ENGLISH WAR-SHIPS AND THEIR USES. By W. B. A.
“O’er the wild gannet’s bath came the Norse Coursers."
And to a goodly land they came, bearing the seed of the Norse gods, to take root in the ocean - bounded soil of freedom, where the salt from the veins of the Vikingr remains to this day undiluted in the veins of their descendants. Ocean-born, they “go down to the sea in ships,” not along a river current, to catch a startled glance and so return, but to sport in its waters, which are their gain, their glory, their delight; the merchant’s highway, the sailor’s battle-field, the sick man’s renovating bath, and the racecourse of the wealthy chiefs and leaders, whose revenues vie in producing the swiftest keels and the safest sea boats. Once upon a time a rival amongst their western kindred came hither with a craft fashioned like those of pirates in the eastern seas, with stiff flat sails, and a spoon-shaped bottom, and by a trick out-manoeuvred our Fairy Queen and won the prize. But it was a trick — a vessel without space to hold a crew between her ribs, a fair-weather craft without a hold; a craft to which her crew might cling like the parasites outside a whale, but in which they could not be said to live. And so after being a nine months’ wonder, and startling some few yacht-owners from their self-possession, causing them to sell their yachts for little or nothing to sharp purveyors of foreign fruit, this far-famed “America” came to “wear a broom“ in vain, and now lies somewhere * along shore“ in dirt and rags, no one caring to become her possessor. The coasts of the Narrow Sea are not an arena for toy craft, for fair-weather birds. He who would fain skirt them in all weathers needs a craft that may laugh the tempest to scorn, while watch and watch can take alternate ease in dry berths.
The “wooden walls of Old England“ were very different things from those wooden walls which the oracle advised the people of Athens to adopt — the oar-impelled galley — the sea-ram of old, with its brazen horns or beak to transfix its opponent galley, involving no small amount of skilful manoeuvring and with very inadequate power, Our “wooden walls” have done good service in their time; but wood is a material adapted only for vessels of a comparatively small size. Beyond certain limit the bolts and fastenings crush the grain, and draw out. It becomes necessary to bind the parts together with straps and plates of iron, and in each case it is better to make the entire casing of iron, and to use the wood only as a packing. Wooden ships, ere steam propelled them, required to be carefully guarded against fire. To put steam furnaces into a wooden vessel is a clear tempting of Providence. The internal fires dry the whole of the timber to the condition of tinder. Once on fire, there is no chance of extinguishing it. Upon the same principle that locomotive and steam engines are prohibited from being used in public when in a dangerous condition, steam engines ought to be prohibited from use in wooden vessels altogether, unless the wood be used simply as a packing, and chemically treated so as to render it unburnable.
For war-ships one of the chief qualities required is speed. Other things being equal, the fastest vessel will be the most powerful, being able to attack her opponents at pleasure and to retreat at pleasure, and, moreover, to strike the weakest part of her opponent. And, other things being equal, the largest vessel will be the fastest if moved by internal power. Using the wind as a moving power, the speed will vary with the class of vessel. The large vessel will move fastest in a heavy gale, the small vessel will have the advantage in light winds. For mercantile purposes a sailing vessel is best, leaving the whole of the hold for stowage, in regions where the wind blows for months together in a given direction. For certain purposes an auxiliary screw of small power is useful, as, for instance, to help a vessel over the calms of the Line. But for war-vessels, except in districts where fuel is not procurable, sails — unless mere lower sails — are best dispensed with, and steam, or any power which may ultimately dispense with steam, had better be exclusively used. If shot strike the masts and sails of a war- vessel, her power of locomotion is impeded, and she will lie at her antagonist’s mercy. In war- vessels sails are useful for travelling purposes to save fuel, but internal propulsion is best for fighting.
In point of speed, the largest ships will have the greatest advantage in rough weather, for a very obvious reason. The small vessel partakes of every motion of the waves, and works up and down hill, impeded by every fresh movement. The large vessel makes a straight course: she preserves an even keel at her line of floatation, and the waves oscillate past her without disturbing her. With a proportionate size, the largest waves of the ocean are no more to the larger vessel than the ripple on the water of a pond is to the child’s sailing boat.
Iron ships, like most maritime improvements, originated in the merchant service. In their typical form they are of very ancient date. About the year 1800 iron barges existed on the Paddington canal, much in the form of very long square tanks, and a little boy walking with a cynical sectarian Scottish guardian was severely reproved for likening them to Elisha’s miracle of causing iron to swim.
Some of the earliest sea-going vessels of iron were built on the Clyde, and if not very like a whale, they were certainly very like kettles intended to boil a whale in. In fact, the earliest vessels were made by boiler-makers, and all that they appeared to aim at was to make vessels that would keep out water with the greatest possible amount of displacement in the most convenient form for riveting together without regard to movement. They were mere shells without ribs or framing; and though very safe as regarded mere water-pressure, utterly without strength if they struck an obstacle. They were cheaper than wooden vessels, and carried more
bulk and weight in proportion to their displacement. About a foot in thickness was added to the cubic capacity of the hold over sides and bottom. Of the unseaworthiness of this kind of craft an example was given in the Tayleur, which