Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-03-15
DaPeIICt Destroyer Seneca Ready
for Her Plunge.
Miss EDITH HEPBURN SPONSOR
Daughter of Iowa Congressman viii
Break Champagne Bottle Against
Vessels eow-First Graft Of Her
Class Built fo5 Uncle Sam.

stroycr, the Seneca. the first craft
OF her type ever designed, will be
launched from the ways on the south
side of ship trestle No. |. at the plant
of the Newport News Shipbuilding g.
Dry Dock Company at 8 O'clock Wed.
hcsday morning. Miss Edith hepburn.
granddaughter OF Congressman vii.
liam Peters Hepburn of Iowa. will
act rs sponsor for the vessel. Prep
arations for the launching are about
! finished, the christening stand and
booth at the bow OF the vessel having
been completed. The des,roycr's huh
has been given a new coat of white
paint and as she rests on the stocks
she presents very pretty appear
ancc.
| Congressman Hepburn and c. A.
McAlllster. engineer. in-chief of the
revenue cutter service. Captain Ham
! let and many other of the officers of
the service will attend the launching.
The shipbuildlng plant will be thrown
open to the public and ,.ousands OF
/ people from this aud other cities on
the Peninsula will attend. Following
The launching. the shipyard officials
VIII give luncheon ut the Warwick
Hotel In honor of the sponsor.
Designed BY Revenue Engineers.
Tho Seneca was designed by the
engineers OF the revenue cutter SER
vice. She will he completed in July
and her mission will be to patrol the
North Atlantic ocean and destroy der
olicts and other wrcckagc. TO that
end she will he equipped win maya
.rtsi,, 1t
such rs guncotton and dynamite,
which VIII lie used In blowing up
wrecks. Tho vessel also will be
equipped with complete towing APP.
paratus aud she will be able 10 rem
der valuable aid to vessels in dis
trcss
Tho need of vessel of the Sc.
heca's type has long been felt By the
shipping interests on the Atlantic
coast, for derelicts and wrockago are
constantly menacing shipping In the
Atlantic ocean and have caused dam.
age TO many VESSELS.
Investigations recently conducted
by the photographic bureau show that
the greatest number of derelicts arc
to be found In or near the Cul.
Stream, In the spherical triangle
whose verticcs are Nantucket Shoal
lightship Fastnct rock, on the Irish
coast, and the Azores The derelicts
that originate outside these bonnda :
RES are rapidly swept by the Gull
Stream into this triangle. and it has
been determined to have the Seneca
operate In this triangle. This area in :
cludes the lanes traverscd by nearly
MI transatlantic steamers. An Of
! Tort Is now being made TO devise
some scheme whereby the destroyc,
can he Enthusiastically recognized day
or night l% passing vessels. so that
Information can he conveyed to her
by wireless tc'eanuphy or signals. n.
to the whereabouts of the derclicl
sought or oil others not before re-
ported,
Description OF Graft.
The Seneca Is 2Oi feet long. =,
feet broad and will have n draft
of Is feet 6 inches. She will
be OF about 1880 tons displacement
and will carry 800 tons of fuel Goa
and 26,5o0 gallons of fresh water.
She will have straight stem. an
ovcrhanging clliptical stern, three
uooNs' ,ne upper OF which, or spa.
ueck VIII be flush fore and aft. She
VIII nave two pole masts. each sew
eh'N'nrcc iect long, and on the fore
most 'herc VIII Inc signal yard and
crows nest. She will carry main
sail, main s'aysail. foresail and fore
staySail which will be used for
stcadyins purposes with the wind
abpanl. There will be small steel
,'a, .N no"se around me ioromast con
AMI ",''ns ene pi'o.honse. chart room
"au " s,a'eroom Tor the use of the