The Portland daily press., 1890-02-15
WILL Be BRUlSERS IN EQUIPMENT.
New cunboats Which Bath Ship
builders Hope to Construct.
What They VIII Be Like as vessels
and Warriors Of the Sea.
The Maine City Will Have One and
Perhaps Both Of Them.
Especial to the Press. |

the committee on naval affairs, and Commo-
dore Wilson, chief Of the bureau of construc-
tion and repairs, the correspondent of the
PRESS is enabled to give description of the
gunboats bid for by the shipbuilders at
Bath, Me. In the Navy Department these
gunboats are described as "gunboats Nos. 8
and g." They are exactly alike, and are to
be built on the same plans. They were au-
thorized under the act of March 2. 1889, ap-
propriating for two steel cruisers, or gun
boats, of from 800 to 1900 tons each. These
are small, fast, twin screw, steel cruisers
carrying on small displacement very
powerful battery of heavy, rapid fire and
machine guns, large supply of coal and a
complement of SO men. The dimensions of
each boat are as follows:
Length on load line. 100 feet.
Breadth, extreme, 80 feet.
Mean draught, IL feet.
Displacement 1000 tons.
indicated horse power, 1900 tons.
Speed IA knots.
Tons per inch, 9.S
schooner, and In style and appearance the
new gunboats will be beautiful crafts, and a
pride to their builders. The sail power, Of
course, is only auxiliary to the steam power,
which will be great The engines will be Of
the vertical, inverted cylinder, triple expan-
sion, direct acting type. each with high
pressure cylinder 10 inches. an intermediate
cylinder 25 inches, and low pressure cylin-
der "a inches in diameter, with stroke of "a
inches. There are to be four boilers 10 feet
In diameter, by III feet long. The 1000
vxxrtl Irsx kl,n of
knots, and the bunker capacity of 250 tons
will enable the cruiser to steam at this speed
2452 knots. At 10 knots the horse power re-
quired is 600, and at this speed the boat will
be able to steam 1868 knots ON the supply of
coal. The windlass and steerer are to be
run by steam. The auxiliary sails spread
6506 square feet of canvas. A foreyard and
square foresail are characteristics of the rig.
In ornaments the gunboats will be bruis-
ers. In the main battery of each there will
be eight four-inch 33-pounders, rapid fire,
breech-loading rifles. One of these will be
mounted on the poop, another on the fore
castle, one on each side mounted in sponsons
permitting three degrees cross-fre and 70 de-
grees fire abaft the beam; two amidships,
one on each side in sponsors, giving 70 de-
grees forward and abafr the beam; two un-
der the poop, one on each side in sponsons,
giving three degrees cross-fre and 70 degrees
forward the beam. The secondary battery
will consist of two 47mm. revolving cannon,
two 37mm. revolving cannon and one one
FOUNDER rapid firing gun and one Gatling.
To be out of the way Of the fire of the bat
teries. the boats are to be slowed on skid
beams.
The armament, of course. will not be
made in Bath, but in the general work of
construction there will be plenty of work
to test the skill of the Maine shipbuiiders.
The outside plating is to be reel, of the
weight of IA pounds to the square foot up to
the main deck, the sheer strakes being in
two thicknesses of IA pounds. The plating OF
the hammock berthing and alongthe poop
and forecastle is to be 10 pounds to the
square foot. The outer keel-plate is to be
10 pounds. the inner IA pounds; the vertical
keel-plate 15 pounds, with six-pound angles
on the upper edge and lower angles of seven
pounds.
The water tight deck slopes down on each
side and his fifteen pound plates on the slope
and twelve and one-half pound plates on the
horizontal portion. There is passageway
on each side formed by bulkhead about
three feet from the side plating. The lower
part of these passages, which connect the
forward and after parts of the berth deck,
are to be filled with wood up to the water
line. The coal is disposed so as to give the
greatest measure of protection to the boilers.
The coaling is to be done by means of porta-
BILE chutes and fixed trunks, so that any
bunker can be coaled without wheeling the
coal on the decks. The main deck planking
is to be two and three-fourths by five inches
The top of the hammock berthing is to be
six feet nine inches above the main deck. the
berthing being supported by bracket frames
and angles two feet apart, and in the plat
ing between the lower parts of the berthing
and the main deck are to be large number
Of freeing ports.
The quarters for the officers and crews are
matters of great interest to those who have
to occupy them. as we'll as to others who care
for maritime and naval subjects On the old
ships of the wooden navy the quarters for
the officers were commodious, not to say els
CANT and spacious. But on the modern cruz
ser comfor is sacrificed to the great desid-
erati. speed and fighting and travelling ca
pacity. The complement of officers and men
for each of these gunboats is to be
100. Under the poop is to be the captains
main cabin, extending across the vessel
in the forward part of which are his state.
room, pantry and Office, while abaft 1t is to
be the after cabin, with the bath room, etc
tAA ftnyr anhi fhn
port side is an airy, roomy and we'll
lighted ward-room and mess-room
reached from the ward-room by wind
ing stairway worked inside the circular
bulkhead supporting the after 4-inch gun
Opening upon this is the ward-room pantry
and forward, but still under the poop, are
placed an armory and offices for the execu
tive officer and navigator. On the berth
deck, directly aft and reached from above
are the captains stores. Just forward oi
this the ward-room bath, etc., and forward
of this the ward-room country, opening into
which are the ward-room staterooms. For
ward of the ward-room country is an enclo
snre for junior officers. The crew are on the
forward berth deck and under the forecastle
Under the f0recastle are the crews wash
room and lavatory, the galley. distiller and {
refrigerator for preserving meats, etc.
This is the kind of man. -of-wa0 that ma!
be built at Bath. mot SO large as some O.
the great cru.isers and battle ships that hav'
gone to the yards of the Delaware, gunboat
Nos. and will yet be as good specimens o
naval architecture as the Bath builders coult
wish to have for their first attempt. In tn
future, perhaps. they may get line-of-battl
ship. 1t is not definitely settled whethe
Bath will get both of the gunboats. The New
Jersey firm have retracted their Withdrawal
and are now laboring with the Navy Depart
ment to get portion of the work expected
by Bath. This will be one of the frs
things to be attended to by Secretary Trac!
when he gets we'll. It is hard telling whel
that win be. 1t is considered certain, how
ever, that Bath will get one of the gunboats
perhaps both. II.
Tho Woman Suffyagists.
Especial to the Press.l
1 A Fab