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58 that the initial fleet should consist of three 600-horsepower towboats at $135,000 each and fifteen 500-ton steel barges at $18,000 each. The total of these estimates amounted to $675,000. The towboats it was de- cided must be capable of making 3 miles per hour up stream and 6 miles per hour down steam, towing 1500 tons. The final dimensions decided upon for the towboats were 160 feet by 385 feet and for the barges 126 feet by 30 feet. It was also decided that towboats should develop at least 600- horsepower and should not have a draft of more than 3 feet 6 inches. For power the twin screw tunnel with diesel engines as well as diesel-elec- tric were given consideration as was also diesel gear drive. General Ash- burn states in his paper that he is an ardent advocate of the twin-screw tunnel-type diesel towboat_ either electric or direct drive for use on a river where there is a navigable chan- nel of 5% feet or more. He stated, however, that. the idea of a diesel electric stern wheel towboat had to be abandoned in this instance be- cause it did not seem possible to get a plant of this character to develop the required power on a draft of 8 feet 6 inches on account of its excessive weight without introduc- ing other elements one of which was cost. It was finally decided that the power boat should be of twin tandem com- pound condensing stern-wheel type with oil-burning water tube boilers. The hull and main deck houses are to be of steel and the pilot house and crew accommodations are to be of wooden construction. An interesting point was brought up in the paper that oil and not coal would be used in any case no matter how expensive it might be because of the necessity to lighten the task of firing and so be able to get and keep crews. The barges are to have a cargo capacity of 280 tons on a 4-foot draft and 520 tons on a 6-foot draft. paper is very interesting in that it deals with specific problems the study of which has been carried out with a great deal of thought and labor and gives the conclusions arrived at with numerous plans showing the type of towboat and barge finally evolved. 11. ‘Performance Tests on Diesel- Electric Stern-Wheel Towboats,” by C. H. Giroux, visitor. The author is electrical engineer attached to the United States engi- neer department. The purpose of the paper is to make available the results of tests recently conducted on two stern-wheel towboats designed and operated by the United States engineer department. Both of the boats under consideration are equipped with diesel-electric propulsion machin- ery. They do differ, however, consider- ‘ably in size, power and method of transmitting the energy to the wheel. The two boats for which tests are described are the BURNETTE, 84 feet 2% inches in length overall with a Winton diesel engine and Gen- eral Electric electrical equipment. The other vessel, the GOUVERNER, built by Howard Shipyards, is 121 feet in length overall and is equipped with two Winton diesel engines and This > MARINE REY. IER W with General Electric electrical equip- ment. The paper covers quite com- pletely speed trials under varying conditions of power and wheel rev- olutions. The results of the speed trials are plotted. The horsepower was also carefully determined. Tests were also made on accelleration and decelleration. The tests describe in this paper the author states, is the beginning of further work which he hopes to carry out along similar lines. 12. “Some Considerations in Design oF: Ferryvoats; by Prof, ©: . F. Gross, member, and Charles Green, visitor. The authors of this paper have contributed valuable information for those who are concerned with the building and operation of this large and widely distributed class of do- mestic craft. The rapidly expanding population and prosperity in terri- tories adjacent to bodies of water have greatly increased the demand for this type of craft. Transporta- tion of railway cars, automobiles and passengers is growing rapidly. This paper is therefore both timely and useful. The paper is limited primar- ily to ferryboats engaged in the trans- portation of passengers. It is illus- trated by photographs and line draw- ings of numerous recent ferries, and principal particulars are also given. The summing up of the conclusions of the authors in regard to the ques- tion of the selection of the main pro- pelling machinery for a_ ferryboat follows: A. That the straight through shaft propeller drive for ferries re- quires considerable more power than the diesel or turboelectric system. B. Nothing can surpass the diesel or turbo-electric drive for flexibility or remote control. C. Fuel consumption on a _ side wheel paddle ferryboat is about the same or a little lower than the turbo- electric boat. D. Intital costs of the walking beam paddle wheel steamer and the steam reciprocating engine installa- tion are less than the turbo-electric or diesel-electric installations. EK. The lowest fuel consumption is that of the diesel-electric system, but its drawback is the initial cost and greater weight. 13. “Dviesel-Electric Propulsion,” by W. E. Thau member. The author of this paper has re- cently been made manager of ma- rine engineering for the Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Corp. He has been closely connected with electric pro- pulsive machinery of the largest powers such as in battleships and in the smallest diesel-electric merchant installation. He pointed out that many of the advantages and outstanding features which were claimed for the diesel-electric form of propulsion have been thoroughly established and addi- tional advantages have developed and that certain of these advantages have proved to be of greater im- portance than originally regarded. Mr. Thau stated that of the total 66 diesel-electric drives which have been installed and ordered up to the present time 59 have been ordered auring the last five years. He re- viewed the essential features of the diesel-electric form of propulsion and December, 1926 pointed out the advantages in connec- tion with some of the more important installations of the last few years. Comparisions with other forms of drive were used only as a means of illustrating performance. He dis- cussed the application of this type of power in tug boats, in smaller lake cargo vessels, in tankers, yachts, fireboats, ferryboats, and river boats. The only field thus far untouched by diesel-electric system of propulsion is in the case of passenger vessels. The name and type and other partic- ulars were given for vessels equipped with diesel-electric drive. The paper was illustrated by numerous photographs. Mr. Thau’s paper caused a_ lively discussion, the steam people showing very evident signs that they were far from being counted out, partic- ularly in view of the developments on the King GrorcEe V. Steam is still a factor, will continue to be so, and may possibly, after development has been sufficiently stirred, begin to com- pete with the diesel. The attendance during the meet- ings for the reading of papers was exceptionally good. Realizing that the life and virility of the society must depend upon recruiting younger men for membership, Capt. Mc- Allister, president of the American Bureau of Shipping offered the sug- gestion, which was carried, that the initiation fee be waived in the case of junior applicants. Annual Banquet Well Attended Nearly 500 members and_ their guests (and guests were limited one to each member) attended the annual banquet which was held in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria. New York on the evening of Nov. 12. The usual reception preceded the banquet and many friendly greetings were exchanged and acquaintanceships re- newed. The president of the society, Rear Admiral D. W. Taylor, C. C. P. S. N. retired, presided as toastmaster and he performed this function with such tactful brevity that he earned the ad- miration of all the guests. The speakers were Gen. A. C. Dalton, presi- dent of the Emergency Fleet Corp. who spoke on the “Merchant Marine;” the Hon. Silas Tiller, dirt farmer, “A View of American Shipping From the Wide Open Spaces;” Hon. Wil- liam P. MacCracken, Jr. “Commerical Aviation;” and Homer L. Ferguson. General Dalton spoke with enthus- iasm about the present and future possibilities of the American merchant marine, providing some _ reasonable agreement could be reached so that congress could act with unanimity on this question. In the meantime serv- ices are being maintained in all strategic routes by the Fleet corpora- tion. He dwelt upon the very im- portant service that our ships are now able to render in moving cargoes of grain and cotton and other com- modities deserted by the foreign ships