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STEAMBOAT EQUIPMENT OF WAR VESSELS.

The larger ships in the navy, and some of the more recent small ones, such as the new cruisers of the Phaeton class, are fitted with powerful steam winches of a type made by Messrs. Belliss and Co.  These are used for lifting the pinnaces and torpedo boats.

We give an illustration of one of these winches.  The cylinders are 6 in. in diameter and 10 in. stroke.  The barrel is grooved for wire rope, and is safe to raise the second class steel torpedo boats, weighing nearly 12 tons as lifted.  The worm gearing is very carefully cut, so that the work can be done quietly and safely.  With machinery of this kind a boat is soon put into the water, and as an arrangement is fitted for filling the boat’s boilers with hot water from the ship’s boilers, the small craft can be under way in a very short time from the order being given.

Mr. White is fitting compound engines with outside condensers to boats as small as 21 ft. long, and we give a view of a pair of compound engines of a new design, which Messrs. Belliss are making for the boats of this class.  The cylinders are 4 in. and 7 in. in diameter by 5 in. stroke.  The general arrangement is well shown in the engraving.  On a trial recently made, a 25 ft. cutter with this type of engines reached a speed of 7.4 knots.

About three years ago the late Controller of the Navy, Admiral Sir W. Houston Stewart, wished to ascertain the relative consumption of fuel in various classes of small vessels.  An order was accordingly sent to Portsmouth, and a series of trials were made.  From the official reports of these we extract the information contained in tables F and G, and we think the details cannot fail to be of interest to our readers.  The run around the island was made in company with other boats, without stopping, and observations were taken every half hour.  The power given out by the engines was fairly constant throughout.  The distance covered was 56 knots, and the total amount of fuel consumed, including that required for raising steam, was 1,218 lb. of coal and 84 lb. of wood.  The time taken in raising steam to 60 lb. pressure was forty-three minutes.  The rate of consumption of fuel is of course not the lowest that could be obtained, as a speed of over 10 knots is higher than that at which the machinery could be worked most economically.

[Illustration:  Steam winch for hoisting and lowering Pinnacles and torpedo boats.]

The trials afterward made to find the best results that could be obtained in fuel consumption were rather spoiled by the roughness of the weather on the day they were made.  The same boat was run for 10 miles around the measured mile buoys in Stokes Bay.  The following are some of the results recorded: 

Table F.—­Report of Trials of Engines of H.M. 48 ft.  Twin Screw Steam Pinnace, No. 110.