The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

13 THE MARINE RECORD. S __~ SHIP BUILDING AND REPAIRS. YARDS FAST REDUCING FORCES. The new ships for the season are being turned out rapidly from the yards, and as no new work is coming in to take their places, the forces are rapidly being cut ‘down, and hundreds of men engaged in the shipbuilding trade are likely to be out of work for a few months. _ There are no private contracts in sight, and it now transpires that builders will not be invited to submit proposals on the two new reventte cutters until after election. The reason for this delay is the great trouble which the government has just now in getting contrac- tors to bid on any federal work. While contracts may easily be made between two reputable business concerns whereby a readjustment can be made should money take a new basis, there is no such loophole in government contracts, and contractors would be forced to accept payment in whatever coin is stamped as money at its face value. The federal officers making payment would have no option to depart from the letter of this rule, and as a consequence people having dealings of this sort insist on holding off until the financial ques- . tion has been settled. No date has yet been set for the launch of the revenue steamer W. Q. Gresham, at the Globe shipyard, but she will probably go into the water on Saturday, September 5. The Sir William Siemens got away from this yard Tuesday night, after a short trial trip in the afternoon, and leaving Cleveland at midnight passed Detroit at 8 - o’clock Wednesday morning, a very unusual speed for a ship with brand new machinery. On her trial trip she worked most satisfactory in all respects. Thursday afternoon of this week wasset for the launch of the steel schooner James Wasmyth, at F. W. Wheeler & Co.’s yard, West Bay City. capacity of 4000 tons on 14 feet draft. Her sister con- sort, the Sir Isaac Lothian Bell, will not be ready to launch for another month. The steamer, the George 4 i Stephenson is going forward rapidly. She is 428 feet ~ “jong by 48 feet beam and 28 feet depth. She will prob- ably be ready to launch in six weeks. Good progress is also being made on the new steel F. & P. M. car ferry, which is building at the Wheeler yard. The Chicago Shipbuilding Co. intends to launch the large steel barge George H. Corliss, on next Saturday, August 29. The new steamship Appomattox left Bay City last Saturday for Duluth. On board were her owner and builder, Capt. James Davidson, his wife, and a small party of friends, who will make the first round trip in her. Before leaving she lay at Young’s coal dock all day Friday and was inspected by hundreds of visitors. Work on the other steamer now building at this yard is being pushed along, and she will be ready to go into commission by October 15. ‘There are also three tugs under construction at the Davidson yard. They are all of the same hull dimen- sions, each being 90 feet long by 20 feet beam and 10 feet moulded depth. One of these, building for Capt. B. B. Inman, of Duluth, will be launched about Sept. 1. The hull will then be towed to Duluth, where Capt. Inman will install a steeple compound engine and a large boiler. The other two tugs are under construction on owners’ account. A letter to THE REcORD from the builders states that ‘‘these tugs will be very powerful, modern boats in every way, and will be most econom- ical on fuel consumption. Their engines will be the latest type of fore-and-aft compound, with cylinders 15 and 30 by 26 inches. The engines will have steam re- yersing gear, and all the latest improvements. They will also have an independent air pump and condenser. "The boilers will be made of steel, 8% by 13 feet, and will be allowed a steam pressure of 130 pounds. All braces around the boiler andengine will be of steel, and they will have steel boiler-houses. The tugs will have steam steering gear, commodious cabins, and will be fitted out with the best appliances of every kind. We are building the tugs very strongly, to stand hard usage, as they are to be used for lake work as well as harbor towing. The Frontier Iron Works, of Detroit, have the contract for furnishing all the machinery and boilers. We expect to have our tugs ready to go into commission October 1. We are well along with the hulls now, and the Frontier Iron Works are hurrying the machinery.” The new Rockefeller whaleback steamer John Eric- She is 380 feet jong by 4+ feet beam and 26 feet depth, and has a sson, now in commission, differs from all the others of this type, in that she has her pilot house in the forward turret. The side-wheel steamer Corona, built at the Bertram Engine Works, Toronto, to take the place of the Niagara Navigation Co.’s burned steamer Cibola, had a private trial on Wednesday of last week, and has been put on the route between Toronto and Lewiston, in connection with the other two boats of the line. JOGGLED PLATES COMING INTO FAVOR. There are indications that several lake shipyards are about to adopt the system of joggling plates which was described and illustrated in Tur RECORD about one year ago. Mr. F. . Kirby, on his visit to British yards last year, was favorably impressed with the idea, and other desiguers and yard superintendents have been advocating the installation of machines for this pur- pose, the expense involved being inconsiderable-when compared with the saving and super-excellence of work effected by the system. Strange to say, the majority of the English yards have, according to Fairplay, been slow in taking up the system, but after a year or more of very successful application in one or two yards, there is a general movement to its adoption across the water. The system was introduced by Wm. Doxford & Sons, and its object is, it will be remembered, to ad- mit of packing being dispensed with, in both the in- side fittings and the shell plates of vessels. This is ac- complished by simply bending or shaping the plate to fit the place for which it is intended, thus making a more compact and better finished job than is possible when packing is used. The shaping is effected by a machine designed and now manufactured by the Dox- fords. ‘The shaping is effected so quickly that the amount of work done by a gang of riveters ina day or a week is appreciably lessened. In the daysof iron plates the ‘“‘joggling’’ could not have been done so easily, if at all; but the steel plates now produced are peculiarly suited to the process by reason of their great flexibility. To shipowners as well as builders the adoption of the new system is of vital importance, as for every ton of packing thus dispensed with they can substitute a ton of cargo, besides possessing a stronger ship, because of the greater resistance to buckling. If the system has the advantages claimed for it, and these have not, so far, been disputed, ship owners, who are really the most interested parties, should do their best to bring about the change. GENERAL REPAIR WORK. _CLEVELAND.—The survey on the steamer Wm. Chis- holm was held at the Cleveland dry-dock Wednesday afternoon. Capts. George and Daniel McLeod repre- sented the underwriters, and Supt. Robert Kerr, of the Globe shipyard, and Mr. W. C. Richardson, who man- ages the Cleveland Rolling Mill Co.’s fleet, looked after the owners’ interests. .The Lehigh Valley Transporta- tion Co. had a representative on hand to make a mem- oranda of the damage found. The hole in the starboard quarter represented 16 badly damaged plates and half a dozen broken frames. On the bottom the keel and the plates next to it were badly indented because of the nu- merous boulders on which the Chisholm settled; but while 53 plates have to come off the bottom, nearly all of these can be replaced after rerolling. The Globe Iron Works Co. will attend to the repair job, which will keep 200 men at work two weeks, and will probably cost $12,000 to $15,000. The repairs to the Bulgaria, which was in the Cleve- land dock last week, amounted to 200 feet of new plank- ing. The Richard Martini was in early this week and had her butts calked. The Ship Owners’ Dry-Dock Co. has been quite busy for the last couple of weeks. At present the Philip Minch, which stranded in the Sault after striking an- other steamer, is in one dock. She had to have a patch put on by a diver before coming to Cleveland. A survey is being held by Capt. C. E. Benhanij-on behalf of the underwriters, and Charles Hutchinson, representing the owners. Some of her bulwarks and stanchions up for- ward were damaged by the collision, but the surveyors have not yet been able toascertain the full extent of the, bottom damage, owing to some cutting out that has yet to be done. The repairs will undoubtedly require a week, and will include a new stern, at least nine frames, and about twelve new planks. The R. J. Hackett 1s in the other dock to repair a bad leak about her steri-pipe. This may necessitate the temporary removal of her shaft. Other recent re- pair jobs were the Australasia, new wheel, forefoot and forefoot iron, and repairs to stern bearings; H. S. Pease, general overhauling and new wheel; schooner F. W. Gifford, new forefoot, rudder and stern repairs; tugs Riverside, R. K. Hawley, and Charles Castle, calking, general overhauling, etc. The Checotah and Sitka stopped leaks. Last Thursday evening the Audaste struck the new steamer Siemens while she still lay at the Globe ship: yard. Repairs were completed by Tuesday, but the bill will approach $1,500. The Cumberland is getting new boilers at the Cleve- land shipyard. The steamer Hiawatha also got a new smokestack and breeching there. BuFFALO.—Nothing has yet been done on the steamer St. Louis. She may be cut down and converted into a towbarge. ‘The schooner Ogarita has been in dock to stop a leak. DrrRor’.—The steamer Unique is at the Frontier Iron Works receiving some necessary repairs before being transferred to her new owners. The S. C. Baldwin had her engine taken out at the Detroit dry-dock. The De- troit Dry-Dock Co. have been putting a new smokestack on the Chauncy Hurlbut. The Detroit Boat Works have begun a $2,000 repair job on the yacht Azalea, which will probably be sold when put in good shape, The J. P. Donaldson is getting a new wheel and repairs to stern bearings at the Detroit dry-dock. : Manrrowoc.—Messrs. H. B. and G. B. Burger have completed the thorough rebuild of the steamer FE. & P, M. No. 4, making her one of the finest and most comfort- able modern passenger boats running on Lake Michi- gan. She is trim, neat and modern, and is a twin in appearance to the No. 3, which was overhauled a year ago. She was in dock for several months, and in addi- tion to this has had her cabins entirely refitted and re- decorated. MIL,WAUKEE.—The Milwaukee Dry-Dock Co. have at their westside yardthe barge Amboy in dock, having her bottom recalked. Thecompany have just completed a thorough rebuild of the steamer Jim Sheriffs at their south side yard. ‘They have the steamer Hilton in dock getting a leak stopped and have given the steamer John W. Moore a new Sheriffs wheel 11 feet 4 inches in diam- eter. Cuicaco.—At the Chicago Ship Building Co.’s ship- yard the steamer Onoko is in dock for repairs to her stern bearing; the steamer M. T. Greene wasin for sim- ilar repairs. : At Miller Bros.’ shipyard the schooner James G. Blaine is in dock for a new forefoot, piece of new stern, some new garboards, and calking. The repairs on the steamer Majestic were completed on Tuesday and she went ontofdock. The steamer City of Duluth was in for repacking her stuffing box. REPAIR NOTES. The tug Gladiator is out of the dock at West Bay City. The tug Petrel is in the Davidson dry-dock, West Bay City, for a general overhauling. The steamer Norseman is having her disabled ma- chinery repaired at Alpena. mb. aaa——__— WIPED OUT BY FIRE. As if the lake trade were not already unfortunate enough this season, the lumber shipping port of Onton- agon, Wis., has been practically wiped out by forest fires which swept upon the town on August 25. The fire originated in aswamp just south of the Diamond Match Co.’s mills. A 40-mile gale was blowing, and soon the immense planing mill, box factory, and dry- kilns of the match company were soon a mass of ashes. The flames then decended on the business and residence portion of the city, and completely devoured it, barely a dozen houses in the suburbs being left standing. . The fire finally lodged in about 65,000,000 feet of sawed lumber on the dock, ready for shipment, which is still burning. While no lives were lost, 1,800 people were rendered homeless, many of them escaping without suf- ficient clothing to keep them from suffering. The Diamond Match Co., lost $2,000,000 in buildings and machinery, and lumber worth $1,000,000. On all this insurance of $75,000 was carried. The loss on the bal- ance of the village, will, according to newspaper reports, reach $2,000,000, with $300,000 insurance