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8 | MARINE HARBOR TUG NATIONAL. A STAUNCH ORAFT BUILDING FOR THE STANDARD OIL COMPANY BY THE HILLMAN SHIP AND ENGINE BUILDING CO. OF PHILADELPHIA. The Review is enabled to present this week the plans of the harbor tug National, now building for the shipping and lighterage department of the Standard Oil Co., at the Philadelphia yards of the Hillman Ship and Engine Building Co., and which is expected to prove one of the strongest vessels of her class in commission. ' The tug, which is being constructed of mild steel of a tensile strength of 60,000 or 70,000 pounds, is of the following dimensions: Length over all, 102 feet; length between perpendiculars, 96 feet; breadth, molded, 22 feet; Sit Pha a = bh | SSeS ---- ----L--eaeEeeEY|wE------ : q 5, i Weel a il SECTIONAL VIEW OF HARBOR TUG NATIONAL. depth, molded, 10 feet 6 inches; spring of beam amidship, 5% inches; draught with 100 tons of coal, 7 feet forward and 9 feet aft. The deckhouse will be entirely of steel. Forward will be the mess room ceiled with matched white pine. Abaft of the mess room will be the galley, the floor of which is to be formed of pressed bricks laid in Portland cement. Lamp room and water closet will adjoin the galley in the rear. The engineer's room will be abaft the engine room and will be fitted with hard wood berths. The engine room itself will be finished in reeded sycamore and matched oak with a neat painted cornice. The captain's room, which will REVIEW. he with a double-ported slide valve. The condenser will have about 899 square feet of cooling surface. There will, of course, bea complete equip. ment of air, feed, bilge and circulating pumps. Tihe crank shait will be of built-up steel, not less than 7* inches in diameter, and will be in three interchangeable sections. The propeller, which will be four-bladed, will be 714 feet in diameter. Steam will be furnished from a Scotch boiler 1] feet 6 inches in diameter and of the same length, proportioned throughout to 5 working pressure of 170 pounds. There will be two corrugated furnaces of 44 inches inside diameter and oi the interchangeable type. The vessel will be equipped with a Williamson steam steerer, a full equipment of towing bitts, steam capstan and windlass, anda Korting in spirator and Schutte bilge ejector will be utilized. The vessel will be de- livered to her owners in New York after a trial trip of six hours steady steaming at full power. Mr R. C. Veit, manager of the shipping anq lighterage department of the Standard Oi Co., who personally superin- tended the preparation of the plans for this vessel is confident that the National will prove quite as satisiactory as any vessel in the Standard Oil company's fleet. Active Operations in Coast Ship Yards, Reports just received from eight leading ship builders of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts show that there are at present under construction jn their yards thirty-six American steamships, six vessels for foreign account and twelve vessels for the United States government. (The William Cramp & Sons' Ship & Engine Building Co. has building for American owners seven vessels of 30,168 tons displacement; the 'Crescent Ship Yard at Elizabeth, N. J., five steamships, aggregating 2,500 tons; Union Iron Works, San Francisco, 12,040 tons; 'Harlan & Hollingsworth Co., Wit mington, Del., 9,208 tons; Bath Iron Works, Bath, Me., 6,880 tons; Dela- ware Iron Ship Building & Engine Works, Chester, Pa.; six American steel vessels of 10,000 tons; Columbian Iron Works & Dry Dock Co., Bal- timore, 11,000 tons; and Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock Co, 4,500 tons. Of the latter, however, less than half is mercantile marine tonnage, the remainder being embraced in three United States warships now under construction by the Virginia concern. Eliminating the war- ships, it is found, that with the completion of vessels now under construc- tion at these eight yards, fully 100,000 tons will ibe added to the credit of the American merchant marine, and there are, of course, numerous other yards from which figures have not been received. There are several of the smaller class of war vessels under construction at yards that are not in- cluded in this summary, and it may be well to note also that no account is taken of the large number of naval vessels of various types for which the government is about to let contracts. Revenue Cutters of First Class not Suited to Cuban Service, Capt. A. B. Davis of the revenue cutter Fessenden, during a call at the office of the Marine Review, a few days ago, expressed 'himself as rather skeptical regarding the report that the revenue cutters Gresham, Aijgonquin and Onondaga would be assigned to service in Cuban and Porto Rican waters. "I am pretty familiar with navigation in that section of the world,' Capt. Davis said, "and I am conviniced that these revenue cutters, or for that matter any of the heavy ones in service on the Atlantic ceast, will prove in no sense suitable. The smugglers there utilize the shallow bays and inlets almost exclusively, and these deep draught vessels would be practically powerless so far as efficient service is concerned!" In this connection it is interesting to note the recommendation of Capt. Shoemaker, chief of the revenue cutter service, to the secretary of the treasury, that the first seven first-assistant engineers be promoted to the grade of chief engineer. The three highest officers have already passed the necessary examination, and advancement in their cases will take place at once, while the remainder will be advanced as soon as they shall have HARBOR TUG NATIONAL, BUILDING FOR STANDARD OIL CO. BY THE HILLMAN SHIP AND ENGINE BUILDING CO. have two berths will be finished for the main part in sycamore, but the floor of both the pilot 'house and captain's room will be finished in narrow strips of walnut and ash. The crew space will be forward below deck and eight berths will be provided. Radiators for steam heating will be placed in the captain's room, mess room, crew space and chief engineer's room, and the tug will also be fitted with a complete electric light plant. _ The engines for purposes of propulsion will 'be triple expansion, of open front design with cylinders 14, 22 and 36 inches in diameter by 24 inch stroke. The ports and passages are to be proportioned for a speed of 150 revolutions and the machinery is to develop from 500 to 600 'horse power in regular running with soft coal. The high pressure and intermed- late cylinders will be fitted with piston valves and the low pressure cylinder appeared before the examining board. All promotions are to fill existing vacancies. All the revenue cutters transferred to the navy department for use during the war will be overhauled before being returned to the treasury department. Richard B. Painton of Williamsport, Pa., who created considerable comment last week by his bids guaranteeing a speed of 40 knots for tor- pedo boat destroyers, is the inventor of the Painton propeller. The plan of 'his invention--a rather visionary affair--contemplates a series of pro- pellers arranged along the sides of a vessel, to be driven at a high speed by electric motors.