Transition from Wood to Iron in Shipbuilding
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2020
- The transition from wooden ships to iron ships occurred over many years both in merchant and naval fleets. Iron had its obstacles to overcome, but once iron ships were readily available, they allowed for an explosion in shipbuilding technology and capability.
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Sources:
Technological Transitions and System Innovations by Frank W. Geels
Principles of Ocean Transportation by Emory Richard Johnson and Grover Gerhardt Huebner
Wessex Archaeology, wessexarch.co.uk (ss-great-britain)
The Monthly Chronicle of North-Country Lore and Legend v.1-5 by Walter Scott
GlobalSecurity.org, Metal Hull (www.globalsecurity.org/milita...)
www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0011263/ (about this source)
The Sway of the Grand Saloon by John Malcolm Brinnin
Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack, Encyclopedia Britannica (www.britannica.com/event/Batt...)
The History of Steel, The Balance (www.thebalance.com/steel-hist...)
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Thanks for the great content. I’m going to be joining your Patreon.
Glad to hear it, Donald! And I'm glad you're getting something out of the videos. It's great to know that there are other people who share this interest of mine.
@@TheGreatBigMove i may not join but i love ships
Watching from India 🇮🇳
@@subirdebnath2519 off topic, but why is there so many scammers in India?
@@notalemon2899 unexpected but I think every country have the same thing
Great video! However, you omitted to mention one important reason why composite ships were being constructed as late as the CUTTY SARK in 1869. Wooden ships could and very often did have their bottoms coated with sheets of copper to repel barnacles, shipworms and grasses, which would -- among other things--greatly reduce the speed of the ship. However, copper sheeting could not be applied to steel or iron vessels because electrolysis would quickly destroy the iron hull. So iron hulls were only optimal for ships sailing on relatively short routes such as from Great Britain to North America, where there were shipyards where marine growth could be frequently scraped off. Copper-plated wood was preferable for ships like the CUTTY SARK , sailing on the long voyage from Canton to London. Only later in the 19th century was bottom paint containing copper particles developed, which kept off the marine growth without turning the ship's hull into a giant battery and melting the iron away. This paved the way for near-universal adoption of iron and steel for ship's hulls.
Fascinating. Thank you kindly for sharing this intelligence, aka intel. Peace!
Oh yeah! I forgot about that...
I thought it was lead paint
Really interesting, had no clue about the copper
@@alexwest2573 Thank you.
@4:50 “she battled lumber pirates of the Great Lakes” oh yea I’m gonna need a video on lumber pirates of the Great Lakes please
Gonna need a video on that too
as someone living by the great lakes I *really* want to see a video on that
Plz
I require bideo
It is amazing to think how far mankind has get, from a simple wooden cannoe to Yamato class Battleship
My daughter and I both very much enjoyed this video. I would only take issue with one part: The battle between the Monitor and the Virginia. You indicate that the battle was not terribly consequential and that the Virginia got the better of the Monitor. While it is true that the Confederate ship got in one good hit her opponent, wounding the Monitor's captain and (very) temporarily knocking out the pilot house, the the Union ship dealt far more damage. Not only was the Virginia's smoke stack riddled with shot (which decreased her already glacial speed as she did not have the Monitor's forced draft), but she had suffered several plates cracked by shot and was taking on water through the bow after several unsuccessful attempts at ramming. At the end of the day, the Virginia retreated and that is why the battle was not inconsequential. On the previous day, the Virginia had destroyed one ship of the Northern blockade and forced another to surrender. If the Monitor had not arrived, it is likely that the Virginia would have continued to wreak havoc at the mouth of the Chesapeake, sinking ships, breaking the blockade, and allowing Southern cotton to be exchanged for European weapons. By ultimately forcing the Virginia to retreat, the Monitor won a strategic victory. The blockade was maintained and the war shortened as a result.
Thanks for watching, Sean. Those are fair enough points and I do believe you're correct that Virginia's retreat was important in the sense that it ended her immediate threat to Union ships. I just mean that it wasn't a turning point in the war which is really just my way of transitioning away from the war to go on talking about ships!
@@TheGreatBigMove actually it seems it was a turning point in the war.
@@justthink5854 just let the man talk about ships he wasnt here to wax on about a war
Composite construction (iron frames and timber planking) was use for all tea clippers of the second half of the 1860s because the copper or "yellow metal" sheathing that could be applied to timber planking was far better anti-fouling than the available anti-fouling paints available for iron ships.
Carbon is what makes steel, Impurities in Iron were sulfur and phosphor
Exactly. Pure Iron (Fe) is soft but tough carbon (C) like carbon fiber's or Diamond's is Hard bot brittle, mixing it ind the right proportion get the Best of Both worlds. And if you want somthing resisten to Corrodsion you mix ind som chromium (Cr) aka stainles Steel.
To much carbon and your steel is brittle.
Hydrocarbons are impurities.
Back when ships were made of wood and the men were made of iron.
because men are made of wood now..?
@@CARILYNF ahhh ok
@@chickenbokernot2598 they're made of tin foil now to be honest
@@x0xTHLover4Lifex0x So if I put them in a microwave?
now we have wooden men
and iron ships
Very interesting topic. The last sail ships were really impressive actually.
Video Ideas:
Importance/history of lighthouses
Importance/history of american canals
Importance/history of maritime schools
Neutrality of Nantucket in the american revolution
Early american navy ships (revolution privateers/washingtons cruisers)
The possible transition back to steam in the future
The rise and fall of the ice trade
Mississippi River steamers
USS Pueblo
Transition to container shipping
How a steam ship engine works
Deadly ocean areas in north america
Idk ill have some more later
I like the idea of transitioning back to steam, but that's bc if its steam powered, I'm immediately more interested, also the river boats are a good idea, you could do America's "Titanic" and do something with the Sultana
@@paulinetrivago.7540 fk that
@@Lyle-xc9pg which part
Can give something not related to american history, like something even more interesting like how britains merchant shipping dominated world trade back in the 19th
@@thegunner7942 haha yes america bad
You can actually visit one of the last built and the last surviving wooden (3 mast) barque ship, Sigyn, that has sailed across the oceans, in Turku Finland. She made her last Atlantic crossings as a merchant ship in 1915 and 1916 and serves now as a museum ship.
Greetings from SDS Hansteen, to our knowledge the oldest seaworthy sailing steamer with 152years that was built as an iron ship from puddled wrought iron. A first norwegian research vessel used for precision mapmaking. Many present date maps still contain a lot of data provided by her. Oh and anybody you iron ship enthusiasts, if anyone knows about ship grade wrought iron hull plates, let me know, I want to give our lady the iron she lost over the century. Iron is incomparable to steel when you want to keep the vessel.
I just looked this ship up after reading your comment. Thank you for the great starting point for a ship I previously knew nothing about. May the wind fill your sails!
The oldest merchant ship afloat is located in San Diego, California. The Star of India. An iron hull bark.
Thank God the SS Great Britan is still with us today. It was why good old Australia exists.
Does it still have its original powerplant?
@@gregorymalchuk272 IDK
Gregory Malchuk yep
@@jaysmith1408
Really? Is it a reproduction? I could swear I went out and searched the wikipedia on it and apparently some rich eccentric guy bought it in the late 1800s, removed the engines, and made it all sail. I could be wrong though.
Gregory Malchuk crap, you’re right. Missed the whole removing part. Yep, modern reproduction, sounds like it’s derated a bit too. Just found the ship’s web page.
The period of the 1820s to the 1880s was the greatest leapfrog in technology in the history of mankind. And in naval terms it was a revolution every few years as something new was invented or introduced.
Love your channel sir......keep it up.
Admiral Tiberius Drachnifel made a video a on it but he does video on navy ship ua-cam.com/video/IWPUloWz7gA/v-deo.html
@@USSAnimeNCC- I'm a huge fan of his, that's a great video
I agree but 1910 to 1970 we went from biplanes to the moon, that's a pretty big leapfrog too.
This is my first time watching one of your videos and I really like your style! Simple, well spoken and easy to follow. I look forward to watching more!
Such high quality videos, keep it up!
The pictures are amazing. Right?
Cool pics, another quality vid. Keep up the good work!
This video topic was proposed by one of my supporters on Patreon. If you like my videos, consider supporting the channel on Patreon and get access to extra benefits like the ability to propose and vote on topics. Once we reach our first goal, I will start uploading videos exclusively for Patreon supporters. These will be brief videos on topics which don't need a full-length video. I already have some ideas in mind! Patreon link is in the description of this video. Thanks for watching!
@Andexas o_o you said that 2 times.
Just to note, removing carbon from iron reduces it to a weaker cast iron which is purely brittle and breaks easily. the carbon in iron however creates an alloy allowing for the flexibility and greater durability in comparison to the more pure form of the element. adding elements such as nickle to the iron carbon alloy makes it more reliant. i mention this as you made a mistake when you mentioned impurities such as carbon making the material weaker. enjoyed the video though :D.
A very interesting video, adding some ships I did not realise played a part in the change over. One bit missing I did notice however that also slowed the change to iron and steel, was the problem with temperature, being that iron became brittle over time in cold waters significantly weakening it, this delayed the change until improved metals could be found to handle the colder seas.
As always awesome work!
What a fantastic video! Thank you!
Excellent video. I sailed aboard the "Queen Elizabeth 2" aka QE2 I think in 1982 from NY to South Hampton GB. It was fun, I was 9 years of age and enjoyed the small arcade of coin free arcade machines. I look forward to viewing your other videos. Best wishes to you from Washington D.C.! Peace
Thanks for the upload !
This is my favorite channel.
I believe you got the steel making process wrong. Carbon is in fact added to iron, along with other metals like nickel or chromium, to produce strong, flexible steel for ship hulls. Iron by itself is very soft.
Kind of. Iron and steel are pretty much the same except for the different amounts of carbon in the material. Wrought iron (soft) has less than 0.08% carbon. Cast iron (hard) has over 4%. Steel is around 2%. Adding nickel and chromium gives you stainless steel
Love your channel!! Your videos are quality content :)
Thanks, Stephanie
Great vid, very informative
Man your stuff is the best
Nicely done! Let’s see what else you’ve got.
Great Vid, fascinating so enjoyable.!!
Excellent video, Thank You. I really enjoyed it. Though the creation of the Scotch Marine Boiler and the Triple Expansion Steam Engine, in the 1880's should have been mentioned. These two additional innovations, with steel construction and screw propulsion, finally made Merchant Steam ships economically competitive and superior to Auxiliary Sail/Steam ships, and traditional Sailing ships. The advent of the Steam Turbine in the 1890's and in the first decade of the 20th Century, most notably utilized in the British Navy's Dreadnoughts, was very revolutionary..
The advent of the diesel engine, first used on sea going vessels in 1912, revolutionized the merchant shipping industry. Diesel propulsion was far superior to steam in terms of economy of operation. As you already know, for decades, the Diesel Engine in the overwhelming choice of propulsion in all classes of ships, from yachts to giant cruise Ships and container ships.
Can we get a video on the Great Eastern, it's such a fantastical piece of marine history, shame it was a commercial failure
Yes, she’s on my list. Given how many requests I’m getting, I might bump it up.
@@TheGreatBigMove ooh good to hear, thanks!! I don't know if you also do Pacific steam ships, but if your open to it, the SS Columbia is a noteworthy ship in marine history
@@TheGreatBigMove looking forward to watching more
My thoughts exactly, how could a video like this gloss over the Great Eastern? But it looks like a dedicated video is in the works, so looking forward to that.
Great video! Thank you for sharing! I like paintings showing ships at sea. For example, at 0:21.
I do believe steel is .2 - 2.1% carbon, above that and its pig iron (used to make cast iron), below that and its just iron.
yeah that right, and it was through the great quality of coal in the UK that when added to pig iron it would add carbon without impurities
Excellent!
8:54
The Matthew and the SS Great Britain together
makes me proud to be Bristolian
Same here!
Much better than the Normandie topic 😜 but no, anything you make is always a pleasure to watch
"The Harsh Irish Coat" picture at -2:06 is of Rabbit Island, Oahu, Hawaii, USA!!!
Hey, it’s free stock footage and at least it’s a rocky coastline.
@@TheGreatBigMove :(
nicely done and informative
Love your videos.
You have forgotten one of the biggest advantage of iron framed composite ships that by the 1830s the availability of timber for ship building was becoming a problem particularly the large timbers needed for the frame and especially the timbers with the correct shape to form the knees. This may not have been a problem in the US but it was becoming cheaper to build an iron framed ship in British yards which were building about 1 ship in 2 worldwide.
Yes, I hinted at that by saying that production of wooden ships in North America continued because of plentiful timber but you’re right I could have been more explicit about the dwindling supply in Europe. Thanks for watching
I remember Drachnifel made video about warship transistion from wood to iron I’m going to rewatch it
Wow can't wait to watch it
Ur channel is massively underated, keep in up👍
Thanks, I appreciate that!
That's what I said 7 months ago when he had 75 subs.😂
Lumber pirates on the great lakes, that sounds interesting
Excellent!
I kindly request a video on the tea clippers and the races to set faster and faster times back from China. Cutty Sark was mentioned here, that sparked my comment.
Great video
Had a great boss that served in the Spanish Navy in the 1960's. Everyone got tired of him bragging about how great Spains Navy was. Had somebody draw a picture of an old ship then 2 pictures of him working on his great ships. One was shoveling coal into ship boiler and other repairing antique wooden deck.
Another reason composite hulls were used is because on the Great Lakes, ships would sail through shallow rivers and ports and damage the keel plates. That is why composite ships were used for so long until dredging became more advanced. It is cheaper to repair a section of wood compared to a section of steel. Great video by the way!!
These premier things are probably the most annoying things UA-cam has ever added
Chase Charron Why do the you tubers use it tho
AMEN TO THIS. Sorry but I dislike every video that uses it. Tell me to add notifications just to notify me about a video coming out later... annnnnd OFF goes the notifications.
Some people seem to like it, others don't. I might do a poll to get a sense for what the numbers are.
@@michaelhouse6606 agree, enough said...feels like these "features" are designed to be obnoxious
Ooh, video. Catchy thumbnail. Interesting topic. *Click.
"You will be reminded when it releases"
ಠ_ಠ
The screw propeller also has a kind of medieval look, as if they are giant metal axes, symbolically chopping the ship free of the old ways and heading straight towards the future.
I have never heard the word iron so many times in a video before. Quite interesting.
Modern cruise ships are partially constructed out of aircraft aluminum. This allowed ships to have many decks high above the water line and not be top heavy. I think the first ship with an aluminum super structure was the SS Norway (1960-2006).
Novusod That’s a good point. So were some later ocean liners. I’m referring to the hulls at the end, though.
"She's made of iron, sir!"
“Lol imagine they made a ship that sank by a ice berg”
-George Washington
very, very interesting - never thought of this change
Not thinking of anything it sounds like. Must be a democRAT
good stuff........put together well
very cool
cool video, thanks for the history
Thanks, Steve
Maybe a video on the MV Dona Paz? (Asia's Titanic, 4,386 deaths with only 25 survivors)
I will at some point. It's on my list.
@@TheGreatBigMove Good to know. Good luck on your next project.
great vidio it was verey informitive
Could you made a video about changing in shipbuilding from rivet to welding.
Ah the SS Great Britain - such an important cultural landmark in my city (Bristol). I remember in primary school my school created the labels for the museum (I labelled a contemporary newspaper article about the launch)
those early iron clad battleships give me the creeps for some reason
I feel like the ss savannah needs more attention for being the FIRST ever steam ship that crossed the Atlantic ocean
Rip HMS Nemesis, The forgotten Iron ship.
Never heard of it.
Oh...
As a native of Virginia and a huge Civil War buff, the battle of Hampton Roads is absolutely fascinating. First thing to understand: these ships were built independently and neither side had any idea what the other was doing. It's very common in modern warfare that one side develops a new technology and has a significant advantage on the battlefield before the other side can adapt. But, in this case, both sides came up with an equally effective technology and unveiled them within a day of each other. But, in that day, the Virginia had destroyed two wooden ships and forced a third to ground to escape cannon range, emphatically establishing the iron-clad's dominance in naval warfare. And then the Monitor comes into the battle and neither ship can defeat the other. It is a literal stalemate which makes another fact very clear: one iron-clad can stand toe-to-to with another iron-clad. So, not only can an iron-clad be a very effective offensive ship against 99% of the world's naval ships of that time, it can also be a very effective defensive ship against another iron-clad. And after all that, it had no real impact on the war as a whole. Arguably one of the most important battles in terms of military technology of the Civil War was a stalemate. The Union still had their blockade and the Confederacy still controlled the inland waters.
Whoah whoah whoah. Carbon isn't an impurity to remove from iron to to make steel, it's the additive to iron that makes it steel. "Cast iron" is really just a very high carbon steel that has so much carbon that some of that carbon has precipitated out of solution, carbon lowers the melting point of steel which makes it easier to cast. The main challenge of steel making was controlling the amount of carbon and removing actual impurities like phosphorus and sulfur. For ages getting enough carbon was more of a challenge than too much.
Otherwise awesome video, love your content.
Yes, that was a mistake on my part. Every once in a while, I learn something about a topic even AFTER uploading the video thanks to my viewers. Glad you enjoyed the video anyway.
To the harbor at Southampton came a stranger one fine day,
Hardly spoke to folks around him, didn't have too much to say,
Everybody asked his business when he docked right in the slip,
For that stranger there among them had an iron steamer ship!
bravo!
07:58: S/S Amerika, owned by Danish shipping line Thingvalla Line. Built 1872 for White Star Line as S/S Celtic. Sold and renamed in 1893, scrapped 1898.
This channel will for sure blow up. I expected you to have so many more subs for this kinda quality
Thanks, Cat!
You should make a video with book recommendations for people wanting to get into the subject of maritime history (especially the golden age of ocean liners)
Great idea, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for watching.
There was a sentence I read in a book years ago that compared the rapid change in transport technology in the 19th century.
It went like this "If a person alive at the building of the pyramids was brought forward to 1805 he would see a world where to get from one location to another you either walked, rode an animal, used an animal to pull a conveyance, rowed or sailed a boat unchanged for over 4000 years! but if you where to take a person from 1805 and take him to 1925 a mere 120 years later he would be astounded at the changes"
The Spanish ironcland frigate "La Numancia" was made the first circumnavigatino of the Earth in 1867.
Always breaks my heart to see how much wood/trees went into building these beautiful ships.
It’s so cool that the first iron ship to cross the Atlantic was powered by wind. really shows how fast technology and machines progressed once the industrial revolution got going
the service the British did for the world is indescribable. most of us would not exist today.
I am surprised to find no mention anywhere here about the Star of India (of the Alaska Packer fleet) ex Euterpe launched at Ramsey, Isle of Man on November 14th, 1863. She is the oldest iron hulled ,OPERATIONAL merchantman in the world . In fact, she is worthy of a video on her own. She sails out of San Diego, Ca. as a unit of the San Diego Maritime Museum. Jerry MacMullen has written a wonderful history of her....Star of India The Log of an Iron Ship. I highly suggest everyone read it.
Legend has it the first man to think of the concept of floating metal ship was laughed at
I can't believe that they made paddle ships up to about 1860 when the first ones were sailing at about 1840 (and like double the efficiency). The paddles went 8 knots and the propeller ones went over double the speed.
You really know your stuff
I just have a lot of books! Check out the sources in the description.
Could you do a video on the eastland?
Hey Great Big Move I love ur vids but I would just really like to see a bit more being uploaded. I would like a video on the white star early ships up to the early 1900s. If u could reply that would make by day. Keep up the great work.
I'm glad you're liking the videos! Unfortunately, this channel is a side project for now so I don't think I'll be able to upload any more frequently than I am for a while. That's a great video idea.
@@TheGreatBigMove Ok thx so much! Love ur vids!!! I am actually kinda freaking out because ive never had a youtuber reply to me. Also, just to let u know I love ur ship stories i think they are my fav.
Well done. I was curious how we ended up moving from timber to iron and eventually to steel hulls.
5:58 that is if you don't count the lack of her iron ram, which was lost after she rammed one of the union ships and when she backed out, she did so without the ram... there's also the fact that the virginia took a number of cannon balls to her structure, and although that did nothing to break through her seemingly impenetrable armour, it likely dented the armour every time a cannon ball successfully hit her,... (although i myself wouldn't count a couple of ugly looking dents to be ACTUAL damage...)
Do you ever plan on talking about the Great Lakes? Such as the shipping industry in a whole, Lady Elgin, 1905 Mataafa Storm, Great Storm of 1913, Armistice Day Storm, Carl D. Bradley, Daniel J. Morrell and Edmund Fitzgerald?
just a few topic ideas.
Yes, I do plan to
@@TheGreatBigMove Awesome! That kinda stuff interests me greatly, so I genuinely can't wait for that stuff! Thank you for replying =]
You forgot to mention the Eastland and even the Atlantic, 2 prominent ship sinkings in the great lakes
@@paulinetrivago.7540 Apologies, I should've.
@@InlandSeas eh, no big deal, personally, I'd like to see him cover some west coast ships. The Columbia and Brother Johnathan to name a few. Both from California, with Columbia being a notable ship in marine history, she was the first ship to have lightbulbs as well as the first place to have Edison (I think) light bulbs outside of his place/factory/ wherever the bulbs were made at
I have a piece of one of these ships. You could see how they made the plates, rivets and all
Sounds lilke a nice piece of ship :p
Permanent hogging is more the result of the greater weight vs. less floatation at the ends of the hull. The ends don't fully support themselves. Hogging and sagging underway, I would class as "working" of the hull, and it certainly is an issue with large wooden ships.
It wont be too long until fuel costs or availability will bring sails back to trade.
Not sails. Google Maersk Rotor Cargo Ships.
Wind assisted ships with no floppy sails.
The River Clyde in Glasgow was the pre eminent world shipbuilder in the 1860s and supplied many ships to the Confederate Navy as Block runners.
Sorry, but, I think you confused or swapped something. Not many composite ships were built in North America. Really, very few were ever built in the USA or Canada. They were very rare. In North America builders stayed with all wood or transitioned to all iron and steel (except decks & boats, etc.). I would very much like to see a list of North American builders who built composite ships. It was in Europe where there was less hardwood suitable framing timber available that composite ships were really popular as they did not require what was not available. Otherwise, good video!
Great video but you failed to give a date for the launching of the ss Great Britain, the first propeller ship to cross the Atlantic. Was it about 1840?
1843, according to Wikipedia (just looked it up quickly).
@@TheGreatBigMove Thanks.
Billions of manhours, summed up in less than 10 minutes.... Nice.
Please do the transition from iron to steel, the transition from full-rigged ships to barques (barks) in the late 19th century, and the last ten years of sailing ship evolution, from 1900-1910. (After the Panama Canal was opened, it was curtains for sail except for the first world war, the Chilean nitrate trade in the 1920s and the Australian grain trade up to World War 2, and the Alaskan fisheries until the depression?
Great video, but the metallurgy is incorrect. Carbon is added to iron to make steel.
Was about to say this, wrought iron is technically more corrosion resistant but weaker in terms of tensile strength and I believe heavier, hence the switch to steel.
That's not what my sources said, but if you can point me to a different source I would appreciate it. Thanks for watching.
@@TheGreatBigMove I think the differential needs to be between cast iron and steel, whereby your comparison would be absolutely correct, including the inclusion of other metals to the mix. Wrought iron which was used at the time is actually very low carbon iron with less than Cast/pig/steel. Cast iron is fundamentally impure and only one refining process beyond pig iron, and was only used on the cheapest of products. This article has a great comparison: www.explainthatstuff.com/ironsteel.html
Alex McBroom Thanks, Alex. I’ll take a look at that source.
@@TheGreatBigMove I wouldn't take the article as absolute gospel as it airs on the layman's side of things but is a simple comparison of the key terms
Excellent summary. I’m not sure that you can entirely say that Great Britain was a commercial failure, though. She may have been on the North Atlantic ( possibly due in part to the cost of her recovery from Dundrum Bay) but she was successful on the Australia run and subsequently. She lasted in various service for a long time for a ship and, of course, still exists.
Any chance you can make a video on the CPR ship "Princess Sophia?"
Fun fact, first ever fully welded hull is still alive and well in the Gothenburg harbour (:
The worlds first fully welded ship is on the bottom of the ocean outside of San Diego, the SS Fullagar, but I would like to know what ship you're talking about if you don't mind.
You dont make steel from removing the carbon from iron, you make steel by adding carbon too iron
What about the SS Great Eastern it was built so strongly it took 2 years to disassemble it