A Treatise on the Stability of Ships

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...