WAHINE RECOMMISSIONED

Evening Star, Issue 22526, 19 December 1936, Page 3

WAHINE RECOMMISSIONED

NEW BOILERS INSTALLED After a spell of six months, during which she has been thoroughly repaired a;ul overhauled, the Union Company’s turbine steamer Wahine resumed running in the interisland express service recently, in place of the Rangatira, which has been docked for cleaning and painting. The latter ship will take up Jier regular running from AVellington to-morrow, and the AVahine will then remain at AVellington until Thursday night, when she will replace the Maori for the summer months (states the ' Dominion ’) An immense amount of work, involving a large expenditure, has been done in the AA’ahine since last June. All the damage to her bow caused hy her collision with Pipitea wharf on Juno 5 has been made good, and advantage has been taken of her Jong lay-off to give the ship a thorough overhaul. A major work was the renewal of six of her eight water-tube boilers, the greatest operation of its kind ever carried out in the Dominion. It involved the dismantling and removal of the whole of the ship’s original eight boilers and the reconstruction of six boilers, which are now virtually new. The old boilers had done good service for more than 22 years, induding four years of hard steaming while the Wahine was serving "under the AVhite Ensign as a commissioned ship of the Royal Navy. The work of stripping and dismantling them in the confined space of the ship’s boiler room was an arduous one. The now boilers are designed to work at a pressure of 2201 b to the square inch, that being the maximum working capacity of the ship’s turbine engines. The boilers, which are oil-fired, embody a number of improvements designed to give greater economy in operation. During the time the ship has been laid up the main engines and all the auxiliaries have also been thoroughly overhauled and refitted where necessary. Although they have been doing duty since 1913, the main turbines, when opened up, were found to be in almost perfect condition, only a few fittings having to be renewed. The Wahine’s hull was found to be in excellent condition. Repairs have been made where necessary, and the whole of her extensive passenger accommodation, as well as the officers' and crow’s quarter, has been cleaned and repainted throughout. The ship was docked last week for the repainting of the under-water part of her hull and the adjustment of her bow-rudder, which has been resheathed with new timber. A trial run in the harbour on Thursday when she was swung for compass adjustment showed her boilers and engines to be in fine order, and that the AA’ahine was ready for the strenuous summer running in the interisland service.