98 APPENDIX. 



carried the mails to England. During this time, namely, from the 20th of July until her 

 arrival at Falmouth on the 24th of September, she steamed 3660 miles, of course ex- 

 periencing great varieties of weather, at an average rate of more than nine miles an hour. 



The novelty of navigating a steamer under sail would naturally suggest to intelligent 

 officers such modifications of marine tactics as might appear suited in the particular cases of 

 steam-vessels to the varied and ever-changing circumstances which the seaman encounters in 

 the prosecution of his eventful duties ; and we have now to advert to a contrivance adopted 

 on board the Medea, which, though productive of very beneficial consequences during the 

 services of that ship, and worthy of imitation in all war-steamers, would be quite inapplicable 

 to commercial vessels, and worse than useless if attempted. 



Our naval readers are well aware of the inconvenience that sometimes arises to a cruizing 

 squadron, generally sailing in " close order" or "line of battle," when in calm weather the 

 ships involuntarily approximate each other, and the consequent labour of towing by boats to 

 prevent accidents by collision. The Medea, when acting as a sailing vessel, was of course 

 liable to be placed in these circumstances ; and as it was impossible by boats to produce 

 velocity enough to set the wheels in motion, that usual resource, if not quite unavailing, was, 

 from the resistance which the paddles afforded, attended with as much labour; and as much 

 force was required as to tow the largest ship of war. To light the fires and " get the steam 

 up" at once put an end to the difficulty; but this caused an expenditure of coal, and the 

 great object was to perform all the duties of cruizing without invading those resources on 

 which her great power and efficacy depended. 



Much inconvenience had also been experienced during the varied services of this vessel from 

 the difficulty of changing her position in harbour when required to move towards a coal 

 depot; and it was found, as before stated, that as many boats were required to move her even 

 a short distance as would suffice to " transport" a first-rate ship of war, and the obstacles 

 to effecting the same object by using "warps " were of equal magnitude. Although the fuel 

 could generally be renewed in cases similar to the above, yet, if the steam was used, an ex- 

 pense would be incurred even in the performance of such insignificant duties, particularly 

 when occurring on a foreign station to which the coals are conveyed at a considerable cost ; 

 and the boilers, 8cc. would undergo some deterioration, however slight it might be. The small 

 quantity of coal consumed on board this ship, although she steamed full 30,000 miles, and 

 the excellent state of her machinery and boilers after a service of nearly four years, fully prove 

 how excellent was the system which led to such results. 



"To obviate the difficulties attending the removal to a short distance," writes Mr. Peacock, 

 the master of the Medea, l " I hit upon the following simple contrivances, which were fitted to 

 the Medea's wheels by our own resources: To the inner side of the inner arms, between the 

 outer polygons, a set of iron lugs, shaped like the letter V, are riveted on, large enough to 

 take a three -and-a-half inch hawser. Two iron fair-leaders, with rollers in them a foot apart, 

 project from the inside the paddle-box immediately over the shaft, and are of such a height 

 and distance from the side as to insure the lugs alternately catching the hawser, and prevent 



1 Vide Nautical Magazine, p. 731, November, 1837., to which we would refer our readers for a more elaborate 

 description of this contrivance, and its probable benefits, of which those only who tried the experiment can be 

 competent judges. 



