Amount of Experience of the Many Generations of Ship Builders - Research Paper Example

Due to the huge response on how ships and boat building have advanced, and also the fact that many people are now interested in voyage due to its growing ideas, a –non-experimental methodology will be used to asses the scenarios. A sample of companies dealing with ships and boats will be selected from the very many which exist. Sailors will also be in co-operated into the study so that the data which will be captured using the research tool will be valid and reliable. Data will be entered into a computer after which it will be subjected to statistical analysis. The interpretations from the same will tell more. Aim The main aim of this study will be to show how ships and boats have evolved over time since 6300 BC when the evidence of the existence of a ship can be traced to. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Ships and boats have been used since long ago. According to Jake (2005), we never really knew how far boats and ships went back until some archaeologists found something. What they found was a dugout boat from, well, 6300 B.C. This was an important discovery. Their creations were examined and tested by the most impartial judge of all: The Ocean (Molo, 1967 P. 26). Further, from ancient times to present days, many inquisitive minds and skilful hands have worked on perfecting vessels - to make them stronger and more seaworthy, and to make them faster and more comfortable. The enormous amount of experience of the many generations of ship builders, combined with use of advanced scientific and technical ideas, now allows us to build large oil tankers, ice breakers and air-cushioned vessels. In the near future, large cargo submarines will be built, which will not be subject to whims of the World Ocean (Molo, 1967 P. 28). Thousands of vessels will sail confidently by using the newest types of navigation methods. There are many different types of sailing ships, but they all have certain basic things in common. Every sailing ship has a hull, rigging and at least one mast to hold up the sails that use the wind to power the ship. Ballast weighs down the bottom of the ship, so the wind does not push the ship over when sailing across the wind (Molo, 1967 P. 34). Traditionally, ocean journeys by sailing ship can take many months, and a common hazard is becoming becalmed because of lack of wind, or being blown off course by severe storms or winds that do not allow progress in the desired direction. A severe storm could lead to shipwreck, and the loss of all hands (Mailu, S 1997 P. 24). In 4000 B.C. in Egypt, they made long narrow boats powered by many oarsmen. In the next 1,000 years, Egyptians started using cotton-made sails to help their boats go faster and with less work. Then they made ships large enough to cross the oceans. These ships had sails and oarsmen, and they used them for travel and trade (Mailu, S 1997 P. 27). In 1200 B.C. the Phoenicians and Greeks were the most seafaring people along the Mediterranean (Mwenda, 2004 P. 16). He further continues that, they made very big cargo ships and also improved the ship rig a lot. By 500 B.C., they built ships with two big masts. One was a middle mast with a square sail, and the other sail was triangular, and it supported the main sail. These ships were about 100 feet long and could carry 100-200 tons (90-180 metric tons). Towards 100 B.C.s, Roman ships became the rulers of the Mediterranean. The Romans built the largest merchant ships of their time; they were 180 feet long and 45 feet wide (Jake, 2005). They could hold 1,000 people and carry 1,000 tons. Roman ships carried people because no other boat was designed to just carry passengers. The only problem with them carrying people was that the passengers had little shelter in the night. That was because the lower level was usually packed with merchants or trade (Jake, 2005). According to Agnesi (1987), towards late 1000s, the Vikings took their place in the oceans. Vikings rode on their famous long ships. They were about 80 feet long and 17 feet wide. Most of these ships had 20 oars on each side. They were mainly used for raiding other countries, but they were also for trading and colonizing. They usually had big weaponry in the bottom (P. 41). Agnesi (1987) continues to further say that, during the 1200s, the Vikings lost control of the oceans and cogs came along. The cog was a ship that had one big square sail in the middle. They also had forecastles and stern castles. Castles are big platforms where cannons, people, shelter, or cargo would be. Later, the sails were lateens (triangular sails) instead of square sails (P. 42). The building of ships initially in ancient times usually was done traditionally as Barnes (2004) puts it, the traditional construction of a boat started with the laying of a keel which is a massive piece of wood supported on a branching stern about a foot above the ground at both ends. This was stepped to take the stern-post and also the stem post, all made of massive pieces of timber. The keel was laid first and later the planks or ribs were attached. Usually for the keel and stern one single piece of wood was always preferred. The planks were then fastened horizontally on either side of the keel to join edge to edge (P. 44). Most ships for exploration were ex-trading ships re-fitted for the long journey. They were small, short and stubby for strength. Their bows lifted to on-coming waves and their high sterns prevented them being swamped from behind. Many of them we only 70 - 100 metres in length. Thats about 6 -9 sedan cars put end to end. Not a large home for a hundred or so men to live for 3 - 5 years sometimes. While improvements in ship design had enabled the sailing ships of the 17th & 18th Centuries to travel much faster into the wind, the slower, and smaller and 15th century boats were safer (Agrawal & Lalit, T, 1987 P. 11-21). According to Ferguson, S (1999 P. 35), through the earlier centuries, and even into the 18th century, virtually all small craft and many of the larger ships were built without any formal plans being drawn. Shipwrights were apprenticed to their craft at an early age and the art was passed down from father to son. Ship models were being built by designers of large ships primarily to show their prospective customers how the full size ship would appear, and also to introduce advanced building techniques (Ferguson, S 1999 P. 36). Further according to him, this was so because few shipping merchants could read a construction draft and still fewer individuals were sufficiently advanced in the art of drafting or the mathematics necessary to that art. Add to that the fairly primitive method of paper making, with its acidic product tending to discolor and disintegrate, and it is understandable why so few ships plans survived outside of the Royal Shipyard in England, which to this day is a major source of information on ships of the earlier centuries (Ferguson, S 1999 P. 40). Oloo, (1986) says that, we have often heard that the Titanic was the largest sea going ship. That was definitely true - in 1912. However, since that time other ships have been built that are larger and even dwarf the Titanic.   He gives the example of Queen Mary 1which was about 136 feet longer and weighed almost twice as much. Further, modern US aircraft carriers also weigh about twice as much as the Titanic did.  In addition, The Queen Mary 2 and several cruise ships weigh even more, and are more than three times the weight of the Titanic (P. 2). The largest ship afloat today is a tanker, and it is called the Jahre Viking.  It is almost twice as long as the Titanic was and would probably weigh more than 12 times the Titanic when both were filled.  A still larger vessel, called Freedom is being planned.  This vessel would make all of the other ships, including the Jahre Viking, look tiny by comparison (Hart, 2007 P.7). Modern day ships have advanced in all aspects due to the following. Firstly, the vast expansion of air travel that began in the 1960s quickly threatened passenger liners. Thus the business fraternity had to look for a way to counter this since sea voyage was considered to be the best since time immemorial. Today’s important people mover is the passenger ferry. Secondly, the discovery of some of the problems and solution facing the liners and the design problems were overcome in the construction of the modern ship due to technology know how. Traditionally, ships were build using very weird methods. Although they used to operate well, they sometimes posed threat to the passengers. The coming of these technologies made the ship merchants to start thinking a fresh on how o come up with something decent. The hostilities and the need for recognition being experienced all over have led to wars. Taking for example, the I and II world wars. This led to the famous cold war between the US and USSR. These hostilities in such of superiority led to the construction of very huge ships in the name of wartime tank landing craft gave ferry operators the idea for services in which vehicles could simply be driven on and driven off. Thirdly, the discovery of minerals in large water bodies has led to the construction of exploratory machines. As oil exploration moved further and further offshore, ships have been built to service and maintain drilling rigs in deep and often very stormy waters. These machines can only be run by powerful ships. This coupled with the need to transport the mined goods offshore has led to greater heights in ship constructions. As Barnes, (2004) puts it, most ships, tankers have become more specialized in recent decades (P. 45). The need to cut a market niche has led countries to come up with new methods of transporting their wares to the market. As an example, reefers and fruiters were developed to help countries export their meat or fruit to distant markets in good condition. Owners efforts to win business have seen them build highly specialized ships, for instance to carry orange juice, or nuclear fuel. Also, as items of cargo to be shipped became heavier, ship owners needed heavy lift ships. These were to be developed, from conventional ships with extra-strong cargo gear and decks, to sophisticated vessels on to which very heavy items could be floated. Methodology Introduction The program is designed to identify and to show the really that ships and boat construction nowadays is growing. Likewise, to show that ancient ship construction has been surpassed by the modern ship, may be, due to the improvements in technology and the need to reach the outside world faster and also may be to get your wares some new market in the global village. Lastly, to show that there has been a considerable change in attitude of the passengers and many are now willing to travel via the ocean with certainty of reaching your destination safely. Design of the Study The study will include two phases. One will deal with the ship constructions companies and the other, phase two, will deal with the passengers. A set of two Questionnaires will be used as the research tools. The first one will be divided into parts three parts. Part I will deal with the history of their operations and their start date. Part II will involve details about their sales volumes per annum. And lastly, Part III will be about their customers and their future plans. The second questionnaire will have two parts. The background of the passenger will be necessary a well as the requirements in a passengers ship. In phase one; the tool will be administered to the key people charged with the maiden operations of the organization. This will include the technical operations manger, the marketing manager and if possible the Chief Operating Officer so as to get something tangible from the source. The second phase will have the tool administered to the passenger. Their background will be and other related information will be collected and collated. The Data The data from the study will be then coded and entered into a computer. Reliability analysis will be done first to test the validity of the research tool. It will further be subjected to various statistical computer analysis and the findings tabulated and summarized in table as this is a birds eye view even for those who do not understand statistics. The final results will then be reproduced in a final report. Works cited Agnesi (1987). Voyage. Nairobi: General Printers, P. 41-44 Agrawal & Lalit, T (1987). Ancient ship building and maritime trade: Longhorn, P. 11- 21 Barnes (2004). Sea Masters: Longhorn, P.44-45 Ferguson (1999). Ships. Lagos: Third Street, P.30-40 Hart (2007 March, 24). Sea Voyage. The daily nation. P. 7 Jakes (2005). History of ships and boats: Sailing the Seven Seas retrieved 10 September, 2007, from http://www.library.thinkguest.org Molo (1967). Ships in modern society. Nairobi: Government Press, P. 26-41 Mailu, S (1997). Sea passengers: The real issues, P. 20-30 Mwenda (2004). Boats. Nairobi: General Printers P. 16-20 Oloo (1986). The sea kings. Nairobi: General printers P. 2 Read More