The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-09-14
I,,orregpoudcnce of the Boston Daily Advcrtiser.l
err.. Al or ahSuhuiIdiuR,


/ wish to call the attention of shipowners to
| one uueston-whether we progress or not In
the art of fshipbuilding?
/ am led to make this inquiry from having
| bebn this afternoon to East Boston to see the
| schooner Dray, now on the marine rMlway OF
| Messrs. Foster & Leighton. This vessel WAS
| built Mt Duxbury Plymouth County, in 1925,
| by Samuel A. Frazar, and IS now forty-one
| years old She was built of the Old Colony
| white oak, which is, in the absence OF teak one
| of the hest kinds of wood known for ship
building. She was newly topped lew
years ago and as the owner informs me, not
because the wood was rotten but 1t was tcorn
"out, and what was lett IN was petter tnsn tsa
any new vessel of the present day; The bot
tom plank and as high as the bends are OF the
original white oak and as hard as ever, and II
is now good risk for any insurance company.
There are proba bly, not any deeayed tlmpefs
in the vessel Bot the high state of preserva-
+ ton of this vesse was not ceased by Its own
original qualities, soma may soDDoSe. bot
was the result OF a little philosophy and good
deal of practical common senss; he vus
sci was both ventilated and saltedi these
| were the two prime causes. The big
Plato built in 1916, and the barque La
Grange, built aut 1920, were both about
forty years old the last heard OF them; they
same principle, preservation being an lmpor-
tdnt consideration with him.
Now let us compare notes with some of the
modern built vessels, and for example, take
some OF LneSe SuuDO1bS IOA Jul ANdNy
within the last four years, and under the super
vision of naval officer. Now everybody knows
that on this class of vessels no expense is spar
| ed to make them of first class in all respects.
The selection of the material of which the
| vessel is composed undergoes the closest scru6-
| nv, and often in the eyes of the mechanic ap-
| proaches extravaganza, the mode Of construc-
tion is most carefully attended to, each me-
| chanic is allowed all the time he requires to
| complete his work, the main object being to
| have everything done in the best possible man
| ner regardless of cost And it is supposed these
vessels will excel those built in private yards;
| and in some instances that is the case, particu
larly in regard to strength; that important con-
sideratiOn, the navy yards, admit, excel in;
| but in regard to preservation 1 think they fall
far short of the private yards their mistake is,
| in my judgment, q lack OF ventilation and Of
/ salting;-either, when of sufficient quantity
| will preserve any wood from decay. No one
| ever saw q rotten fishing schooner except in
the two ends where pickle was excluded, and
| dirt was allowed to accumulate. Go to any
| old wharf and draw out a pile that has been
| driven in the mud for two hundred years, and
it will be found as sound and as bright almost
| as when it was driven. Still, in spite of all
| these plain demonstrations, and in utter disre-
| gard of the imperative laws OF nature, we see
| costly vessels built to rot in four years, while
| others, built with proper regard to those laws
last and are useful for more than forty years.
| Every vessel should be built with an air
| strake under each deck from stem to stern; and
| filed with wet salt just soon as the plank
| ing will secure it, that the timbers may become
| saturated at the earliest possible moment pre-
| cisely as piece of fresh beef would be saved !:
| for the same law prevails with the one as with
| the other, though not quite as preceptibe.
| During the past few weeksit has been my
duty to survey and examine several of these
vessels alluded to, built for gunboats for the
| United States Navy, and which, since the war
has temporarily ceased, have been sold to pri-
| vate parties. A portion of these vessels, all
though but about four years old, find consid
| erably decayed. This defect is not wholly con-
fined to the navy yards, but many private
| yards are partially guilty, although know of
| none in the same degree.
But learn that in the navy objection is made
| to sailing vessels, on account of dampness
| arising from the salt, that being deleterious to
health. Without undertaking to analyze this
vapor, to see what it contains, think the mis-
take Just about as great as the one above al
luded to, and will only ask the harbor physi-
clan, when he takes tour down the harbor to
fiHaeyellow fever, black vomit, cholera or any
other disease, whether he expects to find il
f3reyailing in the fleet of fishermen, or on
board men-of-war and the emigrant ships.
/ am of the opinion that it would be for the
benefit of both the shipowner and the under.
writer to look into this subject with more care
| GEO. FARRAR, Marine Surveyor
Boston, Sept. l, 1866.