Traditionally, the design of hulls, rigging, sails and outfittings had been the provinces of several separate specialists. Commonly, shipyards built the hulls of vessels and, after launching, riggers and sailmakers outfitted them. Most innovation was confined to improvement of the hull, to increase carrying capacity of merchantmen and to improve the stability of warships as gun platforms. The results were broad, squat boxes, hydrodynamically inefficient, with squalid accommodation for the crew and complicated rigging that entailed much very dangerous work aloft.