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August, 1909 AE Marine REVIEW ho ol Ww Oo Ro Oo @ | a lt shee PROFILE AND DecK PLAN oF RIVER STEAMER. rebuilding compulsory within five years, while the useful life of a.steel hull steamer is put at from 15 to 20 years, though why this should not be greatly extended is not quite clear. Many of the important vessels now plying on South American rivers are products of the United States, and a number of them were built in ship yards located in practically inland cit- ies. This, however, is not so strange as might at first appear, since the development of the light draught river Steamer has reached a high point on the inland streams. The manner in which these boats are first laid out, erected, and then taken apart and shipped, and finally again assembled upon the banks of the tiver which they are to navigate, ap- peals to the mechanical mind and reflects credit upon the skill of the builder. A large steel hull river boat, embodying the latest improvements of its type, has just been shipped to Barranquilla, Republic of Colombia, by James Rees & Sons Co., Pitts- burg, and another similar vessel is in course of construction at the com- Pany's works. The steamer recently shipped was first erected at the Pitts- burg plant of the Rees Co. and each Part was numbered and stamped. It was then taken apart and _ shipped by rail to New York, thence by steam- ship to the South American coast, Where it was again transferred by rail to the banks of the Magdalena Tver at Barranquilla, where it was fin- ally erected and launched. 'This is the usual procedure in making. ship- ment from Pittsburg, and the com- pany's method of marking the differ- ent parts is so thorough that little difficulty is encountered by those to whom the boat is consigned in erect- ing the ¢raft without aid from the builders." Standard lines are followed in the design and construction of a steam boat, subject, of course, to slight variations in detail as sometimes de- sired by the purchasers. The boat recently completed and the one under construction embody the latest ' fea- tures of their class. The length on deck is 170 ft. and the beam 33: ft. The molded depth is 4 ft. 6 in. with 3 ft. 6 in. sheer forward and 2 ft. aft. There are three I-keelsons or longi- tudinal bulkheads and five athwart- sh'p bulkheads, giving a total of 21 watertight compartments. The bottom plates are 8% lb. and side plates 7 Ib., of open-hearth steel, with double riveted butts. After fitting, the plates are taken down, galvanized, then re- placed and marked for shipment. The frames are 2.x 3 x 5/16 in. angles, spaced 18 in. with two Z-bar keel- sons running from the peak bulkhead to the main transom. The main deck is of steel, part corrugated and the balance flat, all galvanized. The cabin deck is carried on angle iron stanch- ions riveted to the floors and main deck beam and made water tight at main deck by. brass shoes 1% in. high, calked to the deck and stanch- ions. The stringers and carlins are of channel bar and angle iron and the cabin deck is of wood, bolted to the beam and covered with 12-ounce can- vas, which is thoroughly painted be- fore erecting the cabin. The accom- modations are fitted with large ven- tilators covered with brass screens and with screen doors for protection against tropical insects. Modern bath tubs and lavatories are fitted, supplied with water from tanks carried on cabin roof. Sleeping accommodations are provided for a few passengers, but considerable space fore and aft is allowed for hammocks, etc. The boat is designed to carry from 150 to 200 persons, including crew. The mach- inery is of the customary high pres- sure type, with lever-balanced waive; and the familiar "doctor of the western river boats is also used. All water and exhaust pipes are of copper and brass. The boilers are three in number, of the cylindrical tubular type, externally fired, and are set in brick with iron casing. Bilge pumping arrangements are fitted to all compartments, and steam capstan is fitted forward for hoisting the stage and thandling lines. All ma- chinery is built in the Rees shop. The vessel is designed for a speed of about 15 miles per hour on 3 ft. draught with 225 tons of freight. The maximum load capacity is 550 tons. When launched her draught was 22in. aft. and 12 in. forward. The cost of the ves- sel complete with outfit in South America is estimated at $70,000 gold.