Euler, Calculus of Variations and Mast on a ship

[Trying2Learn]

TL;DR

How did Euler use the calculus of variations to place a mast on a ship?

From Wikipedia:

"In 1727, [Euler] first entered the Paris Academy Prize Problem competition; the problem that year was to find the best way to place the masts on a ship."

Does anyone know how he did this?

Is there an on-line paper? (But what that is accessible with today's knowledge).

And by that, I do not mean as he did it (for I fear a paper of his work will be dense with geometry) but more: "how would he do it today, equipped with today's "dialect" of how the Calculus of Variations is taught?"

 

[wrobel]

how is the problem stated exactly?

 

[Trying2Learn]

how is the problem stated exactly?

I do not have a clue. I am not being facetious. I just don't know. I have read from several sources that he did what the wikipedia article says, but I have not clue as to anything more than that.

 

[wrobel]

then I do not see a matter of the discussion

 

[pbuk]

Does anyone know how he did this?

I am not sure that he did: see http://gidropraktikum.narod.ru/2007-04-16_Leonhard_Euler_Ship_Theory.pdf, page 5, last paragraph.

The original paper in Latin is available online at https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=euler-works. I cannot find a translation.