![]() These drawings documented every part of the ship's construction, which was quite unusual for the time ships were then still generally built without plans. He delved into blueprints of similar ships, and his draughtsmen eventually sent a total of twenty-four construction drawings to the Department for approval. Meursing had experience building steam ships, but this was his first icebreaker. Ultimately, he would incur a loss of twelve thousand guilders on the Christiaan Brunings. This proved to be a financial disaster for Meursing, who, as Van der Thoorn had feared, was unable to live up to his low bid. But the Department overruled him and awarded the commission to Meursing. His Amsterdam shipyard 'De Nachtegaal' ('The Nightingale') came across to Van der Thoorn as rather shabby. But Van der Thoorn was not impressed by Meursing. van der Thoorn of the 4th River District in Dordrecht asked no fewer than fifteen shipyards to submit bids for 'a propeller-driven steamship for breaking river ice.' The lowest bidder, at 49,400 guilders, was Jan Frederik Meursing, who also guaranteed the lowest coal consumption per horsepower. lowest bidderįor the construction of the Christiaan Brunings, the Department put out a call for tenders, as was only proper for a government project. By this time, fighting ice had become one of the government's standing tasks, one that in the second half of the 19th century had become a crucial part of preventing dike breaks and floods. The decision to build their own ships was primarily dictated by cost considerations. Up until the time of the Achilles and the Christian Brunings, the Department hired icebreakers from private parties. This principle changed little through the centuries, although more and more powerful ships were sought to do it. ![]() With each pull, the bow would be drawn up from the water to fall back onto the layer of ice, cracking the ice under its weight. Their upward-curving bows and flat forestays with iron plating were drawn by horses (sometimes up to twenty!) through ice-covered canals. Drawings from that time show ships like these, made of wood. Icebreakers like the Christiaan Brunings have been used as far back as the 17th century. ![]() This dual function was dictated by purely practical considerations: after all, why would you let such a significant investment lie idle for most of the year? The government had had good experiences with a ship previously built for the same dual purpose, the Achilles (launched in 1894). The Department of Waterways and Public Works originally had the ship built as an icebreaker that could also serve as an executive vessel, which explains the ship's luxurious interior. As a result, the ship was launched in 1900 with a different and much more utilitarian name: De IJsbreker (the Icebreaker). Then-Minister of Public Works, Trade and Industry Cornelis Lely had approved naming the ship after the famous marine engineer (1736-1805), but the decision became mired in red tape. In 1900, when the last nuts and bolts had been tightened on the icebreaker Christiaan Brunings, she didn't bear the name that we know her by today. She did, however, help lay the first Transatlantic telegraph cable in 1857-8.The story of the S.S. ![]() She also had a short career as the Navy’s pride and joy, as she was paid off in 1862. Agamemnon was fitted with sails and carried 91 guns. Historically, the first British ship to be designed and built from scratch to use steam was HMS Agamemnon, laid down in 1852 previous steam warships were conversions from sailing ships-of-the-line. Steam was a tactical advantage, not a strategic one. There was also the problem of coaling stations: while these ships carried sails, they did need regular supplies of coal. Fire was always a risk aboard a wooden vessel, and boiler explosions were not unknown. The idea of going into battle with a fire raging in his ship’s belly was not one that appeals to every captain. The ability to sail directly into the wind is something that no sail-powered vessel can ever match. A steamship has sails but the engine gives it the tactical ability to ignore the wind in battle.īy having a good weight of broadside that can be brought to bear regardless of wind conditions, this 80-gun ship is a significant force in any fleet.
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