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September, 1916 the quay or pier, besides the rope man. The load is then assorted, dis- tributed and tiered by manual labor. The weight of such a draft to be assorted is seldom above two tons, with general merchandise, and aver- ages about one ton or less. Gantry Obviates Congestion By means of the traveling gantry jib crane, at a terminal property de- signed for the installation of mechan- ical appliances, the load is placed by one movement anywhere within a space of 50 feet radius, there beiag only one hoisting mechanism and one operator. This large space avoids congestion at the place of deposition. As the average weight of one con- signment, or mark, averages, on steamships, from 1,500 to 2,000 pounds it is de- sirable to hoist one consignment only in one draft, then burtoning Hot to the fall rope of anothtr boom, but to the hook of an over- head traveling - hoist, and thereby avoiding the as- sorting, distribut- ing and tiering by manual labor, all such movements being made by machinery. The most rapid trans- fer of freight. be- tween the vessel and the shore does not depend wholly upon the transferring ma- chinery, but also upon the design of the ships. Where there can be a clear vertical lift of the cargo from the hold of the ship, with the elimination of the horizontal movement between the decks to the hatchways, an average saving of more than 50 per cent in the cost and in the time of transference can be effected. As there are often 12 to 14 men, and sometimes even more, in the hold at each hatchway to perform this hori- zontal movement and to attach the hooks, it will be: seen that this state- ment is conservative. To secure the ‘vertical lift, hatches have been made longer and wider and, in length, near- ly continuous. In breadth they have ‘become almost equal to the ship’s ‘beam. In the interior of the ship are now large clear spaces, the decks not being supported by many small Phat Form, it Pie THE MARINE REVIEW pillars, but by longitudinal girders un- der the beams. For such commodities as lumber, ore and coal, special ships have been designed with almost continuous hatches to facilitate the rapid loading and discharging of cargoes by direct vertical movements. Many special handling devices have been proposed and some have been installed on ships, as the coal bridges on the United States colliers Juprrer and Ja- SON, which have been used for pack- ages. Revolving derricks have also been used. In one of the latest re- ports of a commission of the United States army engineers it is recom- mended, especially for inland waters, that the transferring appliances on ships be as few and as simple as CL enon | 5 \ “ NECHESS \ ASS \ 20° \ GENERAL PLAN OF THE KIRBY POINT PROJECT, BEAUMONT, TEXAS. possible. The steam winch still remains the favorite type of cargo-handling ap- pliance. Winches have been en- larged from a single 6x 10-inch winch at each hatch, toa pair of 8x 12-inch winches. The derrick boom is now a steel tube of 5 tons capacity, oper- ated by a 25-ton machine at the end of the vessel. The diameter of the drums has been increased to 24 inches, and the steam pressure doubled. These derrick booms are attached, not only to the masts, but to separate columns and to hollow steel tubes, which also serve for ventilating pipes. Burtoning Saves Time general ocean freight rule is for all drafts to be burtoned; that is, the load is transferred from one 301 boom to another, either by shifting the weight or by transferring the load from the hook of one fall rope to the hook of another. By this latter meth- od, while one draft is being hoisted from the hold another is: being low- ered to the deck of the pier, or quay, thereby effecting a saving of nearly one-half of the time, as two drafts are in motion at the same ime. Reducing Time at Ports The increase in the tonnage ca- pacity and in the costs of modern ships makes it imperative that on the ship, or on the shore, nothing should be left undone to reduce the time of the ship’s detention at ports. By means of the ship’s winch, about 20 drafts per hour may be discharged. This could be in- creased were it ‘not for the limit- ed space served on the pier along- side, generally of not more than 10 feet radius. Un- less there is an excess of hand- truckmen, the congestion at this point is generally the limiting speed factor. In the ship’s machinery may be included floating cranes and floating der- ricks; barges and lighters with shear legs and various steam, electric and gasoline hoists; floating coal transporters ; port- able coal convey- ors with suspend- ed chutes; and mast booms with grab buckets and grain elevators. Float- ing derricks are used for excessive weights, and where there are no lighting appliances of sufficient capacity on the ship. Coastwise ships frequently load and discharge by manual labor, with hand trucks, through side ports. The following figures, taken from the house of representatives’ document No. 226, sixty-third congress, 191, show the ex- pense of this method of operating, through side ports, as given by the Southern Pacific Co., New Orleans. “The average cost of handling for the year’ ending Dec. 31, 1910, was 54.85 cents per ton of 2,000 pounds, reduced to a basis of 30 cents per hour for labor. Thirty cents per hour is paid for straight labor and 40 cents per hour for night and Sunday work. ad