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Activity in the Northwest in Ship Construction Contracts for steel vessels, already awarded and pending, provide more work for the shipyards in the Puget Sound area in 1934 than in any year since the World war. These jobs, all government but one, total nearly $2,- 500,000, and are divided among four Seattle yards. The largest contract is held by the Lake Union Dry Docks & Machine Works, now engaged in preliminary work on the construction of three patrol boats for the coast guard, ob- tained on the total bid of $789,759. The keels are to be laid early in 1934 and the vessels are to. be powered with Winton diesel engines. The same yard is completing a 120-foot wooden hull, diesel power, tuna fishing vessel for the Franco-American Co., San Pedro, Calif. This vessel, modernly equipped, will cost in excess of $75,- 000. : Construction will be started in Jan- uary by the Lake Washington Ship- yards on the 231-foot steel motorship for the Northland Transportation Co. At a total cost of $500,000, as report- ed in the September issue of MARINE Review, this contract was awarded several months ago. Propelling ma- chinery is to be two 1000-horsepower Washington Iron Works deisel en- gines. The deck equipment is to be supplied by Allan Cunningham, Seat- tle. The Wallace Bridge & Structural Steel Co. is low bidder on two steel cutters for the public health service at $132,556. Award is still pending. The Berg Shipbuilding Co. has un- der construction a steel lighthouse ten- der Hremuock, representing an invest- ment of nearly $400,000. It is expect- ed that this vessel will be launched within 30 days. The same yard is low bidder for the construction of the tender HoLtiyHock, as reported in the December MARINE REVIEW. Wood Shipyards on Puget Sound an- ticipate a normal volume of new con- struction and repair work this winter. While the fishing industry is not pros- perous, some new craft are being planned. Bids are being taken for furnish- ing a 350-horsepower diesel engine for the 132-foot four-masted schooner Ruy, recently sold to engage in trad- ing in Alaska. At the plant of the Todd Dry Docks Inc., Seattle, the S. S. Hamuin F. Mc- Cormick is undergoing repairs, follow- ing stranding. This job involves 84 bottom plates, half of them to be re- newed. The total cost of repairs is $90,000. No action has yet been taken in reconditioning the American Mail liner, PresipentT Maptison, for which the Todd yard was low bidder at a figure of approximately $1,000,000. Another large job not yet authorized by the owner is the rebuilding of the steam ferry Prratra for the Puget 28 Sound Navigation Co. Plans call for removal of the PERALTA’S steam ma- chinery and the installation of a 3000- horsepower diese] engine. The upper works are to be completely rebuilt. Reference to the reconstruction of the PERALTA was made in the November MARINE REVIEW. Coast Guard Bids Received (Continued from Page 27) mitted estimates for diesel electric drive only. The estimate submitted with Electric Boat Co. diesel engines was $2,340,000. A second estimate of $1,984,024 was submitted, using Hooven Owens Rentschler Co. and Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co. propelling machinery, with cost of Winton diesel generator sets not in- cluded. The original specifications of the United States coast guard covering these vessels call for a hull of steel construction; length overall, 328 feet, 6 inches; beam molded, 41 feet 3% inches; depth molded, amidships, 23 feet 6 inches; draft correspond- ing to normal displacement, 12 feet 6 inches; and displacement, 2000 tons. The vessels are to be pro- pelled by twin screws, driven by geared steam turbines of a total es- timated shaft horsepower of some- what over 7000. Apparently in the request for bids alternate proposals called for propelling machinery of diesel electric type in at least three of the nine vessels proposed. Marine Machinery Progress During 1933 the General Electric Co. actively pursued its design work in an effort to improve the efficiency of propelling equipments and to re- duce the weight and space required for their operation. Of special in- terest was the advancement made in the application of high pressure steam, the practical designs evolved calling for temperatures of 850 de- grees Fahr. and pressures up to 650 pounds per square inch. Considerable progress has. also been made in the design of propelling machinery utilizing the mercury va- por process. In auxiliary eqvipment, the most outstanding development was the completion of design for the use of alternating current motors to meet practically every navy shipboard re- quirement. Toward the close of the year, work was actively under way on double’ reduction propulsion geared turbine equipments for six new twin screw destroyers. This con- struction comprises 12 equipments and 36 turbine casings, each turbine equipment consisting of high pres- sure, low pressure and cruising units. Each ship will have two equipments —one for each of its propellers— providing approximately 43,000 shafts horsepower for the ship. MARINE REvIEw—January, 1934 Cruiser Astoria Launched At Bremerton Wash. The newest fighting ship for Uncle Sam’s navy, the 10,000-ton cruiser AstrorrIA was launched Dec. 16 at the United States navy yard, Bremerton, Wash. As the AstorrA was built in dry- dock, the launching became a simple manner of floating the vessel by fill- ing the dock. Miss Leila C. McKay of Portland, Ore., sponsored the new ship by breaking a bottle of California champagne over the bow. The new vessel bears the name of one of the first white settlements in the Pacific northwest, and the sponsor is the great-granddaughter of Alexander Mc- Kay, a partner of John Jacob Astor in founding this settlement as a fur trading post. The Astoria is the second cruiser built in the large graving dock at the Bremerton navy yard, the Loutrs- VILLE having been launched from the same dock Sept. 1, 1930. The new cruiser is 588 feet long, 60 feet in beam, and 21% feet in draft. The propelling power consists..of. geared steam turbines with a total of 107,000 horsepower, and she will have a de- signed speed of 32.5 knots. The armor plate is 5 inches in thickness and she has an armament of nine 8-inch guns, eight 5-inch anti-aircraft guns, and eight anti-aircraft machine’ guns mounted in the mast. She will have a hangar suitable for housing four planes and there will be two revolv- ing airplane catapults. The Edward Valve & Mfg. Co. Inc., East Chicago, Ind., recently issued a description of its cast steel valves, in globe and angle stop, check, and feed line stop-check designs. All standard series of valves suitable for working steam pressures of 300 pounds to 1500 pounds are described with specifications, dimensions and list prices. Repair Work under way Work is scheduled to commence in January, at the Fletcher yard of the United Dry Docks Inc., New York, on a low bid of $255,246, in reboilering and other repairs to the Et Munpo, Eu OccmweNTE, and Ent Orrmente of the Southern Pacific Steamship Co. These vessels were built at Newport News in 1910. Bids on this work were taken early in the fall, but the contract has only recently been awarded. Brewer Drydock, Staten Island, N. Y., on a low bid of $31,000 was award- ed the contract for repairing the American Hawaiian Steamship Co.’s vessel OHIOAN. The OHIOAN was in collision, sometime in November, with the S. S. Liperry.