NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Zheng He steered by the stars?
From: Peter Fogg
Date: 2002 Nov 25, 12:26 +1100
From: Peter Fogg
Date: 2002 Nov 25, 12:26 +1100
Rodney Myrvaagnes wrote: > Do you mean each junk had 9 masts? It would be a wonder if they got > anywhere. > I have a line drawing in front of me, and am tempted to include it as a small jpeg file, alas this is not encouraged here - consider it available on request. It shows the 9 masts, the funny thing is that they do not appear to be all vertical. I don't know whether this is artistic license, in order to display them all, or if some masts may have been off-set to better catch the available wind. As is typical with junk-rigged masts, they appear to be unstayed - without shrouds. At 122 metres long by 27 metre wide (about 403 x 90 feet) they were not much smaller than an aircraft carrier. As for not getting anywhere, junks sail well despite their clumsy appearance. Some people still prefer junk rigging over more modern designs, it has a number of advantages as a crusing rig.
