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i Poe THE MARINE RECORD. S SF TET i SHIP BUILDING AND REPAIRS. : NEWS OF THE WEEK. . This seems to be an off season just now for any new - contracts worth mentioning, and nothing additional on this line need be looked for for some weeks to come. It is _ stated that the Montreal Transportation Co., of Kings- ton, is about to lay the keel of another large barge at Kingston, to cost $15,000, and carry 70,000 bushels of wheat on 14 feet draft, but the report lacks confirmation. _, Additional delay has been caused in the deliv- - ery of the new steel canal boats building at Blizabeth, N. J., for the Cleveland Steel Canalboat Co., by the “fact that the builders made the beam of the barges 18 feet, instead of 17 feet 2 inches, as called for by _ the, contract.. The steamer is all right. The error was discovered only after a steamer and three barges had been delivered, and they will have to be re- turned to. the Crescent }Shipyard, to be drawn in to the beam called for in the contract. Ten inches seems a | trifle, but it is just enough to prevent the boats from getting through the Erie canal. Th2delay is exasper- -ating to the Cleveland Steel Canalboat Co., which has accumulated a quantity of freight at both ends of the Cleveland-New York route. The new Wilson Line steamer for which the Cleve- land Ship Building Co. closed a contract a few months / ago, to be furnished next spring will be only a few feet longer than the W.D. Rees, but will probably be two »» feet wider. ‘The question of putting in three boilers, instead of two, as in the Rees, is also being considered. -'The launch of the big whaleback steamer building at yard of the American Steel Barge Co., West Superior, for the Rockefelier fleet, has been set for the afternoon of Monday, July 6. Her consort will be launched about ten days later. A gang of men is busy lengthening the slip, so as to permit of the launching of the steamer. . Supt. Curr, of the Globe shipyard, Cleveland, expects to be able to send the Sir Henry Bessemer out on her first trip some time next week. Reiboldt, Wolter & Co., of SturgeonjBay, have begun ‘the construction of a scow at their shipyard. It is to be 28 x 60 feet, and will be used for pile-driving purposes. Commodore George Craig launched his new yacht * late last week. : LAUNCH OF THE SENATOR. The-big steamer Senator, building for the Wolverine Steamship Co. by the Detroit Dry Dock Co., was yery successfully launched at Wyandotte, last Saturday, about the noon hour. Notice had been given that the launch would be private, but about 500 of the company’s friends were in the yard, and several hundred others went down the river from Detroit on excursion boats to see the sight. ‘The launch was none the less successful that it was entirely informal. She was taken to Detroit Monday for completion. e The Wolverine Steamship Co., since the death of Capt. KE. M. Peck, has for its president Dr. G. W. Roby; Capt. M. W. Humphrey manages the fleet, and other stockholders and directors are Senator James McMillan, “C. Ll. Freer, F. J. Hecker, A. McVittie, the Peck estate “and others. -The ship was named in honor of Senator McMillan. i The Senator is to be a large carrier, though there are several ships now in service that exceed her in dimen- sions. She is 424 feet long over all, by 45 feet 6 inches beam, and 28 feet depth of hold. Her engines are of the inverted triplex type, the cylinders being respec- tively 22, 36 and 58 inches diameter, by 44 inches stroke. The two boilers measure 13!4x12 feet, and are tested to 165 pounds working pressure. Her propeller meas- tires 14 feet in diameter, and she is expected to develop 1,400 horse power, driving the Senator at the rate of 13 miles per hour while carrying 4,400 tons on 16 feet draft. The Senator has twelve hatches, two of which are for- ward of the pilot house. The latter is thus set far enough aft to afford the captain and wheelsmen some protection from the hardships to which they are exposed in heavy - weather, and is another concession to the salt water idea. ‘The engines, however, are placed in the extreme “Stern. ‘The deckis entirely clear from texas to boiler ‘house. Her hatches are extremely wide to afford the greater ease in handling and trimming cargo, but to compensate for this her deck stringer and sheer strakes are % inch thick by 69 and 65 inches wide, being con- nected at the ends with double straps. With this pro- vision the designers figure that it would be necessary to exert directly against her sides, from the inside, a pres. sure of 4,329 tons in order to burst her open. This gives a surplus strength of 16 to 1 against any accident, but this must not be understood as the favorite ratio of the builders in all matters. The Senator’s water ballast capacity is 2,052 tons, and the water bottom is divided into five compartments. The pipes are of unusually large size, and the pumps are proportionately powerful, which allows of altering the draft with greater rapidity. Supt. F. A. Kirby has compiled the following inter- esting details in regard to the new ship: Her weight approximates about 2,000 tons, or about five tons to each running foot. The plates used in her construction, if laid one on top of the other, would make a column 126% feet high. Ifthe plates were placed end to end they would measure 5 miles, 211 rods, 2 feet and 10 in- ches, with an average width of 5 feet. The total length of shape material, beams, angles, etc., used in her con- struction, 1f placed end to end, would measure a length of 17 miles, 159 rods, 5 feet and 6 inches. The number of holes punched in the material used was 877,642, and the sum of the diameters of these holes would be 10% miles. There are 390,140 rivets used, weighing 83.13 tons. ‘The total number of days’ work on the ship up to the time of launching was 23,869. The Senator will be supplied with all the modern im- provements,.including electric light, engine-room tele- graph, speaking tube communication, etc., and will be supplied with stockless anchor on each bow, and an ad- ditional anchor astern, to be used in time of emergency without requiring the ship to turn around and head into the sea. This is not approved in ocean practice, but the seas on the lakes are of course not so formidable, and nothing will come over the stern. She will be sailed by Capt. K. B. McQueen, with Mr. Andrew Car- ter as chief engineer. The builders expect to have her in commission before the first of August. SMALL STEAMBOATS FOR THE TROPICS. The Marine Iron Works, Chicago, are at work on or- ders for small dispatch boats for use on salt water, in the tropics, that compauy doing the entire work, includ- ing hull, machinery and equipment. In addition they are building for the same section, outfits of machinery with fittings and equipment, for the native boat build- ers. The small craft referred to differ in some details from the launches seen on our northern fresh waters. The bottoms of the hulls are coppered with fastnings of cop- per, while the shaft stern bearings, shoe, rudder, pro- peller wheel, and all outboard work is bronze. A feat- ure in connection with the machinery for these boats is the increased amount of cooling surface required in the condenser, owing to the high temperature of the water in which the boats ply. As a rather inferior grade of wood fuel is all that is obtainable in the majority of cases, and the firemen are not specially active, the de- sign, as well as the capacity of the boilers, necessarily receives considerable attention. LAUNCH OF A TUG. The tug which the Ship Owners’ Dry-Dock Co. have been building for Joseph Duherst and others, of Huron, is to be launched this (Thursday) afternoon at 2 o’clock. The tug is to be named the O. C. Stedman, in honor of the well-known dock manager at Huron. She is 92 feet long by 19 feet beam and 10 feet depth. She is built of some of the best white oak to be found in Ohio. Her planking is three inches thick, and her bilge keelsons and clamps are four inches inthickness. The bed plate for her 22 x 24 engines is already in. Her boiler 9x15 feet, which has been built by the River Machine Co. (Teare & Thomas), lies on the Front street dock, and will be loaded on a lighter at once and taken to the shipyard, where it will be picked up on the high sheer legs, and placed in position in the floating tug. The machinery will then be fitted in as rapidly as the makers, Messrs. Clough & Witt, can do the work. She will probably be in commission before July is well ad- vanced. GENERAL REPAIR WORK. CLEVELAND.—The work at the dry-docks is growing somewhat slack, all three basins being empty last even- ing. Both dock companies have, however, considerable work on craft afloat. At the Ship Owners’ dry-dock the work on the V. Swain is making good progress, and it is hoped to have her in commission by August1. ‘The overhauling of her machinery has-begun. ‘The steamer Griffin was in the latter part of last week and had her shoe taken off and put on tighter with larger rivets. The Cleveland Ship Building Co. did the work. At the Cleveland dry-dock a great deal has been ac- complished on the schooner H. A. Kent, and she will soon be ready for docking. The tug Kunkle Bros., of Ashtabula, was in for.a new wheel, and the Allie May was docked for minor repairs. The steamer Reynolds, which had several plates of her bulwarks astern dam- aged at Buffalo, was at the Globe shipyard for repairs. CHICAGO.—At the Chicago Ship Building Co.’s ship- yard the Anchor Line steamer Conemaugh was in dock for fastening wheel anda new key, and the schooner John McGee for some new bottom plank and calking. At Miller Bros,’ shipyard the steamer George Dunbar is in dock for repairs to stern bearing and rudder; the tug Rosaline for a new stern pipe, some general repairs and calking; the steam yacht Sentinel for some calking, | bottom scraping and painting, and two new sea-cocks; the steamer R. J. Gordon for some repairs and calking. MILWAUKEE.—The steamer Frank Woods arrived last Thursday evening from St. Joseph to receive a new Sheriffs wheel and ‘hoisting gear. The Woods has been converted into a double-decker. She is under charter to the Graham & Morton Transportation Co. for the Benton Harbor and Milwaukee route until December 10, The steamer Egyptian wasin the Milwaukee Dry Dock Co.’s south yard dock to have some leaks stopped. West SupERior.—The American Steel Barge Co.’s dry-dock has so far this season been rushed with orders, working day and night a great part of the time. Capt. Kidd has gone to Montreal with twelve expert riveters to assist Capt. McDougall in the work of cutting the steamer Colby and barge 110 in two, so they may be brought through the St. Lawrence canals. The 201 and 202 will probably be brought up without any diffi- culty on account of their smaller size. The tug J. W. Ward, from Ashland, is here to receive a new sternpost. DETROIT.—The steambarge John H. Pauly is at Oades’ yard for general repairs. The steamer Ida, which lately blew out her cylinder head and sustained other minor injuries to her machinery, is at Hodge’s for repairs. The Iron Age has at last received her new boiler, and will re-enter the ore trade at once. STURGEON Bay.—The tug Leathem was the first boat to be placed in the floating dry-dock of Reiboldt, Wol- ter & Co. She went on Tuesday evening of last week to have her stern-bearing tightened. In taking the stern- bearings off the under half was dropped in the bay, and a new one had to be provided at Ives Bros.’ foundry. She was followed by the tug Wright, which received some repairs below the water line. The next in order was the schooner Kanters which was wrecked, aban- doned, and aftewards released. REPAIR NOTES. The steamer Panther has been receiving repairs at Craig’s, and the Massassoit at Gillmore’s dry-dock, ‘Toledo. The steamer Niko, which knocked off her fore-foot in Buffalo creek, has completed repairs. The schooner John M. Huchinson has nearly com- pleted a $9,000 rebuild at Alex. Anderson’s yard, Marine City, and has been towed to Port Huron for docking. The engine of the Gogebic was repaired at Ashtabula last week by the McKinnon Iron Works. The wrecking and repair bills on the Choctaw amount to about $15,000. a © <r 0 me The Big Four Railroad Company has contracted with John Stang to dredge the approaches to their coal docks at Sandusky. The water is not of sufficient depth to allow deep draft vessels to get away without trouble after they are loaded, and two propellers had to be towed out a few days ago, stern first, as far east as the straight channel. The company has a large amount of coal to move to Lake Superior, and they are anxious to have the water deepened as soon as possible. | One dredge will work in the slip, and another will dredge out to the government channel. The dock property will also be placed in condition by refitting the north ends and rebuilding where necessary.