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THE MARINE RECORD. A STEADY PLATFORM AT SEA. Written for The Marine Record. By. W. E. Redway, Buffalo, N. Y. CHAPTER 4. The form of bow which is best adapted to fulfill these conditions is the ram, which rationally treated, possesses all the characteristics requisite for the purpose. But good judgment and experience are necessary for its application, as one designed for the fore end of a fine line passenger steamer or yacht would be ludicruously out of place in a full cargo boat. The sharper the ship the more pronoun- ced the ram, and the fuller the ship the less should it re- cede. In fact, in the case of a cargo boat with very full underwater body forward, it should almost -reach the vertical. Every case requires separate treatment. That the “ram bow” is rapidly coming into public favor amongst naval constructors, is too well known to need demonstration here, it is only necessary to refer to the war ships built and building by European nations in which latter it was originally intended for offensive pur- “new cruisers and torpedo boats, as well as the ironclads, in which later it was originally intended for offensive pur- poses only. On this side of the Atlantic also the Ameri- can Government are building their new battleships and cruisers with the ram bow carried to a considerable ex- tent, and in all these vessels, the upper works, at bow, stern and amidships, recede and narrow inwards from the level of the load waterline upwards. In neither of the cases quoted, however, has the prin- ciple been carried out in its entirety. Within reasonable limits, subject of course to the duties the vessels have to “perform, it is a question whether the system might not with advantage be carried considerably further than has_ yet been contemplated. There may be urged against this form of dash the prob- ability of great damage being caused in case of col- lision. The obvious reply to such a suggestion is the his- torical one of Stephenson’s, who when projecting his first railroad, upon being asked what would happen were his locomotive to collide with a cow, when traveling at the great speed of twenty miles per hour, said: “It wad be ~ vera awkward for the coo.” Seriously, however, there is no form of bow which will not greatly damage another vessel in case of an end on collision and the shades of difference between forms are - scarcely worth consideration. The skins of merchant ships as a rule are not con- structed so as to withstand the shock of a collision with- ~ out damage, any more than the cow could resist the charge of a locomotive. The easy motion of the ram through the advancing ~ wave, which it gently cleaves without any violent expendi- ture of force to stop the onward progress of the ship; the limited amount of surplus buoyancy of the bow above water; just sufficient to lift it easily over the top of the wave; the small comparative weight of that portion, and it being situated so far back from the forefoot, prevents that sudden and terrific plunge down over the slope of the passing wave that is experienced in the ordinary type of bluff-bowed steamers. Their progress through the wa- ter consists of a series of buffetings with all the waves they ~ meet, and which they have to burst instead of cut through, thus making their way through life one continual struggle involving ar enormous amount of wasted effort, paid for with coal, from the first to the last voyage. ‘Whether in the stupendous ironclad rushing with de- “structive intent upon her devoted foe; whether in the stately and swift ocean greyhound, tearing along without _ let or hindrance through the fiercest gale, counting the length of her voyage by seconds; or in the homely “ocean tramp,” freighted with the friuts of labor and peace, there is no form that will suit itself so perfectly to the re- quirements in each case as a well proportioned, and well designed ram bow. With reference to the formation of a vessel’s stern, the heavy, barge-like counters and buttocks of the old days are seldom, if ever, seen now, at the hands of modern - designers, and there is less scope for improvement in the shape of modern steamers’ sterns towards making them easy at sea; what there is lies further on in the same di- ' rection in which modern design is tending. An instance of the good effect’ of this practice was witnessed about three or four years ago when a new steel steamer, built on the Clyde, trading upon the Lakes, was put in dry dock, and under the direction of one of our leading naval architects her buttocks were narrowed in about two and a half feet on each side, so as to make her steer and be- have better at sea, with most gratifying results, for al- though having a block co-efficient, verging towards the nineties, the alteration was a most successful one and has made her a handy and. profitable ship. The further advance referred to would be to discard the full curve of the after waterlines, making an easy curve to the post, adding the displacement, thereby removed from the neighborhood of the load water line to that of the center line of the shaft. This would reduce eddy resistance and establish a closer coincidence between weight and buoyancy, at the same time producing a power which would have the effect of reducing the pitching and ascend- ing motions of the after end. The practice of enclosing the tail shafts of twin screw steamers in a tube forming a portion of the structure of the ship by swelling out the frames until they enclose them, instead of supporting them on brackets, affords a most effective means for lengthening the duration of the period, and retarding the motion of a ship’s stern in pitching or ascending. It would be manifestly out of place in a paper of this kind (which is intended for those who are more interested in the practical results achieved towards the improve- ment of the designs of ships, than in the methods adopted to attain it), to enter into a mathematical investigaion of the causes which tend to make a ship roll or pitch. To do that fully the whole question of stability would be in- volved, and those who are acquainted with the poetry of stability calculations will readily waive the omission, whilst those who are not will become convinced on look- ing up the subject. For those who wish to investigate the subject of rolling fully, reference may be made to the works of Rankine, Woolley, Froude and White, who are the chief exponents of the modern theory which is now yet not fully understood. The object of this paper is to show that by the recognition and practical application of the results of well known experiments with certain full sized steamers a considerable advance can be made to- wards obtaining a steady platform at sea. Sir. Wm. White says: “It appears that very heavy rolling is likely to result from equality or approximate equality of the period of a ship and the half period of waves, even when the waves are very long in proportion to their height,” and again, “It follows from the investigation of unresisted rolling that the best possible means, apart from increased fluid resistance, is to give a ship the largest possible natural period for her still water oscillations.” All other things being equal, that ship which has the least metacentric height (assuming sufficient for safety of course), will be the easiest at sea, and conversely, the ship with the greatest metacentric height and consequent stiffness or stability in still water, will be the most uneasy —or unsteady, at sea. These axioms are well known and understood, and yet in spite of every care in the application of theory, first- class ships have recently been built which rolled so heavily that enormous bilge keels have been added to increase the duration of the period of roll—fortunately with excellent results, and now large bilge keels are a sine qua non. As they are such good things why not have plenty of them? And if they are so efficient when built on the ship as. an excresence, why cannot they be incorporated into the form of the ship, by swelling out the bilge around them, in a similar manner to what is being done around the tail shafts of twin screw steamers. This can be done and in a graceful manner, too, carrying up the side with a sharp tumble home, thus tending to reduce any exces- sive metacentric height and providing additional capacity in that portion of the ship where it is most valuable, viz., under water amidships. In case of passenger steamers, where large deck room is indispensable, the upper portion of the frames can be re- turned outwards to-any extent desired, even, if so required for lake or river service, similar to the guards of a paddle steamer, Like ferrules in the ends of forced draft boilers, bilge keels are only makeshifts, and are simply indicators on the road of progress. Oe ee oe The Marine Manufacturing & Supply Co., of New York, recently booked orders for chain cables for Lightships Nos. 67, 68, 69 and 7o, also the lighthouse tenders “May- flower” and “Mangrove.” CROSSED THE RIVER. (Capt. Robert Moore.) Capt. Robert Moore died on Tuesday morning at th Marine Hospital, Detroit, after a lingering illness of sev. eral months. Capt. Moore was one of the oldest sailors on the great lakes, having sailed for nearly half a cen tury. For more than forty years he had been a captain: and had commanded vessels for the most prominent ves- sel owners on the lakes. Capt. Moore was born in Oswe- go, N. Y., in 1834, and at the age of 16 enlisted as an ap- prentice on the revenue cutter stationed at his home. He then went into the merchant marine and at the early age of 21 was made captain of the Morning Star, one of the early steamers of the lakes. As a navigator he was regarded as one of the most fortunate, and in his whole career none of the boats he commanded had a serious accident. Six years ago his health failed and he retired, when just three years short | of a half century spent in battling with the elements. ‘Capt. Moore was a very quiet man, never used profanity, and never drank liquor of any kind. The funeral took place from the residence of his brother, Capt. Samuel Moore, 504 Fifth street, Detroit, on. Wed- nesday afternoon. —$— or i THE GRUMMOND LINE. General Manager U. S. Grummond announces that the first steamer of this season will leave Cleveland for Detroit, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, and all points in the Northwest, (ice permitting), Tuesday, Feb. 23rd, 8 p. m. Bartlett and Tinker are the Cleveland agents of the company and they quote a low rate on passengers and cargo. : : A PART OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISING INSPECTORS AT THEIR ANNUAL MEETING. A synopsis of the work done by the Board of Supervis- ing Inspectors January, 1897, is as follows: \ Lifeboat rules: All waters modified to suit the different conditions of navigation, the greatest monsien Gane bein in favor of western river navigation. Pilot rules amended so as to conform to the new lay relating to naphtha and other motor power boats, such boats hereafter being subject to the rules of the road, ‘the same as steam vessels. Rules relating to licensed officers amended to conform to law authorizes a “five” year license instead of “fone” year as formerly. LIFEBOATS APPROVED. Beerthom (collapsible), English. Beswiting (Deer Hair, German. Nuna (wooden bark), Buffalo, WN. Y. BOILERS AND MACHINERY. W. M. Towers, Rome, Ga., Pipe and Coil Boiler, als Pipe Boiler. Chas. Seabury, Nyack, N. Y., Water Tube Boiler. Luppold Bros., Buffalo, N. Y., Pipe Boiler. Barr, Reynolds & Co., Rochester, N. Y., Pipe Boiles Dearing Water Tube Boiler Coe Detroit, Mich. Pestiaa Duplex Water Tube Boiler. Benjamin A. Wyatt, Boston, Mass., Pipe Boiler. Wm. Oldman, Buffalo, N. Y., Water Tube Boilers. Winthrop Thayer, Boston, Mass. ., “Thayer Boiler.” G. F. Martin, St. Joseph, Mich.., Water Tube Boiler. Charles Staples, Jr., Portland, Me., Water Tube Boiler. Osceola Currier, Newark, N. J., Water Tube Boiler. Paul W. Lichtenberger, Philadelphia, Pa., Boiler. Charles Ward, Charleston, W. Va., Boilers. Glasgow Iron Co., Approved Man-hole Plate. Almy, Providence, R. I., Water Tube Boiler. James Burt Houghton, Mich., Boiler. August Miller, Jefferson Parish, La., Pipe Boiler. Thomas Fearon, Yonkers, N. Y., Pipe Boiler. Fore River Engine Co., Weymouth, Mass., Boiler. W. T. Clark, Boston, Mass., Water Tube Boiler. New York Steam Power Co., Boiler. ae H. C. Thompson, Philadelphia, Pa., Pipe Boiteh Horace See, New York, N. Y., Pipe Boiler. ele James C. Wignall, Philadelphia, Pa. “Water Tu Boiler.” Charles M. Weber, Cincinnati, O., Pipe Boiler. Robert H. Bushman, Baltimore, Md., Pipe Boiler. Henry A. House, Coil Boiler. George Bolland, Pittsburg, Pa., Water Tube Boil D. A. Parks, Brooklyn, N. Y., Pipe Boiler ba Charles Ogle & J. Hall, Jeffersonville, Ind., Pipe Bo: BOILER APPLIANCES. H. W. Cramp, Philadelphia, Pa., Auxiliary Steam ing. T. Hayward, Jersey City, N. J., Steam Piping Bey Boats. G. W. Carpenter, Shutitng Stop Valve Automatically Wm. H. Miller, Down Draft Furnace and Steam erator. : Theo. Gueminey, Pittsburg, Pa., Circulating wat boilers and feed water heaters and fitters. E. E. Roberts, New York, N. W. Roberts Boi