DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF PASSENGER STEAMERS. 271 



trade, improvement in the exchange rate from the foreigners' point of view, improved 

 exporting methods on our part and the w^orking out of the recent foreign trade financial 

 legislation. 



Passenger ships were ordered in great quantity in Britain following the war; a large 

 amount of this tonnage has been suspended or cancelled. This suspended activity gives our 

 new sliips an opening to get in on the ground floor of the revival, of which signs are now 

 multiplying. 



We are struggling with a shortage of trained personnel and with some poor engineer- 

 ing due to rushed war conditions ; the ships in service have not been without troubles of 

 their own. They will get over those troubles or they will lose the trade to their British 

 and Japanese competitors. Time and tide wait for no man, and trade goes to the fellow 

 who is there to take it. 



The more one contemplates the situation the more one sees that the hour has struck 

 for an America taking her full place in world affairs as compared with an America of splen- 

 did isolation. 



PASSENGER STEAMERS FOR SHELTERED WATERS. 



Perhaps nowhere in the world are there such opportunities for lake, bay, sound and 

 river navigation as in America. Our transactions contain many full papers on this sub- 

 ject, and it would be hard to name one who has contributed more to their design and build- 

 ing than has Mr. Frank E. Kirby. The problems are not as complicated as are those of 

 the ocean; draught is usually limited, and lines adapted for high speed in shoal water are 

 not the same as for deep water. Ports are closer and bunkers carried are lighter; fresh 

 water from overboard is often available for boilers, if not for drinking. Cargo is generally 

 carried in relatively small amounts, largely on deck rather than below. Fire risks are 

 severe in these ships and must be seriously studied and minimized. In rivers and canals, 

 bank erosion must be guarded against, and here the experimental tank has come to our aid 

 in studying wave making. In some recent Hudson River vessels, in particular, wave mak- 

 ing has been notably reduced, enabling greater speed to be maintained for the same erosive 

 action or less of such action for equal speed. 



Due to the war, probably, there has been almost nothing built lately in this class which 

 calls for comment; with renewed opportunities for such travel let us hope for some new 

 vessels to build. The opportunities for design and decoration of extensive passenger spaces 

 are considerable, particularly in vessels for lakes, rivers and sounds. 



In the public spaces the large central wells give opportunities for architectural effect 

 not often found in ocean liners. 



Many of these vessels in the past have been built with too little beam for satisfactory 

 stability results ; top decks have been increased or added in order to crowd on more passen- 

 gers, the accident point having been found in more than one instance, notably the Eastland, 

 in recent years. Some river steamers have found it necessary to set back the rails, thus 

 limiting the passengers who can crowd top decks ; also in boats traversing water with points 

 of interest first on one side, then on the other, water ballast chambers in the wings have 

 been fitted so that the engineer can fill the same on the off side and empty it again after 

 passing the particular point, such as West Point Military Academy on the Hudson. 



Paddle-wheel propulsion still holds its own for this type; the experimental tank is in- 

 valuable for correctly locating the wheel center to avoid disaster due to wave profile and 

 wheel not meshing. 



