History of Shipbuilding and Naval Architecture in Canada
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TRANSFORMATION SERIES 4 COLLECTION TRANSFORMATION HISTORY OF SHIPBUILDING AND NAVAL ARCHITECTURE IN CANADA Garth Wilson Transformation Series Collection Transformation "Transformation," an occasional paper series pub- La collection Transformation, publication en serie du lished by the Collection and Research Branch of the Musee national des sciences et de la technologie parais- National Museum of Science and Technology is intended sant irregulierement, a pour but de faire connaitre, le to make current research available as quickly and inex- plus vite possible et au moindre cout, les recherches en pensively as possible . The series presents original cours dans certains secteurs. 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'TT&M0ftMMffi0oM QoMP'c~'dom off(MMMOAom A History of Shipbuilding and - Naval Architecture in Canada Garth Wilson National Museum of Science and Technology Ottawa, Canada 1994 Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Wilson, Garth Stewart, 1960- A history of shipbuilding and naval architecture in Canada (Transformation series, ISSN 1188-2964; 4) Includes an abstract in French . Includes bibliographical references . ISBN 0-660-12022-4 1 . Shipbuilding - Canada - History. 2 . Naval architecture - History. I . National Museum of Science and Technology (Canada) II. Title. 111. Series. VM299.7C3W541995 623.8'2'0971 C95-980080-8 Contents Abstract / Resume . v Foreword / Avant-propos . vi Introduction . 1 Chapter 1 Shipbuilding in New France: An Overview . 3 Shipbuilding and Society in New France . 7 Ship Design and Construction in the 17th and 18th Centuries: The European Origins of Naval Architecture in Canada . 9 Wooden Ship Construction . 15 The Tools of Wooden Shipbuilding . 18 Chapter 2 Shipbuilding in 19th Century Canada: An Overview . 24 19th Century Steamship Construction in Canada . 28 Great Lakes Shipping and Shipbuilding in the 19th Century . 29 Shipbuilding and Society in 19th Century Canada . 32 Ship Design and Construction in 19th Century Canada: The Advancement of Science in Naval Architecture . 36 Chapter 3 Shipbuilding in 20th Century Canada: An Overview . 45 Shipbuilding and Society in 20th Century Canada . 59 Ship Design and Construction in 20th Century Canada: The Merger of Science with Industry . 62 Modern Naval Architecture in Canada . 65 The Design Process . 67 20th Century Ship Construction . 69 Conclusion The Canadian Context . 83 Shipbuilding and Canadian Society . 83 The Technology and Science of Shipbuilding . 84 Bibliography . 87 Acknowledgements / Remerciements . 93 iii Abstract Resume Ships and shipbuilding arrived in Canada along with Les navires et la construction des navires ont fait the first Europeans and represented some of the leur apparition au Canada en meme temps que les most striking and sophisticated examples of western premiers Europeens, figurant parmi les principales technology and culture. This study will examine the manifestations de la culture et de la technologie building and design of ships in Canada from the occidentales . La presente etude examine la construc- establishment of royal government in New France tion et la conception des navires au Canada depuis to the final decade of the twentieth century. Given the 1'etablissement du gouvernement royal a Quebec scope of this subject, what follows cannot hope, and jusqu'a la derniere decennie du vingtieme siecle . is not intended, to be all-inclusive. Instead, this Puisqu'il s'agit d'un sujet tres vaste, le present study is limited to the following objectives : to place ouvrage ne saurait etre exhaustif. Il porte plutot sur Canadian shipbuilding and naval architecture within des objectifs precis : situer la construction des navires the broader western tradition from which they evolved; et 1'architecture navale au Canada par rapport aux to explore the connection between science and ship- grandes traditions occidentales ; explorer le lien entre building; and, finally, to examine the historical con- la science et la construction des navires ; enfin, text and consequences of the building and design of examiner le contexte historique et les consequences ships in Canada. In serving these objectives, this study de la conception et de la construction des navires au focuses on large-scale shipbuilding, that is, the construc- Canada. Compte tenu de ces objectifs, la presente tion of large vessels used in important international etude se penche sur la construction des navires a trades or in support of significant national interests. grande echelle, c'est-a-dire sur la construction des However, the exclusion of small ship and boat construc- navires de fort tonnage destines au grand commerce tion should not be construed as a denial of the impor- international ou a la defense d'interets nationaux tant, ubiquitous role of small craft and coastal vessels importants . L'exclusion des petits bateaux et navires in Canadian maritime history. Rather, a more focused ne devrait pas etre interpretee comme un reniement study of large vessel building simply offers the best de 1'importance et du role omnipresent des petits and most coherent means of guaging the various navires cotiers dans 1'histoire maritime du Canada. Ce social and economic implications of shipbuilding, choix de la construction des navires de fort tonnage and examining the relationship between science and offre simplement la meilleure faigon d'evaluer de the technology of ship construction . fa4~on coherente les diverses repercussions sociales et economiques de la construction des navires et d'exa- miner le lien entre la science et la technologie en ce qui concerne la construction des navires. v Foreword Avant-propos When Canada has been an important participant in A 1'epoque oi:u le Canada joua un role de premier maritime affairs, as in the nineteenth century and at plan dans le domaine maritime, comme ce fut le cas times in the twentieth, the vessels used have over- au dix-neuvieme siecle et, pendant un certain temps, whelmingly been Canadian-built . Yet if there is a au vingtieme siecle, la grande majorite des navires neglected topic in Canadian maritime history it is ship- etaient construits au Canada. Or, s'il y a un aspect de building . This makes Garth Wilson's A History of 1'histoire maritime canadienne qui a ete fort neglige, Shipbuilding and Naval Architecture in Canada espe- c'est bien celui de la construction navale . C'est cette cially significant. Its importance rests in its synthe- lacune qui rend le livre de Garth Wilson A History of sis of a wide variety of sources. Before we can begin Shipbuilding and Naval Architecture in Canada par- to fill the lacunae in our knowledge about ship- ticulierement interessant. L'importance de cet ouvrage building, we need to understand the state of the art reside dans la synthese que nous fait 1'auteur de and the context in which relevant unanswered renseignements tires d'une multitude de sources . questions can be posed .