JB/539/118/001

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Copper Sheathing

Davies has lately seen the bolts taken out of the
which was sheathed 5 or 6 years ago. — The heads of the
bolts had been covered with oakum & canvass, and were
when taken out perfectly fresh, as were the lots themselves
for two or t5hree inches from the head; but farther in
they were corroded; so much so that bolts an inch
thick were reduced to the size of a quill.

Davies has great doubts about the success of the new
tarnish, but I don't know his reasons —

Rudders.

The Royal George, Narnier, Ocean & Union lost their
Rudders last October at anchor in Torbay in a gale of
wind — They were hung with the patent Metal which
it should, seem is not so strong as Iron — Neither Dick
Nor Davies knew whether the Hooks were thicker than
the Iron ones, not whether the patent metal means
Keir's Metal —

Dick, who was Secretary to Gambier in America, says
that 9 of their copper pigates came into at once
without their Rudder, which had been hung with Iron —
One of them, Davies' said, had had Rudder new
hung only a year before —

Sailing

Dick was last summer — The
fleet was 36 Ships . They all went
well, even the Princess & and so equally
that after a 12 hours chase they were all to
be found within two miles — The Edgar went to
Gibralter last winter with Rodney & outsailed all
the fleet — In her return she was told to go 13 or
14 Knots — Last summer with the bottom
officers & men she was become one of the worst
sailers in the Fleet — Capt. Elliot tried all possible experiments
& altered the stowage over & over but to no
purpose. The Duke is now one of the best sailers
among the three Deckers & the Formidable the worst —
The finest ship in the fleet, both for sailing & carrying
her guns, was the Canada — But the favourite of
the whole is, would you have thought it, the
Arrogant, which was at sea in Octr & Novr last year,
& is to come out of Dock in the spring with a slight
repair.

W. has since writing the above has been
spending a week at Brompton. All parties
vastly pleased with each other. Betsy D. he says
is grown a very fine & nimble girl.

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Identifier: | JB/539/118/001"JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 539.
Date_1	1780-12-26	Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	539	Main Headings
Folio number	118	Info in main headings field
Image	001	Titles
Category	Correspondence	Number of Pages
Recto/Verso		Page Numbering
Penner	Jeremy Bentham	Watermarks
Marginals		Paper Producer
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year
Notes public		ID Number
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