B32 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dec. 16, 1888 



We reeret to learn that Mr. Woodward T. Norgrave, a member of 

 the Red Dragon O. C, and one of tlie oldest conoeists on the Belaware 

 River, was instantly killed by an express train on the Philadelphia & 

 Beading B. B- 



Our comments of last week have brought out a reply from the 

 Marine Journal, which we reprint in another column. Those who 

 have followed our side of the dispute will recognize that we have 

 not denied the existence of the sloop down to the present day, and 

 we are content to leave with them the decision whether we liave 

 established the two main points of our argument that the two types, 

 sloop and cutt«r, are each marked by certain characteristic princi- 

 ples; and also that the modern American yacht possesses the charac- 

 teristics of the cutt-er, and not the sloop. 



The course of development which we have traced in singlestick 

 yachts, by which the modernized and modified cutter has replaced 

 the old sloop, m also found in the case of the schooner yacht, the 

 circumstances being almost identical. The old American schooner 

 rig, used up to 1885, with a large foresail, single jib and ilying jib- 

 boom, has given place to theEagliah rig made famous by Miranda in 

 1876, with a very large mainsail, small foresail and the head rig of a 

 cutter, with pole bowsprit and double headsails. This rig, by the 

 way, was known for a long time as the "two-masted cutter,'' a 

 nicknume often given to Miranda in her early days. It is the basis 

 of the modern American scliooner rig, the old-time schooners having 

 disappeared almost as completely as the sloop. 



A LiTHOOBAPH of the famous Maria is still extant, printed in New 

 York in 1853, which shows the yacht, with the America in the back- 

 ground. The rig is essentially a sloop, with sing'e jib and very short 

 topmast, but the title of the picture is "The Cutter Yacht Maria, 

 owned by John C. Stevens, Esq., Com. New York Yacht Olub." 



The exploits of the bogus "Charles HerreshofE" and "Dixon Kemp, 

 Jr.," are quite obscured by those of Mr. Howard W. Ream, which 

 lhave just come to light. The English swindUr, with his beggnrly 

 haul of a few pounds in England and a few dollars in New York, 

 Ihas no place beside the American genius who actually induced the 

 Herreshoffs to begin the construction of a costly yacht without show- 

 ing them a dollar. 



A Florida Cruise. 



(Continued from Page 5090 



Feb, 21.— We sailed out and anchored under the lee of Sanibel Light, 

 but did not go outside, as there was a head wind. 



For dinner to-day we had clam soup, sheepshead fried, new pota- 

 toes, hoecake and cofEee; and we had the apjjetite to gen away with the 

 whole outfit. After dinner we went ashore and made the lighchouse a 

 visit. 



Sanibel Lighthouse is built of boiler iron, in tubular form. A 

 winding stairway conducts you to the lantern, which is 130fc. from 

 the level of the sea. A very fine view of the Gulf and Bay can be en- 

 joyed from the top. 



There are two keepers who stand watch and watch every night, year 

 in and year out. 



The Government has built two substantia! houses for these keepers 

 and their families These houses stand on piles 16ft. from the ground, 

 for a tidal wave once passed over the key, sweeping everything from 

 the island. One of the keepers had been fifteen years on that lonely 

 key with wife and children. They seldom saw visitors and heartily 

 greeted all who came. 



We put a small sheepshead on a shark hook and threw it out from 

 the dock, lying the shore end of the rope to a snubbing post. In about 

 fifteen minutes the slack of the line began to move off , when our com- 

 modore ran up and gave the line a. sharp jerk, and then the fun com- 

 menced. We had struck our first shark, and right lively did he make 

 it for us. The strong manilla line would whirr through the water this 

 way and that, then he would try to run under the dock and thus to 

 entangle the line around the piling; but the commodore held a taut 

 line oh him until we got him near enough to uae a harpoon, which was 

 driven into his back; then with a pull all together we landed him on the 

 dock with three cheers and a tiger. He was 8ft. long, with a mouth 

 large enough to snap a man's head off at one bite. 



The "Distinguished Landsman" had the captain strip off a piece of 

 his skin for a knife-sharpener. The skin of a shark is very rough, 

 like emery paper and makes excellent knife-sharpeners. 



Feb. 22.— We left San Carlos Bay at daylight, sailing down the Gulf 

 on our way to Cape Romano. With a smooth sea and a fair wind, we 

 had a delightful nm outside. On our way down we saw three very 

 large devilfish; the largest was about 8ft. long by 6ft. wide. They are 

 wide, flat and very ugly and black, hence the name A few hours later 

 we saw a large loggerhead turtle, that the captain said would weigh 

 about 4001bs. 



We made Cape Romano at 3 P. M., and come to anchor in a snug 

 harbor, where we shall remain until we get a fair wmd. From Cape 

 Romano we shall run straight across the Gulf for 150 miles, which will 

 take us out of sight of laud for about 10 hours, when we shall see Key 

 West, the objective point of our cruise 



We are now among the 10,000 islands, and from the masthead we 

 can nowhere see a house or habitation, for the whole country, as far 

 as the eye can reach, is one vast "howling wilderness," covered thickly 

 with pine, palmetto and water oak trees. 



Feb 23.— At 4 P. M., we sailed out into the great Gulf of Mexico and 

 laid our course S. by W. for Key West. The wind was fair, and we 

 went gliding over the long swells at a six-knot speed. The receding 

 land became so distant that it looked like a long, low cloud just above 

 the horizon, and then the king of day sank into the watijr, looking like 

 a great ball of fire. ■• - 



The Distinguished Landsman was loath to take this outiside run, 

 and long and regretfully did he gaze on the fleeting strip of laud, H13 

 wanted the captain to crab clean around the keys, th\]s ever keeping 

 one piece of land in sight: and he argued that we could then anchor 

 under the lee of a key every night, where the water was shallow and 

 safe. He said, "In case the vessel should spriug a leak at night the 

 water would be so shallow that we could stand on the deck of the 

 cabin until morning. Suppose a S. E wind should spring up to-nigtit 

 and blow us 800 miles and land us on the coast of Texaa or Mexico and 

 drown the whole party. How can you sleeij with only a li4iu. plank 

 between you and the bottom of the Gulf?" 



Precious little did the Landsman sleep that night. Several times did 

 his night-cap appear above the companion way, asking the captain 

 about the direction of the wind, the prospects of a gale, and what 

 would the captain do should thus and so happen; and, after compar- 

 ing the compass with the North star, he would again turn into his un- 

 easy and sleepless bunk 



Feb. 24.— We are all on deck early to see the sun rise from the 

 water, which was far more beautiful than the sunset of the previous 

 night. We had made a fine run during the night, and the captai.7 said 

 we would see Key W, st by noon. We found one schooner in sight, 

 and, as she was bound for Key West, we had her company during the 

 run. About noon ttie cook went to the masthead and soon sang out, 

 "Land! oh I" 



He said he could see no laud, but could see trees and the tall masts 

 of the shipping, Finally we saw tlie laud, and it looked so low and 

 near the surface iliat we came to the conclusion that a great tidal 

 wave would sweep it out of existence. We anchored off the fort, and 

 went ashore to see the city. 



Key West is a city of 25,000 inhabitants. It is situated on an island, 

 or key, bearing the same name, and tha city covers a large part of the 

 island. The island is composed of coral rock, and the highest jiart is 

 not over 8ft. above the level of the sea at high tide. The streets run 

 from beach to beach at right angles, and one can see the blue ocean 

 from any of the streets, look as you may. A sireet railroad runs 

 around the city, making a circuit of ab mt 15- miles. 



The stores are largely built of wood, and many of them only one 

 story high, with the old stvie sash fronts, holding small panes of glass 

 All of the stores are closed on nights and Sundays with tight board 

 blinds, thus giving a burirlar a good cbance to work without interfer- 

 ence I rom the streets Many of the st. ire keepers live ia tlie rear or 

 their stores, and the customer is forced to smell the odors frani the 

 kitchen stove. The prices of all Northern made goods are trecnen- 

 dously high, but all sponges, fish, shells, cigars and fruit are sold very 

 low. 



The greate.st industry is the manufacturing of cigars. About 1-^,000 

 men, women, boys ai d girls, black and white, work in the cigar fac- 

 tories. All of these people speak the Spanisti language, and we think 

 that three-fourths of the whole city speak Spanish alone. The names 

 on the cigars are largely Spanish. We saw on a hat store this sign, 

 "Bl Sombrero Blanco." Tt.e little toddling pickaninnies talked Span- 



ish, even the parrots swore in Spanish, and to all intents and purposes 

 Key West is a SpaniKh city. 



We visited a large ciear factory that employed 1,000 hands. In one 

 large room were 30 girls stripping the stems from the tobacco 

 leaves. The room was full of steam that is used to keep the leaves 

 moist, and the air was stifling with the moist nicotine. The sirls 

 looked thin, 5'ellow and prematurelv wrinkled and old. We watched 

 one Cuba ! darky diide, who was making a 88.1 cigar. He had long, 

 dainty tingery, and u.=ed them deftly iu his profession, We noticed 

 that he put- the pointed end of e.teh cigir in his mouth to moisten it 

 for the linal twist. The eigarniakers hire a Spanish reader, who reads 

 Spanish newspapers to them while they work. They are a Well- 

 dressed lot of men, and seem contented and happy. 



The first day -Saturday— that we arrived at Key West our capta.in 

 got on a spree and all day long he kept the path w^arm between the 

 Blanche and the nearest saloon, and all day long he swori^ at the cook 

 and abused the crew. About sundown be came aboard and moored 

 the Blanche out between two slips, and laid down on the forecastle, 

 using some stove wood for a pillow. After a while he roused up and 

 said, "Keep her S S. W. and let her go." then he again fell asleep and 

 sno'-ed like a quarter-horse. 



After about an hour he got on his feet and started aft, btit stubbed 

 his toe, made a frantic effort to save himself by catching at the stove- 

 pipe, when in he went with the pipe in his arms, making a great 

 splash. We ran to tlie rail to give him aid, for the water was 

 deep and contained many sliiirks. He came up blowing like a 

 porpoise, and struck out for tiie dock, which he reached, and haneing 

 on to a pile with one hand he looked up u'i; h a drunKen leer and sa'd, 

 "Why, what's the matter up there " We fi'ially got a line under bin 

 arms and ll.-ihed him out on d ^ck. and put him to bed, where he sang 

 sailor songH, like Biack-Eyeri Siisau 11 rid otliera that would not bear re- 

 peating, until near miduight, when he went to sleep, giving us also a 

 chance to sleep. 



The nest (hty he wa= verv penitent and put in the whole day listen- 

 ing to a Sah aiiou Array preacher, and came home very devout. How 

 ludicrou--, and yet hou much lik» the old shellback. 



All the fresh water used in the city comes from the clouds in rain or 

 heavy deiv, ail being stfired in hu-ge cisterns No other water is ob- 

 tainable unless it be evaporated sea water, which is too expensive. 

 All the houses, small or large, are built with verandahs, and much of 

 the time both day .:md eveuiue is spent on these verandahs:, where 

 they have their parties and eotei'taiti th^ir friend and relations No 

 one thinks of going to bed before midnight, and no one thinks of get- 

 ting up before 9 o'clock in the morning. The business houses open 

 very late and close verj' early 



On Sundays all business houses are religiously closed and everybody 

 goes to church in the forenoon, after which e' erybody indulges in a 

 tlie dinner, and then the afternoon is given up to s ocial visits on 

 the vei andahs, or the carriages are broutrht out and the little ponies 

 are whipped up and down the streets until eveninj,', when all go to 

 church again, after which they finish the Sabiia'h ou the verandas. 



The colored people oiitnumlier the whiter, and outvote the latter by 

 a largo majority; hut the wtiites liave goiten to uiudward of the 

 blacks, by having a State la .v iii.Td", vvliei'ein all sherifl's and mayors 

 are appointed Vjy the governor, thus cutting the Hacks out of all 

 offices u ithin the appoiutui;:: jiower of sheritf or mayor. 



Feb 27 —After taking on wood, water and fruit, we proceed to sail 

 N. b\ E , kee|iiDi=r within siKhtof the Keys; we thus sail until sundown, 

 when W.-C came to anchor under the lee of a key, V\'e jump out of our 

 beds and go over ilie sine for a .salt water bath, finding the water 

 about tliree feet deep with a fine sandy bottom, making it pleasant for 

 our feet. 



We sail on our course for about fifteen piiles, when the wind goes 

 down and all hands soon have fish lines over the side. We caught 

 Spaiii-h iiiHckei el, and red grouper, and then came the sharks and 

 drove t be fi;,h ay. The flulf is our fish market, for we have only 

 to ancli.;>r ov,-r a bed of rocks, when we can in a few minutes catch all 

 the flsh that " e can u.se. We have passed many fishing boats from 

 Key West. They are constructed with a well to keep their catch alive 

 until they get to market. 



We have seen several spongers plying their vocation as follows- 

 Each schooner carries four small boats, which carry two men each. 

 Each rowboat contains a jointed pole from forty to sixty feet lorn?, 

 with claw-hooks secured to the bottom of the pole, and a water glass, 

 for viewing deep water. One man keeps his head in the water glass 

 over the side, looks the bottom over for sponges: and when a sponge 

 is found, his male adjusts the pole until the proper length is had, 

 when the first man takes the pole and runs the claw-hooks under the 

 sponge and tears the same loose and pulls it into iht) boat. 



B. P. BeUj. 



[to be concluded next -week.] 



Another Yachting Swindler. 



The following letters, for which we are indebted to the Providence 

 Journal, tell a story which has afforded no little amusement to 

 yachtsmen during the past week. Mr. Howard B. Ream. .<is told in 

 the extracts alluded to in the second letter, has a very shady career, 

 having been in jail in Chicago. He has just been under arrest in Bos- 

 ton on charge of theft, but was released on the confession of one of 

 his associates. 



The letters are as follows: 



The Waldobf, 1 

 Fifth Avenue and Thirty-third Street, y 

 New York, Oct. 23, 1898. j 

 Messrs. Hen-eshoff Bros, Bristol, R. I.: 



Gentlemen— I am contemplating budding a steam yacht. Will you 

 kindly inform me as to the length of time you would require to build 

 a boat of the following rough description. Just when you could 

 guarantee to deliver her in New York. 



I want a steel boat about 185ft over aU, which is, I believe the maxi- 

 mum length of a boat which will pass through the St. Lawrence into 

 the Great Lakes. 



Beam in proportion to length. Draft accordingly. About six state- 

 rooms, bath room and closets, cabin, small office or library andpaairy 

 forward of engine room and boilers. Aft of boiler and engine room 

 have chart room, galley, captain's and engineer's room, crew's quar- 

 ters, etc. Of course this is a rough idea, but can be detailed later. I 

 want her finished and furnished as fine as she can be, especially cabins 

 and staterooms, and large cabin and deck over lower cabin. Best of 

 engines and boders. Electric lights throughout in abundance. Steam 

 heat. Electric calls and every modern improvement in yachts up to 

 date, in short, what 1 want is a 185ft. boat built in the best shape of 

 steel, combining comfort, luxury, speed and safety. What I want to 

 know at once is when could you guarantee to deliver her, providing 

 yoti got my order between now and Nov. 15, ana a rough maximum 

 cost of such a craft. 1 inclose a simple sketch of cabin and stateroom 

 plans which 1 think could be workedia a boat of that length. If you 

 will reply at once, staling when 1 could receive her aod probable cost, 

 I will run up to Bristol and consult you further. I remain respect- 

 fully yours, Howard W. Ream. 



CCare The Waldorf, New York.) 



Editor of the Journal: 



DsAii Sir -Regarding the 185ft. steam yacht we had contracted to 

 build for one "Howard W. Ream," and on which we have stopped 

 work, we beg to make public the following statement: 



In the early part of November last, we were approached by Mr. 

 Beam, by letter, .egardina- the construction of a steam yacht, and 

 later he came to Bristol to confer with about it. The ontcume was 

 that he entered into a contract with us for the construction of what 

 was to be the finest steam yacht afloat, its bottom plating to be of 

 Tobin bronze and the topsides of best mild steel and the sides of deck 

 houses of aluminum. 



This contract was dated Nov. 9. and was entered into by us upon 

 the representations by Ream that he was iu the stock brokerage busi- 

 ness in Wall street. New Yorlv. having an otlice at 136 Liberty street, 

 and that he was then fitting up new ollices at 40 Wail street, for the 

 purpose of doing a general banking bu-iness, and w^us then on his way 

 to Boston to ari'aiige for the opemug of a branch house iu that city. 

 He (Ream) also stated that he was the owner of a fine residence at 

 Little Ntcl-, L, I., which was worth $:At,O0i), also property iu One Hun- 

 dred and Elghty-.^l.>;lh street, New York, valued at about S40,U00. No 

 expense was to lie spin ed to make this yacbt the most luxurious and 

 rinest of iis class aU-jat. 



It is a rule with builders to have a certain sum jjayable upon the 

 signing of a contract, which in some cases is wai^eri, or deferred, for 

 a short time, and which was done iu this case, be dieam) requesting 

 it to be defei-red until >iov. 20, the request being made by him iu 

 order lo allow him time to dispiise of some securiiies- the proceeds of 

 which were to provide lor the first and succeeding payments. Upon 

 the payment becoming due, and after the time going by, we requested 

 payment, ;iud were put orf from day to day, wtiioli aruused our sus- 

 picions as to the reliability and the truthfulness of his former slate- 

 inenis, and we instituted fartlier iiuiuiries. wnich brought out that lie 

 has no property in Ne .r York or, in tact, any .vhere else, and is, what 

 is vulgarly termed, a ■ dead beat ' nf the worst l\Tn-. Our crmtract 

 was signed by him as ■llowMi-d W Ream," and lie Hgured in New 

 York as ••Howard A. Keam." Farther search brought out his career 

 at Chicago m the fall of 1892, and the following extracts from Chicago 

 newspapers show him up there: 



Havtntr learned the above, we stopped work on the yacht, the loss 

 on which, to us, will be not inconsiderable at the pre-ent time, as con- 

 siderabld material has already been purchased and ranch preliminary 

 work done, but this may be of benefit to some yachtsman who may 

 wish, at short notice, a handsome and very roomy steam yacht 01 

 about the dimensions which were, or ^re, i85f t, over aU, itiOIt. water 



line, 23ft. beam with e}4ft. draft of water, to be driven by two triple 

 expansion engines working t'Win screws. Respectfully, 



Bristol, Dec. 4. Hebrkshoff Mira. Co. 



The Journal continues: 



"The preliminaries were arranged in good time, and as Mr. ftpam 

 wanted his yacht as quickly as it could possibly be built, desigfaer Nat 

 Herreshoff set to work on a model. Mr. Ream had sent in his oi-igihil 

 letter a !jketch of what he thought w^odld be the proper thing in the 

 way nf the interior cabin of a modern yacht. Mr. Herreshoff, there- 

 fore, had Mr. Beam's idea in mind when he w ent to work on the model. 

 He rtarted in on Nov. 9, and when lie finished his labors he had tiirned 

 out what the HerresbofTs colisider the finest modfel of a steam yacnt 

 that he or anybody e'se ever created. The firm was proud of it and 

 Mr Ream w;is satisHed. The specifications of the proposed yacht 

 called for the following: 



"Length 18,5ft. over all. 25ft. beam, having a draft of water of 8ft. 

 Gin. Hull plated below water line with Tobin bronze and steel above. 

 Yacht to be fitted with twin screws, driven by triple «>xpansion en- 

 gines, and two boilers. To have six staterooms, saloon and bath room 

 forward of machinery, dining room, galley and crew's quarters aft of 

 machinery. Large deck saloon, with sides of aluminum Complete 

 electric plant, steam steering gear and steam capst'ui, rigged and 

 equipped complete, and furnished in crew's quarters and galley. One 

 steam launch and three rowboats. Regular speed sixteen miles per 

 hour. Completed on or before June 1, 1S9J, and delivered at New 

 York for the sum of 16140,000, same to be made in ten equal instal- 

 ments. 



"Mr. Ream further stipulated that the yacht was to be two-masted 

 and schooner rigged. In the matter of detail Mr. Ream said that his 

 yacht should have a search fight; that the deck saloon should be fin- 

 ished in mahogany, and the quarters of the officers and crew in but- 

 ternut. 



"The company, at Mr. Ream's request, began to rush work, and 

 contracts for materials and lai or were made without delay, w^en 

 the work was stopped on Saturday and telegraphic communication 

 had with the parties having the contracts, a summing up discovered 

 the following as the yirogress of the work on the yacht: The shop in 

 which it was to be built was 20ft. shorter than the required length of 

 the yacht, and as a preliminary to lengthening It, piles nad been driven 

 for the additional foundation; a number of patterns had been pre- 

 pared; one-third of the beams had been fitted of material on hand; 

 all the steel angle frames were rolled and were at the Bristol Railroad 

 depot awaiting unloading; castings for a duplicate engine were made, 

 and work on the engine was well progressed, even to the forging of 

 the shaft; a number of Ihe Tobin bronze plates were rolled; one-half 

 of the steel plaiing was finished: all the deck beams and other deck 

 parts were rolled and cut to size: the shop had been cleared of other 

 boats and machinery, and a number of steel-workers had been em- 

 ployed for some time. This was practically all, hut In addition a large 

 gang of steel-workers tiad been engaged to start in yesterday. These 

 men were, of course not put to work, and the others were laid off '' 



Mr. Ream's bill for two days at the Waldorf Is not yet paid, and the 

 proprietors of the Adams House, Boston, are also looking for him. 



The Rig l*roclaims the Vessel. 



(From, the Marine JoUrnnt.) 

 The matter of improvements iu rig^ as well as in design of hull of 

 yachts and all other vessels is ahd always has been a very important 

 one. It is p!ea«,ant to find that our wOrin^' contemporary Forest and 

 Stream recognizes the fact: that the detailed history of such improve- 

 ments, so many of which have been made in recent years, constitutes 

 a valuable record;, never, perhaps, hitherfo perfectly compiled, and it 

 has therefore in its own province as a popular weekly among yachts- 

 men, devoted a page and a half in its issue of Dec. 2 to a review of 

 the development of yachting types. It is certainly gratifying that 

 the incentive for such a lengthy and attractive article was supplied 

 by nn incidental remark in th • Marine Journal. We referred to the 

 yacht Valkyrie as a "keel sloop." Fork.st and Stream took excep- 

 tion to the term and, though it admits among other things that we 

 are "correct in saying it is the rig and not the hull which determines 

 the class of vc'^sel," ft avers that "it would be a good ihing if some 

 new term could he found 10 place of the clumsy expressions 'sloops, 

 cutters and yawl^,' to disiitiguish these various yachts in a general 

 way, wiihout regard to minor points of rig, centerboard, etc." It 

 also remarks that "the whole question is so complicated that any 

 attempt to discuss it in a tew words would lead to hasty generaliza- 

 tions," and then proceeds to elaborate and explain the "complica- 

 tions." 



This, if our yachtsmen friends will calmly consider the matter, 13 

 exactly where the mistake is made. Our contemporary explains ex- 

 tensively how the present types of yachls have been evolved, both aa 

 to hull and rig, but is inclined to misrepresent the fact that because of 

 these evolutions the sloop-rigged vessel is none the less a sloop than 

 her more clumsy predecessor of a century ago— that a vessel rigged 

 with one mast and carrying headsails is just as much a sloop now as 

 she ever was. It is the rig that always does and inevitably must de- 

 termine the name of the type of vessel, he her hull of th« finest clipper 

 model Mr flat and full like 'a barge. The Valkyrie when spoker at sea 

 by a passing ship was entered in the ship's log as a sloop yacht. So 

 was the Navahcie. So would any vessel of similar* rig be referred to 

 by a sailor. If a man went to an American shipbuilder and said: "I 

 want you to build me a cutter," the shipbuilder would get at his inten- 

 tions by asking: "You mean a keel sloop?'" and the yachtsman would 

 answer, "Yes." The term "cutter" is the common term in England. 

 As applied to yachts, it was only imported here with specimens of 

 "English cutlers " That the English theraseh-'es deem the term wholly 

 a designation of the vessel's rig is shown by the fact that tliou^h other 

 and larger vessels may have hulls on exactly the same lines, the quali- 

 fication of "cutter" is never applied to them. Who ever heard of a 

 •cutler schooner" or a "cutter ship?" Neither does any one hear of 

 a sloop yacht in England exctpt the "American sloop." An illustra- 

 tion of the fact that modifications in rig do not affect a vessel's class 

 is shown in the adoption of four and five masts, of double topsail 

 yards and other innovations of comparatively recent date on square- 

 rigged vessels. They are none the less ships, barks or brigs, however 

 many yards or patent appliances they carry. A yawl-rigged yacht 

 al« ays has a jiggermast aft and a sloop has a single mast \vith head- 

 sails.' We quite fail to see what necessity there is for attempting to 

 complicate the matter, and we fear that Forest and Stream has not 

 the sympathy of the shipping or the yachting world in its demand for 

 greater particularity of definition, Wherein lies the necessity for any 

 complications? A sloop is a sloop all the world over, and so is a ship 

 or a bark, barkentine, brig or schooner, according to the rig of the 

 vessel. 



SYACHT NEWS NOTES. 



The new yacht Colitmbia, built by the Messrs. Cramp for J. Harvey 

 Ladew, of New Y'ork City, left their yard on Dec. 2, under the com- 

 mand of Captain Sergeant, for Long Island Sound, where she will have 

 her trial trip over the American Club course, from Larchmont to New 

 London, a distance of eighty miles. The quickest time over this course 

 is held by the late Mr. Gould's yacht, A'alanta, with a record of 17.21 

 knots per hour. This boat, it will be remembered, was also built by 

 the Cramps, but ttie Columbia will to a certainty make a better record. 

 She is certainly one of the handsomest .steam yachts afloat, and much 

 skill and care have been used in the design of her hull and in her con- 

 struction, which is of the stanchest character. The principal dimen- 

 sions of the yacht are: Length, 180ft ; beam, 23ft.; depth, 15ft.; and 

 displacement 400 tons, with a draft of 10ft. Her engine is of the four- 

 cylinder triple-expansion type, the high pressure cylinders being 

 21>.4in. in diameter; intermediate cylinder, 31iu, ; the two low press- 

 ure cylinders each 33in, diameter, and the stroke of all pistons 20in, 

 With a steam pressure of ItiOlbs and a piston speed of about 930ft, per 

 minute, her engine are expected to develop about 1 ,800 horse power, 

 which will make her, in proportion to her displacement, the highest 

 powered steam yacht adoat, and will certainly enable ber to make her 

 guaranteed speed of ly knots an hour. In all her fittings and uphol- 

 sterings the utmost cartjand taste has been the principal point, com- 

 bined with excellent ideas as to comfo/t. The electric light Installa- 

 tion has been splendidly carried out, and presents cei tain features of 

 excellence not hitherto applied to marine work. She is also fitted 

 with the Williamson Bros ' steam steerer and the American Ship 

 Windlass Company's wiudlass. Her rig is regular steam yacht rig and 

 gives tier, with the One lines of her bull, an exceedingly graceful and 

 speedy appearance, and she will doub Jess be awarded the honor of 

 being called the finest yacht in the large fleet composing the New 

 York Yacht Club. After the trial trip she will be ready to go in com- 

 mission in a very short time. — Marine Journal,^ 



Tb« report of the purchase of Vigilant by the Emperor William had 

 origin iu a silly joke, and is untrue. 



Mr. Cla;jham is now bu^y with two racing craft of the Bouncer type, 

 a cabiu cat i'llf c. long, lOfl. beam and 13ia. draft, for a member of the 

 Dougiastou Y. C., and a sloop 20ft. long, 6t. beam, for a C midian 

 y^acbtsman. Mr. Olapham slates that the prospects for work this 

 winter are very good. 



Mr. Thomas Manning, of the Yacht Agency and the American Yacbt 

 List, has received from the Cooimirtee on Awards of the World's Fair 

 the medal for the best arrangement and display of yachting records. 



The Yonkers Y. C. has elected the followdng ofQcers: Com , William 

 I. Bl-^ckmore; Vice- Com , ,Johu O'Leary; Fleet Captain, O. L. 

 Bloomer; Recording Sec'y, George L. Bohvell; Financial Sec'y, Chas. 

 E. WUliams; Treas.. H Van Aleu; Meas., George Warren; Steward, 

 Herbert James; Trustees. A. K. Rhipman, T. C. Poole and Thomas 

 Luckey. 



