A History of Working Watercraft of the Western World is the culmination of more than 50 years of research by Thomas C. Gillmer, a world-renowned designer of yachts and historic replica ships, and an internationally recognized authority on the history of naval architecture. Aided by hundreds of rare photographs and the incomparable drawings of William Gilkerson and Tom Price, Gillmer documents the origins of European and North American workboats - humble craft whose history, lineage, and survival today provide important keys to understanding the emergence of Western Civilization. Gillmer brings into focus nearly 5,000 years of workboat evolution, tracing the development of boatbuilding techniques and the civilizations that produced them. He begins with the sea-going boats of the Minoans and the old Norse, and then explores the growth of boatbuilding technology in the separately evolving maritime cultures of Northern Europe, the British Isles, the Mediterranean, the Iberian Peninsula, and North America. When Working Watercraft was first published in 1972 it provided a historic record of these humble workboats that has yet to be equaled, and was hailed as "a book to treasure" by Nautical Magazine. Motor Boating &amp; Sailing said "all of us owe Mr. Gillmer a debt of gratitude for his thoughtful record." Since then, the body of maritime knowledge has expanded enormously, bringing new light to Gillmer's original research. Technological innovations have given underwater archaeologists new capabilities, allowing them to reach into depths that had been a secure vault of the unknown. One group has recently recovered a cargo ship that sank in the eastern Mediterranean during the Bronze Age - before Hercules was conceived or Ulysses sailed for Troy. Archaeologists revealed that the wooden hull had a keel - the center structural beam that did not exist in any contemporary Egyptian ships. And knowledge of Norse watercraft - limited before 1972 to only two ships - has been expanded greatly with the discovery of five ships in a Danish fjord near Roskilde. A strong thread runs through the evolution of the West's maritime cultures; old methods of boatbuilding and design can still be seen in existing craft, but the thread is becoming frayed. Some of the existing craft Gillmer wrote about as recently as 1972 are now gone. Working Watercraft is a record of vanishing and vanished boats of historic significance - the story of Western Civilization as told by its everyday working craft.

A History of Working Watercraft of the Western World

History

Gillmer, Thomas C.

World

Intl Marine Pub Co

Arguably the most beautiful sailing ships of all times, the rakish Baltimore clippers had an influence on American history and naval architecture far out of proportion to their brief lifespan. During the War of 1812, their dramatically superior speed enabled privateersmen to repeatedly destroy heavily escorted British convoys. One audacious American commander even went so far as to nail a notice to the door of Lloyd's of London declaring the British Isles under siege! The losses suffered by British commerce were catastrophic. Far more than the highly publicized battles between British and American frigates like the Java and the Constitution, the depredations of the Baltimore clippers helped bring the War of 1812 to a close.

Pride of Baltimore: The Story of the Baltimore Clippers

In her youth she was beautiful. Her fine lines and graceful sheer, her lightly upturned head, the classic quarter galleries and restrained carvings gracing her 18th-century transom stern--all flowed together flawlessly in this magnificent creature of the sea. Her loft rig spread more sail than any European frigate. In fact, she and her two sisterships were larger in every way than their contemporaries. She is the USS Constitution--the oldest warship afloat anywhere in the world. This proud old warrior has seen--and participated in--virtually all our nation's history. She fought in four wars; circled the world as a symbol of American power; was commanded by the superstars of American naval history: Preble, Decatur, Bainbridge, Rodgers, Hull, Stewart, MacDonough. Constitution is the definitive American icon--older than the Washington Monument, Mount Rushmore, the White House.
But her age has been one of her greatest enemies, second only to bureaucratic indifference. The ship that rallied American in the second war of independence later found herself reduced to a floating classroom at Annapolis, and still later became a barracks for transient seamen. Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of the Navy even recommended that she be towed to sea for gunnery practice. In 1830, rumors that she was to be scrapped prompted Oliver Wendell Holmes to write his epic poem, "Old Ironsides." The ensuing public clamor brought Constitution a complete overhaul. She was rescued by the public again in 1876 for the American Centennial, and given a cosmetic makeover in 1907. In 1927, she received an extensive restoration, funded in part by collections from school children.
Now, 200 years after her launching, this living link with our nation's beginnings is again preparing to sail. Old Ironsides is the story of this great ship, told by Professor Thomas C. Gillmer, the man the Navy chose to assess her structure and recommend procedures to restore her strength and form. Gillmer answers nagging questions surrounding the true identity of Constitution's designer, settles the controversy about the 1850s-era frigate masquerading as the original frigate Constellation in Baltimore, charts the history of Constitution's major and minor reconstructions, and provides a detailed analysis of her true condition today.
Old Ironsides's pages are filled with drawings, plans, and photographs, many never before published, that are a treasure trove for maritime historians. The book includes a full-color section detailing Constitution's earlier triumphs by celebrated marine painter William Gilkerson, commissioned especially for this book. If ships may be considered living beings, Constitution is the last living link with our nation's beginnings--and Old Ironsides brings her to life.

Old Ironsides

Americas

International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press

Working Watercraft: A Survey of the Surviving Local Boats of Europe and America

The book covers such topics as ship geometry, properties of shipbuilding materials, stability, submarine hydrostatics, propellers and propulsion systems, and maneuverability. Appendices include conversion tables, lists of fresh- and saltwater properties, and numerical integration techniques.

Introduction to Naval Architecture

Johnson, Bruce

Military

Naval_Institute_Press

An introduction to the principles, procedures, and factors of ship design, as they relate to the actual construction of ships, with emphasis on the design of naval vessels

Modern Ship Design

A scholarly history of these revolutionary ships, including their major contribution to the War of 1812. Describes the building of two replicas in detail. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Pride of Baltimore: The Story of the Baltimore Clippers : 1800-1990

Sports & Outdoors

Miscellaneous

Intl Marine Pub

Flagship of naval heroes, the Constitution is the oldest warship still afloat in the world. This account of America's most famous warship and her possible restoration (for her 200th birthday) features rare paintings, some never before published, and new paintings, drawings, and plans. 200 illustrations.

Old Ironsides: The Rise, Decline, and Resurrection of the U S S Constitution

McGraw=Hill

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Books by Gillmer, Thomas C.