The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-23 00:00:00

Institution of Naval Architects.

The annual meeting of this institution com-
menced yesterday morning in the rooms of the
Sir John Pakington,
Society of Arts—the president,

in the chair.

In the report of the proceedings of the previous
year it was stated that the School of Naval Archi-
tecture established by the institution had been very
successful, and that there were last year 37 students
in the school, of whom four were Russians. The ac-
counts showed a balance in favour of the institution
of £594.

Sir Join,' PAKINGTON, in his opening address,
congratulated the meeting on the continued pros-
perity of the institution, and suggested that, for the
purpose of maintaining it in that position, a per:

- -
manent secretary should be appointed. lie alluded
ii-LitpimutntstrEatsatisfaction to the School of Naval
Architecture, ana he said that it the IP.SULULDAL

not done anything more .than the establishment of
that school they would have done most valuable
service. The only draWback to the success of the

school was that a considerable number of the students

were not sufficiently advanced in general education
to derive full benefit from it, and he strongly re-

commended those of the middle classes who desired

their sons to enter the naval profession to have

them better educated in science and mathematics.

Sir John Pakington alluded to the important ques-
tion on which all naval men were now so much in-

terested, of the different modes of construction of

Mr. Reed, the chief constructor of the navy, and
of Capt. Coles, and he observed that in his remarks
on the subject in the House of Commons he did not

,ntend to blame the Admiralty for not baying

acknowledged the superiority of Capt. Coles's sys-
tem, but for having deferred giving him a fair trial.
In alluding to the experiments now making to im-

prove the ships of the British navy, be said it was

:he custom in former days for naval men to be

proud not only of the efficiency of their ships but
of their beauty, but that idea seemed to be lost,
for nothing so ugly as some of the ships 'now

built was ever before seen on the surface of the

water. He hoped that the results of the experi-
ments that were being made would be to combine
thorough efficiency with beauty. He said he had

Lately brought before the notice of the House of

Commons the loss of the ship London. The circum-
stances of that sad event, and of the loss at the
same time of another ship of still larger size and of
equal reputation, he hoped would be noticed in the
course of the meetings of the institution, and that
there would be a discussion on the construction of
such ships, which was a question of almost equal
importance to the construction of ships of war. It
was most desirable that some regulations should be
made for the building of passenger ships, and to

prevent their being overloaded, for he feared they
were often built so much for speed as to render

Lem unsafe.

The first paper was read by the Rev. Dr.
WOOLLEY, "On the Bows of the Helicon and
Salamis," in which he minntely described the altera-
tions made in the former ship under the direction
of Mr .Reed, and stated the results of the trials of
their seaworthiness and speed. They were origi-

nay sister ships, and in the alterations that had
been made in the Helicon the body of the ship had
been lengthened five feet, by extending the bow
under the water-line. It was contended by Dr.

WOolley, who was on board the Helicon during
several trial trips with the Salamis, that the steadi-
ness of the ship and the speed had been greatly

improved by the alterations.
Mr. SAMUDA observed that the comparison of the
two ships were not exactly fair, for the lengthening
of the body would of course give the Helicon greater
speed, and, though the engines were nominally of
the same power, those of the Helicon were practi-
cally more effective. The altered form of the lines
of that ship, he asserted, had in fact retarded the
speed.

Mr. SCOTT RUSSELL considered the extension o'

the bow of the water-line an improvement, and that
Mr. Reed was right in the principle he had adopted
of increasing the bow below the water and diminish-
ing it above. Though he was strongly in favour
of the wave-line under general circumstances,
he was willing to admit that it ought to be departed
from when other objects than speed were particu-

larly required.
Mr. REED sttted that, after making all allowance
for the effect of lengthening the body and the diffe-
rence in the working power of the engines of the
two ships, the balance was still in favour of the
Helicon. He contradicted some reports that had
been circulated as to the speed of the Bellerophon,
and observed that, in comparison with the Black
Prince, the results were a little in favour of the
former.
The next paper was " On the Bellerophon, Lord
Warden, and Hercules Targets," by Mr. E. J.
Reed, who explained, with the aid of diagrams, the
construction of the targets of those ships, also those
of the Warrior and the Minotaur. In the target of

the Bellerophon the plan had been adopted of di
minishing the thickness of the timber backings and
increasing the thickness of the iron plates. The
experiments at Shoeburyness were reported to have
been unfavourable, and that plan which had been
adopted also in the Minotaur, but it had since been
ascertained that during the experiments a change
had been made in the strength of the powder, which
increased the initial velocity of the shot fired against
the Minotaur target, as compared with the shot fired
at the Warrior target, from 1,620 to 1,744 feet per
second. The Minotaur target was, in point of fact,
capable of offering greater resistance than that of
the Warrior, and was better calculated to resist the
effect of shells.
Admiral HALSTEAD made some observations on
the mode of testing the resisting power of targets
by firing at them at right angles, in which direction
ships in action are very rarely struck. He contended
that the power of resistance should be obtained by
oblique firing. lle mentioned an instance in which
oblique firing had been tried p.t, a distance of only
200 yards, and the target rejected the shot, which,
if fired at it rectangularly, would have readily
penetrated.
v e
ssMerl.
sShA.:
ludn wasta k eonf
intoopinion
aecot
ant the t
lspceoendsiodfe ra-
be
lating being convertible
the strength of the iron p
ing its power ,A resistance, the amount of speed and
be said, that if two
terms. It was quite evident,
ships equal in armament and power of resistance,
but one of which had greater speed, the latter would
be victorious ; and if by increasing the thickness of
the plating the speed were diminished, it would
render the speed less secure.
Sir J. PAKINGTON said he was glad to hear from
Mr. Reed that the Minotaur target had, in fact,
greater power of resistance than the target of
Warrior, and he expressed surprise that such a mis
take should have been made as to change the
strength of the powder during the experiments.
Captain HEATH differed from Mr. Samuda re-
specting the value of speed in large ships, which
were intended to fight and not to run away.
posed
reference to experiments on the Warrior target, he
said it had been ascertained that the power of pens
tration of a shot depends on its t'is viva,com With
of the weight of the shot and its velocity combined

i'II3B7SPAPER
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and if the via viva, under an /4 .
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equal, the relative proportions of e.
stituted by weight and velocity were kinataial. a
A paper by Mr. Fairbairn " On the Security a
Iron Ships," and a paper by Mr. Grantham " On
the Length of Iron Ships, with reference to recent
losses at sea," were then read, the discussion on
both being taken together. in Mr. Fairbaim's
paper it was admitted that the consideration of
speed might be carried too far, and he enforced the
neceasity of great strength in proportion to the
length, and the division of the ship by bulk-headg-•
Mr. Grantham, without giving any proportions of
length to breadth, which he considered desirable,
was of opinion that if the strength of the ship were
proportional, the length did not effect its safety,
and he stated that several ships were now building
in the proportion of ten and a half to the breadth
of the beam, while the length of the London and
the Amelia was not more than seven times greater
than the breadth. ll° thought that the loss of
those two ships could be attributed to their length,
from the fact that other ships of longer proportions
rode out the same gale in safety.

Mr. SCOTT RUSSELL said he believed that ships
might be built of any size if they were made suffi-
ciently- strong to bear the strain. There was no ob-
jection to the length of the ships that had been lost,
but it was the duty of the institution to consider in
every respect what could be done to prevent the re-
currence of such accidents. It must borne in mind,
however, that nothing could prevent the bad stowage
of a good ship, and that nothing could prevent a
good ship so stowed from going to the bottom. Two
or three things were necessary for the safety of pas-
senger iron ships, which, he hoped, would be ordered
at Lloyd's. In the first place, the deck should be of
iron, and all other things connected with the deck
should be firmly riteted to it, so as to make them
all compact. He recommended that the committee
of Lloyd's should give encouragement to the manu-
facture of ships of superior qualities, and legislation
might go so far as to enforce such regulations as aro

captains respecting the structure of the ships placed
under their command, with full particulars of how
the weight should be placed.
Sir E. BELCHER spoke of the great advantages
to be gained by the proper trim of a ship. With
respect to the loss of the London, he thought a fatal
error was committed in putting 15 tons of coal on
the deck at the head of the ship. Had the anchors
been put out they might have got rid of those tons
of•coal, and then the ship might have been saved.
Mr. WIGAN denied that 15 tons of coal had been
put on board on that part of the ship's deck.
Mr. REED expressed the opinion that no fault
could be found with the construction of the London,'
the length of which in proportion to the breadth
was not more than 7 to 1 ; it was therefore as broad
a ship as many that have been constructed with
especial regard to safety.
The meeting adjourned at 5 o'clock, Sir John
Packington having previously resigned the chair to
Mr. Reed, to attend the House of Commons.

EVENING MEETING.
The proceedings of the institution were resumed
'at 7, on which occasion the chair was taken by Sir
John Hay.
Mr. JOHN MAGREGOIt gave a description of tho
Rob Roy Canoe, in which, during the last summer,
he traversed 1,000 miles on the lakes and rivers of
Europe. The canoe was built of oak, was five
feet long, and two feet four inches broad, and
weighed 801 b. Mr. Macgregor expatiated on the
great pleasure and excitement in thus travelling in-
dependently up rivers that no other kind of boat
could navigate, and by which means he had pene-
trated to spots never before visited. He said that in
some parts of Germany his arrival and departure
made a great sensation, hundreds of people assem-
bling to see him set off in his canoe.

Mr. GRANTIIA3I next read a brief description of

the iron screw yacht Vesta, built in 1848, which was
one of the first screw steamers built on Clyde.

A paper "On Steel Ship Plates, Angles, and
Beams," by Mr. T. Rochussen, gave rise to a dis-
cussion on the employment of steel in the construc-
tion of ships, in which Mr. Reed, Mr. Grantham,
Mr. Scott Russell, and other gentlemen took part.
It was stated by Mr. Reed that the attempts he had
made to apply steel to the purpose had failed in con-
' sequence of the breaking of the metal at the rivets
with a less strain than iron would bear. He did not
consider the experiments final, but, until he could
see his way more clearly, he did not think it proper
to build ships of large size with steel, especially
turret ships. Mr. Scott Russell, though strongly
approving of the principle of constructing steel ships,
nevertheless considered that the suitable kind of
steel for the purpose has not yet been manufactured.
He desired to encourage the building of ships with
steel, for he firmly believed steel to be the iron of
the future.

A paper contributed by Mr. M. Rankin "On a
Balance Rudder for Screw Steamers" was then read,
and was explained by Mr. Napier. It was entirely
technical, and, after a short discussion, in which
Mr. Phipps, Mr. Scott Russell, and Mr. Reed took
part, the meeting adjourned till to-day, when papers
will be read in the morning and in the evening ;
and the annual congress of the Institution of Naval
Architects swill be brought to a close on Saturday
morning.