... — Wooden Warship Construction: A History In Ship

These lighter woods were reserved for masts and yards, as their flexibility allowed them to bend under high winds without snapping. The Skeleton: Ribs and Keel

To make the hull watertight, shipwrights hammered "oakum" (old, tar-soaked rope fibers) into the seams between planks. Wooden Warship Construction: A History in Ship ...

The mid-19th century marked the end of the era. The introduction of explosive shells made wooden hulls vulnerable to fire and catastrophic failure. While "Ironclads" initially used wood as a backing for iron plates, the rise of all-steel hulls eventually relegated wooden warship construction to the annals of history. These lighter woods were reserved for masts and

As ships grew larger, they faced the problem of "hogging"—the tendency for the heavy bow and stern to sag while the middle of the ship rose. In the early 1800s, British naval architect revolutionized construction by introducing diagonal bracing. This turned the ship’s hull into a rigid girder, allowing wooden ships to reach lengths previously thought impossible. The Twilight of Wood The introduction of explosive shells made wooden hulls

Construction began in the forest, not the dockyard. The choice of wood was a strategic decision:

Once the skeleton was set, it was covered in heavy oak planking. These planks were often steamed to make them pliable enough to follow the ship’s curves.