The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1905-11-10

The dredger- steamer Pacific added a
little to the amusement Of the town
Tuesday night. Capt. w. A. H. Con-
nor was aboard in the early evening
with a party of friends and showing
them around the ship. 1ney were
down In the engine room and the gent
al Captain was just in the midst OF
his explanation of the machinery and
particularly the peculiar arrangement
by which the same engine that runs
1he propeller at sea runs the big sue
tion pump when the dredger is at
work, when bif. bang, suddenly the
shaft snapped in two right in the big
bearing which is kept cooled by both
oil and cold water. Thump again and
the loosened end of the shaft struck
the inside of the pump. And then whiz.
and away went the engine like an au-
tomobile motor after jumping an em-
bankment The ladies yelled and start
ed for the gangway some ten feet dis
tant, but before they got there 1t was
all over. An oiler jumped for the
throttle and the powerful engine which.
with its heavy load Of mud and water
released by the fracture in the pump
slowed down and stopped almost as
soon as the steam was turned off.
What made the break is a mystery.
The shaft was wedged into the bear
ing so closely that 1t seemed impossi-
BILE at first to get II loose, but the in
genious mind of Capt. Connor soon hit
on a plan and by IL o'clock Wednes-
day night, the new spare shaft, which
is kept right at hand to provide for
such contingencies, was installed in
place of the broken one and mud was
flying all the faster to make up for
the lost time.
The machinery of the Pacific Is GER
tainly unique. 1t is provided with
duplicate machinery wherever it is at
all likely to be necessary. The oil
pump which supplies the fires under
the duplicate Heine marine boilers
Irregular steamship pattern) has a
duplicate right alongside it, in case
Of any accident. The feed pump, which
supplies the boilers with water has
twin brother. The shaft that broke
connects the engine "a four crank.
triple expansion marine engine of the
regulation steamship pattern, with 1000
horse power) with the monster GEN.
trifugal pump, 10 feet inside diameter.
which draws the mud and water from
the point where the cutter Is at work
in front of the ship through a 26-inch
pipe on practically the same principle
that a propeller forces a ship through
the water. In fact the SHAFT" as 1t
appears to the casual observer, has
the big ten-foot pump at one end and
the steamers propellers at the other
1t is divided into three pieces which
ean be coupled together or disconnect-
ed at will. So that with the after
coupling fast, the engine runs the
propeller and forces the ship ahead
through the water and with the for
ward coupling connected the same en-
CINE draws 10000 to $4,000 cubic yards
OF water, stones and mud from the
cutter in front of the ship, into and
through the ship and out through the
side near the rear end, whence 1t is
carried by 26-inch pipes 80 feet ir
length placed on pontoons and con
nected with each other by heavy rubber
sleeves or couplings until the land |.
reached and thence it is carried by tn,
same kind of pipes fitted into each
other like stove pipe to the point
where it is desired to fill up low land
The water of course runs off into the
sea leaving the rock and mud behind
and this Is what is called making
land" This mammoth machine is ex-
pected by Capt. Conner to fill in about
seven acres of land (about an average
city block foot deep every twenty.
four hours, That is the least allowed
The Chief Engineer is confident tina,
the work will average half more, OIL
ten acres of land day raised up q
foot
AS the main shaft turns this ter
foot centrifugal pump around two hun
dred times every minute the friction on
Inc heavy bearing which holds II
STEADY is terrific, or would be IL one OF
the other of the duplicate circulating
pumps were not constantly pouring
cold water on this bearing in addition
TO the oil that the big automatic OF
cups keep pouring on 1t, But so deli
eately is 1t built and adjusted and S.
perfectly is 1t kept in order, 1t runs a
smooth as sewing machine and make
very little more noise. The noiseles
operations of the Pacific have been FIRE
quently remarked on along the waite
front. To see II smoking away q
quietly, one would think the dredge
wereSresting, when really It is sucking
up mud at a terrific rate.
In the pilot house forward is no
alone the wheel that turns the rucde
and all the other mechanisms of
steamer, but also levers by means O
which everything aboard is controlle,
by one man. One regulates the spec
OF pump, another the speed of the cut
ter digging in the mud thirty seve
feet below the surface of the wateI
Another controls the speed with whic
the cutter moves sidewise. acting O
the "spud" in the rear as an axis, ar
other two raise either one of the tw
spuds or "stilts" by which the ms
chine moves forward toward the shol
six feet at time. Others raise II
ladder" etc. or course no engine
required TO drou the heavy spuds ,
the ladder, for they drop of their ow
weight II released.
The ladder" is a very interestir
RI <.( he okt