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Kentop
09-20-2014, 11:36
A Method of Concentrating the Fire of a Broadside of a Ship of War: With an Appendix and Several Subjects Connected with the Naval Service
free Google e-book. William Kennish, Carpenter, U.S.N.

Printed April 1832. 48 pages.

This is a free e-book you can read at google books. The title pretty much says it all. Very detailed with lots of interesting tidbits. There are two tables on page 32 which give the height of the maintop mast heads above the waterline of a given ship from a first rater to a 10 gun brig. One thing I did with this info was to use a sextant to see if I could tell how tall a telephone pole in my neighborhood was. I came up with 34 ft, which is pretty darn accurate. The smallest brig in the list has masts twice that height.

It's a good, quick read and I got to use my sextant in Tucson for something other than sighting the sun and moon.