NEW FERRY STEAMER DUE

Taranaki Daily News, 16 October 1931, Page 2

NEW FERRY STEAMER DUE

RANGATIRA EXPECTED IN SOUTH.

ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN VESSEL. Special interest attaches to the arrival in New Zealand of the Union Company’s turbo-electric steamer Rangatira, which is duo at Port Chalmers direct from the Clyde this morning and will arrive at Wellington from Lyttelton on her maiden run in the ferry service on November 4!.' Built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vick-ers-Armstrong Ltd., who also constructed the turbo-electric liners Strathnaver and Strathaird .for. the P. and O. Company, the,.Rangatira. is a twin-screw ship with two funnels, a raked stem,. a cruiser stern and two masts. Her principal dimensions are: Length, b.p., 400 ft; breadth, moulded, 58ft; depth, moulded to upper deck, 29ft; and load draught, 17ft. She has five decks, of which the tipper one is continuous all fore and aft. In gross tonnage she ranks seventh among the Union Company’s passenger ships. She is considerably larger than the Wahine and the Maori, and as the following comparative table shows, she has the same breadth as the Makura, though that ship is 50ft longer and measures nearly 2000 tons more;— •

The Rangatira has accommodation for about 720 first-class passengers, there being cabin, accommodation for 600, the remainder, in the busy season, being provided for in open, berthing. A total of 236 Second-class passengers is carried, 170 in cabins and 66 in open berthin rr. The crew numbers about 112- The public rooms are spacious and ventilated on the well-known ThermOtank system. Provision is made for the carriage of a certain amount of cargo, including large spaces for motor-cars in the ’tween decks, where there are also a certain number of horse stalls. The cargo holds are connected to the weather deck by means of trunked hatchways and are served by steel derricks and electric winches. The whole of the deck gear is electrical, a windlass and a capstan being fitted forward and twin electric capstans aft for mooring purposes. The steering gear is of electric hydraulic type, with tele-motor control from the bridge, and a bow rudder for manoeuvring purposes has also electric-hydraulic control.

Tons gross Length (b.p.) Breadth feet feet Rangatira. ...... 0152 400 58 Wahine 4436 375 Maori 3488 350.5 47.2 Makura . .».. 8075 450 57.7 Maunganui ..4. 7527 430.8 55.7 Marama .. 6407 420.3 53.2