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Completely Welded Lighter Built at Navy Yard cently completed at the United States navy yard, New York is of all electric welded construction. There is not a single rivet in the vessel. The length overall is 120 feet, beam, 30 feet, and mean draft in light condition, approximately 5% feet. She displaces about 270 tons and has a carrying capacity of ap- proximately 250 tons. The mast has a boom which has a capacity of 12% tons. The vessel was started in August, 1931, and completed, in so far as was necessary for launching, Sept. 28, 1932. The date of completion of all work and trials has been set as of Oct. 28, 1932. Te freight lighter Y F 221 re- Order of Welding Members Most eareful attention was paid to the electric welding operations, par- ticularly the order in which they were accomplished during construc- tion, in order to prevent distortion in the various members due to the shrinkage caused by the cooling of the welded metal. During the day shift it was nearly always practicable to have welders tack the members, plates, ete., in their proper places. This was followed by welders work- ing at night for the final securing of the members which were merely tacked in place in the daytime. For the greater part of the overhaul, this was carried out and was the only work on which more than one shift in 24 hours was undertaken. It has also been found necessary to give careful consideration to the order in which the various members are welded because the stresses in- troduced in the members by the cooling of the welded material may amount to a great deal. Each day the welding which was done the night before was carefully inspected and any welding that appeared to be unsatisfactory was marked so that it could be chipped out and rewelded. When the vessel was launched, she was practically completed in so far as the installation of the machinery and principal weights were con- cerned. The hull was eompleted and tested, the deck house structure was completed, the pilot house and the staterooms just aft of it were in- stalled, the mast and boom, hoisting machinery, and smokestack were in place and secured. The two main en- gines, which are diesels removed from an old submarine, were _ in- stalled, but not finally lined up with the shafting, the shafts and _ pro- pellers were installed as were the rudder and the steering gear. The vessel was launched stern first with the usual type of launching cradle. This cradle was weighted at the after end so that when the lines securing it to the vessel were cast off, the after end in sinking would enable the vessel to be pulled clear. Immediately after the launching, she was towed to dry dock and the cradle removed in this manner. A _ very careful inspection was made of the interior of the hull immediately after launching in order to make certain that any jars or stresses would not open up the welding below the wa- terline. No defects were noted and the vessel did not leak in any weld. This vessel is the largest all weld- ed vessel that the navy has built. At navy yards, Mare Island, Calif., and Portsmouth, N. H., two all welded, steel garbage Lighters have been built recently, one in each yard. These are slightly smaller than the freight lighter Y F 221 and are of United States Navy Freight Lighter YF221. Entirely Welded. Not a Single Rivet Used in the Construction of this Vessel MARINE Review—November, 1932 different construction, owing to the fact that the garbage lighters have bins with doors on either side, allow- ing the dumping of the contents at sea, whereas, the freight lighter has no such arrangement. There is some similarity, however, between these craft in the structural arrangements, which are of the longitudinal type. It is suggested that perhaps the methods of electric welding devel- ecped in the construction of this siz- able commercial type of craft will have a marked effect on the appli- cation of velding to ship construc- tion. Generally, the methods used divided the work of welding into three separate parts; shell, frames, and longitudinals, and then combin- ing the three as a whole by welding. Requests Bids for Cruiser The navy department has invited bids for the construction of light cruiser No. 39. It will take three years to build this vessel and it is expected that the successful builder will lay the keel during January next and that the vessel will be completed by the end of 1935. What additional new construction may be provided for in the budget for the fiscal year beginning June 30 next, is now under consideration before the budget bureau. The navy department is asking for four addi- tional destroyers and _ for light cruiser No. 40 which may be laid down on Jan. 1, 19384 under the terms of the London navy treaty. Iiven this program, modest as it is, may not be authorized due to the drastic reduction in all government Outlays insisted upon by the Presi- dent. It is hoped, however, some way can be found to carry through at least this minimum program. New Lighthouse Tender A new lighthouse tender, to be known as the WISTARIA, is under con- struction bp United Dry Docks, Inc., New York, for the bureau of light- houses, department of commerce. She is the third tender of this type ordered for lighthouse service, the other two being the LINDEN and the COLUMBINE, which were completed last year. The electrical equipment for :;ll three of these vessels is General Electric. The WISTARIA is of steel construc- tion, approximately 120 feet long with a 25-foot beam, and a draft of 6 feet, 8 inches, and is designed for a sneed of 91% knots. She will be placed in service on the Delaware river. The power plant will consist of two Winton diesel engines driving two 100 kilowatts, 250-volt, direct current generators at 400 revolu- tions per minute. These generators will supply electricity for all pur- poses, including propulsion, lighting, and operation of auxiliaries.