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Sunday, July 15, 2007

The Elias called the "Propheet Elias"

I received a photograph, today, of a document from late September 1652 that is about Amsterdam Directors' ships and captains. The page in question names a ship the "Propheet Elias". The more modern Dutch spelling is "Profeet", but this uses, much like the "Phesant", the "ph" spelling for the "f" sound. This makes sense, although the ship is usually listed simply as the "Elias", rather than "Propheet Elias". This is the ship that served from March or April 1652 up to June 1653, when the ship was captured by the English at the Battle of the Gabbard (the Zeeslag bij Nieuwpoort). This was such a good ship that she served with the English navy until being wrecked in 1664. Probably no one else wonders, but I wonder how well my formula for converting from English measurements to Dutch dimensions in Amsterdam feet works:
Elias
Dutch dimensions: 132-1/2ft x 30ft x 13ft x 6-1/2ft
English dimensions: 
ELK=101ft  EB=27ft-6in  ED=11ft-6in

DL = ELK x 1.33 = 101 x 1.33 =   134.33 ft (too long)
DB = EEB x 1.13 =  27.5 x 1.13 =  31ft (too wide)
DH = ED x 1.13  =  11.5 * 1.13 =  13ft (just right)

I would say that the Elias may have had thinner planking than usual, and that accounts for the beam. I also suspect that the Elias had less rake, between the keel and the length from stem to sternpost, and that accounts for the disparity in length.

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