410 
ff^chting. 
According to the latest announcements, the launch of 
Columbia will take place on June 8, and will be public, 
probably for the reason that the Herreshoff Works are 
divided by a public road, which cannot be fenced off or 
kept clear by means of watchmen. So far as secrecy is 
concerned, all is now known which is worth knowing 
short of the publication of the design itself, which, of 
course, is not to be expected. Thus far none of the de- 
signs of the Herreshoff boats, Navahoe, Vigilant, Colonia, 
or Defender; have found their way into print, but all have 
been kept successfully concealed; and there is no prob- 
abiHty that the lines of Columbia will be made public for 
some years. This being the case, and the same applies to 
the British yachts as well, there is a comparatively safe 
field for the unscrupulous fakir who palms off the clumsy 
creation of his own imagination as the veritable similitude 
of the work of the great masters of designing, and pro- 
ceeds to prove why one yacht must win from the other 
because of a difference of a few thousandths of a foot in 
some assumed element. 
This sort of j^ellow journalism is but the natural re- 
sult, and fittmg accompaniement of the useless conceal- 
ment and deception practiced by both designers and own- 
ers. It is not to be expected for a moment that the con- 
testing parties in a great international match will at the 
outset reveal a-11 of their plans to each other and the pub- 
lic; but on the other hand, by their absurd efforts at 
secrecy and deliberate attempts to mislead, they foster a 
competition in news-gathering which, as in the present 
case, brings to light all that they really need to conceal. 
It is still possible to launch Columbia quietly and pri- 
vately, as there would be little difficulty in merely lowering 
the cradle at midnight, with no special preparation ; but 
it is probable that the announced programme will be fol- 
lowed and all will be welcome at Bristol, provided they 
pay their own way and stand in the public street. 
On the other side it is now announced that a private 
view of Shamrock is to be accorded to royaltj' about 
June 7, but that the launching date will be kept secret, and 
that when the time comes but fifteen guests will be al- 
lowed to witness the momentous event. The yacht will 
have to be launched in the usual manner on sliding ways 
instead of a cradle on wheels, and with some time de- 
voted to the matter of wedging up, etc., so that she cannot 
be slid off without previous preparation, but the Thorney- 
croft works are better protected from the public than 
those at Bristol, so that the view will be limited to a 
chosen few. If the report be true, and it is only in 
keeping with the general method throughout, that Sham- 
rock is to be launched in petticoats, the spectators will 
have little to be thankful for after all, except the luncheon. 
It is said that the yacht will be shrouded in canvas so as 
to prevent any part of the underwater body from being 
visible. 
At a moderate estimate, probably fifty per cent, of the 
alleged news published about Columbia, Shamrock, Fife, 
Herreshoff and Lipton is absolutely untrue, and another 
twenty-five per cent, is trivial, inconsequential and worth- 
less. We have no desire to be unjust to Sir Thomas Lip- 
ton, and it may be that he is being misrepresented in the 
daily papers ; but to all appearances he is bent on making 
a record as a letter-writer that is unique in the history 
of the America Cup challengers. The following is 
credited to him, as contained in a recent letter to an inti- 
mate friend in Omaha : "Perhaps you would like to have 
a look at the cup the Shamrock is going to win. Un- 
less you see the cup before that boat gets out I am afraid 
you will need to come over here to have a look at it." 
Less ridiculous than this sort of boasting, but very, very 
funny, is the quotation from an earlier letter, in which 
Sir Thomas seriously states his doubt as to v.'hether the 
Herreshoffs are really giving away any information con- 
cerning Columbia; as though the Herreshoffs ever gave 
away anything at all, even if of no commercial value. Ac- 
cording to many alleged interviews, the skipper of Sham- 
rock is little if any behind the owner in his confident 
statements concerning his coming success in American 
waters. The designer, Mr. Will Fife, it is needless to 
say, is yet to be heard from as to how easily his boat is 
going to win the America Cup, his time, at least, is 
probably better occupied with more serious matters. 
According to the report in the Yachting World, the 
work on Shamrock is much less advanced than it should 
be, and the yacht is likely to suffer in consequence from 
the lack of adequate preparation and trial. It now seems 
likely that by the time Shamrock is launched, and still a 
long way from completion, Columbia and Defender will be 
sailing against each other, with three full months for 
trial and alteration. Even when Shamrock is ready, there 
is nothing against which to try her, and she will need 
from six weeks to two months for the fitting out, crossing 
and refitting on this side. Such a handicap as this must 
prove a very serious matter, even though she may be quite 
as fast as Columbia under equally favorable conditions. 
If she is to be seen at her best on this side, she should 
be under way now, and racing with such yachts of her 
class, Meteor and Valkyrie III., as would really show her 
good and bad points. 
Yacht Designing*— -XXX. 
~f' BY W. P. STEPHENS. 
{Continued Jrotn page 354, May 6.) 
A THOROUGH familiarity with geometry, trigonometry 
and the kindred sciences on which his art is founded is al- 
ways valuable to the draftsman, but it is by no means in- 
dispensable. There are, however, some of the more com- 
mon terms connected with them which are in constant use, 
and must be perfectly understood; to which end the fol- 
lowing definitions are given: 
A plane or a plane surface is a surface such as that of 
a perfect drawing board, which is made up in all direc- 
tions of straight lines. A line, so far as the draftsman is 
concerned, is a mark made by pencil, pen or other medium 
on a surface; it practically complies with the strict 
geometric condition, that it has length, but no other di- 
mension. In direction it may be straight — the shortest 
Fig. 69. 
4 
Fig. 72. 
distance between two given points; broken — made up of 
a succession of straight lines; or ctirved, as in a circle. 
A point differs from a line in that it has position, but no 
dimensions, not even length. 
An angle is the space. Fig. 69 (a), between two straight 
lines which meet at a point (c), called the vertex of the 
angle. The lengths of the lines have no gelation what- 
ever to the angle, which is measured by degrees. 
The term angle refers strictly to the space or opening 
between two lines at the point where they meet without 
regard to the lengths of the lines or other limitations. In 
order to measure the angle, it is necessary to draw a 
circle, which may be of any diameter whatever. In Fig. 
69 three circles are shown, either one of which may be 
used to measure the angle A. C. B. The circle chosen 
is supposed to be divided into 360 equal parts on its cir- 
cumference, or 90 parts to each of the four right angles. 
The lines C. A., C. B., limiting the angle, cut from the 
outer circle an arc, A. B., which includes thirty of the 
parts into which the whole circumference is divided, or 
30 degrees. The two smaller circles are also cut similarly 
at the 30 degree points. It will thus appear that the 
length of a degree as measured in linear measure on the 
circumference of the circle has no relation to the angular 
space included between the lines unless it is considered 
in connection with some definite diameter. It might be, 
for instance, tin. on the inner circle, ij^in. on the middle 
one, and 2in. on the outer one, and yet each arc would 
subtend the same angle, one degree. 
The angle and the arc which subtends and measures it 
are commonly spoken of together as an angle of 30 de- 
grees or an arc of 30 degrees. 
A right-angle includes one-quarter of the space sur- 
rounding a point, hence it measures 90 degrees. If two 
lines be drawn so that the two angles formed by them are 
equal. Fig. 70 (a), each angle will be a right-angle, and 
the two lines will be perpendicular to each other. A line 
which is parallel to the lower edge of the drawing board 
is termed horizontal; and one at right-angles to it is 
termed perpendicular; or, "or perpendicular." 
Two lines are parallel (b) when they lie in the same 
plane and are equall}'^ distant at all points, so that if pro- 
l©nged to infinity they will never meet. 
An acute angle (c) is one which is less than a right- 
angle; an obtuse angle (d) is one which is greater than 
a right-angle. Lines which intersect at other than right- 
angles are termed oblique; and obtuse and acute angles 
are also designated by the same term, oblique. If a right- 
angle (90 degrees), be divided into two acute angles, each 
is the complement of the other (e). If two right-angles 
(180 degrees) be divided into an acute and an obtuse 
angle, each is the supplement of the other (f). 
A triangle is a plane figure bounded by three straight 
lines, which form three angles. Fig, 71 (a). The sxun of 
these three angles must always equal 90 degrees or two 
right-angles. An equilateral triangle (a) has all of its 
sides (and angles) equal; an isosceles triangle (b) has 
two of its sides (and two angles) equal ; a scalene tri- 
angle (c) has all its sides (and angles) unequal. A right- 
angled triangle (d) has one of its angles a right-angle. 
An obtuse-angled triangle (e) is one having an obtuse 
angle; an acute-angled triangle (f) is one having three 
acute angles. 
The base of a triangle is that one of its three sides on 
which it is supposed to stand ; if it be an isosceles tri- 
angle, the base is the side which is not equal to the other 
two. In any triangle the angle opposite to the base is 
called the vertical angle. In a right-angled triangle, the 
side opposite the right-angle is termed the hypothenusc 
(d). The area of a triangle is ascertained by multiply- 
ing any one side by the vertical distance to the opposite 
angle, and dividing the product by 2, Fig. 72. This is 
true even in the case of an obtuse-angled triangle 
(b), in which this perpendicular falls outside the triangle 
and on to the base produced. In a and b, the base and al- 
titude being the same in each, the areas must necessarily 
be the same. The center of gravity of a triangle is found 
by drawing a line from the center of one side to the 
opposite angle and measuring off one-third of the length 
of this line from the side (c). It may also be found by 
drawing lines from the center of each side to the opposite 
angle, the three intersecting in one common point (d). 
As all plane figures bounded by straight lines may be 
readily divided into triangles, their areas and centers 
may be calculated by these two simple rules. The lines 
bounding a triangle, square or other plane figure in- 
cluded within straight lines are termed the perimeter. 
The circle. Fig, 73, is a plane figure bounded by a con - 
tinuous curved line, all points on which are equally dis- 
tant from a point within called a center. (A) 'I'he 
bounding line is called the circumference of the circle. 
Any straight line drawn from the center to the circum- 
ference is called a radius (plural, radii) (A. F,, A. C), 
and any straight line drawn through the center across the 
entire figure forms a diameter (B.A.C.). An arc is a 
portion of the entire circumference. The chord of an 
arc is a straight line joining its two extremities; the chord 
is said to subtend the arc. The figure formed by two 
radii and their arc is called a sector (F.A.B.) ; the figure 
included between an arc and its chord is called a segment. 
The circumference of a circle is equal to the diameter 
multiplied by 3.14159. This figure, 3.14159, is denoted by 
the Greek letter Tt and signifies the circumference of a 
circle whose diameter is i. The area of a circle is deter- 
mined by multiplying the square of the diameter by 
0.7854- , . 
The terms sine, cosine, tangent, versed, sine, etc., are 
so frequently used in works on naval architecture that it 
is at least desirable that they should be fully understood, 
even though it is not proposed to apply the methods of 
calculation in which they are involved. In Fig 73 is 
shown a circle, B,D.C.E., described about a center A. ; 
and divided into four quadrants by the horizontal diam- 
eter B.C., and the vertical diameter D.E. The angle 
B.A.F. is the complem'ent of the angle F.A.D., and vice 
versa; at the same time the angle B.A.F. is the supplement 
of the angle F.A.C. A.F. is a radius, prolonged indefinite- 
ly beyond the circumference. The line E.G., the perpendi- 
cular dropped from one extremity of an arc to the radius 
passing through the other extremity, is called the sine of 
the angle B.A.F. Similarly, the line F.H. perpendicu- 
lar to A,D., is the sine of the arc F.A.D. The sine of an 
arc is also the cosine of the complement of the arc; thus 
E. G. is the cosine of F.A.D. , and F. H. is the cosine of 
F. A.B. The straight line B.K., perpendicular to the 
radius A.B., and just touching the circumference at the 
point B,. is the tangent of the arc F.A.B.; and the line 
A.K., drawn from the center, through one extremity of 
the arc. and intersecting the tangent through the other 
extremity, is the secant of the arc. The line D.I. is tlie 
tangent of the angle F.A.D., and A.I. is its secant; being 
at the same time the co-tangent and co-secant of the arc 
