Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/184811 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
UCD Centre for Economic Research Working Paper Series No. WP17/11
Publisher: 
University College Dublin, UCD School of Economics, Dublin
Abstract: 
Against the consensus that sailing ship technology was stagnant during the early Industrial Revolution,we find striking improvements in safety at sea. Between 1760 and 1825, the risk of being wrecked for Atlantic shipping fell by one third, and of foundering by two thirds, reflecting improvements in seaworthiness and navigation respectively. Seaworthiness improved through replacing the traditional stepped deck ship with stronger flushed decked ones derived from Indian designs, and the increasing use of iron reinforcement. Improved navigation owed little to precise longitude estimation and stemmed mostly from accurate charts and instruments, and accessible manuals of navigational technique.
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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