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Medieval seamanship under sail

Voyages of discovery could not be entertained until the advent of three-masted ships. Single-sailed ships were effective for voyages of short duration, undertaken with favourable winds. Ships with two masts could make long coastal voyages in the summer. Both these types had more or less severe limitations to sailing to windward. To sail any ship successfully in this mode it is necessary to be able to balance the sail plan accurately. This method of keeping course could not reach its full development until more than two sails were available for manipulation. Rudders
never were adequate to hold ships to windward courses.
Ships with three or more masts could be sailed in all weather with very little dependence on the power of the rudder and the freedom from this limitation made it possible to build ships large enough to carry sizable crews, their stores and spare gear over ocean crossings. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/26936
Date January 1987
CreatorsVidoni, Tullio
PublisherUniversity of British Columbia
Source SetsUniversity of British Columbia
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText, Thesis/Dissertation
RightsFor non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.

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