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May, 1914 Britannic's Boilers The 29 huge boilers of the 50,000- ton White Star liner Britannic, now under construction at Belfast, have just been placed in position. Twenty- four of these are double-ended and five are single-ended, all being de- signed for a working pressure of 215 Ibs., which has been found entirely practicable under natural draught con- ditions. Owing to the Britannic's great breadth, it has been found pos- sible to arrange five boilers abreast except in No. 6 boiler room, where becausé of the increased fineness, only four could be fitted. All the double- ended boilers are 15 ft. 9 in. in diam- eter, weighing 105 tons each and are constructed of steel 111/16 in. thick, THE MARINE REVIEW tor coasting vessels have been in course of construction, namely, the Ila and Ife, both of which have been built to the special designs of J. B. Wilkie, superintendent engineer to Elder, Dempster & Co., of Liverpool. A number of motor coasters have been built in Scottish yards, but the Ila and Ife stand alone for unique design, they having quite left the barge class and entered the "ship" section. Elder, Dempster. & Co. came first into touch with the internal combus- tion engine proposition when they purchased the Itu, a vessel, length 59 ft. by 15 ft. by 4 ft., fitted with two sets of Bolinder engines, each devel- oping 25 b. h. p.. This vessel was fol- lowed by the Ibusa, fitted with an 80- ed eo £48414 195 made that either both the winches can be used at the same time or separate- ly. A tow hook has been arranged for in a suitable position, as it is quite possible that frequently these may pick up a tow. The machinery of each vessel con- sists of two sets of Bolinder direct re- versible crude oil marine engines, each developing 120 b. h. p. at normal load, with a continuous overload of 10 per cent. The guaranteed consumption with these engines is approximately eight gallons per hour each, but un- der ordinary working conditions this power engine is stated to work on a considerably lower consumption, in some cases as much as 20 per cent lower, even when developing the full TWO OF THE TWENTY-NINE DOUBLE-ENDED BOILERS OF THE BRITANNIC employing 159 furnaces of the Mon- son type: The Britannic's boiler installation and the coal bunkers occupy six water- tight compartments having a total length of 320 ft. the engine room taking 123 tt; "additional... The Britannic's engines, like those of Olympic, will consist of a com- bination of reciprocating engines with a low-pressure turbine of the Parsons' type. The superior economy of this system is due to the fact that increased power is obtained in the same steam consumption by expand- ing the steam in the low-pressure tur- bine' beyond the limits possible in reciprocating engines, as has been Proved in the voyages of the White Star liners Laurentic and Olympic. Motor Coasting Vessels For several months considerable interest has been centered upon the yard of Hawthorns Co., Ltd. of Leith, in which two full-powered mo- b. h. p. two-cylinder marine oil en- gine of the same type. These boats were used to replace the steam craft carried by their ocean-going boats... Leaving the small boat section, Elder, Dempster & Co. centered their attention on the larger type of craft. The result is the construction of the Ila and Ife, sister vessels, with length b. p. 135 ft., breadth moulded 25 it, draught, carrying 300 tons of cargo, 7 ft. The cubic capacities of the holds and hatches of each vessel are close on 18,000 cubic feet, the hatches being of large size so as to carry bulky pack- ages. The hulls are of Siemens Martin steel throughout, and fitted with four watertight bulkheads. Loading is fa- cilitated by four steel samson posts, which are fitted amidships, each hav- ing a separate derrick 32 ft. long, and capable of lifting two tons by single purchase. The above derricks are worked by two separate winches, driv- en by a 20. b. h. p. Bolinder engine, special arrangements having been load at 275 revolutions per minute. Fuel tanks with a capacity of 1,200 gallons, in addition to a daily service tank of 160 gallons capacity, with the usual connections to the main tanks are fitted in suitable positions in the motor-room, so as to give plenty of room round each engine. The speed trials of the Ila were run at Leith, when the satisfactory speed of just over 11 statute miles per hour was obtained. The owners immediately took delivery of the vessel, which will make the trip to its destination under its Own power. The steamer Louisiana went ashore 'on Lake Michigan last November and soon after stranding caught fire and was destroyed. The steamer was in- sured against fire and total loss and underwriters have been unable to agree on a settlement. Suit has been brought against all the Underwriters, Goulder, Day, White, Gary and McCreary, and the court will determine which set of underwriters will have to pay.