Ships of War by the application of Diagonal Braces. 3 
blocks, how much she had altered from the state in which 
she was when afloat. They were then to place a certain 
number of trusses ( conformably with the annexed drawing, 
Plate I. No. 1 . ) in the following manner : those in the hold 
marked A, to be placed in an angle of 45 0 , or thereabouts, 
and those marked B, at right angles to them ; those in the 
ports marked C to be placed from the midships forward, in 
an angle of about 40°, and, from the midships aft, at the 
same angle, but in an opposite direction. As it was uncer- 
tain where the centre of fracture (or point of separation) 
would take place, a few of the port- holes about the centre 
of the ship were crossed, as shown in Plate I. at D. 
Wedges were applied to the heels of the trusses, which were 
then set tight. The ship being thus partially trussed, the 
water was then to be let into the dock, and the ship floated 
out of it into the bason, where she was to lay one hour, when 
a committee was to examine the sights, and ascertain how 
much the ship had altered ; and again, what change had 
taken place in twenty-four hours after floating. This being 
done, the trusses were to be disengaged in as short a time as 
possible, in order to observe whether the effect of their re- 
moval would be instantaneous, or gradual. 
The following is an extract of the report of the committee : 
“ When the ship was in dock, on blocks perfectly straight, 
“ she came down in the midships, by the sights placed on 
“ the gun-deck, two feet two inches and a half ; and by 
“ those on the upper deck, two feet three inches and a quar- 
“ ter ; and when undocked, with the trusses complete, and 
“ in their places, she hogged, or broke her sheer, by the 
“ sights on the gun-deck, one foot two inches ; and by those 
