This book is included in the Self Reliance Transportation section.
PREFACE. The proprietors of the Encyclopaedia Britannica having determined on printing as a separate treatise, in a somewhat enlarged form, the article Ship-Building as prepared for the eighth edition of that work, and a second edition of the separate treatise being now called for, it is proposed to say a few words explanatory of the tenor and scope of the original article. The article in the previous edition of the Encyclopaedia was written by Mr Creuze, a member of the School of Naval Architecture which existed at Portsmouth under the late Dr Inman. Mr Creuze's death at a comparatively early age, while it was a source of great regret to a numerous circle of friends, was at the same time a serious loss to the profession of which he formed so distinguished an ornament. His work was received with the greatest favour, as a valuable addition to the works on Ship-building in the English language ; but since it was written, great changes have taken place. The researches of Canon Moseley, and the still more important researches and works of the Rev. Dr Woolley, have added to the theoretical knowledge of the subject; and the rapid extension of Steam-Shipping, the general increase in the size of vessels, the introduction, or perhaps, to speak more correctly, the now general adoption of Iron as a material for the construction of Ships, and latterly the use of a casing of thick armour-plates of iron for the protection of men-of-war, all called for special notice, and for a revisal, and in some respects a renewal, of the article. To follow Mr Creuze was felt to be assuming no light responsibility; but, as it was specially desired to produce a work which should be of a nature to be useful to the practical ship-builders of the day, and as the use of Iron in the construction of ships had assumed so important a position in the country, it was considered desirable that the work should be undertaken by one possessed of as much experience and practical knowledge of this branch of the subject as possible ; the more so as it was felt that the previous article by Mr Creuze afforded so good a groundwork for the portion on wooden ship-building which would still be required. The writer was therefore applied to by the proprietors to undertake this task. He had been employed by Mr Fairbairn of Manchester, in 1834, upon two iron steamers constructed to run upon the Humber between Selby and Hull; in 1836 he entered into partnership with Mr Fairbairn, for the purpose of commencing Iron Ship-building on the Thames, and works for this purpose were erected at Millwall, where he was for some years the sole and resident partner, actively engaged in superintending the construction, both theoretically and practically, of the iron vessels built there. In 1843 he entered the service of the Admiralty, and since then he has carefully watched the progress of iron vessels, and, while he has been in a position to do so, he has at the same time also had opportunities of seeing the construction of some of the finest specimens of wooden ships that the world has ever seen, or probably now will ever see. The history of naval architecture, as given by Mr Creuze, has been retained with but little change ; and from the period up to which his treatise carried the subject, a mere outline has been given in continuation up to the present time, the article Steam-Ships supplying the deficiency. The chief alterations which are taking place in ship-building in the present day are confined to those in the Royal Navy, in consequence of the introduction of the coating of armour-plates on the sides of ships of the ordinary form, and the new class of vessels created by Captain Coles's invention of revolving shot-proof turrets. Of the former class, the " Warrior" and the "Black Prince," of 6109 tons and 40 guns, and "The Defence" and "The Resistance," of 3668 tons and 18 guns, have proved themselves to be ships excelling in all respects in sea-worthy qualities. The well-known principles enunciated by scientific research, as well as by practical experience, that weights at the sides of a ship, and not too low down, will tend to slow and easy rolling, and that heavy weights at the extremities, especially of long ships, are to be avoided as producing violence of motion in pitching and 'scending, have been carried out in these ships, and these results have shown the value of knowing how to apply scientific knowledge to the regulating the disposition of weights in the design and construction of ships. These vessels have therefore demonstrated in the fullest manner the correctness of the views adopted by the Board of Admiralty and the Controller of the Navy, who decided upon vessels of such a class being added to the British Navy ; and their performances, now that they have been fully tested, have shown how well the intentions of the Board have been carried out by those who designed their lines and determined on their details. The question, however, whether ships with broadside guns, or ships with Captain Coles's revolving turrets, are to be preferred, still remains unsettled. It will perhaps be found that each of these classes will prove useful in a sphere of its own, and that whatever success may attend Captain Coles's ships, a considerable, if not the largest portion of our future fleet, must still consist of ships with broadside guns. It has been assumed by the advocates of turret ships, in their arguments in their favour, that in revolving turrets alone can guns of very large calibre be used; but it is submitted that this is not necessarily the case if the guns in the broadside of a ship be placed on a traversing platform worked by mechanical appliances; and it may be remarked, that though guns worked on board ship in the way here suggested might not each have individually the same extent of angular traverse as the guns in revolving turrets, yet as all screw ships have to some degree, by judicious management of the helm and the screw, the power of revolving almost on their own axis without going ahead, this objection is very much obviated. It must not be forgotten, also, that the ship to carry a turret, to prevent her being sunk or set on fire, must be as thoroughly protected as the ship to carry broadside guns; and though possibly she may be built with her sides of a less height out of the water, yet for a sea-going vessel this advantage has many counterbalancing evils. After completing the history, the theory of naval architecture was treated of by Mr Creuze, and the same arrangement has been continued. This portion of the present article has been rewritten, and is entirely the production of Mr Robinson, Headmaster of the school for apprentices in Chatham Dockyard. The writer believes that he could not have obtained the assistance of any one more competent to do justice to the subject, knowing that Mr Robinson's knowledge and acquirements in this respect have been highly considered by both Canon Moseley and Dr Woolley, the two highest authorities of the present day upon this branch of mathematical research. For the investigations respecting the effects of the forces which act upon a ship when in motion, and the strains to which she is liable under different circumstances, the writer is himself answerable, as well as for the portions upon the materials used in ship-building, upon the forms and the construction of the bodies of ships, and upon the practical operations required therein. On all these points, occasional remarks from Mr Creuze's previous work, which was placed by the proprietors at the disposal of the writer, have been introduced ; but they are so mixed up with the general reasoning, that it was found impossible to separate them, or to give them entire as extracts from his work, without hurting the continuity of the argument, and rendering the illustrations aimed at obscure. The desire throughout has been, to produce, in the simplest possible form, a work which may be useful to the practical ship-builders of this country. To naval officers, it is at the same time believed that much of the article will be found useful; because, while it must be beneficial to them to understand the principles on which the ships in which they are serving are constructed, they ought also, certainly, to understand those principles which regulate the strains to which their ships are exposed under different circumstances, and how these may be modified and lessened by their management. In conclusion, the writer desires to express his thanks to the managing Directors of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, and to the Practical Builders to whom he applied; and who, in the most kind and ready manner, furnished him with the valuable specimens of their works which appear in the plates. Portsmouth, March 1863. Contents SHIP-BUILDING. History, Rise and Progress of Naval Architecture, Ancient Floats and Vessels, Venetian Shipping, Ancient English Shipping: First Epoch: Galleys and Vessels propelled by Oars alone, Second Epoch, a.d. 1327: Introduction of larger Ships, Fleet of Henry V., Caxracks, Barges, etc. Mercantile Shipping, " The Henri Grace a Dieu," etc., Third Epoch - commencing with the reign of Henry VIIL, Spanish Armada, Phineas and Peter Pett as Ship-builders, Sir Walter Raleigh on Ship-building, Subsequent History of Ship-building in England, Derrick's Memoirs of the Royal Navy, and Dimensions of Ships at various periods, Dimensions of French Ships in 1786, Efforts at Improvements in Naval Architecture, Extent and Disposition of British Naval Force in 1813, Sir Wm. Symonds' Surveyorship of the Navy, Dimensions of English Ships of War, of French Ships of War in 1837, Introduction of Steam- Vessels, Introduction of of Iron Ships, Introduction of of Screw Propulsion, Sir B. Walker appointed Surveyor of the Navy, British Navy in 1859, Navy of other Nations in 1859, First Experiments with Shot on Iron, First Iron-cased Ships, Capt. Moorsom on Iron-cased Ships, The Warrior ordered to be built, Advantages of the Bows and Sterns being left unprotected, Vessels Designed by Mr Reed, Cupola Ships on Capt. Coles's Plans, La Gloire, The Warrior, and Black Prince, Timber Backing behind Armour Plates, The Merrimac and Monitor, British Mercantile Shipping, Influence of Yacht Clubs, The America and Titania Yachts, Rowing and Racing Boats, The Great Eastern. The Theory of Ship-building: Preliminary Remarks, Method of Finding the Areas of Curvilinear Figures. Rules by Atwood, Simpson, Weddle, etc., with Demonstrations to these Rules, Examples illustrative of the foregoing Rules; some Examples worked out, and others for Practice, On the Methods of Finding the "Displacement" of Vessels. Rules by Simpson, Dr Woolley, etc., with Demonstrations, On the Method of Finding Centres of Gravity of Areas, Volumes, etc., with Demonstrations to the Eulcs ; Displacements—Guildin's Rule, Examples on the above Rules, some Worked out, others for Practice Method of Finding the Radius of Gyration, Moments of Inertia, etc., of Bodies, with Examples Definitions of Statical and Dynamical Stability, etc., Theorem regarding the Line joining the Centres of Buoyancy in any two positions of the Vessel, and the Line joining the Centres of Gravity of the Immersed and Emerged Volumes, Theorem regarding the Tangent Plane to the Surface traced out by the Centre of Buoyancy, On the Metacentre, Centre of Curvature, Metacentric Curve, etc., Rule for finding the Metacentre, etc., Theorems relating to the different kinds of Equilibrium of Floating Bodies, viz. :—Stable, Unstatic, and Indifferent, On the Centre of Gravity of the Plane of Flotation, Method of Determining the Line of Intersection of the Upright Water Section with the Inclined Water Section New and Simple Rule for Determining the Volumes of Immersion and Emersion, as well as for Finding the Moments required in Statical and Dynamical Stability, etc., Measure of Statical Stability, as given by Atwood, Methods of Finding the Centre of Gravity of the Ship by Chapman and Abethell, Method of Calculating the Statical and Dynamical Stability by Mr Barnes, Theory of Dynamical Stability, as Propounded by Canon Moseley Times of Oscillation of a Simple and Compound Pendulum investigated: "Time of Rolling," as given by Dr Woolley, Canon Moseley, Mr Froude, Dr Rankine, etc. Tables showing the Method of Calculating the Displacement, Centre ok Buoyancy, Metacentre, Volumes of Immersion, Stability, Time of Rolling, etc., of the Yacht "Titania" Results Deduced from Theory as Applicable to Ship-building The Forces which Act on a Ship in Motion as they influence her General Dimensions, Form, and Qualities, Laws of Resistance, Propulsion of Vessels by Sails, Weather-helm and Lee-helm, Pitching and Rolling Metacentre familiarly explained, Centre of Gravity of a Ship, obtained by Calculation or by Experiment after her completion, Centre of Gravity of a Ship should remain with as little alteration as possible in Rolling, or in Pitching and 'Scending, Influence of Form as comprised in Length, Breadth, and Depth, Influence of Consumption of Stores or Discharge of Cargo, Advantages of an increased Draught of Water Abaft Designing of Vessels Tonnage Description of Plates The Schomberg. Plate III. Clipper Sailing Ship by Messrs Hall of Aberdeen The Lord of the Isles. Plate IV. Iron Sailing Ship by Messrs J. Scott & Co., Greenock, Titania and America Yachts. Plates V., VI., and VI. The Delta, Clipper Paddle Steamer, belonging to Peninsular and Oriental Company. Plate VII. The Great Eastern. Profile, Horizontal Sections, and Deck Plan. Plate VIII. The Great Eastern. Vertical Sections and Scale of Displacements. Plate IX. The Bremen, Screw Steam-Ship. Plate X., Her Performances The Pera. Plate XI. The Nubia. Plate XII., Her Performances The Ceylon. Plate XIII., The Ceylon Inboard Works. Plate XIV. Materials used in Shipbuilding TIMBER, its Durability and Preservation, Its Strength, Supply of Timber, Weight of Timber, Materials used in combination with Timber, Sheathing of Timber Vessels Iron for Ship-building, Cohesive Strength of Plate and Bar Iron, Force required to Shear and Punch Iron, Strength of Riveted Joints and Proportions of Rivets for Joints, Transverse Strength of Iron, Power of Iron to resist Compression, Forms of Iron Beams: Rules for their Strength, Strength of Iron Columns, Durability and Fouling, etc., of Iron, Weight of Iron, Practical Building: Strains to which a Ship is liable at Rest and in Motion, A Ship considered as a Beam, Hogging and Arching, Importance of Strength in Upper Works, Sagging, Diagonal Trussing, Comparison of Iron and Wooden Ships, Water-tight Bulkheads, Advantage of a Keel Practical Operations Principal Plans, Square and Cant Bodies, Diagonal Lines, expanding the Body, etc., Timber Ships Section of a 3-decker Man-of-War, Experiments on the Strength of Fastenings, Seppings' System of Diagonal Trussing, System of Building adopted by Messrs Hall of Aberdeen Details of Iron Ships Keel and Keelson, Beams and General Strength of the Ship, Section of an Iron Vessel by Mr Bowman, Mode of attaching Water-tight Bulkheads Specification of an Iron Screw-Ship for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Company, with Sketches of Details, Specification of The Australasian Taylerson's Diagonal Framing, Armand's Mixed System of Wood and Iron Effects on Shipbuilding of Lloyd's Regulations Launching STEAM-SHIPS. History of the Invention of Steam Navigation Paddle-Wheels used by the Ancients, Blasco de Garay suggests the first Steamer in 1543, Dr Papin describes a possible Steamer in 1681, Newcomen completes his Atmospheric Engine in 1705, Jonathan Hulls projects a Steam-Vessel in 1736, James Watt improves the Steam-Engine, 1780, Miller, Taylor, and Symington construct the first Steam-boat on Dalswinton Loch, Dumfriesshire, in 1788, The first "practical" Steamer, the "Charlotte Dundas," is set to work on the Forth and Clyde Canal in 1801, Fulton's experiments in France and America in 1803-7, The Clermont, the first Steamer launched in America, 1807, Stevens, an American, takes the first Steamer to Sea, from the Hudson River to the Delaware, in 1808, The Comet begins running on the Clyde, being the first regular Passenger Steamer, in 1812, The first Steamer in the Royal Navy, also called The Comet, is built in 1819, David Napier introduces Coasting Steamers in 1818, The "James Watt" and "United Kingdom," 1822-26, The "Savannah," Auxiliary Steamer, crosses the Atlantic from New York to Liverpool in twenty-six days, 1819, The Sirius crosses the Atlantic from London to New York in seventeen days, and the Great Western from Bristol to New York in fifteen days, April 1838, The Screw Propeller introduced in 1837, The Archimedes (1840) and the Rattler (1842), Statistical Table, showing the Progress of Steam Navigation in the British Empire, Comparative Sizes of Five remarkable Steamers The Marine Engine—its peculiarities Side-Lever Engines, Direct-acting Engines for Paddle Wheels, Direct-acting Engines for Screw Propellers, Oscillating Engines in Great Eastern, Screw-Engines in the Royal Navy, Nominal Horse-power, Indicated Horse-power, Description of the Indicator, Indicator Diagrams, to calculate, The Dynamometer, Velocity of Piston in Marine Engines, Long and Short Stroke Engines, Long and Short Connecting-Rods, Expanding the Steam in the Cylinder, Steam-jackets, Combined-cylinder Engines, Single-cylinder Engines considered equally effective Marine Boilers Management of the Fires, Admission of Air to the Furnaces, Rate of Combustion of the Fuel, Nature of the Heating-surface, Salt Water in Marine Boilers, Blowing off, Proper Saturation of Water in Boiler, Feed-water Heaters, "Priming" of Boilers, Wet Steam, Superheating Apparatus, Economy of the Process, The Common Tubular Boiler, The Vertical Tube Boiler, The Sheet-flue Boiler, Explosions of Boilers - Causes and necessary Precautions, Merchant Shipping Acts of 1854 and 1862 Coal—the Qualities most desirable for Steamers Admiralty Table of Experiments on Fuel for the Royal Navy, Average Properties of Coal, Evaporative Power of Coal, Anthracite and Welsh Coal, Bituminous Coal, Treatment in the Furnace, Patent Fuels Marine Engines, Proportion and Management of Marine Governor, Expansion Valve, Slide Valves, Condenser, Surface Condensers, Air-Pump, Simplicity of the Machinery should be Studied, Large Bearings necessary for Efficiency Deterioration of Padtlle and Screw Shafts, Lubrication of the Machinery, Form for Engineer's Log PADDLE-WHEELS Common and Feathering, Slip of the Paddle-Wheel, Screw Propeller Definition, Pitch of the Screw, Slip of the Screw, Form for Screw-Blades, Effect of the Screw in Propelling, Woodcroft's "Increasing Pitch" Screw, Smith's Screw, Lowe's Screw-Blades, Griflith's Screw, Feathering Screw Resistance of the Screw while Sailing, Hoisting Screw, Effect of Variations in the Pitch of the Screw, Effect of Variations in the Diameter, Effect of Variations in the Area and Length, Slip of the Screw, "Negative Slip" of the Screw Trials of Screw Propeller in the Rattler, Flying Fish, Doris, Screws with Two, Three, and Four Blades, Official Explanation of Admiralty Tables Trials of Screw-Ships Ruthven's Water-Jet Propeller The Enterprise, Comparison between the Paddle and Screw, Resistances offered to a Steamer's Progress, Direct Resistance of the Water, Influence of Form, Frictional Resistance, Effect of Increased Length, Law of Gross Resistances, Relation of Power to Speed, Practical Examples, Value of the terra "Efficiency." Modes of comparing Steamers, Formulae for Determining Steamship Performance, Proportion of Horse-Power to Tonnage, Main Elements of Steam-ship Economy, Proportions of Length, Breadth, and Depth, Management of a Steamer at Sea, Details and Particulars of Eighteen Representative steamers, List of Spare Gear for a Sea-going Paddle Steamer, List of Spare Gear for a Sea-going Screw Steamer, Table of Weights of Steam Machinery in Royal Navy, Description of the Plates, Table of Particulars of Seventy-two Merchant Steamers, Table of Particulars of Fifty-six Screw Steamers in the Royal Navy TIMBER. Definition of the Term, Growth of the Tree, Early Authorities on Timber, Mr Knight's Experiments on the Physiology of Trees, Manner of Increase, Hardening of the Sap-wood, Nature of the Circulation of the Sap, Functions of the Leaves of a Tree, Formation of the Annual Rings, Influence of Situation on Trees, Mineral Constituents of Timber, Influence of Soil on Trees, Diseases and Accidents to which Trees are liable, Effects of a Marshy Soil, Growth of the Oak, Connection between the Roots and the Branches, Depth of Soil required for Timber Trees, The Properties of the Soil must be studied, Properties of the Best Oak Timber, Dimensions of the Largest Oaks on record, Different Species of Oak, Proportion between Sap-wood and Heart-wood in different Trees, Rate of Increase of Oak Timber, Value of Oak Timber upon an Estate, Hardwood Plantations, Proper Time for Planting, Drainage of the Ground, Thinning the Woods, Best Season for Felling Timber, Elm Timber, Chestnut, Beech, and Ash, Fir Timber, viz. :—Riga, Scotch Fir, Yellow Pine, Spruce, and Cedar, Defects in Fir Timber, Cultivation of Larch Timber, Foreign Timbers : as Teak, Saul, Mahogany, Greenheart, etc., Classification of Timbers at Lloyd's, Supply of Colonial Timber, Timber Trees of Minor Importance, Strength of Timber, Preservation of Timber by Artificial Means, Thorough Ventilation necessary for Preserving Timber, Measurement of Timber TONNAGE. Signification of the Term, Importance of good Tonnage Laws, Principles on which Tonnage should be computed, Scales of Displacement or Tonnage, "Builder's Old Measurement," Tonnage Law of 1836, Difficulty of Framing a perfect Tonnage Law, New Tonnage Law of 1854, Practical Working of the present Law, Modification of it introduced in 1860, End of Preview.
RETURN to Main Titles Index or Self Reliance Transportation
Please Read The Website Disclaimer!
Copyright 1986-2012, The Survival & Self-Reliance Studies Institute (SSRsi), All Rights Reserved
Site conceptualized, designed, created & maintained by MEG Raven
Snail Mail: SSRsi, PO Box 2572 Dillon, CO. 80435-2572