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26 MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. EApr: 26 LAUNCH OF THE MINNESOTA. Largest Vessel Ever Built on the American Continent--First of the Hill Pacific Ships Building at New London--A Monster Craft. An event of national importance is to take place at New London, Conn., on Thursday of this week when there will be launched from the works of the Eastern Ship Building Co. the first of the two mammoth liners building for the Great Northern Steamship Co. The great vessel is to be christened Minnesota by Miss Clara Hill, daughter of Mr. James J. Hill, president of the Great Northern Railway. Mr. Hill is to present at the launching with his steam yacht Wacouta, formerly the Eleanor, and return to New York in his yacht after the launch. Minnesota on the Stocks. The steamship Minnesota is the largest vessel ever built in the United States and the greatest deadweight carrier the world has ever seen. She is the first of the two mammoth ves- sels being built to the order of the Great Northern Steamship Co. and she is also the pioneer vessel of a large fleet to be built by Mr. James J. Hill to develop the transpacific trade in con- junction with his excellent railroad system. Mr. Hill well ap- preciates all points referring to economy of operation, and this fact accounts for the enormous size of the vessels built for a new undeveloped trade, for the larger the vessel the less the running expenses per ton of cargo carried, and Mr. Hill is confident that his railroad will supply the vessels with approximately full cargoes before they have been on the route six months. The Minnesota is undoubtedly the most interesting vessel ever con- structed in the United States. She is the first vessel to be built at the Eastern Ship Building Co.'s works, and this company con- tracted with Mr. Hill for the construction of the Great Northern steamship before they had a site, tool cr working organization, a most remarkable procedure. The Minnesota is an original American product, being designed by Wm. A. Fairburn, naval architect and engineer, and constructed entirely of American ma- terial and under the direction of American officials in the New London works. All of the plans for the vessel were made at New London, and no European designers or builders were con- sulted in any capacity whatever during the construction of the vessel. The Great Northern steamships are truly American vessels. Designed by an American and built by Americans for American owners, they will be operated by Americans under the American flag and will carry the product of American farms and industries to new markets in the orient. Mr. Chas. R. Hans- com, the president of the Eastern Ship Building Co., exhibited a vast amount of courage when he contracted to build such mam- moth vessel in a plant that was not of definite existence at the timed of contract, and great credit is due all the officials of the company for their work in successfully constructing such gigantic vessels under most unfavorable circumstances. The Minnesota -is shorter than several of the larger kuropean-built vessels. She is also 18 in. narrower than the White Star liners Celtic and Cedric, nevertheless the enormous depth of 55 ft. 6 in, and the greater fullness and capacity off model, is responsible for a gross tonnage equal to that of the White Star vessels, and a deadweight carrying capacity in excess of any vessel built or contemplated. The Minnesota, when loaded to the deep load line fixed by law, will carry a burden of 25,000 tons deadweight. The vessel is 630 ft. long, 73 ft. 6 in. beam, 55 ft. 6 in. deep. She is described as a five-decked, flush- weather decked, twin-screw, steel steamship, and she receives the highest rating in the British Lloyds. The plans of the Minnesota were accepted by the conservative British classification society practically without modification or comment, which speaks well for the design and scheme of construction. Among special features of the ship are their natural strength and the arrangement of weights and scantlings to give the maximum efficiency and strength for minimum weight and cost. All the decks are of steel, there being five continuous decks and four partial ones. There are twelve primary transverse bulkheads be- sides a continuous center-line bulkhead and a large number of partial and division bulkheads. The maximum space between decks is 13 ft. and the minimum 8 ft. 6 in. The double bottom is 6 ft. deep and each compartment of the double bottom is divided into three tanks by watertight divisions. There are five cargo holds forward of tha machinery space and four aft. The coal bunkers are located over the boiler room and the end bulk- heads are inclined so that the coal will gravitate to the fire rooms with a minimum amount of trimming. A novel feature in the vessel is the double keel. Other innovations are to be found in the pipe chamber and emergency box drains. All the cargo hatches are double, i. e, two of each cargo hold through each deck, there being one on each side of the center-line bulkhead. The ship is designed to practically consist of two separate ves- sels connected by a fore-and-aft common division. The Minne- sota is the first vessel to be classed by a representative classifi- cation society that is fitted with wide-spaced hold pillars and compensating girders. There is only one stanchion in each compartment, thus greatly assisting the storage and handling of cargo. The coal bunkers will hold 7,000 tons of coal and the water tanks 6,500 tons of water. The emergency drain will permit of all the pumps in the vessel being connected to any bilged compartment in case of a serious accident. The ship's frames are spaced 27 in. to 30 in. apart. They consist of 12- in channel bars. The thickest plates in the vessel in any one section aggregate 514 in. and there are several places where the metal exceeds 3 in. The stern of the Minnesota is praised by all who have seen it. The Landley Bossing, modified and much improved, has been adopted and the curves are unusually easy and graceful. The stern castings, including the rudder, are all of cast steel. The deadwood is cut away aft, thd rudder is balanced, and the ship is shaped so that the water can flow from screw to screw without hull obstruction. The rudder is a strong, massive member in six pieces. It weighs 4o tons and is carried on a roller- bearing placed on the upper deck. 'The steering gear will be of the Pfatischer electric type with the mechanical portion of the Wilson and Pirrie type. The bow of the Minnesota has also been much admired. 'The vessel is unusually fine with a remark- ably clear entrance below the normal water line, but the flow-out to the deck is rapid and marked, thus producing great internal cubical capacity and a comfortable dry sea, but with good lines for speed in all kinds of weather. The vessel is fitted with bilge keels and deep ballast tanks, all designed to make the craft. com+ fortable at sea. The deep ballast tanks not only give increased immersion, but they regulate the trim and by decreasing initial stability make the vessel easier in a sea way. Large trimming tanks are also fitted. A decidedly American feature of the ves- sel's design is the presence of ten large cargo doors on each side of the main hull. These doors are very large and all are placed below the strength deck. They are fitted with rounded corners and large doublings and reinforcing plates. 'The windlass is of a. new type made by the Hyde Windlass Co. It has horizontal wildcats and warping capstans only above deck, the engine and gear being below. The arrangement of deck house is novel, and one is impressed with the fact after inspecting the vessel that she has been designed primarily as a money-making cargo carrier, none of the passenger accommodations being allowed to interfere with the storage or handling of cargo. Again in this regard the symmetry of design working into sim- plicity and economy of space, is a prominent feature. 'There seems to be not a cubic foot of waste space in the vessel. The passenger accommodation is above deck, and all the first-class passengers are housed in the upper structure. : The launching weight of the Minnescta, as stated, is 11,000 gross tons and the inclination of launching ways 5% in. to the foot. In some places the ways are over 6 ft. wide and their great length from the stern of the ship outboard attracts attention. There is 60 ft. of water in the Thames river opposite the New London ship yard. The largest anchors to be fitted on board the Minnesota weigh 8% tons each. 'hey are of the admiral stockless type. The main cables weigh 85 gross tons and are made of 3 3/16-in. diameter special grade of iron. 'The stream-chain is 17% in. diame- ter stud link, and steel tow lines and mooring lines are fitted. The deck houses are not long or continuous, nevertheless expansion joints are worked in all the upper works, and all the decks are steel plated under the wood to ensure continued watertightness. There are four large steel masts to be fitted and four steel derrick posts, swinging all told forty cargo derrick booms. There will be two electric cargo winches at each hatch, and there will not be a single steam winch on board. Electricity will be used almost entirely outside of the machinery space for power, and the steer- ing gear, cargo and coal winches, refrigerating machinery, water pumps, ventilating blowers, etc. will be electric driven. The vessel will also be heated by electricity. The electric plant wilh be the largest ever placed on board ship. There will be six go-K. W. Westinghouse generating sets, and it is said that there are 2,000 H. P. of electric motors on each ship. The propelling engines are of special interest as they are of the triple-expansion, three-cylinder type, built for 250 Ibs,