Iron sailing ships

In second half of the 19th century the Naval construction, benefitting from technological advances, was put at construction in " FER". This construction, based on the riveting of plates on Frame S out of bent iron, made it possible to increase considerably the length of the ships while controlling the times of construction and their useful volume. The masts, very divided, were " simplifées" as far as to make could be, by having several identical masts in order to limit the number of sailors necessary to the maneuvre.

France, then very late on its partners as for his marine of trade (9th world rank in 1870), put at a policy promotion of transport to the veil by offering " primes" with construction then with the armament of iron sailing ships whose construction punctually became very interesting. Large French waterway transport companies (like the house Andre & Dominique Border, in Nantes) launched in less than thirty years more than 230 " Sailing with premium " who had specialized on the wearing of coal and cereals of the USA and nitrate of Chile. In the United States of America, they accepted the name of Down easter S because manufactured in the south-east of the country.

The First World War, the social laws, the fiabilisation of the motor boats (diesel vapor then) and their facility of provisioning in the ports rang the knell of these beautiful sailing ships, often Cap-hornier S, and whose role was limited, at the twentieth century, with becoming training ships for the training of the sailors, as well military as with the trade.

Sources

Nantes Cape-Horners

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