 Fredericton was built with a water @-@ tube boiler . Ships built from 1939 – 1940 used a Scotch marine boiler . The revised design used a water @-@ tube boiler that had not been available earlier . These boilers subsequently became standard in future ships as they were smaller , safer and easier to maintain than the Scotch marine , and produced a more reliable supply of steam . Fredericton was 208 feet 4 inches ( 63 @.@ 50 m ) long , which was about 3 feet ( 0 @.@ 91 m ) longer than earlier designs . This allowed for a longer forecastle that added more living space and dry quarters . She was 33 ft 1 in ( 10 @.@ 08 m ) wide and she had a draught of 11 ft ( 3 @.@ 35 m ) forward and 15 ft 7 in ( 4 @.@ 75 m ) aft . She was driven by a single @-@ screw , triple @-@ expansion reciprocating engine of 2 @,@ 750 ihp ( 2 @,@ 050 kW ) , which gave her a top speed of 16 knots ( 30 km / h ) . 
