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, a _thimble_ is 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,
_served_ with spun-yarn throughout its whole length, to bind the
parcelling more closely, and render it firmer and more compact; and the
whole is completed by _pointing_ it 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 also DOLPHIN.
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 the _well_,
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 a _roller_ or _winch_, 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 in_
W.
PUNT, a sort of flat-bottomed boat, whose floor resembles the platform
of a floating-stage. It is used by the naval artificers, either in
_calking_, _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.
[Illustration:
_PLATE VIII_ _to face QUARTER_
]
Q.
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.
QUARTER _of 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 main _chains_ and 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.
Plate VIII. 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 articles HEAD,
MIDSHIP-FRAME, and STERN.
In this figure, all the parts are distinguished by the same letters as
those in the plane of elevation, plate I. wherein the quarter is
continued into the side, upon a smaller scale.
Explanation of fig. 3. plate VIII.
A the keel, with _a_ the 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.
_h_ the 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.
T _t_ the rudder.
A _t_ F the rake of the stern.
P _i i_ the drift-rails.
T U the after-part of the load _water-line_.
_k k l_ the 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 plate
VIII. 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 of _cats_, 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 the_ QUARTER, 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 article BEARING.
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
the _gangway_. 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. plate VIII. 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 the _mates_ in their several duties; as stowing the
ballast and provisions in the hold, _coiling_ the 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 article
ENGAGEMENT.
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 article
ENGAGEMENT.
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:
Nature of the gun.
Pounder. No. of men.
To a 42 15
32 13
24 11
18 9
12 7
9 6
6 5
4 4
3 3
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,
Rate of the ship. No. of men to the small arms.
1st 150
2d 120
3d of 80 guns 100
— of 70 guns 80
4th of 60 guns 70
4th of 50 guns 60
5th 50
6th 40
Sloops of war 30
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 articles
CANNON and EXERCISE.
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 the _strands_ of 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.
QUOINS are 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.
R.
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 article
IRON-WORK, and represented in fig. 2, plate II.
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 plates I, IV, VII, and VIII. and
their explanations, in NAVAL ARCHITECTURE, &c.
RAILS _of the head_, certain curved pieces of timber, extending from the
bows on each side to the continuation of the ship’s stem, to support the
_knee 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
article HEAD, plate IV.
_To_ RAISE, 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 to LAYING, which see.
RAISING _a 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.
RAKING _a 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 called _enfilading_ by 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. See ANCHOR and CABLE-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
articles CANNON and MORTAR.
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 the _ricochet_, 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 plate III. extending from fig. 16. to
the ship under sail, is apparently straight, and the extent of this line
is called the _point-blank_ range 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, or _random-shot_; but
the piece cannot be levelled, or, as it is generally expressed,
_pointed_ at 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 the _ricochet_[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].