CARRACK-CLASS LIGHT CRUISER
Earliest ships Earliest Sailing Vessels Galleys Biremes Triremes Roman Galleys Dromons Lateen-Rigged Ships Junks Viking Ships Cog Carrack Caravel Galleon East Indiamen Ships of the Line Frigates, Sloops, and Brigs Clippers Last Days of Sail Fuel powered ships Paddlewheel Steamships Innovative Ships of the Late 19th Century The Screw Propeller Iron and Steel Hulls Double and Triple Expansion Steam Engines Steam Turbines Diesel Engines The Great Ocean Liners Cruise Ships Cargo Ships Container Ships Roll-On-Roll-Off and LASH Vessels Tankers Crude Carriers Product Tankers Other Specialized Tankers Tanker Safety Fishing Vessels Trawlers Seiners Long Liners Research Vessels Hovercraft Nuclear-Powered Vessels Naval Vessels Aircraft Carriers Battleships Cruisers Destroyers Frigates Mine Craft ship design
Aircraft carrier Barge Bulk carrier Cable Layer Capital ship Cargo ship Catamaran Coaster Container ship Corvette Crane vessel Cruise ship Cruiser Cutter Destroyer Diving support vessel Drillship Dredger Ferry Frigate Floating Production Storage and Offloading Guided missile cruiser Hopper barge, Split hopper barge Hovercraft Hydrofoil Icebreaker Jetfoil Junk Landing craft Lake freighter Livestock carrier LNG carrier Lugger Minesweeper minehunter Ocean liner Packet ship Panamax Passenger ship Reefer (refrigerated ship) Research vessel RO-RO ship (roll on, roll off, Auto carrier) Sailing ship Selfdischargers Semi-submersible Sloop Steamboat supertanker Supply boat, Supply ship Survey Vessels Tanker Tender Train ferry Tugboat Ultra Large Crude Carrier Very Large Crude Carrier Yacht
SUBMARINES Submersible Craft Torpedo (weapon)
Boats and Boatbuilding INTRODUCTION BASICS OF BOAT DESIGN Buoyancy and Weight Trim and Stability Structure Watertightness
SKIN AND BARK BOATS WOODEN BOATS Lapstrake Construction Carvel Construction Plywood Construction CANVAS-COVERED BOATS ALUMINUM BOATS FERROCEMENT BOATS FIBERGLASS BOATS MEASURING AND MODELING The Half-Model Lift Models and Lofting BOAT PROPULSION Inboard Motors Outboard Motors Water-Jet Drive Surface-Piercing Propeller
Motor-Boat Racing Rowing Yachting

By the end of the 15th century, both the cog and the hulk had lost their popularity to the carrack. Probably first built on the Atlantic coast of Europe, the carrack blended elements of Mediterranean and northern European ship design. The shipwright first built a skeletal frame, to which he fixed planks edge-to-edge and caulked between them to form a smooth finish. Planked hulls with this type of construction, called carvel-built, contrast with the overlapping planked hulls of clinker-built ships. The carrack sported two, and later three, masts. The fore and main masts carried square sails; the after, or mizzen, mast carried a lateen sail. Sail area, and therefore ship speed, was increased by flying topsails above the main sails. The elevated forecastle and sterncastle housed the crew and passengers and protected them from rough weather.

Carracks were commonly used for trade and war in the Mediterranean and northern seas. In 1510 King Henry VIII of England built the 32-m (105-ft) battle carrack Mary Rose and equipped the ship with what was then state-of-the-art artillery. On previous ships, fighters stood on elevated decks to fire cannons and other weapons down onto the decks of enemy ships. Mary Rose featured gun ports with hinged lids on each side. During battle, fighters opened the lids, rolled out the cannons, and fired at the enemy ship's hull instead of its deck (Carrack, European Ship Design in 15th century, Atlantic Ships, King Henry VIII of England 1510, Carrack Mary Rose).

Though convenient, gun ports also proved vulnerable. If the gun ports were cut too close to the waterline, water could pour into the ship and sink it if it listed to one side. The Mary Rose, which sank in 1545, probably met this fate. Attempts to salvage the cannons and other valuables onboard proved more or less futile. The ship was forgotten until the 1970s, when marine archaeologists found it on the ocean bottom and began to bring its thousands of artifacts to the surface. The ship itself was raised in 1982 (Carrack, European Ship Design in 15th century, Atlantic Ships, King Henry VIII of England 1510, Carrack Mary Rose).


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