3/28/2023 0 Comments Steam ships![]() ![]() Parts such as the 'ijsscheen' (the rising section of the ship's underwater profile), the crossbeams, and the deck beams were made from Siemens-Martin steel up to 13 mm thick, but for the rest of the ship conventional wrought iron was used – steel-like, but structurally inferior. A steam pipe warmed these reservoirs to keep them from freezing.Īt the end of the 19th century, the industry was switching from iron to steel and the Christiaan Brunings followed this trend. ![]() The fore and aft peaks had reservoirs that could be filled with water to 'trim' the ship, or balance her in the water. The stern had to be designed to channel as much of the ice as possible away from the ship's propeller. One of the Department's requirements was that the bow had to be higher than that of the Achilles, which had always had problems with water splashing over the bow. The Christiaan Brunings was to be an oploper, a ship with a sharply rising bow and a draught of only 20 cm at the front. These drawings documented every part of the ship's construction, which was quite unusual for the time ships were then still generally built without plans. He delved into blueprints of similar ships, and his draughtsmen eventually sent a total of twenty-four construction drawings to the Department for approval. Meursing had experience building steam ships, but this was his first icebreaker. Ultimately, he would incur a loss of twelve thousand guilders on the Christiaan Brunings. This proved to be a financial disaster for Meursing, who, as Van der Thoorn had feared, was unable to live up to his low bid. But the Department overruled him and awarded the commission to Meursing. His Amsterdam shipyard 'De Nachtegaal' ('The Nightingale') came across to Van der Thoorn as rather shabby. But Van der Thoorn was not impressed by Meursing. van der Thoorn of the 4th River District in Dordrecht asked no fewer than fifteen shipyards to submit bids for 'a propeller-driven steamship for breaking river ice.' The lowest bidder, at 49,400 guilders, was Jan Frederik Meursing, who also guaranteed the lowest coal consumption per horsepower. lowest bidderįor the construction of the Christiaan Brunings, the Department put out a call for tenders, as was only proper for a government project. ![]() By this time, fighting ice had become one of the government's standing tasks, one that in the second half of the 19th century had become a crucial part of preventing dike breaks and floods. The decision to build their own ships was primarily dictated by cost considerations. Up until the time of the Achilles and the Christian Brunings, the Department hired icebreakers from private parties. This principle changed little through the centuries, although more and more powerful ships were sought to do it. With each pull, the bow would be drawn up from the water to fall back onto the layer of ice, cracking the ice under its weight. Their upward-curving bows and flat forestays with iron plating were drawn by horses (sometimes up to twenty!) through ice-covered canals. Drawings from that time show ships like these, made of wood. Icebreakers like the Christiaan Brunings have been used as far back as the 17th century. This dual function was dictated by purely practical considerations: after all, why would you let such a significant investment lie idle for most of the year? The government had had good experiences with a ship previously built for the same dual purpose, the Achilles (launched in 1894). The Department of Waterways and Public Works originally had the ship built as an icebreaker that could also serve as an executive vessel, which explains the ship's luxurious interior. As a result, the ship was launched in 1900 with a different and much more utilitarian name: De IJsbreker (the Icebreaker). Then-Minister of Public Works, Trade and Industry Cornelis Lely had approved naming the ship after the famous marine engineer (1736-1805), but the decision became mired in red tape. In 1900, when the last nuts and bolts had been tightened on the icebreaker Christiaan Brunings, she didn't bear the name that we know her by today. ![]()
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