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ey THE MARINE RECORD. 5 _ LAKE CARRIERS’ ASSOCIATION. To consider and take action upon all general questions relating to the Navigation and carrying business of the Great Lakes and the waters tributary thereto, with the intent to improve the character of the service rendered to the public, to protect the common interests of Lake Carriers and promote their general welfare. OFFICERS FOR 1891. 8. D. Caldwell, President... Frank J. Firth, Vice President, Thomas Wilson, Vice Presiden P. P. Miller, Vive Presiden Ira H. Owen, Vice Presiden: Charles II. Keep, Secretary. James Carey Evans, Treasuror, BOARD OF MANAGERS, Buffalo, N. Y. Erie, Pa. Cleveland, O; Buffalo, N. Y- Chicago, Ills. Buffalo, N. Y. Chicago, Ills. - James Ash... ee Buffalo, N. Y. W. Bullard, Gen. Mng’r. Union Steamboat Buffalo, N. Y. 8. D. Caldwell, Gen. Mng’r. Western Transit Co. Buffalo, ”. Ys E.T. Eyans, Gen, Mng’r. Lake Superior TransitCo.. Buffalo, N. Ys John Gordon, Gen. Mng’r. Northern, S. Co. . Buffalo, N, Y. W. P. Henry, Gen. Mng’r. Lehigh Valley Trans.Co Buffalo, N. Y. P.P. Miller. Frank J. Firth, President Anchor Lin Buffalo, N. Ys Erie, Pa. Cleveland, 0. Cleveland, 0. Cleveland, 0, . Cleveland, 0. Toledo, 0. . Detroit, Mich. Bay City, Mich- Chicago, Ils. . Milwaukee, Wis. . Milwaukee, Wis+ Alex. McDougal . Duluth, Minn. F. W. Baldwin .. Ogdensburg, N. ¥. THE MARINE RECORD.—OFFicIAL Paper. Thomas Wilson, Manager W: Harvey H. Brown.. A.W. Colton..... W. Livingstone, Jr., Mng’r. Michigan Nay. James Davidson. W.M, Bgan.. R. P. Fitzgerald David Vance.. KINGSTON, ONT. Special to The Marine Record. The Canadian Marine Association met in Toronto on February 3rd, for the election of officers and other busi- ness. Inglis & Hunter, of Toronto, have commenced work on the new feathering wheels for the steamer Empress at Picton. The Canadian Minister of Marine has decided to place a steam fog whistle on Nine Mile Point, and as soon as parliament opens a grant will be asked for that purpose, The many friends of Mr. M. H. Folger, Sr. will be sorry to learn that he is confined to the house with a very severe cold. His son B. W. Folger, Jr., the popular pas- senger agent of the firm is down also with la grippe. Mr. A. Gunn, the president of the K. & M. F. Co., was defeated on Thursday in the election for member of the House of Commons, and the principal cause was the ac- tion of his company last year in. trying to divert a large - share of the grain forwarding business of this port to Ogdensburg, although Mr. Gunn is a very popular man this cry was used against him with great effect. The Canadian Marine Engineers’ Association held its annual meeting at Toronto and the following officers were elected for 1892: President, F. E. Smith; first vice- president, E. W. Fox; second vice-president, P. J. Kenney; council, R. Hughes, 8. Gillespie, D. L. Foley, J. J. Ken- ney and P. Quinn; treasurer, J. H. Ellis; secretary, S. A. Mills; inside guard, J. Adams; auditors, J. Harrington and J. D. Banks. Among the many able articles which your paper of last week contains, none has given rise to more comment from the mariners in this section than that headed “A Revelation in Lights,” and I would like to give you the views of some of the leading mariners on this question. During the summer season that portion of the St. Law- rence River between Kingston and Ogdensburg is much frequented by small steamers which run in and out among the Islands in all directions, and as the steamers from the head of the lakes bound to and from Montreal and Ogdensburg use the same channel, it is very impor- tant that the lights carried by these steamers should be uniform and well defined. For the past few years Rule 7 of the American Pilot rules has been enforced by the local steamboat inspectors according to their understand- ing of it, and as Canadian steamers carry the lights pro- vided by the Canadian navigation act (the provisions of the latter being precisely those of the International law of the rules of the road) some very amusing combina-~ tions of steamer’s lights may often be observed. Your valuable article above referred to reads that “aZ/ lake steamers are to carry a central range of two white lights.” Now sir, the mariners in this section do not un- derstand Rule 7 to mean this, and it is evident the United States Local Inspectors do not, either. Rule 3 enacts that “all ocean-going steamers and steamers carrying ‘sail shall, when under way, carry” the masthead light and sual sidelights. Now Rule 7 reads that “all coasting vessels and steam vessels other than ferry-boats » red and green lights and a central range of two lights.” Now, it seems evident that vessels carry- “otherwise expressly provided for” by Rule 38, and if not they ought to be, for it is patent to any nau- tical man, that range lights can not be used on any of our lake steamers that carry sail, and from observation it is evident: the local inspectors understand Rule 7 not to require the latter to carry the range lights; any night almost, between Clayton and Alexandria Bay the follow- iug different systems can be seen: A Canadian lake steamer carrying the usual masthead light over twenty feet from the deck and the colored sidelights; an Ameri- can lake steamer with the same lights and in addition a stern light on a pole showing all around the horizon, but these can not be called range lights as the forward light is the highest; an American excursion steamer with a bright light on the stemhead (often within 5 or 6 feet of the water), the usual sidelights, and an after range light fifteen feet above the forward one, Now these excursion steamers are generally ablaze with lights of all sizes and shapes. One of the Alexandria Bay steamers, (and by no means the slowest boat on the river) is lit with sixteen incandescent electric lights hanging underneath an open shade deck, without a screen or shade of any sort, to hide the lights from an approaching steamer, it is therefore simply impossible to use the necessary judgment needed in the navigation of the river when passing steamers of this class, as Rule 7 places the forward light fifteen feet lower than the after light, the inspectors have placed the aforesaid light on the stemhead, which in many of our river steamers is just seven feet lower than the side- lights. Again, as the sidelights are generally placed abaft the wheelhouse on the shade deck, often fifty feet from the stem, the pilot on some of our small steamers ap- proaching a large steamer, standing at his wheel within three feet of water level, sees the sidelights of the ap- proaching steamer on the same plane of vision as the bright light on the stemhead, and as the bright light is a powerful light to be seen five miles its rays often com- pletely hide the less powerful sidelights, for this reason it is not desirable to carry the forward light on the stem- head, and the American pilots themselves say that the rays of light dazzling at the end of the spearpole often obscures their vision. One of our most successful mas- ters of excursion steamers informs your correspondent that if something is not done to prevent this wholesale lighting up of excursion steamers on the river there will be an accident happen some day that will convince own- ers that the lights of the “Rules of the Road” and no others should be carried from sunset to sunrise if they want their steamers safely navigated. MAGNET. ALGONAC, MICH. Special to The Marine Record. In cruising the rivers from Port Huron to Detroit, I find the steamer Hiawatha receiving extensive repairs, in- cluding new bottom planking, etc.; also a small steamer building by Jenks & Co., for their own use at Port Huron, At St. Clair, Simon Langell is building a handsome steam yacht on contract, and he is doing considerable repair work on the vessels. Marine City is, as usual, well to the front, Capt Robert Holland is building a steamer and tow barge for N. & B. Mills; the dimensions of the former are 152 ft. over all, 140 ft. keel, 30 ft. beam and 9 ft hold. Langell has the credit of putting together an honest, staunch, well-built craft, and from my own obser- vation this steamer is one of his best—all first quality timber well supported with steel cords and arches, three bilge keelsons on each side 12 by 12, steel cords running along each side main keelson 5 by °g and the entire con- struction followed up on these lines. She will be housed in forward, pilot house and texas, two spars, but only carrying canvas on the foremast, iron boiler house, engine steeple compound 15, 30, 28, built by Trout of Buffalo, and boilers 8 by 13 feet, from Love & Schofield’s, Port Huron; she will be ready for business April 15th. The barge is being built equally strong, her general dimen- sions are 207 feet over all, 191 ft. keel, 36 ft. beam, and 13 feet 6 inch hold. She will carry three spars, have six hatchways 8 by 15 feet in the clear, center board, and fitted out with the well-known reliable “Providence’’ windlass from the American Ship Windlass Co., Provi- dence, Rhode Island. At Curtiss & brainard’s yard a fine new steamer is nearing completion. Her general dimen- sions ars 257 feet over all, 245 feet keel, 41 feet 8 inches beam, 21 feet hold, engines fore and aft compound, 27 54, 42, two boilers 91¢ by 14 feet, built by the Phoenix Iron Works, Port Huron. The steamer is to the order of her builders, and will be ready for business at the early op- ening of navigation, At Morley’s yard, about half the frames are up for a steamer 255 feet over all, 42 feet 5 inches beam and 24 feet hold. Mr. Hill, the well-known builder, is giving this steamer more than his usual care, nothing but the best of material and workmanship is al- lowed in her construction, and time is taken to see this is strictly enforced. There is also a large dredge and two new dump scows under construction as well as a lot of repair work on craft in winter moorings. At Algonac shipbuilder Smith is constructing for Comstock & Co., vessel-owners of Alpena, a fine staunch tow barge for the lumber trade. Her general dimensions are 159 feet over all, 147 feet keel, 30 feet beam, and 12 feet hold, ca- pacity 600 M.feet, she will haye two spars, top gallang forecastle, and be thoroughly fitted out for her special trade. She willbe ready for the early opening of navi- gation. and will be one of the best barges afloat on fresh water. PARKER. SAGINAW, MICH, Special to The Marine Record. The National Boiler Works, and Bay City Iron Works are putting new machinery entire, in the tug O. S. Rum- mage. Captain M. Mahar, will again command the steamer Sanalac, between this port and Cleveland in the package freight trade. Captain James Elderidge, who is spending the winter at Duluth will have charge of the tug H. B. Abbott at Tawas the coming season. Carkin, Stickney & Oram, the dredging contractors have taken leave of us and their shipyard will hereafter be located at or near the “Soo,” The schooner Constitution, owned by A, A. Pinet, of this city is receiving a general rebuild, new deck and deck frames, covering board ete. at a cost of about $4,- 000, There is a fair demand for lumber here and several large blocks have changed hands recently. The pros- pects for the opening of navigation seem to be as fayor- able as 1891 or a little better. Captain Dan Ryan, of the schooner Ida Corning is putting new rails and stanchions on his vessel this winter which was necessitated by his collision with the steam- er Britannic last summer at Ashtabula. The old steambarge Wm. Cowie, which was burned in the fall of 1890 and has been lying at Cheboyganning Creek until last fall, finally found herself owned by a Mr. Steel, who not finding her such a “plumb” is now taking out the motive power. A. F. Bartlett & Co., are building for Carkin & Co., one of the largest dredging machines in the world, hydraulic all around and dipper capacity of six yards. The hull is now here and the machinery will be placed in position ready for the opening of navigation. Parties are figuring on a new Line of passenger boats between Bay City and Saginaw for next season, We now have three lines of railroad running hourly trains on both sides of the river, and my opinion is that the people will soon go the way of Brother Armstrong and his “Line of Boys,”—Worlds Fair. Captain James Reid, the wrecker is happy once more he having finally succeeded in getting his big tug Sea Gull into the river on Monday, after lying outside in the ice for nearly a month. It will be remembered that Cap- tain Reid attempted to go to the release of the schooner Minnehaha, but, when about three miles out was com- pelled to turn back on account of the heavy ice on Sagi- naw Bay, in doing so, he broke one of éhe blades of the 12 foot wheel and the next morning was frozen in solid. Captain Reid not to be done up in this way proceeded to have anew blade cast, taken out on theiceand replaced the broken bucket by divers, sawed and plowed and got her to the Bay City dry dock as above stated. The trip of the Sea Gull is without precedent in these parts. She forced her passage through ice from 12 to 16 inches in thickness and had very little difficulty in making her way after getting under motion, as her immense weight running up onto the ive would break it up into all manner of shapes and sizes. Truly the big tug has the honor of makirg the only trip of the kind on record. Izo, re A WATERWAY TO THE COAST. A Bill has been introduced appropriating $110,000,000 for a canal from the lakes to the seaboard; a survey is, however, all that is asked for as yet. The routes haye so far been proposed. All of them go by the way of Albany and the Hudson river to New York. One contemplates the deepening of the Erie canal to tweaty feet, another includes a ship canal from Lock- port, N. Y., around Niagara Falls to Lake Ontario, thence through Ontario to Oswego, thence by canal down the bed of the Oswego river to Lake Oneida, thence along the bed of the Mohawk River to Albany. The third also includes a ship canal around Niagara Falls, but leaves Ontario at Ogdensburg, reaching Albany by the way of the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain, This route is not only much longer, but is inad- visable because 100 miles of it lies through Canadian territory. The Oswego route is considered not only the most practicable, but the most expensive, it being estimated that it would cost from $100,000,000 to $110,000,000, while the Erie canal route would cost in the neighborhood of $200,000,000. : LL ec + i M —s The lowest bid for the construction of a steam propeller to be named the Hudson, for the revenue marine service, was that of John H. Dialogue, of Camden N.J., at $36,500 for the vessel, according to the specifications, and $159 for each ad~ ditional foot in length. sb ee An effort will again be made in Congress to direct the | tary of the treasury to repay all masters, engineers, pilots mates the amounts paid by them for certificates of licen: when dues were collected for such papers. A-bill to th has been introduced in the house by Mr. Caruth,