The next day, just as Yang Sichen was about to set off for the Yang family's shipyard, Old Man Shen came looking for him excitedly. Once he entered the Blue Wave Courtyard, he started shouting,""Brat, the boat you wanted is done by this old man. The three of us worked all night!"
Yang Sichen came out to take a look and saw Old Shen's eyes as red as a rabbit's. He looked exhausted and hurriedly asked,""Uncle, are you alright?"
Old Shen waved his hand and said,"It's okay. This old man hasn't made such a good thing for a long time!"”As he spoke, he turned his head and shouted towards the door," Da Hu! Three tigers! Bring the things in for Young Master to see!!”
After a while, two middle-aged men carried a five-foot-long sailboat model in. The two of them looked similar to Old Shen, both of them looking tired.
Yang Sichen asked Zi Juan to give twenty taels of silver to the Chen father and son, and said to Old Man Shen,""Thank you for your help, uncle! Sichen had no way to repay him. These twenty taels of silver are what you deserve. You can accept them with peace of mind!!”
Old Shen didn't stand on ceremony and said," What's there to say thank you for? You and I are fated. There's no need for us to stand on ceremony. This twenty taels of silver is just enough for my good-for-nothing grandson to find a wife." Don't forget our family if you have any work in the future!”
"If you can help me in the future, I won't stand on ceremony." Yang Sichen smiled.”
Old Shen laughed out loud after hearing that.”
Only then did Yang Sichen carefully examine the model of the flying scissors sailboat. On the high mast, the white sails seemed to have been fed by the wind, and the huge power was transmitted to the streamlined hull through the mast. The low freeboard and the small number of superstructures made the ship very stable. At the same time, the low center of gravity made it easy for the mast to reach three-quarters of the length of the ship, and the sail area was especially large.
Compared to the three to four aspect ratio of the fuk boats, flat-bottomed sand boats, Spanish galleons, and galleons of this era, this ship had a six aspect ratio. The hull was especially slender and elegant, and there was enough space to install two super high masts. The bow of the ship was sharp and extended forward like a shark's head. The waterline was slightly concave, so it could be lifted when sailing, splitting the waves and reducing the wave resistance. At the back, the water line gradually became thinner, and the transition was very coordinated to the narrow round tail, which together with the bow and the middle of the hull formed a body of minimal resistance.
Along the bow of the ship, there was a mast that stretched out in the direction of the front of the ship. Between the mast and the front mast, there were four sail ropes and a triangular sail. The front and rear masts were fully rigged, and the width of the sail was much wider than the width of the hull. The cross mast extended beyond the hull, and other than the main sail, the top sail, and other square sails, there were also spysail, wing sail, and other triangular sails. The complete set of sails could accept the wind from all directions. Unlike the complicated canopy hanging soft sails of some large European sailboats, these sails were mainly semi-hard sails that combined Chinese and Western styles. Moreover, the ropes had been optimized, and up to 20 sailors could operate them very well.
That's right, this was the pinnacle of human use of sailing ships in history--the flying scissors sailboat. This name came from its hollow bow that could cut through the waves. It was generally believed that its speed had reached the limit of large sailboats: Fourteen.
This is the ship in my dream! China's ocean era would be reopened! The fate of the Chinese nation would take a fundamental turn!! When Yang Sichen thought of this, he clenched his fists." Since the heavens have sent me back here, I must not do nothing!
Just as Yang Sichen's heart was in turmoil, Old Master Yang's voice came from outside the courtyard,""Little Chen, I heard that the ship model is done. Why didn't you bring it to me, an old man, to take a look?”
Yang Sichen hurriedly collected his thoughts and adjusted his expression before walking towards the entrance of the Jade Wave Courtyard. At the door, Yang Sichen greeted Old Master Yang and hurriedly said,"Grandfather, please forgive me. It's not that I don't want to show it to you, but this ship model is too big for me to carry by myself.”
"Alright! I know you love your baby! Old man, come and see for yourself!”Old Master Yang said as he entered the courtyard. When he saw the ship model of the Flying Scissors Sailboat, he was stunned for a while. Then, he walked over quickly and circled around the ship model several times.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Old Master Yang turned around and looked at Yang Sichen meaningfully,""It seems that the 100,000 taels of silver was worth it!!”
Yang Sichen smiled, but he didn't know what to say.
Old Master Yang didn't seem to notice Yang Sichen's awkwardness. He instructed Xia Zhong, who had been following beside him,""Xia Zhong, you go to the shipyard first. When you arrive, listen to Little Chen's arrangements and help Little Chen stand up. Don't let those old foxes bully Little Chen! There was also the fact that the shipyard would not be on holiday during the twelfth lunar month and the new year. They would give double pay to the workers and managers of the shipyard, and give each worker a red packet of five taels of silver. They would strive to build this ship as soon as possible!”
Xia Zhong nodded and went to prepare. After a quarter of an hour, Xia Zhong rode his horse to the Yang family's shipyard.
Old Master Yang saw Xia Zhong leave the Jade Wave Courtyard and turned to ask Yang Sichen,""Why is this sail different from the ones I've seen before?”
Yang Sichen thought for a moment and replied,"This sail is made of pure cloth and is soft. The sails we used to use were made of wood chips and bamboo strips as the bones, cloth as the surface, and then brushed with tung oil. They were hard. If they were of the same size, of course, the hard sails of the past would be more resistant to the wind. However, the current soft sails were larger than the hard sails, and there were many more of them. The area was four to five times that of the hard sails, and the wind force they could withstand was about twice that of the hard sails. Generally speaking, soft sails had more sails than hard sails and had a larger surface area, so the boat was faster. However, there were only a few skeletons to support it, and most of it was tied up by ropes. It was easy to rot after sailing for a long time, and it was expensive. This ship was about 50% faster than a sailboat, but the sail required four times more cloth. Soft sails are expensive and boats are fast. Hard sails are cheap and boats slow. The price of sails accounted for less than 10% of the entire ship. Even if the sail was three times more expensive. However, the entire ship was 30% more expensive, but its speed was increased by 50%. In the past, it would take two trips on a boat. Now, he could make three trips. The ship was fast enough to avoid the pirates. It could also quickly transport goods that merchants urgently needed. From this point of view, a flying scissors sailboat was more than enough to support the two boats in front! Also, the boat had to be fast because the bow was high. The body of the boat was not completely submerged in the water, and the bow seemed to be sliding along the water. The bow column of the boat was very strong when it was breaking the waves, so it needed especially strong wood. In the future, when we load the goods, we definitely can't load them to the bow. We can load them to the hull and the stern so that the bow can be tilted up and better cut through the waves…"
Yang Sichen explained the advantages and disadvantages of the Clipper Sailboat to Old Master Yang. Old Master Yang listened and asked from time to time.
The carriage left the city and traveled for another hour before it stopped. Yang Sichen had just circulated the zhenqi in his body for five to twenty-five cycles.
After getting off the carriage, Yang Sichen saw Xia Zhong leading a few people from the shipyard and waiting for them. From their clothes, they were probably the leaders of the shipyard.
Seeing Yang Sichen get off the carriage, Xia Zhong hurried over to introduce him.""This is the general manager of the shipyard, Wang Dahai."
A skinny old man in his sixties who was standing in the middle bowed to Yang Sichen and said softly,""Young Master!"
Yang Sichen knew that these people were pirates who had followed Old Master Yang back then. They had bad tempers and were not easy to get along with, so he did not say anything. He only nodded slightly and bowed in return.
Xia Zhong pointed at a muscular old man in his early fifties and introduced,""This is Yu Tun, the chief carpenter of the shipyard.”
"Young Master, if you have any orders in the future, just say it!" Yu Tun said in a panic.”
Yang Sichen nodded slightly, smiled, and bowed in return.
" This is Zhan Dafu," Xia Zhong continued." He's an expert in drilling holes in the shipyard.”
A middle-aged man in his thirties with a scar on his forehead bowed to Yang Sichen."Young Master, Zhan Dafu greets you!"
Yang Sichen only nodded and bowed in return.
……
Wang Dahai only said after Xia Zhong had introduced them all,""Young Master, let's go in and take a look.”
Yang Sichen nodded and said,"Thank you, Steward Wang!"”
Looking at the dock and calculating the cost of building the ship, Yang Sichen decided to build two flying scissors sailboats with 1,200 materials, which would cost a total of 58,000 taels of silver.
Then, Yang Sichen saw a waterwheel beside a house. The waterwheel was 3.5 feet tall, so he asked curiously,""What is this waterwheel for?"
" Young Master," Wang Dahai replied," this is a water wheel used to drive a circular saw. The circular saw is used to cut wood.”
Yang Sichen nodded and walked towards the house. After entering the house, Yang Sichen saw a thin, round steel sheet stuck in the middle of a table. Only a small portion of the steel sheet was exposed, and it was estimated to be about three and a half feet in diameter. When Yang Sichen got closer and took a closer look, he realized that there were sawteeth on the edge of the thin steel sheet. Only then did he realize that this was the circular saw that Wang Dahai had mentioned.
Water machinery had already appeared in the Qin and Han Dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, there were tube-shaped carts, which developed from manual water lifting to hydraulic water lifting. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the advanced water-rotating spinning wheel was created. The three-destroy and five-destroy (ingot) hand-spinning wheels were the more advanced manual spinning machines in the world at that time. Xue Jingshi of the Yuan Dynasty wrote "The Legacy of the Zi People", which was the work of a famous carpenter who summarized his personal experience. It also described in detail the textile machines and vehicles that were used at that time. It was a masterpiece of the famous wooden machinery technology of ancient times.
Therefore, Yang Sichen wasn't surprised to see the water saw at the shipyard.
"How much wood can you process in two hours?”Yang Sichen asked casually.
Wang Dahai thought for a while before replying,""That depends on what kind of wood it is. Oak can be cut into five pieces in an hour. They are about ten feet long, one foot wide, and two and a half inches thick. If it was teak, it could be cut into eight pieces in two hours. If it was ironwood, it would take two hours to cut a piece of wood.”
Yang Sichen frowned and asked,""How long would it take to build such a machine?”
" At least a month," Wang Dahai replied." If we get used to it again, it won't be usable for more than two months."”
"How much wood do we have now?" Yang Sichen asked again.
Wang Dahai calculated in his heart for a while and replied,""Oak 1,600, teak 1,500, ironwood 300, and other wood 1,000.”
Yang Sichen shook his head after hearing that. Wood processing was too troublesome. It would take him more than a month to finish it.
"The other shipyards haven't closed yet, have they?" Yang Sichen asked.”
"No." Wang Dahai replied. They would only rest after the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. If there was work to do, they would be busy for another half a month.”
Yang Sichen had an idea in his mind. He didn't say anything else and just walked away.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。