Editing Batavia (1628 ship) (section)

==Construction==
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Dutch were the major ship-builders of northern Europe, innovating both designs (e.g. the [[Fluyt]]) and technology (the windmill driven sawmill). They did, though, use the "bottom-based" construction sequence, which uses a shell-first system for the lower part of the hull. The planks are shaped and then laid edge to edge, having the appearance of [[Carvel (boat building)|carvel construction]], but are put in position before the {{nautical term|frame}}s are installed. The shape of the bottom of the hull is therefore derived from the shaping of the hull planks.{{efn|[[Clinker (boat building)|Clinker construction]] is an example of shell-first building, with the shape of the hull derived from the way the planks are fitted together. The frames (or ribs) are added later. [[Carvel (boat building)|Carvel construction]] is generally considered to have a sequence in which the frames are erected on the keel and then planked over: "frame first". Historically, this is an oversimplification. Many vessels built in Holland in the 16th and 17th centuries had the bottom of their hulls built plank first; the planks were clamped together and held with temporary cleats. Then the {{tooltip|2=lowest section of the frames, the floors fastened over the top of the keel|floors}} were shaped to fit the hull and installed. The frames continued with the first {{tooltip|2=a futtock is one of the pieces of wood that make the side of a frame|futtock}}s being fitted to the planking (but not to the floors, as they would in true carvel construction), and these were then planked. The sequence then continued with second futtocks being fastened to the installed planking, then new planks added up the side of the hull. So we see the "floating futtock" which is only attached to planking and not to the floors or other futtocks.}} The "bottom-based" construction sequence is the same as used on Medieval [[Cog (ship)|cogs]] and some argue that this is an older Romano-Celtic building tradition.{{sfn|Van Duivenvoorde|2015|pp=31, 67}}

Ships belonging to the [[Dutch East India Company]] (VOC) were generally built in the company's own shipyards. The VOC issued charters which gave detailed specifications for these ships; these were updated from time to time. The charters gave a range of key hull dimensions and scheduled the sizes of the {{tooltip|2=major structural timbers of the ship|scantlings}}. However, the designs did not exist as plans or drawings that determined the shape of the hull.{{sfn|Van Duivenvoorde|2015|pp=81, 432-450}} Unlike ships built for European trade, the VOC [[East Indiamen]] were planked with a double skin of oak structural planking. This was sheathed with a double layer of pine which incorporated tar and animal hair, together with closely spaced iron nails. The pine layer was intended to resist [[Teredo navalis|teredo worm]].{{sfn|Van Duivenvoorde|2015|p=355}}

The length to beam ratio of Batavia was 4.4:1. This made her narrower than preceding VOC ships. A 1619 VOC ship-building charter gives a length to beam ratio of 3.9:1. It is suggested that there was a trend for VOC to have increasingly narrower designs in the early part of the 17th century. All VOC ships had a relatively high length to beam ratio, covering a range of 3.7:1 to 4.5:1. This was at a time when a 3:1 ratio would not have been unusual.{{sfn|Van Duivenvoorde|2015|pp=404, 424}}

''Batavia'', in common with other Dutch ships of the time, was built from oak imported from the forests bordering the [[Vistula]]. The Dutch trade in timber from the Baltic, particularly oak, dates back to the early 13th century. (By the early 17th century, Dutch merchants dominated the European timber trade.) Oak from the Vistula region ceased to be used after 1643. It is possible that Dutch shipbuilding had, by then, been a cause of deforestation of the area.{{efn|An alternative theory for the Vistula ceasing to be a source of oak is the [[Thirty Years' War]] and [[Deluge (history)|war between Sweden and Poland in 1655-1660]]. However, the evidence suggests that all Dutch trade to the Baltic remained remarkably resilient, despite these wars.}}{{sfn|Van Duivenvoorde|2015|pp=385–389}}

''Batavia'' may have been one of two ships specified in the VOC shipbuilding charter of 29 March 1626{{snd}}normally it took 18 months to build one of these vessels, so a small delay would fit the dates. The name "Batavia" was chosen on 29 June 1628. The leaders of the VOC pushed for the ship to be ready for the next fleet (consisting of five other ships), which was due to leave in September or October 1628. ''Batavia'' would be the flagship of this fleet.{{sfn|Van Duivenvoorde|2015|pp=141–143}}