1680 - Schools of Naval Architecture

Jean-Baptiste Colbert, 61 years old, Secretary-of-State for the Navy since 1669, has established three schools of naval architecture for naval officers at Brest, Toulon and Rochefort. It may look strange to address such schools to officers rather than to apprentice shipwrights but this decision is consistent with the creation in 1671 of the ‘Conseils de Construction’ to collect feedback from the officers about the performances of their ships – which, in its beginnings, unveiled how much they had to learn before delivering relevant information.

As for the future master shipwrights, they have not been forgotten : a naval administrator as Pierre Arnoul already took the initiative of bestowing high-level lessons of drawing and of geometry to the sons of the masters shipwrights of Toulon and Marseilles.

Pierre Arnoul, intendant du port de Toulon, 1679

In France as in Britain, there are dynasties of masters shipwrights. Knowledge stems from a legacy. Arnoul did not object to this. He is himself the son of a naval administrator, as Colbert's son is destined to succeed his father in his ministry, and naturally imbued with this system of position survivorship, the possible woes of which he corrects by teaching the heirs.

The lessons to the naval officers are delivered by these sons and heirs of masters shipwrights:

at Toulon, this is François, son of Laurent Coulomb, who built the 84-gun vessels Monarque (1668) and Sceptre (1670) ; this François is the Monsieur Coulomb whom Arnoul mentioned in the quoted statement ;

at Brest, this is Étienne, son of Laurent Hubac, who built the 104-gun Reine (1668) and Soleil Royal (1669) as well as the 84-gun Admirable (1678) ;

at Rochefort, this is Pierre, son of Honoré Malet who built the 88-gun Grand (1680).

The lessons are very practical and purely descriptive. They use scale models to show the hull elements but they are not required to explain the reasons behind the displayed features. What do the young teachers themselves know about in-depth reasons ? Likely their fathers have told them what to do, how to do, and what not to do, together with a few principles and a full bunch of rules.

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IN RETROSPECT FROM TODAY

NOTE A - About Laurent & François Coulomb.

The father moves to Rochefort and Port-Louis to build vessels there, while his son stays in Toulon.

The son writes a Livre de Construction des Vaisseaux in 1683 at the age of 29 before having been responsible of any construction. He will start leading a shipbuilding the following year. His book is very interesting as it comprehensively renders the rules stemming from his father's knowledge.

NOTE B - On the destiny of the heirs.

They will build the batch of vessels required by the Nine years war. As for the 1st rank three-deckers :

François Coulomb builds the twin 88-gun Sceptre and Lys (1691), as well as the new 110-gun Royal Louis (1692) and the 96-gun Admirable (1692), then the pair of 90s, Tonnant and new Saint-Philippe (1693).

Etienne Hubac builds the 90-gun Formidable (1691) and the new 110-gun Soleil Royal (1693).

Pierre Malet builds the 84-gun Intrépide (1690), the pair of 94-gun vessels Victorieux and Ambitieux (1691), the 84-gun Magnifique (1692), the new 92-gun Ambitieux (1692) after the loss of the previous one, the 92-gun Fier (1694).

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SUGGESTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Eric Rieth - Le "Livre de Construction des vaisseaux" (1683) du maître charpentier toulonnais François Coulomb (1654-1717) in Actes du 124e Congrès National des sociétés historiques et scientifiques - Nantes, 2002 - available on the Internet