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1901.] MARINE REVIEW. "5 A SECOND PERE MARQUETTE CAR FERRY. At the Globe works of the American Ship Building Co. in Cleveland on Saturday last the car ferry steamer Pere Marquette No. 17 was launched, and is so well advanced that it is expected she will be ready for service on Lake Michigan in connection with the Pere Marquette railway about the middle of July. The new vessel is practically a dupli- cate of the steamer Pere Marquette No. 15, shown in the accompanying illustration, which has been in service on Lake Michigan during three or four years past and which has already been very fully described in these columns. Some extra power in the vessel just launched is the main difference in the two ferries. The new vessel is also to have more cabin room on deck for passenger accommodations. Space is provided for thirty railway cars. Dimensions are: Length between perpendiculars, 331 ft.; length over all, 350 ft.; beam, 56 ft.; depth below main deck, 19% ft.; depth from upper deck to floor, 36 ft. 13 in. Side channels are 12 by 3 in. and calculated to withstand a pressure of 25 lbs. to the square foot. The chantels have 24 in. spacing amidship and 14 in. forward. Channel beams, which are thoroughly braced vertically and horizontally, span the hull at close intervals midway between the floor and main deck, to resist the crushing pressure of ice shoves during the severe winters. The hull has six water-tight bulkheads, dividing it into seven water-tight com- partments for safety in case of collision. If any two of the compart- ments should fill with water the steamer would still be able to carry its load. The forward plating is 34 in. thicx and double for a distance of 60 ft. back of the stem. The plating is also doubled on the between-deck beam strake. The keelsons are close and extra heavy, and in the for- ward compartments they are almost solid. About 2,700 tons of plates and angles are used in the construction of such a hull. Insurance agents DREDGES BUILDING IN CANADA. Toronto, Ont., May 21--The Polson Iron Works of this place is building for the Canadian government a dredge of 126 ft. length that is to cost about $100,000 and will begin work shortly, it is understood, on a still larger dredge (160 ft. length) for work on the St. Lawrence ship canals. Both dredges are of the self-propelling kind, designed by Mr. A. W. Robinson, who has been commissioned by the government to look after important public works, and who has had a great deal of experience in the building of dredges and in other branches of hydraulic engineering. The dredge under construction is to be used in the improvement of the Fraser river and the Pacific coast ports of British Columbia. The rapid advancement of the province has made it necessary to deepen its harbors and channels, so that ships of large capacity can navigate with safety; and after long and careful study of the question, it was decided to build a powerful dredge of special type, which, although primarily intended for the Fraser river, can steam itself to any other point in the vicinity and do a great variety of work. The dredge has a capacity of 1,000 tons per hour, dredged and delivered at a distance of 4,000 ft. This is accomplished by an immense centrifugal pump about 11 in. in diameter, having a steel suction pipe, which can be lowered to a depth of 40 ft. At the end of the suction pipe is a powerful rotary excavator of steel, which can cut or dis- entegrate any material short of rock or large boulders. This material is then sucked up by the pump with sufficient water to carry it along at the rate of 15 ft. per second, and discharged through a pipe. The dredge is arranged so that it can discharge in any desired way, either into scows, or over an embankment, or to a long distance through a flexibly connected floating pipe. The boilers and engines are of 1,000 H.P. The engines are of the CAR FERRY PERE MARQUETTE--DUPLICATE OF THIS VESSEL HAS JUST BEEN LAUNCHED IN CLEVELAND. and representatives of other ship building concerns who have seen the Pere Marquette under construction unite in saying that the workmanship has been of a very excellent and thorough kind all through. Twin screws are operated by two compound engines having cylinders of 27 and 56 in. diameter with 36 in. stroke. The screws are 11 ft. in diameter. Steam will be furnished by four boilers, each 13 ft. 3 in. in diameter and 12 ft. long, and allowed a working pressure of 130 Ibs. to the square inch. There is, of course, the usual modern outfit of steam wind- lass, steam capstans, steam steering gear, etc., and an electric light plant with search light. REMOVING-A 13-IN. GUN. Naval Constructor Capps, in charge of the Brooklyn navy yard, i$ being generally congratulated upon success in removing a disabled 13-in. gun from the main turret of the battleship Kearsarge without removing the superposed turret. Naval experts said the turret would have to be removed. The cost was estimated at $40,000. Naval Constructor Capps thought otherwise, and as a result of a report to the navy department was authorized to do the job in kis own way. Two of the large steel plates were removed from the sides of the main turret and the electrical firing apparatus was taken out. Hydraulic jacks were placed behind the gun, and a set of oaken ways was built from the turret to the shore. The ways were greased, and:on them were placed saddles on which the gun was to rest. The gun weighs 70 tons and is 40 ft. long. The aperture through which it had to pass is only 4% in. greater in diameter than is the gun. This gave only &% in. leeway all around. When everything was ready, a few days ago, and the hydraulic jacks began to push on the gun, it gave no signs of moving at first, but soon began to slide down the ways. It was clear of the turret in less than five hours. The work cost about $10,000 and the government saved about $30,000 by the operation. A new 13-in. gun now in the Brooklyn yard will be lifted by derrick and placed in the turret. triple expansion surface-condensing type, with water tube boilers capable of carrying 225 Ibs. working pressure. The dredge is fully equipped for either fresh or salt water service, with complete appliances of the latest pattern. The hull has a steel frame throughout, and will be shipped from Toronto in sections, and put together in British Columbia, where it will be sheathed with wood. The main deck of the dredge is entirely devoted to machinery, while the upper deck contains accommodation for the 'officers and crew. Here are several staterooms, separate mess rooms for the officers and crew, kitchen, pantry, bath room, etc. The dredge is fitted with electric light, and has a complete machine shop for making ordinary repairs while in remote places. The dredge is also a complete self-pro- pelling steamboat, with pilot house and steering gear, so that when her work is completed at one locality she can pick up her anchor and go to another. The Polson Iron Works is building the dredge complete--all machinery as well as the hull. It is reported from England that the admiralty will lay down in 1901 three battleships of 18,000 tons each, which will be the largest and most powerful vessels of their class ever built. Each will carry four 50-ton 12-in. guns, and ten instead of twelve 6-in. rapid-fire guns. The reduction in the number of 6-in. guns is due to the introduction of an entirely new weapon, namely, the 7.5-in. wire-bound breechloader, which is adopted because 8-in. guns are too heavy for rapid work and something is needed between the 12 and 6-in. guns. Each ship will cost fully £1,250,000. Lon- don newspapers cite Capt. Mahan and other naval authorities in favor of big ships, and predict that battleships will soon reach a displacement of from 20,000 to 30,000 tons. On her trial a few days ago the torpedo boat Bagley established a record for the 28-knot boats by attaining a speed slightly in excess of 30 knots, and maintaining an average for 2 hours of 29.2 knots. She was built at the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Me.