Jonah

Comment Threads

• Nojay commented on Cloud cuckoo politics
  The Cutty Sark, one of the most highly evolved sail-powered cargo ships ever built ran with a crew of 26 under normal circumstances. During one voyage after a mutiny/walkout by the regular crew it was operated with six apprentices and four tradesmen along with the officers. When the wind was right the Cutty Sark could do 17 knots fully laden. When the wind wasn't right it got its commercial lunch eaten by the crude coal-fired second-generation steamships running single-and double-expansion reciprocating engines at a few atmospheres of pressure, and Turbinia had shown what the future of steam and screw propulsion...
• Damian the surprised commented on Cloud cuckoo politics
  Thing is though that favorable winds for most of the old routes are predictable and even reliable. I guess the difference is the flexibility, the number of direct routes open to power and all that. Hong Kong to San Fran and back, then to Sydney isn't all in favorable winds all the time. Liverpool to Seattle around the new northern routes. Simple great circles, no tacking required. However I am fascinated by this notion of square-rigged windjammers with (relatively) small crews. I was aware it was possible and agree that suggests that therefore it must have been common, but didn't...
• David L commented on Cloud cuckoo politics
  Quite a few of the sailors on a warship are there as extras. Seemed to me the numbers were about manning all the guns on a side at one time. 3 or 4 per gun?...
• notsam commented on Cloud cuckoo politics
  Manning the guns, enough to change sail rapidly and a repair crew and extras to replace the casualties won't go amiss either. That said they didn't necessarily take have enough to man the guns on both sides at once....
• Adrian Howard commented on Cloud cuckoo politics
  Seemed to me the numbers were about manning all the guns on a side at one time. 3 or 4 per gun? More like 10-14 men by default, although you could do it with less at a slower rate of fire. These were heavy chunks of metal that needed to be physically run out and moved to aim. For British navel vessels of the time gun crews could more than 80% of the crew (although obviously they'd do other things as well when not firing). Plus enough people to keep those guns stocked with powder and shot. A couple of...