116 
FOREST ^ AND^ STRfiAM, 
market, for in comi^ai'ativcly few caseS tloiss the house- 
boat craze last .for long. A man will buy one, and be en- 
thusiastic over river life for a year of tWOj but he will 
then, perhaps, want to sell, for naturally there is, under 
Thames conditions, some monotony about houseboat ex- 
istence. Fortunately there are always others to take his 
place, and so as each season comes round, one sees the 
same fine display of floating homes on the Thames, and, 
lo gain a thorough acquaintance with river life afloat in 
Ihis country, 1 can strongly recommend the American 
visitor to spend a month or two on an English house- 
boat. He will not encounter many startling adventures, 
perhaps, but if he has a soul for the beauties of nature, 
lie cannot but be stirred by the quiet glories of Thames 
scenery, enjoyed in all its phases by the luclcy occupant 
of a houseboat moored in some charming reach of the 
river. And if he has a mind for sport, the months of 
July and August will give him all he can desire in the 
mail}' and varied contests typical of the regattas of the 
season. We English are sometimes taunted with the en- 
thusiasm we display for "Our River," as the artist-author, 
Mr. G. D. Leslie, styled it in his charming book, but those 
who have lived on its banks or afloat on the bosom of 
the stream, can stand all this and are ready with Milton 
to say "Thamesis meus ante omnes." 
English Letter. 
Hoi'E springs eternal in Sir Tliomas Lipton's breast. 
He has just been reported as having said that the new 
Shamrock will embody three if not four improvements 
over previous challengers, and that he has safe grounds 
for anticipating victory in the next struggle. Now, this 
ail depends upon the magnitude of the "three or four 
improvements," and whether Herreshoff has not made 
five or six of equal importance. We all hope for the 
new vessel's success (and many of us expect it), but it is 
not a question of arithmetic. Of all challengers, Sir 
Thomas is undoubtedly the most optimistic, and that is 
a very chai-ming feature in his disposition. 
The new yacht will be launched in April, and will, as 
soon as possible, be put through her paces with Siiam- 
rock I., first on the Clyde and then in the south of Eng- 
land. The races between the two will be on strictly busi- 
ness lines, proper courses being laid out, and guns fired 
in the usual way. Also there will be money prizes which 
will reward the exertions of _the victorious crews. 
The Council of the Yacht Racing Association has 
adopted the resolutions of the owners in the handicap 
classes, almost entirely. The chief alteration made is to 
classify the boats by the old Thames tonnage rule. Each 
boat, however, will be measured for length and sail area, 
and on these the allowances of a strange or new boat 
will be based until she shows form. The main point, ■ 
however, is the recognition by the Association of handi- 
cap racing and the appointment of an olificial handicapper. 
If one man only and not a committee is selected to ar- 
range the handicaps, it is pretty safe to guess that i^e 
will be Mr. Andrew Thomson. For many years he has 
been in great request among clubs giving handicap races, 
and probably no man has acquired so much information 
on the subject. A handicapper better qualified for the 
office could not be found. 
The originators of the new Solent one-design class 
have recognized the size and style of boat originally 
chosen by them. Mr. M3dne will design the fleet, but the 
dimensipns are considerably enlarged, so that the yachts 
will be roomy and comfortable little cruisers. It is said 
that the type will also be more "wholesome." In size 
the new boats will be of about 42ft., Y. R, A. rating, 
This will remove all danger of their destroying the 30ft. 
open class, but I am afraid the 36-footers will still suffer 
an eclipse. If only the managers of the class could be 
brought to see the virtues of a short maximum handicap 
combined with a rigid rule for building, the loss of the 
36-footers would not be felt, for a far better class would 
take their place. 
Meantime comes news of two more one-design classes 
in addition to the host of others that are sapping all in- 
terest in racing among the small fry over here. Both of 
these are from Mr. Mylne's design also. One is for a 
Clyde club and the other for Dublin Bay. One-design 
classes seem to have caught on in Ireland more than 
anywhere else. 
Mr. A. L. Barber's new turbine steam yacht was 
launched on the 14th inst. by Messrs. Ramage & Fergu- 
son. She is to be called Lorena. Her dimensions are:. 
.L. O. A.; 300ft.; L. W. L., 253ft., and beam, 33f.t. 3in., 
the tonnage (Y. M.) working out at about 1,650. She 
has three independent compound steam turbines and two 
condensers. There are one high pressure and two low, 
with the latter of which the reversing turbines are con- 
nected. There are two propellers on each of the outer 
shafts, and one on the middle one, all five being of man- 
ganese bronze. There are four cylindrical tubular boilers 
containing 8,500 square feet of heating surface, and about 
220 square feet of grate area. The power expected i& 
about 3,200 horse-power with the turbines working at 
530 revolutions for the middle shaft and 750. for the 
outer shafts. 
Above the main deck there is a promenade deck 
extending the whole length of the vessel to within 20ft. 
0/ the stern, and on, this is a deck house looft. long by 14ft. 
wide. On the main deck there is a range of deck houses 
nearly 170ft. long with alley ways on each side 5ft. broad ; 
soft, of this erection is taken up by the owner's state- 
room, boudoir and toilet room.. At the after end are a 
library, :Stateroom and toiiet room. The question of the 
advantage of turbines over reciprocating engines has 
been clearly decided in vessels of high speed, but whether 
this type of machinery will be found well adapted to or- 
dinary yachts has not yet been . demonstrated. Lorena's 
performances will be regarded with very keen interest, 
iuid if the result is- satisfactory it will have an immediate 
effect on future steam yacht building. The result of the 
Emeralfl's, trials a|e said to have been good, but no de- 
tails haA-e been pi^lished. . , 
American motor'^makers will be wise if they direct their 
attention to engines of many small cylinders as opposed 
to those of one or two large cylinders for export to this 
country. The 2-cycle type in large cylinders is not popu- 
lar, and makers of similar powers in three small cylinders 
are' doing good business. But, as I have often said, there 
is a great demand for 4-cycIe engines. Good machines of 
KEBLE COLLEGE BARGE ^BOW VIEW. 
KEBLE COLLEGE BARGE STERN VIEW. 
KEBLE COLLEGE BARGE AT OXFORD. 
