Pontoon bridge unprecedented 730-meter, fortified pontoon bridge across the Scheldt river at the Siege of Antwerp in 1584 to close off water access to the city. In the battle of Saraighat in 1671, the Ahoms spanned the river Brahmaputra at Saraighat over an improviso bridge of boats. In the 1670s, the French devised the copper pontoon; after this point, rivers and canals ceased to present significant obstacles. The early modern period in pontoon use was dominated by the wars of the 18th and 19th centuries during which the art and science of pontoon bridging barely changed. This however did not stop all
Junk rig running rigging which pulls up the junk sail are: The running rigging which pulls down on the junk sail are: The running rigging that sets or trims the junk sail (controls the angle of attack relative to the direction of the wind) is the "sheet". On a traditional Chinese junk rig, the sail is controlled by "sheetlets"—small sheet lines running from the battens to blocks that in turn are on lines running through a "euphroe," a long piece of wood with holes in it. This helps maintain uniform tension in each panel of the sail. Western ship designers Tom Colvin,