The Life of a Ship Read online

  Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

  The Life of a Ship from the Launch to the Wreck, by R.M. Ballantyne.

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  A story for pre-teens, in which a small boy, Davy, is taken to ashipyard to watch the building of a new sailing-vessel, the "FairNancy". Eventually Davy is allowed to sail on board of her as aboy-seaman. He is sea-sick at first, but soon recovers and learns howto climb the rigging to help with the sails. They encounter ahurricane, which knocks the ship over, and they lose the ship's boats.A raft is made, but only a few people can get away on it, including thecaptain's wife. The ship drifts helpless until she is wrecked on ahostile shore. There is only one chance for the men, and that would beif someone could swim ashore with a rope and fasten it, so that eachmember of the crew can be brought ashore with a travelling block andharness. This works, and no lives are lost. They walk out of thewilderness till they come to a village, from which they make their wayto Quebec, and thence back to England.

  I find it rather a depressing story, but the intention of the book,presumably, is to interest young people in a life at sea.

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  THE LIFE OF A SHIP FROM THE LAUNCH TO THE WRECK, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.

  CHAPTER ONE.

  THE LIFE OF A SHIP FROM THE LAUNCH TO THE WRECK.

  SONG OF THE SAILOR BOY.

  Oh! I love the great blue ocean, I love the whistling breeze, When the gallant ship sweeps lightly Across the surging seas. I watched my first ship building; I saw her timbers rise, Until her masts were towering Up in the bright blue skies.

  I heard the cheers ascending, I saw her kiss the foam, When first her hull went plunging Into her ocean home. Her flags were gaily streaming, And her sails were full and round, When the shout from shore came ringing, "Hurrah! for the Outward-bound!"

  But, alas! ere long a tempest Came down with awful roar And dashed our ship in pieces Upon a foreign shore. But He who holds the waters In His almighty hand, Brought all the sailors safely Back to their native land.

  Davy was a fisher boy; and Davy was a very active little boy; and Davywanted to go to sea. His father was a fisherman, his grandfather hadbeen a fisherman, and his great-grandfather had been a fisherman: so weneed not wonder much that little Davy took to the salt water like afish. When he was very little he used to wade in it, and catch crabs init, and gather shells on the shore, or build castles on the sands.Sometimes, too, he fell into the water neck and heels, and ran home tohis mother, who used to whip him and set him to dry before the fire;but, as he grew older, he went with his father in the boat to fish, andfrom that time forward he began to wish to go to sea in one of the largeships that were constantly sailing away from the harbour near hisfather's cottage.

  One day Davy sat on a rock beside the sea, leaning on his father'sboathook, and gazing with longing eyes out upon the clear calm ocean, onwhich several ships and boats were floating idly, for there was not abreath of wind to fill their sails.

  "Oh, how I wish my father would let me go to sea!" said Davy, with adeep sigh. "I wonder if I shall ever sail away beyond that line yonder,far, far away, where the sky seems to sink into the sea!" The line thathe spoke of was the horizon.

  Davy heaved another sigh, and smiled; for, just at that moment, his eyesfell on a small crab that stood before him with its claws up as if itwere listening to what he said.

  "Oh, crab, crab," cried the little boy, "you're a happy beast!"

  At that moment he moved the boathook, and the crab ran away in such adesperate hurry that Davy opened his eyes wide and said, "Humph! maybeye're not a happy beast after all!" While he sat thus, a stoutfisherman came up and asked him what he was thinking about. On beingtold, he said, "Will you come with me, boy, to the building-yard, andI'll show you a ship on the `stocks.' I'm goin' as one of her crew whenshe's ready for sea, and perhaps by that time your father will let yougo too." You may be sure that Davy did not refuse such a good offer; sothe man and the boy went hand in hand to the yard where ships werebuilt. Davy had never been there before, and great was his surprisewhen he saw a huge thing standing on dry land, with great pieces of woodof all shapes sticking round it, like the skeleton of a whale; butgreater still was his surprise when the fisherman said, "There, lad,that's the ship."

  "Well," exclaimed Davy, opening his large eyes to their widest, "itdon't look like one just now!"

  The fisherman laughed. "That's true, lad; but come--I'll explain;" andtaking Davy by the hand, he led him nearer to the "skeleton" of theship, and began to explain the names and uses of the different parts.

  "You see that long thick timber," he said, "that runs from this end,which is the `stern,' to that end, which is the `bow'--well, that is the`keel.' This post or beam that rises out of it here is the`stern-post,' and that one that rises up at the far end yonder is the`stem' or `cutwater.' These are the principal timbers of the vessel,and upon their strength the safety of a ship chiefly depends. Thesticks that you see branching out from the keel like deers' horns arecalled `ribs;' they are very strong, and the timbers that fasten themtogether at the top are called `beams.' Of course these pieces of woodare some of them far larger than any trees that you have ever seen; butif you examine them you will find that each timber and rib is made up oftwo or three separate pieces of wood, fastened very strongly together.When all the beams are fixed they will begin to nail the planks on tothe ribs; iron bolts are used for this purpose, but by far the greaternumber of the nails are made of wood. After this is done the seamsbetween the planks will be filled with oakum and the whole ship coveredover with pitch and tar, just in the same way as your father does to hisboat when she lets in water. Then the bottom of the ship will beentirely covered with sheets of copper, to prevent the wood worms fromdestroying it. These little rascals would eat through a ship's bottomand very soon sink it, but for the copper. Next, the deck is laid down,and the ship will be ready for `launching.' A ship's masts and riggingare always put in after she is launched. Now, lad, what d'ye think ofit?" said the fisherman as he walked home again with Davy. "The ship'sto be a `three-master' full-rigged, and is to go by the name o' the_Fair Nancy_."

  As he said this he smiled, patted the little boy on the head and lefthim. But Davy replied not a word to his friend's remarks. His curlyhead was stuffed quite full with the keel, timbers, ribs, beams,stern-post, planks, and cutwater of the _Fair Nancy_; he could notspeak, he found it difficult even to think, so he thrust his hands deepinto his pockets, sat down on the shank of an anchor, and stared out tosea. In half an hour he heaved a very deep sigh indeed, and said, "Oh!dear me, I wonder if I shall ever go to sea in the _Fair Nancy_!"

  Time flew on, and little Davy fished with his father, and worked for hismother, and paid many a visit to the building-yard, to watch theprogress of the ship--his ship, as he called it. He begged very hard,too, to be allowed to go in her when she should be ready for sea. Atfirst neither father nor mother would hear of it, but at last they beganto think that Davy would make a very good sailor, for certainly he wasan active obedient boy; so, although they did not say Yes, they were notnearly so determined as they used to be in saying No.

  The day of the launch was a great day at the seaport where Davy lived.The launch of a large ship is always a very interesting and wonderfulsight indeed; so that thousands and thousands of people flock from alldirections to see it. Whichever way Davy looked he saw crowds ofpeople, some on foot, some on horses, some on donkeys, and some incarriages, all streaming towards the one great point--the ship-builder'syard. It seemed quite like a holiday or a fair, and was such a bright,warm, sunny day that people'
s hearts felt far lighter than usual. Davysaw all this at a glance the moment he left home; and, throwing his rednightcap into the air, he gave one long loud hurrah! and ran away asfast as his heavy fishing-boots would let him.

  The ship was very different now from what it had been when he first sawit. There were four little masts put up in it, on which were hoistedgay and gaudy flags. Her "hull," or body, was now coppered and neatlypainted, while all the rubbish of the building-yard was cleared away, sothat everything looked neat and clean. The stocks, or framework onwhich she had been built, sloped towards the water, so that when theprops were knocked away from the ship, she would slide by her own weightinto the sea. Ships are always built on sloping stocks near to thewater's edge; for you can