SHIPBUILDING.

575

from the figure painted on the flag. Hence comes the frequentmention of ships called Pegasi, Scyllse, bulls, rams, tigers, &c.which the poets feigned to be living creatures that transported theirriders from one country to another. The whole fabric being com-pleted, it was fortified with pitch, and sometimes a mixture ofrosin, to secure the wood from the waters; whence Homer ’sships are everywhere mentioned with the epithet of fAiXuim, orblack. The first (hat made use of pitch were (he inhabitants ofPhaeacia, since called Corsica; sometimes wax was employed inthe same use; whence Ovid mentions ceratas rates. After all, theship being bedecked with garlands and flowers, the mariners alsoadorned with crowns, she was launched into the sea with loud ac-clamations and other expressions of joy ; and being purified by apriest with a lighted torch, an egg and brimstone, or the like, urnsconsecrated to the god whose image she bore. Thus the slip ofAlexandria in which Paul sailed to Syracuse (Actsxxviii. 11,) hadthe sign or images of Castor and Pollux . It was long before thevessels employed by the northern nations were brought to a toler-able degree of perfection. Even in the time of Edward I. in1304, 40 men were deemed sufficient to man the best and largestvessels in England; and that Edward III . in 1335, ordained themayor and sheriffs of London to “ take up all ships in their port,and all other ports in the kingdom, of the burden of 40 tons andupwaids, and to furnish the same with armed men and other ne-cessaries of war, against the Scots his enemies, confederated withcertain persons ot foreign nations.” Edward Ill’s, fleet beforeCalais, in 1347, consisted of 738 English ships, carrying 14,956 ma-riners being on an average but 20 men to each ship ; 15 ships and 459mariners, from Bayonne in Guienne, being 30 men to each ship ;7 ships and 184 men from Spain , which is 26 men to each ship ;one from Ireland , carrying 25 men ; 14 from Flanders, with 133men, being scarcely 10 men to each ship; and one from Guelder-land, with 24 mariners. Fifteen of these were called the king’sown ships, manned with 419 mariners, being somewhat under 17to each ship. In the memorable sea-fight of Lepanto between theTurks and Christians, anno 1571, no vessels were employed butgalleys; and it would appear from the carcases of some of them,which are still preserved in the arsenal at Venice , that even theseWere not so large or so well constructed as the galleys now made.The Ivincible Armada, as Spanish vanity stiled it, once the terrorand admiration of nations, in the pompous and exaggerated de-scriptions of which the Spanish authors of those times dwelt withs o much apparent pleasure, consisted of 130 ships, near 100 ofwhich were the stateliest that had been seen on the ocean. Thelargest of these, however, would be no more than a third ratevessel in our navy, and they were so ill constructed, that theyc ould neither move easily, sail near the wind, nor be properlyworked in tempestuous weather. The whole of the naval forcecollected bv Queen Elizabeth to oppose this formidable fleet, in-cluding hired vessels, tenders, store-ships, &c. amounted to no?t»°re than 143. Shipbuilding began now to make a considera-. progress in Britain . Both war and trade required an increase°1 shipping; so that, in 1670, the annual charge of the navy wasvcported to be 500,000/.; and in 1678 the navy consisted of 83sh ips, of which 58 were of the line. At this time the exportsa mounted to ten millions a-year; and the balance of trade was twoMillions. In 1689 there were 173 ships, great and small, in theJ°yal navy, and it has been constantly increasing ; so that in 1761he ships in the navy amounted to 372, of which 129 were of the•he ; and in the beginning of 1795, the total amount was above. . As the number of ships was now much augmented, so like-ISe improvements were frequently proposed and effected in the°nstruction of vessels, so as to render them more commodious,ronger, and better adapted for sailing.

General Division of Naval Architecture.

Da i Va * arc hitecture may be distinguished into three principalsuit i 1 • To give the ship such an exterior form as may be mostvar' 6 ^ le service for which she is designed. 2. To give theUnii° U t L P le ? es °f a ship their proper figures; to assemble andtj 0 e 1 | m into a firm compact frame, so that by their combina-swer u < "' s P° s ' t >on they may form a solid fabric, sufficient to an-® me purposes for which it is intended. And 3. To pro-as snit°K| Ven ' ent accoiT> modations for the officers and crew, as wella Dd am 6 a P? r tments for the cargo, furniture, provisions, artillery,^munition. The exterior figure of a ship may be divided

into the bottom and upper works. The bottom, or quic k-work,contains what is (ermed the hold, and which is under water whenthe ship is laden. The upper works, called also the dead work,comprehend that part which is usually above the water whenthe ship is laden. The figure of the bottom is therefore determin-ed by the qualities which are necessary for the vessel, and con-formable to the service for which she is proposed. The limits ofour work do not admit of a minute description and enumerationof all the pieces of timber which enter into the construction of aship, nor of a particular description of their assemblage and union,or the manner in which they reciprocally contribute to the soli-dity of those floating citadels. It is, however, necessary to give ageneral idea of the use, figure, and station, of the principal pieces,lo those who are entirely unacquainted with the subject. Toillustrate these, the annexed plate exhibits some of the most ma-terial draughts, as well as a representation of the principal pieces,employed in naval architecture. It is usual among shipwrights todelineate three several draughts; 1. The whole length of the shipis represented according to a side-view, perpendicular to the keel,and is termed the plane of elevation, or sheer-draught. See PlateCLXVJII. fig. 2. 2. The ship is exhibited according to an end-

view, and stripped of her planks so as to present the outlines of theprincipal timbers; and this is properly termed the plane of pro-jection, or the vertical plane of the timbers, (fig. 17, PlateCLXX.) because it shews the projection of their frames relativelyto each oilier. 3. It is not sufficient to have the vertical curvesof the bottom in different places, for a distinct idea of the horizon-tal curves is also equally necessary and useful; this is obtained bymeans of water-lines, traced upon what is called the horizontalplane, (fig. 3, Plate CLXVIII.) In this draught the curves ofthe transoms called the round-aft are also marked, and sometimesthe breadth and thickness of the timbers.

Of the Plane of Elevation.

The plane of elevation determines the length and depth of thekeel; the difference of the draughts of water ; the length and pro-jection, or rake, of the stem and stern-post; the position of themidship-frame upon the keel, together with that of the principalframes afore and abaft; the load-water-line; the wales; the di-mensions and situations of the gun-ports; the projection of therails of the head and stern-gallery ; with the stations of the mastsand channels. This draught, however, conveys no idea of thevertical curve of tin; ribs or timbers ; for, as their projection willbe only represented in a plane elevated upon the length of thekeel, they will appear in this direction no otherwise than as straightlines. To perceive these curves accurately, they must be re-garded in another point of view; which will represent their pro-jection upon a vertical plane, supposed to cut the keel at rightangles in the place where the ship is broadest. For, as all shipsare broader near the middle of their length than towards the ex-tremities, it is evident that the timbers are more extended in pro-portion. The most capacious of these represents what is calledthe midship-frame; and upon the area of this frame is de-lineated the projection of all the others. See fig. 19. Thusthe plane of projection limits the different breadths of aship in various points of her length, and exhibits the out-line of the timbers respectively to each other as they are erect-ed upon the keel. Accordingly, this draught ought to present avariety of sections of the ship in different places of her length, andalways perpendicular to the surface of the water ; so that the eyeof the observer, when placed in what may be properly termed theaxis of the ship, may perceive the several sections at one glance ;that is to sav, when looking full on the stem from before the ship,he shall discover the fore-timbers; and when looking from behinddirectly on the stern, he shall perceive the form of the after-tim-bers. As the two sides of a ship ought to be exactly alike, it isjudged sufficient to represent the sections of the forepart of theship on the left side, and those in the after part on the right side,so as to perceive all the sections, as well afore as abaft, upon oneplane. See fig. 17. However necessary it may be to understandprecisely the vertical curves of the bottom, it is no less requisiteto have a just idea of those which are horizontal. The horizontalor floor-plane is that upon which the whole.frame is erected, andwill be more clearly understood by previously describing thewater-lines and ribands of which it is composed. When a ship

floats