The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 3, 1900, Page 11

NOLE SAM 1 saips, vast - improvements upon thoso built prior to 1883. For many years each navy yard built its boats upon-such lines as the naval constructor or boat builder fancied, subject only to restrictions of v commissioned for tes battl her & ‘fleet of esh length The r sult was a heterogeneous lot of with- nothing about them in- 1geabl h delay and expense was incurred hocks and cradles. Frequently to be renewed or its had advent of the “new navy" ial changes in the old ways of while T was assistant to the the B au of Construction, I ted that (e boats for the cruisers ancisco and Charleston should be t Mare Island. I knew: it was a work was done well and my Y ited in. the bureau structor at Mare Island estimates for the were approved, the a 20 FooT BARGE- . ilts were s in competi- world at be be obtained at the outlay. Draughtsmen and- cther experts ha the probiem with what seems s, Im- s have in desig ction, which the récommenda e PR o, THE SUNDAY CALL. 11 36 FooT STEAM Next come three sailing lengths from 33 to 28 feet. Four sizes each of cutters and whale- boats are given, between 30 and 24 feet in length. The old-style of barge is retained with & length of 30 feet. The square stern gig, which was rarely of any use, h been displaced with a whaleboat g'g which has all the seaworth- iness of a New Bedford whaleboat, as well as the speed, which was the only advantage of the gig. For marketing and light work there are four sizes of dingles, varying in lengths from 30 to 14 feet, and two short punts for cleaning ship near water line. Two balsas, or life rafts, close the list. While they may not be classed as boats they are of great in making landing: through heavy surf. All ‘of the boats are fitted with masts and sails, as well as oars, and the larger ones are provided with mountings for boat guns. Each ship carrles enough boats to em- berk all of her officers and crew, ena- bling them to abandon her if-necessary. Taking the battleship Kearsarge, intend- od to carry & year admiral, as an Illustra- launches of tions of officers and my experience have shown necessary. Some of the new ships had their boats built by contract. They were good boats, but they bore the same resemblance to those turned out by the navy yards that a contract-bullt house does to one con- structed by day’s labor. No boats have been bullt for the navy since 1895, chiefly because of the inability of the outside boat bullders to properly understand what is expected. For the purpose of minutely illustrating and ex- plaining the high standard of design and construction required by the navy for its smail boats there has been printed under my direction by the Government Printing Office at Washington a volume of “Stand- ard Designs for Boa of the United States Navy.” In this book Is shown the detailed working plan for every part of every boat from the 40-foot steam cutter, which is 2 small man-of-war in f{tself, down to the 10-foot punt, which is in ap- pearance almost as simple as a horse trough. Yet all are designed with the same care and the American sailor can feel that no matter what boat he is in that it is the best of its class that floats. This book with its plans, specifications and details of the thirty types of boats comprising the “little navy” explains in its 222 plates and 86 pages of text and tables all that is required of navy boats, and while it is not intended by the navy to contract for boats In time of peace, occasfon may arise when navy yards may be unable to supMy bouts at short notice, This book anticipates such a conting- ency, and all that any outside boat builder has to do is to consult this book and fol- low its Instructions. With the object of finding out needed changes, ecach boat is numbered and thus a record is kept cov- ering its entire history as it goes from one ship to another. The thirty different boats described in the “Standard Designs” constitute the en. tire outfit in that line for all classes of vessels. They embrace five steam cutters ranging from 40 to 23 feet in length, with speeds varying from nine knots down tg about seven knots. i , it will be seen from accompanying table that #mple provisior has been made. The Kearsarge carries 554 officers and crew, which, with ten pounds of provision to each man, is distributed among the several boats as follows: BOATS FOR UNITED STATES BATTLE KEARSARGE vessel can be had for § a foot and have & pair of oars thrown Into the bargain But the differenca Is apparent when comparisons are made and the boat bt er will probabl ke more at §5 a f for coasters’ boats than he would at 334 nd the same holds val ves- HIP CLASSES OF BOATS. 1o 1{% Sailing 4 Barge 1 %0 winter in Whaleboats . 2(20 . Whaleboat g18.... 130 grimages Dinghies 2 2(m s, and Balsas ......coooisees 2|18 Totals G 15 There is no ¢o ntry more for and s than decorat e The boats, notwithstanding these heavy loads, still retain sufficient freeboard to make them seaworthy. As to the costsof the several types that may vary according to the locdlity wheras built. The prices given are from an Ea ern yard with large experience In s work. It is surprising, but Mare Island prices only slightly exceed those of the East. To the uninitiated or to the merchant ship builder the figures quoted pp travagant, the dinghy, for costs $34 per running foot, while the Mi\l per- forming similar service for a commerc re ar washerw ex- m rived the other