Chapter 535 - 51: Steel Giant Ship (Part 2)
When the Spanish armed merchant ship approached this Steel Giant Ship, firing chain shots to destroy the mast and rigging, preparing to ravage this ’lamb to the slaughter’, the surging steam power would deliver a lifelong unforgettable lesson to them.
This lesson was exactly why Chen Zhou insisted on installing masts on the ship; he was eager to see those sea pirates looking as if they’d seen a ghost.
Just like that Spaniard caught a few years ago, his expression was truly remarkable when he saw that a flashlight could emit a strong beam just by pressing a button.
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Due to a shortage of thin iron plates, Chen Zhou’s plan to enclose the wooden hull with Iron Armor ultimately fell through.
To protect the core engine room as much as possible, he adopted a slightly more ’compromised’ approach by utilizing all the iron sheets sent as rewards to encase the engine room and the bow and stern.
17th-century cannonballs had very poor penetration, posing a strong threat to wooden hulls, but just a thin metal plate could reduce their lethality by eighty to ninety percent.
With sections of the streamlined hull wrapped in thin metal plates, the entire ship’s defensive capability would increase to a higher level. As long as it’s not too unlucky, it could withstand enemy fire and launch a counterattack.
As for the all-steel framework within the hull, it was even more indestructible.
It’s no exaggeration to say that as long as the ship wasn’t sunk on the spot by dense firepower and the engine remained undamaged, it could struggle back to the port wharf.
After some maintenance at the shipyard, in just a few days, it would be ’back to full strength’ and return to the battlefield.
The reassuring internal hull protected multiple mechanical structures, such as the condenser, ventilation duct, piping system, transmission crankshaft, propeller...
These interlinked mechanical systems convert steam thermal energy into mechanical energy, driving piston movement. The piston, connected to the crankshaft by connecting rods, converts linear motion into rotational power, thus driving the propeller.
Matching this complete steam power system is a set of gear assemblies used to adjust sailing direction and ship speed, assisting the Captain in maneuvering this large and heavy giant flexibly and controlling cruising speed.
Chen Zhou estimated that if the fuel room was filled with fuel and the sea conditions were relatively calm, without strong winds or waves, the ship’s maximum range should be about 260 kilometers.
With a tailwind, turning off the steam engine and using only sail power would increase the range considerably.
In this vast ocean, 260 kilometers was not much, but with navigation charts, it was enough to reach the next supply point for resupply.
Unfortunately, Chen Zhou, skilled in design and manufacturing, lacked understanding of the 17th-century historical development and world scene, and didn’t know Spanish.
In "Robinson Crusoe," the islands’ locations were never specifically described, and he never had intimate contact with the outside world.
These reasons caused the big ship he built not only to have a unique ’Scorpion Bite’ appearance, but also to be isolated navigation-wise. Once leaving this island, the Steel Giant Ship couldn’t find the next supply point.
Therefore, for the time being, shuttling between the Big Island and the Archipelago was essentially all the work this ship was doing. The hope of i’s venturing far across the sea to plunder wealth like the maritime overlords of the time was slim.
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The island didn’t produce coal, so the fuel for the Steel Giant Ship was high-quality charcoal.
To meet the needs of metallurgy and forging, Chen Zhou built three new charcoal kilns far from the residential area, one of which was dedicated to supplying fuel for the Steel Giant Ship.
From the beginning of the Steel Giant Ship’s construction until late December 1665, the charcoal produced from the kiln had piled up into a small mountain.
Chen Zhou specifically built a warehouse to store the charcoal, just waiting for the day when the Steel Giant Ship was completed and launched, so these fuels could be put to use.
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Equipped with a more advanced propulsion system and an excellent streamlined hull, when the sails were not raised, this Steel Giant Ship, over 30 meters long with a displacement of about 150 tons, could reach a speed of 22 kilometers per hour at full engine power.
In modern terms, this ship was basically a ’large horse pulling a small cart’.
The advanced power system of the era combined with the relatively small hull allowed the steam engine’s power to be fully utilized.
Chen Zhou was unaware of the speed of 17th-century sailing warships, but based on the descriptions in "Robinson Crusoe," where voyages often took one to two months, he speculated that 17th-century sailing ships, even with a tailwind, probably couldn’t reach 20 kilometers per hour.
If against the wind, without reversing, it would be good enough, and the speed would be as slow as a snail.
From this point of view, his Steel Giant Ship not only had an overwhelming advantage in defense, but also in speed and power, it was a total monster with maxed-out stats.
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Of course, no matter how strong the defense or how fast the ship was, without the addition of cannon, it was just a live target, albeit a tougher and faster live target.
Only by being strong in both offense and defense could it truly withstand one against three, or even one against five, to crush the enemy in naval battles and strike fear into their hearts.
However, ship construction was one thing, and weapon improvements were another.
Chen Zhou rummaged through all the information about modern artillery in his mind, carefully recalling the cannon structure he observed on the wrecked ship at the start of the challenge, and studied for a long time but still couldn’t find a suitable solution.
According to his ideal needs, since the Steel Giant Ship could crush all 17th-century sailing ships in defense, power, and speed, it shouldn’t fall behind in firepower.