A Topic In R&s About Noah's Ark Prompted The Thought, How Big Could A Wooden Ship Be?

[sandyRoe]

I believe the Chinese in the 15th Century sailed to East Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific Coast of America. But the wouldn't have needed large ships to complete those voyages.
The ships Columbus sailed in to reach the New World weren't that large, either.

[askyourgran]

I thought that when the Mary Rose was brought up from the sea bed in the 80's, considering that it was a warship with cannons, armoury and sailors it looked small. I often wondered about the convict ships that sailed to Australia they didn't look up to much either.

[Duncer]

I was on the Discovery when I visited Dundee, and I really couldn't believe how small and claustrophobic it was.

[emmie]

The Victory is small, though from the outside you wouldn't think so, cramped beyond belief. Think what it must have been like for slaves transported by ship, side by side like spoons, many dying on route, what an appalling way to treat people.
I remember seeing the remains of the Mary Rose, confess it didn't really look like much, but then she had been down in Davy Jones's locker for a long time.

[Duncer]

Only my good lady and I were aboard on the day, (it must have been a slow day for tourism in sunny Dundee), but it was still very cramped. I wouldn't have made much of a sailor I'm afraid.

[emmie]

i remembered this from an episode of Q1 with Stephen Fry

When the Pilgrim Fathers first arrived in America, the first thing that the Native Americans said to them was "Could I have some beer?" in English. Most of the Native Americans learnt their English from Squanto, a Native who travelled across the Atlantic Ocean 6 times. He was kidnapped to England, then brought back to America, he was kidnapped again and sold to slavery in Spain, before escaping to Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland, but he found it took too long to walk back, so he took a boat back to Ireland before returning to New England. The other famous Native, Samoset, learnt his English from fishermen.

[Buenchico]

A raft with a sail is all you need to get across an ocean:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon-Tiki

[askyourgran]

Kon Tiki must have been a really hard voyage, no-one seemed to be wanting to do that again. We went to see the replica of HM Bark Endeavour when it sailed into Whitby from Australia. That seemed quite small to think Captn Cook found his way around to the New World in it, compared to the gigantic ships we have now. When we were in Rhodes a really huge passenger liner moored outside Rhodes old Town, it towered above everything.

[parkie]

Don't forget the Mary Rose had been in water for some time, em.
It had obviously shrunk!!