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MARINE REVIEW. He | oa Ship Yard .Matters, The Bessemer Steamship Co. has made a settlement with the Globe Iron Works Co. in the matter of demurrage due on account of delay in delivering the first of the ships built for Mr. Rockefeller. Tt is understood that the settlement was quite satisfactory to both in- terests, and that differences regading the second boat will be based on this first settlement. All of the ship builders who 'had Rockefeller contracts, excepting the American Steel Rarge Co., will have differ- ences of this kind to settle with the Bessemer Co. The West Superior concern was a few days ahead in getting out the two boats for which they had contracts, but Wheeler & Co. and the Detroit Dry Dock Co. are already considerably behind, and the Cleveland Ship Building Co. will be about three weeks late on the boat which they launched on Wednesday of this week. It is understood that the Detroit Dry Dock Co, instead of paying a stated amont of demurrage per day, is to pay 10 per cent. interest for all time after date fixed for completion of ves- sels on all money advanced for their construction. No effort will be made to launch any of the wooden vessels which Capt. James Davidson has on the stocks at West Bay City until about Noy. 1, as it is not intended to have any of them go into commission this season. There are three boats--a steamer and two large tugs, all being built on yard account. Another tug, built for B. B. Inman of Duluth, and which was launched a few days ago, will go into com- mission as soon as possible. Capt. Davidson has a large amount of tim- ber on hand, but he says now that the great change in business con- ditions is causing him to hesitate about putting down any more keels. The steamer that is to hold over until next season is 280 feet over all, 434 feet beam, and 26 feet moulded depth. She will have triple expan- sion engines 16, 25 and 42 by 34 inches. Her boilers will be fitted with the Howden system of draft. Losses that are now furnishing big dry dock jobs at Detroit will prove more costly to the underwriters than was at first expected. The Lake Superior Iron Co.'s steel steamer Wawatam, which struck above the Sault, will be in dock for fully three weeks with a force of proba- bly 150 men at vrork on her. She has twenty-nine plates and eighty -- sa frames and floors to come off, and 'sixteen of the plates must be re- _ placed by new ones. This will probably prove the largest single loss _ of the season, as the cost of repairs may run above $25,000. Repairs on the wooden steamer Oceanica, sunk by collision with the Chisholm, will also prove very heavy, as the survey, based on a value of $65,000, is said to prove a total loss from ai insurance standpoint. Both of these vessels are insured in England. Two more of the Rockefeller steamers were launched on Wednes- day of this week, the James Watt by the Cleveland Ship Building Co. end the George Stevenson by F. W. Wheeler & Co. of West Bay City. The first of these boats is fully described in the Review of June 4 and the other in our issue of June-18, Mr. I. G. Sowter, designer of marine engines, who has been em- ployed with the Cleveland Ship Building Co. for some time past, has re-entered the employ of S. F. Hodge & Co., Detroit, where he takes the place made vacant by the resignation of Henry Penton, who went to the Chicago Ship Building Co. Tonnage of the new Union line steamer Ramapo, built by the Union Dry Dock Co., Buffalo, is 3,045.03 gross and 2,434,91 net. Her official number is 111,123. There is absolutely nothing new to be said of the lake freight sit- uation. Notwithstanding the great number of boats that have gone into ordinary, grain freights show no indication of improvement, and there is little, if any, hope of profitable carrying charges on grain, even during October and November. Nobody expects any change this year in the conditions that have shut off everything excepting con- tracts in the ore business. Such of: the ore companies as have not already laid up some of their vessels are working all sorts of deals to keep in commission until November the boats which they now have in Operation. In the office of Mitchell & Co., Cleveland vessel agents, it Was announced to-day (Thursday) that they have, among the fleets which they represent, twenty-seven vessels laid up, while Mr. M. A. Bradley Says that with the close of the present week every one of his big line of boats will be out of commission. Order photographs of vessels, best quality, to be taken on Detroit "iver, from the Marine Review. Aids to Navigation--Shoals, Buoys, etc. Another water gauge that will rove of assistance to deep-laden vessels bound wp the Detroit river has been established on Shipman's coal dock at Amherstburg. Mr. Walsh, who is in charge of the Ship- man dock, says in a letter to Capt. Geo. P. McKay: "With the as- sistance of Mr, Dixon, the engineer who is looking after government work on the river, I have placed in position the water gauge that was spoken of when you were last at Amherstburg. This guage will show, at all times, the depth of water over Ballard's reef and the Lime- Kilns crossing. Captains can at all times learn of the stage of wa- ter by passing a little closer to our dock than they do ordinarily. If they blow us a special signal, say two long and two shoct blasts, we will give them attention, and if they find the stage of water too low to pass up,we will wy to make it convenient for them to await bet- _ ter water. The gauge has been erected on the south end of the dock, so as to give the captains an opportunity to stop before they -get too far up."' cee Deep-laden vessels are finding shoal spots in deep parts of the Detroit river and in other channels where it was thought there was great depth of water. Capt. Greenley of the steel steamer Roman re- ports that he touched lightly about 1,000 feet above Ballard's reef light-ship when drawing 16 feet 84 inches. The water was about 8 inches lower than usual at the time. He had Duff & Gatfield's ranges a little open to the westward. It was supposed that there was full 30 feet of water on this reach, but in confirmation of Capt. Greenley's report, Capt. John Lowe says that when in the steamer Kaliyuga last season he struck a little below the red stake at the foot of Fighting island on the same reach. Capt. F. A. Fick of the steamer Fedora reports that while passing down the Sault river on Saturday last he struck a shoal a short dis- tance west southwest of the intersection of the Sailors' Encampment light and the Point of Woods light. Capt. Fick says he was at anchor east of the course waiting for the propeller Sparta and tow to pass up and when he signaled his engineer to go ahead the vessel would not move. She was hard on forward. The chart shows 30 feet of water in the channel and vicinity. Capt. Fick is inclined to the belief that dredges at work in thé cut have dumped boulders in the channel, and that it was upon these his vessel rested. - oF ; Capt. Walsh of the steamer Corsica, another vessel. that has been loading to about 16 feet 8 inches, reports that he touched lightly oppo- site Atkinson's dock on Bois Blanc island, Detroit river. alt is known that there is a spot at this point, near the head of Bois Blanc island, with little more than 17 feet on it, but this shoal is close to the island _ and Capt. Walsh claims he was in the middle of the channel. Although they are a long time coming, it is quite probable that the gas buoys for Pelee passage will be in position and lighted. before the worst of the fall weather sets in. The buoys are at Amherstburg and are understood to be in readiness to be moved to their stations. The southeast shoal buoy is painted red, while the one for the middle ground is black with the words "middle ground" in red letters. Upon returning from a trip around the lakes on several lake vesesls, Commander Sigsbee, who is in charge of the hydrographic office at Washington, appended this note to a letter which he wrote thanking Cleveland vessel owners for courtesies. extended to him: "You might say to Capt. W. C. Richardon that I took full note of what he said about the Christian character of Capt. Thomas Jones, and was therefore much interested in the seamanlike way in which "Capt. Tommy" cussed his way up through the Detroit river during the mid- watch that I spent on deck with him one very pleasant night." -- aay All are invited to join the excursion to Jamestown on Chautauqua lake, via the Nickel Plate road, Saturday, Sept. 26th, the event being a Scandinavian Republican Celebration. Appropriate speeches. Trolly car and boat excursions. Special train leaves Broadway depot at 5:30 a.m. 2.75 for the round trip. 341 Sept. 25. Col. Jared A. Smith, United States engineer in charge of the Cleveland district, is supported by the war department in ruling that the county bridge at Ashtabula Harbor is an obstruction to nayigtion. The county officials are endeavoring, in every way possible, to avoid rebuilding the bridge, but it is probable that they will be forced to do so. °