Sir Robert Seppings (1767–1840): l’invenzione nella tecnica e l’arte della costruzione navale

The history of shipbuilding has always shown an exuberance of “doing” over “knowing”. The wisdom of the ancient builders and shipbuilders was the result of extensive experience gained in shipyards: a system of uninterrupted traditions based on knowledge and repetition of techniques and knowledge of construction, and above all on the creative fidelity that is proper to historical memory. This system had pervaded shipbuilding until the end of the 19th century when the advent of iron construction and the entry of steam propulsion produced a paradigm shift in its irreconcilability with a linear view of the history of shipbuilding. At the debut of the nineteenth century, Robert Seppings introduced important innovations and improvements in the shipbuilding technique in the shipyards of Chatham, a construction system that combined tradition and innovation in the construction of the naval skeleton, thanks to the creation of a frame structure with diagonal beams which significantly increased the longitudinal rigidity of the hull, thanks to greater resistance to bending. It was a significantly improved solution compared to the traditional shipbuilding structure, which allowed the construction of ever larger and more robust ships.