So, Huangshi searched the Internet for what material these modern sail-like crossbeams and stays are made of, and saw the information to know that this material is called lightweight carbon fiber composite materials, this material is not only used in sails, but also widely used in today's high-performance car bodies, because it has both high strength, high hardness, impact resistance, light weight, corrosion resistance, and long life characteristics.

This kind of carbon fiber is compounded with resin, metal, ceramic and other matrices to make a structural material referred to as carbon fiber composite materials. Carbon fiber is mainly a special fiber composed of carbon elements, because the carbon content varies with different types, generally more than 90%.

Carbon fiber has the characteristics of general carbon materials, such as high temperature resistance, friction resistance, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance, etc., but unlike general carbon materials, its shape has significant anisotropy, softness, can be processed into various fabrics, and shows high strength along the fiber axis. Carbon fiber has a small specific gravity and therefore has a high specific strength.

In addition, carbon fiber is a composite material made of artificial chemical fibers with high carbon content and non-melting in the heat treatment process, which is subjected to heat-stable oxidation treatment, and then carbonized and graphitized by process.

As a new material with excellent mechanical properties, its specific gravity is less than 1/4 of steel, its tensile strength is generally more than 3500Mpa, which is 7 to 9 times that of steel, and the tensile elastic modulus is 23000~43000Mpa, which is also higher than steel. Therefore, the specific strength of CFRP, that is, the ratio of the strength of the material to its density, can reach more than 2000Mpa/(g/cm3), while the specific strength of A3 steel is only about 59Mpa/(g/cm3), and its specific modulus is also higher than that of steel.

This material was born in the 50s, and in the early 80s, high-performance and ultra-high-performance carbon fibers appeared one after another, which made this carbon fiber composite material another leap in technology.

Because of its high strength, it is 5 times the strength of steel, the specific gravity is small, it is 1/5 of steel, it has excellent heat resistance, can withstand high temperatures above 2000 °C, has excellent thermal shock resistance and low thermal expansion coefficient, small deformation, small heat capacity, excellent corrosion resistance and radiation resistance, and also saves energy.

Therefore, it was first applied to cutting-edge science and technology such as rockets, aerospace and aviation, and later it was widely used in sports equipment, textiles, chemical machinery and medical fields. Nowadays, even the Formula 1 World Championship cars are made of carbon fiber materials for most of the structure of the body. One of the main selling points of the top sports car is the use of carbon fibre throughout the body, which is used to improve aerodynamics and structural strength.

Huang Shi was naturally very happy to find a replacement for the wooden crossbars and struts, so he made a phone call to the little girl named Li Mo, who was a staff member of the marina and had recently helped Huang Shi contact the business of "combined marina".

Li Mo was also very happy when he received a call from Huang Shi, because not long ago this Huang boss made her earn a lot of commissions, and now when she heard that Lao Huang wanted to buy lightweight carbon fiber composite crossbeams and struts, she immediately agreed to help him find relevant manufacturers.

Within a day, Li Mo called back to Huangshi and gave him a phone number from a carbon fiber composite material manufacturer, but this manufacturer was far away in Shenyang, northeast.

When Huangshi contacted the manufacturer, he listened to the manufacturer's sales manager on the phone and said some clichés about the light weight and high strength of their products, and mentioned that they can produce carbon fiber masts and glass fiber masts of different specifications and shapes according to customer requirements, and the length of the carbon fiber masts produced can reach up to 16 meters.

All in all, the cost is low and the manufacturing cycle is short, so Huangshi asked, "Can you still order a 16-meter-long mast?" ”

"Yes, Boss Huang, we not only produce crossbeams and struts, this mast is the same production, the overall structure of our products is reasonable, easy to store and handle, and the switch is also simple, and all products, the surface is covered with 3K, or electroplated colored glass fiber can be."

Hearing what the manufacturer's sales staff said, Huangshi, who originally only planned to replace the cross truss and struts, his eyes lit up, and he thought that the thick mast with the bowl mouth could also be replaced.

"It's only 16 meters, as if my ship doesn't need it yet." Huang Shi thought so in his heart, although he had not specifically measured the height of the mast, but he had visually measured the appearance of the main mast was only about six or seven meters high.

The mast height of Chinese sailing ships is also another obvious difference between Chinese sailing ships and Western sailing ships, the mast of Chinese sailing ships is far less high than that of Western ships, so the requirements for mast strength are not as strict as Western ships, which must be fixed with dense ropes.

The mast of Western sailing ships is generally composed of 3 or 2 independent masts through the mast tower, the mast is high, and some even reach 3/4 of the hull length, and the later warships also have additional wing sails, and the area of the sails that can be hung will far exceed that of Chinese sailing ships, so the advantage in speed is also significantly better than that of Chinese sailing ships.

The mast of the Chinese sailing ship is generally only 1/5 of the length of the hull, the most intuitive example is Zheng Chenggong's "three-masted gunboat", this kind of ship is a large fortune ship, its data is "tree three masts, the main mast is 4 zhang high, the length of the ship is 20 zhang, the cabin is five floors, the ship is as high as the city, can accommodate 300 people", that is to say, it is 67 meters long, and the mast height is only 13. 3 meters, and at the same time equipped with 8 Hongyi cannons, and 40 jack Franc machines.

And the largest warship in the West at the same time was the "King of the Seas", which was built during the time of King Charles I of England by the master shipbuilder Peter. Pate presided over its construction in 1637, and its displacement is 1,500 tons, and the length of the ship, including the bow mast, is 70. 7 meters, the mainmast is 35 meters high, the draft is 5 to 6 meters, and the speed is 10 knots. In terms of armament, there were 104 guns, including 20 60-pounder guns, 8 30-pounder guns, 32 18-pounder guns, 44 9-pounder guns, and about 800 ships.

Therefore, although the "three-masted gunboat" is only less than 4 meters narrower than the "king of the sea", the height of the mast is nearly twice as low, so its data in all aspects is also much worse.

So after a short period of consideration, Huangshi ordered two masts from this manufacturer, one 15 meters and one 10 meters, which were the mainmast and the aftermast.

……

After a few days of waiting, the manufacturer sent the masts, crossbeams, and struts to the shipyard, and Huangshi took them to Dongluo Island, along with the Oxford-spun sailing fabric.

Huang Shi asked Hong'er to select a few people from the servants who were originally the eldest daughter of Hong, the eldest daughter of Jiangjiazhuang, and asked them to use special silk threads to sew the crossbars and struts onto the sail. Later, someone called Zhu Mingxin, Wang Luobin and Zhan Wuya and a few of their carpenters to come over.

"Chief, are you looking for us?" Zhu Mingxin and the others were building a few wooden shelves at the time, and when they heard that the chief had something to call, they hurriedly brought tools and rushed over.

Huang Shi pointed to the two masts on the ship and said, "The three of you should think about how to change these two masts for me." ”

"Yes, Chief."

Zhu Mingxin, Wang Luobin and Zhan Wuya only noticed at this time that there were two swarthy high poles on the ground, about 3 or 4 zhang long.

"Chief, let's call a few more people to come and help." Zhu Mingxin and the others saw that the pole was very long and thick, and it was black, and they thought it was made of fine iron, so they wanted to find some people to come and carry it to the boat together.

Huang Shi didn't know what they were worried about, so he nodded in agreement, "Go ahead." ”

When they summoned someone back and stood next to the main mast the size of a blue ball, Huang Shi realized that this was the case, and said, "Mingxin, this lightweight carbon fiber composite mast is very light, you don't want to call so many people over at all." ”

Seeing that he still seemed to be a little skeptical, he continued, "Hehe, if you don't believe it, any one of you can lift it up." ”

"Hehe, chief, then I'll give it a try." Wang Luobin touched his head and said with a smile to Huang Shi.

"Okay, you can give it a try."

Wang Luobin walked to the end of the main mast, although he just heard the chief say that a person can be lifted, but after all, hearing is false, seeing is believing, so when he sank down, he secretly took a deep breath, and then held the pole with both hands, trying to lift it up, but he knew that he was too strong in an instant, and the pole was as light as a bamboo pole, and the person suddenly leaned back and fell a butt pier.

"Chief, is this pole strong?" Wang Luobin rubbed his buttocks and stood up, ignoring the people who were laughing next to him, walked up to Huang Shi and asked him.

Because in his understanding, the mast should always be stronger the heavier it is, and the pole like the one the chief is taking now is so light that it flutters, and if it is standing on the ship as a mast, will it be blown off as soon as the wind comes?

Huang Shi almost laughed just now, but he still replied with a forced smile, "Luo Bin, don't worry about this, this kind of pole is also used as a mast in the upper realm, and even used on the 'plane' and 'rocket' I told you, so don't worry about the sturdiness." ”

"Airplanes, rockets also use it?!" Wang Luobin's eyes widened, these two things had been mentioned by the chief before, saying that they were "magic weapons" that could fly in the sky, even mortals like them could also ride them, flying above the blue sky and white clouds, like immortals, that was very envious.

"Yes, that's right." Huangshi nodded, and the composite material made from the combination of carbon fiber and epoxy resin has become an advanced aerospace material due to its small specific gravity, good rigidity and high strength. This is because for every 1 kilogram reduction in the weight of a space vehicle, a 500-kilogram reduction in the weight of the launch vehicle can be achieved. Therefore, advanced composite materials are used in the aerospace industry.