The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1878-03-29

In preparing To build an iron vessel
II must be first decided what she Il NJ
do, where she Is 10 20, and how She i
70 be moved. The character az m.
coast ship Is 20 visit determines her
shape and capacity. II she Is ALWAYS
70 keep IN deep waters, and 10 follow
the great commercial highways OF The
world, she must be built Ia sail in every
sea; must be ready 10 encounter the
dangers Of every climate, hot monsoons
OF Indian seas or the freezing storms Of
the North Atlantic. II she is 10 visit
our southern ports and rivers, she must
be fiat-bottomed and Of light draupht.
that she may creep over the shallow
bars in safety. II she Is to ascend swift
and narrow rivers, she must be short
and light, that she may be turned about
quickly. II she i 70 visit the Gull ports,
she must be provided with ample means
of ventilation and shaded decks. Ii her
way leads 70 Northern ports, she must
be ready u ride the tremendous seas
and the furious gales Of the North At
lantic. II her cargo Is To be coal, she
will assume one shape. if cotton, quite
another. Ii she is 10 have paddles she
takes one form; IL screw, quite an
other.
Having decided all this, having set
tied upon her length, depth, width, and
capacity, and fixed the cost. the next
step is to make the model. A cabinet
maker carefully prepares number of
pieces of choice wood Of exactly equal
thlckness-say from four 10 six inches
wide, and from yard TO one and half
yards long. At the same time he Sc
lects an equal number Of pieces Of ve-
neer OF the same size, choosing We
neer OF dark color or color contrast
ing with the other wood. These boards
are carefully laid one over the other.
with the veneer between each. and the
whole is then glued together to make a
solid block. Out of this block the de-
signer shapes a model of one-half Of the
hull Of the ship. He gives this block
the exact shape the future ship is to AS.
sumo when seen from the side Only
half model is made. as the two sides OF
the ship will be simply duplicates Of the
model.
Every thing depends upon the skill Of
the designer. The ships speed. capa-
city, draught, and safety depend upon
the shape he gives this wooden model.
Men are not taught to make models
the good designer is born, not made.
The imagination that can see the future
ship in the block on wood, the SIRE eve ,
that can draw the exquisite lines Of bow
and stern, the delicate hand that can
realize these lines If beauty, come not ,
by observation. They are gifts. 4
The architect making plans Of houses q
and temples has comparatively an easy i
task. The drawing gives a clear idea \
OF the appearance Of the future build i
Inc, and his work j. perfectly plain and !
simple. The marine architect must /
combine science with beauty Of form.
DR., rather, his science must be expressed 9
n beautiful form. The model must A
DC an exact copy Of the ship in little. h
ie must be able 10 point out how deep K
he ship will sink ia the water. how the !,
BOWS Will part the water in front, how v
ne displaced water may sweep past the h
ides and under the stern. The model \
must show how deep the screw will be Il
ubmerged, how far the ship may heel I,
,ver under the influence Of her sails or q
ne waves in safety, and how she will be a
Ipborne from moment 10 moment on /,
ne ever-shifting waves. His art is the
areful adjustment Of forces one against
he other, the weight against the flota-
ion or buoyancy, the resistance Of the
gater against the power Of her screw p
nj engines, the force of the waves and =
'ind against her own stability. The u
nished model Is full Of grace and beau p
y; but II comes not from the mere y
lending Of sweeping curves and swell =
NJ lines, but from the balance Of these y
prces. II Is beautiful because the re- ~
ose of forces in equilibrium is always q
Certainly, if the architect is a.
allied an artist, the model-maker is full y
his equal. - Charles barnard, ia Har- q
er's Magazine for APsH a.
RI