therein, the ship is supported by two strong platforms, laid with a
gradual inclination to the water, on the opposite sides of her keel, to
which they are parallel. Upon the surface of this declivity are placed
two corresponding ranges of planks, which compose the base of a frame
called the _cradle_, whose upper-part envelops the ship’s bottom,
whereto it is securely attached. Thus the lower surface of the cradle,
conforming exactly to that of the frame below, lies flat upon it,
lengthways, under the opposite sides of the ship’s bottom; and as the
former is intended to slide downwards upon the latter, carrying the ship
along with it, the planes or faces of both are well daubed with soap and
tallow.
The necessary preparations for the lanch being made, all the blocks and
wedges, by which the ship was formerly supported, are driven out from
under her keel, till her whole weight gradually subsides upon the
platforms above described, which are accordingly called the _ways_. The
_shores_ and stanchions by which she is retained upon the stocks till
the period approaches for lanching, are at length cut away, and the
screws applied to move her, if necessary. The motion usually begins on
the instant when the shores are cut, and the ship slides downward along
the ways, which are generally prolonged under the surface of the water,
to a sufficient depth, to float her as soon as she arrives at the
farthest end thereof.
When a ship is to be lanched, the ensign, jack, and pendant, are always
hoisted, the last being displayed from a staff erected in the middle of
the ship. Plate V. fig. 4. represents a ship of war ready to be lanched
from the stocks.
The largest ship that ever was lanched in England, is the Britannia, of
100 guns, built at Portsmouth. Ships of the first rate are commonly
constructed in dry docks, and afterwards floated out, by throwing open
the flood-gates, and suffering the tide to enter, as soon as they are
finished.
LAND-FALL, _atterrage_, the first land discovered after a sea-voyage:
hence it is common for ships, who accost each other at sea, to wish a
good land-fall at parting, by which they imply a discovery of land, at
or near the place whither their course is directed, and which they
expect to _make_ by their journals.
LAND-LOCKED, _bouclé_, the situation of a ship which is environed by the
land on all sides in a road, bay, or haven; so as to exclude the
prospect of the sea, unless over some intervening land. See the French
word _terre_, and the phrases following it.
LANGREL, or LANGRAGE, _mitrailles_, a particular kind of shot, formed of
bolts, nails, bars, or other pieces of iron tied together, and forming a
sort of cylinder, which corresponds with the bore of the cannon, from
which it is intended to be discharged. This contrivance is particularly
designed to wound or carry away the masts, or tear the sails and rigging
of the adversary, so as to disable him from flight or pursuit. It is
never used in royal ships, but very often by privateers and merchantmen.
LANIARD, (_lanier_, Fr.) a short piece of cord or line, fastened to
several machines in a ship, and serving to secure them in a particular
place, or to manage them more conveniently. Such are the laniards of the
gun-ports, the laniard of the buoy, the laniard of the cat-hook, &c.
The principal laniards used in a ship, however, are those employed to
extend the shrouds and stays of the masts, by their communication with
the dead-eyes, so as to form a sort of mechanical power, resembling that
of a tackle. See DEAD-EYES.
These laniards, _rides_, are fixed in the dead-eyes as follows: One end
of the laniard is thrust through one of the holes in the upper dead-eye,
and then knotted, to prevent it from drawing out; the other end is then
passed through one of the holes in the lower dead-eye, whence, returning
upward, it is inserted through the second hole in the upper dead-eye,
and next through the second in the lower dead-eye, and finally through
the third holes in both dead-eyes. The end of the laniard being then
directed upwards from the lowest dead-eye, is stretched as stiff as
possible by the application of tackles; and that the several parts of it
may slide with more facility through the holes in the dead-eyes, it is
well smeared with hog’s lard or tallow, so that the strain is
immediately communicated to all the turns at once.
LANTHORN, a well-known machine, of which there are many used in a ship,
particularly for the purpose of directing the course of other ships in a
fleet or convoy: such are the poop and top-lanthorns, &c.
LAP-SIDED, _bordier_, the state of a ship, which is built in such a
manner as to have one side heavier than the other; and, by consequence,
to retain a constant _heel_, or inclination towards the heaviest side;
unless when she is brought upright, by placing a greater quantity of the
cargo, or ballast, on the other side. See BALLAST.
LARBOARD, _babord_, a name given by seamen to the left side of a ship,
wherein the right and left are apparently determined by the analogy of a
ship’s position, on the water, to that of a fish.
LARGE, a phrase applied to the wind, when it crosses the line of a
ship’s course in a favourable direction, particularly on the _beam_ or
_quarter_. To understand this more clearly, let us suppose a ship
steering west; then the wind, in any point of the compass to the
eastward of the south or north, may be called _large_, unless indeed
when it is directly east, and then it is said to be right aft.
_Sailing_ LARGE, _aller vent largue_, is therefore advancing with a
large wind, so as that the _sheets_ are slackened and _flowing_, and the
_bowlines_ entirely disused. This phrase is generally opposed to sailing
_close-hauled_, or with a _scant_ wind, in which situation the sheets
and bowlines are extended as much as possible.
LASHING, _amarrage_, a piece of rope employed to fasten or secure any
moveable body in a ship, or about her masts, sails, and rigging: also
the act of fastening or securing any thing by means of the rope used for
this purpose.
LATEEN-SAIL, a long triangular sail extended by a lateen-yard, and
frequently used by xebecs, polacres, settees, and other vessels
navigated in the Mediterranean sea.
LAYING THE LAND, in navigation, the state of motion which increases the
distance from the coast, so as to make it appear lower and smaller; a
circumstance which evidently arises from the intervening convexity of
the surface of the sea. It is used in contradistinction to _raising_ the
land, which is produced by the opposite motion of approach towards it.
LEAK, a chink or breach in the decks, sides, or bottom of a ship,
through which the water passes into her hull. When a leak first
commences, the vessel is said to have sprung a leak.
LEAKY, the state of a ship when abounding with leaks.
LEE, an epithet used by seamen to distinguish that part of the
hemisphere to which the wind is directed, from the other part whence it
arises; which latter is accordingly called _to windward_. This
expression is chiefly used when the wind crosses the line of a ship’s
course, so that all on one side of her is called _to-windward_, and all
on the opposite side, _to leeward_: and hence,
_Under the_ LEE, implies farther to the leeward, or farther from that
part of the horizon from whence the wind blows; as,
_Under the_ LEE _of the shore_; _i. e._ at a short distance from the
shore which lies to windward. This phrase is commonly understood to
express the situation of a vessel, anchored, or sailing under the
weather-shore, where there is always smoother water, and less danger of
heavy seas, than at a great distance from it[37].
LEE-LARCHES, the sudden and violent rolls which a ship often takes to
the leeward in a high sea, particularly when a large wave strikes her on
the weather-side.
LEE-SIDE, all that part of a ship or boat which lies between the mast,
and the side farthest from the direction of the wind; or otherwise, the
half of a ship, which is pressed down towards the water by the effort of
the sails, as separated from the other half, by a line drawn through the
middle of her length. That part of the ship, which lies to windward of
this line, is accordingly called the _weather-side_.
Thus admit a ship to be sailing southward, with the wind at east, then
is her starboard, or right-side, the _lee-side_; and the larboard, or
left, the _weather-side_.
LEEWARD-SHIP, a vessel that falls much to-leeward of her course, when
sailing _close-hauled_, and consequently loses much ground.
_To_ LEEWARD, towards that part of the horizon which lies under the lee,
or whither the wind bloweth. Thus, “We saw a fleet under the lee,” and,
“We saw a fleet to-leeward,” are synonimous expressions.
LEE-WAY, is the lateral movement of a ship to-leeward of her course, or
the angle which the line of her way makes with the keel when she is
_close-hauled_. See that article.
This movement is produced by the mutual effort of the wind and sea upon
her side, forcing her to-leeward of the line upon which she appears to
sail; and in this situation her course is necessarily a compound of the
two motions by which she is impelled, of which the one presses forward,
according to the line of her keel, from H to K, fig. 5. plate V. whilst
the other, acting in the line B A, pushes her to leeward of the course
from B towards A, with a motion which is usually in proportion to the
force of the wind, and the rate of her velocity, as appears by the
following theory.
When a ship is close-hauled, and the head-sails are in perfect
equilibrio with those abaft, the resistance of the water from A to B.
fig. 5. plate V. is equal to the impulse of the sails, whether it is
impressed upon the centre of gravity H of the ship, or any other point
of her length before or abaft it. In this situation, the ship will as
readily bear away as come nearer to the wind, with regard to the
resistance of the water upon her bottom on one side, and the impulsion
of the wind upon the sails on the other. But it must be observed, that
the united effort of the sails acts upon the ship according to a
direction B A, perpendicular to their surfaces, and commencing its
action in some point H, being the mean _d_ between the different effects
C G, of the sails _afore_ and abaft, which should exactly correspond
with the resistance of the water from A towards B; so that the vessel is
pushed to leeward of the course I K, which she steers in the direction B
A of the effort of the sails. But the resistance of the water, acting
upon the lee-side of her bottom, counterbalances this effort, and
becomes stronger, in proportion to the greater facility with which she
divides the fluid with her stem; so that she will really advance in the
course N R, which lies nearer the line of her keel than B A. Thus the
angle K H R of the lee-way is proportional to the greater or less
resistance the ship meets with from the fluid upon her lee side,
respectively with her greater or less facility of dividing it with her
fore-part; so that the lee-way is very inconsiderable, except, when the
ship is close-hauled, and is accordingly disregarded whenever the wind,
is large.
This demonstration might be pushed farther by a fact founded on daily
experience, which proves that not only the lee-way depends on the form
of the vessel, but also the degree of velocity with which she advances;
and perhaps never, intirely, upon the greater or less obliquity of the
sails with the keel, as some authors have pretended. For when a
swift-sailing ship is _close-hauled_, with all her sails out, in a very
light wind, and scarcely having _steerage-way_, the lee-way is
considerable even in smooth water. This is occasioned by the tardy
motion of the vessel, which being feebly pushed forward, cannot impress
the water with a forcible effect, and by consequence feels no resistance
from it, but is accordingly carried with facility by her sails, in the
direction of their effort B A: and if we consider the situation of the
ship’s side, which presents a great surface of sail above the water, it
appears that the lee-way will become yet more perpendicular to the keel.
But when the wind makes a forcible impression, the velocity of moving
forward is considerably augmented; the ship strikes the fluid with a
force, expressed by the square of two or three leagues of swiftness,
from B towards A, in the space of an hour, whilst the water repels her
effort in a contrary direction. The resistance of the water is then, in
the ratio of this square, to the square of her first velocity, or
head-way; and in this state will not readily yield to its effort. The
lee-way immediately decreases, and will be still farther diminished, if
the ship’s course is accelerated. If then at the moment when the ship
advances with great rapidity, she _bears away_ 12 or 15 degrees, or even
two points, without altering the general arrangement of her sails, their
obliquity remains the same, the ship therefore ought to have the same
lee-way, according to the opinion of those who have written on the
theory of sailing. The velocity is augmented, because the sails then
receive the wind by a greater sine of incidence, and thereby acquire a
more powerful effort, whilst the ship’s _head_ is always struck by the
water in the same parts, and by the same sine of incidence; so that the
lee-way is also diminished, because the water resists more, in
consequence of the accelerated swiftness; and because the resistance is
more exerted on the ship’s side than on her head, which is less opposed
to its impulsion. Hence we may conclude, that the lee-way of a ship does
not entirely depend on the disposition of her sails; that it is
different in different vessels, because they are neither formed alike,
nor are their sails equally _trimmed_ in the same oblique courses: and
finally, because they have always a different velocity, at the same
time, and under the same sail. Thus it is evident, that the lee-way is
always composed of the ship’s comparative velocity; of her form, which
gives more or less proportional resistance upon the side than on the
fore-part; and of the disposition of her sails, as forming a greater or
smaller obliquity with the keel. See also CLOSE-HAULED, DRIFT, and
SAILING.
LEECHES, _bords_, the borders or edges of a sail, which are either
sloping or perpendicular. See GORING.
The leeches of all sails, whose tops and bottoms are parallel to the
deck, or at right angles with the mast, are denominated from the ship’s
side, and the sail to which they belong; as the _starboard_ leech of the
main-sail, the _lee_ leech of the fore-top-sail, &c. but the sails which
are fixed obliquely upon the masts, have their leeches named from their
situation with respect to the ship’s length; as the fore-leech of the
mizen, the after-leech of the jib, or fore-stay-sail, &c.
LEECH-LINES, _cargues-bouline_, certain ropes fastened to the middle of
the leeches of the main-sail and fore-sail, and communicating with
blocks under the opposite sides of the top, whence they pass downwards
to the deck, serving to truss up those sails to the yard, as occasion
requires. See BRAILS.
LEECH-ROPE, _ralingue_, a name given to that part of the bolt-rope, to
which the border, or skirt of a sail is sewed. In all sails, whose
opposite leeches are of the same length, it is terminated above by the
earing, and below by the clue. See BOLT-ROPE, CLUE, and EARING.
LENGTHENING, the operation of cutting a ship down across the middle, and
adding a certain portion to her length. It is performed by sawing her
planks asunder, in different places of her length, on each side of the
midship frame, to prevent her from being weakened too much in one place.
The two ends are then drawn apart, to a limited distance, which must be
equal to the proposed addition of length. An intermediate piece of
timber is next added to the keel, upon which a sufficient number of
timbers are erected, to fill up the vacancy produced by the separation.
The two parts of the kelson are afterwards united, by an additional
piece which is scored down upon the floor-timbers; and as many beams as
may be necessary, are fixed across the ship in the new interval.
Finally, the planks of the side are prolonged, so as to unite with each
other, and those of the ceiling refitted in the same manner; by which
the whole process is completed.
_To_ LET _in_, _enclaver_, amongst shipwrights, is to fix a diminished
part of one plank or piece of timber into a vacancy, formed in another
for this purpose. See RABBIT.
LETTER OF MART, a commission granted by the lords of the admiralty, or
by the vice-admiral of any distant province, to the commander of a
merchant-ship, or privateer, to cruize against, and make prizes of, the
enemy’s ships and vessels, either at sea, or in their harbours.
_To_ LIE _along_, or LIE _over_. See the article ALONG.
_To_ LIE-_to_. See LYING-TO, &c.
LIEUTENANT _of a ship of war_, the officer next in rank and power to the
captain, in whose absence he is accordingly charged with the command of
the ship; as also the execution of whatever orders he may have received
from the commander relating to the king’s service.
The lieutenant, who commands the watch at sea, keeps a list of all the
officers and men thereto belonging, in order to muster them, when he
judges it expedient, and report to the captain the names of those who
are absent from their duty. During the night-watch, he occasionally
visits the lower decks, or sends thither a careful officer, to see that
the proper centinels are at their duty, and that there is no disorder
amongst the men; no tobacco smoaked between decks, nor any fire or
candles burning there, except the lights which are in lanthorns, under
the care of a proper watch, on particular occasions. He is expected to
be always upon deck in his watch, as well to give the necessary orders,
with regard to _trimming_ the sails and superintending the navigation,
as to prevent any noise or confusion; but he is never to change the
ship’s course without the captain’s directions, unless to avoid an
immediate danger.
The lieutenant, in time of battle, is particularly to see that all the
men are present at their quarters, where they have been previously
stationed according to the regulations made by the captain. He orders
and exhorts them every where to perform their duty, and acquaints the
captain at all other times of the misbehaviour of any persons in the
ship, and of whatever else concerns the service or discipline.
The youngest lieutenant of the ship, who is also stiled lieutenant at
arms, besides his common duty, is particularly ordered, by his
instructions, to train the seamen to the use of small arms, and
frequently to exercise and discipline them therein. Accordingly his
office, in time of battle, is chiefly to direct and attend them, and at
all other times to have a due regard to the preservation of the small
arms, that they be not lost or embezzled, and that they are kept clean
and in good condition for service.
LIFTS, _balanciers_, certain ropes, descending from the cap and
mast-head, to the opposite extremities of the yard immediately under;
where, passing through a block or pulley, they become double. They are
used to keep the yard in equilibrio; or to pull one of its extremities
higher than the other, as occasion requires; but particularly to support
the weight of it, when a number of seamen are employed thereon, to furl
or _reef_ the sail.
The lifts of the top-sail-yards, called the top-sail-lifts, are also
used as _sheets_ to extend the bottom of the top-gallant-sail above.
The yards are said to be squared by the lifts, when they hang at right
angles with the mast; that is to say, parallel to the horizon, when the
vessel is upright upon the water.
_Topping_-LIFT. See TOPPING-LIFT.
LIGHT, _lege_, in the sea-language is used in contradistinction to
laden. A ship is accordingly called light, either when she has no cargo,
or when she is not sufficiently ballasted.
LIGHTER, _allege_, a large, open, flat-bottomed vessel, generally
managed with oars, and employed to carry goods to or from a ship when
she is to be laden or delivered. See the article VESSEL.
There are also some lighters furnished with a deck throughout their
whole length, in order to contain those merchandizes, which would be
damaged by rainy weather: these are usually called close-lighters.
LIGHT-HOUSE, _phare_, _tour à feu_, a sort of tower erected upon a cape
or promontory on the sea-coast, or upon some rock in the sea, and having
a great fire, or light formed by candles, upon its top, in the night
time, which is constantly attended by some careful person, so as to be
seen at a great distance from the land. It is used to direct the
shipping on the coast, that might otherwise run ashore, or steer an
improper course, when the darkness of the night, and the uncertainty of
currents, &c. might render their situation, with regard to the shore,
extremely doubtful.
LIGHT-ROOM, _fanal de soute_, a small apartment, inclosed with glass
windows, near the magazine of a ship of war. It is used to contain the
lights by which the gunner, and his assistants, are enabled to fill the
cartridges with powder, to be ready for action.
LIMBERS, or LIMBER-HOLES, _parclosses_, certain square holes cut through
the lower parts of a ship’s floor-timbers, very near the keel. Being
disposed in a line, parallel to the keel, they form a channel, which
communicates with the pumps throughout the whole length of the floor, so
that the water which enters by a leak, and would otherwise be
intercepted by the timbers, is easily conveyed to the well-room, where
the pumps are fixed. Every floor-timber has two limber-holes cut through
it, viz. one on each side of the _kelson_.
LIMBER-BOARDS, short pieces of plank, which form a part of the ceiling,
or lining of a ship’s floor, close to the kelson, and immediately above
the limbers. They are occasionally removed, when it becomes necessary,
to examine, or clear the limber-holes of any filth, sand, chips, or
gravel, by which they may be clogged, so as to interrupt the passage of
the water, in the ship’s floor, to the pump-well.
LIMBER-ROPE, a long rope, frequently retained in the limber-holes of a
ship, and communicating from one to another, in order to clear them by
pulling the rope backwards and forwards, so as to loosen the sand or
dirt by which they may occasionally be choaked.
LINE, _ligne_, a general name given to the arrangement or order in which
a fleet of ships of war are disposed to engage an enemy.
This disposition, which is the best calculated for the operations of
naval war, is formed by drawing up the ships in a long file, or right
line, prolonged from the keel of the hindmost to that of the foremost,
and passing longitudinally through the keels of all the others, from the
van to the rear; so that they are, according to the sea-phrase, in the
_wake_ of each other.
In the line, or order of battle, all the ships of which it is composed
are _close-hauled_, upon the starboard or larboard-tack, about 50
fathoms distant from each other. See plate V. fig. 5. where _a b_
represents the elevation, and A B the plan of this order, upon the
starboard-tack; the direction of the wind in both being expressed by the
arrow in the latter.
A fleet is more particularly drawn up in the line when in presence of an
enemy. It ought to be formed in such a manner as that the ships should
mutually sustain and reinforce each other, and yet preserve a sufficient
space in their stations, to _work_ or direct their movements with
facility during the action. Thus they will be enabled effectually to
cannonade the enemy, without incommoding the ships of their own
squadron.
The line close-hauled is peculiarly chosen as the order of battle,
because if the fleet, which is to windward, were arranged in any other
line, the enemy might soon gain the _weather-gage_ of it; and even if he
thinks it expedient to decline that advantage, it will yet be in his
power to determine the distance between the adverse fleets, in an
engagement, and to compel the other to action. The fleet to leeward,
being in a line close-hauled, parallel to the enemy, can more readily
avail itself of a change of the wind, or of the neglect of its
adversary, by which it may, by a dextrous management, get to windward of
him: or, should it fail in this attempt, it will nevertheless be
enabled, by the favourable state of the wind, to avoid coming to action,
if the enemy is greatly superior; or to prevent him from escaping, if he
should attempt it.