The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1876-10-21
Wood and Iron Ships.

Il seems that the special preference given 10 iron
shlTs for some years past l. being GREATLY modified,
SO that now the best built wooden ships class a
high and are rated tx a. long periods as the best
Of iron vessels. IL was clearly the policy of
England TO write up and yauut the alleseI super
lUTIly OF iron ships alter der ship timber supplies
gave cut at home; but IL Vas 4 blind and suicidal
policy on our part 70 fall IN with and accept
English prejudieed views as gospel. Her Indian
possessions furnished large Quantities OF teak and
other timber OF the most desirable quality, but
the cost of transporting 1t 10 the ship yards Of the
United Kingdom forbade its use TO any very great
extent. Canada, also, raises n variety Of ship
building wood, and has been largely placed ander
requisition forsupplies. 1t is, however, of infer
ior quality in so far as regards duration, With the
exception Of hackmatac, chestnut, and cedar, and
vessels composed of FIVE or six different kinds of
timber are almost constantly in want Of repairs
after six or seven years ofservice. 1t was natural,
then, for England to utilize her enormous deposits
of iron for ship building purposes, and to give
vessels constructed of this material q marked pre-
ference was as naturally the policy of the British
Lloyds. The result was, that English iron ships
received higher freights than wooden ones, and
the business of employing iron for ship building
in this country was resOrted to rs 4 measure Of
selfprotecti0n. Within the past six or seven
years the notion that iron is superior 10 wood has
not only undergone a decided change but an
absolute reversal, and an unlimited number of
experiences have been brought forward TO prove
that wood is far the best material, If an iron
ship gets 4 hole knocked into her she is pretty
certain to find a swift passage to "Davy Jones'
locker" but there arc many methods of keeping
Il wooden vessel afloat long enough:to reach some
port under similar circumstances. The bottoms
of iron ships are liable to become honeycombed,
requiring frequent and careful attention and ex-
penditure, and for this reason English ship
builders resorted 10 what is known as the "com-
posite style, the frame work, sides, bulwarks,
nDA OIL has-- 1E 1000 A-1 a. 49,
of wood SO that it could be coppered or metaled.
The magnetic influence OF an iron ship upon the
compasses has been the cause of more disasters
to that kind of vessel than all others combined.
4 large proportion of these losses has been prob
ably due to the want of sufficient knowledge on
the part of the commander, but the evil has not
been obyiated. The average duration of an iron
ship is fifteen years, while that of q f~irst-class
wooden vessel is indefinite, as is clearly proven
by a host of examples, such as the American
frigate Constitution, - the ship " Barclay 6S
years old when broken up at New Bedford, the
the Ouch galliOt " Commissaries des Koning Won
der Heine,'' built in 1868, and still running after
308 years Of ocean service, the whale ship
"Rousseau,' built in 1901, and still doing duty,
some of the English teak built ships, and, in
fact, a whole feet of similar cases might be cited.
There is no such history on the part of iron ships.
But it is needless to go abroad for examples.
Right here in San Francisco we have q number
of wooden vessels built of Pacific Coast ship tim
Der, that have been doing hard and active service
all the way from twelve to sixteen years without
mourning a dollar of expense for repairs to hull,
other than painting, occasional recaulking, and
metaling. These craft measure from $50 to 200
tons, and are as sound as the day they were
launched. Where is the iron built vessel that
can furnish such a record? The inference is, that
the mania for constructing iron ships is passing
away, and that the many lessons taught by ex-
perience and close observation are producing a
yerV decided verdict in favor of wooden vessels
of the best possible type.-CaL. paper.