Cancer Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans Also to "freeze the balls off a brass monkey" is referred to as a nautical term. The brass monkey is a 9-pipped brass cannon ball holder; when it got cold enough' date=' the metal contracted and the balls wouldn't be as stable, and would roll off. Thus, cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. I can't vouch for the accuracy of either of these, but they do add a definate flavor.[/quote'] I've heard this expression before. One of my lifetime ambitions as a physics instructor is to assign the problem of computing the temperature at which the brass monkey's balls are frozen off. I haven't worked this out myself yet, though I set up the problem once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans Well, you're faced with two key elements. The diameter of the pips on the monkey and their total contraction, against the slower-contracting lead of the cannon balls and their stabilization based on the monkey proper. The monkey has to contract faster and more significantly than the cannon balls, and then you have to calculate the total area the cannons are covering, to reach ye olde critical mass. Do I understand the problem properly? Or am I missing something (other than the appropriate words)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans I've heard this expression before. One of my lifetime ambitions as a physics instructor is to assign the problem of computing the temperature at which the brass monkey's balls are frozen off. I haven't worked this out myself yet' date=' though I set up the problem once.[/quote'] Really? My ambition was to make a banana reach critical mass. I wanted to bombard it with enough neutrons until it acheived a nuclear reaction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glupii Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans I have wanted to do the same experiment for some time now though I prefer something less sentient then a Banana. Something like . . . . Tom Cruise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans Well, my brass-monkey ambition is about as adventurous as they let you get in a first-year physics course. Neutrons are upper-division. And I think cannonballs were cast iron, not lead. Minor detail, probably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans Oh' date=' on the subject of Tall Ships (I don't even know how I got to Ravenloft, but I want to contribute anyway). There's a bunch of sites if you do a Google search for "Man o' War" and "Ships of the Line" that cover basic masts & rigging for your nomenclature. I note this because you get much more flavor from using the terms "F'ocstle" and "Jiggermast" than simply "Bow," and "the sail on the front of the boat."[/quote'] "Man o' War" is more likely to get you sites about horse-racing. Also' date=' if you're building Ships of the Line, remember that they come in 6 basic varieties, from "1st ship of the line" to "6th ship of the line." The largest, the Man o' Wars, were multi-deck 100+ cannon affairs, with crews upwards of a six hundred (or easily more) men, most of whom were tired and bitter all the time.[/quote'] Shike019 was asking about galleons. This terminology is about two centuries too late, since it came in at about the tail end of the 18th century. There's also a site about Yachting that covers "shipman's terms" including "the whole nine yards" - which if you take their definition' date=' means dropping sail on all three yard-arms across all three masts, hence "the whole nine yards."[/quote'] Probably wrong, as it is generally considered to come from some tailoring/clothes-related source; there is some disagreement as to its exact provenance, though. Also to "freeze the balls off a brass monkey" is referred to as a nautical term. The brass monkey is a 9-pipped brass cannon ball holder; when it got cold enough' date=' the metal contracted and the balls wouldn't be as stable, and would roll off. Thus, cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. I can't vouch for the accuracy of either of these, but they do add a definate flavor.[/quote'] Absolutely false. There was no piece of shipboard equipment called a monkey (though the persons responsible for moving powder and shot to the cannons were called powder monkeys); not, at least, until after this false and euphemistic tale sprang up. The balls refered to are the testicles. It's merely a hyperbolical expansion on "cold enough to freeze your balls off," an expression I've heard often enough. He also covers "shake a leg" - now just ask yourself "who's leg" and you've got the idea. Directly related is "son of a gun" for a child born aboard ship. Oh dear, even more folk etymology. Sigh. No, "shake a leg" merely means to get your feet (and legs) moving; it has nothing to do with shaking your penis after urinating. And "son of a gun" was not the response of some NCO when asked who was the father of a bastard baby found hidden away on board ship; it's simply a euphemism for "son of a wh0re" that has the "advantage" of rhyming. BTW, "son of a b1tch" is itself a euphemism. I also suggest you know how to keel-haul people. Always a useful skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans I'd like to recommend Langton Miniatures as well - they do some really great 1:1200 scale Napoleonic sailing ships, square riggers and whatnot. A bit expensive, but very pretty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans Horatio Hornblower http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Hornblower Age of Sail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_sail Ship of the line http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_the_line Piracy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate List of pirates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pirates Piracy in the Caribbean http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy_in_the_Caribbean#Boysie_Singh_.26mdash.3B_a_20th_Century_Pirate Rating system of the Royal Navy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rating_system_of_the_Royal_Navy Best Scale Models http://www.bestscalemodels.com/cgi-bin/cart/store.cgi Frigate - Google Images Search http://images.google.ca/images?q=Frigate&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images Start with the "Name" and "Class" of Ship. Then use "Deck Plans", "Models", and Google Images. More Later QM Shike019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans It seems a similar subject came up a few months ago. Curufea was kind enough to supply us with maps of a few 17th century sailing ships. You'll find it all at: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39213 Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mackinder Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans http://www.all-model.com Selection of downloadable ship plans. I highly recommend 'Roter Lowe' in the freebie section - had the images enlarged and printed to A0 size, then laminated, for my '7th Sea' campaigns. The result is BEAUTIFUL, and close enough to 25mm scale as to make no differance at all. ----------------------------------------- http://www.burningsea.com 'Pirates of the Burning Sea' is a very interesting looking MMORPG. Check 'Screenshots' and 'Ship Info' (in the 'Game Info' section) for exterior images of a wide range of sailing vessels, from yachts and sloops to galleons and xebecs to Napoleonic frigates. No proper deckplans as such, but worth a look. ----------------------------------------- Incidentally, does anybody knows of where one can find deckplans of a Bao Chuan (Chinese "Treasure Ship" of the early 1400s)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shike019 Posted March 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans Thanks Ian. I'll need some of those to figure out the dimensions of the masts. I'll post pics when I'm doent with it. (before my wife starts to pait it. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans Basil: I just said they add flavor. I know better than to believe anything I read on the internet. And 'shake a leg' he refers to is prostitutes, to know who's in which hammock. Again, all great for flavor, and I did import the brass monkey to my fantasy game because it's cooler that way. I do appreciate the feedback, though, I am (hopefully obviously) not trying to mislead anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans Basil: I just said they add flavor. I know better than to believe anything I read on the internet. And 'shake a leg' he refers to is prostitutes' date=' to know who's in which hammock. Again, all great for flavor, and I did import the brass monkey to my fantasy game because it's cooler that way. I do appreciate the feedback, though, I am (hopefully obviously) not trying to mislead anyone.[/quote'] Sorry If I came across harsher than I intended. It's just that false derivations of sayings are a sore point with me. BTW, the "leg instead of penis" false derivation for "shake a leg" is one I've heard/read elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans You came across like the broad side of a man o' war. Subtle! Very nice. Again, don't even worry about it, just basic crossed wiring, I wasn't misleading anyone and you were just making sure everyone was clear on what meant what. I'm down with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bik Britelite Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: Tall Ship Plans Probably wrong' date=' as it is generally considered to come from some tailoring/clothes-related source; there is some disagreement as to its exact provenance, though.[/quote'] Not to totally hijack the thread but I thought "The whole nine yards" was in referrence to the length of a belt of ammunition. When you were told to 'give 'em the whole nine yards,' it meant to unload all of your ammo on the enemy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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