of Ships of the Line » 343 



■ult a fiirther excess of .36 tons in each gun on that deck, 

 which, in 36 guns, would occasion an increase of weight to 

 that last mentioned, of 12.96 tons. Lastly, if the very recently 

 constructed 32-pounders of 64 cwt. be at the same time the 

 arm of the lower deck, it would also add a weight of 8 cwt. per 

 gun on that deck, which, in 34 guns, would amount to 13.6 

 tons. Hence, if 32-pounder guns, of 64 cwt., be mounted on 

 the lower deck of this ship ; 32-pounders of 56 cwt. on the 

 upper deck; and 32-pound carronades on the quarter-deck and 

 forecastle, we shall have to provide displacement for 46.72 tons 

 more than our original calculation, and therefore our proposed 

 ship of 98 guns would require a total displacement equivalent 

 to 4386.51 tons*. 



We have been the more solicitous to explain our views on 

 this important question, because so little care has been taken, 

 as far as we are aware, to elucidate it, and to render the prac- 

 tical determination of the displacement of a ship-of-war an 

 easy and straightforward process. It is hardly necessary to 

 say, that in this country the most vexatious and mortifying 

 failures have repeatedly taken place from a neglect or igno- 

 rance of what has been here advanced. It must be confessed, 

 however, that in the almost total absence of the necessary 

 data which has prevailed, the risk of one failure in each class 

 of ships must have been run by the most skilful and scientific 

 constructor ; but the result of his experiment, even had it 

 proved bad, would have provided him with facts amply suffi- 

 cient to prevent its recurrence, and thereby make some return 

 for such an expensive mode (though the only certain one) 

 of procuring given quantities in the theory of naval archi- 

 tecture. 



The mere arithmetical operations, whose results, under 

 the heads of displacement and weight of hull, furnish Tables 

 II. and III. with their most important information, although 



* If we pursue a similar calculation with reference to the 92-gun ships qn two 

 decks now building in some of our dock-yards ; making an allowance (for the 

 increase of scantling given to them over the 84 -gun ship) equal to the difference 

 between the weights of hull, per foot of the length of the 74 and 84, or . 17 ton ; 

 we may, with some confidence, expect that the weight of hull will be about 2047 

 tons, and the load displacement for foreigi^ service, in time of war, 4207 tons, 

 including 276 tons of ballast. A height of battery of 6.79 feet will result with 

 this dispTacemeot 



