The Shipbuilding Industry in Belfast 21 



pontoon can-ying the crane, which for greater convenience is 

 a floating one. For a smaller weight the radius of action can be 

 greatly increased, and the crane is often, as in the figure, moored 

 outside the liner and loads lifted from the wharf on the other 

 side of the shi}). 



The funnels of the " Olympic " may well be used to illustrate 

 the great scale of the ship Two full sized tramcars side by side 

 could be driven through this smoke stack. 



The control of such a powerful crane is a matter of vital 

 importance, for loads, up to 100 tons, and more, have to 

 be placed within a few inches of some special spot, far down at 

 the bottom of the vessel, and, necessarily, far out of sight of the 

 craneman. 



A short sketch having been given of the growth of the 

 ship, some details of shop methods were added. 



When the owners have decided upon the general scheme of 

 a new boat, the design, with certain governing dimensions and 

 particulars, is sent into the drawing office. The first thing to be 

 done is to make a wooden half model of the hull, to the scale of 

 one quarter inch to one foot. For one of the big boats, this 

 model is itself a substantial piece of timber about 18 feet long 

 The model maker, working from the general design and type of 

 the boat, checked by long experience of previous vessels, and also 

 by occasional calculations, gradually fines down his model, until 

 he arriv'es at the exact point when the hull is at the same time 

 of the right shape and of the right weight. Needless to say, this is a 

 highly skilled operation. There are not many men competent 

 to make a model of this kind. AVhen complete, the numerous 

 curving forms of the ship, the ' lines " as they are technically 

 called, are transferred to paper, and then the measurements at 

 hundreds of points are read off, as accurately as it can be on a 

 small scale. Deck plans, frame plans, and a host of other neces- 

 sary drawings, are subsequently prepared from this fundamental 

 drawing of the ship's lines, 



6 



