53. NAVIGATION OF THE BRISTOL CHANNEL.

"Notice to Mariners.

"Trinity-House, London, 2d July, 1832. "The Corporation of the Trinity-House, London, having, in compliance with the request of the merchants, owners, and masters of vessels, and other persons, using or interested in the navigation of the Bristol Channel,-resolved to erect Light Houses upon the Nash Point, in the county of Glamorgan; and the requisite works for effecting the same being now in a state of great forward. ness-Notice thereof is hereby given, and that the Lights in the said Light Houses will be exhibited on or about the 1st day of September next, and thenceforth continued every night, from sunset to sunrise, for the greater facility of navigation.

"Further particulars, together with the necessary sailing directions, will be published previously to the exhibition of the Lights.

* Called by the Greeks, Trapézonte, and by the Turks, Tarabozane.

By the natives called Tumusse. Ancient Vathy.

PL

Sketches of His Majesty's Ship Vernon, of 50 Guns.
Woolwich, June, 1832.

289

VOYAGES AND MARITIME PAPERS.

I. HIS MAJESTY'S SHIP VERNON, OF 50 GUNS.

OUR present number is accompanied by an outline sketch of H.M.S. Vernon, of 50 guns, lately launched at Woolwich. We must hope for the indulgence of our readers in not criticizing too severely some parts of our attempt, but are satisfied that it it will be found a tolerably correct representation of the hull of this fine vessel. It may be well to state, that the sketch was made at Woolwich, under all the disadvantages incident to fitting out a new ship, which to sailors are well known, and that the water-line only has been altered.

The Vernon was laid down at Woolwich in the month of December, 1831, under the superintendence of her builder, Captain W. Symonds, the present surveyor of the navy, and is constructed principally of English oak. It is well known to naval officers, that the principle adopted by Captain Symonds is that of increasing the breadth on deck, and diminishing that of the hold. This principle has been adopted in the Vernon, the largest vessel yet so constructed, and she may be said to have the hull of a cutter increased to the proportions of a frigate. The method of joining her futtocks without chocks, lately introduced by Sir R. Seppings into naval architecture, has been adopted; besides other improvements in her floor-timbers and garbard strake, recommended by Mr. Lang, the builder at Woolwich Dockyard, which we shall refer to in our next number. The Vernon will mount 28 long thirtytwo pounders on her gun-deck, 16 medium thirty-two pounders on her quarter-deck, and 6 medium thirty-two pounders on her forecastle, and will be fitted with the masts and yards of a middle class seventy-four. The hole under the cabin windows is for riding by a cable astern when necessary. The Vernon was launched on the 1st of May, having been completed in the short space of about five months. We have already given her dimensions in page 211 of the fourth number of the Nautical Magazine; in addition to which, we may add the following:

Tonnage,

Length between the perpendiculars from the fore part of the stem at the gun-deck, to the after part of the wing transom,

Keel for tonnage,

Extreme breadth

Depth of hold

2082

176 ft.

144 ft. 6 in.

52 ft. 8 in. 16 ft. 5 in.

The height of her ports from the water-line when complete for service

The distance between her ports

21

6

9 ft. 3 in.

7 ft. 6 in.

The Vernon stows 253 tons of water in tanks, and 33 tons in casks, with six months' provisions under hatches, for a complement of 500 men. She is at present commanded by Captain Sir F. A. Collier, Knt.

II. NOTES ON THE INVENTION OF MASSEY'S LOG AND SOUNDING MACHINE.

The common log has been in use for more than two hundred years. It was obviously the simplest method of estimating the ship's way by measuring the distance which it reached in a given time, from any thing which might be supposed to be floating dead upon the surface of the sea. There have, however, been attempts to use a different method. Mr. Saumarez pointed out, that two plates of metal might be joined together, and set in such a form, that, as they were drawn through the water, they would rotate about an axis, and, by the motion so produced, would enable the ship's way to be reckoned. Smeaton suggested some improvements to this instrument in 1754; but neither of them seem to have been aware of the methods having been pointed out long before. In a lecture concerning navigation and astronomy, read before the Royal Society, May 11, 1687, Dr. Hooke describes " a way wiser for a ship at sea. He says, 66 I have many years since shewn to this society, (as will, I suppose, appear by their journals,) an instrument to keep an exact account of the way of a ship through the water; whether it has been since tried, I know not, yet I have many years since that heard of one or two who were getting a patent for a like instrument; whether they succeeded or not, I have not inquired, for I freely impart it for a general good, and should be glad to hear that it were put in practice, and perform what may, in all probability, be expected from it, which, I conceive, will be a very exact and certain information of the way of the ship that useth it through the water." This passage occurs in p. 561 of Hooke's Posthumous Works; and in the next page, the editor adds the following remark :

:

* Dr. Hutton (art. Log.) says, "it is not known who was the inventor of this method of measuring the ship's way, or her rate of sailing; but no mention of it occurs till the year 1607, in an East India Voyage, published by Purchas." The passage here referred to, is most probably in Keeling's Voyage, "Pilgrim's," vol. i. p. 188. Bouguer, in his "Traite de Naviga tion," p. 95. speaks "de la maniere de mesurer par le Loch," and this word is so evidently a corruption of our own, that some probability is suggested, by the name, of the invention having been originally English. It is very possible that a mere log of wood was at first thrown overboard, with a line attached to it.