Page:The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century.djvu/24

 the Spanish types considered unworthy of this honour. Many of them are said to have been the production of an Irishman named Mullens, who went over to Spain and offered his improved plans to that Government after having failed with the English Admiralty. The 'San Josef and 'San Nicolas,' taken by Nelson in Lord St Vincent's action, were both handsome vessels.

The principle of Sir William Symonds was to give greater beam at the water line and sharpness below. The old school were in favour of less beam. The average length had hitherto been 3.6 to 3.9 times the breadth. In Sir William Symonds's ships it ran from 3.1 to 3.3 times. He adopted the same principle for great and small, so that one would fit inside another like a series of trays. The 'Vernon' was the first large vessel built from his designs. She was a 50-gun frigate, 183 ft. long, with a beam of 53 ft. Hitherto Surveyors of the Navy had been limited in the proportion of guns to tonnage, but Captain Symonds refused to have his hands tied in this respect, and no limitation was enforced on him. He therefore built the 'Vernon' of 2080 tons, a considerable increase over the tonnage of existing frigates. A great success was the result. The 'Vernon' sailed remarkably well, and is still up Portsmouth Harbour, having served for many years as the torpedo school ship.

The 'Pique,' another frigate of his design, of thirty-six guns, launched in 1834, was rendered famous in 1835, when, under the command of Captain the Hon. H. Rous, she came across the Atlantic without a rudder.