SHIPPING.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1710, 13 August 1879, Page 2

SHIPPING.

PORT OF LYTTELTON. YTbathie EEror.T— Auptnat 13. 9 a.m.—Weather, overcast. Wind, S.W., light. Barometer, 29.72 ; thermometer, 43. High Water— To-morrow. Morning, 00.36 j evening, 1.03. Arrived— August 13. Hnia, a. 8., 106 tons. Wills, from Kaikeura and Wellington. Cuff and Graham, agents. Passengers —Mrs Wish/; two steerage. Cleared— August 13. , Hnia, s.s., 106 tons, Wills, for Kaitoura an* Wellington. Cuff and Graham, agents. Nightingale, brigantine, 220 tons. White, for Knipara. Master, agent. Sailhd— Angnst 12. Island City, brigantine. 123 tons, _£ or Chatham Islands. Master, agent Passengers— Messrs Moore, Elliott, Brown, Cole, E\ans, Flint, E Rtag S arooma. s.s.. 623 tons. Chatfleld. for MelhoSuf via Dnnedin and Bluff. 11. Puilett agent. Passeugers for Melbourne —Mrs Porter, Mr Montgomery. 2 steerage.

The ship Bed Gauntlet, that came in a short time ago with everything gone on her mainmast above the lower mast, will soon be r ~ -fitted with new spars complete. Messrs Lontit and Co., the successful tenderers for the repairs, have prepared the yards and masts ready for setting- up, and Captain Bowie expresses very great satisfaction at the workmanship and equality of timber, The ironwork was executed by Mr John Pope, shipsmith, at Port, and the manner in which it has been performed reflects the highest credit upon his establishment. On© of the caps forged at his shop weighs fo ir Hundredweight and a half, and is the largest ever made in Lyttelton. For earring ont snch work Mr Pope has made special provision, no expense being snared by him to meet suoh emergencies. Among the additions to his workshop may be named a sum 1 steam engine, a blast connected with the engine, which supplies the five fires, and screwing, boring, punching, and shearing machines, all of which are ran by steam power. A steam hammer is to be added very shortly, and then such forging as that of the Eed Gauntlet’s may he performed with comparative new feature in connection with the working of the screw propeller has recently heon determined by Mr E. Griffiths, whose name has longheenkn9wn in connection with this method of propulsion. Hitherto screw propellers have been placed as close as possible to the stern-post of vessels, hut this position Mr Griffiths has proved to ho the wrong one. From a long course of cn refill experiments ho lias been led to conclude that the propeller should bo rdaced some little distance from the stern-post, and close to the rudder-post, to get the best ellect as regards speed. To demonstrate this somo triajs wore recently made with a model boat some oft. m length, fitted with an ordinary screw driven by clockwork. The screw was fonr-bladed, o. k m. in diameter, and 3-9 in. pitch, and was in fact a copy of the screw with which the Peuiusnla and Omental Company’s new st.camshix> the Kaisar-i-Hmd is fitted. By fixing the screw five-eighths of an inch from the stern, a speed of 100 ft. per minute was obtained. By increasing the distance to threefourths of an inch the speed was increased to 10lft. per minute. Placed at lsin. from the stern-post a speed of 110 ft. per minute was attained. The screw was then shifted to what Mr Griffiths considers to bo the best position—namely, 25iu. from the sternpost—and this resulted in a speed of 114 ft. per minute. This shows an ultimate increase of Hit. per minute upon the first arrangement. The ordinary screw was then removed, and in its place was fitted a Griffiths fonr-bladed screw of similar dimensions to the one it replaced, but having the forward edge of each blade ent otf. The screw was first fixed from the stern-post, and a speed of HGft. per minute was made. At 2£iu. —the best position—the speed was 122fb. per minute. A pmfc of the deadwood Uin. long was then removed from the stern, and the screw w'as placed 2in. from the end of the ship thus exposed, when the speed attained was 110 ft. per minute. , The screw was then removed IJin. forward, or -Jin. from the end of the wood, and the speed Iwas only 48ft. per minute. It will bo seen that in both cases the highest speeds were attained with the screw in what Mr Griffiths considers the best position, but that the Griffiths screw gave a higher speed than that of ordinary construction under similar conditions. So far as these experiments go Mr Griffiths has ceitainly made ont a good case, and if the results of practice only correspond with those wo have given, an important advance will have been mado in screw propulsion.—** Times.” SHIPPING TELEGEAMS. Port Chalmers, August 13. Arrived —Eingarooma, from lyttelton; Torarna, from BlnfF.