Blocks and Beds
An idea of the blocks used in building the beds can be had by referring to the photograph. They consisted of 3 cast steel wedges, which, when placed upon each other, were about 3 feet high, 15 inches wide at the bottom, and 3 feet 6 inches long. On top of these steel wedges was placed a hardwood block 12 inches square and 4 feet long, and on top of the hardwood blocks was placed a soft wood cap 12 inches wide by 4 inches thick by 4 feet long.
To prepare the main, inner and outer beds, it was necessary to have some idea of the form of the ship. By opening up the water-tight doors in the fireroom we were able to get a base line 300 feet long. Every other double bottom tank was pumped out and offsets taken at the fore and aft ends of these tanks, in way of the main, inner and outer beds. The taking of these offsets was greatly facilitated by the fact that the double bottom was found to be flat in both the fore and aft thwartships direction. Buttocks were run through these offsets. While these buttocks faired up very well, it was realized that the measurements would not be accurate enough for the actual preparation of the beds; therefore they were prepared to within 4 inches of these measurements.
Several hundred wedges of varying thicknesses were made ready in advance, and after the ship was placed on the center line blocks, the space between the main and outer beds and the ship’s bottom was packed with the wedges by divers.
The Gladstone Dock was prepared according to the above description, carefully checked and measured, and then flooded to about 10 feet, so that no one could tamper with it. After the dock was prepared, we had to wait several days for a spring tide, and also to dredge out a shifting shoal at the entrance of the channel leading to the dock.
The first tide that the ship could enter the dock was at 11:50 A. M., January 14, 1918. She was brought to as even a keel as possible, which was 35 feet 9 inches forward and 37 feet 6 inches aft. This was accomplished by filling the forward tanks and emptying the after tanks and placing about 1,400 tons of coal in her reserve and forward bunkers. This was the nearest to an even keel that we had ever had the ship up to this time in the light condition. I might mention here that in this condition the ship is extremely tender, and that Lieut. Watts of the Engineering Department, displayed great diligence and good judgment in keeping her perfectly upright, while setting her on the blocks.