OF VIRGINIA 53 



SHIP AND BOAT BUILDING 



A number of deep navigable rivers and their branches, Chesa- 

 peake Bay, Hampton Roads, and the Atlantic Ocean, give Virginia 

 many miles of water front. -Large areas of the State, rich agricul- 

 turally and well populated, depend entirely upon boat service for their 

 principal means of transportation and commerce with different parts 

 of Virginia and with markets in other States. Virginia has a num- 

 ber of deep harbors. Norfolk and Newport News especially afford 

 natural advantages and depths, which put them in line with the fore- 

 most ports on the Atlantic Coast. The largest ocean vessels and men- 

 of-war land at their docks. It is not surprising, therefore, with such 

 facilities that Virginia is an important ship-building State and that this 

 industry is one of the principal ones. Boats of all kinds, from the 

 battleship and the finest oceanic liners, down to the launch and row 

 boat, are made by Virginia builders. In building the large seafaring 

 vessels steel construction has to such a large extent taken the place of 

 wood that lumber is now only incidental, w r hen less than a century 

 ago it was the most essential and in value the most important of the 

 materials used. Wood is still largely employed in construction of 

 smaller boats, for instance, for building the superstructures of river 

 and inland-water boats and tugs, also for scows, barges, launches, 

 sail boats, row boats, and canoes. 



Many kinds of lumber are demanded by boat builders as the 

 large number of uses they serve often require woods of special quali- 

 ties. Table 13 shows 19 species were reported. For the keelsons, 

 long lengths are necessary combined with strength and elasticity. 

 Longleaf pine has long served this use but in recent years Douglas 

 fir has been growing in favor. The Oregon timber is purchased 

 more extensively by the boat builders than by any other Virginia wooJ- 

 using industry. Besides keelsons, Douglas fir is used for spars and 

 decking. White oak, and red oak, on account of their strength, went 

 into keels, keel blocks, railte, strakes, guards, and head logs. 



Longleaf yellow pine, in quantity the leading wood bought by the 

 boat builders, meets the demand for many uses. The principal ones are 

 for spars, decking, deck beams, keelsons, head logs, bulk heads, and 

 general ship work. 



Cypress is not as important a species for ship building as may be 

 supposed. It answers for ceiling, decking and inside finish, but is not 

 indispensable. Other woods, red oak, Douglas fir, spruce, shotrleaf 

 pine, white pine, and longleaf pine are reported for the same uses. 

 These woods and ash also were employed in many other parts of the 



