Bow (ship)

“ She had long, concave water-lines, and at her load-displacement line a chord from her cut-water to just abaft the fore rigging showed a concavity of 16 inches. Her stem raked boldly forward, the lines of the bow gradually becoming convex and blending with sheer line and cutwater, while the only ornament was a beautiful full-length figure of a young woman holding a golden thunderbolt in her outstretched hand, the flowing white drapery of her graceful form and her streaming hair completing the fair and noble outline of the bow. ”

“ Not only is it an exceedingly stiff and strong construction; but it is so framed and tied into the bow of the warship, that it will tear open a long, gaping wound in the hull of the enemy before it is broken off or twisted out of place. The bow of the merchant vessel is a relatively frail structure, and many a ship that has been rammed has owed its salvation to the fact that immediately upon contact, the bow of the ramming ship is crumpled up or bent aside, and the depth of penetration into the vessel that is rammed is greatly limited. ”

“ Armored belt and long casemate with bow redoubt. Ram bow and straight stern. The belt encircles the water-line to the height of the main-deck beams, coming down in a curve forward well over the ram. There is no fore-and-aft fire from the casemate, the ship being wall-sided. The bow redoubt cuts off the point of the bow above the spar-deck beams and protects a bow-gun working in a single port. There is a high, oval, armored pilot-house just abaft the main-mast. No stern-fire. Single screw and full sail-power. ”

“ A foreman pointed to seaward, and the younger officer followed his arm with his tired eyes. Over the fog a slender dark line showed with a blurred foretop below. The unmistakable tripod mast of a big ship showed gradually through, and as he watched he was reminded of a magic-lantern picture out of focus being gradually brought into definition by the operator. The mist [Pg 64] cleared faster than she approached, and at a quarter of a mile he could see the great looming bow surmounted by tier on tier of bridges, which mounted almost to the high overhanging top. ”

“ BOW, epaule, in ship-building, the rounding part of a ship’s side forward, beginning at the place where the planks arch inwards, and terminated where they close at the stem or prow. See the article Head, where the bow of a ship is represented at large. It is proved by a variety of experiments, that a ship with a narrow bow is much better calculated for sailing swiftly, than one with a broad bow ”

“ But supposing these are the ships of the Egyptian Queen of the eighteenth Dynasty, they are seen with fifteen oarsmen a side, whilst two look-out men are standing forward in a kind of open-work forecastle. The general shape of the ship by now has become considerably modified. Whilst there is still considerable overhang both at bow and stern, yet she is long on the waterline. The bow resembles nothing so much as that of a modern gondola. There is a beautiful line sweeping up aft to a raised poop with an ornamentation curving gracefully inboard to another open-work castle or cabin. ”

“ Constructed of a strength which is possessed by no other vessel than a man-of-war, the ice-breaker attacks the frozen masses as a battleship used to ram her foe. She goes for the ship’s enemy with her curved bow, and wages war with all the ability which the ship-builder and naval architect have given her. Her bow is specially strengthened to suffer the force of the contact with the heavy ice masses, and the lines of the hull are such that the ice in its endeavour to crush the ship finds difficulty in getting a good grip upon it. ”

“ A vessel that kicks up a high bow wave—one that sails with a “bone in its teeth”—may present a very pleasing spectacle and may seem to be traveling at high speed, but the best designed vessel—the one that slips through the water with no fuss—is much more economical of power. It is easy to understand that the bow must be carefully designed to cut through the water, but it is not so apparent that the stern must also be shaped to permit the water [192] to flow in readily and fill in the void behind the ship. ”

“ Forty-four tons in the forehold would help to lift her stern out of the water and put the bow down.
The Alert had only one mast. In trying to bring the ship to the wind, it would be almost impossible to do so on account of the height of the bow out of the water, and any sail that could be set would be so much foreward that it would be next to impossible to keep her end on to the sea. A sail aft would keep her bow to the wind. The best thing a ship can do in a gale of wind is to lie to. She had a wooden awning, and that would be a very great hindrance to the sea-worthiness of the ship. ”

“ Each was propelled by a single paddle-wheel set into the stern, where it was protected by the fork-shaped hull as well as a casemate. The boats were expected to fight bow on, and the iron plate across the bow was backed by two feet of oak. On the sides opposite the boilers the iron armor was not backed save by a slender supporting frame, while the stern had neither armor nor oak wall. The pilot-house was of good oak covered with two and a half inches of iron in front and an inch less in the rear. The crews had every incentive to keep the bow of the ship toward the enemy. ”

“ All ships previous to leaving harbour, in still water, should take the extreme angular bearing of their guns. All the guns (by the plan I proposed to your Lordships some years since) should be concentrated to one angular point, and the points of bearing painted on the binnacle head; by which means a ship in chase would not be kept too much away to bring the bow guns to bear. The whole broadside, when concentrated and discharged by unerring principles, the elevation and line of sight in one focus, under the guidance of the captain by word of command, requires no comment. ”

“ Our bow is very strongly fortified, well plated externally with iron, and so very sharp that the ice-masses, repeatedly hurled against the ship by the swell as she rose to meet it, were thus robbed of their destructive force; they struck us obliquely, yet caused the vessel to shake violently, the bells to ring, and almost knocked us off our legs. On many occasions the engines were stopped dead by ice choking the screw ”

“ I had a very shrewd idea as to the course they would steer, and on coming up for my final observation I found myself in an excellent position, 1,000 metres on the bow of the leading ship. The rest was easy. I gave the leader the two bow torpedoes, and, turning sixteen points, fired my stern tube at the third ship of the line. Two hits were obtained, and I returned to harbour well pleased with myself. There is not the slightest chance of having failed to qualify. ”

“ If, after this, the ship, without returning to her former position, continues to wind about the same way, so as to perform an entire revolution, each of the cables will be twisted round the other, and then directed out from the opposite bow, forming what is called a round turn. An elbow is produced when the ship stops in the middle of that revolution, after having had a cross: or, in other words, if she rides with her head northward with a clear hause, and afterwards turns quite round so as to direct her head northward again, she will have an elbow. ”

“ Everyone has noticed the way in which a ship throws up a wave at its bows, and that bow-wave, as it is termed, represents so much energy being wasted. The power of the engines is absorbed to a certain extent in making that wave. It is impossible to make anything which when forced through the water will not make some wave, but certain forms cause less of it than others, and the designer of a ship seeks to find that form which will make the smallest bow-wave. ”

“ And if you're to be a seaman you must never go to sea, even in a flat calm, unless your ship is ready for a gale of wind. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then don't forget it, or I'll have you beaten till you grow corns. Now shove off, and pull away three cables on the port bow, drop your anchor on the shoal, and fit that new shroud. Remain there till the ship has got under way, done her night-firing, and signalled you to carry on. You will then close and weigh the target moorings, having the target ready for hoisting when the ship comes back to you. Do you understand?" ”

“ The injured captain, lying in the bow, was at this time buried in that profound dejection and indifference which comes, temporarily at least, to even the bravest and most enduring when, willy nilly, the firm fails, the army loses, the ship goes down. ”

“ The forefoot and dead wood aft appear to have been cut away to an extraordinary extent, probably for the purpose of increasing the handiness. The rigging was of the type which was practically universal in ancient ships.
Fig. 13 gives the sheer draught or side elevation, the plan, elevations of the bow and stem, and a midship section of a Roman vessel, which from her proportions and the shape of bow is supposed to have been a merchant-ship. The illustration is taken from a model presented to Greenwich Hospital by Lord Anson. ”

“ The shape of the bow is also important in ramming. If too bluff, headway is deadened, and the force of the blows is lessened. If too sharp, the ship may stick at each blow, and require more time and power to back out each time. The run of the polar ship should be full rather than fine, to keep the passing ice away from the propeller as much as possible. ”

“ A short boom or beam of timber projecting from each bow of a ship, where it is fayed down upon the false rail. Its use is to extend the clue or lower corner of the fore-sail to windward, for which purpose there is a large block fixed on its outer end, through which the tack is passed, and when hauled tight down is said to be aboard. The name is also applied to the pieces on each quarter, for the main-brace blocks.
BUMKIN. A small out-rigger over the stern of a boat, usually serving to extend the mizen. ”

“ The later ships resembled these quite closely, but in the Bulwark class (1899) the water-line belt was carried to the bow instead of merely covering the vitals amidships, and in the Albion (1898) and Commonwealth (1901) classes it was carried to both bow and stern. ”

“ And so we had all things ready for the discharge; whereupon, I placed my foot upon the trigger, and, bidding the bo'sun watch carefully the flight of the arrow, pushed downwards. The next instant, with a mighty twang, and a quiver that made the great stock stir on its bed of rocks, the bow sprang to its lesser tension, hurling the arrow outwards and upwards in a vast arc. Now, it may be conceived with what mortal interest we watched its flight, and so in a minute discovered that we had aimed too much to the right, for the arrow struck the weed ahead of the hulk--but beyond it. ”

“ And, oh, there is one other excellence of the Snark, upon which I must brag, namely, her bow. No sea could ever come over it. It laughs at the sea, that bow does; it challenges the sea; it snorts defiance at the sea. And withal it is a beautiful bow; the lines of it are dreamlike; I doubt if ever a boat was blessed with a more beautiful and at the same time a more capable bow. It was made to punch storms. To touch that bow is to rest one's hand on the cosmic nose of things. ”

“ She is light, buoyant, and lifts to every wave; she looks like a gallant charger taking a succession of desperate leaps, as first her bow is thrown high in the air, and she then rides for a moment high upon the top of the wave, and then again her stern is thrown high, and her bow is almost buried as the huge short wave passes under her. ”

“ The huge dark mass begins to move; and inch by inch, with ever-increasing speed, the massive hull glides out through the flames; her shining sides disappear foot by foot through the smoke; the golden band flashes in the glare, and high as if in triumph does the bow rear itself heavenwards, while the stern dives deep into the waves. ”

“ It is unlikely that the crew ever exceeded fifty or sixty men. The ships [22] were usually, if not invariably, clincher built, that is, they were covered with planks so disposed that the lower edges of the superior ones overlapped the upper edges of the inferior ones. The bow was raised, and generally bore, as a figure-head, a carved model of the upper part of some fierce or fabulous beast. The stern also was raised, and occasionally ornamented, though less elaborately than the bow, and the sail was often striped in two or more colours. ”

“ Stumbling on to the forecastle, he slipped a life-belt over his shoulders, climbed the rail, and descended the ship's side by a steel ladder, until he reached the lower boom. It jutted out into the darkness, a round, dimly-discerned spar, and secured to it by a boat-rope at the farthest point of his vision, he saw his boat. The circular funnel-mouth ringed a smoky glow, and in the green glare of a side-light one of the bowmen was reaching for the ladder that hung from the boom. ”

“ The Success consists of two sections, to be disconnected for passing the locks, with paddle-wheel machinery at the bow. Her wheel, inside of the paddles, is a drum or cylinder, filled with cork, to be buoyant, and the hull has an easy, scow bow, for the water to pass under the boat. Practically, the large drum makes her a horizontal, cylindrical-bowed boat, and she mechanically throws the water therefrom against the scow-shaped bow, and so that the cylinder displacement with the mechanical currents, and the scow-bow displacement, combine to make her very slow. ”