?"Of course, we won't do that. Rest assured, Your Majesty. While you're here, let me show you something interesting." The head researcher brought up another topic.
"And what is it?" Riz calmly asked.
"You'll be surprised when you see it. This is an absolute masterpiece we all in the research and development team have poured our soul on." Elric replies. He later ordered an A0 paper size to be brought here.
"Oh?! Now you made me even more curious."
Multiple A0 papers were spread out on the table, revealing a meticulous drawing of the ship from the overall front view, side view and top view to every single deck in detail.
"This is our first obliterator-class ship. A ship that was designed to be the flagship. It has superior firepower than other galleons we supply to the navy. We call it 'Sea Fortress'." The head researcher told him with sparkling eyes. Whether it is here or on Earth, man does love weapons.
Riz studied the drawings for quite some time.
Many things intrigued him but his job is to identify the changes they made.
In his eyes, there's nothing revolutionary about this ship other than an extra deck, larger size and more guns though.
The changes they made aren't that revolutionary though. But, he didn't say it out loud to avoid upsetting them.
Let's start with the frames.
They were mainly made from the same material, oakwood. The same goes for the shape of the frame, it still retains the horseshoe-like shape.
As for the connection, beams are still connected to the horizontal and vertical knee braces.
As for masts, all three masts have increased in size. The size mizzen mast, main mast and foremast written here are slightly taller than the standardized one. The horizontal yards aren't fixed but can be extended to make a room for attaching studding sails.
Apart from the usual square rig sails, the research team added staysail in between masts. Also, they added the bowsprit at the front to hold a jib sail and spanker at the rear.
'Wait a minute, if they increase the masts' height...' He promptly checks the size of the keel beam, the ship's bottommost part whether it is the same or not. It is a common mistake he always made during his study years, forgetting to check the calculation after changing the proposed structural size.
The size of the keel beam is supposed to be slightly larger than the standardized version since they increase the mast's height. Else, the load transferred would exceed the keel beam's allowable capacity.
Luckily, it is not.
The team does make changes in size.
"Don't you think there are too many sails on this ship?" He asked.
The head researcher perfectly laid out his reasoning, "We need to install that much to ensure the speed of the ship is not affected."
"What about the storage? Since you make it larger, how much increment does this ship get?"
The head researcher explained, "According to our calculation, the main storage room at the belly of the ship is expected to have a twenty per cent extra capacity. More flour, water, coal, spare wood, meat and ammunition were common items brought aboard. Meaning, the ship can last longer at sea without having to dock to replenish supplies."
Riz returns his attention to the drawings.
Above the hull deck is the sailors' deck, a sleeping quarters for sailors.
Despite its purpose, this deck has no windows to prevent seawater from entering the ship because it is right above sea level. As such, the air and lights have no way to enter this deck.
"The sailors' deck...Are you still unable to solve the problem of no light? Isn't it too uncomfortable and depressing to live in this dark and humid environment for a long period of time?"
Riz's question seems to offend the research team. "Your majesty, we have spent a long time designing a very good ventilation and lighting system. To solve the light problem, we made a skylight window at the short poop deck far at the top. We then punch a hole from the poop deck all the way to the sailors' deck, allowing the light to penetrate to the bottom of the ship. The light from the top would be reflected and distributed by a mirror system installed."
"That's...certainly creative." He was impressed. Now that we have a lower gun deck, middle gun deck and upper gun deck, how many guns are on the ship in total?"
"99 guns in total. Each deck has a different amount of cannons; 32 guns, 29 guns and 38 guns respectively. We also improve the rope and pulley system at both sides and rear of the gun for better aiming. With the new system in place, the manpower required at each gun port was only six people. Theocratically, that is the optimized number of people to operate without compromising the reloading speed and firing rate."
Riz does a mental calculation. A total of 594 men are needed to man the guns. Even after the reduction, the number remains large.
Nevertheless, reduction still means reduction. If he can save money then why not?
The middle gun deck has the least amount of guns to make a room for sickbeds, stoves for food preparation and toilets where the excrement would be discharged directly to the sea.
The rear of the upper deck has dining tables for the crew to eat and more toilets. With the most number of guns located in this deck, the crew operating them would be massive as well. The research team made the right call to minimize the features here.
The captain's cabin takes up most of the rear of the quarter-deck, including a meeting room, private dining room, private toilet and private bed. Right in front of the captain's cabin is the steering wheel, together with compasses and other navigation tools.
"As you suggest, your majesty. We did not forget to provide sufficient boats for the ship's crews."
Riz nod satisfactorily. He took a lesson from the titanic incident very seriously. Due to the low number of applicants for the navy, he can't treat their life lightly.
"Elric, when are you planning to start building this ship?"
"As soon as possible. We're planning to finish this ship at the same time as the steamboat and have you inspect them at once."
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