Fullagar

1920. Fullagar marine oil engine.

1920 The Fullagar was a ship built by Cammell, Laird and Co. It was one of the first vessels to be constructed using all-welding (electric) techniques and used the Cammellaird-Fullagar engine

There are articles and illustrations about the Cammellaird-Fullagar engine in The Engineer in Jan & Feb. 1920 , based on the work of Hugh Francis Fullagar.

1920 'WELDED MOTOR SHIP.
The welded motor ship, "Fullagar," built by Cammell, Laird and Co., Ltd., Birkenhead, and the first vessel to be fitted with the 'Camellaird-Fullagar" type of main oil engine has just carried out very successful sea trials. The vessel herself is unique in that not a single rivet has been used in her construction, the hull being welded throughout, as are also the fuel, lubricating and water tanks. The ship, which is 150 feet in length, is intended for the coasting trade, and is fitted with a "Camellaird-Fullagar" oil engine of 500 B.H.P. running at a speed of 100/120 r.p.m. The engine has four cylinders of 14in. diameter, each piston having a stroke of 20in. and works on the Diesel cycle. Air at a pressure of 1,000lbs. per square inch is used for injecting the fuel into the cylinders. A 3-stage air compressor is driven from the forward end of the crankshaft, the circulating pumps being arranged forward of that again, thus rendering the engine a self-contained propelling unit. The saving in weight and space effected by this type of engine are, of course, now well known, and the builders' courage and foresight in adopting it have been amply rewarded by the satisfactory trials just carried out by the latest addition to Britain's fleet of motor vessels. The hull and machinery have been built under the supervision of Messrs. G. S. Goodwin and Co., consulting engineers, of Liverpool, and the vessel has been purchased by Messrs. Thomas and John Brocklebank, Ltd.

1920 CAMMELL, LAIRD & CO. '.... The development of the "Fullagar" Internal combustion engine proceeded satisfactorily, and the experience gained with the engine fitted on the s.s. Fullagar fully justified the confidence of the company in this type of engine. The vessel in question has now been in service for over six months, and the engine has run without any defects appearing. ....'

1925 WELDED MOTORSHIP. A FIVE-YEAR-OLD EXPERIMENT. CONSIDERABLE interest was aroused in 1920 by the building by Messrs. Cammell Laird and Co., Ltd., of the welded motorship Fullagar ; she was inspected by numerous shipbuilders and shipowners, and the interest aroused at that time has never wholly abated.
Under a new name — Caria - with a Beardmore engine replacing the original Cammellaird-Fullagar engine, which was found to be too powerful (as notified in these columns on January 6, 1921), the ship is said to be the only welded vessel to have made an extended ocean voyage, having been brought out from the British Isles to the British Columbia coast this spring by the B. C. Cement Co. Ltd., of Victoria, 8.C., to engage in their cement carrying trade.
Welded construction has proved very strong under severe tests. The Carla is still as tight as a drum, the plates and framing, decks, bulwarks, batch coamings and deckhouses being welded in one unbroken unit. Even the original winches appear to have been welded to the deck, though the present ones have been bolted down. The welding on the lapped plates and in other angles is a smooth job and looks like putty, though the butt-welded joints are a little rougher, nothing having been done to smooth them off.
SEVERELY TESTED. The Caria is said to have been severely tested through getting ashore near Belfast, her bottom plates having been driven up as much as 1ft, in places, though without starting any leaks. Repairs were made by beating and pressing back into shape without breaking any of the joints. The first engine was Fullagar 2-cylinder opposed piston engine of 500 h. p. for experimental purposes, which was replaced in 1921 by a 4-cylinder 2-cycle Beardmore surface ignition engine, with 16 1/2 in. cylinder diameter and 19in. stroke, developing 320 b.h.p. at 225 r.p.m. This engine is direct reversing by means of an air shuttle box operated off the main shaft. One generator is run off the main engine, and there is another driven by an auxiliary gas engine. An 8 h.p. single cylinder oil engine runs the air compressor, which raises 300 lb. per sq. in. pressure in the starting air bottles. A pressure up to 150 lb. per eq. in. can be obtained in the starting bottles by tapping the compression in the main cylinders when the engine is running. The engine will start on 80 to 100lb. per sq. in. pressure of starting air. A Cochrane oil-fired donkey boiler raises steam for winches, windlass, capstan and donkey pumps.
A speed of 9 1/2 knots is given on the ship's certificate of registry, but she is said to be normally operated at a speed of 8 knots at 200 r.p.m.
The ship's principal measurements are Length b.p., 150 ft., breadth 23.8 ft., depth 11.5 ft., length of engine-room 35.5 ft., gross tonnage 419.92, and deadweight capacity about 400 tons. She is now registered at Victoria, B.C.
THE ATLANTIC VOYAGE. On the trip out from Leith to the British Columbia coast this spring, she made calls at Las Palmas, Trinidad, Balboa, and San Pedro; and maintained an average speed of 7 1/2 knots at 190 r.p.m. throughout the long passage from Scotland to Vancouver.
Her fuel consumption is said to be 1 1/8[?] tons a day at 8 knots (200 r.p.m.) and the lubricating oil 22 gal. a day for all purposes, including cylinder lubrication, thrust, shaft, auxiliary engine, bearings, &c. The fuel oil consumption at 225 r.p.m. is about 1 3/4 tons a day.'

1937 'FIRST SEA-GOING RIVETLESS SHIP
Lost in Collision off Mexican Coast
SEVENTEEN YEARS' SERVICE UNDER FOUR NAMES
A RECENT casualty report recorded a collision off the west coast of Mexico between the auxiliary sailing ship Hidalgo and the motorship Cedros, as a result of which the latter sank. The port of registry of the Cedros was Ensenada and she flew the Mexican flag, being owned by Abalardo Rodriguez, former President of Mexico.
As such the Cedros was not well known, but she was, in fact, an outstanding vessel. During her career she had four names, and under the earliest of these she was a pioneer, being the first sea-going rivetless ship. That much stated, her identity will be quickly recognised by those who have followed the development of welding in shipbuilding.
The Cedros was originally, in fact, the Fullagar and was built in 1920 by Messrs. Cammell Laird and Co., Ltd., at Birkenhead, her hull being electrically welded throughout by the Quasi-Arc process. The fact that she had 17 years' service, which only came to an end because of a collision, is sufficient indication of the efficiency and strength of her construction, despite the fact that electric welding was then only in its very early stages of development.
The plates of the Fullagar were not flush welded in accordance with modern practice, but joggled, giving the hull the appearance of a riveted with straight frames.
The Fullagar was, in short, a valid full-scale experiment in electric welding because of the fact that no rivets whatever were used in her construction. In the early part of her life she carried steel plates from South Wales to Liverpool. Later she was engaged in coasting service in British Columbia, carrying cargoes of cement, and circumstances combined to make her experience as comprehensive as possible.
NOT WORTH REPAIRING !
In 1921, she grounded on a sandbank in the River Mersey, and her bottom was set up about 11ins. over a considerable area. It has been recorded that it was faired simply by pushing the plates out again with jacks, no leakage from or cracking of the welding being found.
Before the repairs were effected, however, she had carried a cargo of coal to Belfast, where she delivered it without anybody suspecting she had been damaged at all. When the cargo was cleared out it was found that the bottom was set up as stated. It was proposed to take her back to Liverpool for repairs, but the underwriters said she was not worth repairing. Thus there was the paradox of a ship having delivered her cargo in a satisfactory condition and yet deemed to be a constructive total loss.
In October, 1930. she hit a rock near Victoria, British Columbia, when fully loaded. Repairs were carried out in a similar manner, and it was found that the welding was still performing its function effectively as a connecting medium.
Other names by which the ship was known during her career were Shean and Caria. Her dimensions were 150ft. by 23ft. 8ins. by 10ft. 6ins., and her registered tonnage was 420. She had a single well deck, with the machinery fitted aft.
This originally consisted of a four-cylinder two-stroke single-acting Fullagar oil engine. It was of the opposed-piston type with blast injection, and it was a self-contained unit in that all the pumps and auxiliaries were engine-driven. Fresh water was used for cooling the jackets and piston heads. In some respects, the engine was too heavy for the ship, and it was subsequently replaced by a Beardmore oil engine. '

See Also

Loading...