Wisconsin's Great Lakes Shipwrecks

Frames

The transverse strengthening members in a ship's hull that extend from the keel to the deck or gunwale. In the image at right, the frames are readily apparent and the outer hull planking is buried beneath the sand. The ceiling planking is missing entirely.
Image from the wreck of the Fleetwing.

Deck Beam

A timber mounted athwartships (transversely) to support decks and provide lateral support. This photograph was taken from inside the hold of a schooner; there are two deck beams running from the left side of the image to the right.
Image from the wreck of the Lumberman.

Centerboard Trunk

The watertight housing that contains the centerboard. In the image at right, archaeologists measure an intact centerboard trunk. Image from the wreck of the Lucerne.

Caprail

A timber attached to the top of a vessel's frames. In this image, the caprail is to the far right and lying perpendicular to the bottom. The entire structure in this image is called the bulwarks (the side of a vessel above its upper deck). It is no longer upright, but has fallen over 90 degrees; its outboard side is lying in the sand. Image from the wreck of the Fleetwing.

Outer Hull Planking

The outer lining, or shell, of a ship's hull. In the image at right, a large section of the ship's hull has broken loose and flipped over. The outer hull planking is the series of planks that are most apparent. The frames are running perpendicular and beneath the planking. If you look closely, you can see a couple ceiling planks at the bottom of the image. Image from the wreck of the Christina Nilson.

Keel

The main longitudinal timber of most hulls, upon which the frames, deadwoods, and ends of the hull are mounted; the backbone of the hull. Image from the drawing of the Claflin Point wreck.

Hanging Knee

A vertical angular timber, shaped somewhat like human knees, used to support a deck beam. In the image at right, the top of the hanging knee in the foreground is broken off; those in the background are intact. The deck beams are missing. Image from the wreck of the Lucerne.

Ceiling Planking

The internal planking of a vessel. In the image at right, the fasteners used to attach the ceiling planks to the frames can be seen clearly in foreground. Image from the wreck of the Ida Corning.

Sister Keelson

An auxiliary keelson fastened along side the main keelson to add additional longitudinal strength. In the image at right, the sister keelson is the smaller timber running along side (to the left of) the larger main keelson. Notice the frames passing under the sister keelson and the outer hull planking beneath the frames. Image from the wreck of the Fleetwing.

Keelson

An internal timber, or line of timbers, mounted atop the frames along the centerline of the keel to provide additional strength to the hull. In the image at right, the keelson is the large timber that runs through the bottom of the image. Notice also the frames that pass underneath the keelson. Image from the wreck of the Fleetwing.

Centerboard

A wooden slab housed in a casing or trunk along the centerline of a sailboat; may be lowered to increase the boat's resistance to sideways motion and raised when the boat is in shallow water or beached. Image from the wreck of the Fleetwing.

Explore a Hull Model in Two Ways

See the major parts of a schooner hull in a rotating animation.

Windows Media | Quicktime

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Move your mouse over the image below to learn more about the schooner's different parts.