Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-08-12
Ship Building In Maine.

Correspondence Boston Journal
No one industry in the State ranks higher
or is Of more importance than that OF ship |
building, and it 10 with feelings Of regret that
the decadence Of the business has been viz |
messed the past few years. From the indica- |
tons il was feared that the industry vas
about to disappear entirely. and the busy
shipyards where the music Of the broad-axe
and calkers msllet were wont to be heard.
turned into COW pastures. But with the
present season 4 brighter day has dswned
upon the shipbuilders, and all along the
coast the carpenter, adzman and calker are
finding plenty Of business and the wooden
walls of numerous stanch sch00nefs are be-
ing fashioned.
The Maine Labor Bureau has been max
ing some interesting Investigations in this
direction of late, and the results are exceed
insly promising, 90 much 90 that the Com.
missioner 10 able to report q fOllows: The
industry may be said to have received new
life. Most of the yards are hurrving their
work in order to keep up with their orders.
Good help is not over plenty and fret class
carpc nters command good sages and job
in most any yard in the 8 ate. Owing 70 the
depression in the business for some time, no
men have learned the trade. A great many
others had given up the Business for farm
ing, etc., and are nov returning to the yards.
The special agent Of the department. to show
| the makeup Of some Of the crews, cites the
fact that he visited one Of the yards, and. find
| ing no one at work, thought there must be .
strike. but was informed that there was ten
days shutdown for haying. OF the IS or 40
men in the crew not one depended on the
yard for a living, all belonging in the town
! or surrounding country. In some localities
where the supply Of men 10 not sufficient, the
Provinces have been called on. and it 10 not
strange thing to find more than half the
carpenters in . crew French Canadians Or
natives Of the lower Provinces. In fact, it
lie said, and without doubt, that more than
half the carpenters in Bath are natives Of
Canada. 1t is not surprising that our young
men do not take to the shipyard - the con-
weather, reduces their earnings very much :;
then the work 10 very hard.
The class of work being done in the ship
yards differs very much from that done in
the days of Names shipping prosperity.
Then it was chips and bargss that appeared
large, while schooners seemed mere play
things. Now it is schooners almost entirely,
most of them from 1000 to 1850 tone
sch0oners that would almost take the big
ships Of the past on deck. This 10 the class
Of shipping Maine 10 cutting afoat nov, and
it is confidently hoped that it 10 the harbinger
Of new era in the shipbuilding industry.
At Bath there are l6 s:hooners under con-
structon, one large sidewheel steamer. one
ship to be one Of the largest sfoat and one
great barge. 1t 10 something like 260 feet
long, 60 feet wide and will be 5000 tons bur
den. Her sides are made Of l4inch sealing,
II inch timbers and inch planking. making
2 feet inches thick in all. 1t 10 estimated
that it will take ton Of oakum to calk her.
Outside Of both it is estimated there are l6
more schooners being built, 90 that the pros
poets for this season are f1attering.
There is no special reason to be given for
the shipbuilding boom. Most Of the build
ers attribute it to scarcity of vessels, - few
have been built lately and great many lost.
Others say it indicates a revival Of business
and consequent demand for vessels for the
carrying trade, while others attribute it 70 q
new departure-that Of = want Of larger
vessels, the capacity Of which is such that
they will earn q great deal more, while in
creating very little in cost Of running; AID
at the same time they can freight to any
| part of the world.