Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-07-27
A CHEAT LOG BOAT.
A New Plan To Get Lumber from
Canada to Michigan.

Canada to Michigan.
DETROIT, July 23.-The departure Of
the great log boat Michigan, which left
Alpena in tow Of powerful tug bound
for French river, Georgian Bay, for load
of logs for Tawas parties, yesterday, WAS
Witnessed by large crowd. so much IN
terest has been taken in the experiment,
on which large interests depend. The
Michigan lumb Der forests are rapidly dis
appearing. Millions OF dollars are invested
in the most elaborate and costly mill plants
These must either soon be abandoned,
must De removed at great expense, or logs
must in some way be brought to them
from increasingly long distances. For
tour or i've years past the transportation
OF logs by railroad by special trains con-
structed for the purpose has been grow
ing traffic. until now it has assumed large
proportions, and 30 and 100 miles are not
uncommon distances to be covered by
these trains. But even this resort VIII
have to be abandoned for want OF timber.
Within the past two years Michigan lum-
brrmen have turned their attention TO
Canada, and extensive purchases OF pine
lands have been made near the shores OF
Lake Huron and along the large streams
'emptyl Ing into that inland sea. To move
their mills TO that side Of the lake for the
wolves great expense. Then, too, they
must encounter the tariff on imported
lumber on seeking An American market.
To somehow get the logs to this side
would solve the difficulty, as there is no
tariff on these. Transportation by RATS
has been attempted in few instances,
but the risks are very great, as Lake
Huron is a decidedly stormy body of
water, and the breaking up and scatter
ing OF a single raft would sadly trench
upon the profits OF a seasons business.
Hence the experiment OF the log boat,
which is intended to bear the same rela-
ton to water transportation that the log
train does TO the railroad Ii it can be
managed successfully and not too eXpen-
slvely. it promises to solve a very impOr-
tant problem in connection with the lum-
Der business OF Michigan for the next 20
years.
This pioneer boat, named after the
State, is 294 feet over all, ~ feet beam,
with 16 feet depth Of hold, and has ton
mage of ,22T. She has one boiler IS feet
long, ~ teet in diameter, and two engines.
One engine has Is by II inch cylinder.
The other engine has two cylinders, IA by
II inches each, and is connected with two
1S-inch pumps, and also with an apparatus
for hosting anchors, of which she car
ries two, one weighing 500 and the other
5000 pounds. TAe chain OF the large
anchor weighs 30 pounds to the link and
is made of -inch wire. The apparatus
for hosting logs on board
is a slip that extends on an incline to the
water, in which an endless chain runs,
and on which are hooks which carry the
logs up the slip, which is jOinted at the
rail and extends across the deck. Here
men with cant hooks will receive and roll
the logs off on TO the skids, where they
are held until wanted in the hold, they
being there dropped into five feet OF water.
The water comes into the hold through a
lO-inch aperture in three hours, ana the
two lS-inch pumps empty the hold again
in four hours. There are two of the slips.
The logs are hOisted out OF the hold at the
after matches COT which there are seven
by two upright slides with arms, upon
which the log rests. When the log gets on
deck it rolls on to a set of rollers that
carry 1t overheard. 1t is claimed that the
craft can be loaded in less than twenty
hours. She has full set OF canvas on
four spars, ten men for a crew, and will
! carry about 100000 feet OF logs. The
| question OF expense would seem to be the
| only one to be settled by experiment. 1t
is probable that no special interference
would be encountered from boisLerous
weather, and there seems no reason to
doubt that as in the ore and grain carry
ing trade from three to six of these I'M
mense barges could be loaded and lowed
across Lake Huron by a single powerful
tug.