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A N O T H E R TRIP IN N O R T H KING 4. Muc h was said in our D e c e m b e r and J a n u a r y issues c o n c e r n i n g our Ship of the Mo nt h No. 187, the Lake On ta r i o & Bay of Quinte Ste am bo at Com pa ny 's s i d e wheel steamer N O R S E M A N (91), (b) N O R T H KING. C o n c e r n i n g the steam er' s major reconstruction over the winter of 1890-1891, me m b e r Ge rry Girvin, of Rochester, has come up w i t h two items ex t r a c t e d from the "Port Hope Wee kl y News". The first is from the issue of M a y 14, 1891, and de scr ibe s "The new steamer, the N O R T H KING", w h i c h was to be pla ced on the Port Hope to R o c he s t e r route by May 20th. "She belongs to the Lake On ta r i o St eam boa t Co' y ( s i c . ), and is now being co mp l e t e d at the dry dock of Davis & Son, Kingston. She is 176 feet in length, 44 feet wide over the guard(s), 10 feet in de pth of hold, 8 feet b e tw ee n decks, and 10 feet high in the up per saloon. The leading features of her c o n s t r u c t i o n are the result of the exp er ie nc e of Mr. Gi ld ers lee ve, man ag e r of the Company, as to the r e q u i r e m e n t s of the route, and the best experts have c o n t r i b u t e d in the c a r r y in g out of the details. The hull lines are by Capt. J. W. Pierce of Ev ansville, Ind.; engine pr op or ti on s by Frank E. K ir by of Detroit, and f e a th er in g whe els by Messrs. Logan & Rankin, Toronto. She is sharp and hi gh forward, and the lead ing idea in the shape of the hull has been to secure a ves sel that w ou ld make her time in all weathers, and with the gre at es t comfort to passengers. "The hold b e l o w the main d e vo te d to strengthe ni ng . deck, not be ing re qu ire d for freight, is ma i n l y "In a d d it io n to the usual w a t e r - t i g h t bu lk he ad s and side strengthe nin g, she is screw bo l t e d throughout, and i r o n - s t r a p p e d from for wa rd to aft, betw een the p l a n k i n g and frames. Tr us se s are built the full dep th of the hold, and full length fo rw a r d and aft over the sister keelsons, with top stringer bolted to the deck beams and posts eve ry six feet, four knees at the corners, between the posts m e e t i n g in the centre, each truss thereby form in g a s u c c e s s i o n of knee arches. To prevent side strain, there are double braces from gunwale to bilge across the hull ev ery 20 feet, kneed at both ends and bolted together where they cross. Ha lf sponsons are built outside the hull to pr otect the guards forw ard of the wheels, w h i c h also give i n c re a s e d st a b il i t y and strength. It is be li eve d that this is the largest amount of s t r e n g t h e n i n g i n t r o d u ce d in a wo od en steamer. "She has a s k e l e t o n beam engine wit h cy li nde r 36-i nch in di am ete r and 10 feet length of stroke, w i t h Stevens valve gear and drop- cut of latest design. The paddle wheels are of the f e at h e r i n g type, 1 8 1 / 2 feet in diameter. The small d i a m e te r of the wheels, as co mp ar ed with the leverage of the crank, is d e s i g n e d to give great speed of engine and co nse que nt power. She has two return tubular boilers, one in front of the other, to d is tr ib ut e the weight, and placed face to face wit h separate smoke stacks to each. The power is e s t i m a t e d at 750 i n di ca ted ho rs e- pow er, and the speed not less than 15 miles. "The f e a t h e r i n g s i de -w he el type of steamer, al th ou gh more expensive, has been de ci d e d on as the best for p a s se ng er lake service, after careful consideration and consultation with the best expe rts in New York and Detroit. "The extra w i d t h of the guards gives greater space for pa sse nge r a c c o m m o d a tion, and the tremor and ro ll i n g are less than with either single or double screws. These c o n s i d e r a t i o n s have ca used the latest of the Long Island Sound and Upper Lake p a s s e n g e r steamers to be built of this type. The pa ss e n g e r st eamers c r o ss in g the channels of the E n gl is h coast are also built with f e a t h e r i n g paddles, on account of the lesser vi b r a t i o n and rolling, a l t h o u g h they have no guards and but little up per works. "The NORTH KING will have ample freight room on the main deck, on each side of, and forward of the engine. Between the after gangways is the main saloon, with office, baggage rooms, stairway, etc., and aft of this is the