payment of the
navy quarterly." At the time the report was issued there were only
seventeen vessels in the navy which had been built during the reign of
James. The most important of these was the _Prince Royal_, built in
1610, and, at the time, considered to be one of the finest men-of-war
in the world. Fig. 47 is an illustration of a man-of-war of the period,
which, there is strong evidence for believing, was this very vessel. It
was designed and built under the superintendence of Phineas Pett at
Woolwich Dockyard, and was given by the king to his son Henry, Prince of
Wales, in honour of whom it was named the _Prince Royal_. It was in many
respects a remarkable departure from the prevailing practice of the
times, and, if stripped of its profuse carved work, was very similar in
outline to the men-of-war built as recently as the commencement of the
last century. The designer was bold enough to abandon some of the
time-honoured features of ship construction, such as the beak, or prow,
derived from the old galleys, and the square buttock, or tuck. The
latter feature, however, continued to appear in the ships of most other
European countries for some time afterwards. The length of keel of this
vessel was 114 ft., and the beam 44 ft. The reputed burthen was
1,400 tons, and the vessel was pierced for 64 guns, whereof she carried
55, the vacant portholes being filled in action from the opposite side,
a custom which prevailed down to the last century and was adopted in
order to lessen the dead weight carried aft. The great difference
between the shape of the quarter galleries and forecastle in this ship
and in the earlier types will be noted. The armament of the _Prince
Royal_ consisted of the following guns: On the lower deck six
32-pounders, two 24-pounders, and twelve 18-pounders. The bow and
aftermost ports were empty, and in case of necessity the former
was filled by an 18-pounder from the opposite side, and the latter by a
24-pounder from the stern-ports. The upper deck was armed with
9-pounders, the aftermost port being vacant, and filled up when
required. The quarter-deck and forecastle were provided with 5-pounders.

[Illustration: FIG. 47.--The _Prince Royal_. 1610.]

The building of this ship aroused many apprehensions, and a Commission
was appointed to report on the design while it was being constructed. It
certainly seems that gross errors were made in the calculations. For
instance, it was estimated that 775 loa