RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS OF RECONSTRUCTING THE ANCIENT GREEK TRIREME WARSHIP

The ancient trireme warship, propelled by oars arranged in three levels is described including oar mechanics, structure, hullform, stability and performance. The attested performance under oar is seen to be at the practical limit set by the materials of the time, demanding an extreme design whose slender hull relied critically upon details of the timber structure. Building and sea-trials of OLYMPIAS, an operating replica of an Athenian trireme, are appraised. Summaries of performance achieved are given, recommended modifications are described and general conclusions are offered.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • SNAME Annual Meeting; 1-2 Nov 1990; San Francisco, Ca, USA. Sponsored by SNAME. Preprints of Technical Sessions. Published by SNAME, ppr n 8, p 8-1 [21 p, 11 ref, 5 tab, 20 fig]
• Authors:
  • Coates, J F
• Publication Date: 1990

Language

• English

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: History
• Old TRIS Terms: Human powered craft
• Subject Areas: History; Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00699597
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: British Maritime Technology
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 14 1995 12:00AM