time of war. "Kingbuilt," Father White described it,
"makeing faire weather in great stormes." It had a
cargo capacity of at least 300 tons, defined in those days
by tons of wine, or about 10,000 cubic feet. Today such
a ship—perhaps 110 feet long, hardly 30 feet wide, and
about 13 feet deep—seems a cockleshell in which to risk
the lives of so many. But for its day it was "as strong as
could be made of oake and iron."⁴⁵

   Lord Baltimore and several co-investors purchased a
second and much smaller vessel, the Dove, to accom-
pany the Ark and to be used thereafter in the joint-stock
fur trade venture. The Dove was referred to as his Lord-
ship's pinnace, but pinnace was a term used loosely at
the time to cover a range of sizes and riggings of small
vessels that accompanied larger ships. From inconsis-
tent references to the size of the Dove it is estimated that
its cargo capacity was between forty and fifty tons, or
six to eight times less than that of the Ark. The Dove
may have carried a passenger or two, but nearly all the
prospective colonists probably traveled on the larger
ship.⁴⁶

   Provisions for the voyage consisted of wood (for
cooking), water, beer, and solid food, probably mostly
bread plus a little cheese and dried meat. The royal navy
of the time allowed one ton (in wine measure) per month
of these provisions for every four men. Of this provi-
sion, beer was one half, wood and water one quarter,
and solid food one quarter. Water turned bad faster
than beer, hence the great quantity of beer. Lord Balti-
more put aboard 107 tons of beer, about enough at this
rate for 200 people for two months. He also provided
six tons of Canary wine and "provisions"—presumably
solid food—worth £28 but not otherwise described.