The above fact I give for the sake of the following observation.
It has been remark'd, as an imperfection in the art of ship-building,
that it can never be known, till she is tried, whether a new ship will
or will not be a good sailer; for that the model of a good-sailing
ship has been exactly follow'd in a new one, which has prov'd, on
the contrary, remarkably dull. I apprehend that this may partly be
occasion'd by the different opinions of seamen respecting the modes
of lading, rigging, and sailing of a ship; each has his system;
and the same vessel, laden by the judgment and orders of one captain,
shall sail better or worse than when by the orders of another.
Besides, it scarce ever happens that a ship is form'd, fitted for
the sea, and sail'd by the same person. One man builds the hull,
another rigs her, a third lades and sails her. No one of these has
the advantage of knowing all the ideas and experience of the others,
and, therefore, can not draw just conclusions from a combination
of the whole.
Even in the simple operation of sailing when at sea, I have
often observ'd different judgments in the officers who commanded
the successive watches, the wind being the same. One would have
the sails trimm'd sharper or flatter than another, so that they
seem'd to have no certain rule to govern by.
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