Modern theories that the Ming ‘treasure ships’ could have exceeded 400 feet in length are rejected by all experts in naval technology, as the size of wooden ships was always limited by the length of trees available for the keel. For sailing in heavy seas, a single strongly protected scarf-jointed keel is the most that shipwrights judge acceptable for safety. According to today’s traditional shipbuilders in Fujian, this would allow a boat, in Chinese junk style, to be between 200 and 240 feet long, a size that would fit with the find in one of the Nanjing basins, of a 35-foot stern rudder post.
