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December 1884 ‘HE following interesting item concerning one of the world’s most famous ships appeared -in- the Marine Record, then the name of MARINE REVIEW and a weekly, for Dec. 4, 1884. % a * ‘HE steamer GREAT EASTERN, it will be recalled, was built on the river Thames, England between 1854 and 1859. She is 680 feet long, 83 feet wide and 58 feet deep, and draws 30 feet of water when she displaces 27,000 tons. She has both paddle wheels and screw. The pad- dles are 56 feet in diameter. She has eight engines for the paddles and four for the screw, and develops 10,- 600 horsepower, but her speed is only 15 miles an hour, or 360 miles a day. The OREGON in her fastest pas- sage covered 430 miles for the 24 hours. The GREAT EASTERN has seven masts and five smokestacks, so that she is not likely to be mis- taken at sea for any other vessel. As- a passenger ship she was a failure, mainly owing to her being too deep for most of the harbors. * ae oe HEN the vessel built by Capt. Andrew Robinson of Gloucester, Mass. in 1713, which he had masted and rigged in a_ peculiar manner, was launched, we are told that her strange skipping motion as she glided into the water caused one of the by- standers to exclaim. ‘“O, how she scoons.” Robinson instantly replied, as he dashed a bottle of holy water (rum) against her bows, “A schooner let her be.” And that is the old story of how this famous and dis- linctive American sailing vessel got its name. December 1896 T IS interesting to note that thirty years ago Harland & Wolff, Bel- fast, Ireland, even at that time lead- ers in the building of big cargo steamers, had completed a slip on which it was possible to build a vessel 700 feet long. This length From the Old Log Book Stray Items About the Great Lakes, Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts and Inland Rivers from MARINE REVIEW Files of 10, 20, 30 and 42 Years Ago has long since been exceeded and it would not be surprising if this same firm will soon commence build- ing a 1000-foot transatlantic liner. cena SNe 6 Mig trial of the steamer R. P. RANNEY a wooden vessel owned by M. A. Bradley was made Nov. 19, 1896. She was an old wooden vessel with compound reciprocating engines with 20 and 46-inch diameter cylin- ders and 48-inch stroke. The steam pressure was 140 pounds on one trial trip. The total indicated horsepower was 514 and the revolutions per minute were 76. There were two trials each lasting 6 hours and 4 minutes. Two pounds of coal were burned per indicated horsepower per hour. Fs * * N HIS annual report, 1896 Chief Constructor Hichborn of the navy made a plea for funds to complete the tank in which it was proposed to try cut models of vessels. Con- structor, Hichborn was evidently suc- cessful in his plea as it was not long after this that the model tank was completed. Under the leadership of Admiral D. W. Taylor, for many years in charge, the model tank became of great value to the science of naval architecture and shipbuilding. December 1906 T THE meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers 20 years ago the two papers of outstanding interest were, A Fire- proof Ferryboat by F. L. Dubosque and Construction of A Fireproof Ex- cursion Steamer, by William Gate- wood. These two papers were read and discussed jointly. * ae * HE speech by Secretary Root, ™ Nov. 20, 1906 at Kansas City was strongly commended by MARINE RE- view. A number of the suggestions then made by the secretary have in the past twenty years been acted upon much to the good of our coun- try. One of the most important points he made was, that we must establish lines of American steam- ships with the leading South Amer- ican countries. This has been done and the South American service of 22 the Munson Steamship lines is firmly established with the result that great benefits accrue to our business rela- tions with the growing republics of South America. * * * HE much talked of difference in cost of building ships here and abroad is not of recent origin. In the MARINE REVIEW for Dec. 20, 1906 the testimony of Edwin S. Cramp be- fore the committee on merchant marine and fisheries was alluded to in showing the wide diversion then existing between bids in Britain and United States for the construction of a tank steamer about 500 feet long for the Standard Oil Co. Harland and Wolff offered to build the vessel for $613,500, the lowest European bid. The New York Shipbuilding Co. bid $1,024,800, the lowest American offer. Blohm and Voss were the high- est foreign bidders at $852,150, while the highest American bidder was the Fore River Shipbuilding Co. at $1,- 260,000. Labor cost was responsible. December 1916 HAT there are hazards of the sea on the Great Lakes as well as on the oceans is brought out forcibly in MARINE REVIEW ten years ago. On Oct. 20, Lake Erie was swept by a gale which caused the loss of 50 members of the crew of four ships which went down. The gale was of unusual severity, exceeding in the opinions of several captains, the velocity in the great storm of Nov- ember 1918. This storm took the lives of 248 and caused the loss of 17 vessels. During the season of 1916 through November, 11 vessels and 71 lives were lost on the Great Lakes. * * * HN years ago, P. A. S. Franklin recently appointed president of the International Mercantile Marine Co. proposed to build four fast steam- ships for the American line. It was understood at the time that these vessels were to be built in American yards. The plans called for oil burn- ing, quadruple turbine steamships of about 32,000 gross tons with-a speed of 25 knots or more.