Touching the PEKING Accessible Service in the exhibition
Touching the PEKING
This tactile object provides a simple representation of the historic sailing ship PEKING. Touching is allowed!
The ship’s most important features are clearly visible. It consists of a hull, four masts and three decks. The superstructure consists of the forecastle at the front, the bridge deck in the middle with the chart house, and the poop deck at the stern. Another distinctive feature are the four cargo hatches, which allow for quick loading and unloading.
The rigging of the PEKING
The PEKING is a four-masted barque. This type of ship is particularly efficient and was the typical bulk carrier of the windjammer era. The rigging, i.e. the entire system of masts, sails and ropes, enabled safe and fast sailing with a small crew. The PEKING has square sails on the front three masts, which are positioned perpendicular to the direction of travel. The rear mizzen mast carries square sails in the longitudinal direction. At the front, there is a protruding pole, the bowsprit, which also carries sail area.
Dimensions of the PEKING
Built in 1911, the PEKING is a four-masted barque and an ideal heavy-weather sailor, well suited to the challenging voyage around Cape Horn. It features a steel hull and three superstructures – forecastle, bridge house, and poop deck – which, for the first time, spanned the full width of the ship and were connected by eleven gangways. Representing the pinnacle of sailing cargo ships, the PEKING was equipped with innovations such as brace and halyard winches as well as gang capstans. Its high speed and the fact that it could be sailed with a small crew made this type of ship the standard vessel for the outgoing saltpeter trade for both economic and technical reasons.
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Length: 115 meters
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Beam: 14.40 meters
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Draft: max. 7.24 meters
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Cargo capacity: 5,000 tons
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Crew: 31–34 men; from 1927, 74 men (when used as a sail training ship)
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Sail area: approx. 4,600–4,100 m²
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Maximum speed: 17 knots