Mixing
Is it possible to bind multiple ships together on open water?
Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
In Renaissance period, would it be possible to safely bind ships together for extended periods of time?
Imagine if there was a fleet of large ships (say, two dozen) that have been traveling over a vast ocean for a long time. No land is in sight, they don't know when they'll reach their destination. They come well-provisioned for a long journey with capable sailors.
But then something happens, like the commanding admiral dies of sickness, and then the mission goes into peril. The captains want an assembly, but they need to fasten their vessels together. They aim to rope their hulls together, to use gangways to form bridges, such that the entire fleet is joined into one secure grouping.
Basically, I'm imagining them building a giant platform out of the fleet, such that the men can all walk (or climb) between every vessel, and that all the captains can hold an assembly in the middle, without their ships floating off. Is this actually possible to convene like this?
I imagine that the wind and waves are going to knock the ships around, and it'd be impossible to steer. They're just floating. Would it damage the ships to tie them together, and is it feasible for an entire fleet to do so?
How long could they actually be last like this in the middle of the ocean? Would the makeshift platform be doomed as soon as they hit a storm or strong winds, or is there a way that they survive indefinitely (assuming plentiful food)?
Bonus question: what if there were hundreds of ships?
reality-check medieval ships ocean
asked 49 mins ago
Wyvern
861415
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
In Renaissance period, would it be possible to safely bind ships together for extended periods of time?
Imagine if there was a fleet of large ships (say, two dozen) that have been traveling over a vast ocean for a long time. No land is in sight, they don't know when they'll reach their destination. They come well-provisioned for a long journey with capable sailors.
But then something happens, like the commanding admiral dies of sickness, and then the mission goes into peril. The captains want an assembly, but they need to fasten their vessels together. They aim to rope their hulls together, to use gangways to form bridges, such that the entire fleet is joined into one secure grouping.
Basically, I'm imagining them building a giant platform out of the fleet, such that the men can all walk (or climb) between every vessel, and that all the captains can hold an assembly in the middle, without their ships floating off. Is this actually possible to convene like this?
I imagine that the wind and waves are going to knock the ships around, and it'd be impossible to steer. They're just floating. Would it damage the ships to tie them together, and is it feasible for an entire fleet to do so?
How long could they actually be last like this in the middle of the ocean? Would the makeshift platform be doomed as soon as they hit a storm or strong winds, or is there a way that they survive indefinitely (assuming plentiful food)?
Bonus question: what if there were hundreds of ships?
reality-check medieval ships ocean
asked 49 mins ago
Wyvern
861415
1
Normally the captains would use boats to convene on one the ships. This was perfectly normal and pretty frequent. Ocean-going ships are not designed to be assembled into pontoon bridges.
– AlexP
8 mins ago
@AlexP And when a storm was approaching they would disperse to avoid damage, being the opposite of this scenario.
– Douwe
3 mins ago
In this case, politics in the fleet doesn't allow them to. The captains fear that there might be mutinies if they leave their crews alone and nobody trusts the other captains. Everybody is stir crazy after such a long voyage, and half the people want to abandon the mission. They want a mass assembly to hold an election and hash stuff out.
– Wyvern
2 mins ago
@Wyvern In that case, your fleet is more or less lost. If half the crew is thinking about mutiny, and considering that they will take atleast the same time back, i fear your captains are pretty much doomed unless they don't turn back.
– DarthDonut
17 secs ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
In Renaissance period, would it be possible to safely bind ships together for extended periods of time?
Imagine if there was a fleet of large ships (say, two dozen) that have been traveling over a vast ocean for a long time. No land is in sight, they don't know when they'll reach their destination. They come well-provisioned for a long journey with capable sailors.
But then something happens, like the commanding admiral dies of sickness, and then the mission goes into peril. The captains want an assembly, but they need to fasten their vessels together. They aim to rope their hulls together, to use gangways to form bridges, such that the entire fleet is joined into one secure grouping.
Basically, I'm imagining them building a giant platform out of the fleet, such that the men can all walk (or climb) between every vessel, and that all the captains can hold an assembly in the middle, without their ships floating off. Is this actually possible to convene like this?
I imagine that the wind and waves are going to knock the ships around, and it'd be impossible to steer. They're just floating. Would it damage the ships to tie them together, and is it feasible for an entire fleet to do so?
How long could they actually be last like this in the middle of the ocean? Would the makeshift platform be doomed as soon as they hit a storm or strong winds, or is there a way that they survive indefinitely (assuming plentiful food)?
Bonus question: what if there were hundreds of ships?
reality-check medieval ships ocean
asked 49 mins ago
Wyvern
861415
In Renaissance period, would it be possible to safely bind ships together for extended periods of time?
Imagine if there was a fleet of large ships (say, two dozen) that have been traveling over a vast ocean for a long time. No land is in sight, they don't know when they'll reach their destination. They come well-provisioned for a long journey with capable sailors.
But then something happens, like the commanding admiral dies of sickness, and then the mission goes into peril. The captains want an assembly, but they need to fasten their vessels together. They aim to rope their hulls together, to use gangways to form bridges, such that the entire fleet is joined into one secure grouping.
Basically, I'm imagining them building a giant platform out of the fleet, such that the men can all walk (or climb) between every vessel, and that all the captains can hold an assembly in the middle, without their ships floating off. Is this actually possible to convene like this?
I imagine that the wind and waves are going to knock the ships around, and it'd be impossible to steer. They're just floating. Would it damage the ships to tie them together, and is it feasible for an entire fleet to do so?
How long could they actually be last like this in the middle of the ocean? Would the makeshift platform be doomed as soon as they hit a storm or strong winds, or is there a way that they survive indefinitely (assuming plentiful food)?
Bonus question: what if there were hundreds of ships?
reality-check medieval ships ocean
reality-check medieval ships ocean
asked 49 mins ago
Wyvern
861415
asked 49 mins ago
Wyvern
861415
edited 28 mins ago
asked 49 mins ago
Wyvern
861415
asked 49 mins ago
Wyvern
861415
asked 49 mins ago
Wyvern
861415
861415
1
Normally the captains would use boats to convene on one the ships. This was perfectly normal and pretty frequent. Ocean-going ships are not designed to be assembled into pontoon bridges.
– AlexP
8 mins ago
@AlexP And when a storm was approaching they would disperse to avoid damage, being the opposite of this scenario.
– Douwe
3 mins ago
In this case, politics in the fleet doesn't allow them to. The captains fear that there might be mutinies if they leave their crews alone and nobody trusts the other captains. Everybody is stir crazy after such a long voyage, and half the people want to abandon the mission. They want a mass assembly to hold an election and hash stuff out.
– Wyvern
2 mins ago
@Wyvern In that case, your fleet is more or less lost. If half the crew is thinking about mutiny, and considering that they will take atleast the same time back, i fear your captains are pretty much doomed unless they don't turn back.
– DarthDonut
17 secs ago
add a comment |Â
1
Normally the captains would use boats to convene on one the ships. This was perfectly normal and pretty frequent. Ocean-going ships are not designed to be assembled into pontoon bridges.
– AlexP
8 mins ago
@AlexP And when a storm was approaching they would disperse to avoid damage, being the opposite of this scenario.
– Douwe
3 mins ago
In this case, politics in the fleet doesn't allow them to. The captains fear that there might be mutinies if they leave their crews alone and nobody trusts the other captains. Everybody is stir crazy after such a long voyage, and half the people want to abandon the mission. They want a mass assembly to hold an election and hash stuff out.
– Wyvern
2 mins ago
@Wyvern In that case, your fleet is more or less lost. If half the crew is thinking about mutiny, and considering that they will take atleast the same time back, i fear your captains are pretty much doomed unless they don't turn back.
– DarthDonut
17 secs ago
1
1
Normally the captains would use boats to convene on one the ships. This was perfectly normal and pretty frequent. Ocean-going ships are not designed to be assembled into pontoon bridges.
– AlexP
8 mins ago
Normally the captains would use boats to convene on one the ships. This was perfectly normal and pretty frequent. Ocean-going ships are not designed to be assembled into pontoon bridges.
– AlexP
8 mins ago
@AlexP And when a storm was approaching they would disperse to avoid damage, being the opposite of this scenario.
– Douwe
3 mins ago
@AlexP And when a storm was approaching they would disperse to avoid damage, being the opposite of this scenario.
– Douwe
3 mins ago
In this case, politics in the fleet doesn't allow them to. The captains fear that there might be mutinies if they leave their crews alone and nobody trusts the other captains. Everybody is stir crazy after such a long voyage, and half the people want to abandon the mission. They want a mass assembly to hold an election and hash stuff out.
– Wyvern
2 mins ago
In this case, politics in the fleet doesn't allow them to. The captains fear that there might be mutinies if they leave their crews alone and nobody trusts the other captains. Everybody is stir crazy after such a long voyage, and half the people want to abandon the mission. They want a mass assembly to hold an election and hash stuff out.
– Wyvern
2 mins ago
@Wyvern In that case, your fleet is more or less lost. If half the crew is thinking about mutiny, and considering that they will take atleast the same time back, i fear your captains are pretty much doomed unless they don't turn back.
– DarthDonut
17 secs ago
@Wyvern In that case, your fleet is more or less lost. If half the crew is thinking about mutiny, and considering that they will take atleast the same time back, i fear your captains are pretty much doomed unless they don't turn back.
– DarthDonut
17 secs ago
add a comment |Â
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
up vote
1
down vote
Entirely possible to do if difficult. You want to think as much as you can about the movement of the two (lets say two to begin with) vessels in relation to each other. If the water is calm then strapping them together will be relatively easy as they will stay pretty synced up in their frames of spacial reference. As soon as the sea starts to churn up however each ship will react differently to the ocean below it and they will try and move separately from each other, putting strain on the join points.
Things with flex in them, like ropes (to a degree) will fair better than solid joins (unless those solid joins are so severe as to essentially make the two vessels one).
Basically I'd expect a working version of this to look more like a mesh of ships with flexible but strong join points that may incorporate a hard walking point but where most of the strength is in heavily braided rope attaching to reinforced connection points on each vessel.
answered 39 mins ago
CuppaMatt
112
New contributor
CuppaMatt is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
You can do it if the sea conditions are favourable, otherwise having the ships that close together, tied or not, is a danger to all concerned. Banging hulls weighing tens to hundreds of tonnes together even at relatively low speeds is never something you want to do if you can avoid it, you'd need at least as many mechanisms keeping the ships apart as holding them together. If their were any noticeable swell or wind the risk would be pretty extreme.
I would point out that the traditional venue for such a conference is in fact the Captain's cabin of the fleet flagship, captains were afforded expensive extra space so that they could conference effectively. People attending such a conference would travel between their ship and the flagship in longboats. The flagship of a fleet often changed during battles, sometimes even changing to an enemy vessel, as officers took over due to combat loses or ships went down and their crews, and commanders, moved to other vessels. In the event that the ranking admiral died the senior most captain, or possibly another admiral depending on the circumstances, should take over as a matter of course.
With enough rope and spars there's no real limit to how many ships you can put together except that the more ships you put together the more likely you are to lose some if the weather goes against you without warning.
answered 18 mins ago
Ash
21.2k253128
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
They're doomed.
Disclaimer: I've based my answer on real ships, not hypothetical pontoon-like vessels.
A ship that is not able to steer it's bow into the waves will take on a lot of water if a wave hits it sideways, causing it to sink. Also, the force of the waves will make them crush in to each other with more force than anything they would have had with them would be able to withstand. Gangways and the like would simply break to pieces. Ropes would present an even bigger problem because a sinking ship would pull its neighbors with them.
Afaik even today's ships cannot be serviced by other ships (like tankers) in bad weather, because of above reasons.
Edit: After reading ColonelPanic's answer I thought I should stress that my answer is about OP's question 'Would the makeshift platform be doomed as soon as they hit a storm or strong winds'. Which imho it would.
answered 24 mins ago
Douwe
5096
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Sure if their engineers are imaginative and they have the actual resources to do so. Obviously they can only use the resources they have with them rather than a forest to cut down for decking etc,.
The Hellespont was bridged by a line of boats decked over into a roadway for a whole army mounts and all to cross. Apparently 674 ships were used and estimates of the army size which included cavalry are 200,000 or more.
answered 47 mins ago
Kilisi
11.5k12056
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
If the ships are of similiar size and construction, sure, this is done frequently, even during the Renaissance era. You may even be able to still be underway, albeit with obviously reduced maneuverability and speed.
The elasticity and strength of the ropes as well as the fenders used to prevent abrasion and crashing between the member boats will be the most important factor. What you're looking at doing is called Ship-to-ship mooring. Ropes at this time were surprisingly high-tech and had plenty of sufficient strength to do this. What could you put between the hulls which you would already have on board? Maybe large wooden balls could be crafted and covered with linen from the sails. Ancient fenders were often rope creations which would likely get worn out much faster under your conditions.
Weather will of course be a major issue. Depending on the size and construction of your ships and the sea conditions, you may not fair too well in bad weather. Lashing ships together had uses in this time period, but most often either in protected waters or for short duration. What you are proposing would likely not last through very rough seas, due to the boats now having another axis of common movement.
And as for a hundred boats, I'd say you're not going to stay together for long. It will take quite a bit time to maneuver the ships together (and I doubt you could do it in pairs, then join the pains, etc as a binary tree reduction... the first iteration would lose a lot of necessary maneuverability). Maybe the ships could break off in to smaller groups and hope that they don't get blown in to each other.
answered 24 mins ago
ColonelPanic
1,819110
add a comment |Â
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
1
down vote
Entirely possible to do if difficult. You want to think as much as you can about the movement of the two (lets say two to begin with) vessels in relation to each other. If the water is calm then strapping them together will be relatively easy as they will stay pretty synced up in their frames of spacial reference. As soon as the sea starts to churn up however each ship will react differently to the ocean below it and they will try and move separately from each other, putting strain on the join points.
Things with flex in them, like ropes (to a degree) will fair better than solid joins (unless those solid joins are so severe as to essentially make the two vessels one).
Basically I'd expect a working version of this to look more like a mesh of ships with flexible but strong join points that may incorporate a hard walking point but where most of the strength is in heavily braided rope attaching to reinforced connection points on each vessel.
answered 39 mins ago
CuppaMatt
112
New contributor
CuppaMatt is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Entirely possible to do if difficult. You want to think as much as you can about the movement of the two (lets say two to begin with) vessels in relation to each other. If the water is calm then strapping them together will be relatively easy as they will stay pretty synced up in their frames of spacial reference. As soon as the sea starts to churn up however each ship will react differently to the ocean below it and they will try and move separately from each other, putting strain on the join points.
Things with flex in them, like ropes (to a degree) will fair better than solid joins (unless those solid joins are so severe as to essentially make the two vessels one).
Basically I'd expect a working version of this to look more like a mesh of ships with flexible but strong join points that may incorporate a hard walking point but where most of the strength is in heavily braided rope attaching to reinforced connection points on each vessel.
answered 39 mins ago
CuppaMatt
112
New contributor
CuppaMatt is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
Entirely possible to do if difficult. You want to think as much as you can about the movement of the two (lets say two to begin with) vessels in relation to each other. If the water is calm then strapping them together will be relatively easy as they will stay pretty synced up in their frames of spacial reference. As soon as the sea starts to churn up however each ship will react differently to the ocean below it and they will try and move separately from each other, putting strain on the join points.
Things with flex in them, like ropes (to a degree) will fair better than solid joins (unless those solid joins are so severe as to essentially make the two vessels one).
Basically I'd expect a working version of this to look more like a mesh of ships with flexible but strong join points that may incorporate a hard walking point but where most of the strength is in heavily braided rope attaching to reinforced connection points on each vessel.
answered 39 mins ago
CuppaMatt
112
New contributor
CuppaMatt is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Entirely possible to do if difficult. You want to think as much as you can about the movement of the two (lets say two to begin with) vessels in relation to each other. If the water is calm then strapping them together will be relatively easy as they will stay pretty synced up in their frames of spacial reference. As soon as the sea starts to churn up however each ship will react differently to the ocean below it and they will try and move separately from each other, putting strain on the join points.
Things with flex in them, like ropes (to a degree) will fair better than solid joins (unless those solid joins are so severe as to essentially make the two vessels one).
Basically I'd expect a working version of this to look more like a mesh of ships with flexible but strong join points that may incorporate a hard walking point but where most of the strength is in heavily braided rope attaching to reinforced connection points on each vessel.
answered 39 mins ago
CuppaMatt
112
New contributor
CuppaMatt is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 39 mins ago
CuppaMatt
112
New contributor
CuppaMatt is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 39 mins ago
CuppaMatt
112
answered 39 mins ago
CuppaMatt
112
112
New contributor
CuppaMatt is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
CuppaMatt is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
CuppaMatt is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
You can do it if the sea conditions are favourable, otherwise having the ships that close together, tied or not, is a danger to all concerned. Banging hulls weighing tens to hundreds of tonnes together even at relatively low speeds is never something you want to do if you can avoid it, you'd need at least as many mechanisms keeping the ships apart as holding them together. If their were any noticeable swell or wind the risk would be pretty extreme.
I would point out that the traditional venue for such a conference is in fact the Captain's cabin of the fleet flagship, captains were afforded expensive extra space so that they could conference effectively. People attending such a conference would travel between their ship and the flagship in longboats. The flagship of a fleet often changed during battles, sometimes even changing to an enemy vessel, as officers took over due to combat loses or ships went down and their crews, and commanders, moved to other vessels. In the event that the ranking admiral died the senior most captain, or possibly another admiral depending on the circumstances, should take over as a matter of course.
With enough rope and spars there's no real limit to how many ships you can put together except that the more ships you put together the more likely you are to lose some if the weather goes against you without warning.
answered 18 mins ago
Ash
21.2k253128
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
You can do it if the sea conditions are favourable, otherwise having the ships that close together, tied or not, is a danger to all concerned. Banging hulls weighing tens to hundreds of tonnes together even at relatively low speeds is never something you want to do if you can avoid it, you'd need at least as many mechanisms keeping the ships apart as holding them together. If their were any noticeable swell or wind the risk would be pretty extreme.
I would point out that the traditional venue for such a conference is in fact the Captain's cabin of the fleet flagship, captains were afforded expensive extra space so that they could conference effectively. People attending such a conference would travel between their ship and the flagship in longboats. The flagship of a fleet often changed during battles, sometimes even changing to an enemy vessel, as officers took over due to combat loses or ships went down and their crews, and commanders, moved to other vessels. In the event that the ranking admiral died the senior most captain, or possibly another admiral depending on the circumstances, should take over as a matter of course.
With enough rope and spars there's no real limit to how many ships you can put together except that the more ships you put together the more likely you are to lose some if the weather goes against you without warning.
answered 18 mins ago
Ash
21.2k253128
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
You can do it if the sea conditions are favourable, otherwise having the ships that close together, tied or not, is a danger to all concerned. Banging hulls weighing tens to hundreds of tonnes together even at relatively low speeds is never something you want to do if you can avoid it, you'd need at least as many mechanisms keeping the ships apart as holding them together. If their were any noticeable swell or wind the risk would be pretty extreme.
I would point out that the traditional venue for such a conference is in fact the Captain's cabin of the fleet flagship, captains were afforded expensive extra space so that they could conference effectively. People attending such a conference would travel between their ship and the flagship in longboats. The flagship of a fleet often changed during battles, sometimes even changing to an enemy vessel, as officers took over due to combat loses or ships went down and their crews, and commanders, moved to other vessels. In the event that the ranking admiral died the senior most captain, or possibly another admiral depending on the circumstances, should take over as a matter of course.
With enough rope and spars there's no real limit to how many ships you can put together except that the more ships you put together the more likely you are to lose some if the weather goes against you without warning.
answered 18 mins ago
Ash
21.2k253128
You can do it if the sea conditions are favourable, otherwise having the ships that close together, tied or not, is a danger to all concerned. Banging hulls weighing tens to hundreds of tonnes together even at relatively low speeds is never something you want to do if you can avoid it, you'd need at least as many mechanisms keeping the ships apart as holding them together. If their were any noticeable swell or wind the risk would be pretty extreme.
I would point out that the traditional venue for such a conference is in fact the Captain's cabin of the fleet flagship, captains were afforded expensive extra space so that they could conference effectively. People attending such a conference would travel between their ship and the flagship in longboats. The flagship of a fleet often changed during battles, sometimes even changing to an enemy vessel, as officers took over due to combat loses or ships went down and their crews, and commanders, moved to other vessels. In the event that the ranking admiral died the senior most captain, or possibly another admiral depending on the circumstances, should take over as a matter of course.
With enough rope and spars there's no real limit to how many ships you can put together except that the more ships you put together the more likely you are to lose some if the weather goes against you without warning.
answered 18 mins ago
Ash
21.2k253128
answered 18 mins ago
Ash
21.2k253128
answered 18 mins ago
Ash
21.2k253128
answered 18 mins ago
Ash
21.2k253128
21.2k253128
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
They're doomed.
Disclaimer: I've based my answer on real ships, not hypothetical pontoon-like vessels.
A ship that is not able to steer it's bow into the waves will take on a lot of water if a wave hits it sideways, causing it to sink. Also, the force of the waves will make them crush in to each other with more force than anything they would have had with them would be able to withstand. Gangways and the like would simply break to pieces. Ropes would present an even bigger problem because a sinking ship would pull its neighbors with them.
Afaik even today's ships cannot be serviced by other ships (like tankers) in bad weather, because of above reasons.
Edit: After reading ColonelPanic's answer I thought I should stress that my answer is about OP's question 'Would the makeshift platform be doomed as soon as they hit a storm or strong winds'. Which imho it would.
answered 24 mins ago
Douwe
5096
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
They're doomed.
Disclaimer: I've based my answer on real ships, not hypothetical pontoon-like vessels.
A ship that is not able to steer it's bow into the waves will take on a lot of water if a wave hits it sideways, causing it to sink. Also, the force of the waves will make them crush in to each other with more force than anything they would have had with them would be able to withstand. Gangways and the like would simply break to pieces. Ropes would present an even bigger problem because a sinking ship would pull its neighbors with them.
Afaik even today's ships cannot be serviced by other ships (like tankers) in bad weather, because of above reasons.
Edit: After reading ColonelPanic's answer I thought I should stress that my answer is about OP's question 'Would the makeshift platform be doomed as soon as they hit a storm or strong winds'. Which imho it would.
answered 24 mins ago
Douwe
5096
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
They're doomed.
Disclaimer: I've based my answer on real ships, not hypothetical pontoon-like vessels.
A ship that is not able to steer it's bow into the waves will take on a lot of water if a wave hits it sideways, causing it to sink. Also, the force of the waves will make them crush in to each other with more force than anything they would have had with them would be able to withstand. Gangways and the like would simply break to pieces. Ropes would present an even bigger problem because a sinking ship would pull its neighbors with them.
Afaik even today's ships cannot be serviced by other ships (like tankers) in bad weather, because of above reasons.
Edit: After reading ColonelPanic's answer I thought I should stress that my answer is about OP's question 'Would the makeshift platform be doomed as soon as they hit a storm or strong winds'. Which imho it would.
answered 24 mins ago
Douwe
5096
They're doomed.
Disclaimer: I've based my answer on real ships, not hypothetical pontoon-like vessels.
A ship that is not able to steer it's bow into the waves will take on a lot of water if a wave hits it sideways, causing it to sink. Also, the force of the waves will make them crush in to each other with more force than anything they would have had with them would be able to withstand. Gangways and the like would simply break to pieces. Ropes would present an even bigger problem because a sinking ship would pull its neighbors with them.
Afaik even today's ships cannot be serviced by other ships (like tankers) in bad weather, because of above reasons.
Edit: After reading ColonelPanic's answer I thought I should stress that my answer is about OP's question 'Would the makeshift platform be doomed as soon as they hit a storm or strong winds'. Which imho it would.
answered 24 mins ago
Douwe
5096
edited 9 mins ago
answered 24 mins ago
Douwe
5096
answered 24 mins ago
Douwe
5096
answered 24 mins ago
Douwe
5096
5096
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Sure if their engineers are imaginative and they have the actual resources to do so. Obviously they can only use the resources they have with them rather than a forest to cut down for decking etc,.
The Hellespont was bridged by a line of boats decked over into a roadway for a whole army mounts and all to cross. Apparently 674 ships were used and estimates of the army size which included cavalry are 200,000 or more.
answered 47 mins ago
Kilisi
11.5k12056
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Sure if their engineers are imaginative and they have the actual resources to do so. Obviously they can only use the resources they have with them rather than a forest to cut down for decking etc,.
The Hellespont was bridged by a line of boats decked over into a roadway for a whole army mounts and all to cross. Apparently 674 ships were used and estimates of the army size which included cavalry are 200,000 or more.
answered 47 mins ago
Kilisi
11.5k12056
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
Sure if their engineers are imaginative and they have the actual resources to do so. Obviously they can only use the resources they have with them rather than a forest to cut down for decking etc,.
The Hellespont was bridged by a line of boats decked over into a roadway for a whole army mounts and all to cross. Apparently 674 ships were used and estimates of the army size which included cavalry are 200,000 or more.
answered 47 mins ago
Kilisi
11.5k12056
Sure if their engineers are imaginative and they have the actual resources to do so. Obviously they can only use the resources they have with them rather than a forest to cut down for decking etc,.
The Hellespont was bridged by a line of boats decked over into a roadway for a whole army mounts and all to cross. Apparently 674 ships were used and estimates of the army size which included cavalry are 200,000 or more.
answered 47 mins ago
Kilisi
11.5k12056
edited 38 mins ago
answered 47 mins ago
Kilisi
11.5k12056
answered 47 mins ago
Kilisi
11.5k12056
answered 47 mins ago
Kilisi
11.5k12056
11.5k12056
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
If the ships are of similiar size and construction, sure, this is done frequently, even during the Renaissance era. You may even be able to still be underway, albeit with obviously reduced maneuverability and speed.
The elasticity and strength of the ropes as well as the fenders used to prevent abrasion and crashing between the member boats will be the most important factor. What you're looking at doing is called Ship-to-ship mooring. Ropes at this time were surprisingly high-tech and had plenty of sufficient strength to do this. What could you put between the hulls which you would already have on board? Maybe large wooden balls could be crafted and covered with linen from the sails. Ancient fenders were often rope creations which would likely get worn out much faster under your conditions.
Weather will of course be a major issue. Depending on the size and construction of your ships and the sea conditions, you may not fair too well in bad weather. Lashing ships together had uses in this time period, but most often either in protected waters or for short duration. What you are proposing would likely not last through very rough seas, due to the boats now having another axis of common movement.
And as for a hundred boats, I'd say you're not going to stay together for long. It will take quite a bit time to maneuver the ships together (and I doubt you could do it in pairs, then join the pains, etc as a binary tree reduction... the first iteration would lose a lot of necessary maneuverability). Maybe the ships could break off in to smaller groups and hope that they don't get blown in to each other.
answered 24 mins ago
ColonelPanic
1,819110
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
If the ships are of similiar size and construction, sure, this is done frequently, even during the Renaissance era. You may even be able to still be underway, albeit with obviously reduced maneuverability and speed.
The elasticity and strength of the ropes as well as the fenders used to prevent abrasion and crashing between the member boats will be the most important factor. What you're looking at doing is called Ship-to-ship mooring. Ropes at this time were surprisingly high-tech and had plenty of sufficient strength to do this. What could you put between the hulls which you would already have on board? Maybe large wooden balls could be crafted and covered with linen from the sails. Ancient fenders were often rope creations which would likely get worn out much faster under your conditions.
Weather will of course be a major issue. Depending on the size and construction of your ships and the sea conditions, you may not fair too well in bad weather. Lashing ships together had uses in this time period, but most often either in protected waters or for short duration. What you are proposing would likely not last through very rough seas, due to the boats now having another axis of common movement.
And as for a hundred boats, I'd say you're not going to stay together for long. It will take quite a bit time to maneuver the ships together (and I doubt you could do it in pairs, then join the pains, etc as a binary tree reduction... the first iteration would lose a lot of necessary maneuverability). Maybe the ships could break off in to smaller groups and hope that they don't get blown in to each other.
answered 24 mins ago
ColonelPanic
1,819110
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
If the ships are of similiar size and construction, sure, this is done frequently, even during the Renaissance era. You may even be able to still be underway, albeit with obviously reduced maneuverability and speed.
The elasticity and strength of the ropes as well as the fenders used to prevent abrasion and crashing between the member boats will be the most important factor. What you're looking at doing is called Ship-to-ship mooring. Ropes at this time were surprisingly high-tech and had plenty of sufficient strength to do this. What could you put between the hulls which you would already have on board? Maybe large wooden balls could be crafted and covered with linen from the sails. Ancient fenders were often rope creations which would likely get worn out much faster under your conditions.
Weather will of course be a major issue. Depending on the size and construction of your ships and the sea conditions, you may not fair too well in bad weather. Lashing ships together had uses in this time period, but most often either in protected waters or for short duration. What you are proposing would likely not last through very rough seas, due to the boats now having another axis of common movement.
And as for a hundred boats, I'd say you're not going to stay together for long. It will take quite a bit time to maneuver the ships together (and I doubt you could do it in pairs, then join the pains, etc as a binary tree reduction... the first iteration would lose a lot of necessary maneuverability). Maybe the ships could break off in to smaller groups and hope that they don't get blown in to each other.
answered 24 mins ago
ColonelPanic
1,819110
If the ships are of similiar size and construction, sure, this is done frequently, even during the Renaissance era. You may even be able to still be underway, albeit with obviously reduced maneuverability and speed.
The elasticity and strength of the ropes as well as the fenders used to prevent abrasion and crashing between the member boats will be the most important factor. What you're looking at doing is called Ship-to-ship mooring. Ropes at this time were surprisingly high-tech and had plenty of sufficient strength to do this. What could you put between the hulls which you would already have on board? Maybe large wooden balls could be crafted and covered with linen from the sails. Ancient fenders were often rope creations which would likely get worn out much faster under your conditions.
Weather will of course be a major issue. Depending on the size and construction of your ships and the sea conditions, you may not fair too well in bad weather. Lashing ships together had uses in this time period, but most often either in protected waters or for short duration. What you are proposing would likely not last through very rough seas, due to the boats now having another axis of common movement.
And as for a hundred boats, I'd say you're not going to stay together for long. It will take quite a bit time to maneuver the ships together (and I doubt you could do it in pairs, then join the pains, etc as a binary tree reduction... the first iteration would lose a lot of necessary maneuverability). Maybe the ships could break off in to smaller groups and hope that they don't get blown in to each other.
answered 24 mins ago
ColonelPanic
1,819110
answered 24 mins ago
ColonelPanic
1,819110
answered 24 mins ago
ColonelPanic
1,819110
answered 24 mins ago
ColonelPanic
1,819110
1,819110
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworldbuilding.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f125853%2fis-it-possible-to-bind-multiple-ships-together-on-open-water%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
1
Normally the captains would use boats to convene on one the ships. This was perfectly normal and pretty frequent. Ocean-going ships are not designed to be assembled into pontoon bridges.
– AlexP
8 mins ago
@AlexP And when a storm was approaching they would disperse to avoid damage, being the opposite of this scenario.
– Douwe
3 mins ago
In this case, politics in the fleet doesn't allow them to. The captains fear that there might be mutinies if they leave their crews alone and nobody trusts the other captains. Everybody is stir crazy after such a long voyage, and half the people want to abandon the mission. They want a mass assembly to hold an election and hash stuff out.
– Wyvern
2 mins ago
@Wyvern In that case, your fleet is more or less lost. If half the crew is thinking about mutiny, and considering that they will take atleast the same time back, i fear your captains are pretty much doomed unless they don't turn back.
– DarthDonut
17 secs ago