The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-03-21

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. tainable. Wooden cargo-carrying ships
impelled by the unbought wind are GER
tainiy diminishing in numbers and in
the future it is reasonable to suppose
. that a wooden sailing vessel Will be as
seldom seen on the salt water as a screw
steamer was half century ago. The
writer first crossed the Atlantic In 1874,
and, looking backward since that year,
, it is readily seen with what marvellous
mastery iron and steel have supplanted,
not only wood in the hulls and masts,
hut also hemp in the rigging. During
comparatively insignificant period a rad
zeal change has been effected in the
form, size and construction of freight
| carriers which had remained practically
! invariable for quite hundred years.
But at present change is so much the
| order of the day, that a sailing vessel is
! almost a back number before 1t has
| completed half a dozen of the shortest
sea-going voyages. 1t is not improbable.
however, that the limit of size In sailing
| ships has been reached, and that owners
and builders will find it to their advan
| tage to keep their steel vessels within
more moderate dimension Ships of eX
| ceptionaly great carrying capacity are
! in demand owing to the fact that eX-
! perience has proved them to be the best
kind for affording a fair return on ,he
capital invested. On the ether hand, 20
| salvage compliances and docks do not
| keep pace with the requirements of such
giants, underwriters do not specially ia
I vor very big ships. Whenever there can
| be said to be any extra risk, the pre-
MUM for insurance is certain to rise.
| Many sailors and some sh,pbuilders
were at time more than ready to
! express decided opinion that 1t was
quite unnatural for an iron ship to re-
main afioat Wood was made to swim,
but iron to sink, said tfese sincere but
mistaken admirers of the olden times.
Their views have proved to be without
! foundation, for iron ships have taken the
place of wooden ones upon the ocean,
and iron itself has reached its meridian
altitude, steel being now somewhat
above the horizon of progress. The ship
building yards of the country and IF
Canada still launch wooden vessels, al
though in decreasing numbers, and. as
general rule, of inconsiderable tonnage.
In order to demonstrate the condition
! Of affairs concerning sailing ships, Brit
| ish figures are essential, for the United
States is not, as yet, great shtp-buiid-
ing nation 1t seems almost Incredible
that as recently as 1870 there were not
more than ten sailing ships afioat of D.
600 tons register under the red ensign
of the British mercantile marine. Now
there are neary double that number of
steel sailing vessels, each having q reg
iStered tonnage in excess Of non. During
the year 1892, in which the writer inves-
tigated the subject in Europe there
were turned out from one yard alone on
the Clyde no fewer than a dozen large
sailing vessels, varying in registered ton
mage from $500 to $500. In 1870 one of
! the biggest wooden sailers afloat was the
British Empire of 200 tons register
which during the Indian mutiny had been
used a place of refuge for the fari-
lies of the European residents of Bonn
bay. She had been Originally intended for
Ill., %l.. H.
exceptional dimensions. The firm OF A.
Sewall and Company of Bath. Maine,
have probably built the largest sailing
ships in existence, such as the Shenan-
/ doah of 3,054 tons; the Susquehanna of
2,629 tons, and the Roanoke of something
over 3,4G0 tons register.
There exists considerable rivalry with
regard to the birthplace of the first iron
ship. I believe it is certain that the first
iron vessel classed by the English L.loyds
was the Ironsides, in 1893. She was only
270 tons register In 1893 England and
Scotland built fifteen ships of over 1908
/ tons, and Germany three OF nearly 2,l00
/ tons. No other country in the year nam
ed launched any iron or steel merchant
ships of as much as 1000 tons gster
but apparently preferred to obtain than
from British builders. 1t is true. nowrv-
er, that several of the large salerS Lti;t
upon the CLYDE were FIR citizens of the
4
necessarily sailed under a foreign fai,.
In order to show the risks to which
I ship-owners are subject ! would nJ.nU
out that no less than nine Of the vessels
of over 1900 tons register launched in
1893 had serious accidents before hey
were one year old.
Auxiliary steam power was once used
for the purpose of forcing a sailing ship
through regions of Gains and Eight va
riable winds, but proved a dismal ia l.
ure. The marine engineer has not been
idle since that day, with the result that
increased steam power Is now possible
by the employment Of comparatively
small engines with a decreased coal con-
sumption. Cargo space being gained and
expenses reduced, shlp-owners have been
tempted to give this auX.lary screw
system another trial, but IL has not met
with marked success About five years
since the Maria Rickmers, an immense
sailing ship. was built on the CLYDE for
the Bremen firm of Rickme~s. She was
capable of carrying nearly 5000 tons of
coal, but on her first voyage she was
more than once in great danger of cap
sizing. On her homeward voyage from
Saigon French Indo-China), with a car
so Of rice, she disappeared with all on
board. The forebodings of sailors were
in this instance only TOO well founded. 1t
was wrong to expect that small crew
could handle so large a ship in case of
emergency. I am Inf ,rmed that q small
er auxiliary ship. the Severn. built on
the Clyde for American owners. has so
far Jared fairly we'll but the tendency
OF the day is to keep sail and steam al
together apart
While better sea,hanship upon the
part of both officers and crew might re-
duce the dangers both from within and
without, yet these great floating ware
houses are a precarsous Investment I'M