The Royal Navy often achieved major design advances by testing many smaller changes and then combining them. Hull construction shows why those trials mattered. Rows of fasteners on a riveted hull disturb water flow and add friction compared with a welded surface. Riveting reflected the manufacturing conditions of its period and did not make the ships defective. The Navy's later interest in welding concerned construction practice and the prospect of a cleaner, more efficient hull.
Notable Point · 36:25-37:27
Rivets, welding, and a cleaner hull
Rows of rivets disturbed water flow, helping explain why the Royal Navy later valued welding as a route to cleaner and potentially more efficient hull surfaces.