14 1234 11 13 9:00 10 2.54 15 0.00 11 3:40 1.68 17 6:00 12 11:48 13 0.80 14 5.60 15 4.80 15 01234 9 4:00 10 4:00 11 0.00 10 3.20 11 4:40 12 1.20 11 11:00 10 10:00 6:00 10 5:40 2:40 13 0.00 11 4.80 3.60 14 1.00 6:00 16 3:00 14 3.00 4:00 15 2.40 5:00 16 1.80 6:00 17 1-20 19 11:40 24 2:40 23 10:00 20 10-80 24 11:00 21 10-20 4.80 26 0.00 22 9.60 3.733 nearly. 7466-7 nearly. 11.200—11 or 11}. tions; and that a steamer so loaded would be perfectly seaworthy in any weather, if properly constructed. By ordinary proportions, I mean 7 times the breadth in length, and two-thirds of the breadth in depth, and with a good sheer. The necessity for a line of extreme loading is admitted by all parties, and your committee venture to suggest that, in the event of the Government not approving of any of the above suggestions, or seeing fit to fix a basis for vessels hereafter to be built, that such line might be determined by the builder, in conjunction with the surveyor of LLOYD's, or to the Liverpool Underwriters' Association, under whichever inspection built, together with the local surveyor of the Board of Trade, thus representing the shipowner, the underwriter, and the Government. In the event of any disagreement 3·42=3&=3}}. 6·81=6%=6%}. 10.26=1%%=10}}• arising between the parties, the County Court Judge of the locality could be empowered to authorise two of the nautical assessors, appointed under the Admiralty Jurisdiction Act, to assist in determining the maximum limit of flotation, and the decision of such body to be submitted to, and approved by, the Board of Trade; and that for vessels built under the inspection of neither of these societies (a very rare exception) the builder and Board of Trade surveyor could determine such limit of flotation, with power to call an assessor as provided in case of any disagreement. 1264. The necessity of sailing all vessels on the line of flotation intended by the builder cannot be too strongly impressed on the attention of masters. Instances have occurred where schooners of 200 tons have entered the port of discharge drawing three feet more aft than forward, when by the lines of the builder, it never ought to exceed 18 or 20 inches. Some experienced surveyors and stevedores contend that in the stowage of certain cargoes in a ship's hold, such as a telegraphic cable, the vertical centre of the weight of such cargoes should fall exactly on the (horizontal) line of flotation of the ship when completely laden. 1265. The cargo should be so disposed that the ship may be duly poised, and maintain a proper equilibrium; to be neither too stiff nor too crank-qualities equally pernicious. If too stiff, she may carry much sail, whilst her masts are endangered by sudden jerks and excessive labouring. If too crank, she will be unfit to carry sail without the risk of oversetting. 1266. In their general report to the Council, 11th April, 1867, the Institute of Naval Architects say there is a minimum height of freeboard which cannot be safely reduced in sea-going ships of ordinary fitment, and it is desirable to fix this minimum height. Freeboard should be understood to be the vertical height of the upper surface of the upper deck (not spar deck) at the side, amidships, above the load-water line. The proportion of freeboard should increase with the length. One-eighth of the beam is a minimum freeboard for ordinary sea-going ships of not more than five, breadths to the length, and of the beam should further be added for each additional breadth in the length of the ship: say, For a ship of 32 feet beam and 160 feet long 4 feet freeboard. The beam remaining the same; but as the addition of a spar deck on long vessels may be considered an equivalent or substitute for the increased freeboard required for extra length, a complete spar deck would leave the freeboard of these extra lengths at the original height of four feet. 1267. Load Displacement. The Newcastle and Gateshead Chamber of Commerce, in December, 1869, in reference to the absence of any provision in the Merchant Shipping and Navigation Bill, 1869-70, for determining the maximum load-line of ships and steamers, say while fully sensible of the difficulty of laying down any arbitrary regulation, your Committee would bring before your notice various rules which exist, and some opinions on this point, obtained by them from eminent shipbuilders and practical authorities of this district, whose views are entitled to the greatest consideration. 1268. American LLOYD'S Register, 1868. The limit of local displacement is subject to conflicting opinions between shipowners and underwriters. The former are very sensitive with regard to a stipulated limit of load draught, which if established, would produce many annoyances. We think the requirements might be realized without being detrimental to their interests. That vessels of different proportion, model, or build, may retain their buoyant qualities, carrying weights the capacity for holding bulk, and the capability for carrying weight, must be recognised as distinct elements. We suggest the load draught to be regulated by the depth of hold, the required side out when loaded to be measured from the water, up to the side, even with the lowest line of sheer of spar deck. Vessels having an additional deck put on after construction, the depth of hold to be measured from original deck. 1269. Mr. HECKFORD, Essex, states in relation to the density of the water of Calcutta, which is 110 miles up the Hoogly from Saugor Point, and 114 from Saugor Roads, at the entrance to the river in the Bay of Bengal, taking a first-class ship of 1,000 tons drawing 20 feet as a guide, the difference of immersion in the fresh-water off Calcutta, and salt-water during 12 months in the year is as follows: By the above it will be seen that in January the difference of immersion l'etween the two places is nearly a quarter of an inch foot of the whole draught, about ths for April and May owing to the river water being impregnated with salt-water abreast of Calcutta; and fully faths in August and September, on account of the freshets, when surface water is to be found in Saugor Roads. These calculations may be taken in some measure as applying to Rangoon and Moulmein-nearly all other ports on the Indian sea-board contain salt-water only. 1270. Stiffness. A ship is said to be stiff when her centre of gravity is so placed that she will stand up to a press of canvas. She can, however, be too stiff; for if the centre of gravity is too low, she will roll and strain, and do much damage to her spars and hull. 1271. Rolling is that motion by which a ship vibrates from side to side. A ship rolls round an imaginary axis, passing fore and aft through the centre of displacement. The further the centre of gravity is from this line the more violent and jerking the roll; the nearer it is the easier, but not necessarily the less, because if the centre of gravity is raised by heavy weights, like iron ballast in the wings, the roll may be even deeper, though considerably easier than if all the dead-weight was on the keelson; heavy goods should not only be kept out of the extremities of a ship, but out of the wings also. When a steamer is in a river, across the tide, with a freight of cattle, they press against each other, and keep her rolling in the smoothest water. With respect to the formation of the body of a ship, that shape which approaches nearest to a circle is the most liable to roll; for if this be agitated in the water it will have nothing to restrain it, because the rolling about its centre displaces no more water than when it was upright. In a paper by Mr. BARNABY, read at the Institution of Naval Architects, 11th April 1867, it is stated in relation to her stowage, "that as the character of the ship in this respect varies, so does the number of oscillations she would make per minute, if she were set rolling in still water, by men running across her deck, or other means, and then allowed to come to rest; that is if the ship be crank the number of oscillations per minute will be few; if she be too stiff they will be numerous; but under the same conditions of stowage, the number will be nearly the same whatever the amount of impulse to set her rolling may be." 1272. Crankness is caused by not having sufficient ballast, or by disposing the lading so as to raise the centre of gravity too high. This occurs with such cargoes as hemp, and is avoided in some Russian ports, by stowing iron with the lower portion of the cargo. The term crank is applied to ships built too deep in proportion to their breadth, and from which they are in danger of over-setting. Generally speaking, goods lighter than water should not be stowed |