CLYDE SHIPBUILDERS FROM AN AMERICAN POINT OF VIEW.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 637, 17 February 1870, Page 4

CLYDE SHIPBUILDERS FROM AN AMERICAN POINT OF VIEW.

— _ — ♦_ — _ [n. y. times special correspondent.] To oup whose pursuits of inclinations lead him to cultivate an interest in the progress. of marine architecture, .there can be.no more attractive an d : iustru ctivo excursion than . a journey . through the extensive and/busy shipyards and-:founr dtie3 . .tliat have nmdp the Clyde so reDRwned in the shipbuilding transactions of pur day. An .American yjsitor is very likely to look upon the busy scenes which lu,ba surround him with a decided feeling of regret that their like does not exist, on his own side of the Atlanlicj and. that alt jhe majestic, steamers, and , bpantif u\ clippers that are here growing iuto life are preparing to reap, honor, and profit for the merchants and mariners, of other lane's than his.; Yet, if he \a a catholic lover of the sea and snips, he cannot withhold his admiration of the perfect workmanship ftud faultless form of the building vessels, and he will find .it diftipiilr. to resist the conviction that in; the work of fashioning iron into ships the artisans of Glasgow lead- the world. The Clyde builders com-pleted,-in 1868, 22 1 ? vessels, measuring 176,000 tons. » i° the six months ending June, 1869, 104 vessels^ of 98,393 tons, and m the month of July 19 vessels, of 20,133, tons. They have now on the stocks 60 vessels, measuring over 70,0U0 tons, auditive orders in hand fora large number which, are not commenced. Thi3 shows; an actives ..and extensive .industry in shipbmldnig, which is in it equalled ii^ any otl^er. shipbuilding districts: in Great Britajn. Many of the vessels, that are near pompletion are steamers of unusual size and power. The City of Brussels,, for the, .Innjan . line, is a maghjiicent ship,; 4Q6it' long, with 4.o{i; bennij and with vfc£y sharp lines forward and aft. Her builders; and owners expect great s,pced upon her trial trip, and a gain of 12 hours over the best, passages of the City of J*aris, Russia, and Scotia is corinctijntly looked for, Her apiiear.ini e certainly justifies these sanguine expectations ; she is the very picture : of a rater, long and. lean, with great pro- [ peliing power.: Tlip City: of Brussolls is Iheiongestmeixhanisteainereverlaiiuched upon the Clyde. But this distinction she will not long enjoy, as the ttsily, building for the .National Steam ship Company : of Liverpool, and intended for then* .New York'Jiise, ii 23ft longer than the Brussels, arid will lie llie target! »{eaii:or—'.vith thy

exception of the Great Eastern— thai; ' ever started across the Atlantic. The Italy is really a huge vessel. Her length, as above slated, is 43Qft ; her tjeam 42ft. Her model approaches the favorite American type — flat floor carried well forward and aft, sharp ends and straight stem, without cut- water or. bowsprit. She 13 to have a flush deck fore and aft, after the fashion of Caird's German steamers, and will be propelled by a pair of John Elder and Co.'s compound engines, capable of driving her twelve knots per hour, on a consumption of fifty tons of coal per day. The cargo capacity of the Italy will tje enormous,. J believe that 1 am within, the mark in repkoning it at 70CO"tflns). ~ " Four Qther steamers are building for the New. York trade • tlje Algeria and Abyssinja, of 3000 touaj building by Thomson and 06., for the Cuiiard Company, and ttye Anglia and the Australia for the Anchor Line from this port. The new Cunardexs are to be very like the Russia, but with spar or flush decks, which is, an improvement qn the present deck plans of the Qunard flee.t. The Anchor Line ships are larger now than any in that service, and promise to be excellent and reliable vessels. Caird and Co., of Greenook, have just completed the Frankfort fpr the NoTth German Lloyd. The Clyde district is thus providing eight new 3teamers for the United States trade. The aggregate tonnage of the eight is not far from 21,000 tons, maamg up a: fleet equal to a first-class weekly line between New York and Europe, built here in a single season. In addition to the .abovenamed steamers for the New York trade, several large ships are building for the Peninsular and Oriental and Royal Mail, and other companies. The Pacific Steamship Company (British) have a splendid ship, the Cordillera, just finished. She is the last of four 3000 ton ships, built this year by John Elder and Co. for the Liverpool and Valparaiso trade. The great prosperity of the shipbuilding trade of the Clyde is due to the fact that, in addition to cheap iron and coal (though not so' cheap as on the Tyne), the district has a very large supply of skilled labor. In this respect it is better off than the east coast; and although wages are about the same as on the east coast, and may in some cases be a little higher, the men get through with more work, and thus counteract the moderate advantage in the cost of material and fuel which, the east coast enjoys. Still there is a keener competition for contracts and a lowering of prices since the Tyne works have been enlarged and improved, and now many of the old Clyde builders decline to take contracts at the prices which younger and more active firms are ready to accept. Messrs Robert Napier and Sons are almost out of the business of building merchant steamers, and have built none that are worthy of note since the Ville de Paris and the Pereire. They are just now busily employed in completing the large ironclads Audacious and Invincible for the RoyaL Navy. These powerful ships are double screws, of 3800 tons and 800 horse power, with casemate batteries protected by eightinch armor plates. The work upon both is creditable ; to the old and eminent firm wtoo '>have the. job in hand. David Tod. successor to Tod and M'Gregor, builds few ships besides those that go into the Inman line ; and Thomson and Co. .depend mainly upon Messrs Bums and M'lver. The most active and enterprising Clyde shipbuilders of the present time are Messrs John Elder and; Coi of Govan' near Glasgow, and Messrs Caird and Co. at Greenoek. Elder and Co. have attained great celebrity as builders of compound engines, that is, of engines working their steam at both high and low pressure.' The saving in fuel is said to be thirtythree per cent in favor of this engine over the : most approved types of engines working at low pressure. The Pacific Company, trading to and on the west coast of South America, have given Elder's engines a very thorough trial, and: with great success. The company's large, new screw steamers of 3000 tons, with full cargoes on : boards kee|> : up an average speed of eleven' knots throughout the voyage from Liverpool to Valparaiso, on an average of 35 tons of coal per day. The ships are larger than the Riissia or City -of Paris, and will stow as much cargo as those two ships combined. Compound .enginesare now all the fashion here and in. England, and most of the builders here and on the Tyne are favoring' their adoption in all classes of steam vessels. The leading steamship companies of the kingdom are ordering them- for their new ships, and in some cases are placing them in old ships in the place of engines of the old; types. Elder has for many years been Bu.ch an ardent advocate of the compound engine, and has done! so much to perfect if, that he is to a large extent identified with its success, and is now benefittiiig largely by his early adherence.- His firm have orders in hand for sixteen steamers, and are at work upon eight, one of which is, the colossal ship Italy, already-men-tiouedv And there is the (Royal Mail ship Elbe, BOOOtons, for the West India line from Southampton. Elder and Co.'s works at Govan are new i and have all the latest improvements. Theiryards, buildings, and docks cover seventy-seven acres of ground, and are designed to be more complete than those of. any. of his neighbors. His large machine shop in Glasgow is. still fully occupied, but the work is shortly to be transferred to- the new premises. In ; itheif • two establishments the firm, employ about 4000 men.: • Caird's works at'Greenouk,, thbugh less extensive thari. Elder's are very complete arid have turned out an immense deal -of j work.: Since 1860 Caird and Co; have built twenty-two' large steamships for the American trade, all — except one Ciinarder —being for the North German Lloyd's aud Hamburg and New York Company. The tonnage of this [ great steam fleet cannot be much rinderss,ooQ tons. The speed and quality of the ships of the Bremen' and Hamburg lines are too well kjpwJi . in. New York to. neecb mention here. The oldest builder on the Clyde is Mr Steple, of Greenock, who made his piark years ago by building aj Very superior class of wofiden sailing? ship*- Hfe also bvu'lt several of the earj^tjn.naifl; Steamers. He hag lately insr©aai)d his reputation by building seyetsspsif •"■ v :th^. fleetest composite clippers iri]i^ij!. : ohl^ia:! trade. Mr Steele's probity .ife^!pj:ovSr-;i bial us his skill. It is said^j|ji;|B|{*^sj merchant has only f> name tfic i aimeh- 1 sums, the tvadp for which he needaaship, and agree with M^r .ste.ele;for the; price, to receive at the appointed r titne the $hip, with everything about her up to the/ highest, standard pf excellence. The composite clippers, \vliich urc \n

such high favor with the London merchants in the China trade, are built of irqn and wood. The frames are of iron, and the outside planking is of wood, which is screwed on t)ie iron framing with composition screw bolts. ;: Great care is taken to give f he skeleton of the ship great strength by means of fore and aft keelsons and stringers and 1 diagonal iron braces, it being the -rule" with the best buildera of composite ships to build them as strong, minus the outside ( platingj as a complete iron ship, plating 1 -included. The oak planking then becomes Bimply a covering, to keep the water put. It is claimed for the composite shipjj that they sail faster, especially on the return voyage from China, when h.igh speed is most requisite, md when the increasing foulness of an iron ship's bottom is apt to reduce the ' apeed of a ship plated with iron. The use of the composite ship is almost exclusively confined tp the tea trade, and. it is not likely that this system of building will be as extensively practised a few years hence as it is at the present day. If the Suez Canal is a success, steam wiil soon entirely supersede sails in both the China and India trade, and for steam propelled vessels vppn is preferred, The cost of a composite ship, including her metal sheathing over the wood bottom, is about L 2 sterling per ton higher than the price of an iron-plated ship. Messrs Connell and Co., who have als,o acquired a high reputation fpr buildings, fast clippers, are at present building three composite ships for 1 the China trade. One of them is a very beautiful craft, of same model as the famous. Spindrift, the winner of the last clipper race home from China. The dimensions of the new ship are, length 190 ft, beam 32, and 20ft hold. It will be noted that the length is greater in proportion to the beam than is usual in the United States ; though in this instance the disparity is not- carried to the extreme limits which are fast coming into favor among British shipowners. Steamships of ten and even twelve times their breadth of beam, are now coming into use, and many that are running are doing remarkably well iv speed, and carrying, large cargoes on moderate running expenses. Great length certainly gives a builder the opportunity of combining a long full section for stowage with good ends for the easy passage of his vessel through the water ; and if the hull can be made sufficiently strong, and the vessel behaves well at sea, theres would seem to be -no reason why the long narrow model should not be generally adopted. Several Liverpool steamers have certainly been improved in seaworthy qualities, as well as in capacity and speed, without any increase of power, by cutting them in two in their widest part and putting in forty or fifty feet of additional length. Messrs Denny and Co. have extensive works at Dumbarton, where they, have built many large and fine steamers. They have not, 1 believe, built any vessel of note for the American trade. Barclay, Curie and Co., is another and very extensive urnii Their business is- principally with iron sailing ; ships. Many of the steamers built- upon the Clyde are for foreign owners and for foreign service ; some go to China, others to South America ; others, again to the Black Sea and Baltic. Of German, French, Spanish, and Italian shipowners, many came here to build steamers and ships. In short, the high reputation of the Clyde builders attracts purchasers from all parts of the world except from the United States. There might be some reason for the policy which our people are-pursuing- in refusing to build steamers and ships here or elsewhere, outside o£ the United States, df such a policy helped ship building at home pr benetitted any one class of our citizens. If it even served to secure any part of our foreign trade to ships built in the United States, it might be tolerated ; but the reverse is notoriously true. The system works disastrously to eveiy American interest connected with navigation, not excepting the ship-builders themselves. Steamers and ships especially designed for the foreign carrying tiade of the United States are built here and in England in great .-; numbers, iftrid every, such ship, whether she be owned by an Englishman, German, or Frenchman, enters into competition with- the few Americvn ships, that are- left in our foreign trade: Our futile efforts to protect) our ship-builders are fast destroying the- business- of the shipowners : and ship-^nasters, • and throwing all the profits of .our. immense carrying trade into the hands of foreigners. On the Clyde alone 58 steamers,- regular traders between New York aud European ports, have been built since 1860.' Their aggregate tonnage is not less than 140;000 tons. This large fleet does not include the vessels built; for the Canada arid Portland li'.es. 1 believe that lam quite .within bounds : in ; estimating , that this fleet of-Clyde-built steamers; has driven 250,000 tons of sailing vessels frPm ; th«s Transatlantic trade of New York; In thief rice of all this, : we of America; still rely upon sailing ships a'one, and make no eff rt to obtain a steam marine at a moderate cost, and able.' to -coijhpfete- with' tl« numerous Transatlantic steam line 3 that are owned on this side of the ocean. Having lost the profits of ship-building,, we seem to have resolved to throw away the profits of ship-owning, and( heroically insist .upon driving our ship-owners from their .business, and our. mariners from the- sea, rather than grant an American register to a foreign-built ship. : ■