Naval ARCHITECTURE

All edifices, whether civil, or military, are known to be erected in consequence of certain established plans, which have been previously altered or improved till they have arrived at the desired point of persection. The construction of ships appears also to require at least as much correctness and precision as the buildings which are founded upon terra firma: it is there.. fore absolutely necessary that the mechanical skill of the shipwright should be assisted by plans and sections, which have been drawn with all possible exactness, examined by proper calculations, and submitted to the most accurate scrutiny.

Naval ARCHITECTURE, or ship-building, may be distinguished into three principal parts.

First, To give the ship such an exterior form as may be most suitable to the service for which she is designed.

Secondly, To give the various pieces of a ship their proper figures; to assemble and unite them into a firm, compact frame, so that by their combination and disposition they may form a solid fabric, sufficient to answer all the purposes for which it is intended. And,

Thirdly, To provide convenient accommodations for the officers and crew, as well as suitable apartments for the cargo, furniture, provisions, artillery and ammunition.

The exterior figure of a ship may be divided into the bottom and upper-works.

The bottom, or quick-work, contains what is termed the hold, and which is under water when the ship is laden. The upper-works, called also the dead-work, comprehend all that part which is usually above the water when the ship is laden.

The figure of the bottom is therefore determined by the qualities which are necessary for the vessel, and conformable to the service for which she is proposed.

Reference Works