Sir Edward James Reed (1830-1906) was an innovative naval architect who, after attending the Central School of Mathematics and Naval Architecture in Portsmouth, was appointed chief constructor of the Navy in 1863. This was a crucial time for the navy, as traditional wooden sailing ships began to be armoured or rebuilt in iron in response to more powerful weaponry. Reed pioneered the methodical use of scientific calculations to determine a ship's weight, strength and stability, and was responsible for a number of revolutionary designs. He later founded his own consultancy and designed ships for other countries including Germany, Chile and Brazil. This illustrated handbook, first published in 1869, contains a comprehensive overview of the various classes of iron-clad ships of the time - the new features they incorporated, their capabilities, performance, and their cost. It also deals with converting existing wooden battleships into iron-clads.

Sir Edward James Reed (1830 1906) was an innovative naval architect who, after attending the Central School of Mathematics and Naval Architecture in Portsmouth, was appointed chief constructor of the Navy in 1863. This was a crucial time for the navy, as traditional wooden sailing ships began to be armoured or rebuilt in iron in response to more powerful weaponry. Reed pioneered the methodical use of scientific calculations to determine a ship's weight, strength and stability, and was responsible for a number of revolutionary designs. He later founded his own consultancy and designed ships for other countries including Germany, Chile and Brazil. This textbook, first published in 1869, contains a comprehensive overview of the design and construction of the various classes of iron ships of the time, and the new features they incorporated. It also includes descriptions of procedures in Royal Dockyards and various civilian shipyards.

Sir Edward James Reed (1830 1906) was appointed chief constructor of the Navy in 1863, and later founded his own ship design consultancy. He pioneered the methodical use of scientific calculations to determine a ship's weight, strength and stability, and was responsible for a number of revolutionary designs at a crucial period, when ships began to be armoured or rebuilt in iron in response to more powerful weaponry. This book, first published in 1885, sets out his approach to the problem of ensuring stability in iron-built ships. Reed discusses scientific theories of flotation, buoyancy and stability and applies them to contemporary ship design and shipbuilding techniques. Reed also describes the experiments of French naval architects in this area, providing the first English translations of their research. It is an important record of the Victorian naval and scientific understanding of iron-built ship stability, corrective design and building methods.