ON THE MAXIMUM DIMENSIONS OF SHIPS. 9 
the busy waters of their terminal ports caution is required. It has been 
stated recently that the provision of suitable docks at New York for the 
latest Trans-Atlantic liners will involve an encroachment on the fair-way 
of the Hudson River which may prove disadvantageous to the general traffic 
of the port. Whether or not this statement is well founded the general 
truth of the foregoing remark will be admitted. Ships of 900 to 1,000 feet 
in length, weighing 40,000 to 50,000 tons when deep-laden are not easily 
dealt with, especially when moving on restricted spaces and in tide-ways, 
wherein other vessels are under way, and they themselves must necessarily 
move at low speeds. In many ports also the great draughts of water of the 
ships impose considerable restrictions on the water-area which they can utilize 
with safety to themselves. Even in the terminal ports of the Trans-Atlantic 
steamers difficulties are necessarily experienced, and although they have been 
overcome so far, they must be accentuated by any further increase of size. 
X. For cargo steamers and warships no such fixed conditions or 
terminal ports exist. The former class are built to seek cargoes everywhere 
and to deliver them wherever desired. Consequently experience has led to 
the adoption of relatively moderate dimensions and draught of water, in 
order that their possible field of operations may be extended widely. 
Warships are designed to operate from special bases, but they must 
find great advantage from being able to enter and utilize other harbors or 
sheltered waters where the depth of water is moderate. It is desirable also 
that they should be capable of proceeding to any place where an enemy can 
be found, and thus enlarge to the utmost their field of operations. Moderate 
draught of water is therefore an important feature of warship design; and 
the tendency in recent years to a considerable increase in the deep load- 
draughts of warships is, from this point of view, objectionable. As above 
stated the “sinkage”’ of modern warships (from normal to deep load-draught) 
is frequently 4 to 5 feet; and although this fact may be ignored in statistical 
returns it must seriously affect the practical working range of action of the 
vessels in war time. In respect of draught of water, the United States Navy 
formerly favored shallowness—indeed insisted upon it—although naval 
architects did not fail to point out the penalizing influence of that restriction. 
It will be interesting to be told why this remarkable change of attitude has 
been made. It is notorious that some of the most recent capital ships added 
to war fleets cannot when fully laden find shelter in harbors which have been 
built primarily and at great cost to serve as naval bases, and they cannot 
be placed in many existing dry-docks, in case of injury in action, because of 
their considerable load-draughts. It will not be disputed that one essential 
factor in framing a shipbuilding programme for any war fleet should be the 
