from “Rovings,” Professional BoatBuilder No. 153
Compiled by Dan Spurr
Dan Spurr During a recent visit to Southern California, I stayed at a Long Beach hotel with a view of the Queen Mary, launched in 1934 for the Cunard Steamship Co. The 1,019′ (311m) passenger liner was built by John Brown & Co. in Clydebank, Scotland, and designed to carry passengers from Europe to the U.S. faster than any other ship. Her other feats are no less impressive:
- 3 years, 10 months, 26 days construction time
- 12 decks
- 1,957 passengers
- 1,174 officers and crew
- 16,082 soldiers ferried on one voyage to the European front
- 145 persons lifeboat capacity (no lessons from the Titanic?)
- 160,000 hp/120,000 kW (4 x 40,000-hp steam engines)
- 140 tons weight of rudder
- 8′–30′ x 1.25″ (2.4m–9.1m x 32mm) plates
- 10 million-plus rivets
- 2,000 portholes
- 13′/gal (1m/l) fuel consumption
- 990′ (302m) anchor chain
- 224 lbs (101 kg) each chain link
- 1,001 transatlantic voyages
