KEEFER, TuomAs COLTRIN (1S21—). A Canadian civil engineer. lie was born at Thor old, ontano, and was educated at Upper Canada College, Toronto. lie was first employed on the Erie Caiml, and afterwards on the Welland Canal, where he remained until 1845, when he was placed in charge of the ()Hawn River works. In 1850 he was employed by the Government to make ;t sur vey of the rapids of the Saint Lawrence. and to explore the region between the Saint Lawrence and the headwaters of the Saint .101in for the purpose of establishing intereolonial communica tion by canal or railway. Subsequently he made surveys for the Grand Trunk Railway. and for the Victoria Bridge across the Saint Lawrence at :Montreal. lie served as a from Canada at the international exhibitions in Lon don in 1851 and in 13(12, and in Paris in 1878. Ile was appointed to determine upon the practicabil ity of it ship canal between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic, and on this question published a monograph in ISM. Mr. Reefer brought about the change on Canadian railways from the nar row gauge to the standard gauge. his publica tions include Philosophy of Railways ( 49 ) and 7'hr Influence of the Canals of Canada on 11cr ayricalture (1850).
KEEL (Icel. kjolr, Dan. kjii/, Swed. keel).
In wooden ships the keel is a construction of rectangular sections made up of timbers scarfed and bolted together; it is the first part of the ship to be laid upon the building-blocks, hence the term laying of the keel is synonymous with beginning the actual construction of a ship. It extends from the stern-post (or rudder-post in wood-huilt single-scre• steamers) to the fore toot, where it is joined to the stem by the gripe and apron. in iron and steel steamers the keel
consist: of the vertical keel-plates and the fiat keel-plates. the former being usually referred to as the keel. The vertical keel is internal, and in vessels having double bottoms extends from the bottom plating or flat la-el to the inner bottom. Iron and steel sailing ships and some strainers have external bar or hollow. keels. In all kinds of vessels the keel is one of the principal longi tudinal tie: holding the ship together and stiffen ing her in the direction of her length. To reduce the angle of roll in modern men-of-war hil!b-krelg are fitted. These consist of plating extending longitudinally like an external keel, hut at the turn of the bilge, for about three-fifths the length amid:hip. The section of this keel is usually that of a very acute isosceles triangle with its base against the ship's hot tom; the sides consist of plating and the space inside is ordinarily filled in with wood. (See Biu;E.1 instead of using bilge-keels, merchant vessels are usually steadied by keeping their righting moment (see SHIPBUILDING) fairly weak by means of arrange ments of cargo and water ballast. A false keel is a facing of timber spiked to the main keel to protect it. Docking keels are side keels occasionally placed on ships for convenience in docking. They receive the upward thrust of bilge shores and distribute it along the bottom so that there is no danger of bending in the bottom plat ing or warping or bending the frames. Keel blocks.—The short built-up piles of timber on which the keel of a ship rests in building or when in a dry-dock.