Hi magpie1832!

So what if your a land lover now!, by the time you've finished the build you'll be like an Old Seadog instead of a New Entry in the navy.

You'll soon pickup the terms and if your totaly clueless just ask!. Someone will be able to help!

Ah bits and bytes!!

A bit (binary digit) is either 1 or 0; a byte is eight bits and I wonder how many people know what 4 bits are called?

(Nothing to do with sailing ships but makes a refreshing change )

Mike T

Noooooooooooooooo


*runs off, screaming*



I may have to employ one of our more nautically minded brethren as a translator before we are through..

I wondered whether Willie was referring to the Keelson or kelson which is an internal series of timbers which are bolted through into the keel below the ship?

seems I'm wrong -- just looked up definition of bilge keel. They are are fins on the hull of a ship to reduce the tendancy to roll. I've not come across them before, would I be right in assuming they don't apply to old sailing ships?

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Zeptrader says:
Maybe I/we could start a thread that list's terms used during the progress of our build, just thinking aloud. I know there are 100's of terms but maybe the most common and if people want to add as they go then so be it, sort of a complete forum effort.

I would go along with that if we could keep the thread in a static place where people can quickly see it. It would also be difficult to keep it in order.

What we can do is make sure that as terms are mentioned in the build, they are defined within the relevant forum posts and then encourage people to search for the term in order to see the definition.

See what others think -- I'm happy to help in anyway I can

Mike T

bilge keels are for stabilisation neerly all boats/ships have them from fishing boats to oil tankers dont fancey beaching an oil tanker

A bilge keel http://farm2.static.flic...46457280_6d40ae8d18.jpg

Don't need one, bilge keels do the same job.Yes modern ships have rudimentary bilge keels to assist the automatic stabilsers but in the days of sail they were an essential part of a Coastal trader that needed to call at ports where the tide left shallow water,ie Lyme Regis in Dorset,or call into tidal creeks or places where there was either no port or it was uneconomical to transport goods to ports.
These days they are primarily used on yachts that moor up in those same places.
I can only assume that 34feet the launch was considered large enough to warrent the use of some sort of stabiliser,after all it would have been used to transport stores etc

4 bits = 50 cents