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BY E.C. KREUTZBERG Fig. 1--Model of a 10,000-ton Cast-Steel Vessel 406 Feet 6 Inches Between Perpendiculars, 55-Foot ATISFIED that its investigations and. foundry have proved the feasibility of cast-steel ships, the Cast Steel Ship Corp: New York, has. plans actively under way to enter production with- out delay. Conceived as a measure for helping to relieve the shipping scarcity developed by the war, the practicability. of this form of: cen- struction was not demonstrated until last summer. Chief of the difficulties which obstructed the plan: for the manufacture of cast-steel ships was the necessity for perfecting foundry methods for producing the castings. This problem, after exhaustive experi- mentation, has been solved, and methods have been devised whereby the castings comprising the hull struc- ture may be produced with a simple molding equipment at a moderatc cost. A thorough investigation of costs, in fact, has led the projectors of the cast-steel ship to the conclusion that vessels of this type can be produced. in competition with vessels built by present methods. They claim a sav- ing of 20 'percent At the" same time, the cargo carrying capacity of the cast-steel ship is expected to be FIG. 2--TYPE OF STEEL CASTING USED IN ALL PARTS OF THE Shelter Deck----The Block Coefficient of this craft is demonstrations ° Plan to Build Ships by New Method Te reduce production costs and to provide a vessel of maxi- muin carrying capacity for given dimensions, the Cast Steel Ship Corp., New York, has developed plans for casting the component parts. of ships. These parts are afterward permanently joined by welding. It 1s claimed 'for this process that it ts practicable and that a large saving im labor costs is effected. Lloyd's, which has tm- dorsed the welding of.ships, has expressed its readiness to classify cast-steel vessels and while some naval architects have hesitated to depend on welded plates in ship construction, it 1s pointed ot that the form of welded. joint described in this article should meet with approval. The plan of making cast- steel ships is new and a number of advantages are claimed for 1t. The outcome will be watched with interest by naval architects, ship- builders, shipowners and others in- terested in maritime affairs. AMPLE STRENGTH 269 Beam, 27-Foot Draft and $6-Foot Molded Depth to 0.759 4 per cent greater than the capacity of ships made of rolled steel. Any lower cost, in turn, would be accom- panied by a corresponding reduction in the fixed charges of operation, in- cluding interest, insurance and depre- ciation. These items, which on an average amount. to 17 per cent an- nually for the usual type of vessel, are predicted by cast-steel ship advo- cates to. be° about 13.0 per cenr ae present figures. The extra carrying capacity, it 1s claimed, would more than. offset the present difference in the cost. of operating ships under American and foreign flags. It is stated that the increase in the cargo carrying capacity and the reduction of fixed charges will result in making it cheaper to. operate these vessels under the American flag than it now costs to operate ordinary riveted ships under the English flag. _ Among the most efficient steel ships of the Isherwood type being built in this country today of rolled steel, the ratio of the amount of steel in the hull to the deadweight cargo capacity is 1 to 4, for a 10,000-ton vessel. The cast-steel ship, it is stated, will carry between five and six tons of cargo per ton of steel in the hull. This SHELL, TANK TOP, BULKHEADS AND DECKS--THE T-SECTION AND RIBS INSURE