The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-11-03
SERIOUS PLUMBERS.
Important Alterations Believed to be Nee
essary in the Cruisers Detroit, Mont
gomery and MarbIehead.


Much concern is displayed at the Navy
Department over well authenticated re-
ports that important alterations are
necessary to insure safe sea-going quail
ties to the cruisers Detroit, Montgomery
and Marblehead. A blunder was made
in the design of each of these vessels,
but by whom committed is not revealed
The fact that the Detroit has made the
passage from New York to Bahia without
any reported trouble does not lessen, it
is said, the gravity Of the mistake.
The Detroit, Montgomery and Marble
head, three sister cruisers of 1900 tons
displacement each, were designed, it is
announced, to have metacentric heights
of four feet. OF the three ships the
Detroit is the only one SO far commits
stoned, but an examination of the actual
metacentric height possessed by the De-
troit reveals it, it is declared, to be only
fourteen inches.
The Montgomery and Marblehead were
built on the same lines as was the De-
troit. There is, consequently, no reason
to believe that either the Montgomery
or the Marblehead will be more stable
when ready for sea than is the Detroit.
1t is further pointed out that in the de-
signs for the Detroit she was to possess a
draught, when down to the mean load
water line, ofatwo feet more aft than for
ward. The mean load water line was
assumed as the draught each of the ships
of the Detroit class would require when
coaled and provided with stores and
ammunition sufficient for cruise.
With her bunkers filled and the ship
ready for sea the Detroit draws two feet
more forward, it is announced, than
she does aft. From the fact as reported
that the vessel was designed to draw two
that the department miscalculated the
draught of this fine ship by just four
feet.
The trouble is that the armament is
too heavy for the ships and can only be
remedied by reducing the size of the
guns.
Several of the best sea going ships Of
the navy, including the Newark ana San
Francisco, were designed by the construc-
tion bureau. The English hull designed
vessels, the Baltiomre, Charleston and
Philadelphia, are not deemed nearly SO
good craft in point of seagoing qualities
as are the out-and-out American craft.
The fact, however, remains, it is de-
clared, that an error has been made in
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her two sisters, and that, too, to a..degree
which means that the efficiency of these
vessels as fighting craft must be lessened
in order to make them safe seagoing
ships.
AS if it was not enough that the new
navy should suffer by the bad calcula-
tions made on the 1000 ton cruisers, the
news now comes that the big armored
cruiser New York has been made to
suffer by bad calculations. The New
York, it is stated, was designed to draw
considerably more water aft than for
ward. AS matter of fact it is an
nounced the big ship is so much down
by the stern as to prevent the firing of
the stern above water torpedo tube
It is now proposed in the case of the
Detroit, Montgomery and Marblehead
to strip these fine cruisers OF their aft
and stern six-inch breech-loading rifles
and also to reduce the number Of spars
carried. It is proposed in addition to
shorten the tunnels, and to arrange,
further aft than at present lockers for
the storage of the heavy chain cables