The Portland daily press., 1892-08-23
Especial to the Press.1


Especial to the Press.l
BATH, August 22.-This afternoon at
1927 from the ship yard Of Arthur Sew
all & Co., was launched the four-masted
ship Roanoke. Being the largest wood
en- sailing ship afoat her fame had col
lected at least five thousand people to
see her baptism. She is very healthy
child, weighing at least five thousand
tons, and she was baptised by partial inn
mersion, which consisted of sliding that
five thousand tons down an inclined
plane for vertical distance of about
fifteen feet,
With keel resting on the keel blocks,
her bilges were supported by the 'slaun-
ching ways" These are in two parts.
firmly braced and resting on solid sup
ports built up from the ground. On
this. with alayer Of, grease between lis an
other set of tmbers called the cradle,
and the bilges are wodged tightly to it.
When all is ready, the carpenters begin
to split the keel blocks from the stern
post forward and to knock them out
from under her. As the blocks are
driven out, point is reached when the
friction of the keel on the remaining
blocks becomes too much for them and
they topple over while the ship starts
down the ways resting entirely on the
creased timbers. Once started there is
no stopping her and down she goes to
| meet the water.
Her anchors hang at the cat heads,
lashed there with rope, and man axe in
I,4n IL - Oh ohDr DO y, ,>f
lashings at the proper time, which Isl
when She darts clear of the cradle. Be-
sides the anchors, two tugs lashed to-
gether stand ready to haul her back to-
ward the shore. or at least to check her
mad backward career. In addition, a
long hawser is run from her starboard
quarter to a wharf away up stream in
order to point her up the river and thus
avoid running against the opposite shore
only 1900 feet away.
For an hour and half the carpenters
have been steadily driving out block after
block from beneath her keel. But still
she stirs not
The Crowds Draw Closer.
What will they do if she refuse to go?
The little boats in the river grow bolder
and hover around her path. A sailing
yacht is told to get out of the way of the
quarter line or he will be sunk.
Then comes the steady clang of the
hammers splitting the last keel block.
Now she shows the first sign of nervous
ness over her trying ordeal. She trem-
bles slightly, but only for moment, then
collecting all her foltitude she gides
gently down the inclined plane amid the
Screaming of whistles and the shouts of
men.
Surprised by this awakening of her
dormant faculties and excited by new
emotions she springs into full life while
the crowd draws back instinctively.
Faster and faster she goes until the gem,
tie glide becomes a mad rush toward the
new element. Into the water she plunges
sending clouds of spray high into the air,
and lifting the mass of the water into
| huge waves, one of which hurries toward
the open sea to apprize Neptune of the
coming of his fair new subject.
Then the 800 pound starboard anchor
| is dropped and rattle goes the chain from
the hawse pipe. Hardly is that down
when away goes the $500 port anchor.
Chain is veered on both until most Of
the scope is out Then the compressors
are hauled to and the ship brings her
whole force into the effort either to tear
the anchor out or to break the chain.
But the chain is 3-16 inches in diameter
and though it shows the strain it holds
and the anchors are still there.
The two tugs, lashed together, were
towed by the great ship, and the break
ing of one of the hawsers came near re-
sulting in an accident to them. The
rigging of the schooner Alice Holbrook,
was crowded with daring spectators who
wanted to see the launching. When the
IeIa do
sea which nearly broke the hawsers on
| the Holbrook.
Arthur Sewall received pleasant dis
patch from Grover Cleveland, Sunday,
expressing his thanks but declining the
invitation to be present.
The Roanoake is probably the last
big Bath ship to be built of wood. Iron
seems to offer superior advantages both
| in construction and in carrying capacity.
Henceforth this yard will turn out only
iron ships.