The transition to decks with less sheer seems to go through two stages. In the first, during the mid-17th century, the wales retained the same amount of sheer as before but the decks were flattened out. This required cutting gunports through the wales towards the ends of the hull, and this feature is seen in quite a few reliable representations of the period (such as the Van de Velde drawings and Anthony Deane's manuscript on ship design). An alternative was stepped decks, and this is also seen in some cases. English and Dutch ships with ports cut through the wales can be seen from at least the 1630s (for example Van de Velde's drawing of the 4th Rate Expedition built in 1637) and were typical through the Establishment of 1745 and for some decades after.
In the second stage, the sheer of the wales was gradually reduced to
approximate that of the decks, and the gunports could once again follow the
wales, which is a much stronger arrangement. The beginnings of this development
can be seen in the first half of the 18th century, as fewer gunports are cut
into the wales, and by the Establishment of 1745 it is usually only the last
two or three ports on the gundeck or gundecks that cut into the wales, and
then not usually all the way through. By the end of the 18th century, it was
typical for all the ports to lie between the wales.
{
Fred Hocker - Vasa Museum
}
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