Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1857-11-27


The Adriatic icing the largest steamship
af nt, and p"rhaos. without exception. the
finest specimen Of naval architecture extant,
the event Of her compilation will Justify the
repn Nlin,tion Of the following rx.r,cts from
m article published in this Journal ono
yer since -
The moiel Of the Adriatic d fer. from all
former practice, unless the U. 5. steam
f,igate Niagara. (,lso built hv Mr. Steers
be made m exception. Both are modelled
on substantially the same plan. nth stud
ious adaptation of shape to the course Of
the water when cleft by the ships prov.
except that the Niagara is much sh rper,
hut with lsss dead rise on dead lat. presrrv-
ing her stability amidships and both ve'-
sells have many points in resemblance with
the America. The keel, for instance, il
curved throughout its entire length but
with little curvature towards tha stern,
( while Mt the other extremity, there is q rise
of about nine feet to the water line, com
mcncing 100 feet hick. Some sid to Mr..
Steers that in making his ship so sharp she
would 90 under but he anticipated a result
px ,ctlv the reverse, conceiving that the
effect would he rather to throw her out of
the water. go that the more rapid the speed
the more sh, would rise. diminishing the
displacement. Actual experience has con-
/ 6rned his theory.
In passing through the spacious saloons
and deck OF this great ship, tlere is much
to impress the spectator with admir- ton
hut when he stands up,n the brink OF her
man deck and peers down thirtv-three
feet into the iron bowels of tNis ocean mon
ster. he experiences a sensation of wonder
and awe. Her engines. from the Novelty
Work., are mas-ive and of prodigous pow.
or, and form the distinguishing character
istic OF the ship. They nre justly regarded
as master piece Of mechanism, and while
thev eff ct sreat saving in space, are ex-
pected to accomplish n still greater saving
IN the reduced consumption Of uel,-ob-
iActs Of paramount Importance in the con-
strurton of ocean steamers. Som idea Of
these engines may be formed from the fol-
! lowing statement -
| Two hed-plates, each weigh ~ tons.
| Two cylin irrs u" 50
Two beam pillowblocks " %
Eight boilers " 40
Two wheels, wrought iron 25
Two shafts weigh "a "
The shafts and cranks, from Reading, are
believed to he the largest iorgings ever made
in any country. The engines Of the Airi-
attic have two cylinders, each 100 inch
es in diameter, with ~ feet stroke of pis-
ton. and are of tie kind known as in
clined oscillAtUrs, coupled by simple aud
| di~"ot oonnooti"ns known rs the drag
link" and are altogether the most com pact
aud direct engines yet constructed.
The cylinders, ghich are Of tho kind
known ~ surface condensers, comprise
the advantage of cooling surface in II small
space, with great simplicity and accessible
itv in all their parts, and are designed to
afford n constant and unfsiling supply OF
| r.,sh tar . hn boil
numerous tubes OF brass, through which 10
constantly passi Ig a stream of cold water
drawn from the sea, and forced through
them back into it again, by pumps Connect
ed with the shaft by An eccentric cam mo.
ton. BY coming into contact with the ex-
terror eurf zoe OF these tubes thus cooled, the
rxhnust steam is Condensed. II avoids all
the incrustirion, cUrrosion and other diff
cultiss attending the use Of sea water.
There are eight principal boilers. Mar.
tins patent, having IS 900 perpendicular
iron tubes, a are arranged in sets OF four
forward and ait Of the engine. The whole
number OF furnaces is torty-eight, there
being six to "a boiler. There are two extra
boilers, with brass tubes, to be used IN an
emergency. The water wheels are forty
ieet in diameter, Of wrought iron, and each
has thirty-two paddles. IL feet in I,ngth.-
The shafts are 80 leet in length, ia inches
IN diameter. and weigh "a tons rhe actu-
al propeling power Of this enormous en-.
glne is estln tted at $500 horses. The
Adrlitic has eight more furnaces and two
feet more stroke of piston than the Persia
Respecting the consumption Of fuel, the
probable rate OF speed, g., the engine
huild"rs prefer to make no predictions, te-
ins satisfied to await results.
The hull Is not less important than the
engine. Tho dimensions are as follows -
Length over all 35i 2-3 feet.
Breadth Of Beam 50
Depth Of hull 80 &c "
tiTpeter tonnage $500 tons.
Beneath the saloons ave the freight decAs
where 1000 tons of cargo can bs slowed and
100 to l400 tons Of coal. hesdes water
tanks for 10 900 gallons, exclusive of of the
ample provisions made for II supply Of VIA
ter by conirnsation from the engines. But
to speak more particularly of the hull, il
may be st ted that in it's construction the
choic st sticks have hsen selected that the
noble forests # the South and West can al-
ford. 10 puttng-thrm together, bolts oi
cuIrer,. or galv n zed iron from inch to
"a IN diameter have heen used, wherever
they could mpirt additional strength, and
all the bolts clenched on rim ., and trenail,
wedged Diagonal braces four feet apari
) intersect the frames 10Th ways, and the
; two sets are riveted together where they
cross, bin ling the whole in an in>eparablt
network and outside the frame is an iron
band, having the effect Of u hoS frame.
The frame is all of live and white oak
locust. cedar. and chestnut, put together in
the strongest possible manner.
The Adriatic is rigged with two masts, al
barque, and will have but temporary
bowsprit, to he run out as occasion may
require. Though at present she is the
largest ship aioat IN the world. Tin tonnage
measurement, y and sits very lightly on the
water. displaying h-r enormous bulk to q
good advantage, the appearance OF her mag
nitude is lost in the symmetry of her pro
portions.
Every possible precaution has been taker
to insure the safety of the ship. An i'm
pnrtant feature 10 the introduction OF wa
ter-tight comp rlments, similar to those
which have heen huit IN all other ships o.
this lIne. The hulkheads are made of dn
, rable thickness of yellow pine plank. cross
ing ohliquely, with an intervening layer O.
thick felting, and the whole secured by hor
izoDtal timbers and stsunchsons. 1t 10 diff
/. icult to conceive how a vessel thus proteo
ted could ever sink from T. q effect Of colis
, ions. Indeed. ell the frames heing filled IL
so'it, up to tho water-line. the plantinI
might he entirely removed from her bottou
aud stil she would remain water tight Or
: should water succeed in entering the vessel
the steam pumps have capacity sufhcien
10 eject an enormous quantity of water
For security against fire, the measures o
protection are equally thorough and com
plete. In all those portions Of ths ship ad
, iacent To the engines or boilers, a uni ;orm
, surfIce of iron or other incombusib ma
trial is presented and between the iror
surface and any wood work Is wooden o.
hair felting, thfse-fourths of ar inch il
thickness. which forms a non. conductor o
. heat, and therefore an effectual protection
Q II also deadens any noise arising from th
working of the engine. The boiler deck i
entirely of iron. Connected with the en-