Principle of operation of a pound lock

Flash locks and pound locks: 10th - 15th century

 From the very first construction of canals, some method is necessary to cope with differences in water level.
  The simplest solution is a weir, to hold up the water on the higher side, with a gap in the middle which can be
opened to let a boat through. The removal of the barrier, however achieved, is inevitably followed by a sudden
rush of water - carrying the vessel easily through in one direction, but making passage very difficult in the other.
 primitive lock of this kind is known, for obvious reasons, as a flash lock.
 The development of the more sophisiticated pound lock is traditionally credited to an engineer, Chiao Wei-yo,
working on the great Chinese canal system in the 10th century AD.

Junks and caravels: 12th - 15th century

 In both east and west the centuries known in Europe as the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance see vast
improvements in long-distance travel by sea.
 While Europeans are making ocean journeys in long narrow ships with a single square sail (the longships of the
Vikings), the Chinese are improving the design of the junk.
 toThe Portuguese successes depend, like the Chinese, on improvements in the design and construction of ships.
The caravel is much smaller than the junk, but it is better suited to sailing in violent oceans.
 A dhow, a caravel, and a junk are examples of sailing vessels. These vessels are very similar in many ways, yet
there are some differences.
 A junk is a Chinese sailing vessel although it could be used for other purposes. Unique features included a rudder,
multiple masts, and water- tight hulls. These ships were aerodynamically advanced compared to other sailing
vessels used at this time. These vessels sailed locally and around the world. The Chinese junks were used earlier
than the dhow or the caravel.
 The Arabs used the dhow. These sailing vessels had a double-ended hull. The sails were more triangular in shape
than square in shape.
 The caravel was a Portuguese sailing ship. These vessels were used to trade and to explore. Carracks were larger
versions of the caravel. They were known for the speed and their ability to carry large cargoes.
 Each of these ships had some similarities but also had some differences.

A caravel is a sailing vessel utilized by the Portuguese to carry cargo. It typically had two or three lateen sails (which are
mentioned above). They were agile and easy to navigate. They were used for oceanic exploration.
A junk is a traditional Chinese sailing vessel. It was utilized to sail the oceans and for distance. It's sails have rigid
members that span the width of the sail and extend the sail forward of the mast.
The character and appearance of these ships have been reflected in Scandinavian boat-building traditions until today. The
particular skills and methods employed in making longships are still used worldwide, often with modern adaptations.
They were all made out of wood, with cloth sails (woven wool) and had numerous details and carvings on the hull.

Characteristics[edit]
The longships were characterized as a graceful, long, wide and light, with a shallow-draft hull designed for speed.
The ship's shallow draft allowed navigation in waters only one meter deep and permitted arbitrary beach landings,
while its light weight enabled it to be carried over portages or used bottom-up for shelter in camps. Longships were
also double-ended, the symmetrical bow and stern allowing the ship to reverse direction quickly without a turn
around; this trait proved particularly useful at northern latitudes, where icebergs and sea ice posed hazards to
navigation. Longships were fitted with oars along almost the entire length of the boat itself. Later versions had a
rectangular sail on a single mast, which was used to replace or augment the effort of the rowers, particularly during
long journeys.[2] The average speed of Viking ships varied from ship to ship, but lay in the range of 5–10 knots (9.3–
18.5 km/h) and the maximum speed of a longship under favourable conditions was around 15 knots (28 km/h).[3]

History[edit]
The Viking longships were the epitome of naval power in their time and were highly valued possessions.
Archaeological finds show that the Viking ships were by no means a standard type vessel. It demonstrated true
individual designs with its designers' footprints and often had regional characteristics. For example, the choice of
material was mostly dictated by the regional forests, that is pine from Norway and Sweden, and oak from Denmark.
Moreover, each and every one of these Viking longships had particular features adjusted to the natural conditions,
which they were exposed to.[4]
Flash locks and pound locks: 10th - 15th century

From the very first construction of canals, some method is necessary to cope with differences in water level. The
simplest solution is a weir, to hold up the water on the higher side, with a gap in the middle which can be opened to let
a boat through. The removal of the barrier, however achieved, is inevitably followed by a sudden rush of water - carrying
the vessel easily through in one direction, but making passage very difficult in the other. A primitive lock of this kind is
known, for obvious reasons, as a flash lock.

The development of the more sophisiticated pound lock is traditionally credited to an engineer, Chiao Wei-yo, working
on the great Chinese canal system in the 10th century AD.
It is said that Chiao is required to construct two flash locks on the Grand Canal only about 200 yards apart. He realizes that
he has created a pool which will be at the upper or lower level of the canal depending on which of the two barriers is
open. Moreover the barrier separating patches of level water can be opened without the obstruction of water pressure.

The result is the pound lock, standard on all modern canals. The first in Europe is believed to have been built in the
Netherlands in 1373 at Vreeswijk, where a canal from Utrecht joins the river Lek.

At this stage the barrier is a simple sluicegate which has to be raised and lowered like a guillotine. The process is
laborious, and the water pressure against the flat surface requires a very strong construction to hold it.

The last missing piece in the design of the modern lock is the mitred lock gate. On this system each end of the lock is
closed by a pair of wooden gates slightly too large to close in a normal flush position. They meet with mitred edges
pointing in the direction of the higher water level. Water pressure holds them tightly together, until the level is the same
on either side - at which point the gates can be easily pushed open.

The first lock with mitred gates is probably the one built in Milan in about 1500 to join two canals of differing levels.
Known as the San Marco lock, it is likely that its design is by Leonardo da Vinci. As his notebooks reveal, Leonardo is
interested in all aspects of hydraulic engineering; and he is employed at this time by the duke of Milan.

From the 12th century Europeans have been busy constructing canals, even with the primitive device of the flash lock.
The mitre lock makes possible increasingly ambitious projects.
 For a boat
For a boat going
going
downstream:
upstream:
1–2. The boat 8–9. The boat enters
enters the the lock.
lock. Early locks were designed with a single gate,
3. The lower 10. The upper known as a flash lock or staunch lock. The
gates are gates are earliest European references to what were
closed. closed. clearly flash locks were in Roman times.[3]
4–5. The lock is 11–12. The lock is Flash lock —A simple wooden gate that was
filled with emptied by placed across a moving body of water to hold
water from draining its it back until it had become deep; the sudden
upstream. water withdrawal of which would cause a “flash” of
downstream. water downstream that would carry a boat
6. The upper 13. The lower over the shallows below.
gates are gates are
opened. opened. Guillotine gate —An early wooden gate on a
lock that was operated by being raised or
7. The boat 14. The boat exits
lowered.
exits the the lock.
lock.

Miter gate —An improved type of lock gate

that turns on hinges, like a door, and meets to
form a vee pointing upstream.

Pound lock —A name for an early form of two-gate lock in which a chamber is enclosed at either end by vertically-rising
gates and into which water is admitted or released to change its water level and allow a vessel to do the same.

Staircase lock —Two or more locks sharing a common gate that form a series of water steps and allow a vessel to
negotiate a steep rise.
HISTORY OF BOATS AND SHIPS
The Chinese junk: 12th century - 15th century
The design of the Chinese junk (a western word from the Malayan djong, meaning 'boat') is perfected during the later part
of the Song dynasty, when the loss of the northern empire increases the importance of overseas trade. A merchant fleet,
and a navy to defend it, become essential. The resulting junk is an ideal craft for the South China seas.
The region suffers violent typhoons, so a strong hull is essential. The Chinese achieve this by means of the bulkhead - a
partition across the interior of the hull, and sometimes along its length as well. Bulkheads make the hull rigid and also
provide watertight compartments - invaluable when a leak at sea needs repair.
The Chinese junk has other pioneering features later copied elsewhere. Traditionally built without a keel
(allowing access to shallow waters), the junk is ill-equipped to sail a straight course until an important innovation of the
Song period - the addition of the sternpost rudder. This is a large heavy board which can be lowered on a sternpost when
the junk moves into deep water. Coming below the bottom of the boat, and capable of hinging on its post, it fulfils the
function both of keel and rudder.