Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1895-02-15
SEASICK SHIPS.
IT IS NECESSARY FOR THEM TO
GO INTO THE HOSPITAL.
Enemies of Ships In tho sca--puttlng
VESSEL Into tho Dry
Dock IA Needful
Device.
. ALT water is teeminn with mar.

through wood and iron alike, or rust
1T away, while they act rs check on
the speed by vastly increasing the re-
sistanoo and friction of tho water
against the ship. The "gods OF the
storms see everywhere" and pick out
cach weak Scam or faulty rivet, and
slowly and surely eat into tho vitals
OF the ship, so that every few months
1t becomes necessary to examine and
repair tho vessel To do this sho must
come out OF the water. Tho dry dock
is Just great box of wood, iron or
stone, connecting with tho sen by
great gateway. When tho ship is
ready to enter, tho gate is shut and
the water all pumped out, then tho
workmeD, with practiced skill, place
the great blocks ut the bottom of the
dock for the keel to rest upon, taking
tho dimensions from tho plans and
drawings of the vessel. These in
place, the dock is flooded again, the
gate opened and tho ship hauled in.
The gate is now closed again. and
while tho water is slowly pumped ont
and the ship settles down, the lockers
pull her this way or that till she rests
evenly on the keel blocks then shores,
or heavy wooden beams, are braced
from the sides of the dock to the sides
OF the ship, and MS the water is pumped
away the ship stands ''high and dry"
veritnble- fish out of water" The
bottom, which was below tho wnter
line, covered with sea weeds and mr.
asites, that hide the defects they have
caused.
When the workmen scrapo and
scour the unwelcomo barnacics and
grass away, the seams and rivets are
all examined and repaired, a fresh coat
of paint goes on again, and rs the
dock is again flooded the ship rises
from her hospital bed, and the wood
On supports are knock away until she
hoats out on the sen again, "henlthy
and strong" to battle with wind ans,
sea, and the enemies os-riic flag she
proudly hies ,a+viie peak,
When Wood was used almost exclu-
sively in building ships very easy
and convenient means was found to
protect tho under water portion of
the ship from the insidious attacks of
barnacles and parasites of plant and
animal life. This was done by cover
ing tho whole bottom of the shin with
a plating of thin copper, for the gal
vanic action of the salt water upon
the copper was TO convert the ship and
sea into vast battery where the cop
per became the negative polo aud was
slowly but constantly eaten away, the
particles. ms they fell away, taking
with them the Larnncles and sea weed as
fast MS they formed on tho ship, thus
keeping the ships bottom and sides
always clean so that the speed was not
cut down by dragging the barnacles
and yards of sen weed through the
water Yet, even then tho copper
needed repairs, faulty timbers rottcl
and crumbled away, so that every few
years the ship had TO go into dry dock
and be thoroughly overhauled, each
faulty timber replaced and rusty bolt
repaired, until no loophole was left
for the sea to work upon.
But with the advent of iron in the
building OF ships the old means failed,
for where copper was placed over the
iron the iron became the negative pole
of the great battery and was eaten
away, quickly Kidding the bottom of
the ships with many leaks Many de-
vices were tried--the under water por-
tions OF tho vessels were covered with
n waterproof layer of wood, which
was then coppered rs before but
wherever there WAS any metallic con-
nection between tho copper and iron
the whole force of the battery acted
there, and holes we're eaten in uncx-
pected and inaccessible places, bring
ing in m element of uncertainty, and
enforcing great caro- in "sheathing"
the vessels, as tho coating Of wood is
called, and the ships still Ind to go
more often than ever to the dry dock.
Then the various methods of paint
ing the bottoms with protective prints
have been tried and are used i'll all of
the cruisers of orr new navy. The
skill of hundreds OF chemists has been
exerted to find n paint that would act
rs the copper does and throw of the
branches and sea weed. Great prizes
have been offered, and n fortune awaits
the successful discoverer of such
coating for ships. yet, SO far, none has
been discovered that acts completely,
and the iron and steel ships which
start from port with freshly painted
sides and bottoms return in few
months covered with barnacles and
sea weed, which, as it trails in the
water, very materially cuts down the
speed and power of tho ship. Then
she must be put in. tho dry dock and
scrubbed and scraped and repainted.
Still worse than the barnacles and sen
weed is the water itself when it finds
nn entrance. be it ever SO small,
through the paint to the steel below.
Slowly but surely it rusts out little
pit, which extends sometimes almost
through the plate before tho paint
scale drops off and discloses tho de-
feet, which can even then only be seen
by putting the ship in dry dock and
examining every square foot OF her
bottom plating.
The greatest docks in the world are
those of the great shipping port of
| T,varnnol where the Oraat stone docks