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1901.] MARINE REVIEW * = _. RUDDER FRAME OF BATTLESHIP OHIO. The Cleveland City Forge & Iron Co.-of-Cleveland recently. shipped to the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, the rudder frame for the battle- ship Ohio, forged and finished at the company’s plant in the past few months. The sketch presented herewith is an outline elevation of the huge forging. This rudder differs from others forged at the same works on government orders. The braces do not extend across the frame, as is usual, but are cut off about half way. It will be seen also that the big wim =6bow in the back and the small counterbalanced bow in the front were cut in two. This was done to facilitate shipping by rail, After the pieces arrive at their destination the Union Tron Works will rivet them together. The stock of the rudder, which is 18 in. in di- ameter, has a 5-in. hole bored axially, the relative size of this hole being indicated by the dotted lines. In’ the accompanying half- o tone the sizeof the rudder ivgm frame is indicated. The view given is not of the Ohio’s rudder but of that forged by the Cleveland City Forge & Iron Co. for the Alabama. The weights of the two are sub- stantially the same—about 16 .tons, The ex- treme height of Doth is. 203 ft: 634 in., and the extreme width 19 ft. 4 in. The extreme thick- ness of the 7q% se ae Rudder frame of battleship Ohio. frame is 38 in.; diameter of rudder stock in both cases, 18 in. OILING THE SEAS. S From Syren & Shipping, London. The United States hydrographic office is again interesting itself, for the benefit of mari- ners, in the important question of oiling the sea so as to prevent the angry moving mountains of water from breaking on board and causing dire destruction. There is nothing new under the sun! Consequently, no one need be surprised to learn that the ancients were most explicit in their highly-colored word-pictures with respect to the most miraculous result attending the pour- ing of oil upon troubled waters. Aristotle pointed out that the thinnest of oily films serves to shelter the sea surface beneath from the grip of a howling hurricane or the caress of a gentle zephyr. It is a far cry from the plodding phil- osopher of the classics to the more pushful peo- ple now dominating the United States of North America. Yet, the middle of the eighteenth century had arrived on our planet before the at- tention of navigators was distinctly drawn to the advisability of oiling the sea when it commenced to threaten the safety of a devoted barque and her crew. In 1757, the illustrious American, Benjamin Franklin, while at sea in company with several owners. of merchant ships and water- bruisers of the good old sort, was quick to ob- serve that two of the fleet made much better weather and enjoyed far smoother water than their consorts. Apparently, in those days, the ships’ cooks were less regardful of slush-cask perquisites than are their twentieth century stc- cessors. Franklin, always anxious to find out the causes of natural phenomena, at once commenced to question and cross-examine the old skipper of the craft which then had the honor of carry- ing the American philosopher, and was informed that the exceptionally smooth water around the -two ships was due to the greasy matter thrown overboard by their cooks. After return to dry 3s land he experimented on the stilling of waves by | oil, and published his results. The hardy fisher- men who wooed fickle fortune on the inhos- pitable coasts of Greenland many years ago, were well aware of the utility of oil as a sea smoother. Curiously enough, they preferred to keep this knowledge to themselves, under the erroneous idea that this oiling process somehow made the seas more dangerous outside the protected area, and might be objected to by mariners without oil. At some places oil has been led along the bottom of the harbor by means of pipes, through which the oil was forced so as to find an upward > path into the boiling waters at the harbor mouth; and a somewhat similar effect has been produced by firing shells, filled with oil, from a rocket, which scattered the oil over the sea surface. At pry ann if if Zz i" f Ba 7 iq} LA yh. f “YT Sa ft PLAT y” “sed, however, the tise of’oil fell into désuetude about 1840; and it remained or; thesUnited States hydrographic office to bring the matter before t’e nautical public quite recently. This fact was pointed out some time ago by Admiral Whafton, 'the*‘Britislt hydrographery ina »prief review of a pamphiet:written.on theioil-smoothing: system, by Admiral Cloué,, af the Hoench:mavy. :Concise, rules, for,,the ,use, of ,oils, to. protect, vessels, iti, stormy: waters, weregiven; in aiptize, essay, submitted, tothe Hamburg, Nautical ‘School by Capt. .Ri Karlowai of the ,Hamburg-American, §tean. Packet Goi, Mhat.officeris practical, suggestions have, been, adopted by. the highest.authority, not only. in, his,own country but also in the United, States and. elsewhere: ) .That time-tried nautical adage—different ships, different, fashions—undoubtedly holds trye with respect to the oiling of theiwawes. \\In onderito-obtain the greatest immunity from sea damage by) the, least iexpenditune of wil requires much careful consideration. A seaman named: Wilson,.ofi the, United States navy invented an oil distribu- tor! whichi received. commendatiom from the. hydrographic office at Wash- ington..! The kind of; oil, isialso a'consideration not to,be ignoted, .Cocoa- nut) oil. might serve in the.tropics, for example, but be utterly Useless. at alow! temperature. During ithe, gale of December, 1896, while crossin thé) North, Pacific, the favonite liner Empress of India, Capt. Archibald used. oil from,both, bows; with excellent effect. A mixture, ‘consisting of 70; per ceatii of fish) oilj,and,15 per cent. each of colza and kerosene, was, found most:-useful; and the amount expended was about one gallon an) hourithroughoakum placediin the drains of the forward water-closets.) Bagsifilled. with: oakum, premiously saturated with oil, are pridked” with’ a} roping:needle im iseveraluplaces and towed overboard; thus insuring al, smoeth;seaastern while; running. On one occasion, four, bags, em ayed| thus forsixteen, hours, nequired five gallons of seal oil.»+For the “henefit! of ourimany nautical readers, we may mention that the United States! hydrographic office, at: Washington will supply, without charge, a copy of Capt.-Karlowa’s prize! essay; to any shipmaster or officer applying for it io sfly vad woes) bse sib i / 8) Asdispatche to: ithe North German Lloyd officials, New York, iden Bremen announces: the! lannching of the twin screw steamship Kronpfinz Wilhelm: atthe yards, of the Vulcan Ship Building Co., Stettin..” The ship isidesigned.toibe just.a shade of a knot faster thanathe Hamburg- American liner- Deutschland) which holds .the recerdiacrossiseas. She will have enginesi‘of:33,000 H.-P»: or ‘35000 less than*the DeutseHland. She is 662 ft. long, 66 ftuibeam,and.of 19,500-tons displacement. UG) ofl) Te rinod pak a Bea Bh! ~ py RLUY pil ovis i <o 2 oewmyg ait les cies fl Rudder frame of battleship Alabama—Same dimensions as that of Ohio.