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co ets a 3 ew Tanker Virginia Sinclair ow in Operation HE tanker VIRGINIA’ SINCLAIR, built at the Fore River plant of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. Ltd., Quincy, Mass., for the Sinclair Navigation Co. is now in operation. This vessel was launched Oct. 9 and was christened by Miss Virginia Sin- clair in whose honor the ship was named. The VIRGINIA SINCLAIR is the first American tanker to be built with double longitudinal bulkheads in lieu of the single center line bulk- head. She is alate type of bulk oil tanker for ocean going service and was constructed to the highest clas- sification requirements for such a tanker. The principal dimensions are given in the following table: Tength: Overall sii iesscivccteesdcodsnsosces . 485 ft. 0 in. Length between perpendiculars .... 416 ft. 0 in. Brendth “MOLE 6 iiccks sesenccdscctavcecsesctoces 57 ft. 0 in. Depth molded to upper deck............ 32 ft. 0 in. Depth molded to upper deck GEMLCY cccsccsticasss srinedan essa tesekeectbue 33 ft. 2 in Draft to designers water line........ 24 ft. 0 in SSG as eco cacdussatusesoucsGusenessessivesddacchesmuastasneseuse 14 knots This vessel is said to mark an ad- vance over previous American and European tanker design. Advantages claimed are greater stability, higher speed, virtual elimination of fire haz- ard, decreased evaporation losses, eli- mination of cargo contamination and reduced construction and operating costs. Officials of the Sinclair Navi- gation Co. point out also that as a re- sult of the higher speeds, the com- pany will be able to reduce the aver- age storage at terminals. Methods and practices ordinarily used on naval cruisers and trans-at- lantic liners are applied to the design of the hull so far as these have been found adaptable to commercial serv- ice. With the lines faired and fine, eddy losses are minimized and hull resistance greatly reduced. The ves- sel is fitted with 5000 horsepower De- Laval double reduction gear turbine propelling equipment which will give her a sea speed of 14 knots. Other features which are summar- ized by engineers of the Sinclair Navi- gation Co. are as follows: Summer tanks have been eliminated; the Isher- wood bracketless system of construc- tion is employed. Iron rivets are used throughout to decrease corrosion; a sprinkling system covers the entire deck; the cargo tanks are fitted to withstand higher pressures. There are vents at the top of the mast and flame-proof spark arresters are fitted; special methods of cleaning tanks are employed. The pumping equipment includes vertical compound duplex steam pumps of high capacity, three pump rooms and three coffer dams with separate lines and pumps to each cargo compartment. Steam is sup- plied by water tube boilers at 400 pounds pressure and 200 degrees of superheat. The engine room auxili- aries are electrically operated. Feed water is heated in series heaters. The vessel is fitted with a gyro compass, mechanical steering device and full radio equipment for sending and re- ceiving. At the time of the launching of this vessel, the hull structural work, wood and outfit was about 95 per cent com- plete. The machinery was about 57 per cent complete. The boilers were on board but the turbines, reduction gear, and main condenser were not QUUTQUUVNNUOICOUUVLNUCECEU TELE EOT UTEP EEE TD Engine Room Tanker Virginia Sinclair— 5000 Horsepower De- Laval Turbine Propel- ling Equipment— — Speed 14 Knots UNNQIQUOOOQQQUS000000000NU0L NEONATAL Tanker Virginia Sinclair Built at Fore River Plant, Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. MARINE REVIEW—February, 1931 on board. The propeller blades were unprotected, with the propeller and shafting locked inside. The rudder was blocked inside with steel brackets at crosshead and tiller. In order to prevent any portion of the launching cradle from breaking away in the water, wire rope tricing lines were led from the after end of each sliding way section to the bitts on deck. After launching, the ship was towed to the dock, the wire rope hauling line at- tached to the cradle was thrown over a bitt on the dock, then all tricing lines were let go and the ship was towed off over the cradle which came out in good order. The speed and acceleration of the VIRGINIA SINCLAIR were obtained by means of a Denny-Edgecomb chrono- graph connected to a contact maker located at the outer end of the cradle and actuated by steel pins located at intervals along the sliding ways. The result obtained by the single recorder method was satisfactory. Owing to the restricted length of the deep water basin, it was necessary to slew the ship’s stern, so two sets of wire rope lines and concrete block drags were used. The first set used 1%-inch diameter wire rope and three concrete blocks; the second set con- sisted of 1%-inch diameter wire rope and four concrete blocks. The blocks were arranged to come into action as the cradle left the ways. In order to prevent a sudden shock, each weight was arranged to come on after the preceding weight had moved 10 feet. The second set of four concrete blocks was-arranged to start while the first set was working. The blocks were connectéd to one another by wire rope pendants and shackles; each block weighed about 4000 pounds. The first drag line, 300 feet long, was set at 14 degrees with the center- line of the ship; the second drag line, 460 feet long, was set at 23% degrees with the center line of the ship. This created a larger turning moment. The ship’s stern traveled in a straight line for 11% lengths, then started to turn following a curved line about as de- signed. The slewing arrangement worked very satisfactorily. The creep- ing of the cradle was very slight. - 33