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MARINE REVIEW. 9 Ship Yard Matters. A Detroit correspondent says: 'The work of rebuilding the steel steamer Fayette Brown at the Clark dry dock is about completed, and Supt. Al. Smith, who was placed in charge of the Clark plant recently, says he is confident that the steamer will be fully as strong as she was when new, and her carrying capacity will be increased something more than 500 tons. The work of putting on wooden planking is completed and the steel plating will be all in place by the end of this week. A new heavy steel deck stringer on the vessel is 6 feet wide, instead of 3 feet as before. This will reduce somewhat the width of hatchways. Oades' LAUNCH OF 400-FOOT STEAMER CITY OF BANGOR AT WEST BAY CITY, MICH. marine railway is now occupied by the steamer City of Marquette, en- gines of which were compounded by Hodge & Co. While on the railway the Marquette will be fitted with shaft, wheel, etc. Repairs of various kinds are being made by the Detroit Dry Dock Co. on the ferry steamer Fortnne, barge Norsman of Alpena and the Canadian Pacific car ferry Ontario, which was in collision with the steamer Lansdowne. Ore docks of the Union Iron Co. are being repaired and some changes are being made in unloading machinery." At the ship yard of the Globe company, Cleveland, Superintendent Robert Curr has a force of 1,055 men at work. He confidently hopes to launch the first of the Rockefeller ships about the 20th of the present month, and if this is done her completion will not be as far behind time as was expected when it was found that bad weather during March had greatly upset all plans, not only at this yard but at all of the ship yards around the lakes. The Globe company has just completed quite an important job on the Lake Superior Iron Co's steamers Choctaw and Andaste. With a view to being certain of favorable rates of insurance on these ships the management of the Lake Superior company ordered certain strengthening features in them. Twelve channel beams and six stanchions have been put into the middle of the hold, and a belt of plating added to the sides. There are twelve new 14-foot plates on each side of the two vessels. A deep bracket has also been put in the way of every hatch on the spar deck. An announcement from Philadelphia refers to the death of Geo. W. Williamson of the firm of Williamson Bros., well-known manufacturers of steam steering engines. Mr. Williamson's duties with the Phila- delphia firm had to do mostly with its finances. -Mr. William C. William- son, of the same firm, is now visiting lake ship builders in the interest of his machines. They are to be used on big steel steamers being built by the Cleveland Ship Building Co., Detroit Dry Dock Co., F. W. Wheeler & Co., Union Dry Dock Co. and American Steel Barge Co. The steel tug Edna G., which will be launched at the yard of the Cleveland Ship Building Co., Saturday, is 100 feet over all, 23 feet beam and 13 feet depth. This is the tug building for the Duluth & Iron Range Railway Co. for service at Two Harbors. Engines are compound, with cylinders 18 and 40 inches diameter by 30 inches stroke. She will have one of the American Ship Windlass Co.'s tug boat windlasses with iron towing bitts and steam gypsey, and her perfect equipment generally will make her one of the finest tugs on the lakes. Mr. R. C. Veit of No. 26 Broadway, New York, superintendent of transportation and lighterage for the Standard Oil Co., will in a few days ask for bids on a steel tug 130 feet long and of about 9 feet draft with fuel, etc., aboard. It was intended to have this boat suited for both lake and coast service in towing oil barges, but it may be that her draft will, for the present at least, prove a trifle too much for movement through ae St. Lawrence canals without encountering difficulties in some of the ocks. en Paty Two views of the steel steamer City of Bangor, which is being built by F. W. Wheeler & Co. of West Bay City, Mich., for the Eddy Bros. and others of the same place, are presented on this page. This vessel is 384 feet over all, 45 feet beam and 26% feet hold, and will be fitted with triple expansion engines, and Providence windlass and capstans, as well as all other machinery and appliances that are found on modern coarse freight carriers in the lake trade. oe Tet A tug 140 by 24% by 13 feet, which is being built by the Jenks Ship Buildimg Co. at Port Huron, will be ready for launching shortly. The Thompson Tug Co. is also building a tug at Port Huron that is nearing completion. i Denny Bros." Tank. Editor MARINE REVIEW: In the MARINE REVIEW of Feb. 20, 1896, page 10, I see an article in relation to the Denny Bros. building side- wheel steamers of 300 feet length and 35 feet beam. The article states that they use a tank to ascertain the speed these steamers will make. A number of our boatmen here have been considerably interested in this article, but have not been able to fully comprehend what is meant by the tank ; how it is used, etc.; neither can we see how the speed of a boat can be obtained in so smalla space. If you will kindly explain more fully in your next issue, you will confer a favor on the Chautauqua boat- men. T. EK. GRANDIN, Superintendent, Jamestown, N. Y., March 30, 1896. Chautauqua Steamboat Co., A copy of the MARINE REVIEW of August 17, 1893, containing an illustration and full description of the Denny tank, has been for- warded to the writer of the above communication. All naval architects and most readers of marine j ournals know that Great Britain, France, Italy and other governments, as well as the firm of Denny Bros., Clydebank ship builders, maintain tanks and the necessary apparatus for obtaining, through scientific experiments with models, valuable informa- tion regarding ships that are to be built from such models. It is also well known that for severel years past leading officials of our own navy have tried to obtain from congress an appropriation for the construction of a plant of this kind in this country. Here it is proposed to have the tank practically at the service of private ship builders, although con- trolled by the navy. Even now there is a bill before congress, which in substance is as follows: "Beit enacted, etc., that the secretary. of the navy be directed to establish a model tank with all proper appliances for the purpose of in- vestigating and determining the most suitable and desirable shapes and forms to be adopted for United States navel vessels. This model tank shall be located at Washington, D.C.; upon such government reservation already oe LAUNCH OF 400-FOOT STEAMER CITY OF BANGOR AT WEST BAY CITY. MICH. under the control of the navy department as the secretary of the navy may designate, and shall be built upon plans approved by him. A naval constructor shall, under the direction of the bureau of construction and repair of the navy department, have charge of the model tank and all work done in connection withit. At this model tank experiments may be made for private ship builders npon the authorization of the secretary of the navy; provided that the cost of material and of labor of per diem employees in making such 'experiments shall be defrayed by the private ship builder; and provided further, that the results of such ex- periments shall be regarded as confidential and shall not be divulged without the consent of the ship builder for whom they may be made. For the model tank with all necessary buildings and appliances $100,000 is hereby approdriated."