Definition of apron in English

WordNet

Noun Plural: aprons
apron - a garment of cloth or leather or plastic that is tied about the waist and worn to protect your clothing
		protective garment clothing that is intended to protect the wearer from injury
		apron string (usually used in the plural) a cord used to tie an apron at the waist
apron - (golf) the part of the fairway leading onto the green
		land site, site physical position in relation to the surroundings; "the sites are determined by highly specific sequences of nucleotides"
		fairway the area between the tee and putting green where the grass is cut short
apron - a paved surface where aircraft stand while not being used
		paved surface a level horizontal surface covered with paving material
apron - the part of a modern theater stage between the curtain and the orchestra (i.e., in front of the curtain)
		proscenium, forestage
		stage a section or portion of a journey or course; "then we embarked on the second stage of our Caribbean cruise"
		theater stage, theatre stage a stage in a theater on which actors can perform
		footlights theater light at the front of a stage that illuminate the set and actors

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

Wiktionary

apron (Noun)
An article of clothing worn over the front of the torso and/or legs for protection from spills.
apron (Noun)
A hard surface bordering a structure or area.
apron (Noun)
The paved area of an airport.
apron (Noun)
The spreading end of a driveway.
apron (Noun)
The paved area below the yellow line on a race track .
apron (Noun)
The portion of a stage extending towards the audience beyond the proscenium arch in a theatre.
apron (Noun)
The sides of a tree’s canopy.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

apron (n.)
An article of dress, of cloth, leather, or other stuff, worn on the fore part of the body, to keep the clothes clean, to defend them from injury, or as a covering. It is commonly tied at the waist by strings.
apron (n.)
Something which by its shape or use suggests an apron;
apron (n.)
The fat skin covering the belly of a goose or duck.
apron (n.)
A piece of leather, or other material, to be spread before a person riding on an outside seat of a vehicle, to defend him from the rain, snow, or dust; a boot.
apron (n.)
A leaden plate that covers the vent of a cannon.
apron (n.)
A piece of carved timber, just above the foremost end of the keel.
apron (n.)
A platform, or flooring of plank, at the entrance of a dock, against which the dock gates are shut.
apron (n.)
A flooring of plank before a dam to cause the water to make a gradual descent.
apron (n.)
The piece that holds the cutting tool of a planer.
apron (n.)
A strip of lead which leads the drip of a wall into a gutter; a flashing.
apron (n.)
The infolded abdomen of a crab.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

apron
A piece of cloth, plastic, worn over the front of the clothes for protection against dirt.

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕

apron
ā′prun, n. a cloth or piece of leather worn before one to protect the dress, or as part of a distinctive official dress, as by Freemasons, &c.—aprons of silk or the like are often worn by ladies for mere ornament: the short cassock ordinarily worn by English bishops: anything resembling an apron in shape or use, as a gig-apron, &c.—v.t. to cover with, as with an apron.—adj. A′proned.—ns. A′pron-man (Shak.), a man who wears an apron, a mechanic; A′pron-string, a string by which an apron is attached to the person.—To be tied to a woman's apron-strings, to be bound to a woman as a child is bound to its mother. [O. Fr. naperon—nappe, cloth, tablecloth—L. mappa, a napkin.]

Marine DictionaryUniversal Dictionary of the Marine ⚓️

apron
(from a and foran, Sax.) a platform, or flooring of plank, raised at the entrance of a dock, a little higher than the bottom, against which the dock gates are shut. See the article DOCK.
apron
contre etrave, in ship-building, a piece of curved timber fixed behind the lower part of the stem, immediately above the foremost end of the keel. See plate I. fig. H. in the PIECES of the HULL.
The APRON conforms exactly to the shape of the stem, so that when the convexity of the former is applied to the concavity of the latter, it forms one solid piece, which serves to fortify the stem, and give it a firmer connexion with the keel.
As the apron is composed of two pieces scarfed together, and used to support she scarf of the stem, it is necessary that the scarf thereof should be at some distance from that of the stem. It is formed of the same thickness with the heel of the stem; but its thickness is equal throughout. Sometimes the piece immediately under the apron forms a curve, of which the horizontal part covers the dead-wood, whilst the vertical part corresponds with the inside of the stem, to which it is fayed, making the commencement of the apron.
Plate I. (Naval ARCHITECTURE)
apron
platine, is also a square piece of lead fastened over the touch-hole of the cannon, to keep the charge dry at sea or in rainy weather.
Naval ARCHITECTURE, or the science of ship-building, comprehends the theory of delineating marine vessels upon a plane; and the art of framing them upon the stocks, according to the proportions exhibited in a regular design.
All edifices, whether civil or military, are known to be erected in consequence of certain established plans, which have been previously altered or improved till they have arrived at the desired point of perfection. The construction of ships appears also to require at least as much correctness and precision as the buildings which are founded upon terra firma: it is therefore absolutely necessary that the mechanical skill of the shipwright should be assisted by plans and sections, which have been drawn with all possible exactness, examined by proper calculations, and submitted to the most accurate scrutiny.
Naval ARCHITECTURE, or ship-building, may be distinguished into three principal parts.
First, To give the ship such an exterior form as may be most suitable to the service for which she is designed.
Secondly, to give the various pieces of a ship their proper figures; to assemble and unite them into a firm, compact frame, so that by their combination and disposition they may form a solid fabric, sufficient to answer all the purposes for which it is intended: And,
Thirdly, To provide convenient accommodations for the officers and crew, as well as suitable apartments for the cargo, furniture, provisions, artillery and ammunition.
The exterior figure of a ship may be divided into the bottom and upper-works.
The bottom, or quick-work, contains what is termed the hold, and which is under water when the ship is laden. The upper-works, called also the dead-work, comprehend all that part which is usually above the water when the ship is laden.
The figure of the bottom is therefore determined by the qualities which are necessary for the vessel, and conformable to the service for which she is proposed.
The limits of our design will not admit of a minute description, and enumeration of all the pieces of timber which enter into the construction of a ship, nor of a particular description of their assemblage and union; or the manner in which they reciprocally contribute to the solidity of those floating citadels. It nevertheless appears necessary to give a general idea of the use, figure, and station, of the principal pieces, to those who are intirely unacquainted with the subject. As our definitions will be greatly illustrated also by the proper figures, we have annexed to this article a plate which comprehends some of the most material draughts, as well as a representation of the principal pieces employed in naval architecture.
It is usual amongst shipwrights to delineate three several draughts.
First, The whole length of the ship is represented according to a side view, perpendicular to the keel, and is termed the plane of elevation, or sheer-draught. Plate I.
Second, The ship is exhibited according to an end view, and stripped of her planks, so as to present the outlines of the principal timbers; and this is properly termed the plane of projection, or the vertical plane of the timbers, Plate I. because it shews the projection of their frames relatively to each other.
Third, It is not sufficient to have the vertical curves of the bottom in different places, for a distinct idea of the horizontal curves is also equally necessary and useful: this is obtained by means of water-lines, traced upon what is called the horizontal plane. In this draught, the curves of the transoms called the round-aft, is also marked, and sometimes the breadth and thickness of the timbers.
The plane of elevation, plate I. determines the length and depth of the keel; the difference of the draughts of water; the length and projection, or rake, of the stem and stern-post; the position of the mid-ship frame upon the keel, together with that of the principal frames afore and abaft; the load-water-line; the wales, the dimensions and situations of the gun-ports, the projection of the rails of the head and stern-gallery, with the stations of the masts and channels. See the article ELEVATION.
This draught, however, conveys no idea of the vertical curve of the ribs or timbers; for as their projection will be only represented in a plane elevated upon the length of the keel, they will appear in this direction no otherwise than as streight lines. To perceive these curves accurately, they must be regarded in another point of view, which will represent their projection upon a vertical plane, supposed to cut the keel at right angles in the place where the ship is broadest. For as all ships are broader near the middle of their length than towards the extremities, it is evident that the timbers are more extended in proportion. The most capacious of these represents what is called the midship-frame; and upon the area of this frame is delineated the projection of all the others.
Thus the plane of projection limits the different breadths of a ship in various points of her length, and exhibits the outline of the timbers respectively to each other, as they are erected upon the keel. Accordingly, this draught ought to present a variety of sections of the ship in different places of her length, and always perpendicular to the surface of the water; so that the eye of the observer, when placed in what may be properly termed the axis of the ship, may perceive the several sections at one glance, that is to say, when looking full on the stem, from before the ship, (See plate V. fig. 4.) he shall discover the fore-timbers; and when looking from behind, directly on the stern, he shall perceive the form of the after-timbers, (See plate X. fig. 2 and 3.) in both of which figures the sections of the inferior timbers are expressed by curved black lines drawn upon the area of the midship-frame, which is already described to be a plane elevated perpendicularly upon the keel at the extreme breadth of the vessel.
To form a just idea of this plane, therefore, we ought to suppose a ship resting upon the stocks, in the same position as when afloat upon the water. Thus a variety of black vertical lines may be drawn at equal distances upon the bottom, which is white, to form different outlines of the ship corresponding to the timbers within. It is to be observed, that the fashion of the inferior timbers must conform to the figure of the midship-frame, which is placed in the fullest part of the ship; and as the planes of all the other timbers diminish in a certain progression as they approach the stem and stern, they are properly delineated on the plane of the midship-frame, which also represents the depth of the keel and length of the midship-beam.
As the two sides of a ship ought to be exactly alike, it is judged sufficient to represent the sections of the fore-part of the ship on the left side, and those in the after-part on the right side, so as to perceive all the sections, as well afore as abaft, upon one plane. See plate I. PROJECTION.
However necessary it may be to understand precisely the vertical curves of the bottom, it is no less requisite to have a just idea of those which are horizontal.
The horizontal, or floor plane, is that upon which the whole frame is erected, and will be more clearly understood by previously describing the water-lines and ribbands, of which it is composed.
When a ship floats upon the stream, it is evident that her upper-works will be separated from the bottom by the surface of the water, which will accordingly describe an imaginary horizontal line upon the bottom from the stem to the stern-post.
The most elevated of those lines is termed the load-water-line, which is supposed to be drawn by the surface of the water on the upper part of the bottom, when she is sufficiently laden for a sea-voyage. For if we suppose this surface a rule, and thereby describe a corresponding black line along the vessel’s bottom, that line will be distinguished upon the bottom, which is white, and represent what is called the load-water-line.
If the ship is lightened of any part of her lading, and preserves the same difference in her draught of water at the two ends, or, what is the same thing, if she is lightened so as to preserve the same equilibrium of the keel with regard to the surface of the water, it is evident that she will rise higher out of the water, so that the black line already described will be elevated above it, and another black line may be delineated upon the bottom, close to the surface of the water, which will exhibit a second water-line parallel to the first, but nearer the keel in proportion to the number of feet which the ship has risen.
Thus by lightening a ship gradually, and at the same time preserving the direction of her keel, or the angle which the keel makes with the surface of the water, a variety of water-lines may be drawn parallel to each other, and to the load-water-line. See a farther illustration of these lines in the article WATER-LINE. See also their figure on a ship’s bottom, plate I. fig. 5.
The ribbands are likewise of great utility in ship-building; they are narrow and flexible planks placed on the bottom at different heights, so as to form a sort of mould for stationing the inferior timbers between the principal ones. They differ from the water-lines, inasmuch as the latter have only one curve, which is horizontal, whereas the ribbands, besides their horizontal one, have a vertical curve. To convey a just idea of these curves, which cannot be represented on one draught at their full length, without an oblique section of the ship’s length, it will be necessary to have recourse to two planes; that of the elevation, which exhibits their vertical curve; and to the floor-plane, upon which the horizontal curve is expressed. See RIBBANDS.
These different lines are extremely useful in exhibiting the various curves of a ship’s bottom, that as they are gradually diminished, their uniformity or irregularity may be discovered by the skilful artist.
We have already observed, that the qualities required in a ship ought to determine the figure of the bottom: a ship of war therefore should be able to sail swiftly, and carry her lower tier of guns sufficiently out of the water. A merchant-ship ought to contain a large cargo of merchant-goods, and be navigated with few hands; and both should be able to carry sail firmly; steer well; drive little to leeward; and sustain the shocks of the sea without being violently strained.
The first thing to be established in the draught of a ship is her length; and as a ship of war, according to her rate, is furnished with a certain number of cannon, which are placed in battery on her decks, it is necessary that a sufficient distance should be left between their ports to work the guns with facility, and particularly to leave space enough between the foremost gun and the stem, and between the aftmost gun and the stern-post on each side, on account of the arching, or inward curve of the ship towards her extremities.
When the length of a ship is determined, it is usual to fix her breadth by the dimensions of the midship-beam. On this occasion the shipwrights, for the most part, are conducted by rules founded on their own observation; for having remarked, that some vessels which by repeated experience have been found to answer all the purposes of navigation, have a certain breadth in proportion to their length, they have inferred that it would be improper to depart from this proportion: but as other ships have been constructed with different breadths, which were equally perfect, a variety of different general rules have been adopted by these artists, who are accordingly divided in their opinions about the breadth which ought to be assigned to a ship relatively with her length, whilst each one produces reasons and experience in support of his own standard. Those who would diminish the breadth alledge, that a narrow vessel meets with less resistance in passing through the water; 2dly. That by increasing the length she will drive less to leeward; 3dly. That according to this principle, the water-lines will be more conveniently formed to divide the fluid; 4thly. That a long and narrow ship will require less sail to advance swiftly; that her masts will be lower, and her rigging lighter; and, by consequence, the seamen less fatigued with managing the sails, &c.
Those, on the contrary, who would enlarge the breadth, pretend, 1st. That this form is better fitted to preserve a good battery of guns. 2dly. That there will be more room to work the guns conveniently. 3dly. That by carrying more sail the ship will be enabled to run faster; or, that this quality will at least overbalance the advantage which the others have of more easily dividing the fluid. 4thly. That, being broader at the load-water-line, or place where the surface of the water describes a line round the bottom, they will admit of being very narrow on the floor, particularly towards the extremities: and 5thly. That a broad vessel will more readily rise upon the waves than a narrow one.
From such opposite principles has resulted that variety of standards adopted by different shipwrights; and a servile imitation of these mechanical methods has, to the great reproach of the art, produced all these pretended rules of proportion: for the various models they have hitherto adopted indisputably prove their doubt and uncertainty with regard to their proper standard. Hence these pretended mysteries which are only to be revealed to such as are initiated into the craft! Hence this division of the art into classes, or, according to the technical term, into families, each of which affects, with becoming solemnity, to be possessed of the true secret, in preference to all the others! And hence violence of opposition, and mutual contempt amongst the artists! Indeed nothing appears more effectually to have retarded the progress of naval architecture, than the involving it in mysteries which the professors would gravely insinuate are only intelligible to themselves. This ridiculous affectation is nevertheless tenaciously retained, notwithstanding the example to the contrary of some of the most able shipwrights in Europe, who are real masters of the theory of their art, and do honour to their profession, and who are justly exempted from the censure to which the others are often exposed.
It is not to be expected that an art so complicated and various, comprehending such a diversity of structures, can be treated at large in a work of this sort. To enter into a particular detail of the theory and practice; to explain the different parts with sufficient accuracy and perspicuity, would of itself require a large volume, and, by consequence, greatly exceed the limits of our design. Being thus necessitated to contract our description into a narrow compass, it will be sufficient to give a general idea of the subject; to describe the principal pieces of which a ship is composed, and to explain the principal draughts used in the construction thereof.
As the several lines exhibited in the planes of elevation, projection, &c. will be rendered more intelligible by a previous account of those pieces, it may not be improper to begin with reciting their names, and giving a summary description of their uses and stations. They are for the most part represented according to the order of their disposition in that part of plate I. which is termed PIECES of the HULL.
A. The pieces which compose the keel, to be securely bolted together, and clinched.
B. The stern-post, which is tenanted into the keel, and connected to it by a knee, G. It supports the rudder, and unites the sides of the ship abaft.
C. The stem, which is composed of two pieces scarfed together: it is an arching piece of timber, into which the ship’s sides are united forwards.
D. The beams, which are used to support the decks, and confine the sides to their proper distance.
E. The false post, which serves to augment the breadth of the stern-post, being also tenanted into the keel.
F. The knees, which connect the beams to the sides.
G. The knee of the stern-post, which unites it to the keel.
H. The apron, in two pieces: it is fayed on the inside of the stem, to support the scarf thereof; for which reason, the scarf of the former must be at some distance from that of the latter.
I. The stemson, in two pieces, to reinforce the scarf of the apron.
K. The wing transom: it is fayed across the stern-post, and bolted to the head of it, having its two ends let into the fashion-pieces.
L. The deck transom, parallel to the wing-transom, and secured in the same manner.
M. N. The lower transoms.
O. The fashion-piece on one side; the heel of it is connected with the stern-post, and the head is secured to the wing-transom.
P. The top-timbers, or upper parts of the fashion-pieces.
Q. The sleepers, which fasten the transoms to the ship’s side.
R. The breast-hooks, in the hold; they are fayed across the stem, to strengthen the fore part of the ship.
S. The breast-hooks of the deck: they are placed immediately above the former, and used for the same purposes.
T. The rudder, which is joined to the stern-post by hinges, and serves to direct the ship’s course.
U. The floor-timbers; they are laid across the keel, to which they are firmly bolted.
V. The lower futtocks, and
W. The top-timbers, which are all united to the floor-timbers, forming a frame that reaches from the keel to the top of the side.
X. The pieces which compose the kelson: they are scarfed together like the keel pieces, and placed over the middle of the floor-timbers, upon each of which they are scored about an inch and a half, as exhibited by the notches.
Y. The several pieces of the knee of the head; the lower part of which is fayed to the stem; the heel being scarfed to the fore-foot.
Z. The cheeks of the head or knees, which connect the head to the bows on each side.
&. The standard of the head, which fastens it to the stem.
a. The catheads, one of which lies on each bow, projecting outwards like the arm of a crane. They are used to draw the anchors up to the top of the side without injuring the bow.
b. The bits, to which the cable is fastened when the ship rides at anchor.
c. The false post, in two pieces, fayed to the fore part of the stern-post.
d. The side-counter-timbers, which terminate the ship abaft within the quarter gallery.
e e. Two pieces of dead wood, one afore, and another abaft, fayed on the keel.
In vessels of war, the general dimensions are established by authority of officers appointed by the government to superintend the building of ships. In the merchants service, the extreme breadth, length of the keel, depth in the hold, height between-decks and in the waste, are agreed on by contract; and from these dimensions the shipwright is to form a draught suitable to the trade for which the ship is designed.
In projecting the draught of a vessel of war, the first article to be considered is her length. As all ships are much longer above than below, it is also necessary to distinguish the precise part of her height from which her length is taken: this is usually the lower gun-deck, or the load water-line. It has been already observed, that water-lines are described longitudinally on a ship’s bottom by the surface of the water in which she floats, and that the line which determines her depth under the water is usually termed the load-water-line. In this draught it will be particularly necessary to leave sufficient distance between the ports.
The next object is to establish the breadth by the midship-beam. Although there is great difference of opinion about proportioning the breadth to the length, yet it is most usual to conform to the dimensions of ships of the same rate. After the dimensions of the breadth and length are determined, the depth of the hold must be fixed, which is generally half the breadth: but the form of the body should be considered on this occasion; for a flat floor will require less depth in the hold than a sharp one. The distance between the decks must also be settled.
We may then proceed to fix the length of the keel, by which we shall be enabled to judge of the rake of the stem and stern-post. The rake is known to be the projection of the ship at the height of the stem and stern-post, beyond the ends of the keel afore and abaft; or the angle by which the length is increased as the fabric rises. To these we may also add the height of the stem and wing transom.
After these dimensions are settled, the timbers may be considered which form the sides of the ship. A frame of timbers, which appears to be one continued piece, is composed of one floor-timber, U, whose arms branch outward to both sides of the ship; (See plate I. PIECES of the HULL) two or three futtocks V V, and a top-timber, W. The futtocks are connected to the upper arms of the floor-timbers on each side of the ship, and serve to prolong the timber in a vertical direction: and the top-timbers are placed at the upper part of the futtocks for the same purpose. All these being united, and secured by cross-bars, form a circular enclosure, which is called a frame of timbers, couple d’un vaisseau. And as a ship is much broader at the middle than at the extremities, the arms of the floor-timber will form a very obtuse angle at the extreme breadth; but this angle decreases in proportion to the distance of the timbers from the midship-frame, so that the foremost and aftmost ones will form a very acute angle. Floor-timbers of the latter sort are usually called crutches.
Shipwrights differ extremely in determining the station of the midship-frame; some placing it at the middle of the ship’s length, and others further forward. They who place it before the middle, alledge, that if a ship is full forward, she will meet with no resistance after she has opened a column of water; and that the water so displaced will easily unite abaft, and by that means force the ship forward; besides having more power on the rudder, in proportion to its distance from the center of gravity: this also comes nearer the form of fishes, which should seem the most advantageous for dividing the fluid.
When the rising of the midship-floor-timber is decided, we may then proceed to describe the rising-line of the floor, on the stern-post abaft, and on the stem afore.
The height of the lower-deck is the next thing to be considered: it is determined in the middle by the depth of the hold; and some builders make it no higher than the stem; but they raise it abaft as much above its height in the middle, as the load-water-mark, or draught of water abaft, exceeds that afore. With regard to the height between decks, it is altogether arbitrary, and must be determined by the rate of the ship, and the service she is designed for.
It is also necessary to remember the sheer of the wales, and to give them a proper hanging; because the beauty and stateliness of a ship greatly depend upon their figure and curve, which, if properly drawn, will, make her appear airy and graceful on the water.
We come now to consider the upper-works, and all that is above water, called the dead-work: and here the ship must be narrower, so that all the weight lying above the load-water-line will thereby be brought nearer the middle of the breadth, and of course the ship will be less strained by the working of her guns, &c. But although some advantages are acquired by diminishing the breadth above water, we must be careful not to narrow her too much; as there must be sufficient room left on the upper-deck for the guns to recoil. The security of the masts should likewise be remembered, which requires sufficient breadth to spread the shrouds. A deficiency of this sort may indeed be in some measure supplied by enlarging the breadth of the channels.
With regard to the qualities required in the construction of a ship, to fit her for the various purposes of navigation, the reader is referred to the article BOTTOM.
We shall now proceed to explain the sheer draught, or plane of elevation, of a sixty gun ship; wherein we have been attentive to make the same letters refer to the same objects, as in the explanation of the PIECES, as above; at least when the same objects are in both figures; a conduct we shall invariably pursue throughout this work, although it seems to have been forgot by our predecessors. Thus in all the plates of ship-building, the keel, whether separate or joined, is represented by A, the stern-post by B, the stem by C, the beams by D; unless where those objects do not all appear, and then something else is placed instead thereof. Thus in plate III. of the deck, where the keel cannot be seen, the main hatchway is represented by A, as not being inserted in any figure wherein the keel appears.
A A. The keel, whose upper edge is prolonged by the dotted line p q, upon the extremities of which are erected perpendiculars which determine the height of the wing transom, K, and length of the gun-deck, K C.
A B. The stern-post.
A C. The stem.
D D. The quarter-gallery, with its windows.
E F. The quarter-pieces, which limit the stern on each side.
F. The taffarel, or upper piece of the stern.
F G. Profile of the stern, with its galleries.
H. The gun ports.
I. The channels, with their dead-eyes and chain-plates.
K. The wing-transom.
K G. The counter.
L B. The deck-transom.
M N O. The first, second, and third transoms, of which O K is the third or lowest.
m O L P. The direction of the fashion-piece, having its breadth canted aft towards the stern.
Q R. The main skeeds, for hoisting in the boats clear of the ship’s side. L Q Z. The main wale, with its sheer afore and abaft.
D R X. The channel wales, parallel to the main wale.
S U S. The sheer rail, parallel to the wales.
T t. The rudder.
A t F. The rake of the stern.
V W V. The waist-rail.
P i i. The drift-rails abaft; and i a, the drift-rails forward.
T U C. The water-line.
X X. The rails of the head.
Y. The knee of the head, or cutwater.
Z Z. The cheeks of the head.
a a. The cat-head.
M ⊕ C. The rising line of the floor.
k u C. The cutting-down line, which limits the thickness of all the floor-timbers, and likewise the height of the dead-wood afore and abaft.
⊕ u U W. The midship-frame.
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h. The frames or timbers in the fore-body of the ship, i. e. before the midship frame.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. The timbers in the after-body, or which are erected abaft the midship-frame.
As the eye of a spectator is supposed in this projection to view the ship’s side in a line perpendicular to the plane of elevation, it is evident that the convexity will vanish, like that of a cylinder or globe, when viewed at a considerable distance; and that the frames will consequently be represented by strait lines, except the fashion-piece abaft and the knuckle-timber forward.
It has been already observed, that the plane of projection may be defined a vertical delineation of the curves of the timbers upon the plane of the midship-frame, which is perpendicular to that of the elevation. It is necessary to observe here, that the various methods by which these curves are described, are equally mechanical and arbitrary. In the latter sense, they are calculated to make a ship fuller or narrower according to the service for which she is designed, and in the former they are drawn according to those rules which the artist has been implicitly taught, to follow, or which his fancy or judgment has esteemed the most accurate and convenient. They are generally composed of several arches of a circle, reconciled together by moulds framed for that purpose. The radii of those arches therefore are of different lengths, according to the breadth of the ship in the place where such arches are swept; and they are expressed on the plane of projection either by horizontal or perpendicular lines; the radii of the breadth sweeps being always in the former, and the radii of the floor sweeps in the latter direction. These two arches are joined by a third, which coincides with both, without intersecting either. The curve of the top-timber is either formed by a mould which corresponds to the arch of the breadth-sweep, or by another sweep, whose center and radius are without the plane of projection. The breadth of the ship at every top-timber is limited by an horizontal line drawn on the floor-plane, called the half-breadth of the top-timbers. The extreme breadth is also determined by another horizontal line on the floor-plane; and the lines of half-breadth are thus mutually transferable, from the projection and floor-planes, to each other.
The necessary data by which the curves of the timbers are delineated then are, the perpendicular height from the keel, the main or principal breadth, and the top-timber breadth: for as a ship is much broader near the middle of her length than towards the ends, so she is broader in the middle of her height than above and below; and this latter difference of breadth is continued throughout every point of her length. The main breadth of each frame of timbers is therefore the ship’s breadth nearly in the middle of her height in that part: and the top-timber breadth is the line of her breadth near the upper ends of each timber. It has been already observed, that as both sides of a ship are alike, the artificers only draw one side, from which both sides of the ship are built: therefore the timbers abaft the midship frame are exhibited on one side of the plane of projection, and the timbers before it on the other.

Sailor's Word-BookThe Sailor's Word-Book ⛵

apron
A strengthening compass timber fayed abaft the lower part of the stern, and above the foremost end of the keel; that is, from the head down to the fore dead-wood knee, to which it is scarfed. It is sided to receive the fastenings of the fore-hoods or planking of the bow.--Apron of a gun, a square piece of sheet-lead laid over the touch-hole for protecting the vent from damp; also over the gun-lock.--Apron of a dock, the platform rising where the gates are closed, and on which the sill is fastened down.

Military DictionaryMilitary Dictionary and Gazetteer 💥

apron
A piece of sheet-lead used to cover the vent of a cannon.

Wikipedia

An apron is a protective piece of clothing made from fabric (or other materials) that covers the front of the body. Some workers wear aprons for hygienic reasons (for example restaurant workers). Other workers wear aprons to protect clothes, or to protect their bodies from injury.

The apron is commonly part of the uniform of several jobs, including waitresses, nurses, homemakers, domestic workers and other jobs. It is also worn as decoration by women.

There are many different types of aprons depending on what the apron is used for. Aprons can be made from many materials and fabrics. Rubber aprons are used by people who work with dangerous chemicals. Lead aprons are worn by people who work around radiation (like X-rays). Butchers (people who cut meat) wear chain aprons, to protect them from being cut by knives. Carpenters wear aprons made of heavy leather that have many pockets to hold tools. Many servants and domestic workers are required to wear an apron as a part of their work uniform.