The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-17 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

The concluding trials were made on Saturday in Chatham
dockyard for the purpose of testing the rudder-head of the
Royal Oak, 34, iron-plated frigate, in continuation of those
made some days previously. The pressure used on this
occasion was rather more than six tons, at which strain no
flaw could be discovered in the rudder-head. At the con-
clusion of the trials it did not appear to be in the least
sprung. Arrangements are being made for undockhg the
Royal Oak on Thursday, when she will proceed to Folly
Point, where she will complete fitting for sea, the depth of
water in Chatham harbour being insufficient for vessels of
the Royal Oak class to prevent their grounding and conse-
quent straining.
The Hector, 32, iron frigate, which arrived at Spithead
on Sunday from the Clyde, went into Portsmouth harbour
yesterday and berthed alongside the dockyard, where she
will be at once taken in hand to fit out for commission. It
is stated that the officers and crew of the Defence, iron fri-
gate, will be turned over to her. The Hector left the Clyde
on Thursday last, at 7 p.m., in company with her Majesty's
steam-tug Geyser, being in charge of Capt. Ewen for the
contractors, Messrs. R. Napier and Sons, of Glasgow, and
having on board stokers and seamen from her Majesty's
ships Hogue and Geyser. She was fitted with the iron
lower masts which had been built for her by Messrs. Napier,
and these were fitted with wire rigging, trysail, masts, and
sails, &c., from Portsmouth dockyard. Owing to the in-
correct working of the Hector's compasses at starting her
pace had to be regulated by that of the Geyser, up to 2 p.m.
on Friday. After that time the Hector made her own
course, and by 4 p.m. the Geyser was out of sight astern.
At 430 p.m. on Saturday the ship was abreast of the
Lizard, and having experienced tremendous weather from
the Tuskar, with the wind at W.N.W. Spithead was
reached, and the ship's anchor dropped, on the conclusion
of her first voyage, at 9 a.m. on Sunday. The ship is said
to have worked remarkably well, and rode the seas as
easily as any wooden ship could be expected to have done
in similar weather. At one time, off the Lizard, a consi-
derable body of water was on the main deck, which it was
impossible for the time to get rid of. On examining the
arrangement of the scuppers and sewer pipes the cause of
this is, however, at once evident. The sewer pipes, which
pass underneath the beam-ends and knees which support
the main deck, run nearly the whole length of the ship, and
discharge their contents at the extreme ends. As a natural
result of this arrangement 'when the ship pitches and rolls
more than is usual the water by its own gravity rushes from
end to end of the sewer pipe and causes a dead lock. This
must be remedied before the ship can go to sea, The getting
adrift of the spare screw blade on the forecastle was the only
other accident of the voyage, which may be considered
highly creditable for the ship and engines. The hull, en-
gines, and iron lower masts have all been constructed by
Messrs. Napier. The hull is on the principle of the Ware
rior and other iron ships, with the exception that the Hector
has a heavy bulkhead, or shield, covered with 41-inch
armour plates, fixed across her bowa from her lower deck
to a level with her bulwarks. This is of semicirclar fonts
and is intended to receive th ; fire of a fort, or that of an
enemy's broadside of guns, when using the Hector as a ram.
Her armour plating is also continued from the point at which
the Warrior now carries her armour plating as a belt round
her line of gun ports, bow and stein, with additional plating
over her outer stern post and rudder head, The majority
of her armour plates are rolled, and are from the manufac-
tories of Messrs. Brown, Sheffield, Messrs. Beall, Parkpie,
and Messrs. Risley, Parkhead. Further details regarding
her hull we must reserve until another opportunity. Iu
general appearance outside she is fully as ungraceful in out-
line alongside the dockyard as she was when lying off in the
distance at Spithead. As an iron ship of war the peculiari-
ties which render her ugly claim to be her chief recommen-
dations. The engines have cylinders of 82in, diameter and a
stroke of 4ft. The screw is a Griffiths of 20ft. diameter and
20ft. Gin. pitch. At the back of each cylinder is fitted a
small auxiliary engine for strartirig and stopping the en—
gines, in addition to the ordinary wheel and hand gear, and
all is so simply and efficiently arranged that two men, one
at each auxiliary, have perfect control over the engines,
the action at the same time being almost instantaneous.
The castings are excellent, and every part is massive, well
finished, and simple in arrangement. The screw alley is
unusually lofty and roomy, and the disconnecting and other
arrangements of the shafting have been fitted with great
care and strength. The stokehole has six boilers—three on
each side. The highest temperature reached here during
the voyage round from Greenock was 85 deg. The means
of ventilation appear to be very good, although no patented
plans have been applied. The funnel casing is well open
on the upper deck, and a square shaft, fitted to hoist out
ashes, no doubt contributes in the main to this excellent re-
sult, the former acting as an up and the latter as a down-
cast air-shaft. Above the boilers is fixed a email auxiliary
engine, which hoists out the ashes from the stokehole.
An auxiliary engine of 40-horse power is also being fitted on
board to work the fire-engines, capstans, &c. There are two
points, however, in connexion with the Hector which, if
viewed in a proper light, may prove instructive to Admi-
ralty economists. 1, The Geyser left Portsmouth and
Plymouth for Greenock with some half ton of stores on
board, while the heavy wire rigging, sails, kc., for the
Hector followed the Geyser by rail. 2. The official de-
signers of the ship knew so little of what was wanted in the
form of the ship's stern that she was built with a well.
Tho peculiar, shaped form of the ship's stern, however,
would not allow of the ship being steered otherwise than by
a straight tiller, a reversion to the old sailing line-of-battle
ship system. The well thus became useless, and is therefore
now filled in with an iron tank, which will make a capital
storeroom. Its position has, however, unfortunately, greatly
added I o the overhanging weight and weakness of the ship's
stern. In the peculiar form of stern possessed by the Hec-
tor she will be equalled by the Royal Alfred, and probably
excelled in ugliness by the turret ship Royal Sovereign,
The Osborne yacht, Master-Commander Bower, returned
to Portsmouth yesterday from Antwerp.

The paddlewheel steam vessel Kite, Master-Commander
Bowden, was yesterday hauled into basin at Woolwich to
be surveyed and condemned. She was brought up the river
by the Medusa, her own machinery having become disabled
soon after sailing from Bermuda harbour. From the length-
ened period of her service—stated to be upwards of 15 years
.—her boilers had become corroded to the consistency of
paper, and.the boiling water was constantly escaping. The
water ttuk, and everything serviceable for patching up the
decayed boilers, were cut up and applied for that purpose.
On a preliminary survey being made yesterday, it was
stated that the rates and decayed state of the timbers ap-
parent throughout the ship rendered it a marvel, that she
lived out the voyage in safety. Both the paddleboxes were
partly carried away, the bulwarks swept out, the .leather
packing of the machinery worn off, and the vessel a com-
plete wreck.
The iron-plated screw steam frigate Warrior, 40, Captain
the llon. A. A. Cochrane, was appointed to leave the Sound
yesterday afternoon for Harnoaze. She will be docked at
Keyham stemnyare.
The following appointments and promotions were made
e
yesterday at the Admiralty Edward Wade, Walter Byron
Ain:Rik, sad Gerard Dupre Clough have been nominated to
naval cadetships ;C, Deal, of the Rattle,r, M•Lood, of
the M gra,
of the Asia, W. Russell, of the Indus, J. E. Turner, in the
E. R. Cockrell, J. M. Page, and L. M. G cn,
Black Prince, and J. J. Finch, of the Industry, first-class
assist.- mgiucer, promoted to engineers; J. Beech, of the
Greyhound,
W. P. Dawe, of the Liffey, and J. Peach, of
the et ntatir, promoted to acting first-class assist...engineer,.
The following appointment has been made in the Royal
Naval Reserve :—To be Lieutenant, Benjamin Fletcher.

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