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HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

attend the use of sliding keels, first in the article of steering, as will easily be disco-vered by every motion and action of the ship. He observes that vessels, furnishedwith this invention, are enabled to hold a more direct course than those which arebuilt in the ordinary way ; and it is a well-known fact, that, as the deviation whichis made from the intended course is less by so much, the strain on the hull, stern-post, and rudder, as well as the masts, rigging, and sails, is diminished. Instead ofits being necessary, as is the case in other ships, to station three or four men at thehelm, it is supposed the largest vessel that could be built might be steered withease by a single person. The extent of this advantage must be obvious to everynautical man ; since it is a well-known fact, that some ships, on account of theirform, steer so ill, that even in fresh breezes, or light winds, they are not able,when the wind is on their quarter, to carry all their sail set; an impedimentwhich, perhaps, delays their progress one, or even two knots in an hour.Jn consequence of this defect, the loss in distance quickly accumulates to themost alarming height, exclusive of the errors which may, at the same time, bemade both in longitude and latitude, owing to the incorrectness of the course.The difficulties and dangers to which a ship, labouring under the inconveniencejust stated, is exposed, are of the most dreadful nature ; the errors in longi-tude being difficult to correct, even by the most scientific observation. Whatthen must be the disadvantages under which a ship must Jay, especially onmaking the land where no observation has been had, and the steerage has beenwhat is called wild ?

There appears, however, according to the opinion of those who are best in-formed on the subject, to be a danger of still more frightful tendency, which,it is supposed, may be completely avoided by the adoption of this invention.The fatal consequences which frequently result from the accident of a shipbroaching to, are well known ; and though this may sometimes happen, inconsequence of irregular or careless steerage, yet there is reason to apprehend it isvery often occasioned by the situation that ships are unavoidably placed in du-ring heavy gales of wind and high seas. Let a vessel be supposed, for instance,scudding before the wind, or quartering, with very little sail set, and thatextremely low, the foresail, close reefed, being frequently made use of on suchan occasion, when the vessel falls between two seas it becomesalmost becalmed, andconsequently loses its headway. The next or following sea raises the stern ; thebow naturally inclines downwards. The cutwater having a direction differentto the intended course, the stern becomes lifted up so much by the rise or swell of the

sea,