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- Ghe Marine Record. A Journal devoted to Commerce Navigation and Science, . Published Weekly by FRANK HOUGHTON Editor & Proprietor aT CLEVELAND, OHIO Office Nos: 171 Superior and 136 Bank Streets, Room 7. TERMS: $2.00 per Annum. INVAHIBLY IN ADVANCE, AGENTS ARE WANTED IN EVERY PORT ADVERTISING RATES. ‘Ten cents per line solid Nonpariel measurement, ‘Twelve lines of Nonpariel set solid make one inch, Twenty cents per line for reading notices, solid miinion measurement. Articles, letters and queries on all subjects fare soli- cited. 8@-The Editor assumes no responsibility for the opinions of correspondents. To insure notice, contributors must give name and address, and write on one side of the paper only. THE MARINE RECORD;has an Agent in every port on the Lakes and Rivers, and will consequently circu- late more or less in all of them. Asa medium for advertising it has no superior, as it circulates among a class of people that can be reached in no other way.. STEAMBOATING IN CANADIAN WaA- TERS. ‘The many terrible accidents among the Canadian vessels last year has opened the eyes of the Canadian Minister of Marine, and he promises the introduction of a bill in Parliament for the better inspection of hulls, boilers, etc. This bill will.also contain a clause touching passenger traffic, and other matters affecting the lakes. ‘he Minister of Marine promises this. ‘The Dominion Parliament last year passed laws for the bet- ter regulation of steamboats in Canadian waters. ‘That was before several of the great disasters took place, and from appear- ances the laws seemed to have little effect as just as many cratt went to the bottom as be- fore the law was thought of. Although we have but little faith in the eificacy of such laws, to accomplish the pur- pose designed, yet it may be well enough for the Government to look after.the safety of passengers, as far as it is within its power. The Canadian law provides that no vessel propelled by steam, shall navigate the wa- ters ot the Province, unless inspected yearly, by an officer appointed for that purpose. Such vessels to be strictly examined as to their safety and seaworthiness. Steamboats carrying passengers, to be provided with sufficient boats, anchors and ' cables, steamboats over a certain tonnage, to be steered forward and the wheel connected with the rudder by iron rods or chains, and have .sufficient engines and fire buckets, steamboats to carry lights at night and have proper hang-boards which shall have lights when used at night, engines not to be in, motion while passengers are embarking, or disembarking, pessengers not to be putin boats until the same are fully afloat, racing aud challenging to race forbidden under a penalty. his act not to apply to foreign vessels, punishment for those by whose mis- conduct fatal accidents shall occur on board steam vessels, such action to be .prima facia evidence of nisconduct, a copy of this act to be kept on board each steam vessel for the perusal of passengers. LOST ANCHORS. ‘The value of the anchors and chains now lying at the bottom of the lakes and tribu- taries, cannot be even roughly estimated, though it wouldin any event amount up into the millions of dollars, for, as is well- known by our vessel men, an anchor once lost, is rarely recovered. ‘They are one of the most important appendages on board ship, especially so when a lee-bank is close aboard. Why then, may it not be asked, are so many of them lost, for a vessel pro- -perly managed should never go on the beach with her anchors on her bows? In response to this question it may be stated that in a large number of cases no buoys are attached to them, and as a natural result, their local- ity cannot with any certainty be ascertained. ‘There may be cases where the loss of an an- chor might occur, and a recovery be impos- sible, but such cases are extremely rare. With the loss of an anchor a full scope or part of a rcope of chain, of necessity, 1s also lost, which more than equals that of the an- chor. During the early period of our Jake navi- gation a ship’s buoy was considered a very important part of her outfit, but of late years the custom has become in a measure, obso- lete. COMPOSITE SHIPS. Cuicago, IIl., Feb, 28, 1883, Editor Marine Record: : In my last letter the strength of the new style of composite ship was compared to that of wood and iron ships, and was found equal to the former in all points of local strength, and superior in many; also vastly superior to the latter in many points of local strength, giving power to resist indentation and rup- ture from collision with other vessels, piers, wharves, and docks, and all kinds of station- ary and floating obstructions, and free from disintegration by the tremendous strains of uneven expansion and contraction. We found no data for comparison of its structural strength with that of a new iron ship unim- paired by such strains; but concluded that it would better stand the test of long service, and that itis far superior to the wooden ship in ability asa structure, to endure all the burdens, strains and casualties Yacident to its employment, and therefore better adapted than either to the purposes of its creation. Its lasting qualities were also compared to those of timber and iron ships, in respect to disintegration from natural decay, from cor- rosion, from the strains common and pecul- far to each, and greater or. less liability to destruction from casualty, and, taking all these into account, concluded that it would last longer than the average of those built of iron, and at least twice as long as those built of wood. . One danger to sea-going ships planked with timber, we have not considered. ‘The teredo or shipworm abounds in all shallow sea-coast waters in tropical and temperate climates. ‘This worm penetrates and honey- combs in a short time the submerged planks and other outside timbers of ships, unless protected by some sort of poisonous or gum- my paint, or metal sheathing. Any kind of paint is a very short-lived protection, and any kind of sheathing but copper will foul. Copper sheathing is expensive, and, to be obliged to useit, would seem to those un- acquainted with ocean traffic, to place ves sels requiring it at disadvantge in competi- tion with iron ships, whose plated bottoms are impervious ‘to the depredations of these salt water pests. But the latter has a more embarrassing and expensive enemy to con- tend with, in the shape barnacles and other shell fish, which fasten and adhere with wonderful tenacity to iron and steel plates, as well as to all ‘“‘single bottomed” and zine sheathed wooden vessels, where they grow with great rapidity, and roughen the sub- merged portions so as greatly to lessen the ship’e speed. I have had command of two single bottomed schooners at sea, that fouled so badly that their speed was reduded tully forty per cent.; and it was difficult to make them steer or work. ‘Three years ago I saw in New Orleans thirty tons of shell fish scraped from the bottom of a small Mexican iron gun boat. The first time the Great Eastern was docked, at some Bristol Chan- nel port, the papers reported that over 300 tons of barnacles and other ‘shell fish were taken from her bottom. Uron steamers trad- ing between New Orleans and New York have to dock and have their bottoms cleaned twice a year, notwithstanding the fact that they are more than a week each trip in the Mississippi river, in fresh water, which is unfavorable tg the growth of these crustacea, A gentleman who had made several voyages as an Officer in an iron steamship, between Liverpool and Cape ‘Town, South Africa, informed me that as soon as they began to touch at tropical ports, on the outward pas- sage, barnacles would attach to the bottom and grow 80 fast as to sensibly diminish the ship’s speed before reaching Cape ‘Town; and thatthe homeward passage consumed a half longer time than the outward. The ship had to be docked and her bottom scraped every voyage, at Liverpool. Copper sheathing will not foul, and its greasy na- ture promotes speed more than any other covering. It 18 not as expensive as it used to be, and is constantly growing less so. It will last four to six years according to weight. ‘The cost of docking, calking and coppering, say once in five years, will be less than the frequent docking and cleaning ot iron ships, and the gain in time by the su- periority in speed will be very considerable. Iron and steel, or iron fastened wooden bot- toms do not admit of being coppered for use at sea, for chemical reasons. But ‘no obsta- cle of this nature, or any other, stands in the way of copper sheathing the bottoms of this composite etyle of vessels, when the planks are fastened to the timber portions of the frame the same as in sea-going wooden ships. . After having established superior ability to cope with the vicissitudes inseparable from its employment, and its greater aver- age durability, the question of the compara- tive ability of this style of ship to earn money and make dividends on the invest- ment, becomes of paramount importance. And this ability must depend upon its com- parative . BURDEN in equal displacement, requiring equal force to man and propel; and this in turn must depend upon its comparative weight in structure. Careful computations of - the weights of wooden lake vessels, whole lake laden capacities in tons were known, and weights of this styleof vessels of same out- side dimensions, show an average difference in actual tonnage capacity of fully 15 per cent. in favor of the lattey3 that is to say, a composite vessel of same displacement or outside dimensions of a wooden vessel that would carry 1,000 tons, would carry 1,150 tons loaded to same depth. ‘The composite vessel has this advantage from the start, that is, it will take 150 tons to put. her down to the wooden vessel’s light water marks. For asea voyage it would not be safe to load the wooden vesse! with over 800 tons, while the composite vessel would carry at same Jepth 950 tons. This gives a difference of 1834 per cent. in favor of the latter. Frank E. Kirby, Esq., the eminent consulting and constructing engineer and director of the Detroit Drydock Company, wrote: *‘I have carefully examined your improved system of composite ship construction,” etc, “You would also secure greater capacity for cargo by at least 15 per cent. and possibly more.’’ Mr, Pankhurst\the experienced and ac- complished engineer and naval constructor of the Globe Lrou Works and Drydock Com- pany, of Cleveland, has, within a short time, verbally expressed his concurrence in the same estimate. A number of other ship- builders have expressed substantially the same opinions— although so far as I know, none beside Mr. Kirby’s and my own are based upon actual computation. Itis doubt- less safe to assume that Mr. Kirby’s estimate made in comparison with lake ladeu vessels, is as nearly correct as possible in an estimate. It is claimed by bnilders of iron ships that their comparatiye burden is, on an average, about twenty per cent. greater than that of wooden ships of equal displacement, which would give them five per cent greater bur- den than that of this composite style of ships. The constant proportionate increase in losses of iron ships at sea, shows that they are too lightly built—probably also that their disintegration from the causes suggest- ed, is more rapid than has been supposed. If there is any remedy for this alarming in- crease in losses, it lies in building them stronger, and therefore heavier and less bur- densome, and at increased cost. Very few losses, except by collisions, occur among the splendid steamships that ply in the packet lines between British and American ports. No expense is spared to make them as strong and seaworthy as possible. But their cost and weight greatly ‘exceeds those of the av- erage English iron freighting ships. These lines haye profitable subsidized monopolies, and world wide reputations, which they cannot afford to jeopardize through the em- ployment and frequent losses of shammily built ships. Mostof these ships are compar- atively new and have not undergone the test of long service. I will venture the opinion that these lines would have no advantage in carrying capacity over ships built upon this composite system ; but rather their Increased weight would more than obliterate our com- puted average difference of five per cent. in favor of iron ships in general. In view of all the foregoing facts the assumption is warranted that this new sys- tem of construction will produce ships equal or superior to any other in the quaitties of strength and seaworthiness, durbility and’ burden. The only remaining, question as to their superior value as freighters, com- pared: with any other style of ships, is that of their comparative COST OF CONSTRUCTION, and of repairs for maintenance. My own opinion has been frequently reiterated in the course of this series ot communications, that the cost of construction would not exceed that of well built wooden veesels. Butests- mates of those whose practical experience * better qualifies them to tnake correct ones, will carry more weight than any of my own. I trust the gentlemen whose names I am making snch tree use of will pardon the lib- erty, in consideration of the fact that I am the sole public champion of a new system, the introduction of which I believe will be of much greater benefit to the American people at large than to me personally. Mr. F. E. Kirby, from whose opinion I have al- ready quoted, says: “I think that with ex- perience in the construction of a ship on your plan, the cost would not exceed that of a first class wooden ship, and possibly might be less.” It is plain that, owing to the nov- elty of some of the methods involved, the first ship would cost more than others fol- lowing by the same builder. Mr. Pankhurst te whom I have also referred before, told , me last summer that he would guarantee to build the first vessel on this eyetem, at the cost of a first-class wooden vessel of same actual hurden—thus expressing the double opinion as to comparative cost of the firat vessel and its comparative burden. Wm. W. Bates, now of Portland, Oregon, writes: “Any competent shipbuilder will find no difficulty in building vessels of ample strength, increased durability, greater bur- den and diminished cost by your plans.’’ The venerable shipbuilder F. N. Jones, of Buffalo, wrote, “I believe a vessel built af- ter your plan would be better even than one built entirely of iron, with but little addi- tion in cost to a wooden vessel buiit in the ordinary way.’’ The late Captain Charles P. Morey said, “It would cost but little if any more than a first-class wovden ship.’ The well-known classification inspector W. H. Rounds. says “it can be built I think for less money than a wooden vessel.” Captain C. J. Magill of this city writes: “I now think a cheaper vessel can be built on your plans than in any other way now in use.’? Many other builders, experts and experi- enced ship owners have expressed similar opinions. Mr. Kirby has had experience in the construction of wood, composite and iron. vessels, and Messrs. Pankhurst and Bates in those of wood and iron and the es- timates of these gentlemen, backed by the concurrence of the otbers, ought to settle the cost of construction, so far as that can be done by estimates. Before dismissing this branch of the subject I will state that the quantity of iron necessary in this construc- tion amounts to but little more than double the quantity necessary for the construction of wooden ships ot same dimensions, and the valuable timber to less than halt. The labor on the frame would not vary much in each ; on the outside planking the difference would be 25 to 50 per cent. in favor of wooden ships, and the interior work 60 to 76 per cent. in favor of the composite. The calk- ing and planing would be the same on the outside of each, and there would be no calk- ing of ceiling in the composite ship. The cost of machinery and outfit would be the same in each, 2 It is unnecessary to multiply words in compuring the cost of this style of ship with that of the iron ship. It is a well understood fact that the cost of an iron hull, exclusive ot machinery and outfit, it, in this country, nearly doubles that ot a wooden hull; and therefore if our estimates are correct, nearly doubles the cost of this composite style of hull. Add the cost of machinery and outfit to both and an iron steamship would cost about 50 per cent. more than a composite steamship; and about 75 per cent. more if both were fitted tor sailing only. The com- parative COST OF REPAIRS i to maintain cannot be very correctly esti- mated. But in view of the facts that the composite hull has no timber frames in the ends to rot out and be replaced, or elsewhere that are likely to need replacing ; no wooden deckbeams or knees to rot; no new decks to be puton so long as the old ones will barely ,