PERIAGUA, a sort of large canoe, used in the Leeward islands, South America, and the gulf of Mexico. It differs from the common vessels of that name, as being composed of the trunks of two trees, hollowed and united into one fabric; whereas those which are properly called canoes, are formed of the body of one tree. SeeCanoe.
PIER, a strong mound, or fence, projecting into the sea, to break off the violence of the waves from the entrance of a harbour.
PILLOW,coussin, a block of timber, whereon the inner-end of the bowsprit is supported. SeeBowsprit.
PILOT, the officer who superintends the navigation, either upon the sea-coast or on the main ocean. It is, however, more particularly applied by our mariners to the person charged with the direction of a ship’s course, on, or near the sea-coast, and into the roads, bays, rivers, havens, &c. within his respective district[41].
PINof a block. SeeBlock.
PINK, (pinque, Fr.) a name given to a ship with a very narrow stern; whence all vessels, however small, whose sterns are fashioned in this manner, are calledpink-sterned.
PINNACE, a small vessel, navigated with oars and sails, and having generally two masts, which are rigged like those of a schooner.
Pinnaceis also a boat, usually rowed with eight oars. See the articleBoat.
PINTLES, certain pins or hooks, fastened upon the back part of the rudder, with their points downwards, in order to enter into, and rest upon thegoogings, fixed on the stern-post to hang the rudder. SeeHelm.
PIRATE,pirate(πειρατης, Gr.) a sea-robber, or an armed ship that roams the seas without any legal commission, and seizes or plunders every vessel she meets indiscriminately, whether friends or enemies.
The colours usually displayed by pirates are said to be a black field, with a death’s head, a battle-axe and hour-glass. The last instrument is generally supposed to determine the time allowed to the prisoners, whom they take, to consider whether they will join the pirates in their felonious combination, or be put to death, which is often perpetrated in the most cruel manner.
Amongst the most celebrated pirates of the north is recordedAlvilda, daughter of a king of the Goths, namedSypardus. She embraced this occupation to deliver herself from the violence imposed on her inclination, by a marriage withAlf, son ofSigarus, king of Denmark. She drest herself as a man, and composed her band of rowers, and the rest of her crew, of a number of young women, attired in the same manner. Amongst the first of her cruizes she touched at a place where a company of pirates bewailed the death of their captain. The strangers were captivated with the agreeable manners of Alvilda, and chose her for their chief. By this reinforcement she became so formidable upon the sea, that prince Alf came to engage her. She sustained his attacks for a considerable time; but, in a vigorous action, Alf boarded her vessel, and having killed the greatest part of her crew, seized the captain, namely, herself; whom nevertheless he knew not, because the princess had a casque which covered her visage. Being master of her person, he removed the casque, and, in spite of her disguise, instantly recognized her, and offered her his hand in wedlock[42].
PITCH,brai, (pix, Lat.) a composition, black, dry, brittle, and shining, which remains at the bottom of an alembic after the oil of turpentine is drawn off by distillation. It is used in calking a ship, to fill the chinks, or intervals between the planks of her sides, or decks, or bottom. It is sometimes mixed with resin, or other glutinous material. SeeTar.
ToPitchthe seams. See the articlePay.
PITCHING,tangage, (appicciare, Ital.) may be defined, the vertical vibration which the length of a ship makes about her centre of gravity; or the movement, by which she plunges herheadand after-part alternately into the hollow of the sea.
This motion may proceed from two causes: the waves, which agitate the vessel; and the wind upon the sails, which makes her stoop to every blast thereof. The first absolutely depends upon the agitation of the sea, and is not susceptible of inquiry; and the second is occasioned by the inclination of the masts, and may be submitted to certain established maxims[43].
When the wind acts upon the sails, the mast yields to its effort, with an inclination, which increases in proportion to the length of the mast, to the augmentation of the wind, and to the comparative weight and distribution of the ship’s lading.
The repulsion of the water, to the effort of gravity, opposes itself to this inclination, or at least sustains it, by as much as the repulsion exceeds the momentum, or absolute effort of the mast, upon which the wind operates. At the end of each blast, when the wind suspends its action, this repulsion lifts the vessel; and these successive inclinations and repulsions produce the movement ofpitching, which is very inconvenient; and when it is considerable, will greatly retard the course, as well as endanger the mast, and strain the vessel.
PLANE, a term used by shipwrights, implying the area, or imaginary surface, contained within any particular outlines. Thus the plane of elevation, plateI. exhibits a surface limited by the head before, by the stern abaft, by the keel below, and by the upper part of the vessel’s side above. Thus the horizontal plane, in the same plate, is comprehended within the lines which describe the ship’s greatest breadth and length; and thus also the plane of projection, represented likewise in plateI. circumscribes the greatest height and breadth of the same vessel.
PLANKING,border, the act of covering and lining the sides of a ship with an assemblage of oak planks, which completes the process of ship-building, and is sometimes calledlaying on the skin, by the artificers. See the articleBuilding.
The breadth and thickness of all the planks of a 74 gun ship, as also of herwalesandthick-stuff, are exhibited in the midship section, plateVII.
PLAT,garcette de cable, a sort of braided cordage, formed of severalstrandsof old rope-yarn, twilled intofoxes. It is used to wind about that part of the cable which lies in thehause-hole, or against the fore-part of the ship, where it would otherwise be greatly injured by the continual friction, produced by the agitation of the ship in stormy weather. See the articlesFreshenandService.
PLUG,pelardeaux, (plugg, Swed.) certain pieces of timber, formed like the frustrum of a cone, and used to stop the hause-holes, and the breaches made in the body of a ship by cannon-balls; the former of which are called hause-plugs, and the latter, shot-plugs, which are formed of various sizes in proportion to the holes made by the different sizes of shot, which may penetrate the ship´s sides or bottom in battle; accordingly they are always ready for this purpose. SeeEngagement.
PLUNDER,butin, a name given to the effects of the officers or crew of a prize, which are pillaged by the captors.
PLYING, the act of making, or endeavouring to make, a progress against the direction of the wind. Hence a ship, that advances well in her course in this manner of sailing, is said to be a good plyer,boulinier. See the articlesBeatingandTacking.
POINT, a low angle, or arm of the shore, which projects into the sea, or into a river, beyond the rest of the beach.
POINTING, the operation of tapering the end of a rope, and weaving a sort of mat, or close texture, about the diminished part of it, so as to thrust it more easily through any hole, and prevent it from being readily untwisted. Thus the end of areef-lineis pointed, so that, being stiffer, it may more readily penetrate the eye-let holes of the reef; and the ends of the strands of a cable are occasionally pointed, for the greater conveniency ofsplicingit to another cable, especially when this task is frequently performed. The extremities of the splice of a cable are also pointed, that it may pass with more facility through the hause-holes.
POINTS,garcettes de ris, short flat pieces of braided cordage, tapering from the middle towards each end, and used to reef the courses and top-sails of a ship. See the articleReef.
POLACRE, a ship with three masts, usually navigated in the Levant, and other parts of the Mediterranean. These vessels are generally furnished with square sails upon the main-mast, andlateensails upon the fore-mast and mizen-mast. Some of them however carry square sails upon all the three masts, particularly those of Provence in France. Each of their masts is commonly formed of one piece, so that they have neither top-mast nor top-gallant-mast; neither have they anyhorsesto their yards, because the men stand upon the top-sail-yard to loose or furl the top-gallant-sail, and on the lower-yard toreef, loose, or furl the top-sail, whose yard is lowered sufficiently down for that purpose. See alsoXebec.
POLE-AXE, a sort of hatchet nearly resembling a battle-axe, having an handle about 15 inches in length, and being furnished with a sharp point, or claw, bending downwards from the back of its head; the blade whereof is formed like that of any other hatchet. It is principally employed to cut away and destroy the rigging of any adversary who endeavours to board.
Pole-axes are also said to have been successfully used on some occasions in boarding an enemy, whose sides were above those of the boarder. This is executed by detaching several gangs to enter at different parts of the ship’s length, at which time the pole-axes are forcibly driven into her side, one above another, so as to form a sort of scaling-ladders.
POLE-MAST. See the articleMast.
Under barePoles,etre à sec, the situation of a ship at sea when all her sails are furled, particularly in a tempest. See the articlesScuddingandTrying.
POMIGLION, a name given by seamen to the cascabel, or hindmost knob of a cannon. See that article.
PONTOON, (ponton, Fr.) a low flat vessel, nearly resembling a lighter, or barge of burthen, and furnished with cranes,capsterns, tackles, and other machinery necessary for careening ships of all sizes. These are very common in the principal parts of the Mediterranean, but are rarely used in the northern parts of Europe.
POOP,dunette, (puppis, Lat.) the highest and aftmost deck of a ship. See the articleDeck.
Poop-royal,dunette sur dunette, a short deck, or platform, placed over the aftmost part of the poop in the largest of the French and Spanish men of war, and serving as a cabin for their masters and pilots. This is usually called the top-gallant-poop by our shipwrights.
POOPING, the shock of a high and heavy sea, upon the stern or quarter of a ship, when shescudsbefore the wind in a tempest. This circumstance is extremely dangerous to the vessel, which is thereby exposed to the risk of having her whole stern beat inwards, by which she would be immediately laid open to the entrance of the sea, and of course, foundered or torn to pieces.
PORT, a harbour or haven on the sea-coast. See the articleHarbour.
Portis also a name given, on some occasions, to the larboard, or left-side of the ship, as in the following instances:
The ship heels toPort,i. e.stoops or inclines to the larboard side.
Top the yard toPort, the order to make the larboard extremity of a yard higher than the other. SeeTopping.
Portthe helm! the order to put the helm over to the larboard-side of the vessel.
In all these senses this phrase appears intended to prevent any mistakes happening from the similarity of sounds in the words starboard and larboard, particularly when they relate to the helm, where a misapprehension might be attended with very dangerous consequences.
PORTS,sabords, the embrasures or openings in the side of a ship of war, wherein the artillery is ranged in battery upon the decks above and below.
The ports are formed of a sufficient extent to point and fire the cannon, without injuring the ship’s side by the recoil; and as it serves no end to enlarge them beyond what is necessary for that purpose, the shipwrights have established certain dimensions, by which they are cut in proportion to the size of the cannon.
The ports are shut in at sea by a sort of hanging-doors, called theport-lids,mantelets; which are fastened by hinges to their upper-edges, so as to let down when the cannon are drawn into the ship. By this means the water is prevented from entering the lower-decks in a turbulent sea. The lower and upper edges of the ports are always parallel to the deck, so that the guns, when levelled in their carriages, are all equally high above the lower extremity of the ports which is called the port-cells. The ports are exhibited, throughout the ship’s whole length, by H. in theElevation, plateI. They are also represented upon a larger scale in plateIV. fig. 10. and plateVIII. fig. 3. The gun-room-ports, in the ship’s counter, are expressed by H. fig. 1. plateX. See also the articlesDeckandCannon.
POWDER-CHESTS, certain small boxes, charged with powder and a quantity of old nails, or splinters of iron, and fastened occasionally on the decks and sides of a ship, in order to be discharged on an enemy who attempts to seize her by boarding. See that article.
These cases are usually from 12 to 18 inches in length, and about 8 or 10 in breadth, having their outer or upper-part terminating in an edge. They are nailed to several places of thequarter, the quarter-deck and bulk-head of the waist, having a train of powder which communicates with the inner apartments of the ship, so as to be fired at pleasure to annoy the enemy. They are particularly used in merchant-ships, which are furnished with close quarters to oppose the boarders. SeeClose-Quarters.
PRAM, or PRAME, a sort of lighter, used in Holland and the ports of the Baltic sea, to carry the cargo of a merchant-shipalong-side, in order to lade her: or to bring it ashore to be lodged in the store-houses after being discharged out of the vessel.
PRATIC,pratique, a term used in the European ports of the Mediterranean sea, implying free intercourse or communication with the natives of the country, after a limited quarantine has been performed, in consequence of a voyage to Barbary or Turkey.
PREVENTER, an additional rope, employed at times to support any other, when the latter suffers an unusual strain, particularly in a strong gale of wind; as the
Preventer-brace, a temporary brace, fixed occasionally to succour the main or fore-yard of a ship, but particularly the latter, when it is charged with a greater effort than usual, and which, it is apprehended, the common standing braces would not be able to support. SeeBrace.
Preventer-shrouds, andPreventer-stays, are applied, in the same manner, to serve the same purposes; and may be easily understood by referring to the articlesShroudandStay.
PRICKINGthe chart,pointer, the act of tracing a ship’s course upon a a marine chart, by the help of a scale and compasses, so as to discover her present situation.
Prickingthe sails, the act of stitching two cloths of a sail together along the space, comprehended between the two edges, or selvages, that overlay each other. Or, it is the sowing a middle-seam between the two seams which are employed to unite every cloth of a sail to the next adjoining. This operation is rarely performed till the sails have been worn for a considerable time, so that the twine, with which they were originally sewed, is become very feeble and incapable of resisting the efforts of a strong gale of wind.
PRIMING, the train of powder which is laid from the opening of the touch-hole, along the cavity of the pan, in order to fire the piece: also the operation of laying this train. See the articlesCannonandExercise.
PRIMING-WIRE, or PRIMING-IRON, a sort of iron-needle, employed to penetrate the touch-hole of a cannon, when it is loaded, in order to discover whether the powder contained therein is thoroughly dry, and fit for immediate service.
PRIVATEER, a vessel of war, armed and equipped by particular merchants, and furnished with a military commission by the admiralty, or the officers who superintend the marine department of a country, to cruize against the enemy, and take, sink, or burn their shipping, or otherwise annoy them as opportunity offers. These vessels are generally governed on the same plan with his majesty’s ships, although they are guilty of many scandalous depredations, which are very rarely practised by the latter.
PRIZE, a vessel taken from the enemy by a ship of war, privateer, or armed merchantman[44].
PRIZING, the application of a lever to move any weighty body, as a cask, anchor, cannon, &c.
PROTEST, an instrument, drawn up in writing, and attested before a justice of peace, by the master and a part of the ship’s crew after the expiration of a voyage, describing the severity of the said voyage, occasioned by tempestuous weather, heavy seas, an insufficient crew, or any other circumstances by which the ship has suffered, or may suffer, either in her hull, masts, rigging, or cargo. It is chiefly intended to shew, that such damages or misfortunes did not happen through any neglect or ill conduct of the master or his officers.
PROW,proue(pros, Lat.) a name given by seamen to the beak, or pointed cut-water of a polacre, xebeck, or galley. The upper-part of the prow, in those vessels, is usually furnished with a grating-platform for the convenience of the seamen who walk out to perform whatever is necessary about the sails or rigging on the bowsprit.
PUDDENING,bourrelet, a thick wreath, or circle of cordage, tapering from the middle towards the ends, and fastened about the main-mast and fore-mast of a ship, to prevent their yards from falling down, when the ropes by which they are usually suspended are shot away in battle.
The puddening, which is represented by fig. 1. plateVIII. is generally formed in the following manner: A small piece of rope, whose length is twice the diameter of the mast, is spliced together at the two ends, and being thus doubled and extended, athimbleis seized into each of the extremities. After this a large quantity of parcelling is firmly wound about its surface in such a manner as to make it gradually larger from the two ends towards the middle. It is afterwards, once or twice,servedwith spun-yarn throughout its whole length, to bind the parcelling more closely, and render it firmer and more compact; and the whole is completed bypointingit on the surface. Being then fitted with a laniard at one of the eyes, it is fixed about the mast by passing the laniard alternately through both eyes or thimbles on the fore side of the mast. See alsoDolphin.
PULLING, a name given by sailors to the act of rowing with the oars.
PUMP, a well-known machine, used to discharge the water from the ship’s bottom into the sea.
The common pump is so generally understood, that it hardly requires any description. It is a long wooden tube, whose lower end rests upon the ship’s bottom, between the timbers, in an apartment called thewell, inclosed for this purpose near the middle of the ship’s length.
This pump is managed by means of the brake, and the two boxes, or pistons. Near the middle of the tube, in the chamber of the pump, is fixed the lower-box, which is furnished with a staple, by which it may at any time be hooked and drawn up, in order to examine it. To the upper-box is fixed a long bar of iron, called the spear, whose upper-end is fastened to the end of the brake, by means of an iron bolt passing through both. At a small distance from this bolt the brake is confined by another bolt between two cheeks, or ears, fixed perpendicularly on the top of the pump. Thus the brake acts upon the spear as a lever, whose fulcrum is the bolt between the two cheeks, and discharges the water by means of the valves, or clappers, fixed on the upper and lower boxes.
These sort of pumps, however, are very rarely used in ships of war, unless of the smallest size. The most useful machine of this kind, in large ships, is the chain-pump, which is universally used in the navy. This is no other than a long chain, equipped with a sufficient number of valves, at proper distances, which passes downward through a wooden tube, and returns upward in the same manner on the other side. It is managed by arollerorwinch, whereon several men may be employed at once; and thus it discharges, in a limited time, a much greater quantity of water than the common pump, and that with less fatigue and inconvenience to the labourers.
This machine is nevertheless exposed to several disagreable accidents by the nature of its construction. The chain is of too complicated a fabric, and the sprocket-wheels employed to wind it up from the ship’s bottom, are deficient in a very material circumstance,viz.some contrivance to prevent the chain from sliding or jerking back upon the surface of the wheel, which frequently happens when the valves are charged with a considerable weight of water, or when the pump is violently worked. The links are evidently too short, and the immechanical manner in which they are connected, exposes them to a great friction in passing round the wheels. Hence they are sometimes apt to break or burst asunder in very dangerous situations, when it is extremely difficult or impracticable to repair the chain.
The consideration of the known inconveniences of the above machine has given rise to the invention of several others which should better answer the purpose. They have been offered to the public one after another with pompous recommendations by their respective projectors, who have never failed to report their effects as considerably superior to that of the chain-pump with which they have been tried. It is however much to be lamented, that in these sort of trials there is not always a scrupulous attention to what may be called mechanical justice. The artist who wishes to introduce a new piece of mechanism, has generally sufficient address to compare its effects with one of the former machines which is crazy or out of repair. A report of this kind indeed favours strongly of the evidence of a false witness, but this finesse is not always discovered. The persons appointed to superintend the comparative effects of the different pumps, have not always a competent knowledge of hydraulics to detect these artifices, or to remark with precision the defects and advantages of those machines as opposed to each other. Thus the several inventions proposed to supplant the chain-pump have hitherto proved ineffectual, and are now no longer remembered.
Of late, however, some considerable improvements have been made on the naval chain-pump, by Mr. Cole, under the direction of Capt. Bentinck. The chain of this machine is more simple and mechanical, and much less exposed to damage. It is exactly similar to that of the fire engine, and appears to have been first applied to the pump by Mr. Mylne, to exhaust the water from the caissons at Black-fryars bridge. It has thence been transferred to the marine by Capt. Bentinck, after having received some material additions to answer that service. The principal superiority of this pump to the former is, 1. That the chain is more simple and more easily worked, and of course less exposed to injuries by friction. 2. That the chain is secured upon the wheel, and thereby prevented from jerking back when charged with a column of water. 3. That it may be easily taken up and repaired when broken, or choaked with ballast, &c. 4. That it discharges a much greater quantity of water with an inferior number of men.
The latter part of this account is inserted after the last article inW.
The latter part of this account is inserted after the last article inW.
The latter part of this account is inserted after the last article inW.
The latter part of this account is inserted after the last article inW.
PUNT, a sort of flat-bottomed boat, whose floor resembles the platform of a floating-stage. It is used by the naval artificers, either incalking,breaming, or repairing the bottom of a ship.
PURCHASE, a name given by sailors to any sort of mechanical power employed in raising or removing heavy bodies, or in fixing or extending the ship’s rigging. Such are the tackles, windlasses, capsterns, screws, and handspikes.
PURSER, an officer, appointed by the lords of the admiralty, to take charge of the provisions of a ship of war, and to see that they are carefully distributed to the officers and crew, according to the instructions which he has received from the commissioners of the navy for that purpose.
Plate viiito face QUARTER
Plate viiito face QUARTER
Plate viiito face QUARTER
QUADRANT, an instrument used to take the altitude of the sun or stars at sea, in order to determine the latitude of the place; or the sun’s azimuth, so as to ascertain the magnetical variation.
These instruments are variously constructed, and by consequence the apparatus of each kind is somewhat different from those of the others, according to the improvements they have at different times received from several ingenious artists.
As all the different kinds of quadrants are circumstantially described, either in printed directions to use them, or in other books, a particular account of them here might reasonably be esteemed superfluous. It suffices to say that the most useful, as well as the most general, for taking observations at sea is the octant, originally invented by Sir Isaac Newton, and since that time improved and brought into practice by Mess. Godfrey and Hadley. It may not however be unnecessary to remark, that the back-observation, which, in many situations, is certainly more accurate and useful than that which is taken in front, is almost totally neglected by our observers, under pretence of its being more uncertain, or more liable to error: but really because it is somewhat more difficult to learn. We may venture to affirm however, that no artist, who thoroughly understands the operation, will ever advance so absurd an objection, unless we should doubt the testimony of a multitude of experiments.
QUARANTINE, the state of the persons who are restrained within the limits of a ship, or lazaretto; or otherwise prevented from having a free communication with the inhabitants of any country, till the expiration of an appointed time, during which they are repeatedly examined with regard to their health. It is chiefly intended to prevent the importation of the plague, from the countries under the dominion of the Turks.
QUARTERof a ship,hanche, that part of a ship’s side which lies towards the stern, or which is comprehended between the aftmost end of the mainchainsand the sides of the stern, where it is terminated by the quarter-pieces.
Although the lines by which the quarter and bow of a ship, with respect to her length, are only imaginary, yet experience appears sufficiently to have ascertained their limits: so that if we were to divide the ship’s sides into five equal portions, the names of each space would be readily enough expressed. Thus the first, from the stern, would be the quarter; the second, abaft the midships; the third, the midships; the fourth, before the midships; and the fifth, the bow. Whether these divisions, which in reality are somewhat arbitrary, are altogether improper, may be readily discovered by referring to the mutual situation or approach of two adjacent vessels. The enemy boarded us on the larboard-side! Whereabouts? Abaft the midships, before the midships, &c.
PlateVIII. fig. 3. represents a geometrical elevation of the quarter of a 74 gun ship, as corresponding with the other figures of a ship of the same rate, delineated upon the same plate. See the articlesHead,Midship-Frame, andStern.
In this figure, all the parts are distinguished by the same letters as those in the plane of elevation, plateI. wherein the quarter is continued into the side, upon a smaller scale.
A the keel, withathe false keel beneath it.
B the stern-post.
D D the quarter-gallery, with its ballustrades and windows.
E F the quarter-pieces, which limit and form the outlines of the stern.
F the taffarel, or upper pieces of the stern.
F G the profile of the stern, with its galleries.
H the gun-ports of the lower-deck.
hthe gun-ports of the upper and quarter-decks.
I the after-part of the mizen-channel.
K the wing-transom.
K G the lower counter.
L B the station of the deck-transom.
L Q the after-part of the main-wale.
D R the after-part of the channel-wale, parallel to the main-wale,
S U the sheer-rail, parallel to both wales.
Ttthe rudder.
AtF the rake of the stern.
Pi ithe drift-rails.
T U the after-part of the loadwater-line.
k k lthe curve of the several decks corresponding to those represented in the head.
As the marks, by which vessels of different constructions are distinguished from each other, are generally more conspicuous on the stern, or quarter, than any other part, we have represented, in plateVIII. some of the quarters, which assume the most different shapes, and form the greatest contrast with each other.
Fig. 4. shews the stern and quarter of a Dutch flight.
Fig. 5. the stern and quarter of a cat.
Fig. 8. is the stern and quarter of a common galley.
Fig. 9. exhibits the quarter of a first-rate galley, otherwise called a galleasse.
Fig. 6. the quarter of a Dutch dogger, or galliot.
Fig. 7. represents the stern and quarter of a sloop of war.
The quarters of all other ships have a near affinity to those above exhibited. Thus all ships of the line, and East-Indiamen, are formed with a quarter little differing from the principal figure in this plate. Xebecs have quarters nearly resembling those of galeasses, only somewhat higher. Hag-boats and pinks approach the figure ofcats, the former being a little broader in the stern, and the latter a little narrower; and the sterns and quarters of cats seem to be derived from those of fly-boats. The sterns of Dutch doggers and galliots are indeed singular, and like those of no other modern vessel: they have nevertheless a great resemblance to the ships of the antient Grecians, as represented in medals and other monuments of antiquity.
On theQuarter, may be defined an arch of the horizon, contained between the line prolonged from the ship’s stern and any distant object, as land, ships, &c. Thus if the ship’s keel lies on an east and west line, the stern being westward, any distant object perceived in the north-west or south-west, is said to be on the larboard or starboard quarter. See the articleBearing.
Quarter-bill, a roll, or list, containing the different stations, to which all the officers and crew of the ship are quartered, in the time of battle, and the names of all the persons appointed to those stations.
Quarter-cloths,bastingage, long pieces of painted canvas, extended on the outside of the quarter-netting from the upper-part of the gallery to thegangway. They are generally decorated with martial instruments, or allegorical figures.
Quarter-gallery, a sort of small balcony, with or without ballustrades, on the quarter of a ship, as represented by fig. 1. plateVIII. The gallery on the quarter generally communicates with that on the stern, by means of a door passing from one to the other.
Quarter-gunner, an inferior officer under the direction of the gunner of a ship of war, whom he is to assist in every branch of his duty; as keeping the guns and their carriages in proper order, and duly furnished with whatever is necessary; filling the powder into cartridges; scaling the guns, and keeping them always in a condition to be ready for service. The number of quarter-gunners in any ship is always in proportion to the number of her artillery, one quarter-gunner being allowed to every four cannon.
Quarter-master, an inferior officer, appointed by the master of a ship of war to assist thematesin their several duties; as stowing the ballast and provisions in the hold,coilingthe cables on their platforms, overlooking the steerage of the ship, and keeping the time by the watch-glasses.
Quarter-netting, a sort of net-work, extended along the rails on the upper-part of a ship’s quarter. In a ship of war these are always double, being supported by iron cranes, placed at proper distances. The interval is sometimes filled with cork, or old sails, but chiefly with the hammocs of the sailors, so as to form a parapet to prevent the execution of the enemy’s small arms in battle. See the articleEngagement.
Quarter-rails, are narrow-moulded planks, generally of fir, reaching from the top of the stern to the gangway. They are supported by stanchions, and serve as a fence to the quarter-deck, to prevent the men from tumbling into the sea by the rolling of the ship, particularly in small vessels.
QUARTERS, a name given, at sea, to the several stations where the officers and crew of a ship of war are posted in action. See the articleEngagement.
The number of men appointed to manage the artillery is always in proportion to the nature of the guns, and the number and condition of the ship’s crew. They are, in general, as follow, when the ship is well manned, so as to fight both sides at once occasionally:
This number, to which is often added a boy to bring powder to every gun, may be occasionally reduced, and the guns nevertheless well managed. The number of men appointed to the small arms, on board his majesty’s ships and sloops of war, by order of the admiralty, are,
The lieutenants are usually stationed to command the different batteries, and direct their efforts against the enemy. The master superintends the movements of the ship, and whatever relates to the sails. The boatswain, and a sufficient number of men, are stationed to repair the damaged rigging; and the gunner and carpenter, wherever necessary, according to their respective offices. See also the articlesCannonandExercise.
The marines are generally quartered on the poop and forecastle, or gangway, under the direction of their officers; although, on some occasions, they assist at the great guns, particularly in distant cannonading.
Quarters!is also an exclamation to implore mercy from a victorious enemy.
QUICK-SAND, a loose quaking sand, into which a ship sinks by her own weight, as soon as the water retreats from her bottom.
Quick-work,œuvres-vives, a general name given to all that part of a ship, which is under the surface of the water when she is laden fit for a sea-voyage. It is also applied, occasionally, to that part of the side which is above the sheer-rail, and which is usually painted with trophies, &c. on the outside.
QUILTING, (kulcht, Dutch) the operation of weaving a sort of coat, or texture, formed of thestrandsof rope, about the outside of any vessel, to contain water, &c. as a jar, cask, bottle, &c.
QUOIN, a sort of wedge, employed to raise the cannon to a proper level, that it may be more truly directed to the object.
Quoinsare also employed to wedge off the casks of wine, oil, spirituous liquors, &c. from each other, that their bilges may not rub against each other so as to occasion a leak, by the agitation of the ship, at sea.
RABBIT,rablure, (rabatre, Fr.) a deep groove, or channel, cut in a piece of timber longitudinally, to receive the edge of a plank, or the ends of a number of planks, which are to be securely fastened therein. The depth of this channel is equal to the thickness of the plank, so that when the end of the latter is let into the rabbit, it will be level with the outside of the piece. Thus the ends of the lower planks of a ship’s bottom terminate upon the stem afore, and the stern-post abaft, with whose sides their surfaces are even. The surface of the garboard streak, whose edge is let into the keel, is, in the same manner, level with the side of the keel at the extremities of the vessel.
RACKING, the fastening two opposite parts of a tackle together, so as that any weighty body suspended thereby, shall not fall down, although the rope, which forms the tackle, should be loosened by accident or neglect.
This expedient is chiefly practised when the boats are hung up to the ship’s side, during the night time, in an open road or bay, lest the rope of the tackle should be untied by the inattention of some of the crew; by which accident the boat might be considerably damaged, and probably lost, or dashed in pieces.
RAFT,radeau, a sort of float, formed by an assemblage of various planks, or pieces of timber, fastened together side by side, so as to be conveyed more commodiously, to any short distance in a harbour or road, than if they were separate. The timber and plank, with which merchant-ships are laden, in the different parts of the Baltic sea, are attached together in this manner, in order to float them off to the shipping.
Raft-port, a square hole, cut through the buttocks of some ships, immediately under the counter, to receive the planks or pieces of timber which are brought to lade her for transportation; and which, on account of their great length, could not be received aboard otherwise.
RAG-BOLT, an iron pin, having several barbs, as explained in the articleIron-work, and represented in fig. 2, plateII.
RAILS, are narrow planks, generally of fir, upon which there is a moulding stuck. They are for ornament, and are nailed across the stern, above the wing-transom and counters, &c. They are likewise nailed upon several planks along the side; one in particular is called the sheer-rail, which limits the height of the side from the forecastle to the quarter-deck, and runs aft to the stern, and forward to the cat-head; the wales are nearly parallel to this.Murray’s Ship-Building.
The reader will understand this article better by referring to the figures of the rails, as represented in platesI, IV, VII, and VIII. and their explanations, inNaval Architecture, &c.
Railsof the head, certain curved pieces of timber, extending from the bows on each side to the continuation of the ship’s stem, to support theknee of the head, and the ornamental figure fixed thereon. The form of these rails is represented at large in the figure referred to from the articleHead, plateIV.
ToRAISE, to elevate any distant object at sea, by a gradual approach towards it from the place whence it was formerly observed. This effect is known to be occasioned by the convexity of the surface of the sea, which previously intercepted the view, when directed towards the lower parts of the said object. This term is opposed toLaying, which see.
RAISINGa purchase, the act of disposing certain instruments, or machines, in such a manner, as that, by their mutual effects, they may produce a mechanical force sufficient to overcome the weight, or resistance of the object to which this machinery is applied.
RAKE, the projection of the upper parts of a ship at the height of the stem, and stern, beyond the extremities of the keel. Thus if a plummet be hung from the top of a ship’s stern, so as to be level with the continuation of the keel, the distance between the after end of the keel and the plummet will be the length of the rake abaft, or the rake of the stern.
RAKINGa ship, the act of cannonading a ship on the stern, or head, so as that the balls shall scour the whole length of her decks; which is one of the most dangerous incidents that can happen in a naval action. This is frequently called raking fore and aft, being the same with what is calledenfiladingby engineers.
RANGE, a sufficient length of the cable, drawn up on the deck, before the anchor is cast loose from the bow, to let it sink to the bottom, without being interrupted, that the flukes may be forced the deeper into the ground, by the additional weight which the anchor acquires in sinking. For this reason the range, which is drawn up out of the tier, ought to be equal in length, to the depth of the water where the ship anchors. SeeAnchorandCable-Tier.
Range, is also the distance to which a bomb or cannon-ball is thrown from a piece of artillery, by the explosion of gun-powder. See the articlesCannonandMortar.
The flight of a shot is distinguished, by artillery people, into two different ranges, of which the first is called the point-blank; and the second, the random-shot. To these also may be added thericochet, or rolling and bounding-shot.
Whatever has been observed, in other parts of this work, with regard to the flight of a shot from a piece of artillery, is on the presumption that it describes a right line in its passage to the object. This, however, is not strictly true; because by its weight it inclines to the earth every instant of its motion: but as its velocity is very great when first discharged from the cannon, the weight does not sensibly affect the direction in the first instant of its motion. Thus the line it describes, as represented in plateIII. extending from fig. 16. to the ship under sail, is apparently straight, and the extent of this line is called thepoint-blankrange of the piece; which accordingly may be defined the extent of the apparent right line, described by a ball discharged from a cannon.
This range is much less than the greatest range, orrandom-shot; but the piece cannot be levelled, or, as it is generally expressed,pointedat an object intended to be battered, if that object is not within the distance of the point-blank range; for beyond that, the stroke is very uncertain.
A piece is said to fire at random-shot, when the breech rests upon the bed of the carriage, so that the ball is carried to the greatest possible distance. But as, in this method of firing, the ball cannot be directed to any determinate object, it is rarely used in the sea-service, and only when the shot cannot fail of doing great execution in the place whereon it falls.
Besides the two ranges above described, there is thericochet[45], invented by the Marshal de Vauban.
To fire a piece by way of the ricochet, the cannon is only charged with a quantity of powder sufficient to carry the shot along the face of the works attacked. The shot, thus discharged, goes rolling and bounding, killing, maiming, or destroying all it meets in its course, and creates much more disorder by going thus slowly, than if thrown from the piece with greater violence.
When ricochet firing is used, the pieces are elevated from 3 to 6 degrees, and no more; because if the elevation is greater, the shot will only drop into the work, without bounding from one place to another. They are to be loaded with a small charge, and directed in such a manner as just to go over the parapet[46].
It was the opinion of engineers formerly, that by charging the pieces high, the ball was thrown to a greater distance. Hence the pieces were charged with two thirds, or even the whole weight of the shot, in order to impel it with greater velocity; but it has been discovered since, that the half, or one third of the weight of the ball, is the fittest charge for the piece[47].
If the whole quantity of powder, employed to charge the cannon, could take fire at the same instant, it is apparent that the velocity, communicated to the shot, would increase in proportion to the additional quantity of powder. But though the time of its inflammation is very short, it may yet be conceived as divided into many instants. In the first instant, the powder begins to dilate and impel the shot forward; and if it has force enough to expel it from the piece before the whole charge is inflamed, that part which is left to take fire afterwards will produce no effect at all on the shot. A charge of extraordinary force does not therefore accelerate the velocity of the bullet: and hence it follows that the piece ought to be charged with no more powder, than will take fire whilst the ball is passing through the chace of the cannon.
It may not be amiss to observe here, that the range of cannon is greater in the morning and at night, than at noon; and in cold, than inhot weather. The reason is, that at these times the air being less heated, gives less way to the dilatation of the powder, which being by this means confined, as it were, to a smaller sphere of action, must have a stronger effect in proportion[48].
“When the lengths of cannon are proportional to the height of the charge, the shot will be discharged with the same velocity, whatever the calibre may be; and since the ratios of the velocities of shots, issuing from pieces of different lengths, loaded with different charges of powder, will be of great use in the construction of cannon, we have collected them in the following table, where the numbers at the top express the length of the pieces by the diameter of their shots. That is, the first is 12 diameters; the second 15, and so on. The first perpendicular column expresses the charges, in respect to the weight of the shots: thus, ¼, ⅓, ½, ⅔ imply that the weight of the charge is ¼, ⅓, ½, ⅔ of the weight of the shot. The other numbers, in the same horizontal lines, express the distance in feet moved over by the velocities of the shot, uniformly continued in a second of time.
“We made use of the diameter of a 9 pound shot, which being 4 inches, is more convenient in the calculation; and this diameter expresses the height of the charge when it is a quarter of the weight of the shot, and the rest in proportion.
“Several remarks may be made upon this table, which are of great importance in the construction of cannon. First, when the charge is but a quarter of the shot’s weight, the difference between the velocities, when the length is 12 and 15 diameters, is but 9 feet in a second; and the differences between the other velocities decrease as the length increases.
“Hence, as the difference between the velocities when the piece is 15 and 36 diameters long, is but 22 feet in a second, it is easily perceived, that when the pieces are charged with one quarter of the shot’s weight, the length from 12 to 15 diameters is the best.
“Secondly, When the charge is one third of the shot’s weight, the difference of the velocities, when the piece is 12, 15, and 18 diameters long, are 14, 10 seconds; and from thence decrease more and more, as the length of the piece increases: so the length, from 15 to 18 diameters seems to be the best, every thing being considered.
“Thirdly, and lastly, it appears, from the same manner of reasoning, that when the charge is one-half of the shot’s weight, the length ought to be from 18 to 21 diameters; and when the charge is two thirds of the shot’s weight, the length ought to be from 21 to 24 diameters.”Muller’s Artillery.
As one of the effects of the bomb results from its weight, the range of mortars is extremely different from that of cannon, because the former is not pointed at a certain object, like the latter, but inclined to the horizon at a certain angle; so that the bomb, being thrown up obliquely, much in the same direction as a tennis-ball struck by the racket, may fall upon the place intended. Hence it appears that the mortar has no point-blank range, or at least that no use is made of it.
The mortar, being fixed in a situation obliquely with the horizon, so as that the linea c, which passes through the middle of it longitudinally, being continued, would make an angleb a dwith the horizona b; a bomb, discharged in the direction of this continued line, would deviate from it every instant of its motion by its weight, which inclines it downwards, and by this means it would describe a curve-line, asa e b, called aparabola[49].
The linea b, fig. 19. plateVI. is called the extent of the range, or the amplitude of the parabola; and the linea d, the elevation of the mortar.
To make a bomb fall on a given place, two things are to be considered; viz. the elevation of the mortar; and the quantity of powder used to charge it; both of which may be ascertained as follows: A bomb discharged from a mortar, pointed vertically, will describe a line nearly perpendicular to the horizon: I say nearly, because the mortar will always have some little motion, which will destroy the exact perpendicularity of the bomb’s flight; but abstracted from this, a bomb, discharged vertically, would fall again into the mortar[50].
If the mortar be afterwards inclined more and more towards the horizon, the bomb will fall still farther and farther distant from the mortar, till the elevation rests at 45°; and the more the mortar is pointed under this angle, the more will the range of the bomb be diminished: all of which is strictly demonstrated by geometry. But the following is a very simple manner of conceiving it, without having recourse to that science.
A bomb, discharged in the direction of a line, nearly perpendicular to the horizon, will fall at a little distance from the bomb-vessel. This requires no proof. A bomb, thrown according to a line that makes a very acute angle with the horizon, will presently come to the ground by its weight, and by consequence will not, any more than the other, fall at a considerable distance from the mortar.
Hence it is easy to conceive, that in order to fall at the greatest distance from the mortar, the bomb must be fired according to an elevation at the greatest possible distance, as well from a vertical, as from an horizontal line. This elevation divides in two equal parts the angle formed by the vertical and horizontal lines, which being of 90 degrees, or what is called a right angle, a bomb will be thrown to the greatest distance, in the direction of a line making an angle of 45 degrees. For above this angle the range will diminish, because the bomb approaches the vertical line; and under the same elevation it will also decrease, because the flight of the bomb approaches the horizontal line.
Hence also it appears that there are two angles, according to which a mortar may be inclined to make the bomb fall on the same place; these are the angles, equally distant from the line, which cuts the quadrant into two equal parts: so that if, for example, a mortar is elevated at 30°, the bomb will fall at the same distance as if it had been elevated at 60°, each of these angles being 15° distant on this, and that side of the quadrant; that is, from the angle of 45 degrees.
The second thing to be considered, is, to know the exact charge of powder necessary to throw a bomb to a given distance.
If the bomb, being fired at an elevation of 45°, falls short of the place intended, the charge of powder must be increased. If it reaches the place, or goes beyond it, it is evident that the charge is sufficient. If the bomb, at an elevation under 45°, fall short of the place intended, with a given charge, the mortar must be more elevated: if, on the contrary, it falls too far off, it must be more inclined to the horizon: and by these essays the proper degree of inclination may be easily and speedily discovered.
If the mortar then is raised above 45°, it must be more inclined, so as to make a more acute angle with the horizon, to increase the range of the bomb; and, on the contrary, raised nearer a perpendicular, to diminish it: all of which are consequences drawn from what has been said on this subject.
It must be observed, first, that the greatest distance to which a bomb can be thrown, with the strongest charge, is little more than about 1800, or 2000 fathoms.
Secondly, that though a mortar may be elevated indifferently, either so much above or below 45° as to carry a bomb to a given distance, yet when any building is to be destroyed, it should be raised above 45°, because the shell, rising to a greater height when fired according to a greater angle, falls with greater force, and by consequence will do more damage to the place on which it is thrown. But when the business is to fire on a body of men, the mortar must be pointed below 45°, that the bomb may not have force enough to enter far into the ground, and that the splinters in the explosion may do more execution.
The ranges of mortars, at the several elevations below, are in proportion to one another, viz.
Example. Knowing the range of a shell at 45 to be 890 yards, required the range at 30 with the same powder; say, as 100 : 86 : : 890 : 765.4; and if you have a shell’s range at 30, and would know how far it will go at 45 with the same quantity of powder, rule as 86 : 100 : : 765.4 : 890.
N. B. These propositions only hold good when the powder is equal.
RATES, the orders or classes into which the ships of war are divided, according to their force and magnitude.
It has already been observed, in the articleNavy, that this regulation, which limits the rates of men of war to the smallest number possible, seems to have been dictated by considerations of political œconomy, or of that of the simplicity of the service in the royaldock-yards. The British fleet is accordingly distributed into six rates, exclusive of the inferior vessels that usually attend on naval armaments; as sloops of war, armed ships, bomb-ketches, fire-ships and cutters, or schooners commanded by lieutenants.
Ships of the first rate mount 100 cannon, having 42 pounders on the lower deck, 24 pounders on the middle deck, 12 pounders on the upper deck, and 6 pounders on the quarter deck and forecastle. They are manned with 850 men, including their officers, seamen, marines, and servants.
In general, the ships of every rate, besides the captain, have the master, the boatswain, the gunner, the chaplain, the purser, the surgeon, and the carpenter; all of whom, except the chaplain, have their mates or assistants, in which are comprehended the sail-maker, the master at arms, the armorer, the captain’s clerk, the gunsmith, &c.
The number of other officers are always in proportion to the rate of the ship. Thus a first rate has six lieutenants, six master’s mates, twenty-four midshipmen, and five surgeon’s mates, who are considered as gentlemen; besides the following petty officers: quarter-masters, and their mates, fourteen; boatswains mates and yeomen, eight; gunners mates and assistants, six; quarter-gunners, twenty-five; carpenters mates, two, besides fourteen assistants; with one steward, and steward’s mate to the purser.
If the dimensions of all ships of the same rate were equal, it would be the simplest and most perspicuous method to collect them into one point of view in a table; but as there is no invariable rule for the general dimensions, it must suffice to remark those of some particular ships in each rate; for which purpose we have selected some of the latest construction.
The Victory, which is the last built of our first rates, is 222 feet 6 inches in length, from the head to the stern; the length of her keel, 151 feet 3 inches; that of her gun-deck, or lower deck, 186 feet; her extreme breadth is 51 feet 10 inches; her depth in thehold, 21 feet 6 inches; her burthen 2162 tons; and her poop reaches 6 feet before the mizen-mast.
Ships of the second rate carry 90 guns upon three decks, of which those on the lower battery are 32 pounders; those on the middle, 18 pounders; on the upper-deck, 12 pounders; and those on the quarter-deck, 6 pounders, which usually amount to four or six. Their complement of men is 750, in which there are six lieutenants, four master’s mates, twenty-four midshipmen, and four surgeon’s mates, fourteen quarter-masters and their mates, eight boatswain’s mates and yeomen, six gunner’s mates and yeomen, with twenty-two quarter-gunners, two carpenter’s mates, with ten assistants, and one steward and steward’s mate.