32 INLAND NAVIGATION AND BARGE CONSTRUCTION 



Mr. Bernhard (Communicated) : — Referring to the question of President Thompson, 

 let me relate the following experiment. 



A self-propelled barge, 200 feet long, 32 feet wide, and at 6 foot draught, attained a 

 speed of 7 miles per hour on Lake Borgne, which has an average depth of between 7 and 8 feet. 

 In the channel, however, from the lighthouse to the entrance of the Lake Borgne Canal, the 

 depth is a little over 10 feet. We had a tug go ahead of the barge at a like speed. The draught 

 of this tug was 5 feet. A rope was tied from the bow of the barge to the stern of the tug, 

 without the tug pulling at the rope — ^merely keeping it taut. The minute the tug reached the 

 Lake Borgne Canal, which at that time was only 7 feet deep, the rope slackened 40 feet in 200. 

 The minute the barge entered the canal this slackening decreased to a speed of approximately 

 20 to 25 feet in 200. In other words, the effect of the shallower water channel was more 

 marked upon the tug than upon the barge to the extent of approximately 13 per cent, not- 

 withstanding the fact that the barge drew six-sevenths of the available channel against the 

 tug's five-sevenths. 



The remarks of Professor Sadler are very interesting, and I quickly agree with him 

 by stating that the Naval Architects and Mari e Engineers have not so far been the only cause 

 of the decline of navigation upon inland waters. I am rather inclined to believe this is one of 

 the minor causes, but of principal interest when this question is discussed before the Society 

 of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. There are many reasons of greater importance 

 for the decline of inland navigation and a good deal could be said on this subject — rates, ter- 

 minals, management, laws, financing, organization, insurance, and many others. 



Anyone familiar with the river captain and pilot will agree with Professor Sadler that 

 they do consider themselves the highest and most ultimate authority. As foundation for this 

 they have little more ground than the fact that they have navigated the rivers for a long 

 period. If that would be sufficient justification every old sea captain ought to be one of the best 

 naval architects that could be had. 



I seize this opportunity to state that the report as made by the Mississippi Towboat 

 Board, to which Professor Sadler refers, is highly instructive and interesting and contains 

 a mass of very valuable data, and said report should be on the desk of anyone connected in 

 a responsible way with inland navigation. 



I would doubt with Professor Sadler the wisdom of driving a 1000-ton barge at a speed 

 of 24 miles an hour through a channel 6 feet deep, but this has not been nor is it now my de- 

 sire. I think for such speed a greater depth of channel is required — certainly not less in aver- 

 age than 12 feet against a draught of 7 feet, and we may safely say that the average depth of 

 channel between St. Louis and New Orleans is certainly not less than 12 feet, although of 

 course over the bars there may be as little as 9 feet, or perhaps in some cases 8 feet of water. 



The remarks of Mr. Kemble are indeed very instructive and I regret exceedingly not 

 having had the pleasure of meeting this member of the Society. 



The experience Mr. Kemble had with the smoke discharge of the average river steamboat 

 is slightly different from my own, and I think I could convince Mr. Kemble with the correct- 

 ness of my statement by taking him on the decks of any river steamer. The cracking of the 

 s ot under his feet would quickly impress him^ that I am not so wrong after all. I do admit 

 gladly, however, that of late this affair, which is after all of minor importance, has received 

 better attention. 



I cannot agree with him about the wisdom of these big whistles but gladly grant him 

 his point, although I can assure him it will be a very long time before there is an auxiliary 



