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SR ei Tonnage Under Contract. If the American Steel Barge Company will build at West Superior this winter, as reported, eight whalebacks for lake serv- ice, the freight carriers now under contract in lake ship yards for service next season will aggregate in carrying capacity about 40,000 gross tons. This includes two wooden boats in the yard of F. W. Wheeler & Co. at West Bay City, duplicates of the ‘Sauber and Tampa, and to be built for McBrier and others of Erie and Peneyer Bros. of Au Sable; a steel..boat at the same yard for some of the owners of the Weed and others interested with them; the big wooden steamer building by Capt. James Davidson, also of West Bay City ; two lumber carrying steamers at Marine City for the Mills Transportation Company and a steel steamer which the Detroit Dry Dock Company will build on its own account if an order is not received. The Ship Owners’ Dry Dock Yard. The supplement presented with this issue illustrates an interesting dock yard scene as well as the largest dry dock plant on the lakes. The occasion of the illustration is the opening of the second dock, which is fully described below. This newdock is occupied by the steel steamer Pontiac, which will receive the ‘most extensive repairs put on any steel lake steamer. In the other dock, the dimensions of which are 340 feet on keel blocks, 50 feet width of gate and 16 feet deep on blocks, is presented the C. B. Lockwood, having the largest beam of any wooden vessel on.the lakes. Thus it will be seen that the Ship Owners’ com- pany has two docks that will accommodate the largest vessels on the lakes. The first dock is deep enough to receive vessels with cargo. ‘The general dimensions of the new dock are: ‘Total length on floor line from gate sill to end of dock 336 feet, width on bot- tom 45 feet, width on top; main chamber, 85 feet. The sides slope on an angle of 45 degrees, faced with alters having ten in- ches rise and tread. The entrance is formed and protected by cribs, 55 feet long and 24 feet wide, one on each side, and the inside face, adjoining the main chamber of the dock is sloped. to an angle corresponding with the sides of the dock. The gate entrance is 47 feet wide on the sill and 55 feet in the clear on the top of the dock. At ordinary stage of water there will be 14 feet on blocks and 15 feet 4 inches over the gate sill. The gate is closed with a double faced diaphragm gate constructed of wood in a manner to afford a liberal factor of safety, and sup- plied for filling with four wickets, 24 inches in diameter. The machinery for pumping out the dock consists of two vertical pumps, with 24 inches discharge each, driven by two horizontal engines of 18x20 inches. . Steam is supplied by three ‘tubular boilers, 6 feet in diameter and 16 feet long. This equip- ment will empty the basin in from 40 to 45 minutes when dock- ing a vessel of average size. The equipment includes hose line for washing out the dock and air line for Lucigen lights, also derricks at each end of sufficient capacity for all ordinary re- quirements. ‘The dock was completed and tested on Aug. 31, and immedintely placedin use... It has been in constant use since that time and is giving general satisfaction. The principal material required in the construction was as follows: Pine timber and lumber 600,000 feet, oak timber and lumber 300,000 feet, piles, partly oak and partly soft wood 1,200, iron of various kinds 50 tons, concrete 700 cubic yards. There was also required 30,000 cubic yards of earth work and 18,000 yards of dredging. Work was begun Sept. 8, 1890, and com- pleted Aug. 26, 1891. Detroit Building News. Special Correspondence to the MARINE REVIEW. DETROIT, MicH., Oct. 8.-The most important matter in marine circles here this week is the closing of the contract by the Detroit Ferry Company for a new steamer, to eclipse anything now in service. It is thought that the contract will go to the Detroit Dry Dock Company, but all the larger builders on the lakes are figuring. It wouldn't surprise a &, MARINE REVIEW. | 5 Toledo builder very much if he got it, and it isnot improbable that it may go to Cleveland. Mr. Craig’s three light-ships went through the crucial test required by the government here this week. One was put through the eight hour trial and the other two the four hour trial. Commander Ludlow repre- sented the government. Capt. Kelley superintended their construction. It is expected that these ships will be sent to their stations, Gray’s reef, White Shoal and Simmon’s reef, sometime next week. The announcement of contracts for three triple engines will interest engine builders. By the time the R&vIEW reaches its readers this week the Frontier Iron Works will have that number of contracts. The engines are all for Wheeler. The one for the Hollenbech-Hollister combine is to b> 23, 36 and 61 inches by 42 inches, the largest put forth from the Frontier works. The other two will be duplicates of the engines in the Tampa. rs West Bay City papers credit Wheeler with prophesying how much his boat is going to surpass the Pope, and at the same time says he is going to build her 14 feet longer than the Pope and several feet wider. In fact the dispatch announcing the contract mentioned the Pope. It looks to a Detroit eye as if the Pope was to be the criterion for the new hoat. No attempt has been made to raise the sunken steamer Kasota since last week, although wrecker Falcon is still confident of his ability to float the boat. She will probably be landed on the American shore when raised althongh a permit has been secured to land her on the Canadian side. = The propellers C. H. Starke and Business, the latter from Ashtabula, got new -wheels at the Springwells dock during the past week, and the schooner Groton, which was caught in heavy weather on Lake Huron Tuesday, had a leak stopped. The schooner Massassoit got a new rudder stock at the shears dock, and the propeller City of Glasgow, on her way up stopped long enough to have her coupling gear repaired. eos Canal Tonnage During September. The total freight movement in the Sault canal during September was 1,388,333 net tons, against 1,277,197 tons in September i890. Notwith- standing the number of boats going up light, there was carried through the canal during the month 351,517 tons of coal, against 285,407 tons in 1890. The general movement of freight through the canal during the month was as follows: iti WR West-bound. Deseription. , East-bound COal i sieges duicise cats «au dasentes si cate eey ener 351,517 tons. LOWE aj foyeeswesessaee ery re qaceuecuie 548,115 bbls. 350 bbls. PAUL, oo cues akan peaens ekame tp ene eeeet 38,000 bu COMI csc i ene cee epedeceseac esse naaaes iA 200 DM. es cceecnceaees WHERE Es. Si ccdees raeclecseockiee tee 5,928;($40 Ditit > Le isin Building Stome......sccswseeceeerees 6,470 tons: =. ames COPPe 4]. .sseseeecesenseoeesereneeensees 8,285 tonsa. csdecsecuas Manufactuted 1x0n..:.ccraesesptnee, cpesnvaviave 5,036 tons THOM; OTC scocscvctscctneretsarctueegecase G21, 3G TONS. crcceteacags TrON, Pig....cccorecsecesaceseceseoseres F ODT TONS, 15> A iereeceene SEMA aE cach iiaed eiaF evan widaadled Fon dadgbcaionas toes 22,579 bbls. Te WIN DOs cao sipinrace oo berapleandaaets 54,370 M fects: cpscesacvene Unclassified ‘freight............0 10,c91 tons. 49,424 tons. PASHENPETS veececeescecensneneesesness 1,769 1,829 The ore movement through the canal aggregated only 621,316 net tons against 683,459 tons in September 1890, while wheat foots up 5,928,840 bu- shels against 1,184,105 bushels in 1890. Rymer’s Code and Fog Whistle Operator. The accompanying cut shows Rymer’s patent whistle operating machine, to be_used for opperating the whistle on steamers, either as a code or fog signal, the latter use interfer- ing in no way with its use for ordinary code signals. It is compact and requires but little room, being placed on a bracket in . the pilot house convenient to the pilot or wheelsman or both. It is connected with a power supply pipe at F. To operate it as a fog signal open regulating valve H, after which it requires no attentior, as it is so arranged that it will adjust itself to the varying pressures, if there is any there, by giving the blasts and intermissions in a uniform manner. When necessary to use it for other purposes when in use as a fog signal, press down on lever D once for every blast of whistle required. When not required as a. fog signal close valve H. By using lever D, which is nearly balanced, it requires but a small effort to operate the largest whistle. This machine is made in two sizes, both nickel-plated, No. 2 being for pleasure yachts. It is in use on locomotives as an automatic crossing whistle. Write to Wm. Rymer, 395 Champlain st., Detroit, Mich., for prices.