The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-08-08
A MONSTER RAFT.
Launching a Huge Timber Ship
in the Bay Of Fundy.
Thirty Thousand Logs Worth $780,.
900 Bound for New York.

The monster log raft, or, rather, "log
ship" that has been completed for James D.
Leary, of New York city, has been success
fully launched into the Bay of Fundy at Jog
gins, Nova Scotia.
The monster fabric has been ready for
launching during the past three weeks, but
the builders were awaiting the big midsum-
mer tide, which at that point every year
reaches height of over sixty feet. When
the tide was at its highest point at noon,
launching day, over one hundred feet of the
raft was floating in the water.
At given signal hundred heavy check
blocks were knocked away, few pieces
of timber cut away, and then the fate OF the
raft depended upon a few strokes OF the
ram about midships, where the shores were
SO arranged that it was only necessary
to knock out one s.So Of them; IN. After ite
started. The descent was not rapid. When
it struck the water the raft kept head up and
SKINNED along gracefully. The speed de-
creased perceptibly as the last 200 feet left tho
launchways. Clouds Of smoke caused by fric-
tion almost obscured the last half of the raft
from view, but it soon cleared Off The impe'
tus gwen it sent the monster about an eighth
of mile out to sea and thus the 10000 tons
ocean tug Morse, which is the largest and
strongest tug in those waters, was in readi-
ness to make fast to the raft, and it was
towed out into the bay. The Morse started
at once for New York with the unwieldy
tow.
Two of the employees, Harding Parsons
and Jack Carter, stood on top of the raft
when it was launched. The raft has been in
course of construction since last March, work
having been begun on it Immediately after
the loss of the big raft that the steamer
Miranda let go a1rift
Three hundred men were constantly
employed upon it under the direction of
H. R. Robertson, who has the structure
OF the raft patented 1t was built upon
and seventy-five tons of steel wire
rope being used in its construction.
but with certain number of logs stuck up.
right in the fashion Of mastS, and secured
with wire rigging.
The present structure is larger than the
raft which went to pieces off Nantucket
last winter. The first raft was $40
feet long. The present structure is nearly
700 feet long sixty feet in width, thirty
five feet deep and will draw
twenty-five feet of water. 1t contains near
ly so, 900 sticks of timber, varying in length
from twenty-five to lis feet, bolted to-
gether, besides being lashed with wire
rope, which was imported into Canada
free of duty on the ground of be-
ing used as ships rigging. The timbers cost
$4,000. The towage contract to New York
by the big tug B. W. Morse, Of Maine, will
be 500 per day.
The value of the logs in New York will be
about $4,000. If sawed into lumber feet
of 100 schooners or fifty railroad trains of
fifty cars each would be needed to transport
them
1t is designed to tow the raft through
Long Island sound AMI the East river to the
Erie basin where the craft will be broken up
and the logs sold. The structure of the craft
has been patented by H. R. Robertson, a
contractor, who if this time successful, will
continue to ship lumber in this fashion.
Vessel owners are opposed to the scheme
and the Provincial Legislature at its next ses-
sion will be appealed to for the purpose of
having law enacted to prohibit the building
and sailing of such RATS; for, if successful.
such traffic will destroy the shipowners'
trade. Dealers who depend on the railroads
will also be utterly unable to compete with
the lumber brought by the raft.
Should the present timber ship" 60 to
pieces the United States government will
probably be asked to prevent such ventures
in future. Meanwhile the course of the un-
wieldy raft will be watched with much in
terest.
The raft as it now floats is about two
thirds submerged. Two tow chains are
securely fastened through the timbers of the
raft The ends are planted, and an anchor
is attached forward.