The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-07-18
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wooden freighters each of 400 tons deadweight
capacity.
year ago we had in this country only a hand
ful Of qualified shpwrights. and the yards en-
gagged In the building of wooden vessels were few
and far between. of modest equipment and any
thing but up to date compared with their stees-
competitors. How. then. has 1t been possible to
undertake so imposing a program and to prom
ise deliveries within periods unprecedentedly
brieff The story Is one to make every American
feel proud for II u a record Of Yankee ingenu-
ity and native adaptability at their best
1t was plain to the men concerned in direct
Ing the Emergency Fleet corporation that II
would be quite out Of the question to recruit
shipwrights or to train new men In the art with
in the time available. The shipwrlzht In his I'M
shed form is the evolution of long years Of prac-
tical application. and this means acquired cum
ming in the Of very few hand tools.
Just the same are launching timber yes
sells after very short building periods. and these
undeniable results are the consequence of skill
fully directed efforts following new lines. The
Emergency Fleet corporation nrst ret About
recruiting labor from wide range Of wood work
ing trades. and they showed how these men could
be employed. by reason Of already existing me
chanical aids and others developing, to do virtu-
ally what had previously been done only by the
expert ship carpenter.
We turning out by the method ocean
going timber cargo carriers to which the under
writer's do not hesitate to give Al rating. This
achievement is the outcome of a studied effort to
cut out lost motion all the way from the forest
to the building plant and thence upon the finished
product.
Where the shipwright used to hew and cut and
patiently carve the various curously formed
structural units out of relatively raw material,
his less expert brothers, the house carpenter the
joiner the wooden bridge builder and the like
accomplish astonishing things through the
agency of the sawmill. The sawmill In fact rep
resents today to the wooden ship what the steel
mill stands for in the of the fabricated
freighter.
By means of planers that be set at any
angle and saws that will operate when tilted to
different degrees 1t is possible for the present
day substitutes Of the master wood worker. the
shipwright, to shape and to bowel pieces Of all
sixes and thicknesses and. beatdes. to do this In
a few minutes, where the ship carpeoter 70
quired probably many hours.
The pneumatic drill commonly used In struc-
tural steel work has been modified so that II
will answer for the boring Of holes In the tim
bers Of wooden ship; pneumatic hammers,
adaptations Of steel rveters. driving the
bolts, treenails, plugs, etc, that bind timber
craft together; and portable planners and kindred
air electrically operated tools finish OF sur
faces and smooth joints 80 that the adxe and the
other tools Of the shipwright are wellnigh dis
pensed with Further. these portable power
driven aids doing their work at a speed ut
teriy unattainable by the traditional ship car
penter and his fellows.
As yet the concrete ship il too much of a nov.
city for predictions to be made to the ultimate
maximum Of practicable tonnage. nor are we
yet that the big concrete freighter OF 400c
tons and more s going to prove enduring and
economical However. concrete craft Of more
modest proportions have already established
their durability. their technical correctness and
the feasibility Of constructing them rapidly
The Emergency Fleet corporation. bearing thsss
facts In mind. 10 going right ahead to supple /,
ment our mercantile squadrons By substantially
eaceuras1ng the building Of scores oe freight.
and other sranolithie boatA