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In French
THIS PRACTICAL TREATISE ON
SHIPBUILDING is rightly the most
famous French work on naval architecture.
Duhamel du Monceau, appointed
Inspector General of the Navy in 1739, created the
Ecole de la Marine in Paris in 1741 and was
director of the school until his death in 1782.
Having observed that most builders worked "randomly
and without a firm grounding," the author decided
to compose this work in order to "seal the
shipbuilder's secrets" which until then had been
jealously guarded so as to protect the rank and
reputation of only a few select families.
Seventy-five years after Dassié's essay,
Duhamel du Monceau offers us the first actual
printed treatise on naval architecture.*
The first edition in 1752 contains nine chapters
that discuss timber works, the proportions of the
vessel, its conception, shipbuilders' methods of
construction, the weight of the vessel, the
necessary volume of the underwater hull,
hydrostatics and hydrodynamics. As immediate and
widespread success (the work is quickly translated
into English), the first printing of the treatise
is soon followed by a second edition in 1758 to
which the author appends a tenth chapter devoted to
the stability of the ship.
In our collection we offer this second more
complete and expanded edition. The treatise was
intended for use by novice builders and the Naval
Guard (student officers). It is quintessentially
practical in its scope, due to the direct
participation and collaboration of shipbuilders
themselves. The greatest value of Duhamel du
Monceau's work, however, lies in the general
accessibility in a printed publication of all the
basic calculations and reckonings necessary for
shipbuilding. This is made possible by the plans
included in the work, which are an indispensable
visual aid to reasoning and the development of
logical thought. The basic principles presented in
the book, enhanced by a detailed description of
building practices in the shipyards, are at the
origin of the progressive evolution of the school
of French naval architecture after 1758.
A
ground breaking work, The Elements of Naval
Architecture will find a place, if not a preeminent
one, in the library of all naval enthusiasts. With
this reedition of a classic study, we hope that it
will become a familiar acquaintance, and perhaps an
old friend, of the enthusiast.
(*)
In fact, Blaise Ollivier's manuscript treatises on
shipbuilding are the origin of a truly scientific
approach to naval architecture.
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