Thanks to the fact that nowadays more and more books are digitized we are able to read books that are some times for decades no longer available for the public for several reasons. That’s quite a pity while these books contains useful information while the archives are destroyed, incomplete or nor accessible.
P. 129: “The California Dry Dock Company, a corporation formed in August, 1807, have two dry docks - a stone dry dock and a float-
p. 130: ing dry dock - in complete working order, at Hunter’s Point, in the City and County of San Francisco. The dimensions of the stone dry dock are as follows length on keel blocks 421 feet, width on top 120 feet, width at bottom in the clear 60 feet, Perpendicular depth 32 feet and depth of water on miter sill at mean high tide 22 feet. Will take in a ship drawing 22 feet of water without lighterage. The formation of the rock in which the dock has been dug is serpentine, and exhibits no fissures or seams. The sides of the dock are lined with 10 by 10-inch Puget Sound pine, so arranged as to form a series of steps. These timbers are securely anchored into the rock with l½ inch bolts, California manufacture, and sulphured with sulphur from the Borax Lake Works. The keel blocks are of laurel, from Russian River, California. The dock is opened and closed by a floating caisson gate, strongly constructed of the best Oregon pine, caulked, copperbottomed and fastened with composition bolts, spikes and tree nails. Dimensions of caisson: length 92 feet, beam 20 feet, keel 68 feet and depth of hold 24 feet. A double steam engine, with the necessary pumps, is placed on the caisson for pumping purposes and working the gates and valves. There are two high-pressure engines, 22-inch cylinders, four foot stroke, used for pumping out the dock. The engines are supplied with steam from four tubular boilers, each 16 feet in length and 54 inches in diameter, and together having a fire surface of 3,800 square feet, and burning 2,000 pounds per hour. There are two centrifugal pumps, the invention of Col. A. W. Von Schmidt and J. H. Von Schmidt, of this city. Each of these pumps will discharge 30,000 gallons per minute,
p. 131: and at an average rate of speed will empty the dock of water in two hours. The pumps, engines and boilers were built at the foundry of the Vulcan Iron Works Company. The floating dry dock is moved between two piers about 75 yards from the entrance of the stone dry dock. It is constructed of the strongest Oregon pine, and is of the following dimensions: width 80 feet and length 210 feet.”
Source
San Francisco municipal reports. for the fiscal year 1867-1868, ending June 30, 1868. San Francisco, 1868.
