Very interesting. I take it when you say "broken", you mean the ship was "broken-up" which I think in English means deliberate disassembly to salvage the components -- some useable for naval construction, some fit only for sale ashore.

I had not heard before that North American timber was especially subject to "dry rot"; nor had I read much about the causes of it. I do know that it was a longer supply route, and ships transporting timber did not have a good reputation.

It seems to me that judging the quality of various pieces of timber had then to be more of an art than a science. (I worked for ten years in the US Forest Service, and they were still studying the problem.) Unfortunately, when assembling a ship, that art was subject to distortion by cost and bribery. When the ship was put into operation, the officers and ship's carpenter had to learn it bit-by-bit to find the weak parts.

Thanks, BaldJim