What type of ships did christopher columbus use

To put it in non-marine terms, a flagship is like a leader. Therefore it can be simply said that out of the three Christopher Columbus Ships, Santa Maria was the leader-ship. A cargo ship weighing around tons and measuring about 18 meters in length, 12 meters keel lengthwise, six meters beam wise and two meters draft wise, the Santa Maria had a crew of about 52 members. Features wise, Santa Maria had three main masts each with sails. These masts were known as the mainmast, the foremast and the mizzenmast.

And while this ship had these positive attributes, the main negative attribute about this ship was that its building did not allow Santa Mari to sail near the shallow waters and the coral reefs, thus providing a ship with a handicap. Caravel ships were designed just to beat the disadvantage of sailing in the shallow waters and coral reefs that ships like Santa Maria encountered and were lightweight and easy to manoeuvre around.

Of all the three Christopher Columbus Ships, the Pinta was the fastest reaching a maximum top speed of about 8 knots a day around miles while Santa Maria was the slowest, owing to its larger size. The Pinta on the other hand weighed around 70 tons and measured around 17 meters lengthwise, 13 meters keel lengthwise, five meters beam wise and two meters depth-wise. Furthermore, four of the crewmen on the Christopher Columbus Ships were criminals who were offered amnesty in lieu of their volunteering to be a part of the voyage by the Spanish Crown.

Over several days, ships of Columbus's day would average a little less than 4 knots. Top speed for the vessels was about 8 knots, and minimum speed was zero. These speeds were quite typical for vessels of the period -- and indeed, typical for the entire Age of Sail up until the time of steamships and clipper ships. So overall, 90 or miles in a day would be typical, and phenomenal. Of the three ships on the first voyage, the Santa Maria was the slowest, and the Pinta was the fastest.

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