New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-07-23

THE NEW IRON STEAMBOAT.


10 r CG. ~ z
Fall Description Of Her.
Prom the Cincinnati Gazette.f
the subject Of building iron steamboats, {,
navigate Western rivers is again agitatet
by many respectable journals. But they
are not only being built on paper. W.
stated in the Gazette Of the thirteenth
instant that an iron steamer was being built
at Birkenhead, England, to navigate the
Mississippi from st. Louis to New Orleans
and still be capable Of extending her trip to
European ports. Of course, she must have
ed; but the desired object, the shipment
of grain direct from st. Louis to European
ports without breaking bulk, will
be attained. This project is o good one so
far as it goes. But Cincinnati has the honor
of being the first city, after lapse Of
twenty-five years, to build an iron vessel to
navigate Western river exclusively. On
the stocks at Ltherburys yard is boat
of this kind, which has so far progressed
toward completion as to give very fair
idea of what she will be. Her hull will be
1870 feet long, 40 feet floors, ~ feet beam, 6le
feet depth Of hold, and all irOn-n0ta square
inch of wood being used.
The thickness of the iron of her keel is
five-eighths of an inch; her forward BODY
one-half inch, and after body three-eighths
of an inch large. As the boat is intended
for Red river, which is believed to contain
more snags than any other navigable West
ern river, it will readily be seen why the
iron forward is an eighth inch thicker than
it is aft. Her floors are of twelve, fourteen
and sixteen inch centers, of angular iron,
three and a-half by four and a-half inches,
with every alternate floor reversed angle
on the top, making the floors six inches
deep, by five-eighths Of an inch thick
The iron plates, of which her hull is con-
structed, are three feet wide, and vary in
length from ten to fourteen feet. The butts
of the plates are strapped with iron of the
same thickness, double riveted what steam
boat builders call 'stagger rivet'). All the
iron Of the hull was manufactured by Alex
Swift Of this city, from Iron Mountain ore,
and is Of superior quality, and Mr. Swift
has the contract for building the hull, which
will cost about $500
The hull will be divided into twelve
water-tight compartments, by iron bulk
heads running both ways. To reach all
these compartments six matches only are
necessary, the two forward compartments
having each hatch. The main deck will
be principally Of wood, but forty feet fore
and aft BY twenty-four feet wide Of that
part under the boilers will be Of iron. This |
is to provide against fire from the furnaces. |
The engine frames usually called cylinder
will be of iron. Her stern ports |
are of wrought iron, three by five inches in
diameter. She will have q steel cylindrical
shaft, thirty -four inches in diameter, of half !
inch steel. The steel is being manufactured
IN Pttsburg, and the shaft viii be made by |
Dennis Long e. Co., Louisville. Her cranks
'haftheads, etc., were forged ut Buffalo,
New York, and are now at Louisville. The
wheel itself will be of iron, the same as q
ea-gOing vessel 1t will be twenty-eight
eet long by twenty-five feet in diameter,
With twenty-inch buckets.
The measurement of the tonnage of the
boat will be about five hundred tons, but
The will have carrying capacity of one
tons. Her actual weight will not
,e more than half that of wooden vessel
If the same dimensions. The cost Of build
ng her will be nearly double that Of
wooden vessel of the same size. but to off |
et this it is claimed that she will not have
o be dOcked periodically, and that she will
a half-dOzen wooden boats Her
ost will, of course, be more than if built by
company regularly in the business and
ully prepared for that kind of work She
will have three dOuble-flued boilers, forty
inches in diameter and twenty-eight feet
ong. Her engines are being built BY Den
is Long, at Louisville, and will have |
ighteen-inch cylinders, with six feet stroke
he will receive at Louisville, also, a full
abin of the most modern style, which will
Q heated by steam, and she will be pro-
ided with an extra boiler for that purpose.
70 lamps will be used on the boat, but gas ,,
I'LL light the cabin at night. Both the
bove are extra precautions against the de-
truction of the cabin by fire.
We would like to be able to say that
very part of this iron steamboat is to be
uilt at Cincinnati. The main feature, how
ver-the iron hull-is being built here but
ven the credit OF this can scarcely be given
, our mechanics. The boat was drafted by
itherbury; the contract for the building
the hull is with Swift; but Captain o. A.
lttfield, who built the iron boat W. w.
~, and commanded her several years in |
waters, is Southern man, and is l
'rsonally experimenting the building of 4
lis boat, and il, emphatically, the builder | G
the hull. Swift furnishes the machinery, U
rges, etc. She is being built for Captain q
lillian 1. Boardman, of New Orleans, and I
i'll be out in September. The whole cost +
the boat, when completed, will be about J.
Cincinnati has an interest in the new iron D
'at that no other city has. We may take a
Vantage of the prestige for building iron
ssels that this boat will give us, and Sc q
re the building of all others of the same 4
nd for years to come. A stock company e
uld be organized here in a week, with a II
id-in capital of 100000 that could not g
ly build iron hulls, but could manufac- 3
re steel shafts, cranks, and everything q
e required.
A wooden hull must be locked at least Is
&c in two years, at an enormous expense, a
then only live about six years. The 81
n hull would never have to be docked, u
cept in case of accident, and would live a p
arter OF q century or more. &A q
Before the sound of hammer was heard az
the construction of this Red river boat u
2 Board of Underwriters at New 0f1eans u
ID meeting and resolved that they g
Md insure on her at the lowest rates..
We will here state that other iron boats
certain to be commenced here almost as
IN as this one is completed &E |
some other time we will give our readers A
hort history Of iron steamboat building in
s country. Only two boats of the kind
re ever built for Western rivers-the w. r,
Fry, at Jacksonville, and the Valley | Al
rye, at Pittsburg. Both were built more | DC
IN quarter of century ago. in
DISSIPATION OF LITERARY MEN.-Very re- ="
y are the bold assertions made in pulpifs ~
Mr.. Dickens constantly continued dissi- ~
ion. The great writer left $4OO.O 900 D.
Try farthing of it earned by hard and al n.
st daily literary toll. When do these n
tical and clerical gentlemen suppose that ;,,'
n of letters do their work! Such SLAM ~,
s refute themselves. Look for instance | ~.
Burns. Professor John Wilson long ago ,.a
nted out how impossible it would have a+
II for Burns to have written 30 mucI and | r..