1. Historic Ships, 5th
– 6th
December 2018, London, UK
© 2018: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects 1
AT THE ORIGINS OF SHIPBUILDING TREATISES: JOSEPH FURTTENBACH AND
THE ARCHITECTURA NAVALIS
M Corradi and C Tacchella, University of Genoa, Italy
SUMMARY
In the XVII century, when one of the naval culture development center was focused mainly in the Mediterranean area,
disciplines such as geometry, mathematics, static and hydrodynamics had not yet been studied and early naval
architecture treatises were still influenced by empirical and descriptive knowledge typical of an oral rather than a
scientific tradition. Precisely is in this context that, in 1626, that Joseph Furttenbach (1591 - 1667) published
Architectura Navalis in Ulm. In his treatise he provides a summary of technical descriptions and a detailed account of
the construction of sailing boats, according to the Italian way of building, based on direct observation of shipyards.
Furttenbach relies on geometric drawings and a metric system of proportions to describe these techniques. Exactly for
this reason, the Architectura Navalis is considered one of the first shipbuilding treaties, and it has been used as a model
for many authors of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century.
1. INTRODUCTION
It is very hard to trace a history of the treatises origins in
naval field, particularly in shipbuilding discipline. This is
because it requires a thorough examination of many
manuscripts dating back to different eras and written in
different languages. The low number of these finds is due
to a shipwrights and shipbuilders “jealousyˮ: they
preferred to pass on their knowledge to a limited students
number in oral or practical way rather than to produce a
handwritten or printed documentation. In the
Mediterranean area the shipbuilding tradition was in the
hands of a few actors and the information transmission
took place in the few existing shipyards, both for the
most modest transport naos and for the most impressive
ships like galleys, galleons or later vessels. The
Mediterranean basin, the Spanish and French Atlantic
coasts, the North Sea rather than the Baltic were the
gyms where these builders showed their expertise as
“naval architectsˮ. The vast ocean was still unexplored,
and the naval geopolitics concentrated almost entirely in
the Mediterranean area, where economic, political and
religious interests were met, the latter between the
Christian and the Muslim world led by the Turkish
Empire. For these reasons the center of the naval culture
development was centered in the Mediterranean, where
the need for trade and war required the continuous ships
construction.
2. AT THE ORIGINS OF SHIPBUILDING
TREATISES
Galley was the main ship using by all the fleets and its
development required technical skills to cope with the
Turkish danger. The Nautica mediterranea [1] is one of
the first treatises of the time, it was written by
Bartolomeo Crescenzio (16th century) and maybe it is
the first text that try to explain how to build a ship, in
particular the galley. It could be considered an archetype
of the treaties published in the following century by
Robert Dudley (1574 – 1649) [2], Paul Hoste (1652 –
1700) and Fredrik Henrik af Chapman (1721 – 1808) [3].
Likewise the coeval treatises remains anchored to the
description rather than to the technical illustration:
Thomé Cano (c.1580 – post 1618) [4], Ithier Hobier
(17th century) [5], Joseph Furttenbach (1591 – 1667) [6],
George Fournier (1595 – 1652) [7], Isaac Voss (1618 –
1689) [8] witness it.
New horizons were opened to the African coasts thanks
to Prince Henry the Navigator (1394 – 1460) and to the
West thanks to Cristoforo Colombo (1451 – 1506). The
Atlantic was no longer the end of the world or the house
of sea monsters, and the shipbuilding opened a new era
of its history. The discovery of material resources such as
copper, silver and gold caused a rapid movement of
people in the new continent and consequently it was
necessary to renew the fleets because naos, cogs and
carracks were no longer adapted to travel in the Atlantic
Ocean. The new routes required larger and more resistant
ships, which were equipped with massive sailing
armaments and that were able to transport large
quantities of goods. These complex ships required not
only technical knowledge related to construction, but
also scientific skills related to geometry, mathematics,
static and hydrodynamics. This is in contrast with a well-
established tradition of the master carpenters who are not
accustomed to sudden changes but they are instead
anchored to their knowledge and traditions.
In the seventeenth century the bases of these disciplines
had not yet been laid and the first naval architecture
treatises were influenced by those empirical and
descriptive knowledge typical of an oral rather than a
scientific tradition. In fact, in the first manuscripts that
dealt with this theme we felt the intention to transpose
the corpus of empirical knowledge through drawings and
descriptive tables of the components of these complex
machines that were the vessels [9]. The Construction des
Vaisseaux du Roy [10] of 1691, the Description du
vaisseau le Royal Louis (Marseille: Charles Brebion,
1677) of the Commissioner of the Port of Toulon Laurent
Hayet (17th century) or the Proporciones ... para la
Fabrica de Navios, by José Antonio de Gaztañeta e
Iturribalzaga (1656 - 1728) [11] are texts still linked to

2. Historic Ships, 5th
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December 2018, London, UK
© 2018: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects2
practical knowledge of shipbuilding that Giovanni Santi
Mazzini (1941 - 2014) calls “the knowledge of the naval
anatomyˮ. This is the setting of the naval architectural
treatise by Joseph Furttenbach, which will be the
forerunner of a renewal of the treatises in the naval field,
and which will find its epigones in William Keltridge
(17th century) [12], naval carpenter, Edward Battine
(17th century) [13], illustrator, le Sr. Dassié (François
Dassié, 17th century) [14], Nicolaes Witsen (1641 -
1717) [15], Johannes Van Keulen (1654 – 1715) [16],
Carel Allard (1648 - 1709) [17], Cornelis van Yk (16th-
17th century) [18], Stefano de Zuanne de Michel (17th
century), Viceproto de’ Marangoni at Venice Arsenal
[19]. Then again Henri Sbonski de Passebon (1637 -
1705) [20], that defined himself as “Lieutenant d’une des
Galeres du Roy” in the title page of his work, and then
the Jesuit and mathematician Paul Hoste, that will give a
great impulse to a renewal of the science and techniques
of shipbuilding with his treatises Thèorie de la
construction des vaisseaux… and L’art des armées
navales ou Traité des evolutions navales edited in Lyon
by Anisson & Posuel (1697), taking care to indicate and
theorize the path for the development of a discipline
based on scientific bases: naval architecture.
Nevertheless in his treatise Ship Models [21] Brian
Lavery writes: «As ships became much larger and more
complex, it was necessary to use scale plans in their
construction. In building a small coastal vessel it might
be possible to carve a model of a hull and scale it up to
form the shape of the real vessel. With large ships, from
about 1580 onwards, the plan was needed to construct
both ship and model … some of the earliest plans were
produced in Venice in the sixteenth century. (…) The
first known English plans are those in Matthew Baker’s
manuscript ‘Fragment of Early English Shipwrightry’
(and) the clearest set of seventeenth century plans comes
from Anthony Deane’s ‘Doctrine of Naval Architecture’
of 1670. The ‘Keltridge draughts’, plans of seven ships,
drawn by William Keltridge are dated 1684».
The eighteenth century will testify to these changes
thanks to the contributions of William Sutherland (1668 -
1740) [22], Pierre Bouguer (1698 - 1758), Henri Louis
Duhamel du Monceau (1700 – 1782), Marmaduke
Stalkartt (1750 - 1805) [23], Fredrik Henrik af Chapman,
Honoré-Sébastien Vial du Clairbois (1733 - 1816) [24],
Jorge Juan y Santacilia (1713 - 1773) [25], who were
able to understand Hoste’s lesson and develop this new
discipline based on mathematics and drawing. These
authors will tread the path to the new discipline that
thanks to the mathematicians will become Naval Science.
For the excellence of their contributions we recall Pierre
Bouguer (1698 –1758), Charles Bossut (1730 – 1814),
Johann I Bernoulli (1667 – 1748), Leonhard Euler (1707
– 1783). In 1805 David Steel (1763 - 1803) published a
synthesis of the experiences of the previous century and
mature treatise on the wooden shipbuilding of the past in
the text The Elements and Practice of Naval Architecture
[26].
3. THE MULTIFACETED GERMAN
SCHOLAR JOSEPH FURTTENBACH
The German mathematician, architect and engineer,
perhaps an alchemist [27] Joseph Furttenbach (1591 -
1667) [28] was a man with vast speculative horizons
[29]. His scientific and practical interests also turned to
the field of military architecture, pyrotechnics and scenic
(theatre and set design). However, in this note he is
remembered for his treatise Architectura Navalis
published in Ulm in 1629 [30]. He was born in Leutkirch
(Schwaben), near Ulm. Here his father Hieronymus
Furttenbach (1539 – 96) was a magistrate, later became
an architect of the city of Ulm, then administrator and
then senator of the city.
Joseph Furttenbach was the twentieth son and he was
started as a merchant, which is why he spent a long time
in Italy (perhaps from 1607/08 to 1620 or, according to
other authors, from 1605 to 1625). Initially he went to
Milan to learn Italian, then to Florence, where he
attended training courses in mercantile activity with his
relatives, and also in Genoa, where he worked on
shipbuilding. The stay in Italy stimulated the curiosity of
the young Joseph pushing him to take an interest in
architecture, theatre and stage technology, but
nevertheless of pyrotechnics and artillery (“Arte de la
Bombardieri”) with the help of Ambrosio Cusano (17th
century) commander of the Bombardiers of the Republic
of Genoa [31], of military architecture under the
guidance of the architect and military engineer Paolo
Rizio (17th century) [32] “Ingenier Maggior del Re di
Spagna, & Architecto della Serenissima Republica di
Genova” [33]. He also participated in the courses of the
Academy of Art of the architect, mathematician,
engraver and stage designer, Giulio Parigi (1571 - 1635)
in Florence. His interest in Italian architecture is evident
from the descriptions of Strada Nuova in Genoa «whose
delicate architecture to the modern considers
incomparable in Europe» [34]. Among other things, he
also came into contact with Galileo Galilei (1564 –
1642), from whom he received the model of an endless
screw and other mechanical instruments [35]. He
returned to Leutkirch in 1620 and the following year he
moved to Ulm where he worked in a merchant company.
In 1623 he married Anna Katharina Strauss (1598 -
1680). In 1627 he published the diary of his trip to Italy
entitled Newes Itinerarium Italiae (Ulm, 1627), which
was one of the most widespread and read travel journals
in seventeenth-century Germany. In 1631 he was
appointed Architect of the Town Hall of Ulm and took
care of the maintenance of city fortifications and public
buildings. As a municipal architect, he designed and built
a hospital, a bathhouse and a water supply elevator, an
Italian-style theater, fortifications, bridges, gardens,
various school buildings, housing for the military and
plans to expand the town. Thanks to his project for the
fortification of Ulm was built one of the fortresses that
was never conquered during the Thirty Years War [36].

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Surely the stay in Liguria has left a very strong trace in
the memory of the young Furttenbach, in fact his text of
1663 shows examples of the Ligurian coast during the
explanation of the trilateration in geometry and for the
use of the compass in navigation. During his stay in Italy,
he visited Genoa [37] where he learned of “l’arte di
costruire navigliˮ as Rondelet [38] would say. Beginning
with the study of shipbuilding in Genoa, as an observer
and skilled in design, on the basis of his observations and
the elements gathered in the Genoa construction sites, he
published the Architectura Navalis [39], which was the
first compendium on the art of shipbuilding based on the
direct experience of the shipyard. This was the occasion
to write one of the first modern treatises on shipbuilding
used in Italy. In fact, his book is one of the first
“modern” works on shipbuilding, especially on ships
built and used in Italy, especially in the area of the
Genoese in the late 16th century [40], and it is also the
first document in which the word “naval architecture”
appears.
The shipbuilding treatise is him most famous and
widespread opera. It was imitated and copied, especially
in the Netherlands, by numerous coeval authors as the
Dutch cartographer and engraver Nicolaes Witsen [41],
the scion of a family of naval carpenters in Amsterdam
Cornelis van Yk [42], and the Dutch art dealer,
cartographer and engraver Carel Allard [43]. In 1719 the
paper L’art de bâtir les vaisseaux et d’en perfectionner la
construction was published in Amsterdam by David
Mortier, and it summarizes in a single text the Witsen
Van Eyk (Yk) e Allard treaties [44].
4. JOSEPH FURTTENBACH AND THE
GENOESE SHIPBUILDING
During his stay in Italy, especially in Genoa, Furttenbach
studied the Mediterranean ships, particularly galleys and
galleons, but also brigantines, feluccas, frigates, etc.
(Figure 1, 2) These studies stimulated his technical and
mathematical skills so that he elaborated his idea of naval
architecture basing on the Genoese ships. In his
shipbuilding treatise Furttenbach gives many technical
descriptions about the Italian sailboat constructions. The
treaty also has several illustrations with a pleasant
graphic style that will make school. As we have already
said, the shipbuilding art was in the hands of few
shipwrights, whom kept their secrets with jealousy.
Furttenbach observes and analyzes their methods and
then he describes these techniques with the geometric
drawing using a metric system of proportions. For these
reasons the Architectura Navalis is considered one of the
first shipbuilding treatises and it was used as a reference
model by many later authors in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries [45]. Furthermore, Furttenbach
writes that in his treatise are shown “méthodes
infaillibles et certainesˮ that he learned during visits to
the Italian shipyards. He also writes that the contact with
shipwrights helped him to find the ships right
proportions. The geometry becomes a interpretation and
transmission tool of the knowledge and also a way to
translate the ancient knowledge in “recipes” useful to
develop the shipbuilding art. This paper represents one of
the largest compendiums of naval technique through the
scale drawings of sections and longitudinal, transversal
and perspective views and thanks to the constructive and
descriptive details. It is interesting to note the use of
Italian words to describes ships or part of them. This is
the testimony that many words of shipbuilding did not
have a translation in German yet.
Figure 1, 2: in the Newes Itinerarium Italiae Furttenbach
describes ships built in the Genoese arsenal: ship, vessel,
galley, brigantine, feluccas, frigate, polacre and rowboat
[pp. 210-211]. In the figures we can see a “barchetta”
(Furttenbach: figure 23 and 24) with the ship and oar
main dimensions measured in Genoese palms.
5. THE JOSEPH FURTTENBACHʼS
ARCHITECTURA NAVALIS
Furttenbach has an encyclopaedic and descriptive intent
as we can understand by the first general considerations
that he makes about the ship categories and by the
detailed description of some of them. The first distinction
concerns the types of ships (probably those that he saw
during his stay in Italy): ships with oars «these are

4. Historic Ships, 5th
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galleys, galeazze, galeotte, brigs, feluccas, frigates, leudi,
small boats, flat boats, ships that can be moved even
without wind by the men power». These ship also had
masts and sails. The other type of ship is formed by those
moved only by the propulsion of the wind: «galley,
brigantine, feluccas, frigate, polacre, tartans, etc.» [46].
They are all typically Mediterranean and Ligurian ships.
The first treaty part and the first seven engravings are
dedicated to the galley description. When Furttenbach
wrote the treatise, there were no texts that spoke of the
galleys construction. The two principal works are: De la
construction d’une gallaire… (Paris: Denis Langloys,
1622) wrote by Ithier Hobier, and Orbis Maritimi (1643)
wrote by Claudio Bartholomeo Morisoto (1592 - 1661),
in which it is written about “Nova Triremis, quam
dicimus, Galere” [47]. There were also a few other
shipbuilding treaties written in Italy at the end of the
sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth century
[48]; among all, the Furttenbachʼs treatise is the most
interesting because of the study of the techniques to trace
the ship shapes used the beginning of the seventeenth
century.
Both from Furttenbach and its peers, the galley was
considered one of the most important rowing boats
because it was possible to use it in the best conditions
both in case of peace and war. Because of its value,
Furttenbach painstakingly describes the exact dimensions
of a wooden hull that he saw during construction and
then underway with excellent results. The galley was not
only a versatile ship, useful for both military and
mercantile purposes, but it was also a majestic and
dignified ship, it was a castle in the sea that witnessed the
maritime power of the fleet. For this reason, in addition
to flames and banners, the galley rose up the Captain flag
and the Kingʼs or Princeʼs Weapons [49]. When
Furttenbach wrote this treatise, the cannon was already
part of the war potential of the galley that was armed
with a cannon forward in a central position, flanked by
two pieces of artillery called moiane firing a 10-pound
iron ball and two other pieces called petrieri firing a 9-
pound stone ball. Below each battery cannon were two
rectangular openings each containing a wheel on which
ran a cable that was used to relocate the gun in the
correct position. Overall there were twenty-seven thwarts
for rowers: on each wall, there were five men for oars.
The 54 oars were moved by 270 men. Likewise, an
ordinary galley had 25 oars on the left and 26 on the
right, that is, 51 oars and 255 oarsmen, and it was
sometimes possible to see 6 oarsmen, as the author says
in the text. The Captain was assisted by a Counselor, an
elderly and experienced pilot, a scribe, a doctor and a
chaplain. At the Captain command there were six sailors
assigned to the foreman manoeuvres, while another ten
sailors guarded the prisoners. In addition, 10-15 young
adventurers were embarked to begin their sea practice.
Then again in the galley there were a carpenter, two
coopers, two caulkers for caulking the boat and plug any
leaks or water infiltrations, two hubs or prisoners in
charge of bringing objects from the bottom of the cove
onto the upper deck, two cooks, two hubs, a barber and
four shipwrights.
In the event of a battle, a corporal and 50 soldiers must
be on board for the ordinary guard, and other 100
fighting soldiers; during the navigation they had to
remain crouched among the oars, taking care not to
intrude the rowing. The crew was generally composed
half by Turkish or Moorish slaves, and half by Christian
prisoners condemned by the courts. To ensure
orderliness, there were two Comes forward and aft the
central gangway; they controlled the rowers using a
whistle and sometimes a long whip with which they hit
those who did not row in time. Because of the hard
conditions of life on board, many convicts died during
the navigation. The detailed description of the galley
shows the attention that the author had, writing this
important work. Generally the length of a galley was 180
palms (about 44.64 meters) [50]; the galley had a tapered
shape like a fish and according to the most experienced
shipwrights, it had to imitated the dolphin shape: the bow
represented the head while the stern was the tail, the ribs
formed the body, the rudder was the moving part of the
tail and the oars were the fins. The galley had two masts
with theirs yards to rise up sails in windy conditions.
Five types of wood were used for construction: oak, elm,
fir, beech and walnut. Observing the tables that illustrate
the text we can learn interesting information such as the
exact point from which the ship body can be defined as
bow or stern, where are the points of greatest hull size
and still the position of the various ribs. Every single
constructive element is described and accompanied by
the metric referring to the Genoese time measurement
units. In the text it is also shown where the mast can be
placed in order to be able to completely disappear from
view during combat, i.e. in correspondence with the
central gangway. The gangway was simply a long, very
sturdy wooden box, the front of which was reserved for
the gangway cannon; the latter was a culverin or a
cannon, placed on a carriage without wheels and resting
on slides equipped with grooved guides. The gangway
was the place reserved for the Comes and could also
serve as a walk for the slaves. Moreover, during the night
it served as a guard post that had to control the prisoners
and avert any attempts to escape. Finally, among the
many advantages that the central gangway offered, one
was the deposit of the tent, a thick canvas that was used
to cover the prison and protect the crew from the sun and
rain. The galley description is enriched with symbols that
indicate the precise position of nine openings, which in
order starting from stern, indicated: the scagnielo
(lockers, or extreme aft part), the Great Cabin, the lagusa
(gunners’ store), two store rooms (with provisions,
supplies…), powder magazine and the other three
openings were sails, cables, spare parts and other
equipment rooms. These openings were closed by doors
so that the waves would not penetrate inside the galley in
case of rough seas.

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The Author then describes the individual parts that form
the structural members of the galley: the mast step, the
main beam (that is a oak curved nailed and caulked board
positioned almost in the middle of a ship on which the
deck was placed) followed by always smaller beams
towards the stern and towards the bow; the stern giogo
(yokes: two wooden beam, placed one forward and the
other aft of a galley, with the lower shape dug as an arch
to lean perfectly against the deck and they form the width
of the whole galley); the bow giogo (with the same shape
as the previous one); the first garida (it is a wooden arch
necessary to enter the stern and it is placed on the giogo),
and the second garida that is fixed on the dragante
(wing-transom: a wooden beam with a central height
greater than the sides). The two garide were joint with a
joist previously arranged between them and with another
eight arches fixed on the stern walls. Later, on these
bows were placed on flexible latte (broad thin beams
which support the deck of a galley) that were going to
form a kind of perforated canopy that could be covered
with a strong canvas to protect from the rain. The Author
divides the galley body in three parts: the stem with a
somewhat rounded shape, the central part or keel; the
stern post. The keel is a large oak beam composed of
several pieces joined together; it is placed on two pegs
stuck in the ground and it is the first piece that was made
in the galley construction. At its ends were fixed the stern
post and stem. The latter are described in the treatise in a
precise way, both through their dimensions and
geometrically, even indicating the method of tracking.
The stamenali (ribs) did not have all the same width: the
forward part of the galley had to bear a greater weight
than the stern because of the cannons and the anchors,
and the hull had to be a little more prominent in the bow
than aft to cleave the waves better, ensuring greater
stability in navigation. Nevertheless, as Furttenbach
underlines, an excess of forward width made the galley
heavy for rowing. At the far end, there was an element
that connected the spur to the stem, it was the cutwater;
as the name says, its function was that of cut the waves to
make the ship go faster. The first rib was the largest and
it was made by three pieces of wood: the bottom was
placed on the keel, and it was called madiere or matera
(floor-timber) and it is extends to its ends with two
curved wooden beams called scalmi. Like the other ribs
also the matere and the forcacci (fourcats: bow and stern
ribs with fork shape) change and become smaller and
closer to their base moving away from the centre of the
galley. In a galley there were 162 ribs: 32 aft fourcats, 34
aft matere, 26 aft ribs, 26 bow ribs, 29 bow matere and
15 bow fourcats. The rising of the aft floor timbers is
called in Italian stella verso poppa and similarly the
rising of the bow floor timbers is called in Italian stella di
prua. These ribs had a base to rise up on the keel; this
base was a piece of wood fixed to the ribʼs bottom. The
floor timber of the last matera was called in Italian dente
di poppa (literally: stern tooth). The fourcats had a “Yˮ
shape and it was recommended to extract them from a
piece of single wood cut from carefully selected trees. If
the piece with the desired dimensions was not found in
nature, the carpenters resigned themselves to building
them in the workshop. The 32nd fourcat was fixed to the
Inner sternpost and in Italian it was called bastardella or
culatta (breech), expressions that indicate well how the
galley actually terminated at this point. The fourcats were
positioned on the keel after the 34th matera. The
sternpost was fixed to the keel and it had this shape: a
inner sternpost was placed on the keel and on the
sternpost; it was solidly joined to these two pieces and
kept them tightly tied head to head. The inner sternpost
was a bent pieces of wood fixed with a robust nailing.
The fourcats are very sharp near the base and they were
filled with wooden blocks that then went to support the
plank. The contro-ruota di prua (inner stem) was divided
in 15 parts, each of which had to be occupied by one bow
fourcats (without base). On the two side, the galley stern
had lateral walls called impavesate or muraglie. Then,
there was a transversal wall linked to the sternpost and to
the fasciame (planks), called dragante (wing-transom);
Its purpose was to support the aft part of the hull. Outside
there was a balustrade and above the roof or tent. On the
side of the wall were generally painted historical fights
scenes for decorative purposes.
With the term chiavi (struts) were indicated wooden
beams that transversely reinforced the bottom of the
galley; they joined the two sides of the body and were
nailed to the ribs. The fist strut was in front of the main
bow rib, and it was a large table against which the heel of
the main mast and the bilge rafters passed. Next to each
of them there was a small square prop stuck in the
contro-chiglia (back of the keel), which served to support
the struts themselves as well as the upper middle beams,
the gangway and the deck. These beams were contained
in the bow part of the galley body forming a large hold
without other subdivisions. On the contrary, aft of the
mast, there are five struts and as many props, where
some walls of boards divided the space into rooms used
as lodgings and services.
The main mast was the large central shaft with a larger
diameter at the base and smaller at the top. The mast was
centrally located and had a larger diameter at the base
and less at the top. Generally it was obtained from the
trunk of a straight and smooth fir, leaving it the natural
round shape. Its yard was a long perch to which the sail
was attached, and it was composed of two round pieces
of wood, joined together towards the center. Even the
foremast had a larger diameter at the base than the
highest point and it was generally made from a single
straight spruce trunk, as well as its yard. The two yard
components were joined with elements called trinche
(woolding: strong connection of two or more parts by
cable or chain, with several dense, parallel and stretched
laps).
The hull was divided into three parts: the keel, the floor-
timber and the back of the keel. The upper deck consisted
of a planks supported at the center of the ship by a

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longitudinal beam that it was supported by props resting
on the back of the keel. Along each side, below the level
of the bridge, a wooden beam (a stiffening) of semi-
round shape ran along the entire side; it was called
cordone (cordon: the lowest rail of ribband of a galley or
the extreme breadth ribband, and what, in ship, is called
the main-channel). In the inner side, in correspondence
of the cord, there was the contro-cordone (inner-cordon),
of the same dimensions as the previous one, but with a
rectangular shape. The galley ribs were firmly tightened
between these two elements, thus avoiding any
movement. Always on the side, above the coasts, are the
baccalari (Mediterranean term to indicate a sort of
standing knees on the deck of a galley, projecting of each
side above the row-locks) or lattoni (latte of the giogo)
that widened the galley like the bow and stern gioghi. For
the realization of these elements it was preferable to use
pieces of wood with natural curvature, but given the
rarity of these shapes, they were generally made by
nailing together two or three well-shaped elements. They
supported the first and second drapera. The drapera was
a longitudinal beam fixed in the lattone side; the first
drapera was internal, while the second was external.
Between these balustrades and the gangway, the rowers’
thwarts were arranged, with one end indented right in the
gangway and the other on a beam fixed in the side of the
baccalare. Another little thwart it was placed below and
a little farther ahead of the large thwart, and on this the
rowers leaned their feet and there were eventually
chained convicts or slaves. There was also a long
wooden beam on the deck nailed and indented to all the
baccalari that ran the full length of the galley. Each
baccalare was helped to support the load from some
supports called aposticci, placed on the two sides of the
galley. Between the aft giogo and the wing-transom there
were some straight latte to support the stern. To border
externally the galley, The latte necessarily had to be
more robust and therefore larger, compared to those used
for the internal planks. The oars were made of maple
trunks without knots, of round section for more than half
of their length; they widened slightly towards the end,
flattening on the ends like a shovel to cut the water. The
oars were made of maple trunks without knots, of round
section for more than half of their length; they widened
slightly towards the end, flattening on the ends like a
blade to cut the water. The author focuses on describing
the bow giogo where the gunnery was arranged; it was
equipped with a bow roof useful both to protect the
artillery and as a shelter for passengers. During the fight,
this roof became a kind of fortified place, protected by
the boards that formed a parapet, occupied by the best
soldiers armed with muskets. The rudder was the great
directional oar that was suspended with two hooks at the
galley stern; one hook was fixed on the rudder about
halfway up, while the other one was fixed to the stern
post, engaged in a ring placed almost on the rudder
bottom. The rudder manoeuvres were reserved to a
particular officer called pilot. To move it, the pilot
applied the force on a bar that, hooked to the top of the
rudder, penetrated the stern, thus connecting it with the
inside of the galley. The rudder was made from an oak
table and reinforced by forged iron bands.
The device to throw the anchor at sea had to be practical
and convenient, as these operations could be done both
day and night. The hanging anchor was supported by a
cable tied to its ring that ran on a pivot, which in turn
was embedded in a beam. Connected to the beam, there
was a vertical fork whose handle was engaged in the bow
roof, and was used to guide the cable on which it is
winged. The operation was carried out as follows: the
cable was pulled up by the whole crew, and when the
anchor ring came into contact with the pin on the corner
of the beam, the fork was removed and the anchor
immediately went to lay its head in the his definitive
position between the two bighe (props). The galley was
caulked by spreading the whole hull with hemp soaked in
warm pitch, and the opera viva (quick-works) were
covered with well-liquefied black pitch. This served to
protect the hull and with a well-seasoned wood, the
galley could reach nine years of activity as first galley
and another 3 or 4 years as ordinary ship. A well built
and well maintained galley was an incredible sturdy war
machine capable of navigating at speeds of 5-6 or even 7
miles an hour with calm seas; with a good wind the use
of rowers was superfluous and using only sail could
travel up to 12 miles per hour.
In the continuation of the treaty, Furttenbach describes
many types of boats; among these he cites: the galleass
(pp. 78-79), the galeotta (smaller galley) and the
brigantine (p.80), the felucca (p.81), the frigate (pp. 82-
84), the leudo (is the name given, in Liguria, to a family
of Latin sailboats that were used for the cabotage
activities (transport of goods) up to the last decades of
the twentieth century, throughout the Mediterranean area,
p.85), the barchetta (small boat, pp. 86-88), the ship,
probably the Flemish fluyt (pp. 89-102), the polacre (pp.
103-104), the tartan (p.105), the barge (p.106), the
caramuzzala (a small Turkish vessel with eight oars, pp.
107-110) (see Figure 3), the ordinary rowboat and sail
boat (pp. 111-114).
In according to Furttenbach [51], “the tartan is little
smaller than polacre. Therefore, since a vessel measured
between 60 and 70 palms [m 14.68-17.34], the units of
lesser measure were called tartans instead of polacres.
Ten men are needed to govern it. The tartans were used a
lot in the Mediterranean sea because of their agility and
their speedˮ [52]. The ‘Carramuzzal’ or ‘Brigandine’
was one of the favourite boats of the Turkish pirates who
infested the Mediterranean in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Hakluyt [53] states that they were ships similar to the
French Gabards, which sailed armed with Latin sails, on
the Garonne river in Bordeaux. The boat represented in
the Joseph Furttenbachʼs text is devoid of trees and sails
in order to show the set of armaments embarked on
board.

7. Historic Ships, 5th
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December 2018, London, UK
© 2018: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects 7
In the second part of his treatise, Furttenbach explains
the principles for the construction of a boat typical of the
Netherlands, probably the Fluyt. He provides a lot of
information and constructional details sufficient for a
time carpenter to proceed with the construction of this
boat. The text is similar to the work done half a century
before him, by the scientist, explorer and shipbuilder
Diego García de Palacio (1540 - 1595), who worked in
the Virreinato de Nueva España. His book Instrucion
nauthica (Instrucción náutica) [54] is perhaps the first
naval construction treatise ever published.
Finally, the last part of the Furttenbachʼs treatise is
dedicated to the description of the Battle of Lepanto that
took place on 7 October 1571 [55]. It was the greatest
naval battle of the Renaissance, and it was one of the last
great galley battles in the Mediterranean Sea. In two
plates, the description of the naval battle is associated
with the layout of the Christian and Turkish fleet (Plate
19) and with the naval combat and the outcome of the
clash (Plate 20) in which we see part of the Turkish fleet
moving away from the battle. In this last plate is
represented the Turkish commander Uluç Alì Pascià
(1519 - 1587), whose name was crippled in Occhialì. He
was the only Turkish commander to survive the battle,
running away with 40 vessels.
Figure 3: Turkish caramuzzal from Furttenbach (Plate
17).
6. CONCLUSIONS
As we can see from this summary synthesis, the
description that Furttenbach makes of the galley and of
the other vessels mentioned in his work, shows his
perfect knowledge of shipbuilding in the seventeenth
century. This is the result of a careful study and practice
of the shipyards of the time. The importance of this text
is therefore in the method used for the treatment of
shipbuilding: the text shows a careful analysis of the
individual construction elements, of the shape, of the
dimensions and of the nomenclature of the parts that
contribute to forming a boat. It also shows how the
construction of a boat can be described through the use
of scale drawing, with an extensive use of geometry. It is
a first work that will lead the way to a genre literature
that in the following centuries will become treatises and
then technical manuals. It is for these reasons that
Furttenbach can be considered an anticipator, a pioneer
of the science and technique of shipbuilding; all these
disciplines will then be developed in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries [56].
7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This publication was written in “Art of building and
aesthetics in naval iconography from the Middle Ages to
the Modern Ageˮ research area and it was financed with
Department of Architecture and Design ‘FRA 2017’
funds of the University of Genoa (UniGE).
8. REFERENCES
1. CRESCENZIO, B., Nautica mediterranea…
Roma: Bonfadino, 1607.
2. DUDLEY, R. Dell’Arcano del mare. Tome II,
Book IV. Firenze: Onofri, 1646.
3. CHAPMAN, F. H. Architectura Navalis
Mercatoria... Holmiæ (Stockholm): [s.n.], 1768.
4. CANO, T. Arte para fabricar, fortificar y
aparejar naos de guerra y merchante… Sevilla:
Estupiñan, 1611.
5. HOBIER, I. De la construction d’une gallaire et
de son équipage. Paris: Langloys, 1622.
6. FURTTENBACH, J. Architectura navalis. Ulm:
Saurn, 1629.
7. FOURNIER, G. Hydrographie... Paris: Soly,
1643.
8. VOSSIUS, I. ‘De Trirerium & Liburnicarum
constructione’ in Variarum Observationum
Liber. Londini: Scott, 1685; p. 95-139.
9. In 1625, a first English manuscript about the
shipbuilding was published with the title A
Treatise on Shipbuilding and a Treatise on
Rigging, Written about 1620-1625, afterwards
printed by W. Salisbury & R.C. Anderson and
published by the Society for Nautical Research,
Occasional publications, No 6. London: The
Society for Nautical Research, 1958. In 1670 the
important text Deane’s Doctrine of Naval
Architecture was published, subsequently
reprinted by Brian Lavery for the Conway
Maritime Press (London, 1991). This text
anticipates the W. Sutherlandʼs work, entitled
The ship-builders assistant ... (London, 1711)
and reprinted by Jean Boudriot in 1989
(Rotherfield, 1989).

8. Historic Ships, 5th
– 6th
December 2018, London, UK
© 2018: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects8
10. Construction des Vaisseaux du Roy, et le nom de
toutes les pièces qui y entrent, marquées en la
Table par numero. Avec toutes les proportions
des rangs, leur explication, & l’exercice du
Canon Havre de Grace: (J. Hubault), 1691.
11. GASTAÑETA AND ITURRIBALZAGA, A.
de. Proporciones de las medidas … para la
Fabrica de Navios, y Fragatas de Guerra… .
Madrid: Alonso, 1720.
12. KELTRIDGE, W. Notebook, c. 1675;
KELTRIDGE, W. Original drawings of seven
hulls of ships. Manuscript, 1684. See: DAVIES,
J. D. Pepys’s Navy: Ships, Men and Warfare
1649-89. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing, 2008;
p. 67.
13. BATTINE, E. Method of building, rigging, &c.
Ships of warr. Manuscript, dated Dec. 23, 1684.
See: COCHRAN, J. A Second Catalogue of
Manuscripts, in Different Languages... London:
Ibotson & Palmer, 1837; p. 138 and A
Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the
British Museum. Vol. IV. (London): The House
of Commons of Great Britain, 1812: p. 266.
There is also a manuscript published August 3,
1689 and titled The Method of building, rigging,
apparelling and furnishing his Majesty’s Ships
of War… London: printed by Order of the
Trustees, 1839; p. 8.
14. DASSIE, le Sr
. L’architecture navale… Paris:
de la Caille, 1677.
15. WITSEN, N. Architectura Navalis…
Amsterdam: Casparus Commelijn, 1671.
16. VAN KEULEN, J. De nieuwe hollandsche
scheepsbouw. Amsterdam: J. van Keulen, 1680;
quoted in HOOGENDOORN, K. Bibliography
of the Exact Sciences in the Low Countries from
ca. 1470 to the Golden Age (1700). Leiden:
Brill, 2018; p. 1080.
17. ALLARD, C. Nieuwe Hollandse Scheeps-
bouw… Carel Allard. Amsteldam: Allard, 1695.
18. VAN IK, C. De Nederlandsche Scheeps-bouw…
Delft: Voorstad, 1697.
19. L’architettura Navale di Stefano de Zuanne de
Michel Viceproto de’ Marangoni… Venezia:
Manuscript, 1686.
20. SBONSKI DE PASSEBON, H. Plan de
plusieurs bâtimens de mer... [Marseille]:
Brémond, c.1690 or Amsterdam: Mortier,
c.1690.
21. LAVERY, B. and S. STEPHENS. Ship Models:
Their Purpose and Development from 1650 to
the Present London: Zwemmer 1995.
22. SUTHERLAND, W. The Ship-builders
Assistant... London: R. Mount, A. Bill and R.
Smith, 1711. See: SUTHERLAND, W. Britain’s
Glory: or Ship-Building Unvail’d. London:
Norris, 1717.
23. STALKARTT, M. Naval architecture…
London: printed for the Author, 1781.
24. VIAL DU CLAIRBOIS, H.-S. Traité
élémentaire de la construction des vaisseaux…
Paris: Clousier, 1787.
25. JUAN Y SANTACILIA, J. Examen maritimo
theorico-práctico… Madrid: de Mena, 1771.
26. STEEL, D. The Elements and Practice of Naval
Architecture… London: Wittingham, 1805.
27. In his eulogy to Leibnitz, Fontenelle writes that,
shortly before his death, the great German
scholarly was still wondering how Furttenbach
had been able to «changé la moitié d’un clou de
fer en or» (See: Eloge de Monsieur Leibnitz, by
FONTENELLE [Bernard le Bovier de
Fontenelle (1657 – 1757)], in Œuvres diverses
de M. Fontenelle, Tome 5. La Haye: van Dole,
1736; p. 54).
28. FURTTENBACH, J. S. von, in Joseph
Furttenbach, Lebenslauff, 1652-1664, edited by
K. VON GREYERZ, K. SIEBENHÜNER and
R. ZAUGG. Köln: Böhlau 2013. Often referred
to as “the old Furttenbach” to distinguish him
from his son, called Joseph too - Furttenbach the
Younger (1632 - 1655) - draftsman, painter and
engraver.
29. Oriented to different fields, his culture of
knowledge has led him to write many topics
among which stands out Architecture and
Theatre published in Ulm by Saur: Halinitro-
Pyrobolia and Newes Itinerarium Italiae (1627);
Architectura Civilis (1628); Architectura
Martialis (1630); Architectura Universalis.
Ulm: Meder, 1635; Architectura Recreationis.
Augsburg: Schultes, 1640; Architectura Privata.
Augsburg: Schultes, 1641.
30. FURTTENBACH, J. Architectura Navalis...
Ulm: Saur, 1629.
31. FURTTENBACH, J. Büchsenmeisterey-Schul.
Augspurg: Schultes, 1643; p. 20.

9. Historic Ships, 5th
– 6th
December 2018, London, UK
© 2018: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects 9
32. KAESTNER, A. G. Geschichte der
Mathematik... Göttingen: Rosenbusch, 1799; p.
433.
33. FURTTENBACH, J. Architectura Privata.
Augspurg: Schultes, 1641; p. 37.
34. KRUFT, H. W. Geschichte der
Architekturtheorie... München: Beck, 1991; p.
193.
35. HIBER, K. Lichteffekte im theatralen Raum.
Diplomarbeit, Magister der Philosophie.
Universität Wien, 2010; p. 37.
36. A Furttenbachʼs biography is in: Furttenbach,
Joseph. Lebenslauff, 1652-1664, edited by K.
VON GREYERZ, K. SIEBENHÜNER and R.
ZAUGG [Köln: Böhlau, 2013].
37. The description of Genoa is in Newes
Itinerarium Italiae. Ulm: Saurn, 1627; p. 179-
230.
38. RONDELET, G. Memoria sulla Marineria degli
Antichi e su i navigli a parecchi ordini di remi.
Mantova: Fratelli Negretti, 1840; p. 1.
39. The expression “Naval Architecture” is used to
designate naval design techniques and it was
probably used for the first time in the
seventeenth century by João Baptista Lavanha
(c.1550 - 1624) in his treatise Livro Primeiro de
Arquitectura Naval, manuscript c.1608. Before
this one naval architecture was called Ars
nautica by Fernão de Oliveira (1507 – c.1581).
40. La Riviera di Genova. FURTTENBACH, J.
Mannhaffter Kunst-Spiegel... Augsburg:
Schultes, 1663.
41. WITSEN, N. Architectura Navalis et Regimen
Nauticum… Amsterdam: Blaeu, 1698 (2nd ed.).
42. VAN IK, C. De Nederlandsche Scheeps-bouw-
kunst open gestelt. Delft: Voorstad, 1697.
43. ALLARD, C. Op. cit.
44. L’art de bâtir les vaisseaux et d’en
perfectionner la construction… Amsterdam:
Mortier, 1719.
45. There is a French translation of Furttenbachʼs
Treaty entitled: Architectura navalis ou de la
Construction des navires en usage sur mer et le
long des côtes ... traduit de l’allemand par Jean
Poujade. Paris: Bellamy, 1939.
46. FURTTENBACH, J. Op. cit., p. 9.
47. MORISOTO, C. B. Orbis Maritimi sive Rerum
in maris et littoribus gestarum generalis
historia. Divione: Palliot, 1643; p. 699.
48. CORRADI, M. Biblioteca di Storia della
costruzione navale. Morrisville: Lulu, 2011.
49. FURTTENBACH, J. Op. cit., p. 10-11.
50. A Genoese palm measured about 0.248 meters,
see: FORTI, L. C. Fortificazioni e ingegneri
militari in Liguria (1684-1814). Genoa:
Compagnia dei Librai, 1992: p. 302.
51. FURTTENBACH, J. Op. cit., p. 105.
52. DE NICOLÒ, M. L. L’età delle tartane in DE
NICOLÒ, M. L. (edited by). Tartane. Quaderno
n. 9. Pesaro: Museo della Marineria, 2013; p.
10.
53. HAKLUYT, R. and E. GOLDSMID (editors).
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques
and Discoveries of the English Nation. Vol. V:
Central and Southern Europe. Edinburgh:
Goldsmid, 1887; p. 235.
54. GARCÍA DE PALACIO, D. Instrucion
nauthica (Instrucción náutica)… Mexico:
Ocharte, 1587.
55. The chapter on the description of the battle of
Lepanto is illustrated with two images showing
the fleet ready for battle (the first) and the
conditions of the fleets at the end of the naval
combat (the second). These two engraving were
published in 1639 and the author of the
illustrations is Jacob Custos (c.1600 - after
1643) who collaborated with Furttenbach for the
illustration of his architectural treatises.
56. See: CORRADI, M. ‘Epitome della scienza
navale’, Atti del 2° convegno nazionale. Cultura
navale e marittima, edited by MOROZZO
DELLA ROCCA, M. C. and F. TIBONI.
Florence: goWare, 2017; p. 136-149.
9. AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY
Massimo Corradi is professor of History of Science and
structural mechanics at the Polytechnic School of the
University of Genoa (Italy). Research focuses on the
History of science, History of shipbuilding and Naval
science, Structural mechanics and Construction history.
Claudia Tacchella is scholar in the field of History of
shipbuilding at the Polytechnic School of the University
of Genoa (Italy).