SHIPBUILDING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 23 September 1941, Page 6

SHIPBUILDING

PORT CHALMERS YARDS LOFTSMEN’S WORK PROCEEDING j Progress at the shipbuilding yards at j Port Chalmers is regarded as very satis- ; factory. The whole of the upper structure of the two slipways is almost complete. the travelling electric gantries are being installed, and the excavation work is under way. It is expected that : the yards will be ready to commence the actual work of shipbuilding as soon as the necessary materials come to hand from Australia, states the “Otago : Daily Times.” The scene at Boiler Point is now very different from thgt of a few j months ago. The shipyards have as- j sumed their ultimate shape, and. viewed from across the steamer basin, the huge bulk of the new building j gives a graphic impression of the magnitude of the undertaking. The loft j looms high above the water, and over j it appears the sloping roofs of the slipways. On the seaward side, the fittingout wharf is daily creeping further out into the blue water of Carey’s Bay, and the busy pile-driver and the pon- ! toons laden with building materials provide an indication that the structure j is to be one of considerable size. EXCAVATION OF SLIPWAYS Inside the yards, lorries are engaged carting the spoil away as the trough-like slopes of the slipways arc framed. This work will be carried on shortly by a mechanical excavator. Already the major beams of one of the 10-ton electric travelling gantries are in place and the fitting-up of the necessary machinery is in hand. The framework of the large machine ! shop has been erected, and this important department has been made larger than was originally planned. The brickwork of the angle furnace is mounting steadily and it is now possible to gain a fairly accurate impression of the general layout of the yards. All this may be seen by the passer- j by in spite of the fencing along the roadway, but in side the loft more intricate work is being done. Here the loftsmen are engaged on their 180-foot by 40-foot blackboard floor, drawing out in full size the plans of each pari of the ships. At one end the scrieve ; board—so large that it has to be taken 1 to pieces to be moved—is set up, and i as the templates are made from the j chalk drawings their outlines arc I copied on this board with special j gauges made for the purpose. When work is commenced at the furnace each finished part will be checked against these outlines on the scrieve board before going to the slipways to be fitted into the ships. FOUNDRY REORGAN IS A TIO X At the same time, the reconstruction ■ of Messrs Stevenson and Cook’s foundry and office building is proceeding. Much of the machinery is being moved to new locations and the new 10-ton electric gantry will shortly be erected to handle the boiler plates as they pass to and fro through the great rollers which will slowly but surely convert the huge sheets of iron, an inch and five-eighths’ thick, into cylinders. The rolling mill itself has been set up in such a manner that there will be ample room for the handling of so large a job. and to ensure that this will be so, the space at the rear of the mill has been enlarged. The exact dale for the commencement of shipbuilding has not yet been fixed, but it is expected that everything will be in readiness ns soon as materials arrive.