The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-24 00:00:00

THE LEVIATHAN.

It is a long time since the public have heard any-
thing of their old friend the Leviathan, which
lately occupied so large a share of their attention,
and the bulletins about which chronicled almost
hourly how many or how few inches she had pro-'
greased towards her final destination—the water.
The fact is, however, that very little has been done
in the way of actual progress since the vessel was
floated off her cradles, and she still remains moored
stem and stern in the centre of the river, a little
below the old building yard, from which for so
many months she kept out the light and air, and in
which for so many weeks grave fears were enter-
tained that she would remain, a permanent adorn-
ment of the river's bank. But though, as we have
said, nothing worth speaking of in the way of work
has been done about the Leviathan herself, a very
great deal has been perfected, and we believe the
arrangements are being made for her final comple-
tion and fitting for sea. With regard to this point
a great deal of misapprehension appears to exist
with the public as to the total outlay necessary to
fit her out and the time it will require to
get her ready in all respects for sea-going
service. As far as the first-named subject is concerned
we believe we shall be found correct in stating that
the total cost of completing her fittings, putting on
board stores, Asc., and making her in ail respects
ready for ssa will not exceed 120,0001., and that the
time required to do this will certainly not extend
beyond the month of July. Four months is esti-
mated as being the utmost time necessary to fit her,
but circumstances have arisen, such as the company
being obliged to give up posses-ion of the y'ird at
Millwall, which may occasion hindrances that will
probably delay her completion till the time we have
stated. In order, however, to insure the work being
done in the shortest space of time, and at the lowest
rate consistent with good workmanship, it has been
decided to subdivide what remains to be done about
the vessel among several contractors. Thus the
building of the cabins and saloons will be given to
one person, while another contracts for the decks,
bulwarks, &c., a third for the rigging, a fourth for
the boats, a fifth for the internal fittings, and so on.
13y this arrangement of course every part will pro-
gress simultaneously, and each be effected at the
lowest cost and in the best style. No less than 10
anchors are now required to hold the monster vessel
at her present moorings—five at the stem and five
at the stern, and each with lengths of cable varying
from 40 to 160 fathoms. When first anchored in the
river eight sufficed to hold her, but during half a
gale which blew shortly after her launch she dragged
at the stern in such a manner as to swing more into
the tideway, and require two of Trott-Iran's patent
anchors in addition to the others, since which she
has been brought up effectually, and now appa-
rently nothing short of a hurricane would be suffi-
cient to move her. As the fittings of the ship pro-
gress a pair of powerful shears will be fitted on deck
for the purpose of hoisting in the ironwork of the
masts, the intermediate shaft, heavy boats, stand-
ing rigging, and other portions of her equipment
which are too ponderous to raise by ordinary
means. The masts are at present being made at
Millwall in pieces, and a good deal of the main-
masts has already been completed, though of course
they will not be put together until they are actually
on board. Thera are to be six masts in all, three
square-rigged, and three rigged with fore and aft
sails. All these masts will be composed of plates
of wrought iron one inch in thickness, and rivetted
together in the same manner as the sides of the
ship, or a steam-boiler of the strongest description.
They will vary in height from 130 to 170 feet from
the keel to the truck, each will be 3 feet 4 inches
diameter at the deck, and each will weigh from 30
to 40 tons, exclusive of yards or rigging. Each
mast rests in a square column of plate iron which
reaches direct from the keel to the upper deck, and
is rivetted and built into all of the successive decks
through which it passes. In case of it ever becom-
ing necessary to cut away the masts, at the base
of them all, at about 3 feet above the deck,
will be fixed a peculiar apparatus, which, working
by means of a powerful screw, it is made to com-
press two sidesof the mast together in such a Man-
ner as to completely crush them in, and let the mast
fall over the side immediately. As, however, all
the masts will be stayed by the usual standing
rigging, which in the case of the Leviathan wilt
be all of wire rope and of the most massive kind,
other precautions have to be taken in order to get
rid of the masts when necessary. To effect this,
then, all the shrouds and stays are fastened at the
ends through iron rings in such a manner that, as
far as any exertion of strength or skill is concerned
a single man would be sufficient to cast loose all
the fastenings of each mast in five minutes, though
until the rings are opened the sides might be turn
from the ship before they would yield an inch. All
the main and topmast yards of the square rigged
masts will be also of iron plates. The main yard
will be 130 feet long, or about 40 feet longer than
the mainyard of our largest line-of-battle ships,
about four times the strength of any mainyard yet
constructed, and several tons lighter than if it was
made of wood, as is usually the case.
We have said that the company are about to re-
move their plant and materials to another yard on tho
Surrey side of the river, and such is the fact, and
all the works at Millwall are in the chaotic state
which usually portends a change of location even in
small establishments, and which, of course, dis-
-1 plays itself in tenfold intensity in a yard where the
largest ship of which the world has ever seen or
heard has just been turned off to its moorings.
But, great as is the change which these prepara-
tions make and imply, it is really nothing to what
the absence of the Leviathan herself from the yard
has already occasioned. In fact, it seems, at the
first glance, as if one side of the yard had been
taken away, or swept into the river by some extra-
ordinary flood tide. The debris, too, of the launch-
ing apparatus, the piles of gigantic timbers, masses
of rails, hydraulic rams, screw-jacks, iron drums,
chain cables, groups of piles, windlasses, &c., all
huddled together in inextricable confusion. give to
the whole place the aspect of some gigantic work-
shop which has suddenly betel levelled with the
earth and ruined by some tremendous catastrophe.
We believe 110 attempt will be made to draw out
any of the many hundred piles driven into the
earth for one purpose or another during the course
of the launch. More with a view of satisfying
scruples on this subject than any other object some
one or two have been " extracted," but the efforts
required to draw them involved such heavy lalld
tbi toear
that the wages of the workmen employed amounted
to more than double the value of the piles em_
selves. They will therefore be suffered to remain
where they are, ( n'y sawing off tho uppermost
parts level with the earth. In one portion of the
yard d
the men are employed night and day in turn-
iug the monstrous interme
dia, e shaft for the paddle
engines. This shaft is probably, for its size, the
finest specimen of forged iron that has ever hem
produced at any wor
It was made at Glasgow, l
and in the rough weighed .-ks.
some 34 toes. This is
the third that has been forged for the piddle
engines Leviathan.
of the
In both the for mer
ones, when the manufacture wasalmost completed,
sucti'flaws wer e discovered in their substance as made
4 them Worthless, and from the immense size of the
shaft, and the necessity for being of the most perfect
strength and solidity throughout, consithraVe
anxiety was at one time entertained as to the pos-
• Aibility of getting one made at all in time for the