NO. 1.] THE FRAM. 



somewhat lightened by the time she was frozen fast. As the event showed, 

 she actually rose readily when pressed, and the danger of being overwhelmed 

 by superincumbent masses of ice does not appear to have been so great as 

 might have been anticipated. 



The model of the Fram having after much deliberation been fixed upon, 

 it next became necessary to decide upon the most sintable system of 

 construction, and, as the use to which this vessel was to be put was 

 so totally different to that of any ordinary ship, it would be vain to 

 seek a guide in any of the established rules and regulations for ship- 

 building. The builder was thrown on his own resources, and had to be 

 guided by his own judgement and experience. The strength of a structure 

 depends, of course, not only upon the strength of the material used, hut also 

 quite as much upon the combination of the various parts, so as to form a 

 compact whole. In this case it was important to economise weight, so as 

 not to reduce too much the cargo carrying capacity, and it became, therefore, 

 necessary to modify the scantlings accordingly, select the timber with care, 

 and above all to make a judicious arrangement of the materials, paying due 

 attention to the connection of the parts, and the sufficiency of the fastenings. 



The Fram's keel is American elm in two lengths 14™ (35.5 cm.) square. 

 The room and space is 2 feet (60 cm.). The frames are nearly all oak pro- 

 cured from the Naval dockyards at Horten, where it had been stored for a 

 number of years and was, therefore, thoroughly seasoned. It is all grown to 

 shape so that there is scarcely any cross grain. The frames are as usual 

 double throughout, each course sided 10 to 11 inches, the two courses forming 

 a frame being fayed and rivetted together, so as to make a firm and com- 

 pact structure. The butts of the frames are connected by iron straps to pre- 

 vent stretching. The inner lining consists of pitch pine in good lengths, and 

 varying in thickness from 4™ to 6^"^ (10—15.2 cm.), the stringers and shel- 

 ves being 8"^ (20.2 cm.). The keelson is also pitch pine in two tiers, one 

 over the other, each 15™ (38 cm.) square, from the stem to the engine room. 

 Under the boiler and engines there was only sufficient height for one keelson. 

 There are two decks. The main deck beams are American or German oak, 

 the lower deck and poop beams are pitch pine or Norwegian yellow pine. All 

 the deck planking is Norwegian pine, the upper decks being 4"^, the between- 

 decks S''' thick. The beams are fastened to the ships side by Norwegian white 



