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at American Ship Building Co. Puts Big Boat in Water on July 24—Will Carry Ten Thousand Tons of Limestone HE launching of the steamer W. F, Waite at the:-Lorain, O., yards of the American Ship Building Co., on July 24, attracted un- usual attention among the marine in- terests of the Great Lakes. The vessel went into the water only 126 days after the contract for her construction had been let and in this period there were only 104% working days. Considering the weight of material handled, the American Ship Building Co. broke all its previous records for speedy con- struction. In addition, the steamer is the largest of her type ever built and marks a decided advance in ship build- ing. W. F. Waite is of the self unloading type and will operate in the limestone carrying trade between Rogers City, Mich., and lower lake ports. She is of 10,000 tons capacity,and her conveyor is designed to unload 1,700 tons an hour. She is 550 feet over all, 530 feet keel, 60 feet beam and 31 feet deep. Her cost is about $500,000. She is owned by the Limestone Transportation Co. Final delivery will be made on Sept. 1, and it is expected that the vessel will leave Lorain for Rogers City on that date. tte ool \@ a Et ee Sq ade = AN a4 NEL i ! 1 € } N é 4 \ W. F. Wuite is the only large freighter building for the lake trade during 1915 and will be the only vessel of this class to go into commission this year as con- tracts let within the next few months would call for spring delivery. Several vessels, however, are being built at Great Lakes’ ship yards for ocean ser- vice. 5; The wooden steamer HENNEPIN was the first vessel on the Great Lakes to be equipped with self unloading equip- ment, her carrying capacity being about 1,000 tons. She is still in commission. Altogether there are six vessels of this type now in operation, the others in- cluding Huron, Catcitr, ALPENA, WYANDOTTE and TopeKA. Huron is the largest of the self unloading type in commission, having a capacity of about 6,500 tons. Large Increase in Capacity The success attained on the lakes by these self unloaders may be gaged by the rapid increase in the ‘size of the steamers equipped with unloading ma- chines. HENNEPIN has_ been _ thus equipped for only a few years but has only 10 per cent of the carrying capacity of W. F. Waite, the latest of this type. Huron, the largest self unloader in commission, can carry but 65 per cent of the cargo which W. F. Wuite will transport. W. F. Wuirte will have a triple ex- pansion engine with 25%, 41 and 67- inch cylinders, and 42-inch © stroke. Steam will be furnished at 185 pounds pressure by three Scotch boilers, 13% feet in diameter and 11 feet long. The vessel will be unloaded by the conveying system. A 150-foot unloading boom permits the distribution of the cargo at a considerable distance from the ship. Robins conveyor belts will be used in. the cargo hold. The cargo will be brought up from the hold by an ele- vating pan conveyor system. Two Westinghouse 350-horsepower engines will furnish power for the unloader. A . complete description of W. F. WHitre will appear in an early issue of The Marine Review. The launching was witnessed by more than 200 guests of the American Ship Building Co. The sponsor was Miss Margaret McManigal, New York, a niece of the president of the Limestone Transportation Co., in whose honor the W. F. WHITE ON THE WAYS IMMEDIATELY PREVIOUS TO ,HER LAUNCHING 341 Mag =