DOCKING A STEAMER

Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 89

DOCKING A STEAMER

TiiE WELLINGTON PATENT SLIP.

By Will L\wson".

The vessel to be docked, a steamer of clobe on two thousand tons, is emptied of all raigo and, floating very high on the water. " flyino light,"' is towed away horn the wharf by a powerful tug securely lashed alongside her. In addition tiieie is a small tug towing ahead and employ cd principally to keep the inert vessel on a true course should the fresh northeily bioeze blow her stern round and cause her to head into the wind.

The patent slip is near the liead of Evans's Bay, an arm of Port Nicholson extending m a southerly direction, and the two tugs presently turn into this bay, the leading one. appropriately named the Pilot, pulling the bow round in a fussy, impoitant manner. Arriving opposite the short gulf wherein is the slip, +he tugs pause where two lows of tarred posts extend for some distance seaward. Near these is a strongly-built wharfing pile to which .i line is carried from the steamer. Down in the water between the rows of postt there is a four-railed tramway of a width of about 30ft, and on it is a heavy cradle on which the steamer is to be drawn out of the water, across a road, and so up to the yaid wheie repairs and renovations are carr.ed out. Before this cradle was run into the water, expert engineers went carefully over the plans of the vessel to be raised, and the chocks and supports of the cradle were accurately adjusted to fit the shape of the stejin-er's keel and bilges. Your iron aims projecting from the water mark the short end of the cradle.

"By manoeuvring with the tugs and the winches the steamer is gradually worked over the cradle until her bow rests on the blocks betw een the iron arms, which are forthwith clasped about her bows, one pair to prevent backward and one to check forward movement. A signal ie given to th-e engine man in the machine-house on the hillside, and very slowly the vessel begins her shoieward journey. The cradle, which is hauled by means of a heavy chain, rests on innumerable small wheels Tuning on four particularly solid rwls about 12in thick. The centre pair of rails are close together, and carry the principal weight of the hull ; the outer rails are at the extreme sides of the cradle, and the number of wheels on these rails is less than in the centre. There are several " pauls," steel bars hinged to the cradle, Avhich, as the cradle moves ehorewaid and upward, trail over ratchets between the centre rails, and, should the cradle make any backward move, these diop into the ratchets and at once hold the cradle stationary. Slowly, almost gingerly, the steamer's bows lift from the^eea, her dripping flanks gleam in the sunlight, and &ho settles firmly and comfortably on the bed prepared for her. The sensation experienced when standing on her deck is unique, particularly when, having emerged from her natural element, she crosses the roadway, where some pedestrians and a carriage are held up pending her passage. There is an army of men awaiting her ariival in the yard, ready to begin the work of scraping the barnacles and other sea growths from her plates. Afterwards a coat of paint which resists the action of the sail water will be applied. All this has to be done in the course of a few hours, .md no sooner is the ship at a standstill than dozens of scaffolding ladders are ai ranged and a continuous line of scaffold encircles her, and the men get to woik, scraping and painting \igorously. The appearance of a large steamer hauled high and dry is peculiar, especially as there is rather more of the vessel below the load-line than abo\ c it, so that the everyday impression of a particular ship is quite alteied, and one must perforce read the name to be certain of the identity of a steamer which when afloat is a familiar figure. The scores of men climbing all over her and under her gives her, too, an undignified appearance foreign to her self-conscious, arrogant everyday beaiing. The work of scraping and painting being over, preparations are made for relaunching. There is no need to wait for the point to dry, for marine paint dries bettei under water than in the air. The scaffolding is removed, the winding engine heaves on the chain a little to allow of the " pauls " being lifted clear of the ratchets. The tugs have returned and are awaiting the steamer's re-entrance. The incline being gradual and the wheels of the cradle numerous, thus pioducing much friction to be overcome, the cradle does not move when the hauling chain is slacked. But there is another chain, a lighter one, which runs from the cradle into the sea, round a wheel sunk some distance out, and thence back to the winding engine. A gentle haul on this starts the cradle downward, then it travels by its own momentum and weight. Until the roadway is crossed the journey is made very slowly, but wher? the Tear of the cradle is at the water's edge they let her go, and she takes the water at a fair pace, making a glorious plunge and tossing out waves "which set the tugs rolling. On one ship when making this descent the mate neglected to raise the side gangway which had been used as a means of communication with the ground when on the slip. As this struck the water with the steamer moving at a 6mart pace a column of water shot skyward, and the gangway was rather the worse for the experience. The down-rushing steamer makes off by the way she oaTrios, but the fussy tugs are quickly alongside and in front, and once more she allows herself to be led in a docile spirit to the loading berth. And she puts to sea in the evening feeling spick and span, like a man who has just had a shave and, a hair-cut.

Only 9 per cent, of the Sheffield school children inspected had got good se ta of teeth.