Steamships and their story

by E. Keble Chatterton

Fig. 2.—“THREE ISLAND,” TYPE.

Fig. 3.—TOP-GALLANT FORECASTLE TYPE.

Fig. 4.—TOP-GALLANT FORECASTLE TYPE, WITH RAISED QUARTER-DECK.

Fig. 5.—EARLY “WELL-DECK” TYPE.

Her genesis begins when the future owners resolve to have her built. Before any plans are drawn out there must first be decided the dimensions, the displacement and the general features which she is to possess, whether she is to be a slow ship, a fast ship, engaged in passenger work, cargo-carrying, on the North Atlantic route, for the East through the Suez Canal, and so on; for all these factors combine to determine the lines on which she is to be built. Before we progress any farther, let us get into our minds the nine different types which separate the generic class of steamships. If the reader will follow the accompanying illustrations, we shall not run the risk of being obscure in our argument. [Fig. 1], shows the steamship in its elementary form, just a flush-decked craft, with casings for the protection of the engines as explained on an earlier page. This represents the type of which the coasting steamer illustrated [opposite page 134] is an example. This casing in the diagram before us is, so to speak, an island on the deck, but presently it was so developed that it extended to the sides of the ship, and, rising up as a continuation of the hull, became a bridge. At the same time a monkey forecastle and a short poop were added to make her the better protected against the seas. This will be seen in [Fig. 2]. This is known as the “three-island” type for obvious reasons. It must be understood that on either side a passage leads beneath the bridge-deck so as to allow the crew to get about the ship. But from being merely a protection for the bows of the ship, the monkey forecastle became several feet higher, so that it could accommodate the quarters of the crew, and this “top-gallant” forecastle, as it is known, will be seen in [Fig. 3]. At the same time, the short poop or hood at the stern has now become lengthened into something longer. But in [Fig. 4] we find the lengthened poop becoming a raised quarter-deck—that is, not a mere structure raised over the deck, but literally a deck raised at the quarter. This raised quarter-deck was the better able to withstand the violent force of the sea when it broke over the ship. In [Fig. 5] we have a still further development in which the topgallant forecastle is retained as before, but the long poop and the after end of the bridge are lengthened until they meet and form one long combination. This is one of the “well-deck” types, the “well” being between the after end of the forecastle and the forward end of the bridge-deck. This well was left for the reason that it was not required for carrying cargo, because it was not desirable to load the ship forward lest she might be down at the head (which in itself would be bad), whilst at the same time it would raise the stern so that the propeller was the more likely to race. But in the modern evolution of the steamship it is not only a question of trim and seaworthiness that have been taken into consideration, but also there are the rules and regulations which have been made with regard to the steam vessel. Now, this well-space not being reckoned in the tonnage of the ship (on which she has to pay costly dues) if kept open, it was good and serviceable in another way. Considered from the view of seaworthiness, this well, it was claimed, would allow the prevention of the sweeping of the whole length of the ship by whatever water that broke aboard the bows (which would be the case if the well were covered up). If left open, the water could easily be allowed to run out through the scuppers. But this type in [Fig. 5] is rather midway in the transition between the “three-island” type and the shelter-deck type. The diagram in [Fig. 6] is more truly a well-decker, and differs from the ship in [Fig. 5], in that the one we are now considering has a raised quarter-deck instead of a poop. She has a top-gallant forecastle, a raised quarter-deck and bridge combined, and this type was largely used in the cargo ships employed in crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It is now especially popular in ships engaged in the coal trade. The advantages of this raised quarter-deck are that it increases the cubic capacity of the ship, and makes up for the space wasted by the shaft tunnel. By enabling more cargo to be placed aft, it takes away the chance of the ship being trimmed by the head.

Fig. 6.—“WELL-DECK” TYPE.