Chapter XXXVI: Section IV: Shipbuilding

In the preceding volumes of this History the progress of shipbuilding from its origin in Scotland, in the form of a boat simply consisting of a single tree scooped out in the centre, has been traced to the end of the seventeenth century; in this section the vast changes and progress of the art since the beginning of the eighteenth century to the present time will be briefly indicated. In 1692, the number of vessels belonging to the chief Scotch ports was about 100, with a total tonnage of about 6000, which gives an average of 60 tons to each. But after the Union, a wider field was opened for the enterprise of the Scots, and the commerce of the nation extended amazingly. In 1760, the number of vessels had increased to 999, with a total tonnage of 53,913, giving an average of 54 tons to each. But in 1800, the number of ships had increased to 2415, with a total tonnage of 171,728, giving an average of 71 tons to each, and employing 14,820 seamen. The number and size of vessels continued to increase, and, in 1840, there were 3479 ships with a total tonnage of 429,204, giving an average of over 123 tons to each, while the number of seamen employed was upwards of 28,000. In 1850, the number of sailing ships was 3432, with a tonnage of 491,395, being an average of 143 tons each; and steamships 169, with a tonnage of 30,827; thus giving a total tonnage of 522,222. During the next ten years a marked change took place in the size of the ships, mainly owing to the improvement of harbours and docks, and the extension of foreign trade. The number of sailing ships in 1860, was 3172, being 260 fewer than 1850; but the tonnage had increased 60,817; so that in ten years the average tonnage of the sailing ships had risen from 143 to 175; the number of steamships had increased to 314, with a tonnage of 71,579, giving an average of 228 tons. In 1865, the number of sailing vessels of and under 50 tons was 1057, with a tonnage of 32,050; and above fifty tons 1925 vessels, with a tonnage of 600,195; the number of steam vessels of and under 50 tons was 119, and their tonnage 3080; above 50 tons 330, with a tonnage of 131,650.

Leith two centuries ago was the chief shipbuilding port in Scotland. After the Union, the _Fury_, a line-of-battle ship, was built at Leith. In 1840, two steamships were built, larger than any then afloat; about the same time other large ships were built at Leith; and it was even thought by many that this port would keep the lead in shipbuilding. It is needless to say that Leith has been left far behind in the race, and the centre of shipbuilding in Scotland has for many years been on the Clyde. The order of historic exposition seems to require that the other shipbuilding ports of Scotland should be noticed before this modern centre.

In Dundee shipbuilding was carried on from an early period. At the beginning of the present century a considerable number of vessels was built in Dundee for the coasting trade and the over-sea commerce. The size of the vessels continued to increase, and, in 1856, the Messrs. Alexander Stephen built a ship of 1848 tons burthen. There were then six firms engaged in building wooden ships, but, in 1870, there were only two exclusively employed in this branch. Steamship building was introduced at Dundee in 1823, when a paddle vessel was built for the traffic between Dundee and Perth, and it has since been carried on with great energy. Iron shipbuilding was begun at Dundee in 1838, but there were not many iron vessels built at this port till after 1854. The first screw steamer was launched from the yard of Mr. John Brown in 1851. In 1854, the firm of Messrs. Gourlay Brothers began to build iron ships, and for many years they turned out a large number of steamers. Prior to 1865 all the vessels built in Dundee had been formed either of wood or iron, but in that year the Messrs. Stephen began to build ships with a combination of both materials; such vessels were known under the name of “composite,” as consisting partly of iron and partly of wood.¹ In 1869 there were five shipbuilding firms in Dundee. In 1891 the number of hands employed in Dundee was 1,772.

¹ “A number of years ago there was a great run upon what was
designated ‘composite’ ships, that is to say, vessels having
a skeleton, as it were, of iron, with a shell or cover of
timber planking. They have had their day, and have already
gone almost entirely out of vogue. If we go back to the
year 1863, and note the statistics of the composite type of
vessels, we find that there were launched two steamers and
four sailing ships――only six in all. In the following year
there was only one composite steamer launched, and there
were six sailing ships of the same build, the total tonnage
of the seven vessels being 5814 tons, none of them being
over 1000 tons. In the year 1865, however, we find an
extraordinary leap, one composite steamer and 19 composite
sailing ships, of a total of 12,010 tons, being launched
during that year. Of the same build there were three
steamers and 12 sailing vessels launched in the year 1866,
five steamers and 13 sailing vessels in 1867, followed in
1868 by six steamers (three of which were gunboats) and 18
sailing vessels, the total tonnage of the 26 sailing vessels
being 17,713 tons. There was a sensible falling off in the
composite tonnage launched in 1869, six steamers and 13
sailing ships, with a total of 14,395 tons. In the year 1870
no composite steamers were built and only six sailing ships
of that build, of a total of 6100 tons; and no composite
steamers have been launched during the last five years,
and only two small composite sailing ships, and actually
no composite shipping at all during 1873, 1874, or 1875. It
was certainly rather a strange phase that the shipbuilding
trade passed through during the ten or twelve years ending
with the year 1872, in respect of the adoption of the
composite type of build, more especially for sailing
vessels.”――_Notices of some of the Principal Manufactures
of the West of Scotland_, page 174.

A considerable number of vessels were built at Newburgh, Tayport, Arbroath, and Montrose.

Throughout the eighteenth century there was a growing shipbuilding trade at Aberdeen, and before the end of that period there were three or four firms carrying on this department. Early in the present century a class of larger vessels began to be constructed, and, in 1816, the _Castle Forbes_, a vessel built for the Indian trade, was launched. In 1817, 20 ships were launched, with a total tonnage of 2770; and in the following year 22 vessels were built, with a total tonnage of 3300 tons; from this time onward for about half a century the trade continued to extend.

Mr. Alexander Hall, of A. Hall & Sons, introduced the “clipper” type of vessels, and, in 1830, he built the _Scottish Maid_, a vessel of 142 tons, which showed the advantages of sharp lines. This vessel was much admired, and, shortly after, the Aberdeen shipbuilders became famous for their clipper ships. A large number of the vessels employed in the Australian emigration trade were built at Aberdeen. In 1854, the Messrs. A. Hall & Sons launched the _Schomberg_, a vessel specially constructed for the Australian passenger trade, and she was one of the finest and largest vessels then afloat.¹ She was 262 feet in length, 45 in breadth, and 30 in depth, and of 2600 tons burthen. Other vessels of a similar description were built; but the general introduction of iron shipbuilding has had the effect of checking the prosperity of shipbuilding in Aberdeen. Although the Aberdeen firms have built iron steamers of a high class, still the substitution of iron for wood has produced extremely depressing effects upon the shipbuilding industry, not only in Aberdeen and all round the coasts of the Moray Firth, but also in the smaller seats of shipbuilding throughout the country.

¹ This vessel was described in the article “Shipbuilding,” in
the ninth edition of the _Encyclopædia Britannica_.

In 1868, there were six shipbuilding firms in Aberdeen, the yards of the Halls and the Duthies being the oldest establishments; and there were then between 1000 and 2000 persons employed in the trade; but in recent years the hands employed have not exceeded 500 or 600. At the above date there were considerable shipbuilding establishments at Peterhead, Banff, Inverness, and other ports on the Moray Firth where wooden vessels were built. But the introduction of iron steamers in the London trade, in the coasting and coal-carrying trade, has almost totally extinguished shipbuilding at these ports, and a similar result has been produced in other parts of the country. Thus the ultimate effect of the change from timber shipbuilding to iron shipbuilding has been to concentrate the building of large vessels on the Clyde; and to it I will now proceed.

In a preceding chapter the earliest attempts at steam navigation were indicated;¹ and, without entering into long details, a brief account of the introduction and the actual working of the first steam vessels is full of interest. The first steamboat that actually worked successfully in this country began to ply, in January, 1812, between Glasgow and Helensburgh. She was called the _Comet_, and continued to run on the Clyde till October, 1820, when she was wrecked rounding the Point of Craignish. The projector and owner of this boat was Henry Bell, a house carpenter or builder, and from his design she was built by Messrs. John Wood & Company, Port-Glasgow; and John Robertson, of Glasgow, constructed and fitted up her engine, which was of three horse-power. Her length of keel was 40 feet, breadth of beam 10 feet 6 inches, drew 4 feet of water, and was about 25 tons burthen. Another steamboat was built the same year, and in 1818 there were eighteen of these boats on the Clyde. The early built steam vessels were all of small dimensions, but improvements were soon introduced, and the building of steamers and the construction of suitable and powerful engines were rapidly developed.

¹ By an oversight I neglected to refer to the efforts of
Lord Stanhope, who, in 1790, took out his patent for the
propulsion of ships by steam. “He adopted paddles, placed
under the quarters of the vessel, which were made to open
and shut like the feet of a duck.” He got a flat-bottomed
boat specially constructed for the purpose, and a trial was
made in Greenland Dock, but the boat only attained a speed
of three miles an hour, and his plan was abandoned.

The tonnage of the steamers gradually increased, and lines of traffic were established between Glasgow, Greenock, and Liverpool, and between the Clyde and Belfast. The lines of traffic were soon extended to every quarter of the globe, the speed of the steamers was increased, and the regularity with which they performed their voyages was remarkable. The screw-propeller was invented about 1836, and many improvements were made in marine engines by the Clyde shipbuilding and engineering firms. In 1840, Mr. Robert Napier built four steamers for the newly-formed Cunard Company, and these vessels ranged from 1135 to 1175 tons burthen, and they had engines of 440 horse-power each. They were designed for the Transatlantic navigation, and were named the _Britannia_, the _Acadia_, the _Caledonia_, and the _Columbia_. On the 19th of June, 1840, the _Britannia_ steamed off from Liverpool, and arrived in the harbour of Boston on the 4th of July, amidst the cheers of the citizens. Although she was not the first steam vessel that had crossed the Atlantic, nevertheless her passage and arrival at Boston opened a new era in the history of commerce. The Cunard Line of steamers soon became well known throughout the civilised world.

Among the enterprising shipbuilders of the Clyde at this period may be mentioned Mr. Robert Napier; Messrs. Steel & Company, ♦Greenock; Messrs. Wood, of Port Glasgow; and Mr. William Denny, of Dumbarton; but at the same time a number of engineering firms on the Clyde were directing special attention to marine engines.

♦ “Greennock” replaced with “Greenock”

In Scotland iron shipbuilding was begun in 1818, when the “Vulcan,” a passenger boat for the Forth and Clyde Canal Company, was built by Mr. Robert Wilson, at Faskine, near Airdrie. Before this, some one or two small iron boats had been built in England. The “_Vulcan_” was designed by the late Sir John Robinson, of Edinburgh, and she was so compactly constructed that she plied on the canal for upwards of half a century. Between the years 1853 and 1865 “inventors have come forward and patented what they fancied were improvements in the construction of iron ships, but when the way to prosperity seemed clear before them, an examination of the old ‘_Vulcan_’ has shown that they had been forestalled, and consequently the patents became null; two patents relating to the keels of iron vessels were cancelled when the keel of the canal boat was examined.”¹ In 1827, the “_Cyclops_,” an iron boat for canal service, was built. The same year Mr. David Napier built the “_Aglaia_,” an iron boat, which plied on Loch Eck; and in 1831, Mr. Neilson, of Oakbank, built the “_Fairy Queen_,” which plied as a passenger steamer on the Largs route. Messrs. Wingate & Company built their first iron vessel in 1832. Shortly after, the firm of Messrs. Tod & Macgregor was formed, and directed special attention to the building of iron steam vessels; before the year 1840, they had attained a reputation in this department. The more notable of their iron steamers built before this date were the _Royal George_, the _Royal Sovereign_, and the _Princess Royal_; the latter was a steamer of 800 tons burthen, and was specially remarkable for her swift sailing; but great strides were afterwards made in this branch of shipbuilding.

¹ _Industries of Scotland_, by Bremner, page 65.

The vessels built continued to increase in size, and the reputation of the Clyde shipbuilders rose higher. The result was that the great shipping and steam navigation companies sent many of their orders for new ships to the builders on the Clyde. The marine engineers of Glasgow and all along the Clyde exerted themselves to the utmost to improve the engines and boilers, and to utilise and economise the power of steam; while persistent and supreme efforts were made to improve the condition of the river, to deepen and widen it, so that the largest ships might have sufficient depth of water to float upon it. In no quarter of the world has there ever been a greater application and development of mechanical science than that which has taken place on the banks of the Clyde in the present century.

In 1852, Mr. John Elder joined Mr. Charles Randolph, who then carried on a large engineering establishment, and they signalised themselves by improvements in marine engines. They successfully applied the compound high and low pressure cylinder engines to marine purposes; and they afterwards commenced shipbuilding, and founded the Fairfield yard, one of the largest in Scotland. In the years 1861 to 1865 this firm built 43 vessels, with a total tonnage of 43,500; and in the years 1866 to 1875 they built 134 vessels, with a total tonnage of 222,523. In 1870, they launched the _Italy_, an iron screw steamer of 4200 tons burthen, 600 horse-power, and 400 feet in length; in 1870 and 1871 they built two steamers for the coast trade between Aberdeen and London――the _Ban Righ_ and the _City of London_――which were notable for their speed and economy of fuel.

Since the middle of the century a considerable number of warships have been built on the Clyde; while the machinery of many others, built elsewhere, has also been supplied from the Clyde. In 1871, there were six war-vessels built on the Clyde; in 1874, there were four; and in 1875, three. At the middle of the century the total annual tonnage of the ships launched on the Clyde was about 23,000; in 1859, the total tonnage of the vessels built was 35, 709; and in 1865, the tonnage of the vessels was 153,932. The following table shows the number of vessels built and their tonnage in five successive years:――

1871 Number of vessels 131 Tonnage 196,200
1872 Number of vessels 227 Tonnage 224,000
1873 Number of vessels 194 Tonnage 261,500
1874 Number of vessels 225 Tonnage 266,800
1875 Number of vessels 276 Tonnage 228,200

In 1880, the total tonnage of vessels built and launched on the Clyde was 248,656, which shows an increase of over 20,000 tons in five years.

In 1871, there were upwards of 16,000 persons engaged in shipbuilding in Scotland, and of this number about 4000 were employed in iron shipbuilding; the latter number has since largely increased, owing to the general introduction of iron shipbuilding. Of the total number upwards of 10,000 were employed on the Clyde, including Dumbarton. In 1891 there were 23,253 hands (exclusive of labourers), of these over 17,000 were employed on the Clyde.

But the shipbuilding trade often fluctuates. The following table shows the total tonnage of vessels built and launched on the Clyde in ten successive years:――

Year. Tonnage. Year. Tonnage.
1881 327,113 1886 172,765
1882 282,671 1887 184,794
1883 404,383 1888 273,631
1884 262,022 1889 336,065
1885 192,392 1890 352,124

Within the last fifteen years steel has almost superseded iron in shipbuilding. Important improvements also have been made in the structure of ships for increasing speed, and securing comfort and safety. Improved water-tight compartments have been adopted in all passenger ships; and water-ballast tanks when full cargoes outward and homeward cannot be obtained.