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MARINE REVIEW. | , 13 -------- PROGRESS IN THE NAVY. Notes from the Ship Yards.--New Vessels. , i ¢ a : Work is progressing rapidly on a four-masted scho ACTIVITY IN THE SEVERAL BUREAUS--AWARD OF CONTRAOTS FOR THE CON- OGG. Deering, Ba Mae yy sted schooner at the yard STRUOTION OF THE NEW BATTLESHIPS, TORPEDO BOATS AND DESTROYERS. There is evidence of a determination to maintain the policy of activity inaugurated in the navy department during the recent war. The board of construction has recommended to Secretary Long that contracts for the construction of one battleship each 'be given to the Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., the William Cramp & Sons 'Ship & Engine Building 'Co. and the Union Iron Works. There is no doubt that this recommendation will carry, although the exact plan to be followed in the construction of the vessels has not yet been determined. The board of construction is also ready to report to Acting Secretary of the Navy Allen a plan for the distribution of the contracts for the torpedo boats and destroyers. The plan for this apportionment is not necessarily final, 'but it is safe to say that in effect it will be as follows: To the Union Iron Works of San Francisco, three destroyers; the Mary- land Steel Co. of Sparrow Point, four or five destroyers; Neafie & Levy of Philadelphia, two or three destroyers; [Harlan & Hollingsworth Co. of Wilmington, two destroyers; Fore River Engine 'Co. of Massachusetts, two or three destroyers; W. R. 'Trigg & Co. of Richmond, one or two destroyers and three or four torpedo boats; Bath Iron Works of Maine, three or four torpedo boats; George Lawley of Boston, one or two torpedo boats. 'Another of the torpedo boats will go either to Lewis Nixon of Elizabethport, N. J., or to the Herreshoffs of Bristol, R. I., while, if the department shall decide still farther to distribute the work and reduce the number of boats awarded to some bidders, the Columbian Iron Works of Baltimore and the Gas Engine & Power Co. of Morris Heights, N. Y., may be awarded one boat each. Plans for the final disposition of the auxiliary fleet are also being per- fected as rapidly as possible. The sentiment in favor of tthe retention of some of the better yachts purchased by the government, notably the Gloucester, seems to 'be growing. It has 'been definitely decided that a sufficient number of colliers and an adequate fleet of transport ships will be retained in the service. 'The transports will be nominally under the control of the war rather than the navy department. The government owns only one transport on the Pacific, but all of the fifteen on the Atlantic will be permanently retained. Included in the number are the Panama, Port Victor, Rita, Mohawk, Mobile, Massachusetts, Manitoba, Minne- waska, Mississippi, Michigan, Roumania, Obdam, Berlin, Chester and the tug Britannia. The chief topic of discussion tin naval circles this week has 'been the unconfirmed report from Washington that the battleships Oregon and Iowa will be returned to the Pacific and stationed at Honolulu. The argu- ment regarding the voyage which these vessels would be obliged to make has rather revived interest in the famous trip which the cruiser Columbia made across the Atlantic in 1895, and on which she averaged mail steamer speed. It thas developed, too, that an interesting feature in connection with that trip was the practical equality iin speed of the three propellers. The exact figures as given are as follows: Starboard engine, 1,048,240 revolutions; port engine, 1,043,409 revolutions; center engine, 1,043,093 revolutions. [The mean being 1,044,914, the widest variation from the mean is only 3,326 revolutions for the passage of 167.8, or about one in three minutes. Several important changes will be made in the navy ere long, as Ad- mirals Matthews, Miller and Bunce will attain retiring age before the end of the year. The principal heroes of the Spanish war retire in the follow- ing order: Admiral George Dewey, commanding the Asiatic station, December, 1899; Admiral W. S. Schley, on the Porto Rican evacuation commission, October, 1901, and Admiral W. T. Sampson, on.the Cuban commission, February, 1902. Side Ballast Tanks in a Cargo Steamer. 'A new type of steel screw steamer, for which several marked advan- tages are claimed, has recently been launched at the yards of William Gray & Co., West Hartlepool, England. This vessel, named Mancunia, hasa distinctive feature 'in the form of side ballast tanks, which it is claimed will in a great measure obviate the old difficulty of securing sufficient capacity for water ballast without either unduly 'curtailing the cargo space or 'hampering the stowage of cargo. In the Mancunia the side tanks pro- vide a ready means of efficient ballasting, completely under control. paliiiey, can be filled or emptied without hindering the loading or discharging of cargo, and so avoid the loss of time whlich frequently occurs with bottom tank. (The vessel will take Lloyd's highest class. Her length over all is 362 feet, breadth 51 feet, depth 27 feet, and carrying capacity 6,200 tons. She will have four masts, cutwater 'bow and short bowsprit, and large poop, bridge and forecastle decks. 4 'A cellular double bottom extends throughout the ship, and with the after peak tank, will contain 1,000 tons of water ballast, while the side tanks will hold 700 tons more, a total of 1,700 tons. This should 'immerse the vessel sufficiently to enable the propeller and rudder to do their work Properly and 'have the effect of reducing the risk of the machinery being strained by the propeller "racing" in heavy weather. The bottom of the Orepart of the ship also will tbe less liable to 'be shaken loose, because of the extra immersion in the Atlantic trade. The side tanks extend through the main and after holds and engine room for a length of 191 feet, and to this extent the ship has double sides, which add greatly to her strength, and, as will at once be seen, to her safety also, as in many linstances dam- age of an extent sufficient to sink ships in a short time would not extend through the inner side. These advantages, it is stated, are secured with- Out extra material being required in the construction of the side tanks, as ower decks and other parts used in strengthening ordinary ships, and Which greatly impede stowage, are dispensed with and the material ap- Plied in building the side tanks. Hence the new type loses nothing, it 1s Claimed, as a cargo carrier.. The machinery consists of a set of triple- €xpansion engines of over 1,400 horse power, with three main boilers to work at a pressure of 170 pounds per square inch. Proposals will be received at the United States engineer office, cus- tom house, St. Louis, Mo., until Oct. 1, for the construction of a steel hulled towboat. 'The new steamboat building at Columbus, Miss., for the White Star Steamboat Co., was launched last week. The boat will go on the river trade between Columbus anid Mobile. A despatch from Monterey, Mexico, states that a company has been formed there to establish a steamship line between Mazatlan and other ports along the coast. 'It is expected that new steamers will be built. William Rogers, of Bath, Me., has launched the four-masted barge West Virginia, a duplicate of the Kentucky, recently launched. The West Virginia, which was built for the Atlantic Transportation Co., is 246 feet in length, 44 feet beam and 19 feet depth of hold. 'S. I. Kimball, general superintendent of the United States life saving service, will receive proposals at 'his office, Washington, D. C., until Sept. 16, for the construction of twelve Beebe-MicLella self-bailing, water ballast tee boats to be delivered at the Monmouth beach life saving station, New ersey. The Iowa Iron Works of Dubuque, Iowa, this week launched the steel barge building for the Texas & Pacific Railroad Co. The vessel is 300 feet in length by 50 feet beam and will have a capacity of sixteen loaded or thirty-two empty cars. 'When completed it will be towed down the river to New Orleans. The recently organized New York and Porto Rico Steamship Co. of Philadelphia, will, within a short time, award contracts for the construc- tion of two steamships for the trade between the metropolis and Porto Rican points. The boats are intended for both freight and passenger trade. John Haug, the well known naval architect of Philadelphia, has been appointed consulting engineer for the line. The tug building for Michael Moran of New York by the Neafie & Levy company of Philadelphia, to replace the tug P. H. Wise, purchased by the government, was launched this week. |She is 92 feet in length, 19 feet beam, 10 feet deep; engines of compound type with cylinders 15 and 26 inches by 22-inch stroke; boilers of the Scotch pattern, 10 feet 3 inches in diameter by 11 feet 11 inches length, and capable of a steam pressure of 125 pounds. The tug Robert M. Spedden was launched last week at the yard of the Spedden Ship 'Building Co. at Baltimore, Mid. The vessel is 100 feet in length by 20 feet beam and 11 feet depth of hold. She will be equipped with a compound engine having cylinders of 15 and 30 inches diameter. TVihe boiler will be 10% feet in diameter by 10 feet 9 inches in length, built to withstand 150 pounds of steam pressure. 'The tug will have a speed of 15 miles an 'hour. The American Indies Co., the big $18,000,000 corporation organized to develop the new possessions of the United States, thas, according to its charter, the right "to build, purchase or otherwise acquire, steamships or vessels of any other class, and to establish and maintain lines of steam- ships and other vessels, and to enter into contracts for the carriage of pas- sengers, mails and goods to and from the West Indian islands." The incorporators include some of the 'best known capitalists in New York and Philadelphia. The consul for the new company is Elihu Root and the attorneys are Sheehan & Collin of New York City. 'At a recent meeting 'of tthe stockholders of the Puget Sound Tugboat 'Co. at San Francisco 'it was decided to contract for the construction of a modern steel tug to cost in the neighborhood of $100,000. The contract has not as yet been let. The new vessel will be 150 feet in length, 27 feet beam, 1614 feet deep of hold. ('The engines will be triple expansion with cylinders 18, 28 and 49 inches 'by 36-inch stroke. There will be two -- Scotch boilers, 12%4 feet in diameter by 12 feet in length, with three fur- naces each.. Wrecking and fire pumps will 'be provided, as well as an electric light plant, and the vessel will 'be equipped with steam windlass, capstan and \steering gear. ' The New Dry Dock at Newport News. Work was begun a few days ago, at the plant of the Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., on a dry dock that will cost over $1,000,000 and will be when completed the largest in this country, if not in the world. The Review has heretofore referred to the plans for this dock but they 'have lately been subjected to a number of alterations. The plans as ultimately determined upon 'have been outlined for the Review by Mr. W. A. Post, assistant to the president of the Newport News Company. Dimensions of the dock are: length inside the caison 806 feet; breadth on bottom 80 feet; breadth at top 162 feet. The entrance will be constructed so as to admit any vessel that can be accommodated inside the dock. The depth over the sill will be 30 feet at mean 'high water; mean range of the tide 2 feet 6 inches. The entrance abutments will be constructed of con- crete lined with granite. The bottom of the dock will be of concrete over piling. The interior will be constructed of timber. The caison will be constructed of steel and it will be operated with trimming tanks, so ar- ranged that it will never be necessary to pump out the water ballast, as is done with all docks previously constructed in this country. The pumping plant has been designed to empty the dock in two hours, which is at the rate of about 200,000 gallons per minute. Two first-class battle$hips can be repaired in this dock at one time, or the largest ocean liner contemplated at this time will have plenty of room to spare in it. [The construction of the dock will be pushed ahead as rapidly as consistent with good work and a thorough consideration for details. The revenue cutter Calumet, which was sent from the lakes, last spring, to do patrol duty in Massachusetts bay, and thence south to carry dispatches to the blockading fleet, will in future serve as a revenue cutter at the port of New York.