THE MARAROA.

Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 58, 5 September 1885, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE MARAROA.

As this, the latest and finest addition to the magnificent fleet of the Union Steamship Company, has recently been launched from the shipbuilding yards of Messrs. William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton, a short description of her may not be uninteresting to our readers. The Mararoa is a steamer Bimilar in style to the Wairarapa and Manapouri, but is 35 feet longer and 6 feet greater in breadth than these boats, while she has also the advantage of them in being fitted with 'the most recent improvements in lighting and machinery. Her dimensions are — Length, 320 feet; breadth, 42 feet; depth, 20 feet ; and her gross tonnage over 3000 tons. Built on the cellular bottom principle, the hull is divided into eight compartments, with provision for 300 tons water ballast. The steamer is constructed of mild steel throughout, has a full poop, midship houses, and topgallant forecastle, straight stem and elliptical stem, and is rigged as a two-masted Bchooner. There are five decks in all, an upper and main deck complete, a lower deck forward and aft of the machinery space, a promenade deck over the greater portion of the veßsel, and also a partial roof or shade deck over the promenade deck. There is accommodation for 140 first-class and 80 second-class passengers, the latter being quartered in the poop, in accommodation far superior to that usually allotted to travellers in this class even in the luxurious boats of the Union Company. The saloon is a noble room 36 feet by 38 feet, and is situated on the main deck amidships, extending across the whole breadth of the ship. It is lighted and ventilated by means of a dome on the upper deck, 12 feet by 10 feet, and by round ports on each side of the ship placed four feet apart. Dining tables, capable of seating 110 passengers, are placed along the centre and sides of the room, and between the double-swing doors entering from the companion is a handsome marbletopped sideboard fitted with sliding mirror ; while at the opposite end of the saloon is a fine organ, having on each side a bookcase and escritoir combined. Illumination is supplied by sconces fitted on the roof, and by electro-plated side brackets, available for either oil or electric lighting. The sides of the saloon are panelled to a height of six feet, with polished hardwood worked into a beautiful device ; and the panelling of the doors is in unison with the sides, while the* space above is filled in with stained glass of rich design. The couches and revolving chairs are upholstered in Utrecht velvet, and into all the carving work is introduced the company's well-known monogram. The state rooms are arranged to accommodate three, four, and five pasHengers, and are fitted up in the company's usual luxurious style. Over the saloon, and entering from the stair landing through double swing stained-glass doors on each side, is the drawing-room. The furniture consists of chairs, tables, and ottoman, richly upholstered; but all theße are easily removable, leaving the room available for dancing. Between the drawing-room and the smoking-room rises the dome which lights and ventilates the saloon. This forms a very striking feature in the appearance of the ship, being of most elegant design and fitted- with rich stained-glass panels. At the base of the dome, and facing each side of the ship, are placed two Btate rooms, fitted with table, sofa, and Pullman beds, the entrance being from the upper deck. The smoking-room is a large and airy apartment, lighted and ventilated from the roof by^ a skylight and round lights in the front and aides. Second-closa passengers are very handsomely provided for in the poop, and the superior accommodation allotted them will probably have the effect of popularising this part oi the ship, and inducing many to travel second-class who hitherto have refrained. The dining-room is situated in the centre, between side rows of staterooms, and is fitted with tables, sofas, and revolving chairs. A smokingroom for second-class passengers is provided on tho upper deck, and except that the seats are of Americas perforated wood, the room is fitted up in all respects in a similar manner to the first-class smoking-room. Accommodation for the officers and engineers is provided in a range of midship houses on the upper deck, and here also are placed special bath-rooms and lavatories for the use of the captain and officers. The galley, situated in the upper deck, is a large room, and provided with every convenience for cooking that human ingenuity can suggest, while it communicates by means of a hoist with the pantry below, and by speaking tubes with that and other parts *of the ship. Aft of the machinery casings stands the barber's shop, luxuriously fitted up and supplied with all the requisites of the barber's art. The Mararoa is snpplied with three cargo hatches, and a new and special feature of the boat is the introduction of the hydraulic system for working cargo. A hydraulic hoist iB fitted at each hatch on the upper deck, that at the main hatch being capable of lifting three tons a height of 60 feet, and the others two tons the the same height. The Mararoa's propelling machinery consists of a direct acting surface condensing engine, ou the triple expansion system, having one high-pressure cylinder 31 inches in diameter, an intermediate cylinder 51 inches in diameter, and a low-pressure cylinder 84 inches in diameter, with a stroke of 4 feet 6 inches, and to develop 3000 horse-'i power on trial. This is the first of the Union Company's boats fitted with engines on the triple expansion system, as its introduction into steamers is only of very recent date. The boilers for supplying steam are four in number, and are constructed entirely of steel. They are cylindrical; two of them double-ended, 13 feet 2 inches in diameter and 17 feet long; and two single - ended, the same diameter, but of a length of 9 feet 6 inches, and have 12 furnaces in all. The working pressure is 1601b. per square inch. There is the usual complement of fire engines and pumps and auxiliary engines for various purposes. The Mararoa is lit by electricity generated by a compoundwound low speed Victoria dynamo capable of exciting 300 twenty candle lUO-volt. incapdescent lamps, the motive power being a Willan's threecylinder compound engine. In the first-class accommodation they are ot Elkington's AI electro-plate, and in the second-class and officers' quarters the fittings are of bronze.