Keel

“ Everything in naval architecture springs from and is related to the keel. 'Laying the keel' means beginning the ship in the only possible way, and 'two keels to one' is an expression which every one understands as meaning a naval preponderance in that proportion. The keel is to the ribs of a ship exactly what the backbone is to the ribs of a man, and any craft built up from a keel, no matter how small and simple it may be, belongs to the third and apparently final type of craft, which is as far ahead of the canoe type as that is ahead of the dug-out, raft, and log. ”

“ And brings the white siller to me, O!
My bonnie keel laddie, my canny keel laddie,
The bonnie keel laddie for me, O!
He sits in his keel as black as the deil,
And brings the white siller to me, O! ”

“ The modern usage in Dutch and German has approximated to the English. The word kiel is represented in old English by céol, a word applied to the long war galleys of the Vikings, in which sense “keel” or “keele” is still used by archaeologists. On the Tyne “keel” is the name given to a flat-bottomed vessel used to carry coals to the colliers. There is another word “keel,” meaning to cool, familiar in Shakespeare (Love’s Labour Lost, v. ii. 930) , “while greasy Joan doth keel the pot,” i.e. prevents a pot from boiling over by pouring in cold water, &c., stirring or skimming. ”

“ There we see the keel, with its one square sail, making its way slowly along, the peaceful descendant of the square-sailed long-ship of Viking days. There are the schooners and barques that are survivals from the days when all ships depended on the wind for their motive power. ”

“ Accordingly, the stem and stern-posts are, in some measure, a continuation of the keel, and serve to connect the extremities of the sides by transoms, as the keel forms and unites the bottom by timbers. The keel is generally composed of several thick pieces placed lengthways, which, after being scarphed together, are bolted and clinched upon the upper side. In iron vessels the keel is formed of one or more plates of iron, having a concave curve, or limber channel, along its upper surface.—To give the keel, is to careen.—Keel formerly meant a vessel ”

“ The swift rush of the water to close up the furrow made by the keel keeps attention awake: the graceful sinking of the stern in alternation with the bows, bringing you down to a level with the waves, then far above them,333 brings apprehension enough with it to make a novice question why he has never heard people who have seen it describe their pleasure. ”

“ When at last a good opportunity is obtained, just as the boat heels over, and the rushing bubbles at the prow resound, she must be put about, and the napping foresail almost brushes the osiers. If she does not come round—if the movement has been put off a moment too long—the keel grates, and she is aground immediately. ”

“ All sailors are familiar with the appearance of a vessel high in the air, sailing, as it were, through the sky with her keel in the clouds, and the tops of her masts pointing downward. In these regions the refractive powers are even terrible to accustomed eyes, so wonderful are the sights presented to them. ”

“ Goth. *qilus or, *qeilus, and further cognate terms are wanting.
Kiel (2.) , m., ‘keel,’ from MidHG. kiel, OHG. chiol, m., ‘a rather large ship’; comp. AS. ceól, m., ‘ship,’ Du. kiel, E. keel, OIc. kjóll, m., ‘ship.’ Scand. kjǫlr, m., ‘ship’s keel,’ is not allied to these; from this the E. word as well as the ModHG. meaning is probably derived (probably through LG. and Dan. influence) . The OTeut. *kiuls (the assumed Goth. form) , ‘ship,’ may be connected with Gr. γαυλός (γαῦλος) , ‘merchant vessel’ (orig. ‘pail,’ also ‘articles in the form of a pail, e.g. beehive’) ; au would be Goth. ”

“ Upon an even Keel, the position of a ship when her keel is parallel to the plane of the horizon, so that she is equally deep in the water at both ends.
Keel-hauling, a punishment inflicted for various offences in the Dutch navy. It is performed by plunging the delinquent repeatedly under the ship’s bottom on one side, and hoisting him up on the other, after having passed under the keel. The blocks, or pullies, by which he is suspended, are fastened to the opposite extremities of the main-yard, and a weight of lead or iron is hung upon his legs to sink him to a competent depth. ”

“ General View of the Frames of the City of New York—June 25, 1887.
The keel is laid down on blocks, four or five feet apart, which form a slope toward the water, so that the hull may glide down easily when the time for launching comes. It is not a keel at all, in the sense in which the word was formerly used: a modern ship has a smooth bottom, without any projecting ridge or break to the curve of her sides; it is simply the central series of plates, from which an inner keel is built up like an enormous backbone, and to this the ribs are attached. ”

“ It is the beam which runs along the bottom of a boat or ship from one end to the other. In large ships the keel consists of several pieces joined together. Its uses are, to cause the ship to preserve a direct course in its passage through the water; to check the leeway which every vessel has a tendency to make; and to moderate the rolling motion. The keel is also the ground-work, or foundation, on which the whole superstructure is reared, and is, therefore, immensely strong and solid. The best wood for keels is teak, as it is not liable to split. ”

“ Sliding keels must weaken a vessel in the most essential part – her keel; for it may be called the back-bone of a vessel; and unless animals had two instead of one, it is most likely that one keel is more compact, and stronger than two. Sliding keels take up part of the stowage of a ship or vessel ”

“ Keel′haul, to punish by hauling under the keel of a ship by ropes from the one side to the other: to treat a subordinate in a galling manner. [A.S. ceól, a ship; Ger. and Dut. kiel; prob. confused with Ice. kiölr, a keel.] ”

“ HEEL-KNEE. The compass-piece which connects the keel with the stern-post.
HEEL-LASHING. The rope which secures the inner part of a studding-sail boom to the yard; also, that which secures the jib-boom.
HEEL OF A MAST. The lower end, which either fits into the step attached to the keel, or in top-masts is sustained by the fid upon the trestle-trees. Heeling is the square part of the spar through which the fid hole is cut. ”

“ The first piece of timber laid upon the blocks is generally the keel; I say generally, because, of late, a different method has been adopted in some of the royal dock-yards, by beginning with the floor-timbers; the artists having found that the keel is often apt to rot during the long period of building a large ship of war. The pieces of the keel, as exhibited in plate I. are scarfed together, and bolted, forming one entire piece, A A. which constitutes the length of the vessel below. At one extremity of the keel is erected the stem. ”

“ You know you were interested in my little keel scholars, because their vessels were so fine, and because they themselves were once simple bodies, almost guiltless of reading and writing. [395] And it seems as if even the mud gives testimony to your words. So if you don’t mind the bother of one of my tiresome letters, I’ll tell you all I know about them.
“The Humber keels are, in nearly all cases, the property of the men who go in them. They are house and home to the keel family, who never live on shore like other sailors. It is very easy work navigating the rivers. ”

“ Each keel carries about twenty tons of coal, the larger masses being piled up in the vessel, but smaller coal is carried in tubs, each keel having about eight tubs. The keels are antique-looking craft, such as were probably used in the earliest days of our history. They are propelled by large oars. The keel man, commencing at the bow, presses the oar before him, until he reaches the after part of the boat; he then hurries back to the bow, and again puts down his oar. The keel men are a fine hardy race. ”

“ The separation of species is difficult and, in part, doubtful. Keel excentric.
7. Bilobatæ.—Like the group Dubiæ, but with more central keel and so forming a transition to the group Pseudo-Amphiprora; valves without longitudinal folds.
8. Pseudo-Amphiprora.—Valve with quite central, sharp keel, arcuate, without longitudinal fold; keel puncta always evident; frustule narrowed in the middle with more or less marked central nodule.
Includes two species not found in this locality.
9. Perrya.—Valve arched with very sharp central keel; not narrowed in the middle ”

“ I prefer to be original, but at the same time in the interests of my crew I do not hesitate to adopt well-established devices. To each of the three sections of this vessel is fixed a detachable iron keel. The bolts are secured on the keelson by a single yet effective looking device. One thrust of a lever and a section of this keel is dropped. Should a compartment be half full of water there is sufficient buoyancy gained by the release of this dead-weight to lift the vessel to the surface. ”

“ Also, the binding a block and hook by a seizing.
HEAVING IN STAYS. The act of tacking, when, the wind being ahead, great pressure is thrown upon the stays.
HEAVING KEEL OUT. The utmost effect to be produced by careening, viz. to raise the keel out of the water in order to repair or clean it. (See Heaving Down.)
HEAVING OUT. The act of loosing or unfurling a sail; particularly applied to the staysails; or in the tops, footing the sail out of the top.
HEAVING TAUT. The act of turning the capstan, &c., till the rope applied thereto becomes straight and ready for action. ”

“ Next, saw into both ends of your keel piece, insert the stem and stem pieces; then plane the keel piece so that it will come to a point both forward and aft. Fasten these uprights to the keel with copper nails or rivets. They are better than any other kind because they do not rust. ”

“ If you only want to punt about in smooth water and in shallows, you can dispense with any exterior keel, and in any case you can easily screw on a false keel of whatever depth you consider necessary afterwards. ”

“ On one occasion, when the boats of the men-of-war were endeavouring to take possession of some keels at a village a few miles above Newcastle, the keel men assembled in great numbers, using the most insulting language and gestures, accompanied by stones, and dared the boats to land. ”

“ Provide the forward end of keel with a square strap and run side stays to forward sides or runner plank, to prevent keel from bending.
When boring holes through the runners see that they clear the runner plank about 3-4 of an inch, and so that they swing freely. Where rudder post passes through keel have an iron plate put on top of keel, also under body of boat for post to pass through. ”

“ When all the parts are prepared, the keel is laid upon blocks, and the planks being supported by stanchions, are sewed or clamped together with strong thongs of plaiting, which are passed several times through holes that are bored with a gouge or auger of bone, that has been described already ”

“ An example of the impossible ship. Note how the engraver has made the keel exactly parallel to the circumference of the seal. It makes a handsome and effective seal, but can hardly be accepted as a picture of a ship of 1340.
The reason of this quaint method of representing ships and their crews or passengers is not far to seek. Who has not seen a child's first attempts to draw the human face in profile? ”

“ O Captain! My Captain! O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; ”

“ In order to avoid taking the keel out of the log, and to have all the depth possible, they put on a false keel of oak; as the edge was too thin to put on row-locks, they fastened cleats on the inside, and put flat thole-pins in between them and the side, which looked neat, and were strong enough for so light, easy-going a craft, that was intended for sailing rather than carrying ”

“ If the point of the tongue by approximation to the forepart of the palate, as in forming the letters T, D, N, S, Z, R, leaves an aperture just so large as to prevent sibilancy, and sonorous air from the larynx be modulated in passing through it; the vowel I is produced, which is in our language generally represented by e when long, as in the word keel; and by i when, short, as in the word it, which is the sound of this letter in most foreign languages; and may be called E micron to distinguish it from the succeeding E or Y.
Y, when it begins a word, as in youth. ”

“ When you have all your pieces nicely planed, be careful to follow your dimensions, lengths, etc., and don't saw off an inch too much. Now for the keel and bowsprit. Measure off from the right-hand end of the keel four feet six inches on the under edge; then cut to the right hand with draw-knife down to two inches; finish with plane. ”

“ Pat by wor gear and moor'd wor keel,
And moor'd wor keel, and moor'd wor keel,
Pat by wor gear and moor'd wor keel,
Then went and drank wor can,
Singing—Weel may the keel row, &c.
Our canny wives, our clean fireside,
Our bonny bairns, their parents' pride,
Sweet smiles that make life smoothly glide,
We find when we gan hyem:
They'll work for us when we get au'd,
They'll keep us frae the winter's cau'd;
As life declines they'll us uphaud—
When young we uphaud them.
Weel may the keel row, &c.
[Pg 115] THE BARBER'S NEWS; Or, Shields in an Uproar. ”

“ When they have prepard their planks etc. the keel is layd on blocks and the whole Canoe put together much in the same manner as we do a ship, the sides being supported by stantions and all the seams wedg'd together before the last sewing is put on, so that they become tolerably tight considering that they are without calking. ”

“ Kegel (2.) , masculine, ‘bastard’ (retained in Modern High German only in the phrase Kind und Kegel, ‘kith and kin’) , from Middle High German kęgel, kękel, ‘illegitimate child,’ Of obscure origin.
Kehle, feminine, ‘throat; channel, fluting,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Middle Low German kele, feminine, Old High German chëla; corresponding to Dutch keel, Anglo-Saxon čeole (obsolete in English) and čeolor. In Gothic perhaps *kilô (genitive *kilôns) . Since Teutonic k is derived from pre-Teutonic g, we may compare Sanscrit gala and Latin gula, ‘throat.’ See Herz. ”