The Washington times., 1903-09-06

be something over 1.ZOC
plans drawn and approved by the Gov
/ ernment before the vessel can be con-
structed These plans alone. IN the case
OF a flrst-class battleship such as the
/ Vermont, the contract for which has
been recently awarded to the Fore
River Ship and Engine Company. near
this city, cost the builders about $4,000
For the steel plates of the hull, 10
take single large item, 500 distinct and
separate plans are necessary The 500
or 900 plans necessary for the hull as a
whole range from a small sheet Of paper
twelve inches square to a big sheet
eleven feet long by two feet and a quar-
ter wide; and each plan must be dupli-
Gated in at least a dozen blue prints to
facilitate the work OF the shops and save
the original drawings from being worn
out by constant handling.
| At q rough estimate this means that
over 1S,600 square feet OF paper will be
covered with drawings before the yard
begins hull construction-to say nothing
of over I0.500 square feet OF paper that
will be used in preparing the schedules
of materials by which the yard Will or
der the various supplies necessary for
| construction. To make the hull Of war
vessel more paper is used than would
serve to wrap it up afterward. Mean
time the engine department and the cleo
trieal department must prepare their
own plans on a similar scale Of detailed
mUnificence. the result being, all told,
that about 200 separate drawings will
be necessary before the battleship has
been accurately made on paper
Based on Government Prints.
These hundreds of plans do not consist
as one might at first imagine. in plan
after plan OF the vessel until Uncle Sam
smiles approval and says go ahead.
That suits me exactly" AS a matter OF
fact Uncle Sam has a very complete no
tion of what is going to suit him exactly
before the contracting shipbuilders
touch pencil to paper. and the shipbuild-
er's work IS based upon yet another
series of mysterious looking blue prints
that come from the Government.
The first plans for every class OF war
vessels. with the single exception Of the
lively little torpedo boats and their
equally lively little destroyers, are drawn
by the Government before either Fore
River, Newport News, the Cramps or any
other shipbuilding establishment is in
vited to bid for the task Of finishing
them. But these first plans. although
they represent the labor of three Gov
ernment departments, the Bureau Of
Construction and Repair, the Bureau Of
Equipment and the Bureau OF Ordnance,
are simply statement of the kind Of
vessel wanted and are supplemented by
a bound volume of specifications that
cover between 200 and 300 pages.
II is this interesting volume that the
management Of the shipbuilding estab-
lishments has to reduce to terms of
profit and cost before it decides upon
the minimum price for which It can
build the vessel. pay about four years
wages to a thousand workmen, and put
a little something in the bank on its
own account. In the case Of the Yer
mont the final cost per pound is esti-
mated at 15 cents, or three times the
cost per pound OF thoroughly modern
steel schooner.
The Many Details.
No object, either on land or sea, could
be more carefully specified in its every
the Government orders a canvas gun
cover, for example. the specifications
state definitely how many stitches TO an
inch are to be taken In sewing the can
vas, and these stitches are not to be
averaged up, but there must be just so
many Of them in every inch. no matter
at what point the Government inspector
who supervises the making of the cover
may choose to count them. II the num-
Der is not parallel with the specifca
tion the right number OF stitches must
be put mat the expense of the COM
pany.
This small example is an exact illus
tration OF what specifications" mean
as they apply 10 war vessel, although
as rule the specifications that reach
the modern shipyard concern them
selves only with the hull and machinery
Of the vessel.
But they include every bolt that goes
into the hull. every beam that supports
her decks and platforms. and every inch
of the miles of pipes and wire that con-
meet her engines. dynamOs and coming
towers with the various mechanisms
that they are designed 20 operate. In
the Vermont there are more than 20. 900
OF these bolts. and electric wires alone
sufficient to distribute an amount OF
power that would supply light 20 the
streets and houses and run the trolley
cars for a city OF 25. 900 inhabitants.
Putting these specifications into actual
plans-in other words building the war
ship on paper with rule. T-square anc
compass-takes about twelve months OF
steady work and requires the services
of a small army Of expert engineers,
naval architects. craftsmen and photo
graphers. All through this period a spe-
cial electrical apparatus is busy prepar-
ing blue prints of the completed draw
ings. From the Government point OF
view everything that is drawn on paper