At the close of the war against France and Spain, which lasted from 1744 to 1748, great complaints were made of the weakness of our warships at sea. It was also found that the establishment of 1719 had not been adhered to, and the dimensions of ships were not fixed in accordance with any particular standard. The first defect was remedied by the placing of as many standards of wood, or iron, on the different decks as could be conveniently arranged, so as not to interfere with the guns, and by the use of larger bolts than had hitherto been employed, as high up as possible in the throats of the hanging knees. Also the beams of the quarter-deck and round-house were supported with lodging knees, and in some instances with hanging knees of wood, or iron. Various other pieces, such as the stem, were also strengthened and the weights of the taffrails and quarter-pieces were reduced. The advice of the master shipwrights of the various dockyards was sought, in order to fix a new establishment of dimensions, but great difficulties were found in introducing the much-needed reforms, and for some time afterwards the ships of the British Navy were at a disadvantage with those of foreign countries by reason of their contracted dimensions and inferior forms. The capture, with great difficulty, of a Spanish ship of seventy guns, named the _Princessa_, in 1740, by three British men-of-war of equal rating, but far inferior dimensions, was one of the events that first opened the eyes of the Admiralty to the defects of their vessels. The first attempt towards introducing a better type of ship was made in 1746, when the _Royal George_, famous for her size, her services, her beauty and misfortunes, was laid down. She was not launched till 1756. The following were her principal dimensions:-- Length of keel for tonnage 143 ft. 5-1/2 in. Length of gun-deck 178 ft. Extreme breadth 51 ft. 9-1/2 in. Depth of hold 21 ft. 6 in. Tonnage 2047 Number of guns 100 Crew 750 men. Fig. 55 is an illustration of this ship. She rendered great services to the country under the orders of Admiral Lord Hawke, especially in the memorable defeat of the French Navy off the island of Belle-isle in 1759. She was lost at Spithead in 1782, when being inclined in order to have some repairs to her bottom executed. She capsized, and went under, 900 men, women, and children being drowned in her.