Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1886-07-24
BUILDING A SHIP.
HOW A GREAT STEEL STEAMER
is CONSTRUCTED.
The Miniature Mcclellan Immense
Blackboard with Life-Size
Drawing-An Army of Riv-
cters-The Caulkcrs.

Globe ship Bulldllg Company's yards,
is a graduate from the great shipyards
in England. Among the vast crowd of
guests who gathered to witness the
launch of the steel steamer Spokane was
a lady, who asked captain Smith
please tell me how you build ship" 1t
was brief question but the captain po-
litely answered that 1t would take day
to answer it. A Plain Dealer represent
ative heard the question and reiterated
it. The Captain and the staff at the
Globe yards, having been relieved of some
of the pressure of business incident to
launching the vessel, consented t, an
swer some of the reporters questions.
The first step in CONSTR citing vessel
like the Spokane, is to make the draw
ings. 1t is matter Of vastly greater i'm
portance than drawing the plans of
house, for while-like the house archi-
tect-the ship designer desires to attain
symmetry, he must achieve the more i'm
portant end of strength and so construct
the vessel that she will with the greatest
ease and speed pillow the water with her
immense load. Hence there is a more
important reason than beauty for the
trend of every line.
Having determined on the plan of the
boat, an exact miniature model of her is
made. The model would be the delight
of the small boy as a toy but for the fact
that it is, as it were, cut in two in the
middle and half of it glued to board
and suspended in the shipbuilder's office.
Perpendicular and horizontal lines on
this model divide the little ships surface
into small rectangles. The perpendicu-
lar lines mark the frames that are to form
the vessel, and are numbered from one
upward. There were over 1870 of these
frames in the Spokane. Thus every
frame has a number and an individuality
OF its own. The lines running length
wise of the boat are the ''strakes," indi-
eating the strips of metal with which she
is to be covered. These strakes are let
tered A, B, G, etc. The lines vary to
suit the form of the ship. Thus the
model of one-half of the ship is divided
into small sections, each differing from
the other In size and shape, and each
having designating number and letter.
The sections of iron for the sides are
cut in accordance with the patterns thus
laid out.
All the work of designing is not yet
done, however. Connected with the
Globe company's Office is a large shed,
over which is flat roof This extensive
roof forms an immense blackboard on
which the ship is laid out life size with
exact measurement, Just think of a
blackboard large enough for the full-size
drawings of ship 265 feet long!
1t is not the purpose of this article to
take the reader through the details of
building a ship, many of which would
be uninteresting, but rather to point out
such of the work as is attractive to
novice. When the steel plates are ready
to be riveted to the vessels side. An
army of riveters arrive. The Globe ship
building easspAsY e,ocloys in busy
time over $50 men and disburses So, 900
week in wages. The riveters are to a
great extent ncmadic class of workmen
going from one iron shipyard TO another
In various cities. They are paid a certain
price per rivet. They travel and work
in gangs of four, three men and boy
who heats the rivets. One man is known
as holder-on. He is stationed on the
inside of the vessel and holds a big
sledge hammer on the rivet head while
two men on the outside clinch the hot
rlvet with sharp blows of their hammers.
The riveters make $50 and often $75
week for the gang of four.
Passengers crossing the viaduct on
street cars saw the Spokane launched.
Then as they crossed the viaduct draw
they saw men caulking the newly laid
planks with oakum, just as wooden YES
sells are caulked.
The businesso caulking metal ship is
peculiar line of work, a business in
itself, and it is somewhat remarkable
fact that all the caulking Oh the large
steamer Spokane was done by one rapid
workman. He is paid stated price per
foot and makes about $25 week. The
caulking consists in pounding the metal
with peculiarly shaped irons at the seams
between the sheets of steel in such man
ner as to-make the shell absolutely water.
tight. With great vessel carrying over
thousand tons cargo bearing on the
water it naturally follows that the mighty
pressure on the water makes it very anx-
ious to resent the intrusion by getting in
side vessel where it isn't wanted, but
Captain Smith Of the Globe company
| ALWAYS aOreps 1vhen hnildino. 81 yo,v toa+