FITTING OF STEAM-VESSELS. 17 



would be of great use to a steam-vessel on a long 

 voyage. 



The inconvenience attending the method we 

 had adopted in rigging the Quorra, was in- 

 creased by the paddle-boxes being so near the 

 surface of the water as to check her way mate- 

 rially at every roll the vessel made. To remedy 

 this in some measure, the after ends of them 

 were cut away, to allow a free passage for the 

 water ; and this produced a beneficial effect. 



The management of the paddle when dis- 

 connected from the engine was the subject of 

 several experiments. The general practice is to 

 remove the floats and expose merely the iron rim 

 and arms of the wheel to the action of the water ; 

 but we found it better to allow the floats to re- 

 main on, as a much less velocity then overcame 

 the friction in the gudgeons than by the former 

 plan, and the vessel's steering was also consider- 

 ably improved by it. The results, as nearly as we 

 could ascertain, were as follows : — Without the 

 floats, the paddle-wheels revolved when the vessel 

 had a velocity of four and a half miles per hour ; 

 with the floats fixed, they required only a velo- 

 city of one and a half mile per hour to set them 

 in motion ; the vessel steered much easier, there 



VOL. I. c 



