478 
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. 
making the base of the fabric perfectly secure and strengthening the most important 
part of the ship. Vide section, Plate CII. 
The timbers composing the frame of the lower part of the ship, are strengthened 
by solid fillings caulked and made water-tight from the keel to about four feet above 
the turn of the bilge, so that if the vessel should by accident at any time take the 
ground, and disturb the outer or false keel with such part of the planking on the 
lower part of the bottom as might by any possibility come in contact with the rocks, 
yet she would be perfectly safe, as the inner or solid keel could not be removed but 
only ground away in such places as bore against the shore, it being firmly attached 
to the fabric. 
The lower part of the stern post (vide Plate C.) is united to the after end of the 
solid keel, by a knee piece scarphed and grooved at the after end, and scarphed and 
dowelled at the fore end, bolted through and securely clenched on a ring at the end 
of each bolt, instead of the old method, a mortice and tenon, as generally adopted by 
shipbuilders in this and all other countries, which insufficient mode has caused the 
loss of many vessels. The lower piece of stem is scarphed to the foremost piece of 
keel horizontally, and not with a vertical or side scarph in a square boxing,—that 
dangerous system so long practised in vessels of all descriptions,—but on the con 
trary, forming no projecting butt, to the fore end of the keel; should the gripe be car 
ried away by the ship striking the rocks, the remaining surface of the keel and bottom 
would offer no resistance to the cable after such an accident, but would retain a 
similar shape to the original form of the ship when in its perfect state. 
The whole frame is connected together by iron braces on the inside, placed in a 
diagonal direction, let into the timbers about half their thickness, and having one bolt 
passing through every timber for their security, and a wood trussing of four-inch 
plank in the opposite direction, to prevent the hull of the vessel from hogging or 
altering her form; between the wood trussing, the timbers are covered by board of 
one inch and a half thick, secured at the ends on a cant two inches square, so that 
the board may bear only on the cants, and allow a current of air to pass throughout 
the ship. 
The upper deck beams are secured to a shelf or thick clamp, which extends all 
fore and aft on both sides of the ship and embraces every timber; the beams are 
dowelled and bolted to the said clamp, their ends extending without over the top 
side to connect the sponcing, being scored and let into the sponcing timbers, dovetailed, 
and bolted in a fore and aft direction; a thick strake is then worked on the outside 
on the ends of the beams against the timbers forming a sheer strake, scored half way 
between the said timbers to meet the thick water-way, which is scored in like man-