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03:09 PM

Lol, alright.

The Junk, also known as Chuán and Djong by the Chinese and Javanese, respectively, is a unique type of ship from china that is made for nearly any purpose. Small skiffs are used for fishing and river travel while medium and large vessels are for sea travel, both near and far. They have many features that modern shipwrights use today on everything from cruise ships to naval fleets.

Their basic shape and construction have remained pretty much the same since their conception around the second century AD: They are wide, have flat bottoms with multiple rudders, a high bow and a high deck. Their sails are moderately complex, involving bamboo slats and battens instead of the typical canvas and rope reefers on western ships. Due to this, though, they require less rigging.

Their other interesting feature was the use of compartments along the inside of the hull and in the hold. They gave greater stability to the ships as well as a place to store a wider range of cargo. They were also used to take on water in the lower compartments to buoy the ship and make it easier to change from freshwater sailing to sea-travel and back. The compartments have been compared to the inner structure of bamboo more than once.

This ship doesn't have a proper bow, but it's hard to find a good picture of a historic Junk so it shall suffice. So, that is all the technical stuff, though I'm thinking you may have been just wanting to hear more of a description of the Tempest, ne?