Page 10: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 1974)

Aerojet-General has announced it has formed a team with Todd

Shipyards Corp. and the naval architectural firm of J J. Henry Co.,

Inc., to compete for the contract to design and build the Navy's new 2,200-ton surface effect ship (SES).

Calling its consortium the "Tri- ceps" team to denote triple strength, the Aerojet Surface Effect Ships

Division said the team combines the different skills needed to build the revolutionary craft which rep- resents a marriage of advanced shipbuilding and aerospace tech- nologies.

The Navy has requested bids from industry for a ship which will be designed to travel at speeds of more than 80 knots on a cushion of air. Aerojet has already built a 100- ton version of such a craft, and it is now under test.

E.D. Ward, vice president and general manager of Aerojet SES

Division in Tacoma, Wash., said the team's engineers and executives have jointly done extensive work in preparing the proposal submitted to the Navy. "This ship," said Mr. Ward, "rep- resents such a radically different design from conventional ships of the past that, to successfully intro- duce SES technology into a useful ship, the naval architect and ship-

Mooremack Studies

Ship Modification

The possibility of modifying some of its C-4 Constellation-class cargoships so that the container capacity of each would be increased from 199 twenty-foot boxes or the equivalent to 521 .is under study by

Moore-McCormack Lines.

Described by company officials as very much in the tentative stage, the plan is outlined in the annual report of Moore McCormack Ener- gy, Inc., parent company of the

U.S.-flag shipping operation.

Mooremack has six of the 23- knot C-4 vessels. They are mainly assigned to the line's operations between the U.S. Atlantic Coast and the East Coast of South

America.

According to the report, the plan builder must actively participate from day one. Our goal is to effec- tively 'marry' this new technology with proven marine practices, while providing clear technical options to the Navy. This consortium, to- gether with the management con- trols established, offers a smooth transition as opposed to a 'shotgun wedding' later in the program."

J.J. Henry Co. of New York is one of the world's largest inde- pendent consulting firms of naval architects and marine engineers. It is highly regarded in the shipbuild- ing/shipowner community because of its innovative design of unique modern automated ships.

Todd Shipyards, also headquar- tered in New York, but with ship- yards in other cities, including

Seattle, Wash., represents ship- building experience dating back to 1916. It has some of the most mod- ern yards in the world. The Seattle yard is currently fabricating a large aluminum-hulled air-cushioned am- phibious landing craft under con- tract to Aerojet. The 2,200-ton sur- face effect ship will utilize the same kind of expertise in forming alumi- num hulls and ship structures.

When built, 'the new ship would be the largest oceangoing vessel ever constructed from aluminum alloys for the Navy. under consideration calls for the fitting of new 115-foot midsections to the ships. They would also be equipped with shipboard cranes to facilitate rapid loading and dis- charge of cargo under varying port conditions.

The report estimates that the vessels could be altered for approx- imately $4.5 million each. "When that sum is added to the book value of $3.7 million per ves- sel, it can be seen that the total cost of a longer life and more efficient ship still compares favorably with committing some $20 million for a new vessel. "Management considers that in- creases in operating costs normally associated with increasing age of a vessel still are less expensive than the costs associated with building a new ship. Such rises in operating costs will be offset by other econo- mies such as greater potential reve- nues per voyage," the report states.

Adding midbodies to three of the

C-4 ships would have the effect of increasing Mooremack's overall carrying capacity to 35 percent and its container-carrying capacity by 70 percent, the company notes.

Describing the proposed project as consistent with the present and prospective composition of cargoes carried iby its vessels, the report indicates that more than 70 percent of the freight Mooremack moves is

The Hawaii Section of The Soci- ety of Naval Architects and Marine

Engineers met recently at the

Bishop Museum in Honolulu. The evening started at 6 p.m. with a presentation entitled "Polynesian

Skies," which was given in the planetarium of the museum.

The program was narrated by

George Bunton, who helped develop the special program to show how the ancient navigators from Micro- nesia, Polynesia and Melonesia used the stars to find their way on long ocean voyages. He graphically illustrated how the "Stone Age" navigators used the evening skies to plot their courses and find their way. The remarkable way this skill was passed on by chants from gen- eration to generation by societies without books, instruments, steel and many aids available to the modern navigator stands out as a testament to the skill and ability of these ancient voyagers who sailed the Pacific before Westerners dis- covered the Americas.

After a social hour and dinner,

Dr. Ben Finney, widely published author, professor of anthropology at the University of Hawaii, and president of the Polynesian Voyag- ing Society, spoke to the group about that society's plans to build and sail a vessel between Hawaii and Tahiti, following as closely as possible original ship design and voyaging conditions.

Controversy over possible meth- ods of discovery of Hawaii (inten- tional or accidental), set against an explanation of probable Polynesian syche and knowledge of then exist- ing technology, triggered lively de- bate over the probabilities, and an especially interesting discussion of unitized or containerized, with the latter now accounting for about 30 percent of its cargo business.

While considering a project that would involve the Mooremack operation more deeply in container- ization, the report acknowledges that the line's operations are still limited by the "broad range" of cargoes in its trades.

The countries served by Moore- mack are still heavily oriented to production of commodities, some of which can easily be unitized, the report points out. the "inverted" sail and its efficiency.

The combination of the planetari- um presentation and Dr. Finney's discussion left little doubt that for some reason the Polynesians were seeking land, perhaps even land in

Hawaii's specific location.

The Polynesian Voyaging Soci- ety plans to demonstrate ithat early

Polynesians could well have trav- eled to Hawaii intentionally. They are building a voyaging canoe, 60 feet long and twin-hulled, as simi- lar as possible to the ancient canoes.

They will provision and man the craft according to specifications found in legends, and will use no tool or convenience not known to have existed in early Polynesia.

They will use the navigation tech- niques shown to the Hawaii Sec- tion of SNAME to sail to Tahiti and back.

The story, the society, and the voyage are all astounding and cap- tivating in every detail. Full details can be obtained through the Hawaii

Section of SNAME, or from Dr.

Ben Finney, 2467 Aha Aina Place,

Honolulu, Hawaii 96821.

Dr. Finney's presentation was enhanced by slide reproductions of the outstanding paintings of Ha- waii's artist, Herb Kane, whose very authentic drawings are wide- ly displayed on calendars in the

Islands.

The strong motivating theory of the ancient Polynesians was that for every island there was a star, and that if a canoe arrived at the precise spot under that star when it was at its zenith, there would be land. The probabilities were fairly good that the islands of the Pacific were colonized by peoples follow- ing that belief.

Aerojet, Todd And J.J. Henry Form Team To

Compete For Contract To Design And Build

Navy's New 2,200-Ton Surface Effect Ship

An artist's conception of the Navy's surface effect ship which will be capable of operating in open seas at speeds in excess of 80 knots.

SNAME Hawaii Section Hears Talk

On Polynesian Navigation By Dr. Finney

Shown at the SNAME Hawaii Section meeting, left to right: Hugh W. Kaiser, member- ship chairman; Robert E. Armstrong, vice chairman; Dr. Manley St. Denis, executive committee; Dr. Ben Finney, principal speaker; Sueo Hayashida, chairman; Harry R.

Taplin, secretary-treasurer, and Richard R. Allen, meetings chairman. 12 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News