“This question of stability will have to be carefully watched and studied within the next few years, because there is a tendency at present towards a rapid increase in the proportion of beam to length; and as the draught of water in these large ships is limited, we must be careful that in seeking higher speeds with increased beam we do not get too much stability, and so render the vessels heavy rollers and very uncomfortable as passenger-ships. It is possible the future may see vessels of greater beam than any yet afloat in the merchant service; but if so, it is almost inevitable that they will have to be made higher out of water in order to render them easy and comfortable at sea, but even that has its limits. Perhaps it is well to give an extreme case, and here I will make use of our old friend _The Great Eastern_.... Now, for the purpose of trading it is quite clear that _The Great Eastern_ cannot be loaded much deeper than other ships, while her beam is half as great again; and the consequence is, her stability, as compared with our modern passenger-ships, is so excessive that she is bound to be a tremendous roller among the heavy seas in the Atlantic. Her metacentric height, when loaded, was, I believe, stated by the late Mr. Froude to be as much as 8.7 feet, which is from three to four times as much as is thought sufficient for ships in the present day, or consistent with their easy behavior at sea.” Thus Mr. John himself regards 2.9 feet to 2.2 feet as the proper metacentric height for those steamers, and it is generally considered by modern designers that from 2.5 to 3.2 feet is most suitable for this class of armored ships, and is conducive to easiness of motion in a sea-way. The value of this quality to a ship intended for sea-fighting cannot be overestimated, for upon her steadiness as a gun-platform the aim and efficiency of her guns greatly depend. It will be noticed that this ship has exceptionally great beam, that of most ships of her class and displacement, varying from 54 to 59 feet, and judging from the sketches which have appeared, her water-line coefficient is about 0.72. From an approximate calculation based on this assumption it is found that her metacentric height will be about six feet. The water-line coefficient may possibly be a little finer than 0.72, and thus reduce the metacentric height, but if this ship is assumed to have a metacentric height of three feet, her water-line coefficient would be 0.6288, which is an _impossibility_, if her coefficient of fineness of displacement be that given in the published dimensions. Such a water-line and coefficient of fineness for 6300 tons displacement would produce a perfect rectangle for a midship section. So that, unless her dimensions are changed, she will surely be a heavy roller, and after much sea duty she will suffer such severe strains as to require frequent and costly repairs.