WONDERFUL SHIP

Hokitika Guardian, 9 January 1932, Page 6

WONDERFUL SHIP

MARVELS OF STRATHNAVER.

ELECTRIC VESSEL,

EE AT (J RES OF EQIJIPMENT.

Some interesting details of the equipment of the Royal Mail liner Stratlinaver, the world’s largest electric ship and the biggest ship of any kind that lm.s over entered an Australian harbour are published in the Brisbane “Daily M,ail.” Tbe vessel lately reached Brisbane at the end of her maiden voyage from London to Australia. She has a length of 630 ft. and a displacement of 22,500 tonsA mechanical horse, an iron cow, and a staff of steel scullery maids are among the marvels of the Strathnaver’s equipment. The horse, which is all steel, except for a regular saddle and bridle, is part of the gymnasium outfit. A switch is turned and a lever pulled, and the rider gets a trot, a gallop, a walk, or a canter, by working tlie controls. All itlie action and all the exercise of a country ride can be had in micl-ocean on a horse that feeds on electricity and needs neither ' spurs nor whip to give him all the speed of the ship.

In the galley, where every conceivable operation, from frying eggs no washing dishes, is done by electricity, human staff is largely supplanted by mechanical contrivances. One of them grasps a sack of potatoes at a time, washes, peels, and rinses them, and turns them out as chips, ready for cooking on the electric range. The baker’s ovens, tbe dough-making' machines, cake mixers, dish-washers are all electrical.

Tlie ship’s dairyman starts milking his machanical cow at 6 o’clock every morning, and by 8.30 has milked 100 gallons. The iron cow is fe/ on butter and milk powder, and drinks fresh water. Slight variations in the animal’s diet make her turn out the choicest thick cream. IMMENSE SUPPLIES OF FOOD. Not only has the ship a dairyman and bakers, but it has butchers, confectioners, ice-cream makers, all aided by marvellous machines. The whole culinary equipment cost £IO,OOO. "When the Strathnaver left London she carried 66,0001 b. of meat, 15 tons of tisfl, and 18 tons of potatoes, almost all of which, had been used by the time the vessel berthed at Brisbane. The vessel carried 100,000 eggs, and used them all. The need for such huge supplies, which took up 22,800 cubic feet of cold storage in the hold, tfie chief steward, Air F. Inman-Sharp, said was shown by .the fact that a small part of the work of the chefs and confectioners for one meal was the making of 3000 oyster pates and 2000 sausage rolls, for which even the sausage was made in the ship. From Marseilles, the Strathnaver had 1140 passengers,, and she carried a crew of 475. Tlie department under the control of the purser, Ate G. K. High ley, has a staff of 300 stewards and others whose work is almost entirely that of caring for the needs of passengers. The ship has accommodation for 500 first-class and 700 tourist cla>'R passengers, and ‘provides for i them all tlie facilities of a modern I town, from a first-class shop carrying ! a stock of £7OOO worth of all sorts of goods to a swimming pool and chilrdoti’s playgrounds equipped with toys from rocking horses to teddy hears. LARGEST BOILERS AFLOAT. The vessel’s wonders only begin with her palace saloons, lounges, smoking and reading rooms, her full-size tennis courts and sports decks. Few visitors see the greatest marvels of the .stokehold and engine-rooms. The four main boilers are the largest afloat. At full speed of 23 knots their furnaces shallow eleven tons of flaming fuel oil in an hour, and belch out to the turj Iff nes superheated . steam at a temperature tsi 725 degrees Fahrenheit and a pressure of 4251 b to the square inch. In 24 hours at full speed the condensers draw through the turbines nearly 170.000 tons of sea water. The boilers are far more particular than the condensers. Even the fresh water used by tlie passengers for drinking purposes is not good enough for them, but mlust be distilled twice before they deign to drink it. The two main turbines supply current to the two propeller motors, each of 14,000 horsepower. Not only has the ship 28,000 I horse-power for propulsion, hut she has an auxiliary plant of 3600 horse-power for lighting, fans, winches, lifts and cooking.

In cooking a meal for the ship's population of 1700 passengers and crew, the electric stoves use energv equivalent to GOO horse-power. Besides this, there are auxiliary plants for refrigerating, water heating, and a score of other services. The vessel carries 3000 tons of fuel oil.