The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-05 00:00:00

OUR SCREW SHIPS•

The recent trials of the Mersey, Doris, and L"
w,..,_
lando have set the minds of most men on the ra
in order to discover how it happens that ships of
an
unexceptionable model apparently, and enorraous
power, should not surpass those of an earlier aliu
less enlightened age. The Agamemnon, a two-
decker, one of the first ships built for the sere('
steamed 13 knots with 650-horse power; the Merael:
a single-decked ship, nearly 100 feet longer, sea
with 1,000-horse-power, goes very little faster, while
the Orlando, another single-decked ship, 50 feet
longer than the Mersey, with power working up
to 4,000 horses, has only been propelled about hat
a knot more than the Agamemnon. On the other
hand, we have the Himalaya doing 16 knots wita
There
700-horse power, only partially exerted.
are anomalies here which ought not to be. Either
the model of the Himalaya is superior to that
of the Mersey and Orlando, or there are disturb'
ing causes, which should be inquired into.
It cannot be the material of which the shies
are built, for although the Himalaya is of iron, tue
General Admiral, built in America for Russia, i 5
said to go 15 knots, and is a wooden ship. These
are matters which demand the fullest possible then
tion and investigation. We go on building
an
altering, without any visible improvement 4 $943:,
and engines are constructed at an enormous a?
and when completed we find no perceptible get
The impression left in our mind by the experilnet-
on board the screw frigates is that there is a Or;
siderable excess of power developed, which is' 1-
fact, wasted, and that the waste retards rather than;
accelerates the speed. A curious exeraplificationa
the injurious excess of power has lately been allewil
two ships
in s,beloonogeinotg to the
them,Ptehneinvseueltairs a; nd Oriel;
employel
tai Company.
u
on the-Marseilles line, had 400-horse power, got
the highest speed attainable was 14 knots. Tha`
speed, however, being considered unnecessary, of
the contract did not stipulate for more than.
knots, the directors determined to reduce the pour
to 250-horse. The reduction was effected, audyrh:
result of the reduction is a quarter knot gain '--
Vectis, which would only steam 14 with 400.her3e
andob obtained in
Retribution.ed som elO yearsjtid in
nog onfr boardom
these the. Terri
power, goes 14/- with 250. Similar results were
ble
preraise,l
we see no reason to doubt that the Orlando
woy
attain a higher rate of speed with 500 or 600-liorse
power, moderately used, than with 1,000. ger,
model is symmetry itself. She is a sort of earn.
Alarm, and if not over-pressed with masts, yards' e 5"
gines, and boilers, we should have nothing eV
to her. The masts and yards of the Orlando weir
80 tons. Her mainmast is 3 feet 1 inch
ort in
ion.
meter, and all her other spars are in Tirrop nee"'
When under full speed the vibration must
welsarily be terrific ;and this fact suggests a very
int'l
portant investigation. .. Experienced sailors are a
aware of the damaging effects of vibration apon
ship's sailing qualities. It has been repeatedly _
de-
monstrated that the vibration caused by men walk-
about the decks is injurious ; but how much
more must a vessel's speed be affected by the
shaking occasioned by
Is it not possible to reduce t
'on caused by the revo-
efw t hpeo sere
cerre to
a point at which the vibration
often been asked whyr
the
tichtieolLsClo'
mental to speed ? We have
s Why should
lution of the screw would not e seriously detri-
give the Orlando only three mast .
importance is not increased by the tauntness of her
she not be rigged like the Himalaya ? .A ship's
1
seems so hard to move as the naval architectura
spars. But no department of the public service
branch. Adherence to old rules seems to have
Pro
taken strong root there. Progressive seamen have
long since condemned the ship-rig for long vessels;
but it is, nevertheless, retained, and in spite of th
most forcible arguments against it. The Admiralty
will, we hope, look narrowly into this steam will,
ies"
lion when at Portsmouth and Plymouth, and
wi
perhaps, institute inquiries likely to clear away the
doubts surrounding it. In order to determine whether
and to what extent masts and yards affect a shiP's
motion through the water, the Orlando should be tried
with all her masts on end and yards across ; and,
again with lower yards and topmasts struck an
topgallantmasts housed. If the latter expert,
showed that there were less vibration and greater
speed, it would be sufficient to prove that heavi
masts and yarls have had a bad effect. It mil be
said, however, that screw ships are sailing ships also!
and that the one qualification is not to be sacrificed
to the other. But was it not shown in the sailing
°g
trials of steamers and sailing ships many years as°
that the Medea, a paddle steamer, under coo'. _
_
was fully equal to any other ship, althoughshe
p!
was rigged as a three-masted schooner.
Orlando, with lighter, shorter, lower masts,
four of them, would, there is strong reason 10:13.
to
lieve, be equally as fast, under sail, as with her poi._
suit tremendous spars ; but with this imPre-
tont difference, that she would be much letter
gy p
!
pared to go into action. Reasoning by analo,.l
the Great Eastern had been a man-of-war.re
would have had three masts instead of si.
--
United Service Gazette

The Emilienne, of Dieppe, the last of t WO vessels
which left that port this year for the Iceland
has brought
cod fishery',
returned three days ago with 20,000 fish.
She
back to France the crew of a vessel wrecked on the coast of
Iceland.