His Majesty* s Ships of War, sgg 
The framing and flat of the decks ( excepting the quarter- 
deck, forecastle, and round-house, which are laid upon the 
old plan) are disposed of, as represented in figure 5. The 
former, that is, the framing or ledges and beams in ticked 
lines, the latter or planks in black ; those of the starboard 
side being laid contrarywise to the larboard. The midship 
ends of the diagonal planks abut against two strakes laid in a 
fore and aft direction without side of the comings of the 
hatchways ; the other ends approach the timbers of the frame, 
and the buts at each end are secured to a tier of Carlings 
placed for that purpose. The flat or plank of the deck so dis- 
posed is connected with a certain number of coaks to the 
hooks, beams, and transoms. When the decks are thus laid, 
waterways, described in figure 2, are brought upon, and coaked 
to the ends of the plank. These waterways being then bolted 
through the ship's sides, and also, in an up and down direc- 
tion, through the flat and shelf pieces, combine the whole in 
one homogeneous mass of strength. 
Few ships are without some complaint of apparent weak- 
ness after three or four years service. These defects among 
other places shew themselves at the beam ends, which par- 
tial complaining proceeds in a great degree from the local 
attachment of the beams to the ship's side, and the flat or 
covering being in toto unconnected, as already explained. 
The extreme ends of the beams not being properly secured, 
play and work upon the fastenings, so that it is not unusual 
to see the bolt holes cut to an oval figure by the friction of the 
bolts. The remedy usually applied to a ship in this state is to 
load her with additional materials, such as iron knees, stand- 
ards, breasthooks, See, thus adding greatly to the original 
