The hull was subdivided by watertight transverse bulkheads into 92 compartments and had a double bottom underneath the engine and boiler rooms. Defence was  shorter overall and displaced over  less than the Warrior-class ironclads.
The hull contained 92 watertight compartments separated by transverse bulkheads, and it had a double bottom beneath the engine and boiler rooms. The ship's defense was less extensive than that of the Warrior-class ironclads in terms of length and displacement.