New-York tribune., 1899-06-14
YACHTING.
FACTS GATHERED ABOUT THE COLUMBIA
SINCE HER LAUNCHING

~, ,ho, tho Columbia has passed beyond tine
roaIrn Of secrecy" which was the name the ,'
roshon barn got. II is found that there IL NJ"
alter in the figures published In Ihe lriou -,
cerning her dimensions. As fact sne ~ , hor
ON inch less beam than The Tribune said anu @ mo'
ovao, width Is twenty-four feet two inches' Inc
oyor:aII length Is eight inches shorter thti '"''
naner published and this slight error aroSe i
mistake in calculating the distance DeSo"u ~
frame spaces. She IL just lSi reef io"s ~
and when she was launched her water lihe' as IL,
dicotad nv the painted line on tn hui was just
n,re,v feet Its forward end is nj frame NO H. anu
IT'S after end at from No Co. The boat VIII no"'
higher than this line Indicates. but not much
higher as It Is known from the herreSho"
testimony that inch or rise oil nun means
more than two feet difference In "a'e'- -,''
length al the point where the stem cuts the "",1'
the stem in this region running almost para"ei
With the surface Her designed water line was
,,, 90 Zoo, 2 inches TO allow for any difference
in fotation or weights from that calculated peio'e
hand - -.
The Columbias depth in a vertical line from 'he
line OF the plank shear to the line OF the oo''oi'
OF the keel frame II No i5 the lowest part Oh tue
boat is Just "a feet From the painted water hhe 10
the plank shear is just feet. giving a drausht OF
water a little less than twenty feet accordihs 10
her trim II she sank more than twenty feet she
would be in excess OF the ninety-foot wa'er-hhe
length prescribed by the deed of gift
The Columbia is thus feet longer than the De-
fender over ALL with more than two feet more Dean
AT the water line and about six inches more
draught She Is built with nickel steel frames and
deck beams and tobin bronze plating. The frames
and deck beams are Dubbed on the web for greater
strength as in the torpedoboats. The bronze plat
ing varies In thickness from one-quarter of an men
on the lower parts OF the boat to ivethiry-seconds
Of an inch on the extreme ends OF the boat Most
of the plating water is about three-sxeenths
of inch
The boat is ap-plated In the usual way when
Lieutenant Hobson. IN describing the Defender
called "the raised and sunken method" The edges
of the strakes narrow toward the bow ana
stern so that the water slides by In the lines OF
least resistance The frames spaced twenty
inches on centres and there are seventy-seven or
them giving a length between frames OF l2o feet
inches The construction goes forward of Frame
foot 10 inches and aft OF Frame II feet inches
10 a total overall length OF 13l feet The backbone
of the boat is bronze keelplate, ana TO tns thee
lead keel Is held by long and heavy lag screws, ana
from II the frames rise. =,
keel two feet aft and three and half feet forward
and Is screwed to IL by many long bronze screws
The lead keel is about thirty feet long on top ana
about seven feet deep forward. II is straight on
the bottom for twenty feet Of It's length from the
IL is twenty inches wide top at its widest part
taperng to a point forward and to four Inches wide
aft AT the bottom II Wldens out, and Is thirty
four inches through at its widest part IL holds In
all about ninety tons OF lead
The Columbia Is now seen TO be bigger, stronger,
deeper and more powerful than the Defender, and
will carry about thousand three hundred and
nifty feet sail In area than the victor OF 1885