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Q&A How did/does shrinking canvas effect sailing ships?

When canvas gets wet and then dries, it shrinks. Sails get wet from rain and from spray, and it was even done on purpose to increase the speed of sailing ships. For canvas tents, this has to be ta...

1 answer  ·  posted 6y ago by Charlie Brumbaugh‭  ·  last activity 6y ago by System‭

Question sailing canvas
#2: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2020-04-17T19:12:20Z (about 4 years ago)
Source: https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/19182
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#1: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2020-04-17T19:12:20Z (about 4 years ago)
<p>When canvas <strong>gets wet and then dries,</strong> it shrinks. Sails get wet from rain and from spray, and it was even <a href="https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/questions/18477/why-did-wetting-down-canvas-sails-increase-the-speed-of-a-sailing-ship">done on purpose</a> to increase the speed of sailing ships.</p>

<p>For canvas tents, this has to be taken into account when building the frame as otherwise, you can end up with a tent that is too small for it. </p>

<p>Were/are there any similar considerations on sailing ships?</p>