Anatomy of a Tall Ship (and How They Fought)

If you love boats, you probably love learning about the many types of boats that have existed over the years – and their long, storied history.

Among some of our favourite vessels are tall ships, which were primarily designed to engage in naval combat. With impressive size, yet ample speed and manoeuvrability, tall ships defined naval combat for hundreds of years.

But how exactly were tall ships made? And how did they fight on the water?

What Is a Tall Ship?

A tall ship is a very large sailing vessel that's traditionally rigged. Typically, when this term is used, it's used in reference to older sailing vessels that were used by naval forces up until the time they were replaced by steam powered ironclads. However, modern tall ship rigs still exist and are still enjoyed by millions of people. These rigs include things like schooners, brigantines, brigs, and barques.

Key Components of a Tall Ship

The key components of a tall ship include:

• Masts. A tall ship is a vessel that has, by definition, three or more masts. Typically, the foremost mast is square-rigged, while the others are fore-and-aft rigged. This is generally more complex than what you would find in modern rigging, in part because materials like aluminium and steel weren't available at the time.
• Rigging. The most representative examples of tall ships had square or gaff rigs, utilising separate topsails and topmasts. Modern sails are quite versatile, but these sails were very effective for their time.
• Sails. A single tall ship could have up to 40 individual sails. These include sails like the topsail, topgallant, and royal sails.
• Guns. Tall ships were primarily used in naval combat, though they served other purposes as well. In a typical combative tall ship, you could find open mount armament, heavy turrets, and/or casemate guns.

Tall ships were typically large, but they came in many varieties – and they grew in both sophistication and superiority over the years. For example, the English Man-o-War was a massive and powerful ship, especially for its time.

In the interior of a Man-o-War, you could find the following:

• Poop deck. The poop deck was the highest deck on a ship, typically used by the officers of the vessel. It was here where signal lieutenants raised flags to send signals to nearby vessels.
• Quarter deck. At the stern, you could find the quarter deck, which was also typically occupied by military officers. The captain slept here so he could be ready for any emergency developments. Additionally, the quarter deck was home to 12 cannons, each of which could fire 12-pound cannonballs.
• Forecastle. The forecastle was a raised deck that covered the main deck at the bows. This is where the sails of the ship were generally controlled – and of course, it was also home to more guns.
• Upper (gun) deck. This open deck held smaller boats and 15 24-pounder guns on each side, supplying a massive amount of firepower.
• Middle (gun) deck. Lighter guns on the middle deck supplemented the firepower. This is also where most of the crew slept, ate, and cooked.
• Lower (gun) deck. The lowest gun deck held even more firearms. Whenever the ship was not actively engaged in combat, you could find seamen laying in hammocks here.
• Orlop deck. This deck’s name came from the Dutch word for “overlap,” describing how it overlapped the main hold. The main function of this deck was storage.
• Hold. At the bottom of the ship was the hold, a massive deck designed for long-term storage – including all the food and drinks necessary for the voyage, as well as ammunition, spare sails, and materials for making repairs.

How Tall Ships Fought

Tall ships had a number of advantages, allowing them some degree of versatility and adaptability on the naval combat field.

• Speed. Sailing, under the right circumstances, can be incredibly fast. If you’re unfamiliar with sailing, you might think that the upper limit to a vessel’s speed is dictated by the wind. The wind, even on the windiest days, typically isn't powerful enough to move human beings or similarly heavy objects. But it's important to remember that tall ships had more than 40 individual sails, each of which was massive. Cumulatively, these sails could catch a lot of wind and propel the boat forward at considerable speed. Skilled navigators could also make use of tacking, which allowed tall ships to sail upwind even faster than they could sail downwind.
• Manoeuvrability. In the right hands, tall ships were also very manoeuvrable. Given their size, there's a strict upper limit to manoeuvrability; there's no way a gigantic sailing vessel could be as nimble or manoeuvrable as, say, a horse on land. However, savvy captains and helmsmen could work to position tall ships in favourable positions, lending them more power and tactical dominance on the battlefield.
• Line of battle. It was common for tall ships to align themselves in what was known as a “line of battle.” Essentially, this meant lining up ships in a row so that they could fire broadside. The most powerful weapons on a tall ship lined the sides of the vessel. This simply made logistical sense, as vessels were longer than they were wide, allowing for more guns to be placed and maximizing the chances of hitting the target. When the opposing Navy also had a line of battle, ships would often continuously fire at each other in the hopes of sinking the other vessel first.
• Gun placement. In naval combat, guns were very important. This is why tall ships gradually evolved to accommodate more (and more powerful) guns. The course of evolution started with carracks, which had a single cannon deck. From there, navies began to construct galleys, which had two cannon decks. The Man-o-War evolved from galleys, with three full cannon decks.
• Boarding. Tall ships that sat higher in the water had a massive advantage over their lower counterparts; namely, they could board these less seaworthy vessels. Boarding a ship successfully could confer a significant, potentially decisive advantage during battle, giving the boarding crew an opportunity to eliminate the people of the boarded vessel and seize control of the ship.

Famous Battles Involving Tall Ships

We can better understand how tall ships were used in naval combat by looking at some of the most interesting and impressive battles in naval history.

These include:

• The Battle of Lepanto. The Battle of Lepanto was a major naval battle that took place on October 7, 1571. A coalition of Catholic states called the Holy League brought a fleet of ships against a fleet of the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf of Patras, ultimately achieving victory.

The Ottoman tall ships were originally sailing westward from Lepanto, ultimately meeting the Holy League ships, which were sailing eastward from Messina, Sicily. The Holy League fleet featured 109 galleys and 6 galleasses from the Republic of Venice, and more ships from the Spanish Empire, the Republic of Genoa, the Papal States, the Order of Saint Stephen, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Savoy, the Knights of Malta, and private owners. John of Austria, the half-brother of Philip II of Spain (ruler at the time), commanded all of these vessels and led the centre division alongside Papal captain Marcantonio Colonna and Venetian Sebastiano Venier.

The Ottoman fleet, similarly formidable, comprised 222 galleys and another 56 galliots. The commander was Muezzinzade Ali Pasha, alongside Mahomet Sirocco and Occhiali.

This battle was considered to be an “infantry battle on floating platforms” due to the frequent boarding and involved more than 450 warships in total. It was also considered to be the beginning of the Age of Sail, when naval forces and tactics became much more important in military matters.

As a result of the battle, the Ottoman fleet was nearly completely destroyed; this marked a major turning point in the expansion of the Ottoman empire into the Mediterranean. Even though the Ottoman wars in Europe would continue for many decades, this battle served as a significant impediment to further imperial expansion – and was a hugely important symbolic victory.

By the end of the battle, 15,000 Christian slaves were freed. On the Holy League side, between 7,500 and 10,000 people were killed, with another 15,000 wounded, and 13 galleys were either sunk or destroyed. On the Ottoman Empire side, between 20,000 and 25,000 were killed, with 117 galleys captured, 20 galliots captured, and roughly 50 galleys and galliots sunk or destroyed.

• The Battle of Lake Erie. The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-In-Bay, was a battle during the War of 1812 – though the date of the battle was September 10, 1813. There were 9 vessels controlled by the United States Navy, which defeated and captured 6 vessels belonging to the Royal Navy. While smaller in scale than the Battle of Lepanto, this battle marked the turning point of the War of 1812 and allowed Americans to control Lake Erie for the rest of the war. Their control of the Lake eventually allowed them to take back the crucial city of Detroit, which in turn allowed them to win the Battle of the Thames.

By March of 1813, the British had seized control of Lake Erie, but American Admiral Oliver H. Perry had the task of creating a fleet that could challenge that control. British Admiral Robert H. Barclay attempted to attack Perry’s operational base on Presque Isle, but the base was well-protected by a blockade of cannons. The British eventually abandoned this task because of dwindling supplies and inclement weather.

As the British withdrew, the American fleet moved to Put-In-Bay, where the battle would take place. British tall ships had longer-range cannons, but the American tall ships had superior firepower. Knowing this, Perry ordered two of his biggest vessels to charge straight in, motivating them with a flag that said, “Don’t Give Up the Ship.” British vessels were able to sink the flagship Lawrence, but Perry escaped, boarded the Niagara, and, with a favourable wind, was able to decimate the British flotilla.

• The Battle of Gravelines. The Battle of the Gravelines of 1588 wasn’t as big as our other two examples, but it was still an impressive feat of tall ship naval tactics. Gravelines itself was a small port in Flanders of the Spanish Netherlands, near the border of France. It was Spain’s closest territory to England as well.

This battle unfolded as a decisive chapter in the undeclared, yet hotly contested Anglo-Spanish War. On August 8, 1588, Medina Sidonia had difficulty regathering his fleet after a sequence of attacks. Sidonia didn’t want to sail further east than Gravelines, as Dutch enemies had removed the sea marks there. Meanwhile, the English had learned of critical Spanish Armada weaknesses and had a plan to break through the oak hulls of Spain’s best warships.

The English Navy was able to get in tight for a close-range battle that lasted a mere nine hours. With superior firepower, ample ammunition, and better-trained men, the English bombarded the Spanish Armada without facing much return fire.

It wasn’t long before the Spanish fleet suffered enough damage to force a retreat. Many of their best ships were then lost in storms as they attempted to return to Spain. Thanks to this victory, the English were able to prevent Spain from invading England. This battle was also a major milestone that helped establish British naval dominance for decades, if not centuries to come.

While tall ships and sailing ships generally are no longer used in combat, they remain historically intriguing – and they’ve helped set the stage for some of the most impressive sailing vessels in the modern world.

Are you looking for a more modern sailing vessel to call your own? You can browse our vast selection of new and used boats for sale today. Or are you interested in selling a boat? We can help you with that, too. At TheYachtMarket, we’re here to help you with any and all of your boat marketplace needs.