Liverpool Underwriters’ Registry for Iron Vessels.
List of Vessels building on the Wear, for the Quarter ending September 30, 1875.
| Name of Builder. | Tons. | Progress. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jas. Laing | 1164 | S.S. | Completing. |
| ” | 1000 | S.S. | Completing. |
| ” | 1250 | S.S. | Completing. |
| ” | 900 | S.S. | Plating. |
| ” | 900 | S.S. | Plating. |
| ” | 800 | S.S. | Plating. |
| ” | 600 | Barque | Commencing. |
| T. R. Oswald | 1900 | Ship | Fitting out. |
| ” | 1830 | Ship | Completing. |
| ” | 1630 | Ship | Plating. |
| Short Brothers | 1200 | S.S. | Completing. |
| Wm. Doxford and Sons | 1000 | Barque | Completing. |
| Mounsey and Foster | 900 | Barque | Completing. |
| Austin and Hunter | 900 | Barque | Completing. |
| Osborne, Graham, and Co. | 1200 | Ship | Commencing. |
| G. S. Gulstan | 900 | S.S. | Completing. |
The following table shows the number of ships built each year on the Wear since 1858, with the aggregate and average tonnage.
| Year. | No. | Tons. | Average Tons. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1858 | 110 | 42,003 | 381 |
| 1859 | 100 | 37,184 | 371 |
| 1860 | 112 | 40,201 | 358 |
| 1861 | 126 | 46,778 | 371 |
| 1862 | 160 | 56,921 | 355 |
| 1863 | 171 | 70,040 | 410 |
| 1864 | 153 | 71,987 | 470 |
| 1865 | 172 | 73,134 | 425 |
| 1866 | 145 | 62,719 | 432 |
| 1867 | 128 | 52,249 | 408 |
| 1868 | 138 | 70,302 | 509½ |
| 1869 | 122 | 72,420 | 585⅓ |
| 1870 | 103 | 70,084 | 680½ |
| 1871 | 97 | 81,903 | 844⅓ |
| 1872 | 122 | 131,825 | 1,080½ |
| 1873 | 96 | 100,324 | 1,045 |
| 1874 | 95 | 99,731 | 1,049¾ |
APPENDIX No. 6. Vol. iv., p. 96.
Relative Weight and Strength of Wooden and Iron Ships.
Forty years ago the relative general difference between the weight of wooden and iron vessels may be fairly taken as stated by Mr. Laird in his evidence; but, inasmuch as iron ships have gone on since that date increasing in length, and wooden ships rarely exceeded 5½ times their beam, the weights relatively have increased, and may now be taken in a vessel of the same tonnage as 6-10 against wooden ships of a high class which would be built of timber of high specific gravity. As the weight of timber varies from 45 to 64 lbs. per cubic foot, the weight of a ship is consequently regulated by her class, as also by her length; and as a ship of ten times her beam must necessarily be built of heavier scantling than one of the same register tonnage, a long and high-class ship will necessarily be of greater weight than a short vessel of inferior description.
In an interesting paper on the strength of iron ships, by Mr. William John, Assistant Surveyor of Lloyd’s Registry, which will be found among the Transactions of the Institution of Naval Architects for 1874, that gentleman gives the weight of iron ships of superior class, under 340 feet in length, and of 2500 tons burden, as 1596 tons.