Steamship Construction 2

[The Old Ruminator]

See also part one which looks at ships machinery.

http://www.southwestmafia.com/forums...3047#post43047

Plenty of room on this bridge.

[The Old Ruminator]

To recap a little and look at measurements to identify wrecks and also ship photographs. First we have beam and length. The latter will vary according to the measurement taken. Ie LOA Length Overall or between perpendiculars.Regarding the hull we also have other measurements according to the hull type. These are Lloyds hull classifications from a 1910 Register.




This is an excellent photo of Ravonia 703GRT/1908 stranded in 1911 , subsequently refloated. ( surviving until 1944 under various names ).






Here you can see the scale of a ship of 703 GRT and also her hull type.
She is engines aft with a raised quarterdeck of 101 ft.Between hances is her bridge deck of only 11 ft and then her raised focastle deck of 22ft.
The hances are those curved sections of the gunwhale where there is a change of height.If she were an intact wreck any one of those three measurements could be taken.

This is Norma. There are numerous ships of that name.Here you have a long raised bridge deck between hances.



Where possible on a wreck it is important to recognise the hull type and machinery for possible identification. Also to have in mind an approx tonnage.
As stated before usually there is one boiler for every 1000 tons grt in a triple expansion engined ship. Early compound engined ships under 1000 grt may have 2 boilers. Lloyds can be checked for this. The abbreviation SB means Scotch Boiler. This is the type we see most often. They are round.There may also be an additional donkey boiler used to work winches etc when the ship is in dock. A sailing ship may also have a donkey boiler ( Dirigo ).
Grt may be calculated when a length and beam are known. A high quality sonar footprint may be found on an HO survey report. Generally speaking the later Gardline surveys are the most accurate.An awareness of ship tonnages and sizes will help. These are seen in many dive guides and our own Wreck Reports

[The Old Ruminator]

Two unusual bridge views.

Early open type.The passengers had to stand on the yards !



Later bridge with awning frame.

[The Old Ruminator]

Copied some pics today. No where special to put them so I have put them here. They sort of fit in a way.

The best photo yet I have of the Alfred Graham and Co Patent Navy Phone.It is seen here in its box on the focastle of a cable layer. Grahams had the contract to fit phones for P and O and White Star. Medina , Afric and Titanic would have had similiar installations. I bought one at Trinity Marine a while back. ( See Trinity Marine post ). The telegraphs would be special purpose installations not engine room orders.




Gun mounted on a large merchant ship WW1. Double wheel on the after steering box.




A General Arrangement of a small engines aft coaster Uncle Al sent today.
( unbelievably with new stamps on the envelope ).
One we have in mind for research purposes.She has a compound engine.

[uncle al]

Originally Posted by salsettediving

Copied some pics today. No where special to put them so I have put them here. They sort of fit in a way.

The best photo yet I have of the Alfred Graham and Co Patent Navy Phone.It is seen here in its box on the focastle of a cable layer. Grahams had the contract to fit phones for P and O and White Star. Medina , Afric and Titanic would have had similiar installations. I bought one at Trinity Marine a while back. ( See Trinity Marine post ). The telegraphs would be special purpose installations not engine room orders.




Gun mounted on a large merchant ship WW1. Double wheel on the after steering box.




A General Arrangement of a small engines aft coaster Uncle Al sent today.
( unbelievably with new stamps on the envelope ).
One we have in mind for research purposes.She has a compound engine.

told you to open it in a darkened room.have a good look at the stamps--although unused---came from the `G.L.C`

[The Old Ruminator]

Some adverts from an American Marine Engineering magazine of 1918. Not surprisingly much more in the way of standardisation and diesel engines than in British shipbuilding mags. of the same time.

[weazelz]

Originally Posted by salsettediving

Some adverts from an American Marine Engineering magazine of 1918. Not surprisingly much more in the way of standardisation and diesel engines than in British shipbuilding mags. of the same time

for the less knowledgable of us (me), why is this not suprising?

[The Old Ruminator]

Originally Posted by weazelz

for the less knowledgable of us (me), why is this not suprising?

There was a lot of inertia in the minds of Edwardian industrialists.We were working old outdated plants with old working practices. Dont forget it was Henry Ford who invented the factory production line.British Industry and shipping was very much tied to coal.We were the biggest coal producers in the world in Victorian times and we had set up coal bunkering stations all over the world.Your average coaster would burn 25 to 30 tons of coal a day.Labour was cheap and so was coal.Steam technology wasnt pushed to its technical limits really until the 1950s with superheaters and the multiple expansion of steam.The Americans had huge, readily available , supplies of oil.
We didnt.
Standardisation was an American concept.The Liberty Ship is a prime example of this.The British were still mulling it over in 1917.The wreck researcher can easily identify British built ships for the very reason so few are identical.There wasnt even a standard engine.World War Two and material resource problems
changed British Shipbuilding for ever but it never recovered its prime status in the world.The Dutch became adept at building small engines aft motor ships and the Japanese dominated the larger market.
American Industry was slow to start. There were problems with steel manufacture and the first steel ship built in the USA ( SV Dirigo ) was built of steel imported from Scotland. SS Edam,built in Holland,was the first steel ship built outside of the UK.( Ironically both are divable out of Plymouth ).
Britain paid the price of its early dominance in manufacturing .Today very little is left of our heavy industries.

[The Old Ruminator]

[weazelz]

Originally Posted by salsettediving

...

thanks Nick

[The Old Ruminator]

Steve C just sent me this model of a coaster available on Ebay for £750.
Nothing better for showing a ships layout.

[The Old Ruminator]

Ben Ain, Miramar.
http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz/ship/show/153371

[Ash]

I`m confused as to the position of the helm

Whilst standing at the wheel would not the helmsman be looking aft???

[Gary K]

Originally Posted by Ash

I`m confused as to the position of the helm

Whilst standing at the wheel would not the helmsman be looking aft???

did they have women drivers in those days?

[The Old Ruminator]

Originally Posted by Ash

I`m confused as to the position of the helm

Whilst standing at the wheel would not the helmsman be looking aft???

You will have Sweeny moaning at you Ash.
Thats the traditional way dating back to those silly old wooden ships.
the helmsman ( helmsmen ) stood behind the wheel not in front of it .

[Ash]

Oh, is that something typical of all/most helms then?

Why has my Donkin helm got the scale to be read as if the operative was standing `in front of the wheel`?

I`ve never seen Wrighty (as rake-like as he is) try to get the other side of his little wheel......








sorry sweeney

[The Old Ruminator]

Dunno about the pecentage M8. Somes one way an somes tother.

[Ash]

interesting though..............

My Donkin helm has the Port on the right and the Stbd to the left too....

[SteveC]

wasn't really sure where to put this one???

The "Jointed Iron Steam-ship Connector", 1863.

Engraving of the "Jointed Iron Steam-ship Connector", from the Illustrated London News, August 1863.
The idea behind this invention was that the centre section of this ship could be left in port, loading or
unloading, whilst the rest of the vessel went elsewhere. A prototype was constructed, aboard which the
Illustrated London News correspondent travelled along the Thames from Blackwall to Erith Reach.
The correspondent said "Though the water was much disturbed...the trip was very interesting and gave general satisfaction."

[SteveC]

Lumley patent rudder