Figure 2: A ship’s body plan comprised of superimposed construction geometry. Cross sections such as these recorded vessels on contractual order. The outer member (marked Fig. E/F) is the midships mould. Portions of each cross section are indexed to corresponding pieces on the reconfigurable mould.
Source: William Sutherland, The Shipbuilders Assistant: or, Some Essays Towards Completing the Art of Marine Architecture (London, 1711), 82.