A new, much improved version of the 17th century online pinas program has been released. The program makes it possible to walk through the ship and absorb all the information that Nicolaes Witsen has left us through his famous book. The first version was released in the spring of 2021, since then hard work has been done on a completely renewed and greatly improved episode.
Anyone who enters the address -https://witsenscheepsbouw.nl- in the address bar of his browser (preferably Chrome, but others usually work too) will immediately be given the option on the start page to download the entire program and place it on your own hard drive.
This is highly recommended as it avoids waiting when one wants to move from one part of the program to another and in the downloaded version the quality of what is offered is even better. The program is 2Gb in size. Unfortunately, this operation is only possible on Windows PCs. Owners of Apple computers will (for now) have to make do with the online version.
If you opt for the online version, you will be given a choice of five buttons:
1. Explore the pinas. Here you can virtually walk through the ship.
2. Cross section of the pinas. This covers the fasteners such as nails, dowels and bolts, shown to a segment of the hull amidships.
3. Construction phases of the pinas. Here you can interactively witness the construction of a 17th-century ship. All phases are explained on the basis of the original texts from Witsen's book and provided with explanations where necessary.
4. Encyclopedia of the Pinas. Each part of the ship is treated here on the basis of a partly open version of the ship, in which the user can choose any part with his mouse. Then the name appears and the corresponding information can be found in the dictionary list to the right.
5. Explore the fluit. This hypothetical reconstruction of a fluit can be viewed as a virtual model, just like the pinas.
The same components can be found in the downloaded version, only they are faster to open and use. If you find and open one of the two download versions (the Dutch or the English one) in your download folder, you will find four files, of which he must click the icon -Witsenshipbuilding-.
The program then opens in a slightly different design, but the content is of course the same as the online version.
Here you can choose from the Pinas, the Fluit, the Encyclopedia and a button that closes the program. If you click on the pinas, you can choose from three options:
1. Exploration, equivalent to #1 of the online version.
2. Construction phases, equivalent to #3 of the online version.
3. Cross section, equivalent to #2 of the online version.
The part about the construction phases has been supplied with all the written documentation and illustrations Witsen left us. Many of the nautical terms used in the program find their explanation here.
The fluit can only be explored in a game setting' and, because of its hypothetical content, has no further digressions.
In particular, I would like to draw attention to the much improved Encyclopedia, in which the colored and cut-away model of the pinas invites you to discover and explore parts. In addition, an exploded view option has been added for composite parts such as the galleon, capstan, pump and decorated stern.
It contains the names of all parts and the data Witsen left us.
We from the Witsenshipbuilding team are proud to present this version and invite you to think along with us about how we can make the work even more useful and attractive.
Ab Hoving
Johan Opdebeeck of the Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE)
The team of Tijdlab: Rob van Haarlem, Tomas Schuurbiers and Thomas Verhoeven
Anyone who enters the address -https://witsenscheepsbouw.nl- in the address bar of his browser (preferably Chrome, but others usually work too) will immediately be given the option on the start page to download the entire program and place it on your own hard drive.
This is highly recommended as it avoids waiting when one wants to move from one part of the program to another and in the downloaded version the quality of what is offered is even better. The program is 2Gb in size. Unfortunately, this operation is only possible on Windows PCs. Owners of Apple computers will (for now) have to make do with the online version.
If you opt for the online version, you will be given a choice of five buttons:
1. Explore the pinas. Here you can virtually walk through the ship.
2. Cross section of the pinas. This covers the fasteners such as nails, dowels and bolts, shown to a segment of the hull amidships.
3. Construction phases of the pinas. Here you can interactively witness the construction of a 17th-century ship. All phases are explained on the basis of the original texts from Witsen's book and provided with explanations where necessary.
4. Encyclopedia of the Pinas. Each part of the ship is treated here on the basis of a partly open version of the ship, in which the user can choose any part with his mouse. Then the name appears and the corresponding information can be found in the dictionary list to the right.
5. Explore the fluit. This hypothetical reconstruction of a fluit can be viewed as a virtual model, just like the pinas.
The same components can be found in the downloaded version, only they are faster to open and use. If you find and open one of the two download versions (the Dutch or the English one) in your download folder, you will find four files, of which he must click the icon -Witsenshipbuilding-.
The program then opens in a slightly different design, but the content is of course the same as the online version.
Here you can choose from the Pinas, the Fluit, the Encyclopedia and a button that closes the program. If you click on the pinas, you can choose from three options:
1. Exploration, equivalent to #1 of the online version.
2. Construction phases, equivalent to #3 of the online version.
3. Cross section, equivalent to #2 of the online version.
The part about the construction phases has been supplied with all the written documentation and illustrations Witsen left us. Many of the nautical terms used in the program find their explanation here.
The fluit can only be explored in a game setting' and, because of its hypothetical content, has no further digressions.
In particular, I would like to draw attention to the much improved Encyclopedia, in which the colored and cut-away model of the pinas invites you to discover and explore parts. In addition, an exploded view option has been added for composite parts such as the galleon, capstan, pump and decorated stern.
It contains the names of all parts and the data Witsen left us.
We from the Witsenshipbuilding team are proud to present this version and invite you to think along with us about how we can make the work even more useful and attractive.
Ab Hoving
Johan Opdebeeck of the Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE)
The team of Tijdlab: Rob van Haarlem, Tomas Schuurbiers and Thomas Verhoeven