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October, 1909 In many vessels, too, forests of der- rick posts stand up awkwardly from the deck, making, with derricks and rynning gear, when seen on the sky- line, a most extraordinary show, the ships looking for all the world like float ng factories. But why detail the degeneracy? It is the new cult in shipbuilding, and, whatever we may think, has come to stay. Outward appearance apart, how- ever, change of design has always been in the direction of simplifica- tion of parts, perfection of detail and general improvement. Thus the stand- ard of ' comfort has been faised. Forecastles are not the pokey holes they once were. The limit of deck space per man is greater, the 'tween decks loftier, and light and ventilation improved. Officers, too, are seldom now accommodated in the _ bridge 'tween decks, with its close atmos- phere and passages smelling of the engine room, but are housed on the upper bridge, in roomy central apart- ments, airy, dry and convenient to the deck. Railed gangways now span the dangerous wells; bulwarks have been raised and strengthened. The vulnerable machinery openings are protected with substantial casings, and bridge fronts are strong enough to defy the wildest seas. Designed on Scientific Lines. Moreover, the modern steamer is designed on_ scientific lines, which could not be said of its early proto- type. Thirty years ago there was little science and much rule of thumb practiced in the des gning offices of the shipyards. Not unfrequently the model was made to please the eye and the lines plan afterwards drawn from it. No one can. defend this practice, although the graceful forms of the clippers of that day were thus evolved. Béfore the Daphne disaster few private firms went the length of mak- ing stability investigation. What were metacenters and centers of gravity? Vessels had 'been built since the Ark with I'ttle regard to such matters, and could still be 'built; so the clipper experts reasoned. Then came the Daphne accident and changed all this. Stability became everything. The technical papers were full of it, the scientific societies were full of it; budding naval archi- tects spoke of little else. In this connect'on, the writer re- calls a little incident which came within his personal knowledge, and Shows the spirit of the times. In a certain yard a vessel was about to be TAE Marine REviIEw launched. The firm was old, and had many launches to its credit; but the general manager was troubled. What if she should upset? Pwo Gish Clyde disasters were unthinkable. The chief draughtsman was summoned and the position explained to him. At the time the draughtsman knew nothing of the vessel's condition; but an hour later informed his chief, to that. gentleman's great relief, that the vessel was safe. How was it done, since this is no age of miracles? Simply enough. He assumed a posi- tion of center .of . gravity. One is rem'nded of the mariner who securely moored 'his ship to a buoy, then went to sleep, and woke up to find his vessel on the rocks. Trend of Ship Building Practice. Things are different now. Every respectable establishment has its reli- able expert. Vessels are designed on paper and their qualities ascertained before a hammer is lifted in the yard towards their construction. The num- ber of calculations made for a single ship is truly astonishing. Estimates of displacement and dead _ weight, also of strength, stability and trim under service conditions, and count- less calculations of a minor character, are the usual routine of an office. A master stepping on a new ship is not now entirely ignorant of her sea-qualities. Frequently 'he is sup- plied with information which, used intelligently at the outset of a. voy- age, may save him much anxiety. On the whole, it appears from this brief review that the trend of mod- dern shipbuilding pract'ce is in the right direction, that there is a healthy tendency to change--to try things-- which bodes well for the future of the industry, Developments the line of economical construction may thus be expected, while vessels of new characteristics will crop up from time to time as c'rcumstances demand them. What the ultimate type, even of the cargo boat, will tbe it is impossible definitely to predict. If the advance of -the last quarter century be maintained, however, the probability is she will be of gigantic proportions and of Uttle outward beauty; but safer, more comfortable, and a 'better investment for money than anything that has gone before. The 22-ton compound engines built for the new. tug, George 1. Potter, at the ship yard of the Skinner Ship Building & Drydock Co. at Baltimore were hoisted on board on Sept. 22. along. oe 383 LLOYDS REGISTER SHIP BUILD- ING RETURNS. From the returns compiled iby Lloyds Register of Shipping, it ap- pears that exclusive of warships there were 308 vessels of 745,705 gross tons under construction in the United King- dom at the close of the quarter end- ed June 30, 1909. Of this number 275 were steam vessels with a combined gross tonnage of 739,991, and 35 were sailing vessels with a total of 5,714 gross tons, as against 349 steam ves- sels, of 794,005 gross tons, and 37 sail- ing vessels, of 5,173 gross tons, for the same period of 1908. The tonnage now under construction is therefore about 166,000 tons less than that which was in hand at the end of the last quarter and about 53,000 tons less than that building 12 months ago. : Of the vessels under construction in the United Kingdom at the end of June, 217, of 435,416 'gross tons, are under supervision of the surveyors of Lloyds Register with a view to classification by the society. In ad- dition 61 vessels, of 162,066 tons, ave building abroad with a view to classi- fication by Lloyds. Thus the total of construction at the present time un- der the supervision of Lloyds Regis- ter is 278 vessels, of 597,482 gross tons. The Belfast district is shown to be in the lead in point of tonnage under construction, having 23 vessels, of 203,491 gross tors to its credit, while the Glasgow district leads in the num- ber of vessels being built, having 69 hulls, of 139,994 gross tons under way. There are 70 vessels of over 100 and less than 500 gross tons under way, this being the greatest number | in any one class. Of vessels of over 500 and less than 1,000 tons there are 23; of 'between 1,000 and 2,000 tons, 33; of between 2,000 and 4,000 tons, 63; of between 4,000 and 6,000 tons, 50; of between 6,000 and 8,000 tons, 12; of between 8,000 and 10,000 tons, two; of between 10,000 and 12,000 tons, one; of between 12,000 and 15,000 tons, four. Two vessels are of 20,000 or more gross tons. Of warship construction in the Uni- ted Kingdom the returns show 69 ves- sels, of 223,950 tons displacement in hand. Of this number 12, of 49,600 tons displacement, are 'building for foreign powers or their ownership has not been designated, the remainder be- ing for the British admiralty. The returns from the United States are exclusive of the great lakes dis- trict and show 41 vessels, of 49,079 gross tons, under construction.