New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-01-26
,rFAIRS IN THE NAVY YARD.
INCREASE OF ACTIVITY AT THE HOME
STATION.

-,,r c,ScrNNArrs REPAIRs-ooop WORK AT KEY
ursr-F1xING THE KATAHDIN FOR SER
,,,cr-ruE PURITAN COMING OUT OF
pocK-NoTEs OF INTEREST.
.o,,,rg Of the Cincinnati to the yard has
- affairs somewhat. and that ship. with
..o~, on the Ammen ram Katahdin. and the
' ..a of the monitors Terror and Purltan,
DIR OF life and activity TO the reserva-
- which II has not had for some weeks vi
vessels awaiting commission, the Terror Is
"a nearly ready than the others She was
n"o,od on Friday. and workmen Immediately De-
~.r the task Of fitting the drydock Tor the re-
e,.,o, Of the Cincinnati, which Will come cut
:. the water tomorrow. There Is consioeraDe
" IN bar which should be done. but whether
ii, he CONNECTED or not depends upon orders
" Uasb,ngton. The Department of Construc-
Wv" o,d Repair wants eighteen days for its
nations. and Chief Engineer Chasmar Is taxi
W about six weeks which should be spent IN hx-
g.. her engines In his plea for this time, he mas
49, sunport Of Engineer-in-Ch!ef Melville, VINO
20. greatly pleased over the work or the en-
~,,e.room force while the ship was on duty
:. Kev West While she was there. her boiler
rocured retubing. and. as she had to be ready
Cor sea at a moments notice the prooieih Oh
doing the work without impairing the e1nc'ency
- ,ho vessel was no easy one. Mr.. Chasmar.
however. solved 1t. and. when query came
--.r, washington as to whether or not 1t would
be possible to retube two OF the poiiers' 'ne
.asner went back that 1t was not only possible
hi, that 1t had been done. and not '"o' ou'
s,m- had been retubed. and If little more time
,rore allowed the other two would be trea'eo III
,,e same way while so far as her steam-gener-
concerned the ship WOOlu
he as good as new. AS result she came 10 'hls
citation with her boilers in good order
Her engines however are not IN SO s0ou
.s,,o and need a thorough overhauling. and
the chief engineer naturally holds that IN view
=. tho record made while the ship was afloat.
.ho denartment can we'll afford to let him nave
,he time now TO make one part Of her macnin-
erv "a good as the other Is. Additional creui'
,s dine 70 the ships force. in View OF the TACT
that no shore help was called on TO do the WORK
Of Key West There IS chance that 'he 'iihe
u,,l he allowed as the date Of sailing OF the
North Atlantic squadron on its Southern cruise
has not yet been fixed
THE NOVEL KATAHDIN NEARLY READY.
There has been a force of about twenty-five
men at work on the Katahdin. under the oirec-
,,on NJ her builders for the last week, and the
nv the second week In February. The men are
LII, M changes on the vessel save in minor
noints. and when she Is flying her flag the
naval arm Of the Nation will have most
formidable weapon of offence and defence
She has been taken from her moorings at the
Cob Dock wall to the stone pier, just below the
dock where the Puritan is being completed, ana
e an object of much interest to the visitors at
tho ward The Katahdin Is Of the whalebacK
TYNE and Is $50 feet 9 inches long. 43 feet D
.nches extreme breadth. and Is feet mean draft.
Intended 10 ram an enemy's vessel, and IN that
way do her most effective work. her whole CT
,snsive mower is centred In her ram head OF
cast steel.
The vessel is practically an automatic aqua
Tic proiectile Of 2.1S3 tons. driven by a double
set 81 triple expansion engines and twin screws
and able TO deliver a blow Of $4,000 foot u ms.
The ram is so braced that the whole structure
Of the vessel sustains the shock OF impact anu
The additional destructive power OF what
amounts TO an enormous kn1fe plaoe Is oo
tained by the peculiar form OF her null 'he
edga NJ her protective deck forming a cnarp
junction with her underwater pody. me"
she Is ready for action this edge is 1901 Deio"
the surface Of the water. and. as II starts wen
forward u can be seen that It's penetrating and
cutting mower are prominent factors In the ef-
ec,arcv NJ the ship as destroyer. This de-
ooc,,va deck serves as a shield from the shot
~ an enemy and ranges from 2H to 6 inches
IN thickness. so that when she Is partially sub
merged. her smoke pipe coming tower and Ven
+iIators are the only prominent objects to be
aimed at.
Her coming tower which is placed we'll for
ward Is made Of armor nearly eighteen lnches
thick. and is capable Of sustaining sn ex-
tremely heavy gun fire. although the corcus-
sion would probably kill every one within The
tower if 1t were struck by heavy sAot.
Her engines are of 4S0O Indicated horsepower.
and are designed to give seventeen knots speed.
II is the slight falling off in this matter Of speed
which has caused the delay IN her acceptance py
separate water-tight compartments. one set act
uatinC each screw, have cylinders OF Twenty-Five,
thirty-six and hfty-siX inches diameter win a
nieton-stroke OF thirty-six inches and speed OF
i5O revolutions a minute. Her coal capacity Is
237 tons The main boilers are thirteen ieet eleh'
inches by twenty-five feet SIX inches ana she mas
one auxiliary boiler thirteen feet eight inches by
eleven feet seven inches. with total CRATE sur
face of ga square feet and total neatihg surface
OF 1880 square feet, the working pressure OF
steam being 100 pounds 10 the square men.
Tho detail Of her officers and crew has not yet
been made up but the list will be given out soon
and she will go into commission ACCORDING " '"e
present progra ANNE on FEBRUARY L.
THE PURITAN TO BE FLoATED.
Work on the monitors is going ahead rapidly
The Terror looks as epick and span as ne"
Ship as she has been treated to coat OF whlie
paint on her Lighthouses. her bridge. smoke-p'pe
and other upper works retaining their warhKe
hue Of red. The principal work remaining on mel
is in the way OF equipment. which Includes tnt
electric appliances and other work OF htuhg up
The Puritan 1t is expected, Will be taken OUT Oh
the stonedock within a fortnight, in order 10 re
ceive her coming tower and thirteen-incn gum
and their mounts. These weights are too mucf
for the travelling derrick to handle ana the Ioa
ing crane will have to do the liftir,; The coming
tower which arrived at the yard Few DAYS age
from the Bethlehem Iron Works is a line speci
men or the new process OF treating WORK OF il'
kind. known as hollow forging Formerly con
ning-tOwers and other circular pieces or neaV!
metal work 40 nv railing in curved sec