today, most barges will have some kind of anchoring system in place, some will be more than adequate, others will be less so. Many ships used routinely in Dutch waters never have a need to anchor, this also applies to those in Britain used only rarely and then only on inland canals and rivers. Other ships venture into more exposed and tidal waters and the owner who likes to cruise should ensure that his ground tackle is up to the job. Certainly on my own ship "Jan Willem" the anchoring arrangements where totally inadequate to fulfil our intended use. When purchased "Jan Willem" was fitted with a small mechanical windlass that performed the joint functions of helping to lower the mast and also recover the anchor. The gypsy fitted was for 5mm chain and a length of 25m of this chain was shackled to a traditional Dutch 28kg fisherman's anchor. No other anchors or chain were on board. I kept the fisherman as a secondary anchor and fitted it with 50m of 9.5mm chain. I bought a main anchor of the standard "modern" barge type weighing 50kg , shackled to 30m of 16mm chain. The gypsy was replaced to suit this set up and to date we have never dragged our anchor, even in a F10 blow. Admittedly we were well sheltered up the river Fal, but it's important to have faith in your anchor if you want a good nights sleep. So, how do you decide if your anchoring system is adequate? One rule of thumb says to carry the biggest anchor and the longest, heaviest chain you can realistically handle. This makes a lot of sense. Another rule is to say "a pound of anchor for every foot of boat", this is a little bit miserly for heavy barges, but is fine for your smallest anchor. The best rule of all however, is to use formula that has been derived especially for barges by the Dutch body that controls the charter fleet.
FORMULA FOR DETERMINING THE WEIGHT OF ANCHORS TO BE CARRIED BY FLAT BOTTOMED CHARTER SHIPS.
G = (35 * OPP1) + ( 4 * OPP2)
Where OPP1 is the underwater area of a cross section amidships.
Where OPP2 is the above water area of the bow of the ship including mast and rigging.
G then will be the total weight in kilograms of the two main anchors carried. The value of the two anchors must not exceed a ratio of 45% and 55%. Where the type of anchor is of the Danforth or Plough type the weight may be reduced by a factor of 20%.
Example (1 A typical tjalk type ship with a beam of 4m and a draft amidships of 0.6m (OPP1), a bow that has 2m of freeboard in the centre reducing to 1.6m at the sides, and a single mast of 16m and double shrouds, (OPP2). Conveniently this configuration realistically allows the mast and rigging area to cancel out the reduction in forward area brought about by the sheer.
This gives a formula of: G = (35 * 2.4) + (4 * 8)
In this case G = 116kg
This might usefully comprise a fisherman's anchor making up 45% and weighing 52kg
and a main Danforth type making up 55% (63.8kg reduced by 20%) weighing 51kg
Example (2 A Luxemotor with a beam of 5m and draft amidships of 1m (OPP1), a bow with freeboard of 3.5m and no rigging (OPP2).
In this case: G = (35 * 5) + (4 * 17.5)
and G = 245kg
If two standard (Danforth type) barge anchors are carried, they should weigh 88kg and 108kg respectively.
What type of anchor?
This depends very much on the type of sea bed that you intend to come to rest over, but here are some thoughts. The fisherman's type anchor is an excellent compromise anchor for most sea beds in non desperate situations, cheaper than other types kg for kg and looks the part. The "modern" barge anchor is cheaper kg for kg than a very large plough type and easily available on the continent.
Chains and Warps. Some guidelines.
There is no set down rule governing length and weight of cable but my recommendation would be that the minimum size of chain for any barge over 30 tons should be 14mm, the shackle joining anchor to cable should be 20% larger than the chain and if warp is used in conjunction it should ideally be three strand nylon of 28mm minimum. The minimum length of chain on the main anchor should be at least five times the ship's length. If a mixture is used on the secondary anchor then one ship's length of chain should be regarded as the absolute minimum.
18
THINGS THAT GO "THUNK" IN THE NIGHT
DAVID EVERSHED
I first became aware of the awesome power behind the tiller and rudder of a large barge on the first occasion I selected astern on "Jan Willem". I had just taken over from Helmut, the previous owner, and was getting a last minute course in barge handling. Initially this consisted of Helmut simply handing me the tiller as soon as the shore lines were let go, saying, "your ship". This was of course the best approach and during the next hour or so he carefully showed me how to handle the ship. We had left the harbour of Enkhuizen under power and although the tiller was undoubtedly heavy to push over, it was nowhere near as bad as I had been lead to believe. "A useful workout for a Sumo wrestler" was how one magazine had described helming a similar ship. Watching the skutsjes racing on the Ijsselmeer had left me in little doubt that in a strong wind considerable effort was needed to hold a course. In any event, I found that the ship behaved reliably enough and when Helmut told me to select astern I did as I was told. We moved slowly backwards and Helmut gestured for me to try turning into the wind. I pushed my end of the 4 meter long tiller gently over and was instantly catapulted to the far side of the cockpit letting go of the tiller in the process, it continued its journey until the rudder was hard up against the stern post. By selecting neutral again and climbing up onto the "paviljoen", the tiller was easily retrieved.
I have never forgotten that lesson.
The old barge skippers were also very aware of this trait. Many were injured by a wildly flailing tiller, or crushed between the tiller and cockpit side when struggling to control their ship short handed. This problem was worst on the seagoing ships and those that ventured onto the more exposed waters of the Zuiderzee. The "paviljoenschip", with its long looping tiller and great leverage, was also particularly dangerous in bad conditions. For these skippers, their salvation came in the shape of the so called "Engels Stuurwerk". This was basically a "bolt on", worm drive, wheel steering conversion, manufactured by the English firm of John Hastie & Co in the early part of this century. It neatly replaced the tiller and although it meant that the helmsman had to steer with the wheel behind or alongside him it made the cockpit a much safer area to work in.
The next time the tiller and I got into a fight was as we were about to enter the western arm of Dover outer harbour. As usual there was a rotten confused sea just here, whipped up by wind, tide, car ferries and hovercraft. I called on the VHF for permission to enter and was told to wait as a hovercraft left and then come straight in. I was already hanging on to the tiller with legs braced and now the "tail began to wag the dog!". Tony, my crewman, joined me and together in some kind of ungainly dance we waltzed our way into the harbour. I went some way to solving this problem, whilst we were waiting for a weather window to allow us to continue our trip. The old Dutch skippers used to fit what was called a "Stootalie". This consisted of a single block attached to the outer edge of the cockpit, more or less in line with the end of the tiller, with a line running from here to another single block on the inboard end of the tiller. From here the line ran back down and around the first block and across to a similar arrangement on the other side of the ship. This meant that the tiller movement was effectively "damped" by the friction generated by the blocks and line. By loosening and tightening the "Stootalie", the magnitude of the dampening force could be controlled.
I fabricated a "Stootalie" for myself and the problem was solved.
The next problem associated with the rudder began slowly and insidiously grew. Most Dutch sailing barges have a "barn door" of a rudder hung on fairly massive gudgeons and pintles. These of course wear. In the beginning, I found that if the tiller was not secured when at anchor, or on the mooring, it would move due to waves and wash. I used a bungy cord for this so it could move a little, but not uncontrollably so.
This meant that over a period of time, one small area of rubbing surface wore more than the rest. Eventually the rudder developed a definite "thunk" as it moved into, or out of the straight ahead position. Worse still it now had lateral as well as vertical movement, so if the waves or wash were stronger than usual, it would now happily "thunk" even though it was strapped up. Moving the securing position to port cured this for one year and the next year securing to starboard (right over the entrance to the after cabin, "thunk" ouch!!) temporarily solved the problem, but now there was nowhere to go. In any position it lurched up and down and "thunked" rhythmically all night long.
I know now that I must replace the hangings and this will be done this winter, but until I get around to it, I have fabricated my own version of another fitting that the old skippers invented to cure this very same problem. Some old ships will still have this in place, in the case of "Jan Willem" I can see where the old fittings have been ground off. (Ho Hum!)
An eye is fitted to each side of the rudder, on the aft edge, just above the water line. A chain is secured to the quarter of the ship, passed through the eye and back to the quarter where it is loosely secured by a pin. This is done on both sides, it is called a "Grondtalie". Another eye is fixed on the inboard part of the rudder, next to what is usually the middle one of three pintles. A chain runs upwards to a substantial four way tackle, with a line running back into the cockpit. This is called the "Roerlichter". The skipper would haul on the "Roerlichter" line and pull the rudder up, but not out off the gudgeons, and secure it. Now he could tighten each of the two "Grondtalie" chains and release the "Roerlichter". The result is that the weight of the rudder keeps the "Grondtalie" chains tight and prevents the tiller from swinging about and, if it does move at all, it is now clear of all three of the gudgeon to pintle bearing surfaces and so NO THUNK! and no localized wear whilst at rest. My temporary version does not involve chains, but embodies the spirit of this idea. When I fit new rudder hangings I will also fit a genuine "Grondtalie - Roerlichter" arrangement.
Of course the thunk in the night is not exclusive to sailing barges. When I joined the luxemotor "Vertrouwen" last year, I was unpleasantly awoken, as gale blew down the Caledonian canal, by a familiar sound. My cabin on "Vertrouwen" was immediately above the tiller flat, so it did not take too long to realize what was happening. In the light of day I realized why there was a length of line attached to the rudder blade. I had seen it before of course, but to my cost had not paid any real attention to it. By running the engine to power up the hydraulic steering, it was possible to heave the rudder hard over and whilst a crewman held it there, I heaved the line tight and secured it to the cabin rail.
Problem solved.
As the season progressed it became second nature to secure this line at Foyers on Loch Ness and at Fort Augustus at the mouth of Loch Ness. After the first month this was done whatever the weather. Loch Ness would often produce a swell for no apparent reason and in the middle of an otherwise calm night, "Nessy" would once again start knocking on the hull.
Halfway through the season it became harder and harder to heave the line tight enough, eventually taking two strong Australian crewmen to get it tight. It took me a while, but at last the light bulb in my brain lit up and I simply moved the line to the other side of the cabin roof. Now, just as with "Jan Willem", the rudder was bearing on unworn surfaces. I have not yet discovered what the old luxemotor skippers did to prevent localized wear, maybe they didn’t stay still long enough for a problem to develop. Be assured, I will investigate!
Part two
Those of you (most of you?) who also read "Barge News" will be aware that the gudgeons and pintles of "Jan Willem’s" rudder were in dire need of replacement. I am now pleased to say that I have completed this task. Bright and early one morning we moved across to the other side of the creek, to moor up alongside the "Quay Workshop." Yes, the same barge-workshop that sunk last year and that I described in this space. Now re-floated, re-lined and re-built it is a very useful addition to our creek. The workshop has a crane on board and we used this to first take the weight off the 12 foot tiller and lift it off its’ tenon on the rudder head. Then, with a rope around the rudder itself we took up the strain. It would not come straight of as one of the pintles had a steel collar, secured with Allen screws, to prevent this happening. This is a thoroughly sensible arrangement for any ship venturing to sea, where rough water or a big sea can easily lift a wooden rudder off one or more of its hangings. We used a gas torch to cut the collar off as it was seized solid and the pin was to be cut off and replaced in any case. Now we could lift the rudder off and lower it onto the deck of the workshop. (Pete estimated the weight at about one ton and who am I to doubt him, certainly it is not something you would want to drop on your toe!) The wooden structure of the rudder was in excellent condition, no work was needed there other than to soak it in boiled linseed oil and anti-foul the below-the-water-line area. The pins are welded to long steel straps that are in turn through-bolted to the rudder. Amazingly most of these bolts came out easily enough, but predictably the last one needed to be punched through.
Pete had already fabricated new pins from stainless steel and these were tack-welded into place on the straps, replacing the severely worn originals. The gudgeons on the sternpost were more of a problem. It was not really feasible to cut them off and replace them, as this would mean a painstaking lining up process on re-assembly, not to mention that the lower gudgeon, at the heel of the sternpost was two foot under water! First we took a plank, then we lashed a steel plate to it, then we tied two more pieces of rope to it and chucked it in the creek. The plank now had slightly negative buoyancy, and by pushing at it with boat-hooks and pulling on its’ ropes we positioned it under the base of the sternpost. When the tide receded and we sat on the mud, the theory was that the plank would prevent the sternpost sinking into the mire and out of sight. It worked. Pete had made new bearings out of some sort of new wonder nylon-Teflon type material. Now all we had to do was ream out the original gudgeons to take the new bearings as bushes. The top one was of course easy, a powerful hand drill and a big bit, lubricated with water and turning slowly, did the job admirably. The second was more difficult as it was not possible to get the drill close enough alongside the sternpost to get a straight go at it. Pete then made up a jig that allowed the drill itself to rest above the first upper gudgeon and using that as a guide, along with an extension, the second hole was reamed out in line with the first. If the second hole was difficult, the last and bottom-most was all but impossible. Completely unfazed, Pete proceeded to elongate his original jig using an old propeller shaft as an extension this time. With me in the mud alongside the heel, lubricating the drill bit with a paintbrush and fresh water, the final hole was completed and the plastic bushes inserted, held in place with the slightest smear of silicon. The next job was for Pete to carefully measure all the distances between the bushes and to check that the pins on the rudder matched these dimensions and were also parallel. Eventually, after much peering, standing back, tapping with a hammer and peering again, the pins were finally welded in place. Pete reckoned we might have to lift the rudder on and off several times to make minor adjustments before it fitted perfectly. We craned the rudder into the air and dropped it slowly down, Pete had of course made the central pin longer than the other two to allow initial easy location. The pin slid into place as did the top one, the rudder dropped down a further two inches or so and this meant that the bottom pin must also be locating, we could not see this third pin because the tide had now come in again. Pete clambered into our dinghy and using a glass jug, with the bottom pushed just below the surface of the water, as a viewer was able to confirm that all was in line. We released the crane ropes and I waggled the rudder back and forth by hand, slowly, a little every time, it settled right down until the pins were right home. I was well pleased and so was Pete. When the tide receded again I went mud walking to check that all the pins were accurately located, I’m pleased to report that this was indeed the case and now my old clunky rudder moves as smooth as silk, and, what’s more, that annoying "clunk" in the middle of the night is gone for ever! Yippee!!
19
WATER WORKS
We’ve all experienced it, and if not your time will come, turn the key and there is only a click from the solenoid, the engine does not even turn over let alone start up (yes, I know that a few of you have air-start engines, a few more may have the advantage of a starting handle and a minority will have one of those cunning wind-up clockwork thingummies that replaces the starter in an emergency, but here in my world we are stuck with the battery, solenoid, starter, click- click- click situation).
When I first struck up my symbiotic relationship with the DAF 475 engine in "Jan Willem", relations were a little strained. My only previous experience of relatively large diesel engines was my old Massey Ferguson 65 tractor. That had been totally bomb-proof, it lived outside all the year round and always started when required. Now, it was late October and although the engine started smoothly at first, as the months rolled on and into a hard freezing winter, starting took longer and longer, accompanied by clouds of blue smoke. It was Franz, an engineer who was doing some welding for me, who pointed out that when cold it helped to use the cold start button. Cold start button? Franz showed me where this was located and starting was transformed. I could not have felt more stupid. I am not normally stupid where engines are concerned, but I had asked the previous owner if there was a pre-heat on the engine (which there wasn’t) and he had replied "no need." At least I think he did, of course he was talking German and I was talking English, so maybe something was lost in the translation. After Franz’s timely intervention, starting was transformed and no more problems were encountered until 6 years later. Then, occasionally, I encountered sluggish starting (the engine that is, not me, personally I’m a great fan of all bran). I did all the usual things, put the spare starter on and had the other serviced, replaced the starter battery, re-made all the connections, serviced the injectors, cleaned the air filter and mostly it was all right. But, still occasionally, for no apparent reason it would just not turn over. Eventually, it came to the point where the only way I could get it started at these times was to run the generator at the same time as I turned the key, with the battery charger in the emergency charge position. This achieved the desired result and when running, the engine was fine. It was about this time that I began to notice that the fresh water header tank needed topping up more often. Some of you will be ahead of me at this point, but stick with it, things are never as simple as they may appear.
"Jan Willem" uses a heat exchanger to facilitate engine cooling. A brief explanation of how this works may be in order. (Please don’t think that I’m trying to tell any of you how to "suck eggs" but not every one is mechanically minded, in any case many barges have other different cooling systems) This is a tried and tested system, in which a header tank of fresh water contains the coolant for the engine, in the same way as a radiator does for a car. The header tank is not cooled by air passing through it, as in a car however. Instead, a pipe, or "stack tube", made up of fifty or so smaller pipes is inserted into the header tank and raw sea water is pumped through it. In a "wet exhaust" system, this water then enters the hot exhaust pipe at the "injector bend", where it is expelled with the hot exhaust gases, helping to cool the exhaust pipe as it goes. The large surface area of the fifty or sixty small pipes ensures that efficient heat transfer from the hot water of the header tank to the cold water passing through the stack tube takes place.
Temporarily ceasing to worry about the starting, I began to investigate the water loss. First, the loss was not great and second and most important, there was no sign of emulsification in the sump oil and so the water leak was not internal. Methodically I removed the fresh water pump and renewed its’ gasket and seals, checked or replaced top and bottom hoses and on the heat exchanger, I fitted the end caps with new jubilee clips and a little silicone on the internal surfaces. I then spent many happy hours hanging over a hot engine with an eagle eye, searching for the odd drip or two. This all seemed to cure the problem for a while and too be fair the various systems benefited from being thoroughly checked and serviced, several small faults were spotted in this way, that might otherwise have gone unnoticed until they developed into something bigger. However, things came to a head in Falmouth harbour, when we were asked by the harbour launch to move out as a ship was being manoeuvred into the docks. Get ready, shorten up the anchor cable, turn the key and nothing. Bugger Bugger! I switched in the domestic batteries and still no go. The trick with the generator and battery charger eventually got it going, but something was obviously very wrong. Safely back on our mooring I reflected on the problem once more. I was forced to admit that, at least this time, the problem had felt too much like an hydraulic lock for comfort. This would explain the starting problem and also the loss of water. Once again I checked and re-checked the oil for signs of water, but there was no sign, even when the header tank was losing over an inch of water. Also there was no sign of water leakage on the outside of the engine and the bilge was bone dry. So where the heck was the water going? The only other answer was an internal leak in the heat exchanger and this would not let water into the engine, so why the hydraulic lock? To remove the rather complicated heat exchanger, which incorporated the inlet and exhaust manifolds, entailed serious dismantling and, if I went that far, I might as well take the opportunity to undertake a top-end service at the same time and an inspection of the pistons and cylinders would surely show signs of water ingress, if that was indeed the problem. I realised I had no choice. I bit the bullet. Luckily we had a dry autumn that year and although I had a plastic cover to throw over the boom and cover the cockpit area, it was never needed. "Jan Willem’s" engine is fitted under the cockpit floor and does not enjoy "walk around" access. However "crawl around" access is good and once removed, components do not have to be dragged through the accommodation to reach the open air. The rocker box came off first, followed by the rockers themselves and the injectors, as usual, the last and hardest to reach injection pipe would not come undone, but a blowtorch and patience eventually prevailed. The water pump was easy to remove as I had already had practice at that. All the plumbing and pipework came away fairly easy apart from one clamp that had to be cut away. Next was the heat exchanger itself, the inlet manifold nuts came off nicely, but several of the exhaust nuts were, predictably, dry, rusty and tight. Experimentation with open ended spanners, ring spanners, sockets and extensions and finally mole grips, coupled with contorting myself into some unlikely positions, finally achieved the desired result. There was no way that I was going to lift the heat exchanger out on my own, it is a heavy and substantial piece of engineering, so using a four part tackle from the running backstay, fastened to the boom , I hoisted the great lump out of the engine room and onto a board on the cockpit floor. Next I turned my attention to the head itself. The cylinder head nuts inside the rocker box were oily, easily accessible and although tight, came undone easy enough using a bar on the end of the socket wrench. The nuts located outside the rocker box were still covered in original engine paint and the socket would only fit into place with the aid of a wooden mallet, as although they are not countersunk, there was insufficient clearance between the nuts and the rocker chamber wall. I thought that I might have to grind down the socket itself, but in the end they all came out OK. "Great", I thought, "all I have to do is lift off the head and I’m there." Would it move? What do you think? One common trick here is to turn the engine over on the starter, the valves are of course all closed as there are no tappets in place to open them. 14-1 compression on all six cylinders should pop the head joint easily. NB It is very important to make sure that the injector pump pipes are covered, as fuel will be ejected at high pressure as the engine rotates. I tried this to no avail, I even screwed the injectors back in to increase compression. No go, back to the drawing board, or in this case my local tame engineer. He showed me where to find two flanges, one at either end of the head, which could safely be whacked with a mallet and a block of wood. This I did and the head came loose easy enough. DAF engines have two strong lifting eyes attached to the head and using these and the main sheet tackle, out came the head to lie alongside the heat exchanger. Now I could look at the pistons and bores. Oh dear! All looked wet and two actually had a quantity of water lying in the squish space on top of the pistons. This of course is not proof positive, water in the head or block can easily spill into the bores as the head-block joint is disturbed.
I dried out the pistons and bores, checked the bores for scoring (there was none) and gave everything a nice coating of lube oil, before covering it over with clean rag. I took the head to the aforementioned engineer, a journey conveniently undertaken by water in our ship’s boat. He would service the whole thing for me for a very modest fee, ah! the benefits of "friends in the trade." If water was present in the cylinders, and if it had not entered when the head-block seal was broken and if there was not a crack in the head or block ( there wasn’t) then the head gasket was probably leaking internally. I would of course need a new head gasket anyway, but I was still not convinced that I had found the problem.
My usual local supplier of DAF spares, mainly fuel and oil filters, is:
CAWSEY COMMERCIALS
NEWPORT INDUSTRIAL ESTATE
LAUNCESTON CORNWALL
(0566) 772805
They could order a top end gasket set for me, but the price was rather steep. I knew it would be, but before I ordered I rang my supplier in the Netherlands :
DINTRA TRANSMISSIES B.V.
KEIZERWOERT 30
3881 LE PUTTEN
(0341) 353712
Don’t let the name fool you, they stock far more than transmission systems. There is always someone there who speaks English and they have not yet failed me for odd bits and pieces (more of this later). The result of this particular conversation, was that they could supply a top end gasket set to me, delivered to my door in four days, for a price cheaper than my English supplier, even without including carriage. Because I have dealt with them before, I can pay on invoice on receipt of the goods. This I do from my Dutch bank account and Euro cheques are commonly accepted in most countries except Britain who appear to have never heard of them. The sooner we adopt the Euro the better as far as I’m concerned, but I digress.
I now turned my attention to the heat exchanger. This has a rubber cap at either end which is jubilee clipped to the exchanger itself and the stack tube. There is potential here for raw water to leak out externally, or internally under pressure into the fresh water section. This would of course cause the header tank to "make water" and there was no real sign of this. Of course if this was happening, then it would only be obvious when the engine was running or still hot, I confess that I am not in the habit of removing radiator caps from hot radiators! Using various bungs, pieces of wood, plastic bags and tape, all from my "useful bits bucket", I devised a system that I’m sure "Danum" and her attendants would be proud of, whereby I could fill the heat exchanger with water and check for unpressurised leaks. All remained dry. I then concocted a system using a pump from an inflatable dinghy to actively pressurise the system. Now I had several small leaks externally around the end caps and internally around the tube stack, leaking out where the raw water would normally flow through. "Right," I thought, "no more messing about, time for new end caps." These end caps are fairly standard fittings, but not apparently in DAF size and definitely not in England. Once more on the phone to Holland. I told the guy on the other end that it was for a heat exchanger fitted to a DAF 475 in a tjalk, "Ja, OK, you want the straight one or the bent one?" I replied that I wanted both (the straight one feeds the water injection bend and the bent one takes the water feed from the raw water pump). Once again the parts were dispatched and arrived in three days. When they arrived I fitted them to the exchanger and once again pressure tested it. Now I had no more leaks, at least not until I left it overnight, when water leakage was evident from the water injection bend orifice. The only way that this could occur, was internally past the new rubber cap or by a leak into the stack tube itself. I turned my attention to the stack tube. In this case made up of 54 separate pipes. By sealing one end of each pipe in turn and using the dinghy pump to pressurise that same pipe, I eventually found that two of the pipes were leaking where they were brazed to the end plate. When only one or two pipes are concerned, it is acceptable to blank them off rather than attempting the complex job of re brazing them. I used small dowels of wood set in with waterproof "Hermatite". On reassembly and pressure testing, even over several days, no leaks were apparent. Now all this set me to thinking, I was pretty sure that I had solved the mystery of the water loss, but if it was merely draining into the stack tube it would be expelled with the rest of the raw water and would certainly not find its way into the combustion chamber. Had I solved the problem at all ? Further contemplation was needed.
In the meantime the cylinder head was returned, clean and serviced. The valves and springs were all OK, but were now re-ground onto there seats and the inlet and exhaust tracts were polished as were the combustion chambers and valve heads. Large chunks of the old head gasket had been left on the main engine block and it took many hours with a Stanley knife blade, carefully scraping it clean, to achieve an acceptable surface to mate with the now shiny head. It was whilst I was kneeling by the side of the engine, engaged in the aforesaid scraping, that I had a breakthrough. A rubber dinghy passed by at some speed, leaving a big wash behind it (as they do). This caused "Jan Willem" to roll and as he did I was aware of a sucking and blowing sound coming from the wet exhaust pipe leading to the gooseneck. When the rub-a-dub returned for a second pass (as they do), I held my hand over the mouth of the rubber pipe, the amount of pressure generated when we rolled down and the below-the-water-line exhaust outlet went deeper under water, and the amount of suck on the upward roll was surprisingly strong. I then began to think about all this and realised that at least some, if not all, of the times we had had the problems of "hydraulic lock", was when we were actively out and about and away from our moorings; sometimes in busy harbours with trip boats and fishing boats chugging by and sometimes up the river, with the dubious company of water skiers and power boats. All heavy wash producing situations.
I believed I had cracked it. What was happening was, that over the period of a few days with the engine not in use, fresh water was draining down into the stack tube and thence through the injection bend into the exhaust pipe. It would then run down to the lowest point of the exhaust, the bottom of the gooseneck and there it would combine with any water left over from the last time the engine ran. When the ship rolled heavily, and the water-level in the pipe was sufficiently high, the pulse of air generated in the exhaust pipe would send another pulse, this time of water, back up the pipe and into the exhaust manifold. Any exhaust valve open at the time would receive a dollop of water. Repeat this procedure a few times and all the ingredients were there to produce the symptoms we had been experiencing. Armed with this information, I talked again to my engineer and learned of other engines, in a variety of craft, that had suffered similar fates. In most cases from water being pushed back up transom mounted pipes when hit by following seas. I went to our local second-hand boat bits emporium and found a brand new Vetus water trap still in its box, but "soiled". I looked at the catalogue price and paid Alan half that amount. I took it home and whilst I was at it replaced all the rubber part of the exhaust pipe, as is usually the case it was de-laminating badly internally and in dire need of replacement. Finally, I re-assembled the whole exhaust and fitted the heat exchanger back to the engine. Now, in the first place water would not leak internally into the stack and in the second place the new water trap, with its greater capacity, would contain any water left in the system, whilst not allowing any wave generated pulse to travel all the way back to the engine.
On final reassembly the engine ran smoothly and I even treated it to a new starter battery. That was all one year ago and since then we have had no more problems. It took a long time to arrive at the solution but now we also have the added bonus of knowing that all the rubber pipework has been replaced along with its jubilee clips, the exhaust system is in good order and that the top end of the motor is now thoroughly serviced with all new gaskets.
David Evershed
"Jan Willem"
20
Coasting
by
David Evershed
In the spring of 1991, we were on our way home from Holland in "Jan Willem" our 18m sailing tjalk. "We", being myself, Margreet and Tony our unflappable crewman. "Home", being Falmouth in Cornwall, or to be more precise, the even older harbour town of Penryn.
We had arrived at Poole in Dorset at 1700 on the evening of Friday the 17 th of May, after a 6 hour run from Itchenor. We refueled at the furling barge in the Wych channel to the north of Brownsea island and were delighted when the bargemaster, who had a small ship himself, said it was fine for us to stay alongside for the night, as he was closing now anyway and we were going to leave first thing the next day. Although this meant that Tony would have to put up with cans of lager rather than finding a hostelry ashore, this gave us an untroubled nights sleep without the need to worry about tending shore lines or dragging anchors. And it was free!! In fact I think that it was Margreet flirting with the furling master that secured this prize, as the next morning he made her presents of the days newspapers and fresh bread and milk.
Poole harbour 09.45, 18 th May.
The plan for the day was to make the relatively short run to Weymouth, prior to rounding the dreaded Portland Bill. All the time we were fitting out "Jan Willem" in Holland and during the subsequent sail down through Belgian and France, two spectres conspired to haunt my unguarded moments. One was naturally enough the channel crossing, successfully achieved two weeks previously, and the other was Portland Bill. The Bill in particular, which I had never rounded before, had in my mind attained the status of Cape Horn. The almanac spoke of "severe and dangerous sea states, .... highly confused seas with heavy overfalls, .... should be carefully avoided by yachts and small ships". The confidence that we had in "Jan Willem" notwithstanding, I knew that it was worth carefully planning that part of the trip. We said good-bye to our friendly patron and cast off.
10.30, Poole fairway buoy.
The weather was murky with heavy drizzle giving very poor visibility, but the forecast promised that it would clear later. As the fairway buoy came abeam I used the Decca to see if the machine and the chart were in agreement. They were, give or take a few meters, and with a tide to help us along we set off down the coast towards St Albans head. By keeping around a mile offshore it was possible to get hand bearing compass fixes on various coastal features as we passed them, to keep up the dead reckoning plot and to back up the Decca.
When I am coasting I always keep a dead reckoning plot updated around every half hour. A Decca reading taken at the same time is an additional safeguard, any significant discrepancy can then be monitored and I have found that this way, actual as opposed to predicted, tidal sets can be accounted for and factored into the DR plot. I for one will be very sorry when they turn off Decca in 1999, I suppose then I will just have to buy, and get used to, a GPS set.
11.40, Anvil point bearing 260' T, range less than 1/2 mile.
Anvil point came and went and the weather if anything got worse, visibility was less than a mile. Sailing was out of the question as far as I was concerned and the trusty DAF 475 pushed us along at a steady 6 kts. Tony was on the tiller, an activity that he could continue for hours at a stretch provided with sufficient mugs of tea and the occasional break for a roll up. I busied myself with plotting a course and keeping the dead reckoning up to date.
Tony is the son of a friend of ours, he arrived on our boat in Enkhuizen one dark and snowy night around midnight with a half full (or half empty) bottle of duty free rum in his hand and the rest of his possessions, a tobacco tin, some risla papers, his lighter and a toothbrush in a tiny rucksack. He proceeded to make himself at home in the forecabin in rather spartan conditions and was an absolute treasure. He was always there when needed and never there when he wasn’t. In the evening, at the end of a days cruising no matter how remote the mooring he would wander off into the night and always find companions and a watering hole. Also, as I said before, he was totally unflappable and liked to call me "skipper", which was rather nice!..
12. 30, St Albans head bearing 005' T, range 400 yards.
St Albans head has its own overfalls, but an inshore passage exists and in common with other coastal short-cuts it is often riddled with lobster pots. In the murky weather I did not want to go 4 or 5 miles offshore in a bid to avoid the worst of the sea, so as conditions were quiet we picked our way carefully around the rocky headland with eyes glued to the water looking out for the dreaded plastic cans so often used to mark pots. After rounding this point the weather began to lift a little and soon the sun broke through. I gave Tony a course for Weymouth.
13.45, Worbarrow bay bearing 355' T, range 2 miles.
An outfall pipeline extends out from Worbarrow bay, marked at its extremity by a buoy, this made a handy waypoint to aim for and another chance for an accurate DR fix. To the west of this point is the Lulworth cove firing range and passing ships are asked to keep 5 or so miles offshore when passing. They are not always firing of course, so I called them on the VHF ch 8, to find that only small arms were in use and that 1 mile off would be fine. We were 2 miles off anyway and they thanked us for calling, apparently most yachts just sail straight through without a care in the world!
(This reminds me of the time we were passing the firing range outside Plymouth a few years ago. On calling the range they calmly told us to carry on through as they were firing offshore and the shells would pass over us! This is just one more of the interesting facets of coasting that is not often encountered on the canals of Europe. Mind you we were once "bombed" in Armentiers but that must be the subject of another story)
The time was now 14.00 and the 13.55 shipping forecast promised nothing new, poor to moderate visibility with an offshore light northerly breeze. I updated the course for Tony to steer and sat looking at the chart.
14.30, Weymouth bearing 295' T, range 7 miles,
Portland Bill bearing 215' T, range 8 miles.
Dead reckoning showed that we would reach Weymouth at 1500. Given the same boat speed and a change of course to 215' T, we could be at Portland Bill at around 15.30. Portland Bill tidal race is at its weakest, allowing transit of its inshore passage for westward heading small craft, at one hour either side of high water Dover. On that day high water Dover was 15.00. In short we could reach the Bill at an ideal time, in reasonable weather, if we went for it there and then. The chance was too good to miss, conditions were favourable and critically we were already at sea and underway. I quickly called a crew meeting. Typically Tony was all for it, Margreet thought it a good idea provided we could still get back to Weymouth if for any reason it was too dodgy. We changed course.
I took the opportunity to call Portland coastguard to tell them of out intentions, maybe I was being over alarmist, but it was early in the year and "Jan Willem" and his crew were untried in these waters. The coastguard as usual were friendly and helpful, telling us that conditions around the Bill were reported as slight at the time and to call them again when we were safely around.
15.30, Portland Bill light bearing 065' T, range 1/2 mile.
At 15.00 Portland Bill light was in sight and keeping as close inshore as I dared we motored on, half an hour later we were round. In the event the weather was calm, and the sea quiet. However the sea to the south of the clearly defined inshore passage looked distinctly menacing even in its slack state. Eddies and whirlpools made black holes in the surface and there was a strange feel to the place. The whole scene was made even more surreal by the presence on shore only half a mile distant, of sightseers and ice cream vans. Wishing us well or waiting for drama, who knows? I suppose it’s true that I have seen and been through much worse waters than those of the Bill at that time, but the menace and mystique, only in part engendered by my own imagination was real enough.
We all took photos of each other to celebrate. I felt good, another demon conquered and ahead lay Lyme bay, Dartmouth, Salcombe, home waters! I set a new course of 270' T and went back to the chart. We were heading into Lyme bay in the general direction of Exmouth, the closest harbour as the crow flies. You see I had not really planned any farther than Portland Bill, now I had to find somewhere to stop, or stay out all night. I had not sailed into Exmouth before but knew it well from my childhood. Some quick calculations showed an ETA of 22.00, it would be dark by then, but a plus point was that the high water at Exmouth was 22.45. So, no visibility but plenty of water. Not impossible given sufficient luck.
The only other option was to go on across Lyme bay to Torbay, feel our way inshore in the dark and anchor there for the night. Truthfully I was not happy with any of these options and thought that maybe staying at sea was actually the safest, but in any event we had to carry on, so on we went.
17.35, Bridport bearing 020' T, range 3 miles,
Lyme Regis bearing 302' T, range 6.2 miles.
"Where’s that?", said Margreet looking shoreward.
"Bridport", says I.
"And that?".
"Lyme Regis".
"I remember Lyme Regis, it’s lovely, can’t we go in there?".
I had already scanned the Shell Pilot to the English Channel and knew it had a very small drying harbour that was frankly not practical.
"No we can’t".
"Are you sure?".
On we chugged and another hour passed.
18.30, Seaton bearing 310' T, range 3.5 miles,
Lyme Regis bearing 220' T, range 4 miles.
At 1830 we were of Beer Head and making good time. Visibility was closing in again, but the shore was visible about 3 miles off. I was at the helm, as Margreet had cooked supper, spaghetti bollognaise I recall and Tony was below for the first sitting. I was tired but content, humming to myself as the water slipped past. 30 minutes later all had changed. The light offshore breeze was still with us, but without any warning a swell arrived from around Start point to the south west. It was building rapidly, not dangerously, but rapidly.
I won’t dwell on the finer points of barges and beam seas. Logic, experience and metacentric height, all well and good on land, are somehow not so comforting when actually at sea. You either know what I’m talking about, are living in happy blind innocence (one day - one day), or possibly, with more sense than most of us, are living as far from the sea as you can get. Suffice to say that neither steering nor spaghetti eating got any easier. I was now tired unhappy and unable to eat my dinner.
Margreet showed her usual faith in me, "David, can’t you do something?". Tony, rather smugly I thought, had wedged himself into a corner and continued to eat his spaghetti with a large serving spoon.
I really didn’t fancy rolling on into the impending darkness and was definitely not impressed with the thought of staying at sea all night. I once again looked at the chart. It showed that there were mooring buoys and an anchorage to the east of the harbour at Lyme Regis. The weather was settled, the wind offshore, it looked viable. I put the helm over and with the swell on our stern progress was smooth and spaghetti could be eaten. The setting sun picked out the whitewashed cottages and the grey walls of the sea wall, the Cobb. It was hard not to recall the opening scenes of the "French Lieutenants Woman". Thankfully this time the sea was a great deal calmer and disappointingly, Meryl Streep was nowhere in sight. We found a mooring labelled "visitors" and made fast. As I cut the engine we all breathed a sigh of relief and Tony eagerly eyed up the number of obvious pubs on the harbourside. I completed the log. 50 miles covered and just over 9 hours motoring. The story does not end here however.
19.15, Lyme Regis anchorage.
As the tide turned and "Jan Willem" swung with it, we once again became beam on to the swell. Clank went the crockery, clunk went the leeboards, "Oh No" went I. (Those were not my actual words but this is a family club)
Margreet was looking towards the harbour. "Are you sure we can’t get inside there?, looks like loads of room to me".
Under these conditions "No" is not a suitable answer and in any case I was as tired of the rolling as she was. Tony on the other hand had fallen peacefully asleep. Taking great pleasure in waking him, I told him that we were going ashore to see if going into the harbour was possible. We launched the dinghy and paddled ashore. Our arrival has created a certain amount of interest and willing hands secured the dinghy and propelled us into the bar of the Lyme Regis Sailing Club. Of course we could come into the harbour, of course we could lay alongside the clubhouse, of course there was room and it was always quiet this early in the year. Half an hour later our ship was safely moored and we were all wrapped around drinks courtesy of the club. After many more drinks were drunk and exploits recounted by both sides we went for a peaceful wander around the lovely little harbour.
"I knew we should have come here" said Margreet.
Before I could think of a reply she added ""Jan Willem" knew it as well". I couldn’t begin to argue with logic like that, and anyway I secretly agreed.
We wandered on.
Postscript
07.15, Lyme Regis inner harbour.
The next morning, after a night spent tending mooring lines in the drying harbour, (my job!) we left on the early tide for Exmouth. 3 hours later, as we made our way in through the rather narrow channel, I reflected that I really would not have wanted to try it at night, but then, "Jan Willem" knew that all along.
21
UNDERSTANDING YOUR MEETBRIEF
The meetbrief is the official registration document of all ships in the Netherlands and Belgium. If you buy a ship in one of these countries the meetbrief should be transferred to you along with all other documentation. Even when the ship is removed from the Dutch or Belgian register, to be registered in another country, the meetbrief can be retained by the ships owner. Whilst much of the document can be easily interpreted by non Dutch speaking people, there are some sections that are not so easily understood and others that can be misinterpreted. In this article I shall work my way through a typical document and explain each section as I go, but first some words of explanation..
There are probably three types of meetbrief that may be encountered by Dutch Barge enthusiasts and in most cases the Belgian versions will be broadly similar. The differences lie mainly in the extra information required specific to the activity engaged in by the ship.
1) Zeemeetbrief. This is exactly what it sounds like, a meetbrief for seagoing ships. Most Dutch Barges will not come under this category but some undoubtedly will. These are ex-fishing ships and the smaller ships of the North Sea and Baltic trading fleets.
2) Binnenmeetbrief (commercial). Again this is fairly obvious, it is the document that applies to ships registered for the carriage of goods on inland waters. "Voor schepen die bestemd of ingericht zijn voor her vervoer van goederen." You will have this if you bought your ship directly out of trade in an unconverted state.
3) Binnenmeetbrief (pleasure). "Voor schepen die niet bestemd of ingericht zijn voor het vervoer van goederen." Note the difference from the one above. This applies to ships not registered for the carriage of goods. This is the document most likely to be encountered and applies to ships that have been taken out of trade and laid up or for use as houseboats, yachts or charter ships etc. These are usually blue in colour but may be grey or yellowish depending on their age.
It is one of these documents that I shall use as an example.
MEETBRIEF
The "meetbrief" is the registration book belonging to an individual vessel. Each ship was given a unique number on initial registration and this number, which is also the "meetbrief nummer" stayed with the ship for life. On older ships, the date of initial registration as given in the meetbrief is not necessarily the same as the launching date. Certainly many ships trading in the latter part of the nineteenth century were not registered on the "modern" system until the later part of the 1920’s.
For registration purposes, the 11 provinces making up the Netherlands at the beginning of this century were split into three "metingsdistricts".
Rotterdam, signified by the letter R, covered the provinces, of Limburg, Noord Brabant, Zeeland and that part of Zuid-Holland below a line joining the cities of Leiden and Utrecht.
Amsterdam, signified by the letter A, covered the areas of Zuid-Holland above a line joining the cities of Leiden and Utrecht, and the provinces of Noord-Holland, Utrecht and Gelderland.
Groningen, signified by the letter G, covered the provinces of Groningen, Friesland, Drente and Overijsel.
A vessel that had permanent residence, or intended to trade in any of these areas, was measured and registered by the "ijkantoor", the local weights and measures department.
In each of the three metingsdistricts there were many separate "kadasters", or registration offices situated in the main towns of the region. These offices would handle the three separate registration and measuring procedures.
1) IJKMERK
2) TEBOEKSTELLINGNUMMER
3) METINGSMERK
IJkmerk
The "ijker" was the official weights and measures officer, he was responsible for calculating the acceptable loading capacity of a ship trading in a pre-defined area. When the calculations were complete he also issued a number, the "ijkmerk", which was stamped into the ship’s side. The location of this number is detailed very precisely in the meetbrief (paragraph 28), it appears twice on each side of the ship at bow and stern.
A horizontal line drawn between the two numbers corresponds with the maximum loaded waterline in fresh water. Every time a ship moved into a different trading area it was required to be re-measured. The maximum allowable waterline in sheltered canals was markedly different to that deemed safe in exposed or open waters.
Teboekstellingnummer
When the measuring and marking was complete, they would issue another unique number, signifying when and where the registration was done. This number, the "teboekstellingnummer", is in four parts.
210 B AMST 1927
This is the current teboekstellingnummer on my own ship. The numbers simply mean that it was the 210th ship registered in that year. The B is very important. It means Binnenvaart, or inland trade. A ship trading on coastal routes or in the Baltic for example had to be strongly built to a higher specification and these ships would have a Z for Zeevaart as part of their teboekstellingnummer. AMST of course means the registration office was in Amsterdam. These letters generally take the form of the first four or so letters of the town in question. ZWOL for Zwolle, APPING for Appingedam, DEV for Deventer, LEID for Leiden, UTR for Utrecht, ARNH for Arnhem, etc. etc. The last four numbers signify the year the number was issued.
The location of the teboekstellingnummer is given in the meetbrief (paragraph 69).
Metingsmerk
After measurement the meetbrief was issued. At the same time a number was assigned to the vessel. This became the meetbriefnummer and also the ship number, the "metingsmerk", or "brandmerk". It consisted of the signifying letter of the area, the letter "N" denoting Netherlands and a unique number. In my own Amsterdam registered ship this is A N 31. This number appeared in the form of a brass plate riveted to the ship’s side. However time showed that these plates tended to drop off due to wear and tear and later ships had the number stamped into the fabric of the hull and also into the superstructure. The location of the number is given in the meetbrief ( paragraph 31).
Officially, the registration office had to be notified of any change of trading area; change of ownership; change of name of ship; or any substantial alteration to the ship such as lengthening, conversion to motor, or change of existing motor. The ship could then be re-measured if appropriate and the meetbrief altered accordingly. Every change in the meetbrief, which in any case had to be renewed every fifteen years, cost hard earned money. The more prosperous skippers and those owners with large fleets tended to be scrupulous about such things, but the thousands of one-ship-skippers couldn’t afford to be so precise, unfortunately leading to gaps in documentation and problems for the researcher. However, if you are able to locate the metingsnummer, or better still a teboekstellingnummer, by contacting the "scheepskadaster" in the relevant town it is often possible to unearth more of the history of your ship.
DOWN TO BUSINESS
The cover of our specimem meetbrief tells us that it comes from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, that it is a meetbrief for Binnenvaartuigen (inland vessels), that it complies with the 1966 Geneva agreement (article 5) and that it applies to inland vessels not intended for the carriage of goods. The first couple of pages give explanatory notes on the numbered sections inside and then we come to the nitty gritty.
Page one
(1) Koninkrijk der Nederlanden -N.
Kingdom of the Netherlands.
(2) Bureau van meting-----------Amsterdam
Measurement district.
(3) Onderscheidingsletters van het bureau---------A------N.
Signifying letter of the bureau and N from (1)
(4) Meetbrief No.------31.
Number unique to this document.
(5) Ingeschreven de------19 September 1979.
Date of entry and issue of this document.
(6) Metingsmerk--------A--N--31
Measurement identification mark. A (from (3), N (from (1), 31 (from(4).
(7) Name or identification letters of vessel.
(8) New name of vessel.
(9) Date and place of name change.
(10) Stamp and signature of registration officer.
Repeated two or three times to allow for subsequent name changes.
Page two.
(12) Afmetingen van het schip voor het passeren van kuntswerk.
A good session with a Anglo-Dutch dictionary at this point will tell you that this means something like "measurement from the ship for the passing of works of art." The true meaning however is : measurements to allow safe passage of canals, locks, bridges and harbours.
a. Lengte-------------18.37--m.
This is the total length of the ship in meters, with the rudder turned at right angles.
b. Breedte------------3.99-m.
Maximum beam including berghout and leeboards (if fitted).
c. Diepgang bij de grootste inzinking-------1.20--m.
Greatest draft.
d. Hoogte boven water tot het vlak van ledige diepgang------2.50--m.
Airdraft of unladen vessel. The height from the waterline to the highest point of the vessel with mast lowered and wheelhouse collapsed.
Page three
(13) Soort van vaartuig----Motorzeiltjalk met passagiersaccommadatie.
Specific type of vessel, i.e. as above, sailing tjalk with motor and passenger accommodation (chartership). Other possibilities, motorvrachtschip (freight carrying motor ship).
(14) Materiaal:
a. Van de romp----ijzer/staal.
Material of the hull----iron/steel.
b. Van de bovenbouw-----staal.
--of the on decks construction, deckhouse etc.------steel.
c. Van de luiken----------
--of the hatch covers. (not applicable in this case but could be steel or wood (hout))
(15) Nadere gegevens over de bouw------met dek.
Further constructional details, met dek (fully decked), zonder dek (open or partly decked), met of zonder luiken (with or without hatchboards).
(16) Werf van aanbouw---------Vermeulen te Woerden.
Name of builder and shipyard and place of building. (In this case the Vermeulen shipyard in Woerden Zuid-Holland) Alternatively this may be the yard and place of renovation or rebuilding.
(17) Bouwjaar--------1893.
Year of building or date of last reconstruction as above in (16).
(18) Grootste lengte van de romp--------17.27--m.
Greatest length of hull, but not as in (12). This is the length of the hull on deck from stempost to sternpost.
(19) Grootste breedte van de romp----------3.99--m.
Greatest width of hull not including berghout and leeboards.
(20) Aard, identificatiemerken en vermogen van het voorstuwingswektuig.
Type of engine, manufacturer, model and power. e.g. Dieselmotor, Stoom (steam) Verbrandingsmotor (petrol engine), DAF, DA475, 90pk or BMC, Sealord, 96pk etc. etc.
(21) Gemiddelde inzinking van het ledige schip in zoetwater------46--cm.
Draft of ship at mid point of hull in FRESH water.
(22) This applies only to cargo carrying ships and relates to weight of cargo carried.
(23) Vertikale afstand van het vlak van de grootste toegelaten diepgang tot het dek c.q. gangboord:
Vertical distance from the loaded waterline to the deck (freeboard).
a. Op her midden van de lengte van de romp-------50--cm.
At the mid point of the hull (normally the lowest level of freeboard due to the sheer of the ship)
b) Op het laagste punt van het dek c.q. gangboord.
At the lowest point of freeboard if not the same as in (a) above.
Page four
Gewichten aan boord die behoren bij de ledige inzinking
Weights carried on board in an unladen condition
(24)Plaats en omschrijving van de vaste ballast
position and description of fixed ballast.
(25) This section asks for details of additional machinery, donkey engines, boilers etc. that need a supply of water, oil etc. to function.
(26) This refers to water that is constantly in the bilge.
(27) Uitrusting.
Other equipment. (weight of)
a. Total fixed weight of anchors and chains.
b. Additional equipment and spare parts.
c. Fixtures and fittings.
d. Life raft or lifeboat.
Proviand (stores)
a. Total fixed weight of fresh water carried.
b. Any other provisions.
Page five
Ijkmerken
(28) The number and type of ijkmerken defining the fully loaded waterline of the vessel.
These marks usually number two on each side and may be ingebeitelde (stamped in) or platen (riveted plates).
(29) This chart shows the precise location of the ijkmerken on both port and starboard sides. Distances are given in meters.
a. Horizontal distance from the for-end of the vessel to the first mark.
b. Horizontal distance from the first mark to the second mark.
c. Horizontal distance from the second mark to the aft-end of the vessel.
(30) Vertical orientation of the marks given in centimeters.
a. Vertical distance from marks to deck-level (2 values).
b. Vertical distance above marks at which the vessel is considered to not be watertight.
c. Vertical distance from unladen waterline to marks (2 values).
d. Vertical distance from the bottom of the ship to the unladen waterline (2 values).
e. Total vertical distance from marks to ship’s bottom, i.e. total of c and d (2 values).
Note. These marks must be kept clearly visible by the skipper or the meetbrief becomes invalid.
Page six
Metingmerken
(31) Location of the metingsmerk on the after end of the ship.
midscheeps in het achterdek, 2.05m uit hekplaat, 0m uit lengteas, 0m boven dek.
midships in the afterdek, 2.05m forward of the sternpost, 0m on the longitudinal axis, i.e. center-line and 0m above the deck, i.e. on an upward facing surface.
(32) Location of other marks is not required.
(33) Is not applicable.
II. Meting volgens artikel 5 van de bijlage van de Overeenkomst (vaartuig niet bestemd voor het vervoer van goederen).
The following measurements comply with article 5 (as shown on cover), for a vessel not used for the carriage of goods.
(34) Maximum toelaatbare waterverplatsing--------35.136--(cubic meters)
Maximum admissible water displacement in loaded condition.
(35) Waterverplaatsing in ledige toestand-----------20.128--
Water displacement in unloaded condition (plus working gear)
(36) Verplaatsing----------------------------------------15.008
Working tonnage, i.e. the difference between (34) and (35).
A word of explanation at this point. There are many different variations of the word "tonnage". The word itself is derived from the English word "tun" which was a cask used to carry wine. A tun contained 252 gallons of wine and this was held to weigh one tun (ton). The amount of cargo a ship could carry was defined as the number of tuns it could safely load. At the beginning of the 19th century this measurement was widely accepted in England and the western part of Europe. The Netherlands by and large accepted this but in the north and east of the country still used the "last" as a weight measurement for cargo carried. A last is roughly equivalent to the weight of 2 tuns. The gross registered tonnage of a ship is the total internal capacity of the vessel including all deckhouses and permanent structures. In the Netherlands this is referred to as BRT (bruto-registerton). To get the net registered tonnage NRT (netto-registerton in the Netherlands) it is necessary to deduct the internal volume of non cargo carrying spaces, engine rooms crews quarters ship’s stores etc.
Now the displacement tonnage of a ship is the amount of water she displaces when afloat. In this case this corresponds to the figure given in (35). Various formulae have been used to obtain this value, the most well known are the 18th century "Builders Old Measurement" using beam, length and draft to obtain a value, and following this a more refined system created by George Moorson was employed. The twentieth century saw the almost universal adoption of the three basic "Simpson Rules". These are based on the simple supposition that a curved boundary (a ship’s hull) is composed of a number of curves of the parabolic variety. By establishing a number of ordinates a very accurate calculation of the volume (and thus the displacement) of a ships hull can be obtained.
Having obtained this displacement figure it is necessary to know the weight of the water thus displaced. The English have generally used the weight of salt water expressed in tons. One cubic foot of salt water weighs 64 pounds. The Dutch (in the binnenvaart) use the weight of fresh water (one cubic foot weighs 63 pounds) expressed in cubic meters and thus in metric tons. An imperial (English) ton is 2240 pounds and a metric ton is 1000kg which is 2204 pounds. This gives us a conversion factor of .984. However, for a rough conversion it is only necessary to accept that 1 cubic meter of fresh water weighs as near as dammit 1 ton. If we look again at the displacement figures given in (34)-(36) we can say that the:
Maximum loaded water displacement of 35.136 cubic meters is equivalent to 35 tons.
(using true conversion factor 34.897 tons)
Unladen water displacement of 20.128 ...............................................20 tons
(20.308)
Loading capacity 15.008.................................................15 tons
(14.906)
(37) Vaargebieden
This shows the areas of the Netherlands in which the vessel is allowed to operate.
Page seven
Here the areas are listed.
a. Large areas of open water including the Schelde, IJsselmeer and Waddenzee, also some of the larger canalised sections of the major waterways.
b. The smaller open water areas such as the Sneekermeer, Zwartemeer and Ramsdiep, also most of the canals and navigable rivers, Noordzeekanaal, Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal, Geldersche IJssel, Neder Rijn etc.
c. All other rivers canals and lakes not included in a and b above.
Note, none of the above classifications include the River Rijn for which separate regulations exist.
(38-59) These are not applicable to a privately owned vessel.
Page eight
(60) Vervallen vroegere Meetbrieven.
Details of previous Meetbrieven.
This example shows that the first meetbrief was issued in 1901 in s’Gravenhage and a metingsmerk of 168 allotted to it. In 1934 a new meetbrief was issued in Amsterdam with the metingsmerk 8517. Ten years later again in Amsterdam another meetbrief with the number 12646 was issued. So 1944 was the last year that this ship was measured for commercial purposes.
(61-62) Not applicable.
(63) Expiry date of meetbrief.
(64) Place and date of issue of document.
(65-66-67) Official stamp and signature of issuing office and officer.
(68) Merken van teboekstelling------------218--B--Amst--1927.
Official registration number, most ships built before 1927 will have a 1927 registration number as there was a major reorganisation of the registration system at this time.
(69) Country of registration and the location of the stamped in teboekstellingnummer using the same format as in (31)
Pages 10-12 Changes and alterations.
So there we have it, I’m sure that this will not have answered all your questions but hopefully it will have clarified some areas for you. If you are relay stuck then send me a photocopy of the offending document and I’ll try to decipher it for you. Success! (Good luck)
David Evershed
22
So here we go with the
A-Z of basic barge bits
A
Aak------------------------ship type, or generally used for any "barge".
Aanvaringsklamp-------heavy wooden block, fixed to the hull in front of the leeboard to protect it from collision.
Achteronder--------------living or storage space under the aft deck.
Achterschip-------------- the aft end of the ship.
Achtersteven ------------sternpost.
Anderhalfmast---------- ketch rigged ship with short mizzen mast.
Anker--------------------- anchor.
Ankerlier----------------- anchor winch.
B
Bakboord------------------ port (side).
Bakstag-------------------- backstay.
Bakstagtakel-------------- tackle for running backstay.
Bedrijfsvaartuig---------- commercial (as opposed to pleasure) ship.
Benzine-------------------- Petrol.
Beretand------------------- wooden posts on either side of the voorsteven on sailing ships. (literally bears teeth)
Berghout------------------ rubbing strake.
Bergplaat----------------- area of hull plate covered by the berghout.
Beugel--------------------- cotton or canvas bucket on long pole used when dredging.
Beurtschip----------------ship providing a regular local service, commonly used as the name for a small motorship type.
Bezaan-------------------- mizzen mast, after mast on a ketch rigged ship.
Binnenvaart---------------- inland shipping trade.
Binnenschip-------------- see above.
Binten (also gebinten) -athwartships metal beams tying the sides of the hold together.
Boeisel-------------------- area of the ships side above the berghout.
Boegspriet---------------- bowsprit.
Boegstag------------------- whisker stay for bowsprit.
Bokkepoot---------------- "A’ frame used for mast lowering. (literally goats leg, also a type of biscuit)
Bolder--------------------- bollard.
Bollestal------------------- north Netherlands word for steering position or cockpit.
Boltjalk-------------------- north Netherlands ship type.
Botteloef------------------ fabricated extension on voorsteven of a sailing ship to allow a larger fore-triangle.
Buikdenning------------ boards forming the floor of the hold.
Bouwjaar---------------- year of building.
Bouwmateriaal--------- building material.
Bovenhout--------------- ultra short gaff .(see driekant)
Braadspil----------------- spike and barrel type manual windlass.
Brandmerken----------- official registration number stamped into the ship structure.
Breefok------------------- square sail carried on a yard.
C
Chartervaart--------------- charter trade.
Composietschip------------ ship built from a combination of metal and wood.
D
Dekhuis--------------------- small living space on deck.
Deklast--------------------- cargo carried on deck above the level of the hatchboards.
Den-------------------------- the vertical sides of the hold above the sidedecks.
Dirk------------------------- tackle that allows the gaff or boom to be used as a crane. (English "derrick")
Doosteven---------------- fabricated, square section, hollow stem or sternpost, found on most iron and steel barges.
Driekant------------------ three sided sail carried on an ultra short gaff .
Dwarsscheeps----------- athwartships.
E
Ebbe---------------------- -ebb tide.
Echte--------------------- -genuine.
Eigenaar----------------- -owner.
F
Ferrytuig----------------- spritsail rig.
Fok------------------------- foresail closest to the mainmast.
Fokschoot---------------- sheet for the fok.
Fokval--------------------- halyard for the fok.
Friesetjalk---------------- regional ship type.
G
Gaffel---------------------- gaff.
Gang----------------------- plate in iron or steel ship.
Gangboord---------------- sidedeck.
Gasolie-------------------- Diesel fuel.
Geklonken---------------- riveted.
Giek------------------------ boom.
Groningertjalk----------- regional ship type.
Grootzeil------------------ mainsail.
Groteschoot--------------- mainsheet.
L
Lier---------------------------winch.
Lijnolie----------------------linseed oil.
Loefbijter--------------------below water protrusion on stempost of some sailing-barges.
Luik--------------------------hatch.
Lamme arm------------ ----side mounted propeller (see zijschroef).
Lummel---------------------fitting at base of mast to which the boom is connected.
Luxemotor------------------type of motor-barge.
M
Mastdek---------------------see Kolsum.
Mastkoker------------------fitting on deck securing base of mast (tabernacle).
Mastwortel-----------------carved spiral ornament at the top of the mast.
Meetbrief-------------------official registration book.
Metingsmerk---------------official registration number.
Merkel-----------------------athwartships beam supporting the hatch-boards.
Mignole----------------------type of "spits-like" motorbarge.
Mixte-------------------------ship built from both wood and metal (see compositieschip)
Motorhek--------------------type of stern often found on motor-barges used in shallow waters.
N
Nagelbank-------------------(see knecht)
Nok---------------------------peak of gaff.
O
Opduwer--------------------small motor-boat pushing a larger engineless barge.
Opdrukker-----------------(see above)
Opsteker--------------------adjustable extension to botteloef.
Overloop--------------------traveller for fok or grootzeil.
P
Paardenroef----------------on-board stable for horse or mule.
Pakschuit-------------------cargo or passenger barge designed to be pulled from the shore.
Paviljoen-------------------after-cabin.
Paviljoentjalk--------------tjalk having an after-cabin.
Peniche----------------------type of French built motorbarge.
Platbodem------------------flat bottom.
Poon-------------------------type of tjalk originating in Zeeland.
Potdeksel-------------------bulwarks.
Praam-----------------------sailing-barge type.
Punter-----------------------open flat-bottomed ships boat, usually rowed or sculled.
R
Raderboot------------------paddle-wheel tugboat.
Rakband-------------------lacings holding the sail to the mast.
Rietaak---------------------aak type from the Biesbos area.
Roef-------------------------cabin having windows above deck-level.
R
Roer-------------------------rudder.
Roerlichter----------------device used to prevent the rudder swinging when not in use.
Roerzwaard---------------lowering rudder extension.
Romp-----------------------hull.
S
Salonroef-------------------roef located after the steering position.
Scheerbalk-----------------central spine locating the hatch-boards.
Scheepsjager---------------person who made a living from towing barges from the shore.
Scheg------------------------skeg
Schildpadkatrol-----------particular variety of block.
Schoener--------------------large sailing-barge type.
Schouw---------------------small flat-bottomed boat with a hard chine.
Skutsje----------------------type of tjalk found in Friesland.
Sleepboot-------------------tugboat.
Sleepschip------------------dumb barge, designed to be towed by a tugboat.
Sluis--------------------------lock.
Snik-------------------------type of barge designed to be towed from the shore.
Sontvaarder---------------ship trading in the Sont area of the Baltic.
Spant-----------------------structural frames.
Spiegel---------------------coloured area on the stern of many sailing-barges (literally, mirror).
Spijker---------------------nail.
Spits------------------------type of motorbarge.
Spitsbek-------------------variation of above.
Stag-------------------------stay (as in forestay).
Steilsteven----------------ship with a straight stempost, also particular sailing-barge type.
Strijkklamp----------------timber against which the lee-board lies.
Stuiten---------------------thick area of the rubbing strake at bow and stern.
Stuurboord---------------starboard.
Stuurstand----------------open steering position.
Stuurtalie-----------------restraining device on tiller.
T
Takel----------------------tackle.
Talie-----------------------line used in conjunction with a block.
Teboekstellingnummer---unique number issued in the area in which the ship is trading.
Tjalk----------------------sailing-barge type.
Tonnetje------------------handgrip in the shape of a barrel located on the end of the tiller.
Top-----------------------area of the mast above the hommer.
Treklijn------------------see jaaglijn.
Tuigage------------------sailing-rigging.
U
Uitwip-------------------see kokerluik.
V
Vaarboom---------------pole used to push the barge along from on deck.
Val------------------------halyard (as in fokval)
Vioolblok---------------violin shaped double block.
Vlak----------------------flat area of a ships bottom.
Vlet-----------------------small flat-bottomed sailing boat.
Vleugel------------------masthead flag.
Voorsteven-------------stempost.
Vooronder--------------fore-cabin.
W
Wadvaarder------------ship trading in the Wad area of the Baltic.
Walenschip-------------type of Belgian built barge.
Waterstag---------------lower stay on bowsprit.
Want---------------------shroud.
Wegerij------------------counterweight on the foot of the mast.
Wellingplat-------------area of the ships side behind the berghout.
Weeflijn------------- ---ropes attached to the shrouds to form a ladder (ratlines).
Westlander-------------type of small barge originating in the Westland area of the Netherlands.
Wimple------------------see vleugel.
Woonboot----------------houseboat (static).
Woonschip---------------houseboat (mobile).
Z
Zandaak------------------aak type barge designed for the dredging and carriage of sand.
Zandloper---------------metal reinforcing piece on the leading edge of a lee-board.
Zeebrief-----------------official document allowing a ship to trade on the sea.
Zeeg------------------ --"sheer" of the ship’s hull.
Zeezwaard--------------long and thin lee-board designed for use at sea.
Zeilroef-----------------cabin located forward of the steering position.
Zetboord---------------wooden board carrying the ships name, owners name and home port.
Zijschroef--------------side mounted propeller, driven from an engine forward of the mast.
Zwaard-----------------lee-board.
Zwaardloper----------tackle for raising and lowering the lee-board.
Zwanehals-------------swan neck connection joining the boom to the lummel.
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It was suggested in the last issue of Blue Flag, that when a Dutch word is used the pronunciation should also be included. I have also been asked to include pronunciation in my books. I have thought long and hard on this, is Blue Flag really the forum for learning to speak Dutch? I could, with the help of Margreet, produce a series of articles explaining the subtle rules of Dutch grammar and the sounds of the different letters. All very interesting and enlightening, but not in a magazine about boats surely? It’s your magazine, what do you want? In any case, those of you who speak a little Dutch must surely agree that the sounds made when speaking the word "scheepvaart", for example, are hard enough to acquire let alone explain. The number of Dutch words encountered in my article on registration documents is extreme to say the least. To try to explain them all would double the length of the article and end up filling the whole magazine! However, perhaps a compromise is in order and I will try to give pronunciation hints (at least in my Celtic Fringe pieces) when a commonly encountered word is used. At the end of the day, I suppose the best advice I can give is to attend an evening class, spend a little time in Holland, or better still do as I did and marry an intelligent, patient and pretty Dutch girl!!
As I write this another wet January day is drawing to a dim and dismal close. It has been so wet that the other day, to my total chagrin, I found a mushroom growing out of one of my lee-boards! All this despite the boards still smelling strongly of last years creosote. However, despite the almost non-stop rain, I have managed to get this years re-fit under-way once more. Just before Christmas I lowered the mast using the mast lowering legs known as "bokkepoot" (bok-er-pote), and the wire-drum part ("strijklier" strike-leer) of the anchor winch ("ankerlier" an-ker-leer). This is a relatively easy task provided proper precautions are taken to prevent things getting out of control. Those of you with counterweighted masts are probably looking smug at this point, but I don’t have a thumping great weight and mast foot taking up space in my fore-cabin so yah-boo to you!
If this makes little sense to some of you, I will explain further. The Dutch inland barge fleet encountered bridges with monotonous regularity. These bridges ranged from small and low wooden constructions over tiny drainage canals, to huge iron railway bridges over the great rivers. This meant that although the majority of the bridges were of the movable variety, swinging or lifting, some were fixed and it was important to be able to lower the mast or masts with minimum effort or fuss. The barges used mainly on small waterways tended to employ a counterweighted mast. This is typically encountered on the Friese "Skutsje" (scoot-cher) although it was occasionally used on many other types when necessary. These ships did not go to sea and the relatively short mast with a short gaff was often completely unstayed. The mast was stepped on the floor of the forecabin and the bottom part was fitted with iron ballast weights. The spar then passed up through the deck and into a tabernacle ("mastcoker" pronounced exactly as it looks), where a pin passed through it and the tabernacle. When it was time to lower the mast it was only necessary to release the forestay ("voorstag", vor-star-g) and give a gentle tuck on the topping lift ,to cause the mast to pivot backwards and downwards under complete control. The bottom section of the mast passed up through a hatch in the foredeck. Careful manipulation of the balance weights meant that the weight of the mast and sails could be balanced almost exactly and with a little help the spar, complete with sails and rigging, could be induced to "fall" upwards and back into position again. This could all be done without the ship losing steerage way.
When a ship did not need to lower its mast as frequently and on the larger ships which tended to have greater freeboard and thus a greater vertical internal distance from deck to floor, a different method of mast lowering was employed. The mast was still pivoted at a point in the mastcoker, but here it was conventionally deck stepped. Clearly it would still fall backwards if the voorstag was released, but without a balance weight on its foot it would fall out of control. The answer was in the use of the bokkepoten. A pair of long and strong poles were hooked into eyes or sockets in the bulwarks ("potdeksel", again pronounced as it looks). The other ends of the two poles came together at the point of location of the forestay. The forestay was shackled to the bokkepoten and these were shackled to the stempost ("voorsteven", vor-stave-en). The anchor winch would have a wire drum as well as a chain gypsy. The wire was shackled to the bottom of the bokkepoten via a four or six way purchase. This is the system employed on my own ship. When it is time to lower the mast, tension is taken up with the winch and the bottom shackle released. Again a gentle tug on the back-stays is needed to induce the spar to move and then by winding the winch carefully backwards, or allowing it to run out, under control, by means of the brake, the mast is lowered safely into its deck support. The bokkepoten were often left in position all the time, but those ships that made less use of them would stow them on deck and shackle the voorstag to the voorsteven in the conventional way. On a ship with perhaps three or four shrouds per side and extra sails carried on a bowsprit, the mast lowering process became more complicated and not something that would be contemplated or undertaken on a whim. The bokkepoten themselves were originally made from American Oregon pine wood. In later years as the supply dried up it was necessary to use other pine such as Douglas fir. They were mostly rectangular in section with rounded ends. The ends would be protected from splitting by means of an iron pipe slipped over the end and this was fitted with the hooks and eyes necessary to locate it to the potdeksel and the voorstag. Some bokkepoten were made from thick walled iron or steel tube, those on "Jan Willem" are, but, although by virtue of their weight they provide a natural counter balancing force, these are very heavy to move around the deck when not in use.
Anyway, since I built and fitted "Jan Willems" mast five years ago, replacing the original which had rot at both top and bottom, it has solidly stood through tempest and calm, but after five years a more detailed examination than that possible from a bosun's chair was due. I am glad to report that all is in fine order. We bought the mast as a growing tree from the local forestry plantation on the banks of the river Fal and brought it home, along with seven other trees, lashed alongside "Jan Willem". That event, coupled with details of how we turned a tree into a mast, will be the subject of another article at some time in the future. I thought that the mast would be in good order and the other reason for lowering it was to replace all the shrouds and stays with new galvanised wire. The bottom sections particularly suffer as they are exposed to most salt spray. The forestay has to also take the added wear of the piston hanks holding the sail to the stay. Luckily, I had the good fortune to pick up a load of brand new wire surplus to stock from our local ships chandlers across the river. So hopefully by the time you read this the mast will once again tower above the neighbouring spars, complete with new standing and running rigging, well oiled blocks and topped off with a brand new "vleugel" (vlerg-hul) which is the long tasselled red pennant seen on all classic Dutch ships.
STANDING RIGGING
The standing rigging of a ship is made up of all the flexible ropes that hold the mast or masts in position and at the required tension. Nowadays these ropes are mostly made of wire, but 150 years ago ships were voyaging great distances with standing rigging made from natural fibres, or to put it another way- ropes! In the case of Dutch barges, many of the smaller ships and also those bigger vessels used exclusively on inland waters, retained rope rigging until way into the twentieth century. Whatever medium is used for the rigging, the layout and detail is broadly similar. When mention is made of natural fibre or rope rigging, it is probable that the fibre in question is either Manila from the Philippines, or Hemp (yes, that stuff!) widely grown in the southern countries of Europe along with India and New Zealand. Only the most traditional of owners will attempt to use these fibres today, as they are prone to expanding and contracting, slackening and tightening, as the weather changes from dark to light, hot to cold and from wet to dry. This all entails constant adjusting and re-adjusting of the rigging. However, where rope is used, possibly of a natural and man-made fibre mix such as "Hempex", it needs treating differently and attaching in a slightly different manner than the more common wire rope rigging which I will deal with later. Most Dutch barges have what is known as a pole mast, that is to say a solid spar rather than a hollow made-up mast. A pole mast is immensely strong, has in-built flexibility and hates to be restrained by too-tight rigging. At the top of the mast, below the various attachment points for the blocks involved in the running rigging, is to be found a built up area known as the "hommer". This consists of a number of tapered wooden sleepers let into the mast and through bolted to form a "collar" right around the mast. The standing rigging which prevents the mast from sagging to either port or starboard are called the shrouds ("wanten", in Dutch). These may number from two, to four on each side, depending on the size and type of ship. A seagoing Tjalk or Klipper may well have four on each side and a purely inland ship such as a Skutsje may have no shrouds at all, depending only on the masts’ inherent stiffness. (Having said this, it is also true that the eminently seaworthy little Dutch fishing boat the "Botter" often ventured to sea with no shrouds. However, they did not generally employ a mast anywhere near as tall as the average Dutch barge.) The shrouds are attached in two ways. On smaller ships a single rope may be used with a large eye spliced into the centre. This is called a "soft eye". This eye is slipped over the mast head to rest upon the hommer, the two ends then form the two shrouds for one side. This is then repeated for the other side. Where separate shrouds are used, a large eye is spliced into the end of each rope and these are then placed in turn over the mast to lie on top of each other and on top of the hommer. There is a traditional order in the placing of these shrouds, namely: The first is the forward starboard shroud, the second is the forward port followed by the aft starboard and aft port. It can be seen that as they lay on top of each other that each is of a different length and will only fit in its appointed position. The first shroud must have its’ soft eye parcelled and served, to prevent it from chafing against the mast.
It is worth taking a few moments here to discuss the various esoteric and salty sea dog type words that are beginning to appear, and will of necessity occur frequently in any article dealing with rope work, be it natural, man-made or wire.
WHIPPING
This is a technique employed to stop the end of a rope from fraying or coming un-layed. Twine or marline is bound tightly around the ropes’ end and either sewn or knotted in place.
SEIZING
Seizing is used to hold two ropes side by side or to complete an eye. It again uses twine or marline bound tightly around the two ends to hold them together. To form a tighter piece of work, the twine is taken around both parts in a figure-of-eight shape. This is called Racking Seizing. If wire rope is being seized, then laid-up, flexible seizing wire is used, or thin single-strand galvanised wire.
WORMING
This is the process whereby the external grooves inherent in any laid-up, stranded rope, are filled by winding smaller twine into them to achieve a smooth surface prior to future work.
PARCELING
Traditionally tarred strips of canvas, two inches wide, were wrapped around the wormed rope to keep the salt water and weather away from the finished work beneath.
SERVING
The parcelling on a rope may be held in place with multiple windings of marline. This is much like a common whipping, but done properly, using a seizing mallet it becomes very tight. The work is finished off with black varnish or tar.
SPLICING
A rope is spliced when the separate strands are un-woven from one end and fed back into the lay of the rope to form an eye, or to finish off the end of the rope neatly. This is not recommended for running rigging, as the fatter, back-spliced end of the rope will not pass through a block that the rest of the rope can run through.
LAY
The lay of a rope is the way that it is laid up, the way in which the "thread" runs, either right or left handed.
So, to get back to our shrouds, whether wire rope or natural fibre, they will traditionally have been spliced or seized to form the soft eye and then wormed, parcelled and served. For those of you of a traditionalist nature the following rhyme may be of use.
"Worm and parcel with the lay, turn and serve the other way."
When wire rope became available, first made from iron, then steel, latterly galvanised steel and most recently stainless steel, it was readily adopted by the barge skippers. It was more expensive it was true, but it needed much less management and maintenance and was generally stronger for a given diameter. Initially the same attachment techniques were used at the mast head, but by the end of the nineteenth century different methods were adopted. For the barges, the commonest new method was to make an iron collar in two halves and clamp it around the mast, resting on the hommer. To this collar were welded attachment eyes and rings to take the wire rope shrouds. The wire rope would have a "hard eye" worked into it. This is where the rope is passed around a metal thimble and then either spliced back into itself, or seized in place. Modern rigging hard eyes are most often formed by a patent pressed sleeve being compressed into place around both parts under pressure. Another common method is the use of bulldog grips. These "U" shaped clamps in two halves are slipped around the two ends of the rope and clamped up tight by means of two nuts. Again, salty dog sailors may sneer at the use of bulldog grips, but they were in common use and the pragmatic barge skipper used what ever was convenient and practical at the time. When bulldogs are used on their own, without splicing or seizing, then three is the traditional number. Never use stainless grips on galvanised rigging. Another neat option is to use bulldogs in conjunction with seizing wire. One clip next to the hard eye followed by a rakking seizing of galvanised wire and finished off with a final bulldog, forms a "belt and braces" job. If the whole piece of work is then bound with twine or marline and then liberally doused in tar or bitumen, it gives all the appearance of having been wormed parcelled and served and the final covering of twine and tar covers all the sharp edges of the bulldog clips that will otherwise snag any stray sail or flag.
So, what of wire rope itself, what is it and how is it made? Wire rope consists of a number of thin solid wires twisted together, often around a central core of oil impregnated hemp, or maybe some man-made fibre, to form strands. Six of these strands are then laid up right handed around another central core of hemp or similar. This is the type of rope that is commonly used for ships rigging. A lesser number of strands can make a stiffer rope and take a thicker layer of galvanising, thus making a stiff, corrosion resistant rope. A greater number of strands can take a thinner layer of galvanisung, but will make a much more flexible rope. "You pays your money and takes your choice!" How do you look after your wire rope? Many ignore it and replace it only when its’ appearance, or guilt, makes it a necessity. There are however several good guides here. Firstly, any one spiky snag of wire poking out through the lay is one too many. Secondly, rusty wire is probably worn out, but it is worth scratching the surface to see what the layer underneath looks like. If it is shiny and the rust is localised, possibly at the lower end where salt water is frequently dowsing it, the shroud may gain an extended life by cleaning and then parcelling and serving it. On sailing ships the forestay gets a hard life, as the piston hanks on the sail soon wear away the galvanising. If the wire stay is kept well oiled with linseed oil and remains flexible to the touch, it will last a while longer. The moment any part of a wire rope becomes stiff to the touch it should be replaced.
Meanwhile back at the hommer.
So we now have nicely finished wire rope shrouds, with a well made hard eye in the end. The simple method here is to attach them to the metal collar on the mast by way of shackles. These should be ideally one size larger than the rope they are attached to. Many Dutch barges at the beginning of the century tended to have iron hooks permanently attached to the mast band and the hard eyes were simply dropped over these. Where natural fibre rope was still used then a single rope with an eye spliced into the middle formed a pair of shrouds.
So much for the top of the shrouds, but what of the lower end and how is tension achieved and maintained. On Dutch barges there are three main ways of attaching the shrouds at the lower end. The first is the simplest and was used with both natural fibre shrouds and wire rope shrouds. In both cases a hard eye is spliced or seized in the end. A metal loop, or hoop, is fixed in place at the top of the chainplates on the side of the ship and a simple lanyard joins the two together by way of a number of turns. Traditionally this should not be less than seven. This simple technique is low cost and easy to tension and adjust. It relies on the strength and integrity of the lanyard for its’ security. The next method is what in England is called a "deadeye" and in the Netherlands a "jufferblok". This is a thick, round, piece of hardwood, with three holes in it, spliced to the end of the shroud. An identical block is attached to the side of the ship. A lanyard is threaded through the three holes in each block in turn and drawn tight to achieve tension. This is a well proven method and looks good, although of course it means an additional four wooden blocks to maintain and again relies on the integrity of the lanyard. The final and by far and away the most common method of attachment, is the rigging screw, sometimes called a bottlescrew or turnbuckle. These consist of a central metal barrel shaped body, having an internal opposing thread at top and bottom. A yoke on a threaded section is wound into each end. The upper yoke is attached straight to the hard eye in the bottom of the shroud and the bottom yoke is fixed to a tang on the chainplate. The threaded part should be between one and a half and twice the size of the shroud it supports. When the central barrel is turned, it either forces the yokes apart, or draws them together. This makes the adjustment of tension a very simple and precise job. (Bottlescrews must be kept full of grease at all time. Having said this, in my experience, whatever you do, they will still contain water whenever you dismantle them!)
A variation on the standard bottlescrew is the "pelican" type rigging screw. These are the same as a normal rigging screw, but the bottom part, instead of having a clevis fitment, has a hook with a very long end that reaches back up to the top of the barrel where it is secured with a clip. By lifting the clip and pushing down on the hook, it is possible to relieve the tension on the stay and thus quickly disengage the hook from the chainplate eye through which it passes. These were especially useful on the sailing barges, where the mast was regularly raised and lowered. In later years the various motor barges also used them on their masts, for the same reasons and also as often the mast was used as a lifting derrick. The quick release rigging screw was useful to get rigging out of the way when working cargo.
And finally
How tight?
This is a perpetual problem with no straight-forward answer. I think it was Eric Hiscock who said "Tight to the eye and slack to the touch." This is still a good answer. A shroud should look taut with no obvious signs of slackness, but should be free to move when pulled on, without being "bar-tight’. A wooden mast is a substantial piece of equipment, well able to stand up for itself. The shrouds and indeed the running backstays, are there to provide support when a force is applied, from sails or cargo handling, that seeks to move the mast from the vertical.
David Evershed "Jan Willem"
17
ANCHORS & GROUND TACKLE.
As long as man has been sailing and floating about the rivers lakes and oceans of this planet he has been faced with the twin problems of getting his ship moving in the right direction and having successfully achieved that he had to consider how to stop it moving when it wasn't supposed to. The invention and development of the anchor went on alongside that of the ships that carried them. Some of the earliest preserved examples are those from Roman times. It seems a 250ft galley would carry two anchors, one of iron, around 13ft long and to all intents and purposes a "fisherman's" type and the other, around 16ft long with much fatter flukes, was made of wood, bound with iron, and weighted with lead. The Romans then basically carried a main anchor and a bower anchor. There is no evidence that they used chain cable and so natural fibre rope must have been used. Chain first seems to have replaced rope in 1809 when Capt Samuel Brown RN had it installed on HMS Penelope, replacing the hemp rope used by naval ships up until then.
Originally on the older barges a manual spike and barrel type windlass called an "ankerspil" was used and this was in turn replaced by the more familiar mechanical windlass. This recovered the chain by manually rotating a round wheel constructed with elegantly curved spokes. The larger ships sometimes used a small "donkey "engine to operate the windlass and this was soon succeeded by hydraulic or electric power. However, basically this type of windlass continues more or less unaltered to the present day.
Today, most barges will have some kind of anchoring system in place, some will be more than adequate, others will be less so. Many ships used routinely in Dutch waters never have a need to anchor, this also applies to those in Britain used only rarely and then only on inland canals and rivers. Other ships venture into more exposed and tidal waters and the owner who likes to cruise should ensure that his ground tackle is up to the job. Certainly on my own ship "Jan Willem" the anchoring arrangements where totally inadequate to fulfil our intended use. When purchased "Jan Willem" was fitted with a small mechanical windlass that performed the joint functions of helping to lower the mast and also recover the anchor. The gypsy fitted was for 5mm chain and a length of 25m of this chain was shackled to a traditional Dutch 28kg fisherman's anchor. No other anchors or chain were on board. I kept the fisherman as a secondary anchor and fitted it with 50m of 9.5mm chain. I bought a main anchor of the standard "modern" barge type weighing 50kg , shackled to 30m of 16mm chain. The gypsy was replaced to suit this set up and to date we have never dragged our anchor, even in a F10 blow. Admittedly we were well sheltered up the river Fal, but it's important to have faith in your anchor if you want a good nights sleep. So, how do you decide if your anchoring system is adequate? One rule of thumb says to carry the biggest anchor and the longest, heaviest chain you can realistically handle. This makes a lot of sense. Another rule is to say "a pound of anchor for every foot of boat", this is a little bit miserly for heavy barges, but is fine for your smallest anchor. The best rule of all however, is to use formula that has been derived especially for barges by the Dutch body that controls the charter fleet.
FORMULA FOR DETERMINING THE WEIGHT OF ANCHORS TO BE CARRIED BY FLAT BOTTOMED CHARTER SHIPS.
G = (35 * OPP1) + ( 4 * OPP2)
Where OPP1 is the underwater area of a cross section amidships.
Where OPP2 is the above water area of the bow of the ship including mast and rigging.
G then will be the total weight in kilograms of the two main anchors carried. The value of the two anchors must not exceed a ratio of 45% and 55%. Where the type of anchor is of the Danforth or Plough type the weight may be reduced by a factor of 20%.
Example (1 A typical tjalk type ship with a beam of 4m and a draft amidships of 0.6m (OPP1), a bow that has 2m of freeboard in the centre reducing to 1.6m at the sides, and a single mast of 16m and double shrouds, (OPP2). Conveniently this configuration realistically allows the mast and rigging area to cancel out the reduction in forward area brought about by the sheer.
This gives a formula of: G = (35 * 2.4) + (4 * 8)
In this case G = 116kg
This might usefully comprise a fisherman's anchor making up 45% and weighing 52kg
and a main Danforth type making up 55% (63.8kg reduced by 20%) weighing 51kg
Example (2 A Luxemotor with a beam of 5m and draft amidships of 1m (OPP1), a bow with freeboard of 3.5m and no rigging (OPP2).
In this case: G = (35 * 5) + (4 * 17.5)
and G = 245kg
If two standard (Danforth type) barge anchors are carried, they should weigh 88kg and 108kg respectively.
What type of anchor?
This depends very much on the type of sea bed that you intend to come to rest over, but here are some thoughts. The fisherman's type anchor is an excellent compromise anchor for most sea beds in non desperate situations, cheaper than other types kg for kg and looks the part. The "modern" barge anchor is cheaper kg for kg than a very large plough type and easily available on the continent.
Chains and Warps. Some guidelines.
There is no set down rule governing length and weight of cable but my recommendation would be that the minimum size of chain for any barge over 30 tons should be 14mm, the shackle joining anchor to cable should be 20% larger than the chain and if warp is used in conjunction it should ideally be three strand nylon of 28mm minimum. The minimum length of chain on the main anchor should be at least five times the ship's length. If a mixture is used on the secondary anchor then one ship's length of chain should be regarded as the absolute minimum.
18
THINGS THAT GO "THUNK" IN THE NIGHT
DAVID EVERSHED
I first became aware of the awesome power behind the tiller and rudder of a large barge on the first occasion I selected astern on "Jan Willem". I had just taken over from Helmut, the previous owner, and was getting a last minute course in barge handling. Initially this consisted of Helmut simply handing me the tiller as soon as the shore lines were let go, saying, "your ship". This was of course the best approach and during the next hour or so he carefully showed me how to handle the ship. We had left the harbour of Enkhuizen under power and although the tiller was undoubtedly heavy to push over, it was nowhere near as bad as I had been lead to believe. "A useful workout for a Sumo wrestler" was how one magazine had described helming a similar ship. Watching the skutsjes racing on the Ijsselmeer had left me in little doubt that in a strong wind considerable effort was needed to hold a course. In any event, I found that the ship behaved reliably enough and when Helmut told me to select astern I did as I was told. We moved slowly backwards and Helmut gestured for me to try turning into the wind. I pushed my end of the 4 meter long tiller gently over and was instantly catapulted to the far side of the cockpit letting go of the tiller in the process, it continued its journey until the rudder was hard up against the stern post. By selecting neutral again and climbing up onto the "paviljoen", the tiller was easily retrieved.
I have never forgotten that lesson.
The old barge skippers were also very aware of this trait. Many were injured by a wildly flailing tiller, or crushed between the tiller and cockpit side when struggling to control their ship short handed. This problem was worst on the seagoing ships and those that ventured onto the more exposed waters of the Zuiderzee. The "paviljoenschip", with its long looping tiller and great leverage, was also particularly dangerous in bad conditions. For these skippers, their salvation came in the shape of the so called "Engels Stuurwerk". This was basically a "bolt on", worm drive, wheel steering conversion, manufactured by the English firm of John Hastie & Co in the early part of this century. It neatly replaced the tiller and although it meant that the helmsman had to steer with the wheel behind or alongside him it made the cockpit a much safer area to work in.
The next time the tiller and I got into a fight was as we were about to enter the western arm of Dover outer harbour. As usual there was a rotten confused sea just here, whipped up by wind, tide, car ferries and hovercraft. I called on the VHF for permission to enter and was told to wait as a hovercraft left and then come straight in. I was already hanging on to the tiller with legs braced and now the "tail began to wag the dog!". Tony, my crewman, joined me and together in some kind of ungainly dance we waltzed our way into the harbour. I went some way to solving this problem, whilst we were waiting for a weather window to allow us to continue our trip. The old Dutch skippers used to fit what was called a "Stootalie". This consisted of a single block attached to the outer edge of the cockpit, more or less in line with the end of the tiller, with a line running from here to another single block on the inboard end of the tiller. From here the line ran back down and around the first block and across to a similar arrangement on the other side of the ship. This meant that the tiller movement was effectively "damped" by the friction generated by the blocks and line. By loosening and tightening the "Stootalie", the magnitude of the dampening force could be controlled.
I fabricated a "Stootalie" for myself and the problem was solved.
The next problem associated with the rudder began slowly and insidiously grew. Most Dutch sailing barges have a "barn door" of a rudder hung on fairly massive gudgeons and pintles. These of course wear. In the beginning, I found that if the tiller was not secured when at anchor, or on the mooring, it would move due to waves and wash. I used a bungy cord for this so it could move a little, but not uncontrollably so.
This meant that over a period of time, one small area of rubbing surface wore more than the rest. Eventually the rudder developed a definite "thunk" as it moved into, or out of the straight ahead position. Worse still it now had lateral as well as vertical movement, so if the waves or wash were stronger than usual, it would now happily "thunk" even though it was strapped up. Moving the securing position to port cured this for one year and the next year securing to starboard (right over the entrance to the after cabin, "thunk" ouch!!) temporarily solved the problem, but now there was nowhere to go. In any position it lurched up and down and "thunked" rhythmically all night long.
I know now that I must replace the hangings and this will be done this winter, but until I get around to it, I have fabricated my own version of another fitting that the old skippers invented to cure this very same problem. Some old ships will still have this in place, in the case of "Jan Willem" I can see where the old fittings have been ground off. (Ho Hum!)
An eye is fitted to each side of the rudder, on the aft edge, just above the water line. A chain is secured to the quarter of the ship, passed through the eye and back to the quarter where it is loosely secured by a pin. This is done on both sides, it is called a "Grondtalie". Another eye is fixed on the inboard part of the rudder, next to what is usually the middle one of three pintles. A chain runs upwards to a substantial four way tackle, with a line running back into the cockpit. This is called the "Roerlichter". The skipper would haul on the "Roerlichter" line and pull the rudder up, but not out off the gudgeons, and secure it. Now he could tighten each of the two "Grondtalie" chains and release the "Roerlichter". The result is that the weight of the rudder keeps the "Grondtalie" chains tight and prevents the tiller from swinging about and, if it does move at all, it is now clear of all three of the gudgeon to pintle bearing surfaces and so NO THUNK! and no localized wear whilst at rest. My temporary version does not involve chains, but embodies the spirit of this idea. When I fit new rudder hangings I will also fit a genuine "Grondtalie - Roerlichter" arrangement.
Of course the thunk in the night is not exclusive to sailing barges. When I joined the luxemotor "Vertrouwen" last year, I was unpleasantly awoken, as gale blew down the Caledonian canal, by a familiar sound. My cabin on "Vertrouwen" was immediately above the tiller flat, so it did not take too long to realize what was happening. In the light of day I realized why there was a length of line attached to the rudder blade. I had seen it before of course, but to my cost had not paid any real attention to it. By running the engine to power up the hydraulic steering, it was possible to heave the rudder hard over and whilst a crewman held it there, I heaved the line tight and secured it to the cabin rail.
Problem solved.
As the season progressed it became second nature to secure this line at Foyers on Loch Ness and at Fort Augustus at the mouth of Loch Ness. After the first month this was done whatever the weather. Loch Ness would often produce a swell for no apparent reason and in the middle of an otherwise calm night, "Nessy" would once again start knocking on the hull.
Halfway through the season it became harder and harder to heave the line tight enough, eventually taking two strong Australian crewmen to get it tight. It took me a while, but at last the light bulb in my brain lit up and I simply moved the line to the other side of the cabin roof. Now, just as with "Jan Willem", the rudder was bearing on unworn surfaces. I have not yet discovered what the old luxemotor skippers did to prevent localized wear, maybe they didn’t stay still long enough for a problem to develop. Be assured, I will investigate!
Part two
Those of you (most of you?) who also read "Barge News" will be aware that the gudgeons and pintles of "Jan Willem’s" rudder were in dire need of replacement. I am now pleased to say that I have completed this task. Bright and early one morning we moved across to the other side of the creek, to moor up alongside the "Quay Workshop." Yes, the same barge-workshop that sunk last year and that I described in this space. Now re-floated, re-lined and re-built it is a very useful addition to our creek. The workshop has a crane on board and we used this to first take the weight off the 12 foot tiller and lift it off its’ tenon on the rudder head. Then, with a rope around the rudder itself we took up the strain. It would not come straight of as one of the pintles had a steel collar, secured with Allen screws, to prevent this happening. This is a thoroughly sensible arrangement for any ship venturing to sea, where rough water or a big sea can easily lift a wooden rudder off one or more of its hangings. We used a gas torch to cut the collar off as it was seized solid and the pin was to be cut off and replaced in any case. Now we could lift the rudder off and lower it onto the deck of the workshop. (Pete estimated the weight at about one ton and who am I to doubt him, certainly it is not something you would want to drop on your toe!) The wooden structure of the rudder was in excellent condition, no work was needed there other than to soak it in boiled linseed oil and anti-foul the below-the-water-line area. The pins are welded to long steel straps that are in turn through-bolted to the rudder. Amazingly most of these bolts came out easily enough, but predictably the last one needed to be punched through.
Pete had already fabricated new pins from stainless steel and these were tack-welded into place on the straps, replacing the severely worn originals. The gudgeons on the sternpost were more of a problem. It was not really feasible to cut them off and replace them, as this would mean a painstaking lining up process on re-assembly, not to mention that the lower gudgeon, at the heel of the sternpost was two foot under water! First we took a plank, then we lashed a steel plate to it, then we tied two more pieces of rope to it and chucked it in the creek. The plank now had slightly negative buoyancy, and by pushing at it with boat-hooks and pulling on its’ ropes we positioned it under the base of the sternpost. When the tide receded and we sat on the mud, the theory was that the plank would prevent the sternpost sinking into the mire and out of sight. It worked. Pete had made new bearings out of some sort of new wonder nylon-Teflon type material. Now all we had to do was ream out the original gudgeons to take the new bearings as bushes. The top one was of course easy, a powerful hand drill and a big bit, lubricated with water and turning slowly, did the job admirably. The second was more difficult as it was not possible to get the drill close enough alongside the sternpost to get a straight go at it. Pete then made up a jig that allowed the drill itself to rest above the first upper gudgeon and using that as a guide, along with an extension, the second hole was reamed out in line with the first. If the second hole was difficult, the last and bottom-most was all but impossible. Completely unfazed, Pete proceeded to elongate his original jig using an old propeller shaft as an extension this time. With me in the mud alongside the heel, lubricating the drill bit with a paintbrush and fresh water, the final hole was completed and the plastic bushes inserted, held in place with the slightest smear of silicon. The next job was for Pete to carefully measure all the distances between the bushes and to check that the pins on the rudder matched these dimensions and were also parallel. Eventually, after much peering, standing back, tapping with a hammer and peering again, the pins were finally welded in place. Pete reckoned we might have to lift the rudder on and off several times to make minor adjustments before it fitted perfectly. We craned the rudder into the air and dropped it slowly down, Pete had of course made the central pin longer than the other two to allow initial easy location. The pin slid into place as did the top one, the rudder dropped down a further two inches or so and this meant that the bottom pin must also be locating, we could not see this third pin because the tide had now come in again. Pete clambered into our dinghy and using a glass jug, with the bottom pushed just below the surface of the water, as a viewer was able to confirm that all was in line. We released the crane ropes and I waggled the rudder back and forth by hand, slowly, a little every time, it settled right down until the pins were right home. I was well pleased and so was Pete. When the tide receded again I went mud walking to check that all the pins were accurately located, I’m pleased to report that this was indeed the case and now my old clunky rudder moves as smooth as silk, and, what’s more, that annoying "clunk" in the middle of the night is gone for ever! Yippee!!
19
WATER WORKS
We’ve all experienced it, and if not your time will come, turn the key and there is only a click from the solenoid, the engine does not even turn over let alone start up (yes, I know that a few of you have air-start engines, a few more may have the advantage of a starting handle and a minority will have one of those cunning wind-up clockwork thingummies that replaces the starter in an emergency, but here in my world we are stuck with the battery, solenoid, starter, click- click- click situation).
When I first struck up my symbiotic relationship with the DAF 475 engine in "Jan Willem", relations were a little strained. My only previous experience of relatively large diesel engines was my old Massey Ferguson 65 tractor. That had been totally bomb-proof, it lived outside all the year round and always started when required. Now, it was late October and although the engine started smoothly at first, as the months rolled on and into a hard freezing winter, starting took longer and longer, accompanied by clouds of blue smoke. It was Franz, an engineer who was doing some welding for me, who pointed out that when cold it helped to use the cold start button. Cold start button? Franz showed me where this was located and starting was transformed. I could not have felt more stupid. I am not normally stupid where engines are concerned, but I had asked the previous owner if there was a pre-heat on the engine (which there wasn’t) and he had replied "no need." At least I think he did, of course he was talking German and I was talking English, so maybe something was lost in the translation. After Franz’s timely intervention, starting was transformed and no more problems were encountered until 6 years later. Then, occasionally, I encountered sluggish starting (the engine that is, not me, personally I’m a great fan of all bran). I did all the usual things, put the spare starter on and had the other serviced, replaced the starter battery, re-made all the connections, serviced the injectors, cleaned the air filter and mostly it was all right. But, still occasionally, for no apparent reason it would just not turn over. Eventually, it came to the point where the only way I could get it started at these times was to run the generator at the same time as I turned the key, with the battery charger in the emergency charge position. This achieved the desired result and when running, the engine was fine. It was about this time that I began to notice that the fresh water header tank needed topping up more often. Some of you will be ahead of me at this point, but stick with it, things are never as simple as they may appear.
"Jan Willem" uses a heat exchanger to facilitate engine cooling. A brief explanation of how this works may be in order. (Please don’t think that I’m trying to tell any of you how to "suck eggs" but not every one is mechanically minded, in any case many barges have other different cooling systems) This is a tried and tested system, in which a header tank of fresh water contains the coolant for the engine, in the same way as a radiator does for a car. The header tank is not cooled by air passing through it, as in a car however. Instead, a pipe, or "stack tube", made up of fifty or so smaller pipes is inserted into the header tank and raw sea water is pumped through it. In a "wet exhaust" system, this water then enters the hot exhaust pipe at the "injector bend", where it is expelled with the hot exhaust gases, helping to cool the exhaust pipe as it goes. The large surface area of the fifty or sixty small pipes ensures that efficient heat transfer from the hot water of the header tank to the cold water passing through the stack tube takes place.
Temporarily ceasing to worry about the starting, I began to investigate the water loss. First, the loss was not great and second and most important, there was no sign of emulsification in the sump oil and so the water leak was not internal. Methodically I removed the fresh water pump and renewed its’ gasket and seals, checked or replaced top and bottom hoses and on the heat exchanger, I fitted the end caps with new jubilee clips and a little silicone on the internal surfaces. I then spent many happy hours hanging over a hot engine with an eagle eye, searching for the odd drip or two. This all seemed to cure the problem for a while and too be fair the various systems benefited from being thoroughly checked and serviced, several small faults were spotted in this way, that might otherwise have gone unnoticed until they developed into something bigger. However, things came to a head in Falmouth harbour, when we were asked by the harbour launch to move out as a ship was being manoeuvred into the docks. Get ready, shorten up the anchor cable, turn the key and nothing. Bugger Bugger! I switched in the domestic batteries and still no go. The trick with the generator and battery charger eventually got it going, but something was obviously very wrong. Safely back on our mooring I reflected on the problem once more. I was forced to admit that, at least this time, the problem had felt too much like an hydraulic lock for comfort. This would explain the starting problem and also the loss of water. Once again I checked and re-checked the oil for signs of water, but there was no sign, even when the header tank was losing over an inch of water. Also there was no sign of water leakage on the outside of the engine and the bilge was bone dry. So where the heck was the water going? The only other answer was an internal leak in the heat exchanger and this would not let water into the engine, so why the hydraulic lock? To remove the rather complicated heat exchanger, which incorporated the inlet and exhaust manifolds, entailed serious dismantling and, if I went that far, I might as well take the opportunity to undertake a top-end service at the same time and an inspection of the pistons and cylinders would surely show signs of water ingress, if that was indeed the problem. I realised I had no choice. I bit the bullet. Luckily we had a dry autumn that year and although I had a plastic cover to throw over the boom and cover the cockpit area, it was never needed. "Jan Willem’s" engine is fitted under the cockpit floor and does not enjoy "walk around" access. However "crawl around" access is good and once removed, components do not have to be dragged through the accommodation to reach the open air. The rocker box came off first, followed by the rockers themselves and the injectors, as usual, the last and hardest to reach injection pipe would not come undone, but a blowtorch and patience eventually prevailed. The water pump was easy to remove as I had already had practice at that. All the plumbing and pipework came away fairly easy apart from one clamp that had to be cut away. Next was the heat exchanger itself, the inlet manifold nuts came off nicely, but several of the exhaust nuts were, predictably, dry, rusty and tight. Experimentation with open ended spanners, ring spanners, sockets and extensions and finally mole grips, coupled with contorting myself into some unlikely positions, finally achieved the desired result. There was no way that I was going to lift the heat exchanger out on my own, it is a heavy and substantial piece of engineering, so using a four part tackle from the running backstay, fastened to the boom , I hoisted the great lump out of the engine room and onto a board on the cockpit floor. Next I turned my attention to the head itself. The cylinder head nuts inside the rocker box were oily, easily accessible and although tight, came undone easy enough using a bar on the end of the socket wrench. The nuts located outside the rocker box were still covered in original engine paint and the socket would only fit into place with the aid of a wooden mallet, as although they are not countersunk, there was insufficient clearance between the nuts and the rocker chamber wall. I thought that I might have to grind down the socket itself, but in the end they all came out OK. "Great", I thought, "all I have to do is lift off the head and I’m there." Would it move? What do you think? One common trick here is to turn the engine over on the starter, the valves are of course all closed as there are no tappets in place to open them. 14-1 compression on all six cylinders should pop the head joint easily. NB It is very important to make sure that the injector pump pipes are covered, as fuel will be ejected at high pressure as the engine rotates. I tried this to no avail, I even screwed the injectors back in to increase compression. No go, back to the drawing board, or in this case my local tame engineer. He showed me where to find two flanges, one at either end of the head, which could safely be whacked with a mallet and a block of wood. This I did and the head came loose easy enough. DAF engines have two strong lifting eyes attached to the head and using these and the main sheet tackle, out came the head to lie alongside the heat exchanger. Now I could look at the pistons and bores. Oh dear! All looked wet and two actually had a quantity of water lying in the squish space on top of the pistons. This of course is not proof positive, water in the head or block can easily spill into the bores as the head-block joint is disturbed.
I dried out the pistons and bores, checked the bores for scoring (there was none) and gave everything a nice coating of lube oil, before covering it over with clean rag. I took the head to the aforementioned engineer, a journey conveniently undertaken by water in our ship’s boat. He would service the whole thing for me for a very modest fee, ah! the benefits of "friends in the trade." If water was present in the cylinders, and if it had not entered when the head-block seal was broken and if there was not a crack in the head or block ( there wasn’t) then the head gasket was probably leaking internally. I would of course need a new head gasket anyway, but I was still not convinced that I had found the problem.
My usual local supplier of DAF spares, mainly fuel and oil filters, is:
CAWSEY COMMERCIALS
NEWPORT INDUSTRIAL ESTATE
LAUNCESTON CORNWALL
(0566) 772805
They could order a top end gasket set for me, but the price was rather steep. I knew it would be, but before I ordered I rang my supplier in the Netherlands :
DINTRA TRANSMISSIES B.V.
KEIZERWOERT 30
3881 LE PUTTEN
(0341) 353712
Don’t let the name fool you, they stock far more than transmission systems. There is always someone there who speaks English and they have not yet failed me for odd bits and pieces (more of this later). The result of this particular conversation, was that they could supply a top end gasket set to me, delivered to my door in four days, for a price cheaper than my English supplier, even without including carriage. Because I have dealt with them before, I can pay on invoice on receipt of the goods. This I do from my Dutch bank account and Euro cheques are commonly accepted in most countries except Britain who appear to have never heard of them. The sooner we adopt the Euro the better as far as I’m concerned, but I digress.
I now turned my attention to the heat exchanger. This has a rubber cap at either end which is jubilee clipped to the exchanger itself and the stack tube. There is potential here for raw water to leak out externally, or internally under pressure into the fresh water section. This would of course cause the header tank to "make water" and there was no real sign of this. Of course if this was happening, then it would only be obvious when the engine was running or still hot, I confess that I am not in the habit of removing radiator caps from hot radiators! Using various bungs, pieces of wood, plastic bags and tape, all from my "useful bits bucket", I devised a system that I’m sure "Danum" and her attendants would be proud of, whereby I could fill the heat exchanger with water and check for unpressurised leaks. All remained dry. I then concocted a system using a pump from an inflatable dinghy to actively pressurise the system. Now I had several small leaks externally around the end caps and internally around the tube stack, leaking out where the raw water would normally flow through. "Right," I thought, "no more messing about, time for new end caps." These end caps are fairly standard fittings, but not apparently in DAF size and definitely not in England. Once more on the phone to Holland. I told the guy on the other end that it was for a heat exchanger fitted to a DAF 475 in a tjalk, "Ja, OK, you want the straight one or the bent one?" I replied that I wanted both (the straight one feeds the water injection bend and the bent one takes the water feed from the raw water pump). Once again the parts were dispatched and arrived in three days. When they arrived I fitted them to the exchanger and once again pressure tested it. Now I had no more leaks, at least not until I left it overnight, when water leakage was evident from the water injection bend orifice. The only way that this could occur, was internally past the new rubber cap or by a leak into the stack tube itself. I turned my attention to the stack tube. In this case made up of 54 separate pipes. By sealing one end of each pipe in turn and using the dinghy pump to pressurise that same pipe, I eventually found that two of the pipes were leaking where they were brazed to the end plate. When only one or two pipes are concerned, it is acceptable to blank them off rather than attempting the complex job of re brazing them. I used small dowels of wood set in with waterproof "Hermatite". On reassembly and pressure testing, even over several days, no leaks were apparent. Now all this set me to thinking, I was pretty sure that I had solved the mystery of the water loss, but if it was merely draining into the stack tube it would be expelled with the rest of the raw water and would certainly not find its way into the combustion chamber. Had I solved the problem at all ? Further contemplation was needed.
In the meantime the cylinder head was returned, clean and serviced. The valves and springs were all OK, but were now re-ground onto there seats and the inlet and exhaust tracts were polished as were the combustion chambers and valve heads. Large chunks of the old head gasket had been left on the main engine block and it took many hours with a Stanley knife blade, carefully scraping it clean, to achieve an acceptable surface to mate with the now shiny head. It was whilst I was kneeling by the side of the engine, engaged in the aforesaid scraping, that I had a breakthrough. A rubber dinghy passed by at some speed, leaving a big wash behind it (as they do). This caused "Jan Willem" to roll and as he did I was aware of a sucking and blowing sound coming from the wet exhaust pipe leading to the gooseneck. When the rub-a-dub returned for a second pass (as they do), I held my hand over the mouth of the rubber pipe, the amount of pressure generated when we rolled down and the below-the-water-line exhaust outlet went deeper under water, and the amount of suck on the upward roll was surprisingly strong. I then began to think about all this and realised that at least some, if not all, of the times we had had the problems of "hydraulic lock", was when we were actively out and about and away from our moorings; sometimes in busy harbours with trip boats and fishing boats chugging by and sometimes up the river, with the dubious company of water skiers and power boats. All heavy wash producing situations.
I believed I had cracked it. What was happening was, that over the period of a few days with the engine not in use, fresh water was draining down into the stack tube and thence through the injection bend into the exhaust pipe. It would then run down to the lowest point of the exhaust, the bottom of the gooseneck and there it would combine with any water left over from the last time the engine ran. When the ship rolled heavily, and the water-level in the pipe was sufficiently high, the pulse of air generated in the exhaust pipe would send another pulse, this time of water, back up the pipe and into the exhaust manifold. Any exhaust valve open at the time would receive a dollop of water. Repeat this procedure a few times and all the ingredients were there to produce the symptoms we had been experiencing. Armed with this information, I talked again to my engineer and learned of other engines, in a variety of craft, that had suffered similar fates. In most cases from water being pushed back up transom mounted pipes when hit by following seas. I went to our local second-hand boat bits emporium and found a brand new Vetus water trap still in its box, but "soiled". I looked at the catalogue price and paid Alan half that amount. I took it home and whilst I was at it replaced all the rubber part of the exhaust pipe, as is usually the case it was de-laminating badly internally and in dire need of replacement. Finally, I re-assembled the whole exhaust and fitted the heat exchanger back to the engine. Now, in the first place water would not leak internally into the stack and in the second place the new water trap, with its greater capacity, would contain any water left in the system, whilst not allowing any wave generated pulse to travel all the way back to the engine.
On final reassembly the engine ran smoothly and I even treated it to a new starter battery. That was all one year ago and since then we have had no more problems. It took a long time to arrive at the solution but now we also have the added bonus of knowing that all the rubber pipework has been replaced along with its jubilee clips, the exhaust system is in good order and that the top end of the motor is now thoroughly serviced with all new gaskets.
David Evershed
"Jan Willem"
20
Coasting
by
David Evershed
In the spring of 1991, we were on our way home from Holland in "Jan Willem" our 18m sailing tjalk. "We", being myself, Margreet and Tony our unflappable crewman. "Home", being Falmouth in Cornwall, or to be more precise, the even older harbour town of Penryn.
We had arrived at Poole in Dorset at 1700 on the evening of Friday the 17 th of May, after a 6 hour run from Itchenor. We refueled at the furling barge in the Wych channel to the north of Brownsea island and were delighted when the bargemaster, who had a small ship himself, said it was fine for us to stay alongside for the night, as he was closing now anyway and we were going to leave first thing the next day. Although this meant that Tony would have to put up with cans of lager rather than finding a hostelry ashore, this gave us an untroubled nights sleep without the need to worry about tending shore lines or dragging anchors. And it was free!! In fact I think that it was Margreet flirting with the furling master that secured this prize, as the next morning he made her presents of the days newspapers and fresh bread and milk.
Poole harbour 09.45, 18 th May.
The plan for the day was to make the relatively short run to Weymouth, prior to rounding the dreaded Portland Bill. All the time we were fitting out "Jan Willem" in Holland and during the subsequent sail down through Belgian and France, two spectres conspired to haunt my unguarded moments. One was naturally enough the channel crossing, successfully achieved two weeks previously, and the other was Portland Bill. The Bill in particular, which I had never rounded before, had in my mind attained the status of Cape Horn. The almanac spoke of "severe and dangerous sea states, .... highly confused seas with heavy overfalls, .... should be carefully avoided by yachts and small ships". The confidence that we had in "Jan Willem" notwithstanding, I knew that it was worth carefully planning that part of the trip. We said good-bye to our friendly patron and cast off.
10.30, Poole fairway buoy.
The weather was murky with heavy drizzle giving very poor visibility, but the forecast promised that it would clear later. As the fairway buoy came abeam I used the Decca to see if the machine and the chart were in agreement. They were, give or take a few meters, and with a tide to help us along we set off down the coast towards St Albans head. By keeping around a mile offshore it was possible to get hand bearing compass fixes on various coastal features as we passed them, to keep up the dead reckoning plot and to back up the Decca.
When I am coasting I always keep a dead reckoning plot updated around every half hour. A Decca reading taken at the same time is an additional safeguard, any significant discrepancy can then be monitored and I have found that this way, actual as opposed to predicted, tidal sets can be accounted for and factored into the DR plot. I for one will be very sorry when they turn off Decca in 1999, I suppose then I will just have to buy, and get used to, a GPS set.
11.40, Anvil point bearing 260' T, range less than 1/2 mile.
Anvil point came and went and the weather if anything got worse, visibility was less than a mile. Sailing was out of the question as far as I was concerned and the trusty DAF 475 pushed us along at a steady 6 kts. Tony was on the tiller, an activity that he could continue for hours at a stretch provided with sufficient mugs of tea and the occasional break for a roll up. I busied myself with plotting a course and keeping the dead reckoning up to date.
Tony is the son of a friend of ours, he arrived on our boat in Enkhuizen one dark and snowy night around midnight with a half full (or half empty) bottle of duty free rum in his hand and the rest of his possessions, a tobacco tin, some risla papers, his lighter and a toothbrush in a tiny rucksack. He proceeded to make himself at home in the forecabin in rather spartan conditions and was an absolute treasure. He was always there when needed and never there when he wasn’t. In the evening, at the end of a days cruising no matter how remote the mooring he would wander off into the night and always find companions and a watering hole. Also, as I said before, he was totally unflappable and liked to call me "skipper", which was rather nice!..
12. 30, St Albans head bearing 005' T, range 400 yards.
St Albans head has its own overfalls, but an inshore passage exists and in common with other coastal short-cuts it is often riddled with lobster pots. In the murky weather I did not want to go 4 or 5 miles offshore in a bid to avoid the worst of the sea, so as conditions were quiet we picked our way carefully around the rocky headland with eyes glued to the water looking out for the dreaded plastic cans so often used to mark pots. After rounding this point the weather began to lift a little and soon the sun broke through. I gave Tony a course for Weymouth.
13.45, Worbarrow bay bearing 355' T, range 2 miles.
An outfall pipeline extends out from Worbarrow bay, marked at its extremity by a buoy, this made a handy waypoint to aim for and another chance for an accurate DR fix. To the west of this point is the Lulworth cove firing range and passing ships are asked to keep 5 or so miles offshore when passing. They are not always firing of course, so I called them on the VHF ch 8, to find that only small arms were in use and that 1 mile off would be fine. We were 2 miles off anyway and they thanked us for calling, apparently most yachts just sail straight through without a care in the world!
(This reminds me of the time we were passing the firing range outside Plymouth a few years ago. On calling the range they calmly told us to carry on through as they were firing offshore and the shells would pass over us! This is just one more of the interesting facets of coasting that is not often encountered on the canals of Europe. Mind you we were once "bombed" in Armentiers but that must be the subject of another story)
The time was now 14.00 and the 13.55 shipping forecast promised nothing new, poor to moderate visibility with an offshore light northerly breeze. I updated the course for Tony to steer and sat looking at the chart.
14.30, Weymouth bearing 295' T, range 7 miles,
Portland Bill bearing 215' T, range 8 miles.
Dead reckoning showed that we would reach Weymouth at 1500. Given the same boat speed and a change of course to 215' T, we could be at Portland Bill at around 15.30. Portland Bill tidal race is at its weakest, allowing transit of its inshore passage for westward heading small craft, at one hour either side of high water Dover. On that day high water Dover was 15.00. In short we could reach the Bill at an ideal time, in reasonable weather, if we went for it there and then. The chance was too good to miss, conditions were favourable and critically we were already at sea and underway. I quickly called a crew meeting. Typically Tony was all for it, Margreet thought it a good idea provided we could still get back to Weymouth if for any reason it was too dodgy. We changed course.
I took the opportunity to call Portland coastguard to tell them of out intentions, maybe I was being over alarmist, but it was early in the year and "Jan Willem" and his crew were untried in these waters. The coastguard as usual were friendly and helpful, telling us that conditions around the Bill were reported as slight at the time and to call them again when we were safely around.
15.30, Portland Bill light bearing 065' T, range 1/2 mile.
At 15.00 Portland Bill light was in sight and keeping as close inshore as I dared we motored on, half an hour later we were round. In the event the weather was calm, and the sea quiet. However the sea to the south of the clearly defined inshore passage looked distinctly menacing even in its slack state. Eddies and whirlpools made black holes in the surface and there was a strange feel to the place. The whole scene was made even more surreal by the presence on shore only half a mile distant, of sightseers and ice cream vans. Wishing us well or waiting for drama, who knows? I suppose it’s true that I have seen and been through much worse waters than those of the Bill at that time, but the menace and mystique, only in part engendered by my own imagination was real enough.
We all took photos of each other to celebrate. I felt good, another demon conquered and ahead lay Lyme bay, Dartmouth, Salcombe, home waters! I set a new course of 270' T and went back to the chart. We were heading into Lyme bay in the general direction of Exmouth, the closest harbour as the crow flies. You see I had not really planned any farther than Portland Bill, now I had to find somewhere to stop, or stay out all night. I had not sailed into Exmouth before but knew it well from my childhood. Some quick calculations showed an ETA of 22.00, it would be dark by then, but a plus point was that the high water at Exmouth was 22.45. So, no visibility but plenty of water. Not impossible given sufficient luck.
The only other option was to go on across Lyme bay to Torbay, feel our way inshore in the dark and anchor there for the night. Truthfully I was not happy with any of these options and thought that maybe staying at sea was actually the safest, but in any event we had to carry on, so on we went.
17.35, Bridport bearing 020' T, range 3 miles,
Lyme Regis bearing 302' T, range 6.2 miles.
"Where’s that?", said Margreet looking shoreward.
"Bridport", says I.
"And that?".
"Lyme Regis".
"I remember Lyme Regis, it’s lovely, can’t we go in there?".
I had already scanned the Shell Pilot to the English Channel and knew it had a very small drying harbour that was frankly not practical.
"No we can’t".
"Are you sure?".
On we chugged and another hour passed.
18.30, Seaton bearing 310' T, range 3.5 miles,
Lyme Regis bearing 220' T, range 4 miles.
At 1830 we were of Beer Head and making good time. Visibility was closing in again, but the shore was visible about 3 miles off. I was at the helm, as Margreet had cooked supper, spaghetti bollognaise I recall and Tony was below for the first sitting. I was tired but content, humming to myself as the water slipped past. 30 minutes later all had changed. The light offshore breeze was still with us, but without any warning a swell arrived from around Start point to the south west. It was building rapidly, not dangerously, but rapidly.
I won’t dwell on the finer points of barges and beam seas. Logic, experience and metacentric height, all well and good on land, are somehow not so comforting when actually at sea. You either know what I’m talking about, are living in happy blind innocence (one day - one day), or possibly, with more sense than most of us, are living as far from the sea as you can get. Suffice to say that neither steering nor spaghetti eating got any easier. I was now tired unhappy and unable to eat my dinner.
Margreet showed her usual faith in me, "David, can’t you do something?". Tony, rather smugly I thought, had wedged himself into a corner and continued to eat his spaghetti with a large serving spoon.
I really didn’t fancy rolling on into the impending darkness and was definitely not impressed with the thought of staying at sea all night. I once again looked at the chart. It showed that there were mooring buoys and an anchorage to the east of the harbour at Lyme Regis. The weather was settled, the wind offshore, it looked viable. I put the helm over and with the swell on our stern progress was smooth and spaghetti could be eaten. The setting sun picked out the whitewashed cottages and the grey walls of the sea wall, the Cobb. It was hard not to recall the opening scenes of the "French Lieutenants Woman". Thankfully this time the sea was a great deal calmer and disappointingly, Meryl Streep was nowhere in sight. We found a mooring labelled "visitors" and made fast. As I cut the engine we all breathed a sigh of relief and Tony eagerly eyed up the number of obvious pubs on the harbourside. I completed the log. 50 miles covered and just over 9 hours motoring. The story does not end here however.
19.15, Lyme Regis anchorage.
As the tide turned and "Jan Willem" swung with it, we once again became beam on to the swell. Clank went the crockery, clunk went the leeboards, "Oh No" went I. (Those were not my actual words but this is a family club)
Margreet was looking towards the harbour. "Are you sure we can’t get inside there?, looks like loads of room to me".
Under these conditions "No" is not a suitable answer and in any case I was as tired of the rolling as she was. Tony on the other hand had fallen peacefully asleep. Taking great pleasure in waking him, I told him that we were going ashore to see if going into the harbour was possible. We launched the dinghy and paddled ashore. Our arrival has created a certain amount of interest and willing hands secured the dinghy and propelled us into the bar of the Lyme Regis Sailing Club. Of course we could come into the harbour, of course we could lay alongside the clubhouse, of course there was room and it was always quiet this early in the year. Half an hour later our ship was safely moored and we were all wrapped around drinks courtesy of the club. After many more drinks were drunk and exploits recounted by both sides we went for a peaceful wander around the lovely little harbour.
"I knew we should have come here" said Margreet.
Before I could think of a reply she added ""Jan Willem" knew it as well". I couldn’t begin to argue with logic like that, and anyway I secretly agreed.
We wandered on.
Postscript
07.15, Lyme Regis inner harbour.
The next morning, after a night spent tending mooring lines in the drying harbour, (my job!) we left on the early tide for Exmouth. 3 hours later, as we made our way in through the rather narrow channel, I reflected that I really would not have wanted to try it at night, but then, "Jan Willem" knew that all along.
21
UNDERSTANDING YOUR MEETBRIEF
The meetbrief is the official registration document of all ships in the Netherlands and Belgium. If you buy a ship in one of these countries the meetbrief should be transferred to you along with all other documentation. Even when the ship is removed from the Dutch or Belgian register, to be registered in another country, the meetbrief can be retained by the ships owner. Whilst much of the document can be easily interpreted by non Dutch speaking people, there are some sections that are not so easily understood and others that can be misinterpreted. In this article I shall work my way through a typical document and explain each section as I go, but first some words of explanation..
There are probably three types of meetbrief that may be encountered by Dutch Barge enthusiasts and in most cases the Belgian versions will be broadly similar. The differences lie mainly in the extra information required specific to the activity engaged in by the ship.
1) Zeemeetbrief. This is exactly what it sounds like, a meetbrief for seagoing ships. Most Dutch Barges will not come under this category but some undoubtedly will. These are ex-fishing ships and the smaller ships of the North Sea and Baltic trading fleets.
2) Binnenmeetbrief (commercial). Again this is fairly obvious, it is the document that applies to ships registered for the carriage of goods on inland waters. "Voor schepen die bestemd of ingericht zijn voor her vervoer van goederen." You will have this if you bought your ship directly out of trade in an unconverted state.
3) Binnenmeetbrief (pleasure). "Voor schepen die niet bestemd of ingericht zijn voor het vervoer van goederen." Note the difference from the one above. This applies to ships not registered for the carriage of goods. This is the document most likely to be encountered and applies to ships that have been taken out of trade and laid up or for use as houseboats, yachts or charter ships etc. These are usually blue in colour but may be grey or yellowish depending on their age.
It is one of these documents that I shall use as an example.
MEETBRIEF
The "meetbrief" is the registration book belonging to an individual vessel. Each ship was given a unique number on initial registration and this number, which is also the "meetbrief nummer" stayed with the ship for life. On older ships, the date of initial registration as given in the meetbrief is not necessarily the same as the launching date. Certainly many ships trading in the latter part of the nineteenth century were not registered on the "modern" system until the later part of the 1920’s.
For registration purposes, the 11 provinces making up the Netherlands at the beginning of this century were split into three "metingsdistricts".
Rotterdam, signified by the letter R, covered the provinces, of Limburg, Noord Brabant, Zeeland and that part of Zuid-Holland below a line joining the cities of Leiden and Utrecht.
Amsterdam, signified by the letter A, covered the areas of Zuid-Holland above a line joining the cities of Leiden and Utrecht, and the provinces of Noord-Holland, Utrecht and Gelderland.
Groningen, signified by the letter G, covered the provinces of Groningen, Friesland, Drente and Overijsel.
A vessel that had permanent residence, or intended to trade in any of these areas, was measured and registered by the "ijkantoor", the local weights and measures department.
In each of the three metingsdistricts there were many separate "kadasters", or registration offices situated in the main towns of the region. These offices would handle the three separate registration and measuring procedures.
1) IJKMERK
2) TEBOEKSTELLINGNUMMER
3) METINGSMERK
IJkmerk
The "ijker" was the official weights and measures officer, he was responsible for calculating the acceptable loading capacity of a ship trading in a pre-defined area. When the calculations were complete he also issued a number, the "ijkmerk", which was stamped into the ship’s side. The location of this number is detailed very precisely in the meetbrief (paragraph 28), it appears twice on each side of the ship at bow and stern.
A horizontal line drawn between the two numbers corresponds with the maximum loaded waterline in fresh water. Every time a ship moved into a different trading area it was required to be re-measured. The maximum allowable waterline in sheltered canals was markedly different to that deemed safe in exposed or open waters.
Teboekstellingnummer
When the measuring and marking was complete, they would issue another unique number, signifying when and where the registration was done. This number, the "teboekstellingnummer", is in four parts.
210 B AMST 1927
This is the current teboekstellingnummer on my own ship. The numbers simply mean that it was the 210th ship registered in that year. The B is very important. It means Binnenvaart, or inland trade. A ship trading on coastal routes or in the Baltic for example had to be strongly built to a higher specification and these ships would have a Z for Zeevaart as part of their teboekstellingnummer. AMST of course means the registration office was in Amsterdam. These letters generally take the form of the first four or so letters of the town in question. ZWOL for Zwolle, APPING for Appingedam, DEV for Deventer, LEID for Leiden, UTR for Utrecht, ARNH for Arnhem, etc. etc. The last four numbers signify the year the number was issued.
The location of the teboekstellingnummer is given in the meetbrief (paragraph 69).
Metingsmerk
After measurement the meetbrief was issued. At the same time a number was assigned to the vessel. This became the meetbriefnummer and also the ship number, the "metingsmerk", or "brandmerk". It consisted of the signifying letter of the area, the letter "N" denoting Netherlands and a unique number. In my own Amsterdam registered ship this is A N 31. This number appeared in the form of a brass plate riveted to the ship’s side. However time showed that these plates tended to drop off due to wear and tear and later ships had the number stamped into the fabric of the hull and also into the superstructure. The location of the number is given in the meetbrief ( paragraph 31).
Officially, the registration office had to be notified of any change of trading area; change of ownership; change of name of ship; or any substantial alteration to the ship such as lengthening, conversion to motor, or change of existing motor. The ship could then be re-measured if appropriate and the meetbrief altered accordingly. Every change in the meetbrief, which in any case had to be renewed every fifteen years, cost hard earned money. The more prosperous skippers and those owners with large fleets tended to be scrupulous about such things, but the thousands of one-ship-skippers couldn’t afford to be so precise, unfortunately leading to gaps in documentation and problems for the researcher. However, if you are able to locate the metingsnummer, or better still a teboekstellingnummer, by contacting the "scheepskadaster" in the relevant town it is often possible to unearth more of the history of your ship.
DOWN TO BUSINESS
The cover of our specimem meetbrief tells us that it comes from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, that it is a meetbrief for Binnenvaartuigen (inland vessels), that it complies with the 1966 Geneva agreement (article 5) and that it applies to inland vessels not intended for the carriage of goods. The first couple of pages give explanatory notes on the numbered sections inside and then we come to the nitty gritty.
Page one
(1) Koninkrijk der Nederlanden -N.
Kingdom of the Netherlands.
(2) Bureau van meting-----------Amsterdam
Measurement district.
(3) Onderscheidingsletters van het bureau---------A------N.
Signifying letter of the bureau and N from (1)
(4) Meetbrief No.------31.
Number unique to this document.
(5) Ingeschreven de------19 September 1979.
Date of entry and issue of this document.
(6) Metingsmerk--------A--N--31
Measurement identification mark. A (from (3), N (from (1), 31 (from(4).
(7) Name or identification letters of vessel.
(8) New name of vessel.
(9) Date and place of name change.
(10) Stamp and signature of registration officer.
Repeated two or three times to allow for subsequent name changes.
Page two.
(12) Afmetingen van het schip voor het passeren van kuntswerk.
A good session with a Anglo-Dutch dictionary at this point will tell you that this means something like "measurement from the ship for the passing of works of art." The true meaning however is : measurements to allow safe passage of canals, locks, bridges and harbours.
a. Lengte-------------18.37--m.
This is the total length of the ship in meters, with the rudder turned at right angles.
b. Breedte------------3.99-m.
Maximum beam including berghout and leeboards (if fitted).
c. Diepgang bij de grootste inzinking-------1.20--m.
Greatest draft.
d. Hoogte boven water tot het vlak van ledige diepgang------2.50--m.
Airdraft of unladen vessel. The height from the waterline to the highest point of the vessel with mast lowered and wheelhouse collapsed.
Page three
(13) Soort van vaartuig----Motorzeiltjalk met passagiersaccommadatie.
Specific type of vessel, i.e. as above, sailing tjalk with motor and passenger accommodation (chartership). Other possibilities, motorvrachtschip (freight carrying motor ship).
(14) Materiaal:
a. Van de romp----ijzer/staal.
Material of the hull----iron/steel.
b. Van de bovenbouw-----staal.
--of the on decks construction, deckhouse etc.------steel.
c. Van de luiken----------
--of the hatch covers. (not applicable in this case but could be steel or wood (hout))
(15) Nadere gegevens over de bouw------met dek.
Further constructional details, met dek (fully decked), zonder dek (open or partly decked), met of zonder luiken (with or without hatchboards).
(16) Werf van aanbouw---------Vermeulen te Woerden.
Name of builder and shipyard and place of building. (In this case the Vermeulen shipyard in Woerden Zuid-Holland) Alternatively this may be the yard and place of renovation or rebuilding.
(17) Bouwjaar--------1893.
Year of building or date of last reconstruction as above in (16).
(18) Grootste lengte van de romp--------17.27--m.
Greatest length of hull, but not as in (12). This is the length of the hull on deck from stempost to sternpost.
(19) Grootste breedte van de romp----------3.99--m.
Greatest width of hull not including berghout and leeboards.
(20) Aard, identificatiemerken en vermogen van het voorstuwingswektuig.
Type of engine, manufacturer, model and power. e.g. Dieselmotor, Stoom (steam) Verbrandingsmotor (petrol engine), DAF, DA475, 90pk or BMC, Sealord, 96pk etc. etc.
(21) Gemiddelde inzinking van het ledige schip in zoetwater------46--cm.
Draft of ship at mid point of hull in FRESH water.
(22) This applies only to cargo carrying ships and relates to weight of cargo carried.
(23) Vertikale afstand van het vlak van de grootste toegelaten diepgang tot het dek c.q. gangboord:
Vertical distance from the loaded waterline to the deck (freeboard).
a. Op her midden van de lengte van de romp-------50--cm.
At the mid point of the hull (normally the lowest level of freeboard due to the sheer of the ship)
b) Op het laagste punt van het dek c.q. gangboord.
At the lowest point of freeboard if not the same as in (a) above.
Page four
Gewichten aan boord die behoren bij de ledige inzinking
Weights carried on board in an unladen condition
(24)Plaats en omschrijving van de vaste ballast
position and description of fixed ballast.
(25) This section asks for details of additional machinery, donkey engines, boilers etc. that need a supply of water, oil etc. to function.
(26) This refers to water that is constantly in the bilge.
(27) Uitrusting.
Other equipment. (weight of)
a. Total fixed weight of anchors and chains.
b. Additional equipment and spare parts.
c. Fixtures and fittings.
d. Life raft or lifeboat.
Proviand (stores)
a. Total fixed weight of fresh water carried.
b. Any other provisions.
Page five
Ijkmerken
(28) The number and type of ijkmerken defining the fully loaded waterline of the vessel.
These marks usually number two on each side and may be ingebeitelde (stamped in) or platen (riveted plates).
(29) This chart shows the precise location of the ijkmerken on both port and starboard sides. Distances are given in meters.
a. Horizontal distance from the for-end of the vessel to the first mark.
b. Horizontal distance from the first mark to the second mark.
c. Horizontal distance from the second mark to the aft-end of the vessel.
(30) Vertical orientation of the marks given in centimeters.
a. Vertical distance from marks to deck-level (2 values).
b. Vertical distance above marks at which the vessel is considered to not be watertight.
c. Vertical distance from unladen waterline to marks (2 values).
d. Vertical distance from the bottom of the ship to the unladen waterline (2 values).
e. Total vertical distance from marks to ship’s bottom, i.e. total of c and d (2 values).
Note. These marks must be kept clearly visible by the skipper or the meetbrief becomes invalid.
Page six
Metingmerken
(31) Location of the metingsmerk on the after end of the ship.
midscheeps in het achterdek, 2.05m uit hekplaat, 0m uit lengteas, 0m boven dek.
midships in the afterdek, 2.05m forward of the sternpost, 0m on the longitudinal axis, i.e. center-line and 0m above the deck, i.e. on an upward facing surface.
(32) Location of other marks is not required.
(33) Is not applicable.
II. Meting volgens artikel 5 van de bijlage van de Overeenkomst (vaartuig niet bestemd voor het vervoer van goederen).
The following measurements comply with article 5 (as shown on cover), for a vessel not used for the carriage of goods.
(34) Maximum toelaatbare waterverplatsing--------35.136--(cubic meters)
Maximum admissible water displacement in loaded condition.
(35) Waterverplaatsing in ledige toestand-----------20.128--
Water displacement in unloaded condition (plus working gear)
(36) Verplaatsing----------------------------------------15.008
Working tonnage, i.e. the difference between (34) and (35).
A word of explanation at this point. There are many different variations of the word "tonnage". The word itself is derived from the English word "tun" which was a cask used to carry wine. A tun contained 252 gallons of wine and this was held to weigh one tun (ton). The amount of cargo a ship could carry was defined as the number of tuns it could safely load. At the beginning of the 19th century this measurement was widely accepted in England and the western part of Europe. The Netherlands by and large accepted this but in the north and east of the country still used the "last" as a weight measurement for cargo carried. A last is roughly equivalent to the weight of 2 tuns. The gross registered tonnage of a ship is the total internal capacity of the vessel including all deckhouses and permanent structures. In the Netherlands this is referred to as BRT (bruto-registerton). To get the net registered tonnage NRT (netto-registerton in the Netherlands) it is necessary to deduct the internal volume of non cargo carrying spaces, engine rooms crews quarters ship’s stores etc.
Now the displacement tonnage of a ship is the amount of water she displaces when afloat. In this case this corresponds to the figure given in (35). Various formulae have been used to obtain this value, the most well known are the 18th century "Builders Old Measurement" using beam, length and draft to obtain a value, and following this a more refined system created by George Moorson was employed. The twentieth century saw the almost universal adoption of the three basic "Simpson Rules". These are based on the simple supposition that a curved boundary (a ship’s hull) is composed of a number of curves of the parabolic variety. By establishing a number of ordinates a very accurate calculation of the volume (and thus the displacement) of a ships hull can be obtained.
Having obtained this displacement figure it is necessary to know the weight of the water thus displaced. The English have generally used the weight of salt water expressed in tons. One cubic foot of salt water weighs 64 pounds. The Dutch (in the binnenvaart) use the weight of fresh water (one cubic foot weighs 63 pounds) expressed in cubic meters and thus in metric tons. An imperial (English) ton is 2240 pounds and a metric ton is 1000kg which is 2204 pounds. This gives us a conversion factor of .984. However, for a rough conversion it is only necessary to accept that 1 cubic meter of fresh water weighs as near as dammit 1 ton. If we look again at the displacement figures given in (34)-(36) we can say that the:
Maximum loaded water displacement of 35.136 cubic meters is equivalent to 35 tons.
(using true conversion factor 34.897 tons)
Unladen water displacement of 20.128 ...............................................20 tons
(20.308)
Loading capacity 15.008.................................................15 tons
(14.906)
(37) Vaargebieden
This shows the areas of the Netherlands in which the vessel is allowed to operate.
Page seven
Here the areas are listed.
a. Large areas of open water including the Schelde, IJsselmeer and Waddenzee, also some of the larger canalised sections of the major waterways.
b. The smaller open water areas such as the Sneekermeer, Zwartemeer and Ramsdiep, also most of the canals and navigable rivers, Noordzeekanaal, Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal, Geldersche IJssel, Neder Rijn etc.
c. All other rivers canals and lakes not included in a and b above.
Note, none of the above classifications include the River Rijn for which separate regulations exist.
(38-59) These are not applicable to a privately owned vessel.
Page eight
(60) Vervallen vroegere Meetbrieven.
Details of previous Meetbrieven.
This example shows that the first meetbrief was issued in 1901 in s’Gravenhage and a metingsmerk of 168 allotted to it. In 1934 a new meetbrief was issued in Amsterdam with the metingsmerk 8517. Ten years later again in Amsterdam another meetbrief with the number 12646 was issued. So 1944 was the last year that this ship was measured for commercial purposes.
(61-62) Not applicable.
(63) Expiry date of meetbrief.
(64) Place and date of issue of document.
(65-66-67) Official stamp and signature of issuing office and officer.
(68) Merken van teboekstelling------------218--B--Amst--1927.
Official registration number, most ships built before 1927 will have a 1927 registration number as there was a major reorganisation of the registration system at this time.
(69) Country of registration and the location of the stamped in teboekstellingnummer using the same format as in (31)
Pages 10-12 Changes and alterations.
So there we have it, I’m sure that this will not have answered all your questions but hopefully it will have clarified some areas for you. If you are relay stuck then send me a photocopy of the offending document and I’ll try to decipher it for you. Success! (Good luck)
David Evershed
22
So here we go with the
A-Z of basic barge bits
A
Aak------------------------ship type, or generally used for any "barge".
Aanvaringsklamp-------heavy wooden block, fixed to the hull in front of the leeboard to protect it from collision.
Achteronder--------------living or storage space under the aft deck.
Achterschip-------------- the aft end of the ship.
Achtersteven ------------sternpost.
Anderhalfmast---------- ketch rigged ship with short mizzen mast.
Anker--------------------- anchor.
Ankerlier----------------- anchor winch.
B
Bakboord------------------ port (side).
Bakstag-------------------- backstay.
Bakstagtakel-------------- tackle for running backstay.
Bedrijfsvaartuig---------- commercial (as opposed to pleasure) ship.
Benzine-------------------- Petrol.
Beretand------------------- wooden posts on either side of the voorsteven on sailing ships. (literally bears teeth)
Berghout------------------ rubbing strake.
Bergplaat----------------- area of hull plate covered by the berghout.
Beugel--------------------- cotton or canvas bucket on long pole used when dredging.
Beurtschip----------------ship providing a regular local service, commonly used as the name for a small motorship type.
Bezaan-------------------- mizzen mast, after mast on a ketch rigged ship.
Binnenvaart---------------- inland shipping trade.
Binnenschip-------------- see above.
Binten (also gebinten) -athwartships metal beams tying the sides of the hold together.
Boeisel-------------------- area of the ships side above the berghout.
Boegspriet---------------- bowsprit.
Boegstag------------------- whisker stay for bowsprit.
Bokkepoot---------------- "A’ frame used for mast lowering. (literally goats leg, also a type of biscuit)
Bolder--------------------- bollard.
Bollestal------------------- north Netherlands word for steering position or cockpit.
Boltjalk-------------------- north Netherlands ship type.
Botteloef------------------ fabricated extension on voorsteven of a sailing ship to allow a larger fore-triangle.
Buikdenning------------ boards forming the floor of the hold.
Bouwjaar---------------- year of building.
Bouwmateriaal--------- building material.
Bovenhout--------------- ultra short gaff .(see driekant)
Braadspil----------------- spike and barrel type manual windlass.
Brandmerken----------- official registration number stamped into the ship structure.
Breefok------------------- square sail carried on a yard.
C
Chartervaart--------------- charter trade.
Composietschip------------ ship built from a combination of metal and wood.
D
Dekhuis--------------------- small living space on deck.
Deklast--------------------- cargo carried on deck above the level of the hatchboards.
Den-------------------------- the vertical sides of the hold above the sidedecks.
Dirk------------------------- tackle that allows the gaff or boom to be used as a crane. (English "derrick")
Doosteven---------------- fabricated, square section, hollow stem or sternpost, found on most iron and steel barges.
Driekant------------------ three sided sail carried on an ultra short gaff .
Dwarsscheeps----------- athwartships.
E
Ebbe---------------------- -ebb tide.
Echte--------------------- -genuine.
Eigenaar----------------- -owner.
F
Ferrytuig----------------- spritsail rig.
Fok------------------------- foresail closest to the mainmast.
Fokschoot---------------- sheet for the fok.
Fokval--------------------- halyard for the fok.
Friesetjalk---------------- regional ship type.
G
Gaffel---------------------- gaff.
Gang----------------------- plate in iron or steel ship.
Gangboord---------------- sidedeck.
Gasolie-------------------- Diesel fuel.
Geklonken---------------- riveted.
Giek------------------------ boom.
Groningertjalk----------- regional ship type.
Grootzeil------------------ mainsail.
Groteschoot--------------- mainsheet.
L
Lier---------------------------winch.
Lijnolie----------------------linseed oil.
Loefbijter--------------------below water protrusion on stempost of some sailing-barges.
Luik--------------------------hatch.
Lamme arm------------ ----side mounted propeller (see zijschroef).
Lummel---------------------fitting at base of mast to which the boom is connected.
Luxemotor------------------type of motor-barge.
M
Mastdek---------------------see Kolsum.
Mastkoker------------------fitting on deck securing base of mast (tabernacle).
Mastwortel-----------------carved spiral ornament at the top of the mast.
Meetbrief-------------------official registration book.
Metingsmerk---------------official registration number.
Merkel-----------------------athwartships beam supporting the hatch-boards.
Mignole----------------------type of "spits-like" motorbarge.
Mixte-------------------------ship built from both wood and metal (see compositieschip)
Motorhek--------------------type of stern often found on motor-barges used in shallow waters.
N
Nagelbank-------------------(see knecht)
Nok---------------------------peak of gaff.
O
Opduwer--------------------small motor-boat pushing a larger engineless barge.
Opdrukker-----------------(see above)
Opsteker--------------------adjustable extension to botteloef.
Overloop--------------------traveller for fok or grootzeil.
P
Paardenroef----------------on-board stable for horse or mule.
Pakschuit-------------------cargo or passenger barge designed to be pulled from the shore.
Paviljoen-------------------after-cabin.
Paviljoentjalk--------------tjalk having an after-cabin.
Peniche----------------------type of French built motorbarge.
Platbodem------------------flat bottom.
Poon-------------------------type of tjalk originating in Zeeland.
Potdeksel-------------------bulwarks.
Praam-----------------------sailing-barge type.
Punter-----------------------open flat-bottomed ships boat, usually rowed or sculled.
R
Raderboot------------------paddle-wheel tugboat.
Rakband-------------------lacings holding the sail to the mast.
Rietaak---------------------aak type from the Biesbos area.
Roef-------------------------cabin having windows above deck-level.
R
Roer-------------------------rudder.
Roerlichter----------------device used to prevent the rudder swinging when not in use.
Roerzwaard---------------lowering rudder extension.
Romp-----------------------hull.
S
Salonroef-------------------roef located after the steering position.
Scheerbalk-----------------central spine locating the hatch-boards.
Scheepsjager---------------person who made a living from towing barges from the shore.
Scheg------------------------skeg
Schildpadkatrol-----------particular variety of block.
Schoener--------------------large sailing-barge type.
Schouw---------------------small flat-bottomed boat with a hard chine.
Skutsje----------------------type of tjalk found in Friesland.
Sleepboot-------------------tugboat.
Sleepschip------------------dumb barge, designed to be towed by a tugboat.
Sluis--------------------------lock.
Snik-------------------------type of barge designed to be towed from the shore.
Sontvaarder---------------ship trading in the Sont area of the Baltic.
Spant-----------------------structural frames.
Spiegel---------------------coloured area on the stern of many sailing-barges (literally, mirror).
Spijker---------------------nail.
Spits------------------------type of motorbarge.
Spitsbek-------------------variation of above.
Stag-------------------------stay (as in forestay).
Steilsteven----------------ship with a straight stempost, also particular sailing-barge type.
Strijkklamp----------------timber against which the lee-board lies.
Stuiten---------------------thick area of the rubbing strake at bow and stern.
Stuurboord---------------starboard.
Stuurstand----------------open steering position.
Stuurtalie-----------------restraining device on tiller.
T
Takel----------------------tackle.
Talie-----------------------line used in conjunction with a block.
Teboekstellingnummer---unique number issued in the area in which the ship is trading.
Tjalk----------------------sailing-barge type.
Tonnetje------------------handgrip in the shape of a barrel located on the end of the tiller.
Top-----------------------area of the mast above the hommer.
Treklijn------------------see jaaglijn.
Tuigage------------------sailing-rigging.
U
Uitwip-------------------see kokerluik.
V
Vaarboom---------------pole used to push the barge along from on deck.
Val------------------------halyard (as in fokval)
Vioolblok---------------violin shaped double block.
Vlak----------------------flat area of a ships bottom.
Vlet-----------------------small flat-bottomed sailing boat.
Vleugel------------------masthead flag.
Voorsteven-------------stempost.
Vooronder--------------fore-cabin.
W
Wadvaarder------------ship trading in the Wad area of the Baltic.
Walenschip-------------type of Belgian built barge.
Waterstag---------------lower stay on bowsprit.
Want---------------------shroud.
Wegerij------------------counterweight on the foot of the mast.
Wellingplat-------------area of the ships side behind the berghout.
Weeflijn------------- ---ropes attached to the shrouds to form a ladder (ratlines).
Westlander-------------type of small barge originating in the Westland area of the Netherlands.
Wimple------------------see vleugel.
Woonboot----------------houseboat (static).
Woonschip---------------houseboat (mobile).
Z
Zandaak------------------aak type barge designed for the dredging and carriage of sand.
Zandloper---------------metal reinforcing piece on the leading edge of a lee-board.
Zeebrief-----------------official document allowing a ship to trade on the sea.
Zeeg------------------ --"sheer" of the ship’s hull.
Zeezwaard--------------long and thin lee-board designed for use at sea.
Zeilroef-----------------cabin located forward of the steering position.
Zetboord---------------wooden board carrying the ships name, owners name and home port.
Zijschroef--------------side mounted propeller, driven from an engine forward of the mast.
Zwaard-----------------lee-board.
Zwaardloper----------tackle for raising and lowering the lee-board.
Zwanehals-------------swan neck connection joining the boom to the lummel.
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