Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

BY ALBERT G. HOOD, Editor of “ The Shipbuilder.” An interesting1 account of the Building1, Launching, Fitting=out, and Testing of a large Ship. THE laying out of the site for a new shipbuilding yard is a matter upon which much care and thought are expended ; for it need hardly be pointed out that the general arrangements of a yard, and the ease or otherwise with which material can be handled from the time it is brought into the yard until finally wrought into the ships, have an important bearing on the cost of the vessels that will be built. Economy in building is of such vital importance in these days of keen competition, that the leading shipbuilding firms, keeping this object in view, are con- stantly remodelling their establishments and introducing the latest labour-saving devices. On the building berth, where the various parts which go to form the vessel are assem- bled and worked into the hull, suitable means must be provided for expedi- The Building ^ousiy handling and lifting Berth. . into position the various pieces of heavy material as they are brought to the ship ready for fitting into position, and for supporting the hydraulic riveting machines and other appliances in daily use. To meet this (l>408) requirement, much ingenuity has been dis- played, and many methods have been adopted. The old-fashioned arrangement of raising mate- rials with the aid of heavy wooden derricks and winches, placed in convenient positions along- side the building berth, is being rapidly super- seded by more efficient methods. This remark applies particularly to the American and Ger- man shipyards, which are all of comparatively recent design, and where full advantage has been taken of the experience of many years in British yards. At the Newport News shipbuilding yard, in Virginia, cantilever travelling cranes are mounted on a trestle structure, or gantry, running between two building berths, which are laid out side by side. Thus the cranes can travel to any point in the whole length of the berths, and can be used on either side of the gantry. Somewhat similar arrangements have been adopted in other American yards, including that of Messrs. Cramp at Philadelphia ; and in many British and German yards the idea, in a mor© or less modified form, has been carried out successfully. VOL. II.