The technique of composite ship construction (

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of ligni ...

en planking over a wrought iron frame) emerged in the mid-19th century as the final stage in the evolution of fast commercial sailing ships. Construction of wrought iron hulled vessels had begun in the 1820s and was a mature technology by the time of the launch of the SS ''Great Britain'' in 1843. However, iron hulls could not be sheathed with copper alloy (due to bimetallic corrosion) and so would become festooned with drag-inducing weed during long voyages in the tropics. The wooden planking of a composite ship allowed the copper sheathing essential for fast ocean crossings under sail while the iron frame made the ship relatively immune from hogging and sagging, and took up less interior space than wooden framing. The brief reign of composite clippers as the fastest mode of transport between

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

was brought to a close by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and ongoing improvement in the performance of steam ships. Composite construction was also used for some steamships. An idea of the proportion of composite ships built can be gained from the statistics for vessels constructed on the Clyde (and tributaries thereof) in 1869. Of the 206 ships launched there in the year, 22 were of composite construction, compared to 168 of iron and 16 of wood. Of the 22 composite vessels, 16 were sailing ships and 6 steamers. Today only five ships of this type survive, in various states of preservation or decay. * ''City of Adelaide'' (1864), Passenger Clipper, Transported to Port Adelaide,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, in February 2014; currently on barge, awaiting selection of final shore-based location *'' Cutty Sark'' (1869), Tea Clipper, Restored,

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwic ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

*''

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

'' (1869), Tea Clipper, Beached skeleton, Estancia San Gregorio,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

* HMS ''Gannet'' (1878), Naval Sloop, Restored, Chatham, England * ''Darra'' beached wreck,

Ōtamahua / Quail Island Quail Island ( mi, Ōtamahua or ) officially Ōtamahua / Quail Island is an uninhabited island within Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō in the South Island of New Zealand, close to Christchurch. The island was given its European name by Captain ...

, Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, New ZealandDarra - New Zealand Maritime Record
NZ National Maritime Museum . Retrieved 12 May 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Composite Ship Shipbuilding Sailing ship components Clippers

Further reading

References