Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 1).djvu/339

 fifty-four feet in length, which would be ample where the highest row-port was nine feet above the level of the water; and as thirty men would be able to work on each oblique row, a hexireme, of no greater width, could carry three hundred and sixty rowers, a septireme four hundred and twenty, an octoreme four hundred and eighty, and so forth. In the case of a tesseracontoros, with no greater beam, two thousand four hundred rowers could find employment; but as vessels of that enormous size—if, indeed, more than this one was ever built—were very considerably wider, it would be an improvement on the plan proposed by Mr. Howell, of ten men to each of the four hundred oars, to place fourteen rowers upon each of the oars of the upper bank, twelve on the second, ten on the third, eight on the fourth, and six on the fifth or lowest bank, which would give the required number of four thousand, though, in either case, many of the men would be more ornamental than serviceable. There is, however, no doubt that about three thousand men could be placed so as to row in each individual case with effect if they were apportioned to their oars in somewhat the scale of ten, nine, seven, six, and five, or say, thirty-seven men to each of the forty banks or oblique rows of oars, which would leave one thousand and forty for reliefs.

If the men were arranged in the manner suggested, and as represented in the following front view of their positions when placed at their stations before they commenced work on board of a trireme, the various objections which have been raised to the plan of working oars placed one over the other are removed.