Chapter 517, There’s Actually Such Great Knowledge!

Translator: Silavin

 

The sunlight gradually poured over the surface of the Tribe, in a large wooden house near the riverside, Kuang was frowning whilst continuously looking at the blueprints in his hand. His face was drawn in extremely close, just short of pressing his face against them.

 

That large wooden house was built quite spaciously, with an exterior that did not differ greatly from ordinary wooden houses.

 

The main difference was that it had a separate small wooden house extension, which was the place for shipbuilding, and this wooden house was relatively close to the river, its appearance just like a shipyard from Earth.

 

This was specially built for Kuang, so that he could research shipbuilding with peace of mind inside.

 

Being so far away, the people of the Tribe would not disturb him, and the shipbuilding affairs would not be known so quickly by others.

 

Moreover, having the shipyard beside the great river had many benefits, as the finished ship could be directly launched into the water when completed.

 

He blinked his eyes pensively, muttering to himself. “Why does this need to be done this way? What’s the reason for doing it like this?”

 

These days he had been like this constantly, researching continuously after obtaining the blueprints.

 

Every day he slept very little, ate his meals hastily, with full concentration on the blueprints. He became more and more addicted, the entire person utterly obsessed with that shipbuilding blueprint.

 

Even though he could not understand much at first, he still read with great interest, and after looking for a long time, he worked out the reasons by himself.

 

He had yet begun to build the ship but placed all his focus on research.

 

Thinking that he should first research until he had some understanding before proceeding, so that when building the ship, he would not need to constantly look and research but could progress step by step without frequent pauses.

 

“Things from the Shaman are indeed amazing, truly not easy to research,” Kuang muttered to himself.

 

He loved this feeling too much, this was much more interesting than building wooden rafts, which did not require much mental effort, only technique. After all, those wooden rafts could only go to sea once, so there was no need to make them too fancy.

 

“But why does this step require erecting this pole? It looks quite unsightly and cumbersome,” Kuang scratched the back of his head.

 

There were many aspects of the ship’s structure he did not understand, completely unable to figure out why this part was designed this way, and that part another way, it was as complicated as solving a puzzle.

 

“Why does this part curve upwards? Wouldn’t that look rather odd? And isn’t it difficult to construct?” Kuang now began scratching his head with both hands, this was truly difficult.

 

His eyes never left the blueprints as he blindly reached for the water cup at the edge of the table, grabbing one at random and starting to drink.

 

“It seems I still need to ask the Shaman, only he would understand, I won’t waste more time.” Kuang murmured after finishing his water.

 

He felt that if he continued researching like this, who knows when he would figure it out.

 

Thinking of this, he stood up and carefully put away the blueprints, carrying them with him, preparing to go to the Yong’an Building to find Su Bai.

 

After all, he had been researching these blueprints for quite a long time, and was ready to start building the ship.

 

*Tap, tap, tap…* He had not taken two steps when the wooden door was opened by someone, and a figure appeared before him.

 

“How’s the research going? Any progress?” Su Bai asked directly.

 

He had returned from the greenhouse, and just happened to pass by Kuang’s shipbuilding cabin, so he walked in to see how far the progress had gone.

 

Thinking about the other party having questions, he could take this opportunity to explain some things.

 

“Shaman, I was just about to look for you, there are several parts I don’t understand,” Kuang immediately said.

 

Suddenly seeing the Shaman’s arrival left him somewhat flattered, so he immediately expressed his confusion.

 

He spoke very seriously, not caring if he might be called stupid, just saying whatever he had on his mind.

 

“The reason for erecting a pole in the middle of the hull is for the sail, and the ship needs to use the force produced by each side of the sail to move along the wind’s direction.”

 

Su Bai nodded as he listened, and continued to explain patiently, “The positive force from the windward side and the negative force from the leeward side combine to form a resultant force, both forces acting in the same direction.”

 

A sailing ship must have sails; a sailing ship was a vessel that moves forward using the power of wind, being an ancient form of water transportation after small boats and rafts, with over 5,000 years of history on Earth.

 

Since this was Kuang’s first time building a ship, Su Bai gave him blueprints for a sailing vessel, as this type of ship would be easier to build than others.

 

“So that’s how it is, this thing is used to harness the power of the wind. Now I understand,” Kuang’s face showed sudden comprehension.

 

Now he somewhat regretted his initial disdain for this component; at first, he had thought it superfluous and cumbersome, serving no real purpose, but unexpectedly it had such a significant function.

 

“As for what you mentioned about the bow needing to be this triangular shape, it’s for better forward movement.”

 

Su Bai pointed at the ship’s bow on the blueprint and continued explaining: “This structure is mainly to maintain balance, because the wind and waves at sea are very strong, and flat-bottomed boats can easily capsize and sink, while a pointed bow reduces water resistance during navigation, so it would not move too slowly.”

 

“I understand now, Shaman, you’re truly brilliant,” Kuang exclaimed in amazement, never imagining there could be so many intricacies involved, it was truly astounding.

 

“Is there anything else you don’t understand?” Su Bai wanted to resolve all of the other’s doubts at once, to expedite the shipbuilding process.

 

“Shaman, why is there this piece in the middle?” Kuang had many more questions.

 

“This is the keel. The keel is usually the first part of the hull to be built, and laying the keel is one of the most important aspects of shipbuilding.”

 

Su Bai took a pen and drew on the blueprint, continuing. “Besides bearing weight, the keel also has hydrodynamic functions, it increases the lateral area of the ship, improving the ship’s parallel resistance in water, preventing sideways turning from crosswinds.”

 

“Hydrodynamics?” Kuang frowned, his facial expression looking quite confused.

 

“Because this is especially important for sailing against the wind, in sailing ships the keel will be supported by diagonal braces from the middle or frame edge, and the keel is also important for the ship’s weight stability, reducing the ship’s tilting or reverse rotation. In short, this is the most important part of the ship. Su Bai explained earnestly.

 

He explained everything very clearly to ensure the other party would not make mistakes in construction, otherwise the ship could easily break apart during navigation.

 

“Shaman, I did not realise this component was so important! It’s fortunate that I asked you.” Kuang sighed with relief.

 

He had never imagined that shipbuilding would involve such great knowledge, it was truly enlightening.