Which risk increased when 18th-century wooden warships remained at sea for extended deployments?

💡 Explanation

When wooden warships were deployed for long durations, structural weakening from shipworm infestation occurred because the teredo navalis mollusks bored into the hull, compromising its integrity. Therefore infestation resulted in weakness, rather than corrosion which requires dissimilar metals or ballast failure that requires cyclical stresses.

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