THE BUILDING OP DREDGE PONTOONS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2561, 6 May 1903, Page 26

THE BUILDING OP DREDGE PONTOONS.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, — You may well imagine my astonishmsnfc on learning at the, naeeting_qf. a dredging company the otheTr -'night" whtft the' practice of the engineers is with regard to the building of dredge pontoons. I learned with amazernei.t that the practice is to tar only the outside of the planking, leaving the inside bare as far as either tar ,or paint are concerned. The.inside of the planking (including the framework, I presume) is limewss&sd, which is about as effective a preservative as clay water wou'd be under the ssme conditions. Little wonder that red pire ha 9 acquired a bad reputation for d<-e<?ge pontoons, or that under such circumstances the unfortunate sharpho'ders incur unnecessary losses. It is a. piiy that some engineers hive not a better knowledge of the material they employ in dredge-building. Instead of lasting five or six year?, which will te the utmost limit of red pine timber under the conditions referred to, dredge pontoons, properly built 01 the same material, ought to last at least twice as long. I spca-k from an experience of boats and boat-building extending over 30 years, and have no hesitation in pronouncing the practice of the engineers to bo wrong in conception. I know 'he theory of the books is that if tmiber, rot properly seasoned is painted or tarred "on all sides it is liable to dry rot ; but obviously that does not npply in the svbmerged portion of the hu'l. and above the wateT line tho tarring could be dorm at any time. The practice of the early boatbuilders, who generally used white pine for planking — an inferior timbar to red pine — was to give a coat ot either tar or paint wherever wood touched wood, and the result was that a boa,t built of even the inferior timber lasted 20 years. Red birch was also used 83 boat plankirg, and, similarly treated, was rqua'ly durable. It is a pity the modern race of engineers had not t!i? benefit of the experience of the early rac3 of boatbuildera, who had to make the moat of the material at their cemmand and were guided by common sense irstead of mu3ty book lore. Coal or gas. tar is cheap enough in all conscience, and might ba a little more freely used R3 a. preservative on dredge pontoons. If hot, boiling tar were applied to even partial'}* seasoned timber on both sides and between- the joint 3we should hear nothing further of dry rot, and whitewashing wou.d be superfluous. — I am, etc., F. A. Joseph.

DUNEDIN STOCK EXCHANGE

April 28 —Electric, 40s and 40s 6d ; Ende?.vcur, lls; Golden Rp-er, 23 Gd; Grand Jnnc-t-on. 13s Gd : Junction Electric, 15s; Lady Roxburgh, 7s dis, fhle\"s Beach, 19s; Sailor's Bend, 30s.

April 29. — Bul'.er Junction, 13s ; Central Char!ton, 12s; Davis's Bend, la 9d p; Dunstun Lead, lls, Electric, 40s 6d , Golden River, 2s 6d . Junction Electric, 15s; New Alpine Consols, 18s 6d and 19s; New Bo'-digo, 31s 6d; Prince Arthur, 13s Gd ; ttilo>'s Beach, 20s.

Apnl 30.— Bic;r ell's No Town, 5s 6d ; Grand Junction, 13s 6d , Hnpp/ Ya'ley, 8s; Unity, 12s 6d.

Maj I.— Centra! ChaiUo'i. 12s; First Chance, 2is, Junction Electric, Us 6d ; Riley's Beach, 22s 6d; Sardv Point, 's 9d p.

May 2.— Davis's Bend, Is 6d p; Electric, 40s; Hartley and Kiley, 62s Gd ; Junction Electric, 15s 3d and 15s, Manuhenkia. 2Ss 6d , New Almne Con>-o s, 193 Gd.

Af.n- 4 —Cromwell 60s; Davis's Bend (naid), 12s; Electne. 40s: Endeavour, 7s ; Grand Jiinclion, 13s, Prince Arthur, 14s; Rise and Shine, '25s

The Otago No. 1 dredge commenced dredging on her winter giound or Monday.

The dredgfmaster of the Matau dredge wires that he resumed work on Monday, the elevator limning smoothly.

The secretary of tho Cailaghan's Creek Company leports that dredging was resumed on Wednesday last.

The Alexandra Lead dredge commenced work again on Monday morning. The dredgemaster wired that the river had risen ISm, but- that the weather was settled

Ihe secretary of the New Alpine Consols Company received the following telegram from the dredgemaster on Monday morning. — ''River ruing , no wash up ; wash showing good pros-pc-cts, river very deep."

The New Golden Gravel dredge has had to suspend operations for a few days owing to the breakage of the first motion shaft. The shaft is expected to be replaced by Wednesday, on which day operations will probably commence.

The Christchurch Press states that the directors of the New Commissioner's Flat Company have decided to shut the dredge down, pending the receipt, m about thre^ weeks' time, of gtaha from the foundry. This course has been deemed advisable rather than unduly straining the bucket lips.

An act displaying a rare amount of presence' of mind and unlimited pluck wae witnessed by a number of people on tho overling of tho 28th at 5 o'clock The driver of a carnage and pair, prohabiy for the purpose of quenoh111 g hio thiiot, had left bis charge unattended outside the Criterion Hotel, in Moray place, nhen the horses started off towards Princes street. A young lady named Miss Waldren, who was crossing tho street at the time, took in the situation at a glance, and, although the horses were mo\ ing at a dangerouj speed, rushed immediately in front of the pair, at the risk of being struck and knocked down by the pole, seized the slack reins, sprang to the side, and in a moment brought the boiting animals to a standstill. The whole thing was done so neatly and swiftly that it veritably sent a thrill of admiration, through those who wituesied the act.