Ocean ans and liberties

[j.sabourn]

Development of Welding....One of the most important developments of the post war years was the introduction of welding into shipbuilding, following on from the building of the liberty ship, Dr. J. Ramsay Gebbie, then vice president of William Doxford and Sons Ltd. later gave some interesting information in his Amos Ayr Lecture in 1958,. He stated that electric welding was the most important change in ship construction during the past 35 years. He claimed that welded hull plates gave a smoorh surface to the hull of the ship, reducing frictional resistance from the sea. As a result, less engine power was required for a given speed. As an example he quoted a vessel built in 1954 having a 327 ton saving in weight compared with a riveted hull , and 128 tons on the engine , enabling the vessel to carry 255 tons more cargo. Another example quoted was where a welded ship carrying 9,900 tons of cargo at 14 knots on a 50 day passage would have 12.5 per cent greater profitability over a riveted ship, including a 20 per cent saving on fuel consumption. Cheers JS