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1902.] MARINE REVIEW, | | | 19 TEST OF BERMUDA FLOATING DOCK. The Bermuda floating dock, constructed by Messrs. Swan & Hunter, Wallsend-on-Tyne, for the British admiralty, was successfully tested last week and is now on its way to Bermuda. The two Dutch tugs which are towing it are making about 100 miles a day and it is expected to take forty days altogether to tow it to its destination. The London Times pub- lishes the following account of the test: _ The lower reach of the Medway was the scene of an experiment which is without parallel in the records of the navy, so far, at any rate, as British waters are concerned. A line-of-battleship in commission, of about 11,000 tons displacement, with all her armor, guns and stores in position, was lifted bodily out of the water. The feat formed part of the official trial of the new Bermuda floating dock which has recently been brought round from the Tyne, where it was constructed by Messrs. C. S. Swan & Hunter of Wallsend. The structure is 545 ft. long, and the side walls are 53 ft. 3 in, high. It is capable of lifting a vessel, if needed, of 17,500 tons in weight and drawing 32 ft. of water. The contract was to lift a 15,200-ton ship. The design has been carried out under the direction of Mr. A. E. Richards of the director of naval construction's department and Mr. A. Spyer of the department of the engineer in chief. The plans have been prepared timber so that they extended horizontally from the side walls of the dock to the ship s sides, and these were tightly fixed by means of wedges driven between their ends and the dock sides. ; . The Sans Pareil was now just resting on the keel blocks and tightly pinned on the center line of the dock. The time occupied in berthing the vessel and in fixing and putting the shores in place was about two hours. The eight large circulating pumps were started shortly after 2 o'clock to clear the dock of water. In this part of the proceedings care has to be taken that both sides rise equally; otherwise a considerable strain may be thrown on the struts on one side. The work now was carried on under the direction of Mr. Lyonel Clark, who has had considerable experience in these operations, and of Mr. Denton of the firm of Swan & Hunter. Pumping was continued until the tips of the propeller blades were show- ing, and the spur or ram bow was well out of water. At 3 o'clock the pumps were stopped, and a fresh row of shores was put in position on each side. The successful docking of a heavy battleship under conditions by no means the most favorable shows the utility of floating docks; and, though there are divided opinions as to the rival merits of the excavated graving docks ashore and the floating structure, there can be no doubt that the advocates of the latter have scored a substantial success in the operations THE STEAMER WESTERN STATES OF THE NEW DETROIT & BUFFALO LINE. by Messrs. Clark & Standfield of Westminster. The two chambers formed by the side walls of the dock contain a considerable quantity of machinery, which has been contracted for by the Wallsend Slipway Co. and installed under the direction of Mr. A. Laing. The vessel that the admiralty had selected to be docked was Sans Pareil. She is 340 ft. long and 70 ft. wide. Her armor is 16 to 18 in. thick, and her principal armament consists of two 110-ton guns, which are both carried in a heavily armored turret well forward. It will be seen from this that though the Sans Pareil is not of so great displacement as the most recent battleships, there is a concentration of weight which is dis- posed to test severely any floating platiorm upon which she may be sup- orted. The dock has been moored in a deep part of the river, just off the mouth of the Swale, and at about high water the battleship, which was lying above Sheerness, was taken in charge by three tugs and brought up to the lower entrance of the dock. There was a smart breeze, and so long as the flood lasted there was quite a run of sea. There is, of course, a great difference between entering and grounding a big ship in a dock floating in still water, and carrying out the same maneuver in the run of a turbulent tideway. About 12 o'clock the ram bow of the Sans Pareil was entered between the walls of the dock. The ship was then drawing about 27 ft. 4 in. The dock had been sunk until only the tops of the walls were above the surface, and the tops of the keel blocks were just upon 28 ft. below the surface. The ebb tide had begun to make down strongly by the time the bow of the ship had been well entered. The wire rope cables were made fast, and the delicate operation of warping-in began. The tide was now running through the dock at over 3 knots, but as it was in the same direction as the wind, the water was smoother than before. The chief constructor of Chatham dock yard, Mr. James, took charge of the berthing, and under his direction the vessel was, after some time, brought within the dock and accurately placed in a central position. The operation of shoring up then began. An army of dock yard hands placed balks of . in the Medway. It will perhaps be remembered that the United States battleship Illinois, a vessel of over 11,000 tons, was recently docked in the same manner. The Americans, however, proceed on a different plan. In place of poising a ship on her keel and trusting to shores to keep her up- right, they build into the ship's structure docking keels, of the nature of bilge keels, so that the vessel sits upright on level blocks. It is said that these keels do not detract appreciably, if at all, from the speed of the vessel. This is a statement that would have received little credence a few years ago, but recent investigations into the subject have shown that the supposed resistance due to bilge keels has been much overrated, especially when. the vessels are steaming in anything other than smooth water. However this may be, there is no doubt that the extra keels much facili- tate docking operations, either in floating docks or otherwise, the fitting of the struts being a heavy and tedious operation. It is remarkable with what energy the British navy is attacked by those who should be its most stalwart defenders. During the discussion of the navy estimates in the house of commons last week Lord Charles Beresford, rear admiral, scathingly criticized the deficiencies of the navy. He declared that the whole admiralty system was rotten and led to great extravagance and that there was a general want of efficiency in the navy. The customary result of these attacks is that the British people frantically vote millions to improve a navy which is far and away in advance of the navies of the world. But this, possibly, is the object of the attack. Preparations are in active progress for the annual meeting of the Lake Superior Mining Institute that convenes in Duluth and in the Minnesota ore district next August. The matter is in the hands of W. J. Olcott, manager of the Mesabi mines of the United States Steel. Corpora- tion,