The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-04-21
------------- THE LARGEST LAKE VESSEL.
The Augustus B. wolvin. Recently Launched at Lorain. Ohio, Monster
 Freight Carrier.

Freight Carrier.
 In the presence of an immense crowd of spectators, the big steamer Augustus B. Wolvin, the largest vessel ever built on fresh water, and said to be the lar gest exclusively freight boat in the world, was successfully launched at the American Ship building eompany's yards here.
 This vessel is the largest ever built anywhere to navigate fresh water, and there are very few ocean vessels that are purely freight vessels that exceed her in dimensions her length being 560 feet over all $40 feet on keel, with 8 beam moulded of 56 feet at the widest part, and moulded depth of 32 feet amidships.
 This magnificent vessel has several new and interesting features in her construction, the principal one of which is probably the shape of the cargo hold. This is built in the form of a hopper, with sides that slope from the main deck down to the tank top and the ends built on the same slope. The hopper extends in one continuous length of 409 feet without bulkheads or divisions of any kind, and in width it measures at the top forty-three feet and at the bot tom twenty-four feet. The space be- tween the sides of the ship and the sides of the hopper is used for water ballast, so that the water ballast, as well as being in the usual double bot tom underneath the hopper extends up the sides to the height of the main deck stringer.
 This construction was adopted to ac- commodate the use of automatic clam shells in unloading the cargo, and while it serves this purpose, it also serves to make a stronger vessel. Another fea- ture of the construction is the fact of the ordinary hold stanchions being dis pensed with, and in their place a sys- tenn of girder arches is substituted to support the upper deck as well as the sides of the vessel. There are thirty three cargo hatchways on the spar deck, each one measuring 33 feet by g feet in the clear, and spaced 12 feet apart centres so that it will be possible for the clam-shells to unload the vessel entirely without any hand shoveling. These hatchways are fitted with a pat GLllGCQ Syolclll Ol GtCCt pldLG SllQlIl6 hatch covers, operated by steam en- zines and shaftng, so that no manual labor is required for the opening and closing of the hatch covers.
 The spar deck is continuous and flush from stem to stem, and the only erec- tions on it are the pilot house and texas forward, and the coaming around the engine and boiler openings and din- ing room skylight aft.
 The water ballast space is divided in- to numerous compartments by water tight athwartship bulkheads fitted at intervals of about sixty feet, and the total ballast capacity is about 5000 tons of water. The cubical capacity of the cargo hold of this immense vessel is about 5OO,O0O cubic feet, which is equal to 4O1OOO bushels of grain, or to 12,5OO | tons of coal
 l On the spar deck are six eight-inch and ten-inch single drum engines, car ryng each a steel wire nooring line for the usual mooring and warping pur- poses. In fact, steam has been used wherever possible to displace manual labor There is a steam windlass fitted 1 for handling the two 5000 anchors, and steam capstan on the spar deck aft. She will be fully equipped with electric lights throughout, and has duplicate plants so that there will always be one to fall back on in case of the other giv- | ing out.
 In the forward end of the vessels, im- mediately under the pilot house and texas, there are five staterooins for owners and their families, also accom- modations for their private saley, din- ing room, and social parIor, also, two toilet rooms. They are entirely set apart from the crews. quarters and will