Boilers and Engines

[David Colton]

There is a question that has been really bugging me recently.
It's probably been brought up a couple of times on the Message Board.
How did Harland and Wolff install the boliers and the engines?
Did they install them when the hull was on the slipway before launch (doubtfull)
or when the ship was being fitted out in the Thompson Graving Dock.
There is probably a simple explanation.It was when I saw pictures of the boilers
and reciprocating engines at Harland and Wolff's workshops before installation that
I thought,how did they get those huge things into the hull?

David.C

 

[Joshua Gulch]

David,
The boilers, reciprocating engines, and turbine were all installed at Thompson. They were lowered down through enormous holes in the upper decks, most of which was later plated over.

Josh.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

On pages 68-69 of Anatomy of Titanic, you'll find a photo of a boiler being lifted from the quayside by crane to be lowered into the Olympic. Generally at the time a ship was launched, what you saw was the bare bones structure with hull plating attatched sliding down the ways. Essentially a half completed vessel. The rest is installed piece by piece after the ship is in the water...or in the case of the propellors...as soon as the hull can be placed into drydock.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[Roy Currie]

I doubt that would be the case Michael/Josh most of the heavy gear would be aboard prior to launch why would they dry dock any ship to fit the propellors after it has been sitting on the hard for a couple of years it is my understanding that only the fit out of the accomodation, galley etc is required after it goes down the slipway Regards Roy Currie.

 

[Mark Chirnside]

Michael and Josh are correct. Go to the TRMA page

www.titanic-model.com

then in the research articles section an article on blueprints by Roy Mengot explains it.

Best regards,

Mark.

 

[Mark Chirnside]

Here's the exact link:

http://titanic-model.com/db/db-01/db_09.html

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Hi Roy, the reason they would put the Titanic in drydock to fit the propellers is because they were not installed on the day the ship was launched. (See pages 92 to 95 in Michael McCaugan's The Birth of the Titanic for photos which substantiate this.) Nor for that matter were the boilers or engines.

Common practice then....and to a large extent even now....was to build the bare bones hull to the point where it could be launched and do the remaining fitting out as needed at the quayside and in the drydock as needed. Ships at launch are rarely more then a hollow shell which is why fitting out can take a year or more depending on the size of the vessel. The Titanic actually took ten months to fit out. Not only does this clear the slip in the shortest time for more new construction, it avoids the problems of having to build beefier ways to handle the additional weight of a completed vessel.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[David Colton]

Hi all,
In many of Titanic books I have seen pictures of the propellers being installed.In the background you can see men looking down at the side
of the Thompson drydock.I think the picture was of Olympic,but the installation was quite the same.
I also have a picture of Titanic's stern prior to launch and you can see that the propellers have not yet been installed.

David.C

 

[Adam Leet]

As another note, if ships had their heavier machinery installed while on the ways, the lough would have to have been dredged to accomodate the deeper draft. For example, when Nimitz-class carriers are "launched", they are nearly full-weight, in comparison with the Olympic-class hulls and their contemporaries. As a result, the departure of the hull to the fitting-out wharf requires timing with the tides to allow for maximum clearance from the riverbed (of course Mr. Standart can confirm or correct this.)

So, it would be a bit more prudent to fit heavy machinery in the ship after she's launched, to lighten the load on the ways, and to avoid the unpleasant incident of running aground in the lough.


Adam

 

[Maureen Zottoli]

This was very interesting. Thanks guys!
Maureen.

 

[Joshua Gulch]

Or, to sum it up in the words of that immortal spectator, "they just builds 'em and shoves 'em in."

JOSH​

 

[Roy Currie]

Gee Guys Shot down in flames on this one you win some you lose some but perhaps I may win one re the bulkheads and cork, can I post it here? (I can hear them gun breeches sliding back ) Roy....

 

[Dave Gittins]

Building practices varied a bit. Things were taken to extremes in the case of the Italian liner Principessa Iolanta. She was completed on the slipway and when she was launched she went happily down the ways, then rolled over and sank. She was scrapped on the spot. It's possible that the ways were faulty but the funnels and upper deck can't have helped her stability.

 

[Encyclopedia Titanica]

Thanks Dave, I've been waiting for an excuse to show these!

 

[Encyclopedia Titanica]

The Princess Jolanda being launched and sunk on the same day, September 22, 1907 near Spezia in the Gulf of Genoa.

(She was 485 ft X 49 ft and 10,500 displacement)