St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-28
HERE'S A BIG IDEA.
A Proposed Ship 1000 Feet Long
and 500 Feet Wide.

A Proposed Ship 1000 Feet Long
and 500 Feet Wide.
At the recent convention of the Iron
and Steel institute at Pittsburg Sir
Nathaniel Barnaby, K. G. B., con-
structor for the British navy, read a
paper on 'the protection of iron and
steel ships against laundering from in
jury to their shells, including the use
of armor." In this he gave expression
to his own theories as to the value of
armor. He said that we are greatly
worse Off in these days of iron and steel
than when ships were built of oak, teak
and pine, as to the perils arising from
perforatiOn OF the shells or hulls Of
ships.
Increased speed and increased mo-
menta in collisions had increased the
risks, and at the same time the material
of which tue hull is composed submits
so easily to perforatlOn that he was in
clined to value the opinion of many EN-
inent men who are strongly opposed to
the abandonment of wooden bottoms,
both in commerce and war. One-tiftieth
of the value of the vessels in the mers
camille marine, he said, was required
annually to make good losses and re-
pairs entailed by collisions alone. He
prOpheSled that America, possessing
nearly one-siXth of all the wooden sail
ing ships of 100 tons net and upward in
the world, would probably find it to her
advantage for many years to come to
continue the use of wooden ships.
In the course of his paper the essayist
suggests most interesting possibility
in the development of passenger
steamships. He said:
81 have never thought that size was a
disadvantage in merchant ships, suppos-
ing that they can be worked financially.
On the contrary, the advantages aris-
ing from size in passenger ships seem
to me to be so great that l do not see
where we shall STOP"
II was consulted some years ago by
business man, well known on both
sides of the Atlantic, as to possibility Of
binding steel ship which would not
roll, or pitch. or heave in the seas, and
in which, therefore, the bulk of pas
sengers would be in a less desperate
hurry to get ashore. He thought fifteen
knots an hour sufficient speed.
cit appeared to me to be perfectly
practicable with draught of water of
twenty-slX feet. thought the minimum
length and breadth would be 1000 feet
that with engines of 600 horse power
an ocean speed of fifteen knots could be
obtained.
1.-Two sets of apparent difficulties had
to be overcome, viz, those connected
with the building of the ship afiOat and
those relating to receiving and discharg-
ing cargo. The ship would be steel
island. incapable Of entering any docks.
The building difficulties soon disap-
peared. They had no real existence.
To meet the other difficulties l pro-
posed to form shallow saltwater har-
bors or docks within the ship. entered
by gates in the sides, and to carry, al
ways af1Oat there. the loaded barges and
tugs, turning the barges out and taking
fresh ones already loaded at the ports
of discharge and shipment.
''Such ship would require to be for
titled and garrisoned like town. She
could be made absolutely secure against
fatal injury arising from perforation.
The subdivisions required for this pur-
pose might be made to serve effectualIy
against the spread of any local fire.
do firmly believe that we shall get the
mastery over the seas, and shall live far
more happily in a marine residence
capable of steaming fifteen knots an
hour than we can livein seaside towns"