The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-17 00:00:00

CAR'B IRON SHIPBUILDING.

Some new principles to he applied in the con-
struction of ir..n ships of the, largest size, fro-n which
it is antieipeted thq the le:1 measure of advantage
will be reelised from' their employment in long
lines of navigation, are laid down in apatent grant,.
to their, ieventer, Mr. John Clare, jun., of Liverpool,
and are admirably illustrated in a model of a vessel
on the new construction, which is now attracting
considerable attention among shipowners and
others at Lloyd's Register Office, White Lion-
court, Cornhill. Mr. Clare proposes to construct
large iron steam ships in a manner,analagous to the
Gre d Eastern, but, to avoid R00143_ disc lvantages
which ho conceives to arise from the form, arrange-
meet, and connection of certain parts of that vessel.
As in the Great Etstern, he proposes to have an
inner and an out shell, each formed of wrought
iron plates, but these are to be kept apart by longi-
tudinal ribs of II iron, at the distance of 9in. in-
stead of 2f;. 10in. So large an interval between
the inner and outer shells of the ship very consider
ably reduces her capacity for tonnage for the sake
of gaining in buoyancy—a sacrifice which he deems
to be unnecessary. Bp overlapping.' the plates on
the flanges of the H metal, riveting through four
thickeesse,, and introducing a system of diagon.
it
trussing in all the tills of the side, a structure of
such immense strength will be produced that in the
strongest sea-way it is expected that it would act
as if the whole ship were made in one single piece..
The strength of the fabric will be:still further pro-
moted by the ordinary sectional bulk-heads, all of
which are of the firmest construction, and stiffened
by flanges of T iren. With regard to the form of
the hull, Mr. Clare aims at. reducing the resistance
of the water to a minimum. In vessels of the best
construction no wave ought to be moved forward
under the bows, as a portion of the moving force
is necessarily expended upon it, and Mr. Care con
ceives it to be quite possible to prevent this incon-
venience, by giving a sufficient li,t3llow to the sides
to form a channel; by which the water that would
otherwise be gathered up, and carried forward with
the ship, is allowed to flow aft. Having got past the
greatest section, the rin receives such a form as ea-
aides it to direct the steam upon the rudder more per-
pendicularly, whereby a grea'nedirecting power is
given to the wheel. The principle upon which Mr.
Cl tre determines the thwart sections of the bows
is, that they should be circular arcs, or radii gra-
dually decreasing from the stem, and having their
convexities turne:l towards midships. By this ar-
rangement
he expects, that when, the maximum
point of resistance bst*een the loan-water line and
04,1 ght-water lino would be ohteined, under ordi-
nary c'rcumstances, a vessel on his principle would
not be retarded by the cause against which it pro
vides. Mr. Ciare adds a strong keel, of simple
construction, to the hid!, and introduces a system
of flooring, of immense strength, in the lower por-
tions. The bunkers are on either side, and the
coals being taken from them in equal proportions,
the vertical position of the midship sections re-
mained unaltered. The vessel is to be I,oooft long,
loft broad, and 30ft in depth. These are the prin-
cipal features of Mr. Clare's invention, the value of
which must of course be decided by actual experi-
ment. They have so far, however, obtained the
wancti le of nautical archit.cts, and should the ideas
of the inventor be confirmed on trial, it is easy to
see that an immense improvement will have been
wrought in mamm ,th ship building. The very
least that can b 3 said is, that it is certainly worth
the country's while to try any experiment which
appears at all feasible, and the success of which
would place this great mercantile country in the
closest possible proximity with the remotest por-
tions of the globe. With the experience of the past
before us, it would be perhaps presumptuous to
look for muoh wsistanes on the part of the Govern-
ment ; but when we consider those events on die-
stant shores which now abs-Irb the minds of all, it
is not to be supposed that those who hold the reins of
power can altogether turn a deaf ear to proposals
which, if carried out, might enable them to trans-
plant an army sound and healthy in condition, with
all the appliances and provisions of war, within a
space of 30 days, to the banks of the Ganges.