Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/827

YACHT. draught. In 1902 the New York Yacht Club adoijtod a rule looking to the same end. In 1895 the iSeawanliaka-Corintliian Yacht Club provided an international cliaHenge cup for racers not smaller than the 15-foot cUiss nor larger than the 25-foot class — from a half rater to a two and a lialf rater, according to the Brit- isli nomenclature. A Uritisli cliallenger, Artliur Brand, brought the Spruce IV., a yacht 15.8.'J feet long on the water line and spreading 197 feet of canvas. The Ethelwynn, designed by W. P. Stephens, defended the cup suceessfully. Slie was 23 feet 4 inches over all, 14 feet (i inches on the water line, feet 7 inches broad, and 7 inches draught. She carried a metal centreboard that drop[icd five feet below the Ueel and weighed 55 pounds. The Ethelwynn was a fair type of the half rater of her day. In 1890 the Royal Saint Lawrence Yacht Club won this cup, with a half rater called Glencairn. Since then the size of the yachts has increased to 'the limit allowed by the original conditions, but the Canadians have very well maintained a superiority in the races for this cup. The crews of the racers in these cup contests are always amateurs. The races are contests between national crews as well as yacht-design- ers. The start of each race is therefore made with a single gun — the yachts may cross the line with the gun, but not before, and the last yacht to cross is handicapped by her distance behind the leader. In the America's cup races, where pro- fessional sailors are hired, the test of ships is the object, and the yachts cross at will within a two-minute limit, and are timed on the in- stant of crossing. In 1896 a third international cup was jjrovided by yachtsmen on the Great Lakes. Yachting had been a popular sport there for many years. The Detroit Boat Club was established 'in 1839. The Royal Canadian Yacht Club of Toronto was organized in 1852. The members of the yacht clubs along the Great Lakes nmnber thousands. In 1896 E. C. Bcrryman, through the Lincoln Park Yacht Club, of Chi- cago, challenged the Royal Canadian Yacht Club to a race between 45-footers. The Toledo Inter- national Yacht Racing Association gave a cup for the prize. ]Ir. Berryman sailed the Tence- dor, the Toronto Club the Canada. The Canada won, and her cup Avas then made a perpetual challenge cup for international races on the Great Lakes. The clip has crossed the line several times since then. In the races of 1903 the American challenger, Irondequoit, beat the Cana- dian defender, Strathcona. The yachts of the lakes are of the fin-keel type, carrying large sail area. Because of the imperfection of even the best rules for handicapping big yachts in races with little ones, the building of j'achts from one design has become popular. The 'Water Wags' of Dublin Bay, Ireland, were the original one- design racers. The type came into use in 1873. Eacli Svag' is 13 feet long by 4 feet 10 inches wide, and mast and canvas are precisely the same for all. In the I'nited States there are one- design racers 70 feet long on the water line. While built to develop good seamanship, the one- design yachts, in spite of the greatest care to make them alike, have never been all precisely alike in their sailing qualities — a proof that variations so small as to be invisible affect the speed of racers. The designing of racers is so much a matter of scientific calculation that the new boats of each year commonly beat those built before, but designers cannot yet foretell definite- ly what a racer will do. Neither have the lines of the swiftest possible wind-driven hull yet been laid down. Captain R. F. Loper, of Philadelphia, built the first American steam pleasure boat, the Colonel John Htccens. She was 92 feet long and carried two low-pressure engines with cylinders 18 X 14 inches. The paddle-wheel Firefly, built by the Aspinwalls in 1854, was the first American steamer to be jiroperly classed as one of a fleet belonging to a recognized yacht club. In Great Britain, the paddle-wheel Victoria and Albert, launched for the Queen, April 6, 1843, was the first notable steam yacht. She was 225 feet long, and had a record of 11.5 knots — something remarkable for that period. Nevertheless the introduction of compound en- gines (see Steam Navigation), with their econ- omy of space and fuel, marks the real begin- ning of steam yachting, and since that time .steam yachts have had a wonderful development. The list of the New York Yacht Club alone shows 262 steamers, of which ten register about 1000 tons. W. K. Vanderbilt's Valiant is 332 feet long and registers 1823 tons. She is driven by triple-ex- jiansion engines and twin screws. Because of their speed, steam yachts have come into use as transports carrying business men be- tween their country homes and town. The swift steam launch has been developed for this pur- pose. The Stiletto, built by the Herreshofls. was the first notable launch of this kind in America. Though but 86 feet long and in use for twenty years, she was able (1903) to make 18 knots an hour. The Miranda, built by Thornyci'oft ( 1872) , though but 50 feet long, had a record of 19 land miles an hour, but steamers of that class have much more favor in America than in Europe. The limit in this class was reached in the Arrow, designed by Charles D. Mosher (1900). She is 139.33 feel long and displaces 66 tons, but her record, as given by her designer, is 40 knots. She is fitted with quadruple-expansion engines that take steam at a pressure of 400 pounds from water-tube boilers. The New York Yacht Club's list for 1903 shows three yachts with turbine engines, all of British design, and there is a fourth, the Reso- lution, that has turbines of American design. Because turbines occupy a relatively small space, cause no vibration, give greater speed with no greater consumption of coal, and require fewer repairs, they are sure to displace reciprocating engines on all kinds of steam yachts. Capt. N. G. Herreshoff'. however, who is undoubtedly an authority, states it as his opinion- that turbines will displace reciprocating engines in high-speed yachts only. See Steam Turbines ; Steam Navi- gation. A conspicuous feature of yacht races in 1003 was the fieet of launches propelled by motors that used products of petroleum in place of steam. There are two classes of these motors. In one class fluid naphtha is vaporized in a coiled-tube boiler by the heat of a naphtha flame, and the vapor drives a reciprocating engane. In anothei class the petroleum product is injected with a volume of air into an engine cvlinder and