PINDA

Table from Pilots’ Almanac©

As edited by James S. Watson
November 6, 2003
Revised: March 20, 2010

The Pilots’ Almanac© contains many useful rules for various aspects of building and sailing ships in
an early medieval setting. However, the rules do have one glaring error with respect to calculations involving
the Pinda. A modification with justification for calculations involving Pindas follows:

Length 12 15 18 21 The table as given in the Pilots’ Almanac

Beam 5 6 7 8gives the weight of a pinda in displacement tons.
Depth 2 2.4 2.8 However, the figure for displacement tons, as it is
3.2
[1] .6/1.2 .85/2.2 1.1/3.5 used in the Pilots’ Almanac, is based on the figure
1.35/5.4
Burden used in merchant navy service where a displacement
SG C C C C ton is equal to 100 cubic feet of space. This is the
OG B B B B space that in early medieval times was taken up by a
HF 75 75 75 75 [2]
TGT 56 56 56 56 tun cask of wine.
VCF 1 1 4 7 However, for a pinda the actual weight
Time 72 112 162 220 should be calculated in naval displacement tons
Cost 432 675 972 1,323 where the weight is calculated on the actual weight
of the material used to build the vessel. For pindas
therefore the actual weight given in the table should be in hundredweights, which is the way I have given it in
the table with this article. Using naval displacement weights shown by the figure before the slash a twelve-
foot pinda would weigh about 60 pounds, a fifteen foot pinda about 85 pounds, an eighteen foot pinda about
110 pounds, and a twenty-one foot pinda about 135 pounds.
The number of persons a pinda can carry safely can be found by dividing the hundredweights shown
after the slash by .25. This figure does not give the weight of the persons or any supplies that they might
have with them it just gives a figure of how many persons can fit in the pinda without overloading it.
The VCF figure has also been changed from that in the Pilots’ Almanac to reflect the actual number of
persons needed to handle a boat of the size given. Twelve and fifteen foot row boats (Pindas) can be handled
by a single person. A single person can also handle an eighteen-foot boat but it would more likely use two or
even three rowers plus a coxswain. A twenty-one foot pinda might need a crew of seven, six rowers plus a
coxswain.

[1]
The weight of the pinda in hundred weights.
[2]
A tun cask of wine was five feet in diameter by five feet long and held two hundred and fifty-two gallons of wine.