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WATER-LINES
WATER-LINES, (linges d'eau, Fr.) certain horizontal lines supposed to be drawn about the outside of a ship's bottom, close to the surface of the water in which she floats. They are accordingly higher or lower upon the bottom, in proportion to the depth of the column of water required to float her.See a particular account of these in the article Naval ARCHITECTURE.
In order to conceive a clearer idea of the curves of those lines when represented on a plane, let us suppose a ship laid upright on a level ground; so that the keel shall lie in the same position, with respect to the horizon, as when she is laden. We may then describe several black horizontal lines about her bottom, which may be whitened for that purpose.
If a spectator is supposed to be placed, at a competent depth, under the middle of her bottom, in a line perpendicular to the plane of the ground, he, will then, viewing the bottom upwards, discover the horizontal curves of all the water-lines.
These curves are all delineated on a plane, supposed to be formed by an horizontal section of the bottom, at the heighth of the load-water-line, (ligne d'eau du vaisseau chargé, Fr.)
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© Derived from Thomas Cadell's new corrected edition, London: 1780, page 312, 2003
Prepared by Paul Turnbull
http://southseas.nla.gov.au/refs/falc/1474.html