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HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

“ The greatest part,” says he, “ of these thirty ships (without having ever lookedout of harbour) were let to sink into such distress, through decay contracted intheir buttocks, quarters, bows, thick stuff without board, and spirkettings upontheir gun-decks within ; their buttock-planks, some of them started from theirtransums, tree-nails burnt and rotted, and planks thereby become ready to dropinto the water, as being (with their neighbouring timbers) in many placesperished to powder, to the rendering them unable, with safety, to admit ofbeing breem’d, for fear of taking fire ; and their whole sides more disguised byshot-boards nailed, and plaisters of canvas pitched thereon, (for hiding theirdefecrs, and keeping them above water) than has been usually seen upon thecoming in of a fleet after a battle ; that several of them had been newly re-ported by the navy-board itself, to lye in danger of sinking at their verymoorings.”

The stores and materials necessary for the re-equipment of a fleet, were alsoin the same deplorable situation. All these untoward circumstances are attri-buted by Mr. Pepys to the mismanagement of those persons to whose care themarine department was at that time entrusted. As an instance of the neglectwhich took place, he states, that although in 1679 there were seventy-six shipsin sea-pay, yet in 1684, when king Charles, who had at length taken thealarm, and been rendered conscious of the abuses which had taken place, re-sumed, in conjunction with his brother James, who was recalled, and to whomhe had become reconciled, the management of the navy into his own hands rthere were only twenty-four ships, none of them larger than fourth rates, thatwere actually in condition for immediate service. At this very time, however*the royal navy made no inconsiderable figure, at least on paper, as will appearby the subjoined list *, in which the rates of the different ships, as well as theirstations, are very correctly pointed out.

From

* A LIST of his MAJESTY’S SHIPS and VESSELS, June 19, 1634.

Ships Names.

St. Andrew

Chatham

Rate.

I.

Ships Names..

London

- Chatham

Brittannia

» Ditto

St. Michael

Ditto

Royal Charles

- Portsmouth

Roval Prince

- Ditto

Charles

- Ditto

Royal Soveraigne

- Ditto

Royal James

Ditto

II. Dutchess