514 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
BSERVING in the wrapper of 
your miscellany for this month, 
that, to the Theory and Practice of 
Naval Architecture, an appendix is 
added, containing the principles and 
practice of constructing ships, as in- 
vented and introduced by Sir Robert 
Seppings, surveyor of his Majesty’s 
navy, I beg, as a clue to the origin of 
such inventions, to state the following 
hints. 
These inventions may be considered 
under the different heads,— 
1. Filling in and caulking between the 
timbers. 
2. Omitting the inside planking, and 
placing diagonal riders. 
5. Horizontal timbers. 
4, Cross planking. 
5. Strength and keelson pieces, 
6. Round sterns. 
The first mode was suggested by Cap- 
tain Malcolm Cowan, about eighteen 
years ago, who, in a letter to a friend, 
says,—‘I formerly proposed to the 
Admiralty to fill in between the tim- 
bers, and make all solid, and caulk 
inside and outside before the plank 
was put on.” 
The second mode was also proposed 
by Captain Cowan at the same time, 
as he adds,—“‘ And then not to plank 
the inside, but to lay riders fore and 
aft diagonal: the diagonal riders, 
and the vertical timbers, and fore and 
aft planks, forming a series of tri- 
angles. Now, the triangular frame is 
well known to be the strongest that 
can be made; but it was not approved 
of, though it is now adopted.”—See 
St. Barbe and Stuart’s Patent Method 
- of Ship Building, published about 
1804. ; 
5rd. Horizontal timbers were first 
suegested in 1793-4, and published in 
the Papers on Naval Architecture, by 
the patriotic bookseller, the late Mr. 
Sewell, of Cornhill, In 1806 Mr. 
Boswell obtained a patent for a new 
mode of ship-building, and did builda 
ship, by triangular arrangement of the 
material, and horizontal clamp tim- 
bers, since introduced into the public 
dock-yards by the significant name of 
shelfpicces. 
4th. Diagonally placing the deck- 
planks, to be secured by coaks, was 
published by Egerton in 1805, as ap- 
pears in the late Mr. Maconochie’s 
Prospectus, the principle of which, 
and in some instances the very words, 
On the improved Construction of Ships. 
[July 1 
are inserted in a paper “On the new 
Principle of Constructing his Majesty’s 
Ships of War; by Robert Sepping, 
esq. read before the Royal Society, 
March 10, 1814. 
Coaking was first introduced in 
building ships-of-war, with other im- 
provements, by Sir Samuel Bentham, 
who laid the foundation for amelio- 
rating the public dock-yards; but the 
idea of cross-planking originated with 
that universal philosopher Dr. Frank- 
lin in 1775. 
5th. The bolting of timber over the 
joints of the floor, and first foot-hook 
heads, was recommended, if not ap- 
plied, by Mr. Gillett, near thirty years 
ago; and fixing pieces of timber on 
each side the keelson in midships, to 
prevent sagging, was actually done 
previous to that period in a peger 
built ship. 
For all of which inventions, an in- 
genious shipwright, who introduced 
the principle of the battering-ram for 
lifting ships to shift the keel, was, 
from a foreman, made an assistant, 
then master shipwright, and after- 
wards translated to the Navy Board, 
and became one of the surveyors ata 
salary of 1000/. per annum, witha title 
and award of 5000/. public money, as 
a small, or, as it was termed, a paltry 
reward for his inventions and disco- 
veries. 
All these honours and emoluments 
the fortunate carpenter mighthave en- 
joyed in quiet, with the 1000/. he re- 
ceived for laying blocks, as suggested 
by Mr. Snodgrass, had not another in- 
vention started up in a letter to the 
first lord of the Admiralty, describing 
“the advantages of this new plan of 
round sterns, and a detailed account 
of the imperfections of the square 
sterns,” which is in principle the same, 
if not the very words suggested in 
1802, and actually published im the 
Precursor, January 1813, of which the- 
following is an extract from p. 16 :— 
““A complete ship of war should be 
enabled to fight guns in every direction, 
for which purpose, the square, exposed, 
and overhanging stern, should be done 
away ; and, in future, formed into a circn- 
lar battery; for, although ships of war, as 
at present, are extremely formidable from 
a broadside battery, they are very vul- 
nerable, indeed almost defenceless at the 
extremities, and effective force should be 
considered the most essential quality na 
floating fortress.” 
May 8th, 1822. Facr. 
To 
