184 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SHIPYARD PLANTS. 



vided, but also to take care of a much larger volume of work than has been pro- 

 vided for in the past. The larger machine shops now under construction meet the 

 general development under way in the other departments and consist of a main bay, 

 80 feet wide, with a height of 85 feet to the roof trusses ; with a secondary bay, 50 

 feet wide, with a height of 26 feet to the cranes of 20 tons capacity ; and a second 

 floor of the same width, crane capacity of 5 tons, and a height of 18 feet to crane 

 rail. Lean-tos outside of this take care of offices, tool rooms, locker rooms, etc. It 

 is expected that a total length of shop of this section of approximately 1,000 feet 

 will take care of all of the large work. In addition, a machine shop for small work 

 will be provided of the same length with a width of approximately 60 feet, and six 

 stories in height. 



The outline in the case of the last three shops is very brief and is intended only 

 to give a general idea of the expansion and development found necessary and being 

 made in these departments to conform to the developments under way in the depart- 

 ments that build the hulls. 



The growth of many of the minor activities has not been out of proportion to 

 that which we find in the main elements of the yards, and such activities as galvan- 

 izing and generation of oxygen, which have in the past been placed anywhere that 

 room could be found for them, have grown to the dignity of independent shops of 

 considerable size, and other activities are still coming on, which give promise of tak- 

 ing a prominent place in shipyard work, the most outstanding of these at the present 

 time being electric welding. 



We have to thank the present demand for ships for the progress that has been 

 found possible in the development of the plants. With a continued demand for more 

 and larger ships, it is to be expected that the growth of the plants, which has been 

 begun, will be rounded out so that each department will in its own line be able to 

 compare favorably with the best shops doing a similar character of v/ork in other 

 industries. 



DISCUSSION. 



The President : — The next paper which we will take up is No. 12, entitled, "Present 

 Status oi the Concrete Ship," by Mr. R. J. Wig, Visitor. 



Mr. Wig presented the paper, and in connection therewith made the following state- 

 ment : — 



"Up to two or three years ago the majority of engineers were rather skeptical about the 

 possibility of building concrete ships, but to-day it would be difficult to find a structural 

 engineer, familiar with reinforced concrete, who does not believe that concrete ships can be 

 built structurally the equal of a steel ship. Many of you gentlemen are steel shipbuilders and 

 may question this statement. The only feature of the concrete ship which may limit its life 

 to this emergency is that of economic operation. Whether we can build it light enough so 

 that it can be operated and compete with other forms of construction has not been de- 

 termined." / 



