Steamship records, both for speed and size, have been broken of recent years.

By courtesy of the "Scientific American." The "Preussen," the world's largest sailing vessel.

One of the greatest steamships now in operation is the Celtic. This vessel is 700 feet long, 75 feet beam and 49 feet deep. She is equipped with twin screws and can develop seventeen knots an hour. About 260 tons of coal daily are necessary to run her. Compare with these dimensions the first ship of the White Star line, the old Oceanic, built in 1871, which was 420 feet long, 41 feet beam, 31 feet deep, had an average speed of fourteen knots, and consumed sixty-five tons of coal a day. The speed of the Celtic is about 25 per cent greater than that of the Oceanic. She has nine decks, with complete accommodations for 3,294 persons. It takes 350 people alone to look after the wants of the passengers. The steerage accommodations are better than the best quarters for saloon passengers a generation ago. The Celtic has eight double-ended boilers, each with four furnaces, to furnish power for the quadruple-expansion twin engines. She has four masts and two smoke-stacks. Over two million rivets were used in her construction. Nearly 1,400 shell plates of an average size of 30x5 feet and about four tons' weight were used in the hull, and 13,000 more were used in other parts. The Celtic cost about $2,500,000.

For certain kinds of trade it has been found that sailing vessels of great size are very profitable. As a result, two great six-masted schooners and one seven-masted schooner have been lately built. In carrying lumber and the like these vessels have made a handsome return on the investment. It is a noticeable as well as important fact that they are built of steel. In fact, it is only by the substitution of steel for wood that seven-masters are possible.

Speed as well as size has received the attention of the shipbuilder. In England, one of the interesting departures from ordinary methods is the use of steam turbine in the King Edward VII., which was the first passenger steamer thus equipped. This departure seems destined to revolutionize marine transportation.

As far back as 1894, the turbine showed great success in the two torpedo boats, Viper and Cobra. The former reached a speed of thirty-seven knots an hour. The King Edward VII. has made an average speed of over twenty knots. The weight of her machinery is sixty-six tons, which is about half as much as is required to develop equal horse-power in the paddle-wheel steamer. There is almost an entire absence of throbbing and pounding.

The Arrow—the fastest steam craft afloat.

The Arrow, a vessel recently built for Charles R. Flint of New York, has recently attained a speed of nearly fifty miles an hour. Her description is as follows: Length, 130 feet; beam, 12 feet 6 inches; displacement, 66 tons; horsepower, 4,000. She can be stripped and converted into a torpedo boat at forty-eight hours' notice.

The Minnesota, largest merchandise vessel ever built in America.

The "Minnessota," cargo and passenger ship, designed for the Pacific trade between Seattle, Honolulu, and Yokohama, is the largest vessel ever built in America.

In this vessel, the Eastern Shipbuilding Company, of New London, Connecticut, has embodied all the features of the great White Star liner, "Celtic." The Minnesota is of imposing appearance and is thus described : Length, 630 feet; depth, 56 feet; breadth, 76 feet 6 inches; displacement, 37,000 tons. Her engines are of 10,000 horse-power, supplied by steam from sixteen Niclausse water-tube boilers, which will drive the ship at a speed of fourteen knots per hour.

While the Minnesota is designed primarily for freight, she will carry 172 first cabin passengers, 110 second cabin, 68 third cabin and 2,424 steerage passengers or troops, in addition to a crew of 250. The speed is fourteen knots and it is expected to average twelve knots with the heaviest cargoes and in the worst weather.

In completeness of electric service, of cold storage and refrigerator plant, of laundry service, ventilation plant and lifesaving appliances, the Minnesota is the most modern and up-to-date vessel yet launched. The dining saloons, the cabin, library and women's boudoirs, the state-rooms and toilet rooms are models of the latest discoveries in their respective lines. The "Minnesota" originated with J. J. Hill.

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© 1998, 2002 by Lynn Waterman