178 Considerations on the Loss of the ‘ London.’ [ April, 
struction. If, for example, we take one of the present iron clippers— 
which make such quick yvoyages—with her sharp bows and fine pro- 
portions, I am of opinion that she is neither the safest nor the best 
description of vessel to contend with a heavy sea in foyl weather. 
In the first place, she is a diver, which cuts into the sea and rises 
with difficulty from a bath, which covers her decks with water as 
she pitches from sea to sea. But these are not the only objections 
to vessels of this form, as repeated immersions of this kind are 
exceedingly uncomfortable to those on board, and cause the ship to 
lift some tons of water before her buoyancy is restored to meet the 
next and every other succeeding wave into which she plunges in 
a rolling sea. It is not my intention from these observations to 
depreciate the value of speed either in the Royal or Mercantile navy. 
On the contrary, I think it is the duty of every ship-builder to 
approximate as closely as possible to the lines of least resistance, 
which, in my opinion, ought to be carried to its utmost limits in 
smooth water, but in smooth water only. 
In the construction of vessels of war, it was found expedient to 
rectify this want of displacement at the bows by projecting the 
submerged portion of the hull forward im the shape of a ram, not 
so much, however, for the purpose of attack, as to give buoyancy to 
the ship, and to enable her to rise more lively upon the sea. These 
defects of construction were observed in the iron-plated frigates 
‘Warrior’ and ‘ Black Prince,’ the former vessel pitched and rolled 
heavily in the Bay of Biscay from similar causes, which from the 
first have been observable in all our high-speed ships. Viewing 
the subject in this light, it may not be out of place to suggest that 
all passenger and emigrant ships should be modified in their con- 
struction, so as to give increased displacement at the bows and 
stern, but more particularly at the bows, where they require 
buoyancy, having to encounter the force of a large body of water 
rushing over them and scouring the decks from stem to stern. 
Many of us remember the bluff round bows of vessels of the last 
century, and how they rolled and pitched in a gale of wind. They 
were, however, short and compact, and although deficient in speed, 
they were nevertheless dry and excellent vessels at sea. 
For several years I have endeavoured to impress upon the 
minds of naval architects and others, the necessity of increased 
strength on the upper decks of sea-going vessels, in order to 
balance the forces of tension and compression, and the double 
bottoms on the cellular principle of construction. The ultimate 
strength of a vessel is the resistance of its weakest part, and this 
being the case, it is evident that it is of little or no value to have a 
strong double-bottom if the deck is liable to be torn asunder by the 
alternate strains of a vessel pitching at sea. That these strains, 
often repeated, lead to fracture does not admit of doubt, and it has 
eh 
