Dhow Construction Blog

[Keith RichardsonParticipant @keithrichardson77867]

Trakka said:

“Hi all! There are some great pictures and stories in Tim Severin’s book “The Sindbad Voyages” involving dhows. As is his wont, Severin insists on conducting voyages on traditionally made boats, and this dhow is a ripper! Not an iron nail in sight. 

Hopefully useful info. 

Cheers, Andrew”

A wonderful lead Andrew – many thanks!

I eventually tracked down Tim Severin’s book “The Sinbad Voyage”, read it, and found the answer I have searched for for a long, long time. How to “go-about” in a settee-rigged dhow. Severin describes it in detail, calling it “Wearing Ship”, and includes a photo taken during the operation. I wrote to the author requesting permission to repeat part of the text here and one of his photos, and yesterday he replied with a “Yes”! Wonderful!!

 

Here is the text of his reply:

“Monday, 25 May 2009 3:05:13 AM

Dear Keith Richardson
Yes, of course, you may quote from my book The Sindbad Voyage when you report back to the model boat Forum and show a photo from the book.  But do please acknowledge the source (and encourage your fellow modellists to look out CORSAIR and BUCCANEER in my Hector Lynch series of historical novels if they like that sort of reading). 
Good luck with the project –  four of the early vessels whose replicas I had constructed, benefitted greatly by first being made as scale models.
best regards, Tim Severin”

When I get home tonight I will search out and upload the photo and text.

Thank you Andrew and Tim for your most appreciated support!

Keith

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Come on Keith!

It`s about time and well overdue……………….We would like to see the latest work in progress pictures please!

 

Bob

[Keith RichardsonParticipant @keithrichardson77867]

Aaahhhh the lash of the ‘Cat-O-9-Tails’ weilded by Bob!!!

Here is the photo from Tim Severin’s exciting book “The Sinbad Voyage” (see previous entry) reproduced here by kind permission of the author. It shows the excitement at deck level as a Dhow goes about (wears ship). Below I have quoted directly from Tim’s book (also with permission) as he says it far better than I could. I was very excited to find this description, as one of my design problems is how to set up my model dhow so that under radio control it can wear ship effectively.

 

From pp142-143 “The Sinbad Voyage” by Tim Severin 1982 ISBN 0 09150560 7
 Sometimes the wind changed direction with the passage of a squall so that Sohar began to run in dangerously towards the coast. Then I rang the brass bell which summoned all hands on deck. Up they came, rubbing the sleep from their eyes, and stumbling to their regular posi­tions. `Khai-or! Wear ship!’ The manoeuvre of wearing ship meant shifting the mainsail with its huge mainspar from one side of the mast to the other by swinging the whole mass of sail and timber, more than a ton of it, around the foreside of the mast. If the ropes and canvas got in a tangle which checked the smooth swing of the mainspar, the sail would be ripped to shreds, or we could snap the mainspar. It was a difficult and dangerous operation by day, and at night it required real care. Every man had his allotted position on deck so that he knew exactly where to lay his hands on the right rope in the dark, and when to dodge safely out of the way of the lethal sweep of the butt of the mainspar as it swung across the ship. When everyone was in their right place, the helmsman turned Sohar to run downwind. The foredeck crew dragged in the lower end of the diagonal mainspar so that its peak rose vertical, and it hung above the deck like an enormous lance, dangling from the masthead sheaves, the tip fully 8o feet above the deck.

Next, Saleh’s madcap figure scrambled around the outside of the ship, skipping along the top of the rail, round the foredeck, and back down the opposite side of the vessel. He carried the heavy rope which controlled the mainsail, and which had to be transferred from one side of the ship to the other. As soon as this rope was in position and made secure, the helmsman began to swing Sohar on her new course. A quick, probing flash of a powerful torch beam aloft checked that the ropes and rigging were not tangled, and the maindeck crew cautiously began to ease out the ropes controlling the angle of the mainspar so that it began to tilt back to a diagonal, this time on the opposite side of the mainmast. When the spar had reached its correct angle, half the crew quickly laid hold of the mainsheet and hauled in so that the sail set correctly. The remainder moved about the deck, resetting the rig­ging, tightening up and making fast ropes, wearing round the smaller mizzen sail, rehoisting the jib, and finally the job was done. It usually took half an hour of hard work before the off-duty watch could turn in below to catch up on their sleep . . . until the next time that the fickle wind changed direction, and the anxious voice of the watchleader called softly to me . . . ‘Captain . . . wear ship?’

 

Here is the email I sent Tim:

 

Emailed 16/05/2009
Hello Tim – I have just read your “The Sinbad Voyage” and loved every moment! For some time now I have been researching dhow design, construction and sailing and have designed a 1 metre dhow for radio control. My biggest concern was to discover how to wear ship with a setee sail, and your book has answered my questions – thank you.During my search I shared my concerns with a few of the model boat forums, and in fact one of the participants mentioned your book – hence my reading of it!

Could I please have your permission to quote directly from pages 142-143 from “Sometimes the wind changed direction…” to ” . . ‘Captain . . . wear ship?'” and include the photo from your book showing the butt of the main spar sweeping across the deck when I report back to the Forum on the progress of my Dhow research?

#21134

Barry Foote

Participant

@barryfoote68385

Love it. Great start

#21135

Keith Richardson

Participant

@keithrichardson77867

Thank you Barry – I love your diesel tug – will study the build closely soon! Regards, Keith

#21191

Keith Richardson

Participant

@keithrichardson77867

Here is a video of a dhow sailing including wearing-ship (going about)

Keith

#21229

Trakka

Participant

@trakka

Hi Keith et al.

 

Bloody typical! Write war and peace, don’t save it and you get logged out. (Mutter, mutter, stupid timeouts, mutter, complain).

 

Anyway, regarding your sail handling, Keith.

 

Have you considered the option of sleeving your sail to fit just loose over the boom/spar and making a cutout in the sail where the boom meets the stump mast?

 

This would allow you to run a continuous loop attached to the clew of the sail so that gybing or tacking may be effected by reeling the continuous line and dragging the sail up and over the spar to be pulled to the opposite tack.

 

Pivoting movement need not be large at the yoke and the side-to-side movement of the forward section of the spar may be checked by tying off to the stem at a suitable length to allow running downwind.

 

What does everyone think?

 

Cheers,

 

Andrew

 

#21233

Paul T

Participant

@pault84577

Trakka

 

To avoid being timed out click “Remember Me” I used to suffer the same problem until Colin told me about this little trick.

 

Paul

[Barry FooteParticipant @barryfoote68385]

Love it. Great start

[Keith RichardsonParticipant @keithrichardson77867]

Thank you Barry – I love your diesel tug – will study the build closely soon! Regards, Keith

[Keith RichardsonParticipant @keithrichardson77867]

Here is a video of a dhow sailing including wearing-ship (going about)

Keith

[TrakkaParticipant @trakka]

Hi Keith et al.

 

Bloody typical! Write war and peace, don’t save it and you get logged out. (Mutter, mutter, stupid timeouts, mutter, complain).

 

Anyway, regarding your sail handling, Keith.

 

Have you considered the option of sleeving your sail to fit just loose over the boom/spar and making a cutout in the sail where the boom meets the stump mast?

 

This would allow you to run a continuous loop attached to the clew of the sail so that gybing or tacking may be effected by reeling the continuous line and dragging the sail up and over the spar to be pulled to the opposite tack.

 

Pivoting movement need not be large at the yoke and the side-to-side movement of the forward section of the spar may be checked by tying off to the stem at a suitable length to allow running downwind.

 

What does everyone think?

 

Cheers,

 

Andrew

 

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Trakka

 

To avoid being timed out click “Remember Me” I used to suffer the same problem until Colin told me about this little trick.

 

Paul

[Author]

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