# Builder's Old Measurement

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Builder's Old Measurement (BOM, bm, OM, and o.m.) is the method used in England from approximately 1650 to 1849 for calculating the cargo capacity of a ship. It is a volumetric measurement of cubic capacity. It estimated the tonnage of a ship based on length and maximum beam. It is expressed in "tons burden" (Early Modern English : burthen, Middle English : byrthen), and abbreviated "tons bm".

## Contents

The formula is:

${\displaystyle {\text{Tonnage}}={\frac {({\text{Length}}-({\text{Beam}}\times {\frac {3}{5}}))\times {\text{Beam}}\times {\frac {\text{Beam}}{2}}}{94}}}$

where:

The Builder's Old Measurement formula remained in effect until the advent of steam propulsion. Steamships required a different method of estimating tonnage, because the ratio of length to beam was larger and a significant volume of internal space was used for boilers and machinery. In 1849, the Moorsom System was created in the United Kingdom. The Moorsom system calculates the cargo-carrying capacity in cubic feet, another method of volumetric measurement. The capacity in cubic feet is then divided by 100 cubic feet of capacity per gross ton, resulting in a tonnage expressed in tons.

## History and derivation

King Edward I levied the first tax on the hire of ships in England in 1303 based on tons burthen. Later, King Edward III levied a tax of 3 shillings on each "tun" of imported wine, equal to £121.37 today (using the last year of Edward III's reign, 1377, as the base year). At that time a "tun" was a wine container of 252 wine gallons, approx 210 imp gal (955 L) weighing about 2,240 lb (1,020 kg), a weight known today as a long ton or imperial ton. In order to estimate the capacity of a ship in terms of 'tun' for tax purposes, an early formula used in England was:

${\displaystyle {\text{Tonnage}}={\frac {{\text{Length}}\times {\text{Beam}}\times {\text{Depth}}}{100}}}$

where:

• Length is the length (undefined), in feet
• Beam is the beam, in feet.
• Depth is the depth of the hold, in feet below the main deck.

The numerator yields the ship's volume expressed in cubic feet.

If a "tun" is deemed to be equivalent to 100 cubic feet, then the tonnage is simply the number of such 100 cubic feet 'tun' units of volume.

• 100 the divisor is unitless, so tonnage would be expressed in 'ft3 of tun'. [1]

In 1678 Thames shipbuilders used a method assuming that a ship's burden would be 3/5 of its displacement. Since tonnage is calculated by multiplying length × beam × draft × block coefficient, all divided by 35 ft3 per ton of seawater, the resulting formula would be:

${\displaystyle {\text{Tonnage}}={\frac {{\text{Length}}\times {\text{Beam}}\times {\frac {\text{Beam}}{2}}\times {\frac {3}{5}}\times {0.62}}{35}}}$

where:

• Draft is estimated to be half of the beam.
• Block coefficient is based on an assumed average of 0.62.
• 35 ft3 is the volume of one ton of sea water. [2]

Or by solving :

${\displaystyle {\text{Tonnage}}={\frac {{\text{Length}}\times {\text{Beam}}\times {\frac {\text{Beam}}{2}}}{94}}}$

In 1694 a new British law required that tonnage for tax purposes be calculated according to a similar formula:

${\displaystyle {\text{Tonnage}}={\frac {{\text{Length}}\times {\text{Beam}}\times {\text{Depth}}}{94}}}$

This formula remained in effect until the Builder's Old Measurement rule (above) was put into use in 1720, and then mandated by Act of Parliament in 1773.

## Depth

• Depth to deck
The height from the underside of the hull, excluding the keel itself, at the ship's midpoint, to the top of the uppermost full length deck. [3]
• Depth in hold
Interior space; The height from the lowest part of the hull inside the ship, at its midpoint, to the ceiling that is made up of the uppermost full length deck. For old warships it is to the ceiling that is made up of the lowermost full length deck. [3]
• Main deck
Main deck, that is used in context of depth measurement, is usually defined as the uppermost full length deck. For the 16th century ship Mary Rose , main deck is the second uppermost full length deck. [4] In a calculation of the tonnage of Mary Rose the draft was used instead of the depth. [5]

## American tons burthen

The British took the length measurement from the outside of the stem to the outside of the sternpost, whereas the Americans measured from inside the posts. The British measured breadth from outside the planks, whereas the Americans measured the breadth from inside the planks. Lastly, the British divided by 94, whereas the Americans divided by 95.

The upshot was that American calculations gave a lower number than the British ones. The British measure yields values about 6% greater than the American. For instance, when the British measured the captured USS President, their calculations gave her a burthen of 1533794 tons, whereas the American calculations gave the burthen as 1444 tons. [6]

The US system was in use from 1789 until 1864, when a modified version of the Moorsom System was adopted. [7]

## Related Research Articles

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The parsec is a unit of length used to measure the large distances to astronomical objects outside the Solar System, approximately equal to 3.26 light-years or 206,000 astronomical units (au), i.e. 30.9 trillion kilometres. Parsec is obtained by the use of parallax and trigonometry, and is defined as the distance at which 1 au subtends an angle of one arcsecond. This corresponds to 648000/π astronomical units, i.e. . The nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is about 1.3 parsecs from the Sun. Most stars visible to the naked eye are within a few hundred parsecs of the Sun, with the most distant at a few thousand.

The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight. Its original use as a measurement of volume has continued in the capacity of cargo ships and in terms such as the freight ton. Recent specialized uses include the ton as a measure of energy and for truck classification. It is also a colloquial term, "ton" is the heaviest unit of weight typically used in colloquial speech. It is also used informally to mean a large amount of something, material or not.

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Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume or cargo volume of a ship. Although tonnage (volume) should not be confused with displacement, the long ton of 2240 lb is derived from the fact that a "tun" of wine typically weighed that much.

The twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity, often used for container ships and container ports. It is based on the volume of a 20-foot-long (6.1 m) intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box which can be easily transferred between different modes of transportation, such as ships, trains, and trucks.

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## References

1. Kemp, P., ed. (1976). . Oxford University Press. pp.  876. ISBN   0-19-211553-7.
2. Pearn, Rodney Stone. "Tonnage Measurement of Ships". Articles. Steamship Mutual. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
3. Schäuffelen, Otmar (2005). Chapman great sailing ships of the world. Hearst Books. p. xx. ISBN   978-1-58816-384-4.
4. "Construction and Dimensions". The Mary Rose Trust. Archived from the original on 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
5. Fielding, Andrew. "The Mary Rose - a Model". Not published. Archived from the original on 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
6. Henderson, James, CBE (1994) The Frigates: An account of the lighter warships of the Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815. (London:Leo Cooper), p.167. ISBN   0-85052-432-6
7. Essex, Phil; Mork, Craig S.; Pomeroy, Craig A. "An Owner's Guide to Tonnage Admeasurement 1998-2003" (PDF). Jensen Maritime Consultants, Inc. Retrieved 2014-05-29.