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14 MARINE REVIEW. NEW OCEAN LENERS. Vy y FIRST TRIP OF THE OUNARDERSIVERNIA, A VERY LARGE FREIGHT AND PAS- SENGER STEAMER—ALLAN LINER TUNISIAN AND THE ELDER-DEMPSTER 00.6 LAKE CHAMPLAIN FOR DOMINION SFRVICE. The new Cunard twin-screw steamer Ivernia has just made her first trip across the Atlantic. She is the latest addition to the red-funnel fleet, and while not as fast as some of the same line is a commodious and speedy ship. She has been built to maintain a paying freight service and at the same time obtain a share of the passenger traffic. This ship, which was delivered to the Cunard company by the builders, Messrs. C. S. Swan and Hunter, Limited, of Wallsend-on-Tyne on March 27, is by far the largest vessel built on the east coast of England, and is exceeded in size by only two ships afloat of any type. The Ivernia presents a very imposing appearance, having a freeboard loaded of 28 feet, and above the line of the shelter deck, to which the plating and full scantlings are carried, she has three tiers of erections amidships, excluding the wheel house and chart room on the navigating platform level. The measurement from the keel plate to the standard compass platform, that is, the flying bridge deck, is 83 feet. When loaded her bridge is on a level with the main yard of a large sailing ship, while from the waterline, loaded, to the top of her funnel is 106 feet. She is rigged as a fore-and-aft four-masted schooner, and has a single hand- CUNARD LINER IVERNIA—LENGTH 600 FEET—TONNAGE 18,900. somely proportioned funnel of 17 feet diameter. Her principal dimen- sions are: Length, 600 feet over all, or 580 feet between perpendiculars; beam, 64 feet 4% inches; and depth, molded, 41 feet 6 inches. Her gross registered tonnage is 13,799 and her net register 8,913 tons. She is built of steel throughout and is fitted with a cellular double bottom fore and aft, and has three complete steel decks, viz., main, upper and lower, and seven decks in all, viz., boat, bridge, shelter, upper, main, lower and orlop. Her total measurement capacity is about 24,000 tons and her dead weight capacity is 12,860 tons. The water ballast capacity of the ship totals 4,554 tons, including 2,172 tons in the forward and after peak tanks, while her bunker capacity is 2,500 tons. The ship is divided into eleven watertight compartments, specially stiffened, and also is provided with facilities for connecting and shutting off each of these divisions. Special arrangements have been made for the handling of cargo in the way of derricks, commodious and convenient hatchways and steam winches. The propelling engines of the Ivernia are supplied by the famous Tyne engineers, the Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Co., Limited. They consist of twin sets of quadruple expansion four-crank balance type. The cylinders are 2814, 41, 58%4 and 84 inches diameter with a piston stroke of 54 inches. These are arranged ‘with the high pressure cylinder forward, followed in turn by the low pressure, second intermediate and first intermediate cylinders. Steam is supplied by nine large single- ended boilers of 15 feet 6 inches by 11 feet 6 inches at a working pressure of 210 pounds per square inch. j The vessel has accommodations for 160 first-class, 200 second-class and 1,600 third-class passengers. The main saloon is a really delightful and very spacious apartment, situated a little before amidships and extending the full width of the ship. The saloon is furnished in light oak while the revolving chairs are of rosewood. Nearly all of the first-class staterooms are situated on the promenade deck. These apartments are excellently furnished, are light and commodious and perfectly ventilated. Some splendid family rooms are also available. The accommodation for second-class travelers is situated on the shelter deck abaft the saloon, pantry and kitchen. The third class might be said to obtain conditions of ocean travel not offering in some ocean- going steamers of the second class. They are accommodated for in rooms of two, four and six persons. Each room contains iron frame beds, with spring bottoms, lavatories and other furnishings practically unknown in such quarters. They dine at mahogany tables on settees with reversible backs and cushions, and generally enjoy special favors. There are lavatories with hot and cold water and other sanitary fittings of the latest type. A spacious sheltered promenade deck is set apart for their use in bad weather. The new twin-screw Allan liner Tunisian has just made her maiden voyage from Liverpool to the Dominion. The Tunisian is an 8%.- beam ship, a ratio of length to width which does much to conduce to [April 26, LL weatherly qualities in a seaway, and consequently enhances the com- fort of the passengers. The Tunisian is a sister ship to the Bavarian, which made her maiden voyage to Canada in August of last year. Dimension of the Tunisian are: Length, 520 feet; beam, 60 feet; depth, 43 feet; gross tonnage, 10,576. She has one large funnel with two pole masts and the usual derrick attachment. First and second-class pas- sengers are carried amidships, where, of course, there is a minimum of motion. On the promenade deck, above the bridge deck, are suites of :ooms en luxe. These apartments are self contained, and include bed rooms, sitting rooms, and bath and lavatory accommodations en suite. The steel twin-screw steamer Lake Champlain, built to the order of Elder, Dempster & Co. for mail and general service between the United Kingdom and Canada, was recently launched at Liverpool. This vessel’s principal dimensions are: Length, 465 feet; beam, 53 feet; depth, 38 feet 7 inches to shelter deck, with a gross tonnage of 7,550 and a deadweight capacity of nearly 8,000 tons. The passenger accommodation is fitted amidships under the shade deck, ample provision being made for about 100 first-class. passengers, who will be berthed in large, handsomely- furnished and well-ventilated staterooms. BATTERIES OF THE NEW BATTLESHIPS. The question of the character and the arrangement of the main bat- teries of the projected battleships Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Georgia came up again Tuesday at a meeting of the board on construc- tion in Washington, this time on a suggestion made by Rear Admiral O’Neil, chief of the.\bureau of ordnance and chairman of the board, that a battery arrangement similar to that of the Iowa, in turret guns, should be agreed to. When the board by a vote of three to two re- jected the superimposed turret for the three ships of the Pennsylvania class, an alternative proposition to arrange the guns in six ordinary turrets holding four 12-inch guns and eight eights, in addition to the broadside of twelve sixes, was placed before the board and agreed to by a vote of four to one. Later it was proposed by Admiral O’Neil that 7-inch guns be substituted for eights, these guns to be placed behind shields instead of in turrets. No action was taken ‘by the board and when the matter was brought up at Tuesday’s meeting the proposition to adhere to the battery em- bracing twelve guns in six turrets, namely four twelves and eight eights, was submitted. While no vote was taken it was evident that three of the four members of the board present were better satisfied with this arrangement than that embracing seven and no turrets except for the 12-inch guns, and the formal vote taken at a previous meeting will probably stand. Rear Admiral Bradford, one of the four members at the meeting, adheres to his desire to ‘have superimposed turrets. Capt. Sigsbee, the junior member of the board, who voted against the adop- tion of the superimposed turret and for the battery arrangement of four twelves and eight eights, was absent. The arrangement that appears to be final provides for two twelves in a turret forward, two sixes in a turret aft, four turrets, two on each beam, each holding two eights, and broadsides of twelve sixes. The secondary battery is remarkably heavy. The board discussed in a tentative way the battery arrangement for the armored cruisers California, Georgia and West Virginia, which are to be almost as formidable as battleships and much faster. Admiral O’Neil suggested four 8-inch rifles in turrets forward and aft, four 7-inch rifles behind shields on the upper deck, and ten 6-inch rifles in sponsons, with 14-pounders as the biggest guns in the secondary battery. There was some objection to the adoption of so many types of guns, and particularly to the 7-inch type, on the ground that it involved keeping several classes of ainmunition in the magazines and the installa- tion of several distinct sets of ammunition hoists. No action was taken by the board. : SURVEY OF THE GREAT LAKES. To correct a mistaken impression to the effect that the navy’ depart- ment is seeking to infringe upon the army engineering bureau in the matter of removal of obstructions and patrol of the inland waters of the United States, Admiral Bradford, chief of the equipment bureau, navy department, has submitted a memorandum to the house committee on appropriations. A part of the memorandum reads: “Since the survey of the great lakes was completed, the growth of commerce upon them has been unparalleled. Our lake fleet alone is greater than the fleet of any foreign nation, excepting that of Great Britain and Germany. In recent years the amount of tonnage annually constructed on the great lakes has been greater than that constructed on the Atlantic, Pacific and gulf coasts combined. ‘More than half of the best steam tonnage in the United States is owned upon: the great lakes. The vessels in these waters have increased very much in size as well as in numbers, and their increased draught brings them into contact with obstructions which were not necessary to consider in a survey of a gen- eration ago when deep draught vessels were not employed in the naviga- tion of the lakes. It has become necessary in some of the shoaler straits and channels to use a drag in order to discover isolated rocks and other obstructions of small superficial area. This work can only be done by nautical people who understand the needs of the safe navigation of ships. All expenses in connection with lake surveys, not including, however, the ordinary expenses of the’ship, are defrayed out of the appropriation for ocean and lake surveys.” Alike to many other devices of a meritorious kind, the releasing hook for life boats made by Standard Automatic Releasing Hook Co. of 17 State street, New, York, James R. Raymond, manager, was at first slow in meeting with favor, but it is now so much in use on government vessels and on the best passenger lines that its adoption as a standard article in reality as well as in name is assured. An attractive storm picture exemplifying the use of this hook is being distributed among ship builders and ship owners. The Nickel Plate read offers special low rate of one cent a mile traveled to Findlay, O., account annual encampment of G, A. R., depart- ment of Ohio. Tickets available May 7, 8 and 9, good returning until May 11 inclusive. Inquire of agents or address C. A. Asterlin, T. P. A. Ft. Wayne, Ind. 56, May 9.