Britannic

[Joshua McCracken]

Mark,
*LOL* I see I've pretty much ruined the spirit of a board dedicated to the Britannic, but the reason I compared the Olympic to the Great Eastern was because she was after all the first to have these features, so I automatically thought of her (the Mauretania didn't even cross my mind until an hour ago) Like I said, I NEED CAFFEINE!!! I'm actually not a rivet counter at all, which is probably why I sound like such a moron, in fact one of my biggest beefs with many steamship historians is that they make their books inaccessible to many people by going off into rants about how much horsepower the ship had and the details about the engines of ships like the Britannic. It gets a bit too confusing for most people, and even after eight years of reading about these ships I still find myself scratching my head from time to time. Let's forget that I said anything, I'm feeling like a moron.

 

[Mark Chirnside]

Hi Joshua!

I see now that you were comparing Olympic to Great Eastern to show the changes that took place in between, but I am sorry that I did not understand that earlier. But I can't say that there were many practical improvements -- technological, yes, but you'd be hard pressed to find a ship by 1900 like the Great Eastern's design of safety features: bulkheads, watertight decks, skins, etc. Great Eastern was as you know an economic disaster, though I've never bothered to research her in detail.

I'm actually not a rivet counter at all, which is probably why I sound like such a moron,

You don't sound like a moron. Not to me anyway.

in fact one of my biggest beefs with many steamship historians is that they make their books inaccessible to many people by going off into rants about how much horsepower the ship had and the details about the engines of ships like the Britannic.

Which Historians? I'd love a book that 'ranted' about ship's engines and other features! I wouldn't say that that it makes books innaccessible to many people, though; you don't need an engineering mind to know that 50,000 horsepower is the power of fifty thousand horses.

Let's forget that I said anything, I'm feeling like a moron.

Well, there's no need to. All I was confused about was why you were comparing Olympic to Great Eastern rather than her contemporaries; now I see where you're coming from.

Best regards,

Mark.

 

[Joshua McCracken]

Well, as odd or ludicrous as this may sound, I have read many books that were obviously written for those who are already familiar with the ships. I probably exaggerated a bit with the engines crack, but Jack Eaton and Charles Haas spring to mind. Their writing is very stiff, which actually makes it a pretty hard read.