The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-28 00:00:00

BOAT-BUILDING BY STEAM.

Mr. Nathan Thompson, the American gentleman
whose ingenious set of automatic machines for build-
ing boats by steam attracted such attention a short
time since, has succeeded in grafting his valuable
invention upon this country in the f rm of a limited
liability company, which has undertaken to work
his patents. The capital of the company is £200,000,
only £70,000 of which has been called up to esta-
blish the works at East Greenwich, where they oc-
cupy a space of 31 acres of ground with a splendid
river frontage, and with room to extend the whole
establishment hereafter over 9 acres if required.
Here some most spacious sheds and boiler houses
have been erected with 23 machines for making
boats, more of which are to be set up, so as to enable
the company when in full operation to turn out
work at the rate of 25 complete boats per day.
Yesterday these works were formally opened, and
a large party of naval and scientific gentlemen, in-
cluding visitors from the Admiralty, were present,
and were shown over the establishment by Mr. For-
restt, the manager, a member of the late firm which
for so many years enjoyed at Limehouse au almost
complete monopoly of the business of boat building
for the London shipping. On this occasion all the
machines were set in motion, and the process of
building boats by steam labour shown throughout
from first to last. A long and detailed description
of these machines has already been given in our co-
lumns, so that it is unnecessary to refer to them
here, except to state that their practical working
now proves them to realise all the enormous saving
as to time and money which Mr. Thompson first
claimed for them when he came to this country.
Thus, by the present hand labour method, to make
a line-of-battle ship's launch requires at least from
8 to 10 days, and cost for labour alone, exclusive of
material, from £l2 to £l6. Mr. Thompson has
proved that by his machinery the same boat can be
completed from the rough timber in five hours and
a half, and at a cost for labour and machinery of
from £1 158. to £2. The combinations of
mechanism by which this wonderful saving of
time and money is effected, are, in some details,
merely a novel application of old principles, though,
as a rule, all the chief implements are perfectly new.
Even, however, when old principles are used they
are made almost new by the wonderful manner in
which their sphere of operations is extended, and
thus the same steam cutter which levels a lath for
the side of a Thames outrigger is capable, by the
most trifling alteration of the angle of inclination
at which the knives work, to fashion a 50ft. oak
plank for the side of a Margate fishing-smack or a
100-ton yacht. Every process of the manufacture
was carefully examined and explained yesterday,
and several boats were ordered to be made for the
Admiralty and sent in at once for examination and
trial. Already the company have orders in hand to
the amount of £22,000, with a certainty of a large
increase as the value of the new method of manu-
facture becomes more generally known. Whether
the increased facilities in the way of cheapness and
quick manufacture will stimulate the boat consumers
to a larger consumption remains to be seen ; but,
at any rate, the shipping interest generally must
be immense gainers by getting very much stronger
boats at very much lees than half' the present
prices:

COUNTRY MARKETS.

‘,
LEEDS —TuEsDAY.

To-day at our market the demand for wheat was so ex-
tremely languid that it is difficult to give quotations ; but,
as holders did not press sales, prices may be considered
nominally the same as on Friday. Oats, barley, and other
articles unaltered.

MARKET HARBOROUGH—TUESDAY.
White wheat, 52s to 57s ; red, 47s to 518 per 36 stone.
Barley at 388 to 40s per qr., grinding 29s to 32s per 30 at.
Oats, 27s to 325; new, 22s to 26s per 24 at. ; beans, 368 to
45s per qr.