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is. MARINE REVIEW. DETROIT FIRE BOAT. DESCRIPTION OF A MODERN VESSEL OF THE FIRE-FIGHTING KIND NOW BUILD- ING AT THE WORKS OF THE DETROIT DRY DOOK CO.--PUMPS OF 6,000 GALLONS CAPACITY PER MINUTE. ' Work is progressing favorably at the yards of the Detroit Dry Dock Co. on the new fire boat for the Detroitefire department. The hull of this boat is modeled for an efficient icebreaker and is strongly built of mild steel. The dimensions are as follows: Length over all, 122 feet; beam, 25 feet; depth, 13 feet. The hold is divided into four compart- static pressure. The combined capacity of the two sets of ee Pye 000 geitens of water per minute. The steam cylinders are covered with magnesia, with steel jacket and polished heads to conform to the same general finish as the propelling machinery. The weight of the two sets of pumps will be approximately 32,000 pounds. The pumps were designed by Thomas Manning, and Mr. Frank E. Kirby, de- signer of the fire 'boat, says they are a splendid job. The boat is equipped with two water guns, one located on the top of the pilot house and the other at the aft end of the deck house. Twenty 314-inch hose outlets are provided--ten forward, six amidships and four alt. Four suction sea valves, 12 inches diameter, are fitted so that a current of water from the propellor can be swept over their strainers to prevent any accumulation of ice. ; : The propelling engine is of the simple, inverted, di- rect-acting type, with cylinder of 18 inches diameter and 94 inches stroke, driving a propeller of 8 feet 6 inches diameter. Steam reversing gear is provided and all parts are extra heavy. Steam will be generated in two cylin- drical boilers, 11 feet 3 inches diameter and 9 feet 6 inches long, each having two 44-inch furnaces and 336 2-inch tubes; working pressure 170 pounds. Each boiler is ee soe ea Tok SHEER PLAN OF DETROIT FIRE BOAT. ments by three watertight bulkheads. The fore hold is fitted for drying hose. The middle hold contains the boilers and coal bunkers and the after hold the propelling engines, fire pumps and workshop. The deck and pilot house is of steel, the room at the after end being fitted with reels for 2,000 feet of hose. Lockers are provided on each side amidships for nozzles and fittings. ; The boat will be equipped with two sets of vertical triple fire pumps, which are now nearing a state of completion at the works of Thomas Manning, Jr., & Co. of Cleveland. These pumps are an innovation on the usual practice, inasmuch as they embody the triple feature in steam and water cylinders, these sets being the first of their kind ever built for fire-boat purposes. This arrangement was. proposed by Mr. Beaulait, mechanical superintendent of the Detroit fire department. The require- ments of modern fire boats are far more exacting than formerly, mainly on account of the extensive use of the underground pipe line system fitted with double stack and casing. A complete electric lighting plant of 100 16-candle- power lights capacity will be installed, and ventilation will be assisted by a steam fan. A steam capstan is fitted for working anchors and a life raft and outfit for thirty passengers is provided. LIGHT ON PELEE MIDDLE GROUND. As chairman of the committee on aids to navigation of the Lake Carriers' Association, Capt. George P. McKay of Cleveland has sent out Ictters to nearly all the captains of the lakes asking for an opinion relative to the establishment of a light and fog signal station on the middle ground in Pelee passage, Lake Erie,-instead of rebuilding the "dummy" light on Pelee point, recently destroyed by fire. This change was recom- mended by Col. Anderson, chief engineer of the Canadian department of marine and fisheries, and the Canadian' officials very kindly consulted the Lake Carriers in the matter. About 90 per cent. of the replies to Capt. McKay are in favor of the change as proposed. Some of the vessel mas- ters thought the new light would be of more service on South-east shoal. It is therefore hoped that the Canadian government may soon provide for Oo LONGITUDINAL SECTION AND PLAN OF NEW DETROIT FIRE BOAT 'through which immense quantities of water must 'be forced at very high pressure, and it is to attain this end and to make easy work of it, avoiding the jerky motion common to double pumps, that the triple has been de- signed. The plan permits of increased capacity with the same weight, greater strength, easier working and consequent durability. There will be two sets of these pumps placed athwartships in the new boat. Each set has three steam cylinders of hard cast iron, 14-inch bore and fitted with piston valves; three water cylinders, 8-inch bore, of composition metal and cast in one piece, having'a common stroke of 11 inches. The pumps are double acting, connected with suit- able rods, cranks and fly wheels, and have about the same capacity as the largest double fire pumps now in service. The framing is the usual open style used in the Manning pumps at Baltimore, Detroit and Cleve- land. The cranks are set at 120 degrees, thus 'bringing every part in perfect balance when working through long lines under heavy pressure. The pumps are tested to 450 pounds and the steam cylinders to 300 a permanent light of some kind, or a light-ship, on South-east shoal to replace the gas buoy now stationed at that point. | Capt. McKay also made inquiry of the vessel masters as to the need of again stationing at Ballard's reef, Detroit river, the light-ship that marked the upper end of the dredged channel at that point. Nearly all the replies favored the return of this light-vessel to its station. tou eos to the proposed light on the middle ground, Pelee passage, e Erie, Capt. James Stone, United States supervising inspector of steam vessels at Cleveland, says in a letter to the Review: . notice an article in your issue of May 10 regarding the matter of ee ieee light-house and fog signal station on the middle ground Hence Point Pelee and Point Pelee island, instead of rebuilding the ight. ouse and crib recently destroyed by fire and known as_ the ey light. Having had thirty-seven years' experience on the great ' €s, during which period I have.had occasion to pass through this channel many times each year, and consequently being conversant with [May 17,