Crutches, or Clutches to Dead-wood

The crooked timbers fayed and bolted upon the foot-waling abaft for the security of the heels of the half-timbers. Also stanchions of iron or wood whose upper parts are forked to receive rails, spare masts, yards, etc.

A solid piece of cast iron, let into the step of the capstan, and in which the iron spindle at the heel of the capstan works. (See Capstan.)

The elliptical curve line forming the upperside of the floor-timbers at the middle line. Also, the line that forms the upper part of the knee of the head above the cheeks. The cutting-down line is represented as limiting the depth of every floor timber at the middle line, and also the height of the upper part of the dead-wood afore and abaft.

A piece of timber that faces on to the poppets of the bilgeways, and crosses them diagonally, to keep them together. The plank that secures the heads of the poppets is called the dagger plank. The word dagger seems to apply to anything that stands diagonally or aslant.

Knees to supply the place of hanging knees. Their side arms are brought up aslant or nearly to the underside of the beams adjoining. They are chiefly used to the lower deck beams of merchant ships, in order to preserve as much stowage in the hold as possible. Any strait-hanging knees not perpendicular to the side of the beam are in general termed dagger knees.

A name given to that timber or frame which has the greatest breadth and capacity in the ship, and which is generally called the midship bend. In those ship where there are several frames or timbers of equal breadth or capacity that which is in the middle should be always considered as dead-flat, and distinguished as such by this character +. The timbers before the dead-flat are marked A, B, C, etc., in order; and those abaft dead-flat by the figures 1, 2, 3, etc. The timbers adjacent to dead-flat, and of the same dimensions nearly, are distinguished by the characters (A) (B), etc., and (1) (2), etc.

Dead-rising, or Rising Line of the Floor. Those parts of the floor or bottom throughout the ship's length where the sweep or curve at the head of the floor timber is terminated or inflects to join the keel. Hence, although the rising of the floor at the midship-flat is but a few inches above the keel at that place, its height forward and aft increases according to the sharpness of form in the body. Therefore, the rising of the floor in the sheer plan is a curved line drawn at the height of the ends of the floor timbers, and limited at the main frame or dead-flat by the death-rising, appearing in flat ships nearly parallel to the keel for some timbers afore and abaft the midship frame, for which reason these timbers are called flats; but in sharp ships it rises gradually from the main frame, and ends on the stem and post.

The eddy water which the ship draws after her at her seat or line of flotation in the water, particularly close aft. To this particular great attention should be paid in the construction of a vessel, especially in those with square tucks; for such being carried too low in the water will be attended with great eddies or much dead-water. Vessels with a round buttock have but little or no dead-water, because, by the rounding or arching of such vessels abaft, the water more easily recovers its state of rest.

That part of the basis of a ship's body forward and aft which is formed by solid pieces of timber scarphed together lengthwise on the keel. These should be sufficiently broad to admit of a stepping or rabbet for the heels of the timbers, that the latter may not be continued downwards to sharp edges; and they should be sufficiently high to seat the floors. Afore and abaft the floors the dead-wood is continued to the cutting down line for the purpose of securing the heels of the cant-timbers.