Ships Architecture

Limited excavations at selected areas of the site have revealed the presence of a well‑preserved ship’s lower hull, extending from the bow to the stern and athwartships to just below the turn of the bilge (Spirek 1995). Surviving hull length is estimated to be between 23 m and 25 m, with a breadth of 1.8 m on the port side, and a breadth of about 2.8 m on the starboard side. The wreck lies on the sand bar at a slight list of 4 to 7 degrees to port. Scattered timbers and fasteners—remnants of the ship’s upper structure that disintegrated over time—lie buried around the periphery of the ballast mound. Throughout the process of recording the vessel’s architectural remains, fine craftsmanship was noted in the construction of the hull, especially at the mast step assembly, and also in the general finished appearance (i.e., no traces of bark or other evidence of haste) of the ship’s timbers. The following description of the Emanuel Point hull is divided into areas of the ship uncovered during excavations.

Forward Structure

Investigation of a metal target located 10 m forward of amidships revealed a concreted metal pitcher and a portion of the ship’s starboard bow structure. The structure consists of three cant frames (forcazes), and associated hull planking. Frame dimensions range from 20 cm to 22 cm in sided thickness, and 14 cm to 16 cm in molded height. On center spacing of frames is approximately 45 cm. Fastener concretions protruding through the timbers indicate that first futtocks, which are no longer present, were mated to the forward edge of the cant frames.

Fig. 6. This area at the starboard bow of the ship contained a copper pitcher that had fallen down between the frames.

In this area of the hull, the planks are 25 cm wide and 5 cm thick. Loose bits of wood were noted between the frames, and a severely degraded plank, probably a ceiling (internal planking) board, was observed lying across two frames. A copper cauldron located nearby suggests that the ship’s galley may have been located in this area of the hull.

Midship Structure

Six test units excavated in the center of the ballast mound revealed well-preserved and articulated lower hull remains that are quite similar to the architecture of other shipwrecks that have been studied in Europe and America: an expanded keelson, with mortise and chock to house the foot of the mainmast; a pump well and sump to house the shaft of the ship’s bilge pump; and perpendicular buttresses to laterally support this critical area of the hull.

Fig. 7. Diagram of the mainmast step assembly on the keelson, showing the extent of midships excavations.

Mainmast Step/Keelson

The mainmast step (carlinga) is an area in the center of the hull which supported the heel of the largest mast, which was stepped into the keelson (contraquilla). To create a sturdy base, the carpenters carefully shaped the longitudinal timber so that it was larger and thicker than the rest of the keelson. This critical architectural feature displays fine workmanship, especially at the flaring transition point from keelson to mast step, and in the carving of the sunken rectangular mortise into which the mast was stepped. Although the entire mast step feature was not completely uncovered during excavation, the observed length of the expanded portion of the keelson is approximately 2.1 m. Sided thickness of the keelson abaft the step is 35 cm which expands to 47 cm at the step. The raised and expanded section of the keelson, from abaft the pump shaft to just forward of the mortise, measures 1.42 m in length, and 39 cm in thickness. Notched to fit over the floors, the keelson was fastened to the keel with iron bolts, but only one, which was placed through the after rise in the mast step, is visible. An adze or broad ax gouge mark was noted on the port side of the step, possibly indicating the midpoint of the vessel.

Fig. 8. Timber arrangement of the midship hull structure.

The mainmast mortise is large, measuring 94 cm in length, 22 cm in width, and 20 cm deep. At the bottom of the mortise a hole, 35 mm in diameter, is situated 41.5 cm forward of the after end. The hole, which extended 42 cm into a floor frame below the keelson, appears to have been a fastener position that was drilled but not used. At the forward end of the mortise, a distinctive cross, 6 cm by 10 cm, was gouged into the wood. While the meaning of this mark is unclear, it may have had religious significance, much like the secular practice of depositing a coin in the step for good luck. It also is located at the ship’s point of maximum breadth, since the floor of the master couple frame lies directly below the carving. At either end of the mortise are lodged two wood pieces once used to firmly wedge the mast heel in place. The forward piece is a shim that measures 8 cm long, 22 cm wide, and 23.5 cm high. The after piece is a mast chock measuring 33 cm long, 20 cm wide, and 19 cm high. The space between these two wooden elements would have allowed a mast heel tenon of a maximum length of 53 cm to be fitted. According to contemporary Spanish shipwright practice, as evidenced on the Basque whaling galleon, San Juan, that sank in Red Bay, Labrador, in 1565, the width of the mast step mortise was equal to the sided thickness of the keel, and also corresponded to one‑half the diameter of the mainmast (Grenier 1994, pers. comm.). This relationship also is reflected in the equal dimensions of the Emanuel Point mortise width (22 cm) and the thickness of the keel amidships (22 cm); however, a space of 53 cm for the mainmast tenon would seem too large for a mast of 44 cm in diameter. Perhaps there was an additional chock or wedge in the mortise that became dislodged from the step, along with the mast, after the wrecking event. Or, perhaps the builders of the Emanuel Point Ship may not have followed a standard convention in shaping the mainmast heel.

Fig. 9. Underwater view of the forward section of the mainmast step.

Fig. 10. This small cross was carved in the bottom of the mast step mortise by the builders of the ship.

Two smaller mortises in the mast step may have housed tenons for vertical timbers supporting the lower deck or pump well assembly. Just forward of the mast step mortise shim is the remnant of a tenoned stub, 8 cm long and 17 cm wide, still in its mortise. The stub may represent the remains of a pillar, or stanchion, used to support a lower deck beam. Aft of the mainmast step, there is a smaller mortise let into the keelson, perhaps intended for a framing timber for the pump well housing. The mortise measures 12 cm long, 8 cm wide, and 4.5 cm deep.

Pump Sumps

Aft of the mainmast mortise and on either side of the step are two carved-out pump shaft receptacles, each approximately 32 cm in radius, leading into the bilge. Since every wooden ship leaks, especially at sea, functional pumps (bombas) to clear water from the lower hull are a critical part of seafaring and require constant attention and care. The pump sumps extend between two floors to the garboard strake, and are situated 30 cm abaft the mainmast mortise. Only the port sump was excavated; the starboard was left undisturbed. Width of the mast step between the two sumps measures 23 cm. Each sump once held a pump shaft (mangueta), fashioned from the hollowed-out trunks of trees to form a tube. Water in the bilge was manually forced up the shafts by various types of piston rods and valves to the main deck, where it was allowed to run overboard. Pumping the bilge (achicar la bomba) was a routine chore aboard a ship; on older vessels continual leakage had to be monitored carefully for the sake of cargo below and the safety of the ship. Crewmen on the first daylight watch took a keen interest in the color of water coming up from the bilge. If it was dark and foul, they were glad; if it was clear and green, they began to worry.

A similar dual pump arrangement was recorded on another Basque galleon found near San Juan in Red Bay, Labrador (Grenier 1988:76, Fig. 14), while San Juan only had one pump. The early 16th-century Spanish wreck at Highborn Cay, Bahamas had two pump sumps; however, both were situated on the port side of the step, and the aftermost one appeared to be unfinished, or aborted (Smith 1993:71). To improve safety at sea, one of the many maritime edicts of Philip II required in 1552 that newly-constructed ships were to have two pumps (Casado Soto 1991:99). Enforcement of this requirement may have taken time to become widespread. Unlike the single pump sump in San Juan, which was found to be rather crudely fashioned (Waddell 1985: 257), the sumps in the Emanuel Point Ship appear to have been carefully carved with forethought and finished with care.

Although no remnants of pump shafts or hardware were found, a small square board, 21 cm in length, 18.5 cm in width, and 2 cm in thickness, with a nail at each corner, was discovered lying on the garboard strake. This board may have provided a bed on which a pump foot valve (morterete) rested. A similar board was found in the bilge of the Fuxa wreck in Cuba, thought to be Nuestra Señora del Rosario, which ran aground in 1590. It displayed a distinctive circular impression of the foot valve base on one side ( Smith 1993, pers. comm.; Lopez, Perez 1993). The lack of pressure marks on the Emanuel Point board suggests that perhaps the pump tube rested not on the board against the hull, but rather was braced on the exposed floors on either side of the pump shaft (Oertling 1993, pers. comm.; Lopez, Perez 1993). A smaller section of the tube, around 22 cm in diameter, could have extended the pump bore into the sump and onto the valve and its board. Arranged in this fashion, stress created by downward tube pressure would have been taken by the floors, instead of the board.

To protect pump sumps from becoming clogged by ballast stones or bilge debris, a pump well (arca), or wooden enclosure, was constructed around the pump shafts. Several disarticulated structural remnants discovered around the sump probably represent baseboards from the pump well. One baseboard remnant, lying to port and parallel with the pump sump, was found in place; a portion of it extended over the buttresses and bilge boards. Others were not sufficiently preserved to reconstruct the architectural features of the pump well. As mentioned above, the small mortise at the transition from the step to the keelson may have housed a pump well framing timber.

Fig. 11. Overhead view of the port pump sump. Note two timbers at right and center that may represent remnants of the pump well structure.

Fig. 12. The pump shaft was housed in the pump sump to clear water from the bilge.

Buttresses and Bilge Boards

The mainmast step is supported laterally by buttresses, four of which were uncovered on the port side of the keelson. The buttresses were intended to brace the step, preventing its movement athwartships as the ship sailed on various tacks, or rolled from side to side. Three removable bilge boards are let into the spaces between the buttresses to protect this area from trash that might clog the bilge, and subsequently the pump. Timbers partially visible on the unexcavated starboard side of the keelson revealed the same arrangement as the port side. A similar number of buttresses and bilge boards were found on San Juan (Stevens 1983:7, Fig. 1) while the Highborn Cay Wreck mast step was supported by only three buttresses per side (Smith 1993: 68-69. Figs. 3.7, 3.8). The thicker end of each buttress rests against the mast step, while the outboard end butts up to a ceiling plank. Each timber is toe‑nailed in place to the mast step and fastened to the floor at the opposite end with square-shanked iron spikes. The outboard ends of the buttresses are let into the adjacent ceiling plank, which has been sawn with 7.5 cm-deep cutouts to accept them, thus preventing the assembly from shifting under stress.

Buttresses are 63 cm in length, and taper in molded height from approximately 25 cm at the mast step to 6.5 cm at the ceiling. Sided thicknesses are 11.5 cm for the first or forwardmost buttress, 12.5 cm for the second, and 17 cm for the last two. An adze mark 8 cm in length and parallel to the keelson was noted on the second buttress. Rabbets (grooves), approximately 2.5 cm in depth and between 3 cm to 4.5 cm width, were cut on the interior and upper edge of each buttress to allow bilge boards to fit between, and even with the tops of, the four timbers.

Lying between, and at one time even with, the four port buttresses are three bilge boards (tablas de la canal), fashioned so that they could easily be removed to inspect the lower bilge area. Although still in place, the boards have been mashed down and broken by a ballast stone spill that apparently occurred at the time of the ship’s wrecking. In addition to the buttress rabbets, the port side of the mast step’s upper edge is slightly notched out to accept the inboard edges of the first and second bilge boards. This allowed for a tighter seam between the boards and the mast step. The two forward bilge boards are 70 cm in length and 21 cm in width. The third is broken, with its upper half missing, and is 17 cm in width. Each board is 2.5 cm in thickness.

Ceiling

Runs of ceiling planks (amuradas) were fastened to frames on the interior of wooden ships’ hulls to prevent ballast stones, or shifting cargo, from damaging the integrity of the outer hull planks. Midships ceiling uncovered on the port side of the mast step consisted of seven common planks, totaling four strakes (continuous longitudinal runs of planks). Ceiling widths are approximately 31 cm to 34 cm with thicknesses ranging from 5 cm to 7 cm. One extremely narrow board (only 5 cm wide) was noted running along the outboard side of the pump sump; it may have been inserted after the wider planks were laid. A butt joint between ceiling planks is visible next to the after section of the mast step. Three square iron fasteners, 2 cm in cross section, fasten the two outermost planks to the frames below. Inner ceiling runs lie unfastened on the frames. Additionally, two large knots were noted on the outer two ceiling planks, suggesting that a lower grade of wood was utilized in this area.

Fig. 13. Looking inboard at footwale, ceiling plank, buttresses and bilge boards. Note ceiling between exposed buttress ends.

Outboard of the third run of ceiling planks is a chamfered foot wale (a thicker ceiling plank), which served to strengthen the hull where elements of the framing (floors and futtocks) are joined. The width of the footwale is 18.5 cm, and its thickness estimated at 15 cm to 16 cm. The top of the footwale is beveled on both inboard and outboard edges; dimensions of the bevels are 4 cm, and 9 cm on the flat part. Two fasteners in squared recesses, 70 cm apart, secured the footwale to frames.

Framing

Midships framing is composed of alternating floor timbers (varengas) and first futtocks (genoles), which represent the “ribs” (ligaçon) of the ship’s skeleton. Floors are laid at intervals across the top of the keel. Central waterways, or limber holes (groeras), were cut through the bottom edge of the floors and run parallel to the keel. The waterways allowed circulation of bilge water through the hull to the pump sump; they measure 6 cm in width and 1.5 cm in height. The waterway of the floor forward of the pump well appears to be blocked by a concretion.

Outboard, and between each floor are fastened futtocks to form an interlocking and alternating band of timbers that curve outwards and upwards from the keel to form the framework of the hull. On-center spacing of floor timbers is 36 cm to 38 cm, and floor dimensions are 18 cm to 20 cm in sided width, and 18 cm of molded thickness at the wrong head and 25 cm at the keel. Each wrong head (palmejar, the outboard end of the floor timber) was notched out where small iron fasteners were driven into the first futtock. The main connection point between floors and futtocks, however, was obscured by ceiling and bottom planking. Interlocking dovetail scarphs were a common method of connecting floors and futtocks on ships of the 16th century (Oertling 1989c:102); although their presence is suspected here, dovetail scarphs could not be confirmed without disassembling the ceiling planking. A treenail hole on the forward molded face of the master couple frame extends horizontally to connect the first futtock.

Fig. 14. Port wrong heads. The left wrong head represents the master couple frame.

Based on a point at which the direction of the notches in the wrong heads changed (from facing aft to facing forward), the ship’s main frame (quaderna maestre) was determined. Located at the broadest part of the hull (below the forward end of the mainmast step mortise), the main frame is distinguished by a master couple, where the main floor has two futtocks attached to it, instead of one. At this point, futtock placement changes, i.e., forward of the main frame, futtocks are fastened to the forward edge of each floor, and abaft the main frame, they are attached to the after edge of each floor. In this way, the ship’s interlocking framework was given uniform integrity and strength. Deadrise (the amount of elevation above the horizontal plane) in the midship floor, from centerline to the outboard edge of the port footwale, is flat, rising at around one degree. Beyond the footwale, the floor curved upwards to begin the turn of the bilge.

Fig. 15. Midships cross section of the port side of the hull.

First futtocks are placed approximately 65 cm away from the center of the keel. Futtock sided widths are between 16 cm and 18 cm, and their molded thicknesses are 19 cm. The aft futtock of the master couple extends for a length of 87 cm, from its tapered inboard heel to a splintered outboard end that terminated abruptly, along with the ceiling planking. At this point, continued outboard excavations for some two meters, following a one-meter wide trench, encountered no additional ship’s hull structure. Instead, only loose ballast stones, ceramic sherds, and a single length of heavy rope, running parallel to the hull, were found. Below, only sterile sand was found. Apparently, the ship suffered from a violent pounding on the sand bar, which caused severe damage to this portion of the hull.

Fig. 16. A large length of hemp line was found lying outboard of the port hull structure.

Hull Planking

Although hull structure was absent on the port side beyond the outer ceiling plank, removal of sediment underneath the broken frames revealed a 7.5 cm thick hull plank, heavily concreted with barnacles and corrosion. Pillars composed of iron corrosion and sand, reminiscent of Titanic’s “rusticles” (Ballard 1989:208), extend downwards from the fastener heads into the sterile sediments below the hull. A segment of the garboard strake (traca de aparadura), where it joins the keel at the bottom of the pump sump, was found to be 28.5 cm in width.

Keel

The only opportunity to examine the ship’s keel occurred during test excavation of the port pump well. The keel has a sided thickness of 22 cm, which corresponds to the width of the mainmast mortise.

Stern Structure

Excavations between the ballast mound and a partially exposed gudgeon (the female part of the rudder hinge), revealed the articulated remains of the tail of the ship, from the after end of the keelson to the sternpost. This portion of the lower hull was the narrowest part of the vessel, which ran aft below the waterline towards the rudder. A total of eleven 2 m2 excavation units were opened between August 1994 and June 1995 revealing articulated and disarticulated ship structure, rudder fittings, lead sheathing, and iron fastener concretions, as well as many other artifacts.

The stern architecture of the ship was exposed over a distance of 4.5 m, and included the after end of the keelson, eleven tail frames, lower hull planking, and the sternpost and stern knee. In addition, the rudder was encountered, along with its fittings. The surviving height of the stern structure is estimated to be 1.4 m, from the bottom of the keel to the eroded tops of the frames. The whole structure lists to port some 4 to 7 degrees, which corresponds to the port list measured amidships.

Keel

At the stern of the hull, the keel has a 20 cm sided thickness, which is 2 cm less than at midships. Heavy concentrations of corrosion products from the rudder gudgeon straps prevented measurements to determine the molded height of the keel, as well as the manner in which the sternpost was joined to the keel.

Sternpost

This straight timber (codaste) was the principal backbone of the stern of the ship, where the planking terminates, and on which the rudder was hung. Originally rounded at the after edge, the sternpost measures 35 cm in sided thickness and has a surviving molded height of 25 cm. Rabbets were cut 10 cm into the forward sided face, and 5 cm into the molded thickness, of the sternpost to let in hood‑ends of the planks and to provide a backing on which to fasten them with square-shanked iron spikes. The sternpost has an estimated rake (lançamiento) of 60 degrees of arc, measured upward from an imaginary horizontal extension of the keel (or, 30 degrees aft of vertical). San Diego, a Manila galleon lost off the Philippines in 1600, has the same sternpost rake (Carré et al. 1994: 148), while the more contemporary San Estéban, a Spanish nao wrecked in 1554 off Padre Island, Texas, had a slightly lesser rake of 65 degrees (Rosloff and Arnold 1984: 291).

Stern Knee

The stern knee served both as a brace between the sternpost and keel, and as a base for the after most frames. Fayed (fitted smoothly) to both the sternpost and keel, the stern knee is 21 cm in sided thickness and 20 cm in molded height at the forward end (lower limb), and 18 cm sided and 10 cm molded at the upper end (upper limb). The knee occupies a horizontal distance of 2.5 m and an estimated vertical distance of 65 cm. Two visible fasteners, an iron fastener 7 mm in diameter and a wooden treenail (cabilla de palo) 3.5 cm in diameter, fasten the stern knee to the keel. The iron fastener is located in a triangle-shaped recess at the forward and beveled end of the stern knee between Frames 7 and 8, and the treenail is situated between Frames 2 and 3. Fabricated from a naturally-curved timber, the stern knee has a thickened forward end which slopes downwards, forming a slight dip, before rising to meet the sternpost. A portion of the rising section, on the port side between Frames 1 and 2, has been beveled, possibly to remove an unwanted segment of spoiled wood. The vertical end is finished and smoothed.

Framing

Eleven frames were recorded in the tail section. The frames were given numbers from 1 to 11 for recording purposes. Frame 1 is located forward of the sternpost and upper limb of the stern knee, while Frame 11 is located at the aft end of the keelson. All the frames in this section are made of compass timbers (naturally curved pieces) to shape the concave after end of the ship. The first ten frames in this section of the hull were at one time Y‑shaped, while Frame 11 is V‑shaped in appearance. Only Frame 10 retained the original worked crook between the two frame arms. Environmental factors, i.e., natural decay and shipworm (Teredo navalis) activity, have degraded the crooks of the other frames and subsequently the rising line (gradual longitudinal rise in height of the frames to effect a narrow stern) from Frame 11 to Frame 1. On the after side of Frame 10 is a curious, but distinctive hole, 3 cm in diameter and 5 cm deep, the function of which is unclear.

Keelson

The after end of the keelson is located approximately 7.6 m from the cross gouged in the mainmast mortise. Notched over and let into Frame 11, the keelson measures 22.5 cm in sided thickness and 29 cm in molded height. On either side of the keelson parallel to the frame are two indentations. Perhaps these were deliberately scalloped from the keelson, or alternately, are the result of ballast rock abrasion across the timber’s surface.

Ceiling Planking

Only the tip of a common ceiling board was noted during excavation of the stern area. The board protruded from sediments adjacent to the keelson on the starboard side of the hull; its dimensions are 20 cm in width and 6 cm in thickness. The timber terminates in a roughly 45-degree angle.

Hull Planking

Both starboard and port sides of the ship’s tail section have four runs of surviving outer strakes. No stealers (short planks inserted between strakes) were observed. Plank dimensions are between 14 cm and 33 cm in width, and between 5 cm and 8 cm in thickness. At their hood-ends, the lower stern planks are 5 cm in thickness, equal to those of San Estéban (Rosloff and Arnold 1984: 293).

Curiously, no treenails have been encountered in the stern planking excavated thus far. These wooden dowels typically were used to fasten planks to frames below the waterline, since they were non-corrosive and swelled to make a tight fastening connection. Rather, iron fasteners were recorded in a pattern of two or three round-headed, square-shanked planking nails aligned vertically to fasten planks to frames. However, on the second plank below the eroded frame tops on the port side, an additional fastener was placed aft and between the aligned fasteners. Original fastener positions also are evident on some of the eroded frame tops, such as those on Frames 2 and 3, where planking nail grooves are still present. Corrosion products from iron fasteners between the frames and on the interiors of the planks, along with sediment buildup, have combined to mildly distort the hull’s original fair lines. Caulking samples from between hull planking were removed for analysis.

Fig. 19. Inboard profile of starboard hull planking showing the positions of frames and stern knee.

Rudder

By the 15th century, the axial, or stern, rudder had become a key component in the development of seagoing sailing ships. Made from dry beams of straight timber bolted together, the rudder (timón) hung from the sternpost on iron hinges and was operated by a long tiller (caña) that ran inboard to the main deck. To protect the rudder from accidentally becoming unshipped if the vessel ran aground, shipwrights sometimes fashioned the after most end of the keel into a skeg that sloped back to the forward edge of the rudder, which was curved accordingly. If the rudder did become unshipped due to unforeseen circumstances, it was saved from becoming lost by a rudder pendant (barón del timón) consisting of chains or ropes attached to the hull on each side of the rudder, or by a piece of rope that passed through a hole in the rudder and was made fast to the ship.

The ship’s rudder was found lying behind and to starboard of the sternpost. It appears to have fallen from the sternpost onto its port side sometime after the wrecking incident. Maximum surviving length of the rudder is 2.8 m. Maximum breadth of the rudder is 91 cm, slanting upwards from the leading edge to an eroded terminus. Three pintles, the pins that hung in gudgeons on the sternpost to form hinges, are still fastened to the rudder. A more detailed discussion of the rudder hardware and the information it contains about the shape of the stern is in the following chapter.

The rudder was constructed from two thick planks of wood, similar to the rudder of Mary Rose, flagship of Henry VIII that sank in 1545 (Rule 1982:71). Other rudders from the sixteenth-century such as the Villefranche wreck, an early 16th-century Genoese carrack sunk off the French Mediterranean, had at least four composite pieces (Guérout et al. 1989: 33-34). San Diego’s rudder was constructed from three timbers (Carré et al. 1994: 148), and San Juan’s was built from one timber (Grenier 1995 pers. comm.). Wood samples were taken from each plank and await analysis. Much effort and craftsmanship, from the carpenter to the blacksmith, went into constructing a ship’s rudder.

The two wooden pieces are edge-joined with at least three large (ca. 5 cm in diameter) wrought-iron drift pins, driven in from the aft edge of the after plank to join the forward plank. The forwardmost plank (called the main piece) represents the principal structure of the rudder, tapering in width from the lower forward edge which is 73 cm to the uppermost surviving portion. Overall length of this plank is 2.7 m. The forward edge of this plank has been beveled to a sharp point. At the location of each pintle, this edge has been hollowed out on the starboard side to form a recess 30 cm in length and between 8 cm to 10 cm in depth. In cross section the recess is L-shaped, with more of the port side half remaining, which partially encloses the gudgeon where its joins the pintle (see inset C, Fig. 20). A similar arrangement is also shared by San Diego’s rudder at its pintle positions (Carré et al. 1994:140), whereas San Juan’s rudder has less depth of wood removed along the pintle shaft, but is widened and deepened where the gudgeon supported the pintle (Parks Canada 1995, pers. comm.).

Fig. 20. The ship’s rudder was found lying on its side near the sternpost.

The after most plank (called the after piece) is much narrower than the main piece, averaging 18 cm in width, and surviving for a length of 2.68 m. Thickness of both rudder planks averages 5 cm at the eroded top of the rudder, to 18 cm at the leading edge, to 21 cm at the after edge of the rudder. At a distance of 2.45 m above its base, the aft end of the main piece is recessed 3.5 cm for a distance of 43 cm to let in the forward end of the after piece. Mary Rose’s rudder also was constructed in this fashion, although its main piece was let into the after piece (Friel 1994:90).

Remnants of surviving rudders from this period on the Mary Rose, San Diego, and San Juan, reveal that they were constructed of straight timbers, which, when joined together, assumed the rake of the sternpost. However, Emanuel Point Ship rudder’s main piece is not straight, sloping at a 5-degree angle from the forward and lowermost end towards the uppermost end. A preliminary reconstruction of the rudder’s juxtaposition with the sternpost suggests that, when the rudder was shipped (hung) to the 60-degree raked sternpost, it descended below the longitudinal axis of the keel. Although the forward edge of the rudder base has been diagonally sawn to fit on top of a skeg at the after end of the keel, the presence of a skeg was not verified during excavations, due to the large amount of corrosion products adhering to the lower portion of the sternpost and keel. In comparison, the rudder of San Juan is safely situated level with the keel and protected by its skeg (Grenier 1995, pers. comm.); however, the rudders of both San Diego and the Dramont “H” wreck, an 18th-century vessel located off France, descended below the plane of the keel and skeg (Carré et al. 1994: 141; Michel L’Hour 1995, pers. comm.). A possible explanation for the design of the low-slung rudder is that its drag through the water and vulnerability to unshipping were offset by the additional steering capabilities provided by an extra “bite” into water below the hull. Such a rudder is depicted on a contemporary drawing of a typical 16th-century Italian galley, in which quick and responsive maneuvering was necessary (Dotson 1994:160).