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A ship, whether of iron or of wood, is made of a framework, which is then covered with plates or planks ; and it is evident that the constant motion to which a ship, when at sea, is subject—the vibration that takes place through her whole hull—in a great measure loosens her joints, and opens the seams between the planks (a leak is sprung), the ship Sis no longer watertight ; and thus many val nable lives, together with much property, are lost The improved method of building ships inyented by John Reeves, 55 Sands St, Brooklyn, md patented by him January 5, 1858, is in tended to overcome this defect, by providing cross braces from the bilge of ships up to between the upper and lower decks In our engravings, Fig 1 shows a ship, D, in a position in which she is often placed by the wiads, and the dotted lines, E, show the amount of vibration which she is likely to undergo If the cross ties or braces be of wood, then they are represented by A, Fig 1 ; they are strongly secured by knees, a, to the bilge, and between the upper and lower docks, C and C If, however, iron braces are preferred, they can be made and secured as seen in Fig 2, where B, the brace or cross tie, is attached to the same places by plates strongly bolted, b, and these iron cross ties have screws and nuts, c, so that they can always be kept perfectly taut E and F illustrate the vibra tions to which the ship is subject on both sides, and it will be easily perceived how such a vibration would start and strain the timbers, and the frame of a ship When, however, the sides are thus rigidly connected by these cross ties, it is next to impossible for such vibrations and consequent strains to take place, and consequently, the ship is rendered stronger and safer, without in any way deteriorating her sailing qualities This system of cross ties can be applied in any part of the ship, so as not to interfere with her cargo room or, if a steamer, with her machinery, and so attain the requisite degree of strength without taking up more room The inventor will give any further particulars, if addressed as above
