Of course, this kind of modular production is only suitable for large-scale mass-produced ships. Currently, only a few state-owned shipyards in the Ming Dynasty, including Longjiang Factory, Qingjiang Factory, and Suzhou Factory, are using it.

In the private shipyards in the Fujian and Guangdong areas, every ship is still laid out on site by master craftsmen, so every ship built in the south is unique and most of them are crooked or disfigured.

~~

Then Mr. Zhao went to the sail workshop to observe the sailmakers weaving sails with bamboo strips. They inserted a bamboo with a sail rein as the backbone for each sail, so that the sails could be folded piece by piece and raised close to the mast.

In terms of performance, this bamboo sail is certainly not as good as a canvas sail, but for use on transport ships and merchant ships, this affordable and durable sail is sufficient.

Later, in the oyster shell workshop, he saw the workers crushing the collected oyster shells and sending them into the kiln to burn into lime. The calcium carbonate content of oyster shell ash is more than 90%, and the lime sintered at high temperature is most suitable for blending tung oil, producing excellent waterproof properties.

Then mix it with hemp to make putty, which is used to fill the seams of the hull and the nail holes. You only need to apply oil once a year, and you don't have to worry about the hull leaking, and it can also prevent the nails from rusting.

Zhao Hao asked Blanco, the chief shipwright on the Oriental Beauty, and learned that European shipyards used oiled hemp fibers to caulk the seams, and then applied a layer of tar made from asphalt to make it waterproof.

Tar is not only toxic, but its waterproofing effect is not as good as the putty used in the Ming Dynasty... When Zhao Hao was returning on the Oriental Princess, he encountered water seepage in the hull. Fortunately, it was handled in time to avoid tragedy.

The entire Punishment Fleet has been at sea for two months and there has been almost no leakage. Well, this is also related to the fact that the fleet is made up of new ships...

However, there is no need to worry even if the old ship is leaking. The unique watertight compartment design of the Ming Dynasty can greatly improve the survivability of the ship.

Zhao Hao was in the iron workshop again, and saw the blacksmiths with their upper bodies bare in the middle of winter, sweating profusely as they made iron nails for ships.

Zhao Hao saw that there were seven or eight kinds of finished iron nails made in the workshop, including shovel nails, square nails, rivet nails, jujube nails, climbing head nails, flat head nails, etc., and they obviously had their own uses.

At that time, there was no iron nail on European ships, and they were all wooden nails. Although wooden nails have their advantages, such as not affecting the accuracy of the compass and not rusting, etc.

However, the time required to drill holes and drive tens of thousands of wooden nails into the board is dozens of times longer than that of iron nails. This alone is enough to make a clear distinction. Europe currently does not use iron nails, mainly because their iron smelting industry is not good and wrought iron is too expensive to use.

Therefore, the shipbuilding technology of the Ming Dynasty was still ahead of Europe in many aspects...

After visiting each workshop, Mr. Zhao's biggest feeling was that it is really not that easy to build a ship!

It is no wonder that the shipbuilding level of the Joseon Dynasty and Japan was not good enough, because this is a complex system engineering. If you want to improve the shipbuilding level, there are too many things to learn. This is not something that can be done by hiring a few shipbuilders, the entire system must be moved over.

Bah, dream on!

~~

After a quick tour of the workshops, it was already noon. Everyone followed Mr. Zhao to the shipyard's third canteen for lunch... Secretary Ma had informed him in advance that Mr. Zhao was short on time and did not want to set up a banquet, so he could just eat something in the employee canteen. He also inspected the workers' meals.

In the huge Shipyard Canteen No. 3, there were rows of long tables, which could accommodate 2,000 people dining at the same time. There were two more canteens like this in the shipyard. Otherwise, it would not be possible to feed the more than 5,000 mouths of craftsmen, apprentices, security guards, and laborers in the entire factory area.

The cafeteria was filled with noise, but after Young Master Zhao and his party came in, the noise suddenly became much quieter.

"Eat yours." Ma Hu waved his hand quickly, and the workers continued to eat.

The shipyard adopts a meal allowance system, which is 600 coins per person per month and is paid together with wages.

The canteen has a limited number of dishes, but they are very cheap. Pure vegetarian dishes such as winter melon and fried radish are one cent; leeks and eggs, garlic sprouts and pork are two cents; a chicken leg is three cents, and a portion of fatty pork is also three cents; rice is one cent and three taels, and a large steamed bun is one cent. Normally, three meals a day can fill you up with 20 cents. Of course, if you have a big appetite, you have to pay more.

Zhao Hao spent seven coins to buy two meat dishes, one vegetable dish and a portion of rice, then found an empty seat and sat down to chat with a few workers nearby. During the three months at sea, Mr. Zhao finally learned to humble himself, go deep into the grassroots and show concern for the people.

But it was impossible to mingle with the masses, after all, this was an era that was very particular about hierarchy. Just sitting at the same table with Mr. Zhao was enough to make several workers tremble with fear, and they almost stuck their chopsticks into their noses, let alone chatting with him.

If Ma Lao Hu hadn't warned them with his eyes, they would have run away with the wooden plates.

Mr. Zhao couldn't just eat in silence, right? That would be too funny. He could only force himself to continue the awkward conversation, asking them where they were from and whether they were satisfied with the food and accommodation.

The workers' answers were halting at first, but since Master Zhao asked questions about family matters, their answers gradually became fluent.

They told Zhao Hao that they could earn a lot here, eat well, and have good accommodation. The only problem was that the shipyard was on the island, making it inconvenient to go home. Most of them hadn't been home for a year.

Of course, in this era, how many people who work away from home can go home during the Spring Festival? So they just talk casually.

"Then move your family here." Young Master Zhao smiled and said, "That way you can go home every day, with a wife and children, and a warm bed. Wouldn't that be great?"

"That's great, but we have land at home and can't leave." The workers were tempted, but then they all shook their heads and said, "Besides, where will we live?"

"That's easy. If the land is yours, rent it out. If it's someone else's, don't rent it." Zhao Hao said with a smile, "Chongming Island doesn't lack land. We can build a shipyard farm later. It depends on how much you can grow at home."

"The living place is even simpler. Director Ma, build a family compound outside the factory area at the beginning of the year, specifically for the workers' families to live in." Zhao Hao first instructed Ma Hu. After he agreed, he said to Jin Xuezeng: "Your county should also give great support. You always shout about absorbing population and increasing the population. So many high-quality people are here, why are you indifferent?"

"Oh, yes. Why didn't I think of that?" Jin Xuezeng slapped his forehead and said with an annoyed look, "I'll come up with a plan later and try to attract the workers of the shipyard to settle down on Chongming Island!"

"Haha, did you hear what the county magistrate said? You'd better keep a close eye on him and don't let him say anything wrong." Zhao Hao smiled to Ma Hu.

"I dare not, I dare not." Ma Hu smiled awkwardly. Even if he had the courage, he would not dare to confront his parents.

The workers around then realized that Yixian's parents had come, and they were so scared that they immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Jin Xuezeng.

"Everyone, get up!" Jin Xuezeng had no choice but to put on the dignity of a county parent and encouraged everyone in a gentle voice, welcoming them to bring their families to Chongming Island to settle down.

Now that the seawall has been built, he has the confidence to say this. If it were in the past, he would probably be spit in the face!

You just came to settle in this damn place, and your whole family has collapsed into the sea...

~~

After a short rest after lunch, Master Zhao, accompanied by everyone, came to the Zuotang on the shore.

A dry dock is a technology that was very mature in the Song Dynasty. The large docks at Longjiang Baochuan Factory left a deep impression on Zhao Hao.

The Jiangnan Shipyard was built on a beach formed by the impact of silt. It did not have the same good conditions as the Longjiang Shipyard. It was impossible to directly connect the pond to the river, so it was not as simple as just digging a hole on the shore.

The pond here is a semi-open rectangular structure. First, a deep trench must be dug on the beach, and then the pond wall and bottom are reinforced with bamboo reinforced gravel concrete, and then the deep trench is extended into the sea with a concrete structure.

When workers were building boats in the pond, they built a sluice gate at the end of the pond to keep the seawater out of the pond. When the boat was finished and ready to be launched, they removed the support and opened the sluice gate. When the tide came in, the seawater would flow into the pond, and they could take the opportunity to drive the boat out.

Boats that need to be repaired in the factory must enter the pond during high tide. Before the tide recedes, temporary supports must be made to prevent the boat from tilting after the water level drops. After the tide recedes, the sluice gates are lowered to drain the water, and workers can go into the pond to reinforce the supports and then paint the boat.

At this time, the Oriental Beauty was quietly standing in the No. 7 pond built specifically for it. Dozens of logs supported its huge hull, and the entire ship, from top to bottom, was in broad daylight.

It was also the first time that Zhao Hao saw this "Oriental Beauty" naked. The hull below the waterline was obviously wider than above the water. This round belly was the secret of the galleon's ability to withstand broadside salvos.

"I didn't expect that she was a pregnant beauty." After examining her from head to toe for a long while, he asked the Yang brothers standing by: "How is it? Do you have the confidence to copy it?"

Yang Mi hesitated for a moment and answered cautiously: "I have to understand this boat thoroughly before I can answer you, sir."

"Then when will I be able to fully understand it?" Zhao Hao asked.

"The structure of this ship is much more complicated than our Fu Ship. I'm afraid it will take a while to fully understand it." Yang Mi said, looking at Yang Fan beside her, "If my brother can come with us, we should be able to build the model in a few months."

"A model ship?" Zhao Hao's eyes lit up. He loved playing with model ships the most.

"Yes." Yang Fan nodded and said, "The method passed down by our ancestors, the first step in imitating a ship shape is to build a smaller ship model. Although the ship model looks like a child's toy, it has all the parts that a large ship should have, and the internal and external structures are exactly the same, it's just a lot smaller."

"Yeah." Zhao Hao didn't feel offended at all and nodded enthusiastically. "Just reduce it in proportion."

"By building a ship model, we can clearly understand the ship's components, structure, and construction sequence. So as long as we can build a ship model, we will have a clear idea of ​​how to build the ship." Yang Fan added: "And it can also replace the real ship to test the performance and defects of the ship model."

"Then let's build it quickly!" What Zhao Hao was most afraid of hearing was 'it can't be built'. Now that he heard that there was a way, the heavy stone in his heart fell to the ground.