I am researching and cannot find this specific detail. When sailors brought horses, or other larger livestock, how did they get them on and off the ships? Did a part of the ship open up at the side for the unloading of cargo, such as horses, or were they walked onto the ship, or carryied over by net-I know I have seen this done, but did they do that back then, especaially if they were boarding several?
In 1600s planks into the bowels were common. The dock usually was level with the middle of the ship to allow the heavy cargo to board with little incline. The crew would board via a inclined plank to the deck.
Horses etc would traditionally be walked up the gangplank and then lowered into the hold in the same way that many of the heavy bulk goods of the time were. I.e gunpowder barrels, food supplies, water casks. A crane mechanism had been used in shipping since the middle ages as ships got bigger and technology improved. It would only be a hand crane though as obviously there was no Internal Combustion Engine.
