Rail and water interface: Pt. I–Whaleback vessels
result of a transatlantic voyage by a whaleback steamer.
The steamer
Charles W. Wetmore arrived in Liver- pool, England, on July 21, 1891, after a successful transatlantic voyage with 72,000 bushels (1,980 tons) of North Dakota winter wheat. This arrival cre- ated tremendous interest in the UK, a sea-faring nation to be sure, which had seen nothing like Captain McDougall’s new design. There was, after all, noth- ing comparable to navigation on the Great Lakes in the UK.
A contemporary account could be paraphrased to describe the Wetmore this way:
“It is shaped like a huge cigar, point- ed at both ends. The deck is arched without obstruction save a small turret forward and deckhouse aft with cabin, wheelhouse and quarters for captain, officers and engineers. The crew is housed in the forward turret. The hatches are huge iron plates and fit flush with the deck. The ship’s machin- ery is directly aft and consists of an 800 h.p. compound marine engine with a 26″ high-pressure cylinder. “It has a steel hull, 265-ft long with a 38-ft beam and draws 24-ft of water. There is a railing of iron rope extend- ing the length of the hull on each side as a protection for the crew traveling between each tower.
“The hold is a single compartment. “The advantages claimed: •Low cost of construction—about ¹₃ the cost of a conventional vessel. •The shape offers less wind and wave resistance—requires less power, thus •The coal consumption of 12-13 tons/day is about ½ that of a conven- tional vessel. •Can be operated with a smaller
crew–20 vs. 30 for a conventional ves- sel.”10
CIRCA 1908
This remarkable view of the deck of the Pickands-Mather whaleback steamer, Pathfinder, was taken from behind the forward turret of the boat while underway on the Great Lakes. Clearly visible in this photo are the elaborate tie downs and very small hatches of the vessel and the principle reasons for their obsolescence. One can only imagine the diffi- culty in traversing the deck of this vessel in high seas.
an entirely modern phenomenon. Since McDougall’s design was so radically different from conventional lake boats (and ocean steam ships) it was subjected to withering ridicule both in its home country and abroad. The domestic ridicule came largely from the vessel’s appearance. The hull
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design made the vessels elliptical or oval in shape “with a bow ending in a blunt point or ‘snout’ which being fitted with hawser holes (openings for anchor chains and/or towing lines), bearing a re- semblance to eyes, has given these craft the nickname of ‘pigs’ or ‘pigboats’.”9 The “abroad” piece came about as a
Since it was “not invented here,” the UK Institution of Naval Architects was naturally suspicious of this new design. Largely as a result of the Wetmore’s visit to Liverpool, the highly respected British consulting marine architect F.C. Goodall read a paper at the 33rd meet- ing of the Institution at London on April 7, 1892. The purpose of the paper was to be a commentary on the “efficiency, capa- bilities and probable future of whale- backs as sea-going vessels.”11 As could be expected, the “not invent- ed here”-inclined Institution learned that Mr.
Goodall’s opinion that the
whalebacks weren’t “. . . efficient or suit- able craft for high seas” because of: 1. their spoon-shaped bows 2. the difficulty in communication fore and aft (the absolute separation between the forward and rear “tur- rets”–particularly during rough weather)
OCTOBER 2012
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