YACHTING. 



793 



can not be trusted for windward work or lying- 

 to in heavy weather, owing to their flat bot- 

 toms, they are easy and safe before the wind 

 in almost any sea. Adherents of the deep- 

 draught theory, who may question this last 

 statement, are referred to the regular fruit- 

 packets that run up and down the Florida 

 coast from Jacksonville to Lake Worth, and 

 frequently ride out severe gales on the Atlan- 

 tic ; also to the published logs of sharpie navi- 

 gation from New York to Florida. 



Catamarans form a dis- 

 tinct class. They are safe 

 and marvelously fast in 

 smooth water, but very un- 

 safe in a sea-way. The cata- 

 maran is an attempted adap- 

 tation of the " flying-proa " 

 as used by the Pacific-island- 

 ers. (See "Annual Cyclo- 

 pedia" for 1884, p. 115.) 

 Fig. 6 is a catamaran with 

 lateen sail and shear masts. 



Improvements in the 

 building of large steamers 



within a few years have ( 



given yn impetus to this Side 



branch of yachting, and led 



to the organization, in 1883, of the America 



Yacht Club, having its headquarters in New 



York. 



Of the large steamers, the "Nourmahal," 

 owned by Mr. William Astor, of New York, 

 merits a somewhat detailed description as the 

 largest and one of the latest additions to the 

 fleet. She was designed by Gustave Hillmann, 

 of City Island, N. Y., and built by the Harlan 

 and Rollings worth Company of Wilmington, 

 Del., being the first American steel yacht. She 

 was finished early in the spring of 1884. Her 

 interior fittings are rich and perfect in every 

 detail, comprising main saloon, ladies' saloon, 

 state-rooms, and quarters for officers and crew. 

 Her dimensions are : 



weight of material being distributed according 

 to the estimated greatest strain, so as to com- 

 bine maximum strength with minimum weight. 

 In the lines, the wave-line is avoided, the en- 

 trance being an acute wedge. The Herreshoff 

 boiler consists of a helix-like coil of wrought- 

 iron pipe placed over the furnace and fed from 

 above, its entire surface being exposed to the 

 direct action of combustion. The steam, with 

 such vVater as has escaped vaporization, is de- 

 livered into a u separator," whence the steam 



\LL 



FIG. G. 



End. 



Length over all 



Length between perpendiculars 



Length on water-line 



Extreme width 



Depth, floors to deck 



Draught, aft 15 



Draught, forward 13 



Ft. In, 



250 



232 5 



221 



30 



18 7i 



The engines are vertical, direct-acting, sur- 

 face-condensing, and can work up to 1,400 

 horse-power, giving the vessel an estimated 

 speed of twelve to fourteen knots. She is 

 bark-rigged, but without courses, and spreads 

 altogether 7,000 feet of canvas. 



The class of steam-yachts devised and built 

 by the Herreshoff Brothers, of Bristol, B. L, 

 deserves special mention, combining as it does 

 certain highly creditable features of construc- 

 tion and motive power that have enabled their 

 boats to make a notable record for speed and 

 seaworthiness. The method of construction 

 is composite, the frame being usually of angle- 

 -iron, to which the wooden planking is secured 

 by composition bolts and brass screws, the 



escapes to the engine, while the water is re- 

 turned by the pump to enter the pipe again. 

 This circulating process economizes heat and, 

 it is claimed, utilizes steam more perfectly than 

 any other system. Three to five minutes suf- 

 fice, under test condition?, to make steam 

 enough to start the engine. The boiler is prac- 

 tically non-explodable, and is remarkably light 

 in proportion to its power. The surface-con- 

 denser is usually a copper pipe en the outside 

 of the submerged section of the vessel. In 

 some of the torpedo - boats an indicated 150 

 horse-power has been obtained from an engine 

 weighing 1,500 pounds. These boats have 

 been tested and approved by the United States. 

 British, Russian, French, and Peruvian Gov- 

 ernments, and have made remarkable records. 

 One of the torpedo-boats built under contract 

 for the United States to make nineteen miles 

 an hour, made twenty-three miles an hour on 

 her trial-trip, and a 35-foot launch, built for 

 Jay Gould, made 14'4 miles an hour with a 

 pressure of 168 pounds of steam. 



The latest triumph in the way of small, swift 

 steamers is beyond question the u Stiletto," 

 built by the Herreshoffs. She made her ap- 

 pearance in New York waters in the early 

 summer of 1885, and was present during all 

 the excitement of the international races, 

 proving herself among the fastest steam- vessels 

 afloat. She easily distanced the fastest of the 

 river and sound steamers, and while a mistake 

 left the result of a race with Jay Gould's yacht 

 " Atalanta " technically undecided, it is proba- 

 bly true that she is the faster of the two. The 

 " Stiletto " is 94 feet over all, 90 feet on the 

 water-line, 11 feet beam, and is 28 tons dis- 

 placement. The hull is double planked, sharp 



