cent.—gives an idea of the extent to which the embellishment of yachts was carried in the days of King Charles II.
In 1662 two small yachts were added to the fleet: the Jamie, built at Lambeth; length of keel, 31 feet; breadth, 12 feet 6 inches; depth 6 feet; draught, 3 feet 6 inches; 25 tons burden; and the Charles, built at Woolwich by Christopher Pett; length of keel, 36 feet; breadth, 14 feet 2 inches; depth, 7 feet; draught, 6 feet; 38 tons burden. The Jamie carried a crew of four men and four guns, the Charles a crew of ten men and six guns.
The accounts of the cost of yachts at this period, filed with the Admiralty, are of interest. The records of September 8, 1662, show that Christopher Pett's charges for building the Charles were £722.1.5., and for the Duke of York's Anne, built the year before, £1815.2.4.
July 4, 1662, Pepys studies mathematics and "begins with the multiplication table." And on August 11th master-shipwright Deane promises to enlighten him concerning the details of shipbuilding. And no doubt he did so. However, on July 12, 1663, Pepys encounters the "mystery" of the art at Chatham; for on that date, he records as follows: "Commissioner Pett showed me alone his bodies (draughts) as a secret, which I found afterwards by discourse with Sir J. Minnes, that he had shown them to him, wherein he seems to suppose great mystery in the nature of lines to be hid, but I do not understand it at all. Commissioner Pett is a man of words," and the like.
