Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1884-03-05
A Triple Hulled Snip proposed.
NEW York Bulletin.1

An article lately published in The Bulletin
on the tendency of modern shipbuilding to
disregard stability in favor of speed has
attracted much attention from maritime
men, and has brought to our notice several
plans designed to counterfeit this acknowl-
edged danger while keeping in view the
necessity of high rates of speed in order to
compete with existing vessels. The original
steamships were very wide in proportion to
their length, thus preventing their capsizing
and giving far more effectual resistance to q
blow fore or aft. The lines, however, have
become sharper and finer year by year,
and the length of the vessel proportionally
increased, until now, with scarcely more
width than the early vessels Of the Cunard
or Collins line, the distance from end to end
is doubled.
A reporter of The Bulletin day or two
ago called on Capt. William Coppin, of Lon
donderry, Ireland, who built the first screw
propeller in Great Britain, and who has de-
voted much thought to this question. He is
now temporarily in America, and was willing
to explain his views to the reporter. After
describing "twin-hulled" vessel, the captain
went on to say: 1.-THE method should adopt
would be, however, triple hull instead of q
double one-the centre boat to carry the
engines and the screws. The two outer yes
sells would be built on much finer lines than
any now existing, as, in fact, would the
centre one, and the three would be so
held together that it would be impossible
for any storm to disunite them. Each of the
two outer hulIs would be $40 feet in length
by twenty live feet wide, and the total width
at the extreme would be 120 feet. calcu-
late such ship would carry in the neighbor-
hood of 9, 900 tons, and would cost about Is
per cent more to build than another ship OF
the same capacity. The objects to be
attained by it would be, in the first
place, extreme stability, and next, greatspeed.
You will readily conceive that no wave ever
known in the north Atlantic could overturn
vessel 120 feet wide. Waves do not rise higher
than twenty-six feet above the trough in great
hurricanes, and of course the vessel takes
portion Of this for purposes Of flotation. The
strength Of ships as now built is SO great
that they could be suspended on pivot,
and, of course, by my plan, with greater
thickness there will be still greater stiffness
Another element is speed. The chief obsta.
Gle to this is the resistance of the water and it
is this reason that has induced our chief ship
builders to make the craft they turn out so
narrow. BY the plan propose there will be
less than ever before known. 1t is true the
width of the submerged portion will be greater
but its depth will be much less, and from
the fact that all the curves are segments
of a circle there will be very little resistance
Much more win be in the air and much less
in the water than now. The use Of ballast
will not be necessary. To see for yourself
whether this form is likely to move with
rapidity you have only to look at catar
maran. No other vessel sails SO quickly, and
none is so SAFE This vessel is really cata-
maran worked by steam, and of very OK.
| tensive size A third advantage the vessel
will enjoy will be safety from accidents.
Accidents, of course, will happen, but not
serious enough to destroy the vessel There
could scarcely be a combination Of collisions
] that could at once sink it, Each of the hulls
are divided into a number Of compartments