Chapter 80 (1/2)

Chapter 80 Artillery

A week after the concrete shi+p was placed in the curing room, it was finally the day to launch the vessel

All the workers were stunned when the Prince ordered to put the oversized bathtub into the water,everyone wonder whether they misheard him

However, they hadn’t had misunderstood him

His subordinates had to dis a slope at the botto into the river This part had to be handled with great care because of the weak tensile strength of ceh to create small cracks that could destroy the whole vessel

The shi+p was placed on top of logs, and the speed at which it slid was controlled with ropes When everything was prepared, the workers let the wrist-thick rope slowly slide through their hands, careful so that the vessel would always be pointed in a straight line While the workers shouted their slogan in sync, the shi+p slowly slid over the logs, creating a harsh sound of friction

Fortunately, everything ell, and Roland could see how the shi+p got slowly lowered into the water The shi+p sank nearly half a meter into the water, with more than one meter still above the surface The workers were totally surprised to see that this massive construction made out of stone and , but instead peacefully floated above the surface

“Hurry, take the ropes and put theht!” commanded Roland loudly If the vessel wasn’t tied quickly to the bollards, the water current would carry the shi+p along with it southwards

Although Nightingale didn’t show herself to the public, but after seeing this shocking scene, she couldn’t help herself and ask with a voice full of wonder: “Why does the shi+p float?”

“Well … it’s quite sie density is lower than that of water, and as long as this is the case anything can float on water,” explained Roland and after a , he added, “That the shi+p is built out of iron and concrete doesn’tboat, those also weigh much more than several stones”

Since he didn’t hear the voice of Nightingale again, Roland assu what he had said Even Anna wasn’t able to im this, Roland smiled and continued to direct the workers next task

The subsequent hardening of the concrete took a lot of tian to snow heavily, the work had to be stopped Only when it didn’t snow for more than one hour, were they able to continue their work Thetask was the construction of the deck, which was built out of many wooden planks, and supported by many small stakes which were placed between the bottoh this was a waste of space, but taking into account the primary purpose of the concrete shi+p, this didn’t matter so much

Afterward followed the rot-proofing The carpenters knew very well how to do it First they brushed a layer of oil with a pungent taste onto the deck When the oil had dried, they repeated this procedure several times until it was finally coated with a red paint Once the deck construction was co was started

The so-called upper part consisted of a wooden shed which was placed between the two uns and aan to rain, the shed could also be utilized by the crew as shelter The roof of the wooden shed was extra thick so constructed that a person could stand on it, a special place only created for Wendy As long as she stood on the roof, her h to cover the entire sail

The stern rudder was made of melted iron, and its installation was a bit cumbersome First, it was required that they put the rudder shaft through a previously made hole, which now laid under water To steer the shi+p, Anna welded a triangle plate at the side of the rudder shaft, which ended under water At the other end of the rudder shaft, which ended on the deck, waswhich could freely rotate

The welding was naturally done by Anna, as also shocked and puzzled by the fact that a stone bathtub could float on the water Since she had the saale, she also asked the same questions