THE BIG DUNEDIN DREDGE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4709, 4 June 1883, Page 4

THE BIG DUNEDIN DREDGE.

The Dunedin Harbour Board's Engineer haß drawn up a report on the working of their big dredge, whioh, it will be remembered, has not given the catisfaotion expected. He saja : — " Ihe total quantity of material dredged, conveyed, and deposited between the month of Maroh, 1882, and the end of April, 1883, was 151,630 tons, at a total cost of £6400 16s 3d, inoluding all working expenses and repairs, or at an average rate of lOd per ton, or Is 3d per cubic jard. If credit be taken for harrowing and boring on the bar, the rate of oost should bo reduced to come extent. This would ahow an avorage for each month of 10,823 tons ; but as only six days of Maroh, 1882, had any work done on thorn by the dredge, and as February and March of this year were much broken in upon by trials of the harrows attaohed to the dredge, and by boring on the bar, it is but fair to exclude these from the calculation of tho average, and deal with the remaining eleven months, whioh would thus show an average of 12,140 tons per month. The greatest amount of work done in any one month was dose in September of last year, when a total of 16,350 tons were lifted and deposited in weoty-two working days, or an average of 743 tons per day. Of this 14,650 tons were lifted at Fort Chalmers and 1700 at the bar. The greatest work at the bar in one month was in January, 1883, when 5450 tons were removed in nine days, or an average of 605 tons per day, equal to 106 toss per hour. The largest output of work at Fort Chalmers was in the month of April of this year, when 14,750 tonß were lifted and deposited at sea in eighteen days, equal to an average of 820 tons per day, or, as nearly as may be, 100 tons per hour. Though under more favourable circumstances for lifting at Fort Chalmers than oh the bar, the longer lime ocoupied in carrying and depositing reduoes the average I hour's work. Nothing was done on the bar that month. The total quantity lifted from the bar has been 16,240 tons in twenty-seven days, which is the total tinio the dredge has been at the special work for which she was designed. This short time is in part due to bad weather, but also in greut measure to the fact that she has been required to do dredging at the Port Chalmers wharves to make provision for large draught steamers. The total quantity lifted from Port Chalmers has been 135,290 tonß during 201 days. " Besides these works, the dredge has been engaged 118 hours harrowing, and 65 hours boring on the bar. Altogether the tables show that she hai beeD, in the 13 months from the beginning, of April, 1882, to end of April, 1883, engaged in useful work 246 days out of about 330 working days, thus showing 84 days in which she has either been under repair or stopped by bad weather. In comparison with that portion of the work done at Port Chalmers, 1 may place the reault of the Vulcan's operations there in August, 1882, when she dredged 82,610 tons in 21 days, or an average of 1551 tons per day. This would have been even better with a longer ladder. Ihis was dredged, towed, and discharged at average oost, exclusive of repairs, of 4s 9d por ton. The cost of similar work at the same time by dredgo 222, was 5d per ton. On the whole, the material that dredge 222 has been operating upon has been mostly of an unfavourable character for lifting ; out when she hao happened to be in stuff easy to deal with, she has filLd her hoppers to the total capacity of 1250 tons iv three hours and a half on ceveral occasions. A very common time to do this in is four houri. As the rate oontraotod for was 350 tonß per hour, we may take it that in thii particular the fulfils the conditions made with her builders. Taking the avorage of her Port Chalmers and bar work, she is sailing about ono-third of her time and dredging about two-thirds, At Port Chalmers her work involves about three hours' sailing for four hours' dredging. " It will be observed that while tho dredge has only worked twenby-sovon days on the bar, lifting and discharging 16,240 tons, she iias worked 201 days at Tort Chalmers wharves and channels, lifting 135,290 tons. Considering that she was obtained specially for bar work, this is worthy of note aud of special inquiry, with a view to see if more bar work cannot be got out of her in the future. Some of the timo devoted to Port Chalmers was the result of bad weather at the bar, the master of the dredge understanding that when he could not work outside he was to proceed with dredging in the sheltered waters at the Port. Much of her time, however, has been spent there (in accordance with direot instructions from the Board) in making neoesaary and urgent preparation for large steamers expected to arrive. Tho accommodation of these, whioh was a matter of the very greatest importance to the oomtnunity, has been the result of her work. It has been all along impressed upon the raster that he must make every possible attempt upon the har, unlesss otherwise specially, instructed ; and to enforce this as rigidly as possible, he had instructions in the beginning o£ February to make the Heads, instead of Port Chalmers, his headquarters, and to resort to the latter place only on the appearance of a continuance of bad weather rendering work ia the exposure of the bar impossible. In consideration of this change, and also of the cond itions imposed upon the orew of being required to work any time during daylight that tho bar might be favourable, their wages were ineroased. Full consideration of the above shows ub that the attempt to get satisfactory results froja the dredge working both at Port Chalmers and the bar has not been successful. Tho conditions of work at Port Chalmers are so much more agreeable than at tho bar that tha master and crew will give the former the. preference if there is the tlightert reason to justify them. I It may be said that if the large dredge be devoted solely to the, bar aud nolhjpg else,

much time will be lost by bad weather. This may be partly true, but not to any great extent, as a grout deal of the time not oooupied in dredging could be devoted to repairs. Further, thero are many opportunities of even two or three hours whioh could be taken advantage of in this manner, whioh would be quite lost to the bar if the drotfgo were at the I'ort. At any rate, tho vast importance of having the bar deepened would justify some saorifioe at times, provided that other opportunities were seized ; and lam persuaded that co long as the dredge is divided between the two places vory indifferent results will be obtained at both." One of the members said there was a genoral impression that tho dredge had not received fair play. The hands, it was also said, had received a month's notice, and the whole question was deferred for serious consideration.