4B6 



FORESI: AND STHEAM. 



[Dec. U, 18S5. 



CRUISE OF THE COOT. 



IT was a pleasant morning near the close of No vera bfi- when (;lie 

 Coot, slipped her moorings off Port Morris and nllcd away for a 

 voyase which proaiised to bo evcaatful and novel from the tnauner in 

 wliich it was undertaken. Other Kmall boats may have voyaged 

 down to Florida watei-s by the inside route, but none had loft any 

 record of their haps and mishaps, none had undertaken the long 

 passage sinsrle-hauded, au<i, above all, none had dared to face tlie 

 storms and icy seas of midwintei'. Neither would ilie Coot, Inid tlie 

 terx'ible weatlier through which she passed been foreseen. Instead 

 ■of tbe usual mild days of December, interspersed with oeoasional 

 frosts, which the Coot had expected, she found frigid winter coming 

 In butt end first in such earue=:t tJiat boat and crew' underwent hard- 

 ships far be.vond what either would care to repeat. More than once 

 it looked as ihough the enterprise would have to come to a, stiuidstill 

 and the crew, crying "peceavi," lift sheet for home by rail, leaving 

 the Coot at the bottom for good. Nothing but an ignbruinious enil- 

 lug to this log could have spurred oii tke skipper to accept and oi.euly 

 ■court risks which good sen«e urgently counselled against, and it is 

 •ouly by hairbreadth escapes that the relater is .still in this tearful 

 Tale, though now li^vppily below the dreaded ice belt of permanent 

 ■winter. 



With the last stores on Iward, tbe ave-gallon breaker filled wiih 

 water, and the crew rigged out in sea-going jersey, rawhide shoes 

 and worsted cap, a last adieu was waved to those on shore watching 

 lier tlepartrure from the Knickerbocker T. C. quarter.s. As sheet was 

 given and the yacht swung gracef idly ti way. the buoy from wbicti 

 she had tailed for several weeks seemod to heave a sigh at the loss it 

 was about to monrn, for it bobbed down deeply in discon^-olate fash- 

 on, suspecting that the Coot would soon cuddle up to strangers in 

 its place. And tliat the faithless Coot did with a vengeance when- 

 ever the chance offered. .Vway fi-om under her stern the rippling 

 waters gurgled in sparkling wavelets, for the sun was shiniHg bright 

 atid warm, the sky was clear, and natui-e laughed in her pleasantest 

 mood. So diffciciit froto the weeks .jiist pas.-ied, witen leaden clouds 

 hitug sullenly from the vatdt above, threiUening vengeance to aught 

 tliat dared show sail. The skipper coogratulated himself upon the 

 change which wreathed the a.spect of things in smiles, and hoped 

 that pleasant days might be in store to see him well along on the 

 Tvater.y paih leaoing to the balmy regions of the generous South and 

 her open heai'ted people. An almanac lay upon the cabin table wit^h 

 the month of November turned open. There, staring me in the face, 

 at the top of the page, with marble eyes and stony glare, was a naked 

 little wretch ankle deep in .snow, trying in vain to warm the tip ends 

 of his fingers in the wool-like ilames supposed to proceed from a 

 roaring log fire. Loosely gathered about ins plump anatomy, a gar- 

 ment, for lack of pins and buttons, streamed out to the gusts .sup- 

 posed to be blowing from tbe north pole, while the toackground was 

 filled with portentous clouds rolling lieavily along. This, then, wa.s 

 typical of November. But my November, as a matter of tact, was 

 more like spring, and I laughed at the chilly httle urchin and his 

 futile efforts lo stay the cold ar a log fire, instead of slippmg on shoes 

 and pantalettes and clove-hitching that flying blatdcet about bis 

 chubby loins. In charmiuK weather it was that the Coot set out upon 

 her voyage, but alas, as this tale will tell, the almanac was only too 

 near the mark, and my bright hopes were destined soon to be shat- 

 tered. 



Much still remained to be done aboard the yacht to render her a fit 

 vessel for the dangers sure to be met. A score of trifling things .still 

 needed attention. A little caulking here and there, a few new cleats, 

 a new peak block, reef nettles in the third row of holes, locker doors 

 each side of the cockpit, a mast coat, painting inside and out and 

 nnmerot'',.s other odds and ends, all of which were deterred to that 

 indefinite period 'nvarm weather, ' which was confidently expected 

 bid- which has not yet come. And for want of perfect preparation 

 the yacht and her crew stiffered accord ingly, (or the most irifling omis- 

 sion may assume in critical times, a gravity out of all propoi-tion to 

 one's expectations. Thus it happened that a wretched contrivance in 

 the w^ay of mast bitts for belaying (he gear nearly cost me a capsize, 

 and always gave me anxiety. The bitts were so small that a tm-n or 

 two with the halliards filled them up and gave no ciianee for a half 

 hitch Avhich would hold. To see the halliards come down and the 

 gear forward in inextjneable confusion became the order of the day. 

 For riding to her cable, the Coot relied upon her stem head as a bol- 

 lard. But the head was tapering and the hitches would slip off in a 

 sea with tbe likely loss of the ground tackle. Fortunately this had 

 been foreseen and the '•bitter end" of the cable was made fast around 

 the mast. When I got a chance I drove an iron pin through the stem 

 liead, a simple provision which remedied the defect. There was not 

 a cleat or cavel about deck forward. Nothing but aruag for the 

 painter. 



The shabby equipment of the Coot, common to all small American 

 yachts, placed me in sore trouble, and nearly lost me the boaton one 

 bcca.sion. of which this log will speak further on. The tiller, like all 

 tillers, was a ram tiling fit in the rudder head, and would jump out at 

 odd times. It was lost in a heavy gale, when disaster stared me in 

 the face, and would have put an end to boat and man but for the 

 presence of an old stick, which was made to do duty instead. The 

 rudder had no ''lock," and fretpiently jumped out of the lower gud- 

 geon. It played me that trick m the Delaware River, and drove me 

 high and dry ashore for tweniy-fom- hours. The rudder stock was 

 too small for the hole and wore itself away about the deck collar, 

 thumping frightfully all night in a sea way. so that sleep was next to 

 impo.s.sible. The blocks were all too small for the gear, a crazy hobby 

 for "neatness" aloft obtained at a sacrihce of common safety. The 

 f^ail had to be got down by might and main, and often that would 

 fail to SD\.ig down the canvas. The boom w^ould shin half way up the 

 mast, so the luff could never be kept on a stretch, nor tbe yacht 

 pointed as she ought to go. There was neither shoe nor sti-ap imder- 

 neath the keel, t'requent groimding had chewed away the wood 

 nearly up to the garboards in places. This I proposed to look after 

 in -'warm ^^•eathe^■' by cutting out the chafed sections and inserting 

 fresh oak pieces, and also auding a hard oak shoe below fore and aft 

 as a protection to the main keel. And so on through dozens of other 

 complaints which might here be cited to .show the \aetchedly ineffi- 

 cient condition in which small yachts are dehvered by the builders, 

 whose only aim seems to be to pass off upon beginners a hasty job, 

 half finished in .some of the mo.st important details, at consequent 

 ri'^k, even the imperilling of life. 



This leads up to the suggestion that our yacht builder-, honest 

 enough though they be. have, as a rule, so little experience in yacht- 

 ing life that they eanuot be trusted vrith the outfit of a vessel which 

 is to be put to real service histead of horse play in the Sound or 

 (j-reat South Bay. For the Coot was no worse tban a thousand 

 Similar boats which are loudl,y suppo.sed to be very near perfection 

 and whose builders would scout the idea of anj^ deficiencies existing. 

 What can a sailorman think of a builder who supplies no means at all 

 for securing the anchor on deck, not even as much as a cleat, and 

 whose rudder unships in a httle jump in a river, and whose sail can- 

 not be hoisted to a taut luff or reefed close enough for a hard blow? 

 And if builders are such lubbers that they caimot appreciate the 

 simplest necessities of actual service, who else can tie novice look to 

 for advice and supervision in such matters'? No wonder' tliat sailing 

 in small yachts in America is still deemed foolhai-dy advemttre in- 

 stead of growing into common practice. So far as ibe diminutive 

 Size of the Coot is concerned it has ue\-er yet been ii serious objection 

 to the cruise I have set out upon, but m her slovenly fittings and 

 fl,t)sence of decent equipment I have discos-ered such imininent danger 

 that none should attempt to follow ia my wake without overhatding 

 their boats in every respect at the instigation of some one competent 

 to supply the omi.ssions. The principal yacht builder in New York at 

 this day is utterly without yaclLting expei-ience, and but for a tew 

 cruises made as a Ijoy in a square-rigger has no claim to rank as a 

 eailof , while tbe small fj-y who beget such boats as the Coot can 

 fscatceljr feather theii- oars and are not conversant with the rudiments 

 of the art for which they presume to supply the tools. In all the 

 troubles which 1 have so far met, the want of knowdedge. foresight, 

 and care on tlie builder's part, have been the chief contributing 

 causes, and but for the fact that 1 may be ranked as a pretty old 

 hand at the business, di-saster would have wound up my career ere 

 this with the builder justly chargeable as a. party to manslaughter. 

 Yet none of the provisions to which I refer are items of great cost or 

 much labor, for they merely represent contrivances, which, if small 

 and obscure, are none the less essential to the safe management of a 

 boat than the frame and fastening to her strength and lease of life. 



To a light westerly breeze the Coot slipped through the w^ater with 

 the last' quarter of the ebb horsing hor down through Hell Gate, 

 whei-e a board bal to be made to fetch clear of the tall electric tower 

 on Mallet's f oinc, looking for all the world like a skeleton on stilts. 

 Then, with sheet pretty well in, she pointed fair through the western 

 channel along Blackwell's Island and into the East River The wind 

 was here exceedingly baffling. It came out now and then in strong 

 puffs as it swept down upon the httle Coot through the city gulche.s 

 lined with brick and brownstone houses, then again it would fail 

 entirely and leave the 3''acht with scarce steerageway, bobbing up and 

 askew 'to the nasty cross swell kicked up by passing steamers and 

 thrown back upon itself from ptera and seawall close aboard. The 

 out-lying reef to the southward of Blackwell's Island was cleared on 

 the iast of the lee-going tide, and by dint of coaxing to occasional 

 whiffs the boat was tooled along in tbe slack, by the huge soot- 

 begi-imed sugar factories on tlie Brooklyn siae, after which the first 

 of the flood had to be steuimea. Through a maze of ferryboats a 

 devious passage was tediously forced until after drifting astern and 

 forging ahead a dozen of time.s the Coot's mast was at last brought 

 plumb under the huge flying span of the suspended structure which 



unites two great cities in the bonds of municipal sisterhood. A lum- 

 bering smack had just passed through the bridge a few lengths ahead 

 of the Coof, and, catching a breeze of great strength, was soonaway 

 for Buttermdk Channel. But no such good fortune was in store for 

 the Coot. She failed to pass the massive granite towers, and hung per- 

 tinaciously beneath the maze of girderwork and roping. After tnany 

 a futile dai-t ahead .she was obliged to succumb and drift helplessly 

 astern with the flood. For three long hours had the yacht vauily 

 striven to drive through. The Catherine Street ferry had com- 

 menced running again, and the Coot's maneuvering had all this 

 time been right across the bows of the double-end side-wheelers, 

 whose passengers crowded to the rail to watch the yacht in her tire 

 some toils. Her bright yellow hou-?e and her lone crew with forlorn 

 mien had become famili ir marks of recognition to the steamers 

 pilots, whose whistles were each time repeated with additional vigor 

 as the annoyance to them grew more intolerable. But one and all 

 managed to give tbe Coot a good berth, till at last patience was ex- 

 haiLsted at the wheel of one ferryboat, whose captain sung out in a 

 derisive tone: "You can't do nothing on this here tide. What are 

 you bothering us in this fashion for? Better come to and wait for 

 the ebb.'' He delivered his speech in a deprecating tone, as he took 

 me for one of the many hohday sailors, who wilfully, or through 

 lubberly tactics, make themselves a nuisance to the ferries in the 

 East River. I had come to the same conclusion some time before, 

 but in my anxiety to make an anchorage for the night off Staten 

 Island, had bucked away at it longer than good judgment should 

 have cotmsclled. Indeed, it is at all times a thankless job to attempt 

 beating a light, small boat against a tide of three to four 

 knots" strength, and when the wind backed ahead, the Coot should 

 have given' it up at the outset. So helm was put up, boom 

 eased away and the yacht rim into Navy Yard Bay, where the Ches- 

 ter folding anchor was hove overboard for the first time in something 

 like eight fathoms of water. The anchor nipped at once and appeared 

 to catch a powerful hold, which impressed me favorably with its 

 capacity. Subsequently I found that it would not serve as well in 

 soft bottom, at least not m a blow, for it came right home to a slight 

 pull on the line. For sand or hard bottom the sharp narrow arms 

 without palms stood in good stead, as the anchor would quickly pry 

 into the bottom. For mud and slime the arms lack ejiough surface. 

 In such bottom I was obliged to trust to the iSlb. anchor of standard 

 shape and that held the Coot in the softest of ground, through gales 

 of great severity accompanied by sea. Possibly a moderate broaden- 

 ing of the fluke ends might improve the Chester anchor so as to serve 

 in all cases. For stowing in the cockpit or on the cabin floor, It is 

 very convenient. An elongated palm slightly hollowed might be 

 made to fay snugly against the shank, even if one palm would over- 

 lap the other to thao end. They could be on a skew to that extent 

 without impairing efficiency, as one of the palms of my ordinary 

 anchor had been bent to twenty-flve degrees without in the least in- 

 terfering with a tight grip in the bottom. 



Although high water was announced for 3 P. M., the flood continued 

 o jiour up the East River till 7 P. M. Long before that time patience 

 had ceased to be a virtue, and the yacht was got under way. She 

 drifted up river and lost several miles of ground through being in too 

 great haste. All the obnoxious work through the Grand and Houston 

 street ferry with the Hunter's Point, Greenpointaud Roosevelt ferries 

 thrown in', had to be gone through a second time and even a third 

 time, till it appeared as though the Coot had become a fixture in 

 their wafers for aU winter. Why did she do this useless knocking 

 about'? Because the wind would play the deceiver, blowing at one 

 time from a favorable quarter, and with backbone enough to raise 

 hopes of going through, only to settle again in the south and then 

 fall away the next moment. It had been growing dusk. Lights, 

 stray ones, here and there feebly glimmered through the haze of the 

 evening. As it gathered into night they shone out brighter and 

 brighter, while innumerable others sprang into being all around to 

 cheer me up with their company, The brilliant line of piercing 

 electrics arched in graceful sweep a"long the carriage way of the bridge 

 melted the darkness about and poured a flood of sflvery rays upon 

 the heaving tides beneath Red lights, green lights, fUckeriog flashes 

 all about tumbled and danced in gleeful reflections. All was aglow, 

 all looked happy, aU pulsated with'life as far as the eye could reach. 

 Overhead, the deep blue dome was pierced with sparkling, winking 

 little dots and myriads of pinpoints massed into the unfathomable 

 mysteries of the "Milky Way. Yet in all this radiant scene there was 

 one didl, sombre object slinking along in stealthy gloom, carrying 

 one disgruntled being as an offset to the joyful fringe surrounding. 

 It was the Coot and her crew. Neither sidelights nor a ray from the 

 cabin lamp shot forth to announce her inert state to passing vessels. 

 While t-wilight's last moments still lingered, hope had not quite gone 

 out, and the yacht was kept to her task, without accomplishing a 

 fathom ahead. Back and across the river she stood, gaining a few 

 inches to lose them on the next fling off. When night closed in ear- 

 nest, an uneasy feeling overcame the crew, and, conscience-stricken, 

 he argued, this sort of thing won't do. Boxing about the East River 

 at 9 P. M. and not a match touched to wick was recklessness itself 

 among the ceaseless travel of the ferryboats and working vessels 

 suddenly cropping up end on, gliding nsiselessly, swiftly by, with 

 neither suspicion of the Coot's existence nor notice of her where- 

 abouts. Tired out the skipper certainly was, and sorely disappointed 

 he would likewise have been at the smallness of the first day's re- 

 sults, had he not realized that many like failures would have to be 

 accepted throughout the voyage just begim. 



The Coot was slondy swung into her former anchorage abreast of 

 Uncle Sam's old hulk, the ancient line-of -battle Vermont, whose 

 yellow-daubed sides stood out in bold relief against a gray pack of 

 rusty men-of-war out of commission moored inside the Cob dock. 

 Once more the Chester was tumbled off the bows into deep water and 

 its splash gave a period to the first day underway. Sail was stowed 

 and a riding light lit just as the ebb showed first signs of birth, too 

 late to be of any service in my behalf. With lightin hand I proceeded 

 on deck, when suddenly a grim phantom hove in sight close on the 

 Coot's quarter. On and at me it rushed like a ghost. A long spear- 

 like jibboom was poked nearly over the rail, then a jeer from the 

 hand at the wheel was thrown aboard as a lumbering schooner was 

 eased awa.y just enough to clear my boat's side. "Say, Cap, got a 

 bad place to st:ay there all night." This was cold comfort, A whole 

 fleet of vessels bound South followed in the latter's wake, working 

 the eddy in Navy Yard Bay, and gave me much tmeasiness for my 

 little cockle shell with her faint glimmer of an anchor light. As 

 matters could not be mended by shifting for another and possibly 

 more dubious berth, it was resolved to remain right there and keep a 

 sharp watch on the anchor light throughout the night. I tui-ned in 

 for a cat nap with one eye open, .lust ten minutes or so before rous- 

 ing out for the first look around. Such was the firm resolve. 



When I awoke daylight was streaming in at the cabin windows. 

 The Coot was still afloat, I was still ahve and the Vermont's brindle 

 coat shone forth in the morning sun with a feverish intensity which 

 suggested warm and pleasant days which had flown, C, P. K. 



STOVES AND CHARTS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



This is the time of year when, the pleasures of the summer being 

 over, we live them again beside tbe stove and in all probability enjoy 

 them more in the telling than in the doing. It is also the time for 

 overhauUng and the adding of those Httle kinks which are so small in 

 themselves, but so great m the comfort they give. 



'•Piscator," in your last issue, relates his experience with stoves. 

 He is evidently a man after my own heart, and 1 should like to know 

 him. I thuik, however, I can teach him a thing or two with stoves. 

 After trying nearly e\ erytbing in the market, I have at last settled 

 on a benzine or gasoline stove (now, don't all pitch into me at once, 

 for gasoline is not half the terror it is supposed to be), and, as it is a 

 gem in its way, it will stand a description. It is what is Icnown as a 

 plumber's pot, used for hen,tiug soldering irons, and it will he.at an 

 iron red in six minutes. There are several forms of these pots made, 

 most of them of tin. They are un.suitabie for boats on account of 

 Uability to breakage, when the oil would escape and might prove 

 dangerous. Mine is of cast iron, every opening to which is closed with 

 a cast iron plug. When lit it can be upset and rolled around any 

 number of times wdthout either going out or danger of setting any- 

 thing else on fire; and as it weighs twenty pounds, nearly all of 

 which is near the bottom, it is firm on its feet. The oil is forced to 

 the top through a syphon by compressed air, the air being com- 

 pressed by the bulb of an ordinary syringe attached to the casting. 

 The flame produced is blue and entii-ely without smoke. It is regu- 

 lated by a stop cock the same as an ordinary gas fixture. It cost me 

 only S.5 complete, and burns two quarts of either benzine or gasoline 

 la twelve hours' burning. - . „ 



Now I here is Mr. Knn hard t. Tne idea of a man, usually so practi- 

 cal, fixing his charts in such a haff-way fashion as bespeaks of m his 

 '■Cruise of the Coot." Take, for instance, the coast chart containing 

 our own New York harbor, the Upper Bay is nearly in the center of 

 the chart. If he cuts this chart into quarters, he divides the bay. So 

 in ttsing any quarter he can only get bearings on one side of the bay, 

 and ahould he want to tack across he would have to get out another 

 quarter. If, now, instead of using an ordinary frame to hold the 

 quarters he uses a frame with two glasses, putting in two pieces of 

 the chart back to back, he has only to turn the frame to see the other 

 side of the bay; and in running a coast line, by putting in the adjoin- 

 ing sections only one-halt the number of changes need be made. In 

 single-handed sailing, where one's hands are apt to be full, this is 

 quite an item, ^■ 



New York, Deo. 21. 



THE ALTERATIONS IN THE SEA GULL. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In your issue of Dec. 10, 1885, 1 notice a communication headed 

 "Notes from the Delaware," in which the -writer of the ari;ic]e criti- 

 cises the yacht Sea Oufl, and attempts to support these views by 

 statements which are incorrect. 



As the planning, building and subsequent development of this 

 yacht represents the actual practical experience of a Corinthian 

 yachtsman, with a definite object in view— to obtain a compromise 

 between the keel and centerboard types— and the boat has had some 

 notoriety from being the only yawl rigged yacht on this portion of 

 the coast and the Delaware for some years, besides her rather ex- 

 ceptional experience at sea, I deem it but just that a true history and 

 statement of facts be presented. 



The yacht Sea Gull was built some years ago on the Atlantic coast 

 by the writer as a single-handed cruiser. The yawl rig was origin- 

 ally decided upon, the owner having had some personal experience 

 ^V,''LiV^ previous years. The length of the yacht was 25 feet over 

 aU, S2 feet 6 inches length of keel, 9 feet 5 inches beam, draft at bow 



ff^ot b inches, ate without board 2 feet 9 inches. A heavy keelson 

 and keel, hard woods, copper and galvanized fastenmgs were used 

 in her construction. 



The definite stinulations were safety, room, stiffness, small draft 

 and handy rig. The cruising ground was a dangerous coast, the 

 daily running over the bars of miels. During the tirst year al ter she 

 was built she was catrigged for work hi the narrow channels along 

 the New Jersey and Delaware coasts, for which this kind of a rig is 

 remarkably well adapted, but for a heavj- seaway the catrig is utterly 

 unfit owing to the weight of the mast in the eyes of the boat, and also 

 the difficulty of managing the large sail and boom. Late in the sum- 

 mer of this first year the owner sailed her single-handed around from 

 Atlantic City to Camden, where ho equipped her according to the 

 original plan as a yawl. The next four seasons, with one of my sons, 

 and part of the time with my wife and little daughter, was spsnt on 

 the coast, where her seagoiOt< quahties were thoroughly tested. On 

 one occasion we rode out a northeaster off Cape May. From experi- 

 ences of this kind it was decided that an increase of f ( eeboard v/ould 

 add materially to her good qualities, In 1832 she was raided about 

 14in. by Mr. James A. CoUms, of Cooper's Pomt, Camden. During 

 the year 1883, with almost constant cruising from May until late 

 November, and April and May of 1881, the yacht's performance under 

 every condition more than satisfied me of the advantages of the in- 

 creased freeboard. 



Allow me now to notice the statements of your correspondent, ' 

 which are quoted verbatim: "It was this excessive freeboard that 

 caused her to founder at sea. I doubt very much if this would have 

 occurred in her normal condition." 



This asseftion is untrue, and has probably been taken from some 

 of the many exaggerated reports pubh.ghed at the time in the news- 

 papers. The followmg simple story of the yacht's experience wUl 

 prove her weatherly qualities through a gale of remarkable violence, 

 when a three-masted schooner went down with all on board not far 

 from her. 



The Sea Gull, under reefed mainsail, jib and mizzen, left Chinco- 

 teague early Wednesday morning, Jtme 25, 18«4. tne wind blowing a 

 stiff gale from the south. At about noon, when off I^le of Wight 

 Bay, half way to the Capes, the wind suddenly shifted to the south 

 by east without warning, and was soon blowing the worst gale ex- 

 perienced on the coast for years, and soon there was an ugly cross 

 sea. The yacht wore off shore, when the mainsail was carried awa . 

 However, she worked well under storm jib and mizzen, but several 

 seas coming aboard when attempting to lay to, her jib and mizzen 

 were torn from the bolt ropes. A top-heavy boat would have been 

 rolled over then and there. ForttmatKly. a "sea drag had been rigged 

 of spare spars, saU, the cabin steps and a flfty-poimd anchor. This 

 was hove over the bows with about thirty fathoms of hawser. This 

 brought tbe yacht's head to the seas, when she rode comparatively 

 easily. Whfie running off the coast, the seas that came aboard filled 

 the cockpit, but having four scuppers it was emptied immediately. 

 The cabin doors being water tight, the cabin slide acd skylight hav- 

 ing been battened down, no damage was done. About :i o'clock on 

 Friday morning the rudder was carried away, having been strained 

 probably at Ohincoteague. At daylight a large steamer was sighted, . 

 the Richmond, Capt. Grossman, riding to. The storm shov/ed httle 

 or no abatement, the two on board thf. yacht were much exhausted, 

 the sails and rudder were disabled, and it was decided to abandon 

 her. Alter considerable danger and dilflculty, they were taken off 

 by the steamer's cutter. 



'When la.st seen on Friday evening the yacht was riding to her sea 

 anchor. On Saturday morning, June 28, the British steamship Kin- 

 sale found the Sea Cull riding to her drag, twenty miles from Cape 

 Henry. She took her in tow to withm five miles of the cape and 

 there abandoned her, after apparently having stripped herof running 

 rigging, cabin fm-niture, guns, watches, money and other personal 

 property, July 1 the pilot boat Wm. Graves, of Norfolk, picked up 

 the Sea Gull near Cape Henry and towed her into Hampton Roads 

 uninjured, with the exceptions described. 



Quoting again from your correspondent, "With so much weight 

 above her loadhne and so little below, it became necejssary to place 

 iron outside on her keel. This, from her flat round form, did bt;tle or 

 no good, and again the doctor is called upon to save bis patient," 

 This statement is incorrect. In the first place, all past exncnence 

 has proved her to be remarkably stiff. Her iron ballast for years haa 

 always been stowed and clamped down along her keelson on her tim- 

 bers,' and has never been added to since it was first put in. But to 

 my mind there are great objections to movable ballast. The trim of 

 a vessel, large or small, is everything. Great care is often required 

 in the proper adjustment of the ballast. When unshipped, as it 

 always should be when laying up in the fall, it is very troublesome 

 to get her into trim again in the spring. 



Again the dilficulty in keeping the run clear, a most important pre- 

 caution where weeks ai-e spent on board. In the third place the loss 

 of valuable storage room for articles not hurt by dampness. With 

 an iron keel outside, properly bolted through the keelson, the distri- 

 bution of weight carefully calculated, the writer prefers this mode 

 of ballasting. In the second place it would not be an ad«sable mode 

 of doctoring for "too much weight above the loadline, " "to add a 

 long sightly fantaU" which has been done at this date. 



The "respectful suggestiou that the yacht be lengthened 5ft. for- 

 ward, with long easy carved hues," is a good one, but not original 

 with your correspondent above quoted, as it was part of a plan, dis- 

 cussed, drafted and decided upon nearly two years ago. The benefit 

 of the last suggestion, and this I grant is original with jour corres- 

 pondent, "that during her doctoring it would not be a bad scheme 

 to sink her dowm and make her, at least '2ft, deeper in the sub- 

 merged body." This is respectfully declined, as it woiUd com- 

 pletely imfit the yacht for the work for which she was designed. This 

 principle in the building of yachts is too often overlooked by the par- 

 tisans of both the deep and the shallow types. Sea Gull. 



Philadelphia, Dee. 15. 



YACHTING IN CANADA. 



WHILE there is not much likelihood of any probable additions of 

 much note to the yachting fleet in the province of Ontario for 

 next season, the sport has suddenly taken a fresh lease of life at tbe 

 city of Quebec, in tbe province of that name. The ancient capital 

 several years since possessed an excellent fleet, proiniaent among 

 which was the centerboard sloop Dauntless, which was purchase.dby 

 a company of gentlemen in this city in 187f, and has for the past four 

 years been owned by Mr. David Pitreathlv, cx-cijmmodore of the 

 'B. Q. Y. C. Yachting went out of fashion at Queliec, and for several 

 years there -was no organization among its yacblsnien; but last win- 

 ter an effort was made to revive the sport, and in February a number 

 of yacht owners sought the aid of Mr. J. U, Gregory, of the Marine 

 Department, in establishing a yacht club in Quebec. This movement 

 resulted in the formation of a yacht club with a membership of forty, 

 which during the year has increased to over 500, with a fleet of thirty 



given by Com. Gregory and Tice Com. Ritchie, won by the Osprey, 

 Messrs.'Thorn and Shaw. The third race, for the club cup, was won 

 by the Iris, Messrs. Grant, Peddington and Hea them ig ton, Several 

 new yachts are now builJmg for next season. The L'Hirouc'cUe. 47ft. 

 over all, is building by P. Jotiin for Com. Gregory. She will resem- 

 ble the Daimtless in model. Mr. Leinbeux is al. o building a deep 

 yacht, and a 30 tonner is building by Wiseman for several owners. 

 Belleville, Ont., Dec. 5:8. Poht Tack. 



DONALDSON'S "STEAM MA''JHINERY."-We have received a 

 number of inquiries of late as to some text book on steam l-iunches. 

 and as the only popular treatise on the subject wc vrnuldrecconimend 

 "The Practical Guide to the Use of Marine Steam Jlaeliinci-y,'" by 

 James Donaldson. The author commences with -a slioi I, notice of 

 marine engines and with general instrucvion as tu riinuiu,g of 

 machinery. Preliminary preparations, filling the boiler^ lightin.g the 

 fires, oiling, running, laying up, etc., are described in iletail; then the 

 author takes an ordinary steam launch as an exatnple, and describes , 

 the boiler, gauges, valves, eccentrics, etc. The third pmlion of the 

 book deals with engines and bailers of variou.'i kinds, indicators, in- 

 jectors and propellers, following which are descriptions of. a number 

 of small steam vessels, with full specifications for hidl and engmes, 

 of an iron launch 65ft. long. The book is extremely practical and. 

 contains much valuable information. It can be had at this oIHce. 



