The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1878-04-10
MISCELLANY.
THE SHAPING OF A SHIP.

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In preparing to build an iron vessel, it must
be first decided what she is to do, where she
is to go, and how she is to be moved. The
character of the cost ship is to visit deter
mines her shape and capacity. If she is al
ways to keep in deep waters, and to follow
the great commercial highways of the world,
she must be built to sail in every sea must
be ready to encounter the dangers of every
climate, hot monsoons of Indian seas or the
freezing storms of the North Atlantic. If
she is to visit our Southern ports and rivers,
she must be flat-bottomed and of light
draught, that she may creep over the shallow
bars in safety. If she is to ascend swift and
narrow rivers, she must be short and light,
that she may be turned about quickly. If she
is to visit the Gulf ports, she must be provid-
ed with ample means of ventilation and shad-
ed decks. If her way leads to Northern ports
she must be ready to ride the tremendous seas
and the furious gales of the North Atlantic.
If her cargo is to be coal, she will assume one
shape if cotton, quite another. If size is to
have paddles she takes one form if screw,
quite another.
Having decided all this, having settled up
her length, depth, width. and capacity,
and fixed the cost, the next step is to make
the model. cabinetmaker carefully pre-
pares number of pieces of choice wood of
exactly equal thickness-say from four to six
inches wide and from yard to one and "a
half yards long. AT the same time he selects
an equal number of pieces of veneer of the
same size, choosing veneer of dark color
contrasting 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 designer shapes mod
ell of one-half of the hull of the ship. He
gives this block the exact shape the future
ship is to assume when seen from the side.-
Only a half model is made, as the two sides of
the ship will be simply duplicates Of the mod
el.
Everything depends upon the skill of the
designer. The ships speed, capacity, draught
and safety depend upon the shape he gives
this wooden model the good designer is born,
not made. The imagination that can see the
future ship in the block of wood, the sure eye
that can draw the exquisite lines of bow and
STERN the delicate hand that can realize these
lines of beauty, come not by observation =
They are gifts.
The architect making plans of houses and
temples has comparatively an easy task. The
drawing gives clear idea of the appearance
Of the future building, and his work is per-
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tect must combine science with beauty of
form, Or rather, his science must be express
ed in beautiful form. The model must be an
exact copy of the ship in life. He must be
able to point out how deep the ship will sink
in the water, how the bows will part the wat
er in front, how the displaced water may
sweep past the sides and under the STERN
The model must show how deep the screw
will be submerged, how far the ship may heel
over under the influence of her sails or the
waves in safety, and how she will be upborne
from moment to moment on the ever-shifting
waves. His art is the careful adjustment of
forces one against the other, the weight
against the flotation or buoyancy, the resist
ance of the water against the power of her
screw and engines, the force of the waves and
wind against her own stability The finished
model is full of grace and beauty but it
comes not from the mere blending of sweep
ing curves and swelling lines, but from the
balance of these forces. 1t is beautiful be cause
the repose of forces in equilibrium is always
beautiful. Certainly, if the architect is call
ed an artist, the model-maker is fully his equal