to 
'EC 3 P 1' 
904-I 1 
4t7 
OUTBOARD PROFILE AND CABIN PLAN OF 55FT. CRUISING LAUNCH. 
Designed and Built by the Standard Boat Co., Long Island City. 
Gas Engines and Launches. 
{Continued from page 45i.) 
BY F. K. GRAIN. 
Gaskets, Packing, Graphite, Oils. 
Gaskets, or the packing used in the cylinder head 
and different parts of the engine, can be made of good 
quality of drafting paper, giving the paper and the sur- 
faces to be brought together a thorough coat of shellac, 
bringing the surface together while wet. Do not put 
graphite in your oil cups, as it will produce a short 
circuit should it work up on to the electrode. 
Oilers. 
Oilers are to be had in copper, brass and zinc; 
but the best oil-can for cylinder lubrication is an or- 
dinary ten-cent teapot. Do not cover your motor over 
closely or wrap it in a canvas, as the canvas will hold 
the moisture and cause it to sweat and rust. 
Tightening Bolts. 
To tighten up the bolts of a cylinder head or any 
similar surface, start by putting down one bolt moder- 
ately tight, then follow with the opposite one, then the 
one at right angles, working from side to side. After 
all are in place and tight, follow in a like manner and 
screw down hard. Always tighten nuts holding the 
head after engine has run and become warmed up. Be 
careful not to use a wrench which is proportionately 
too large for the bolt without using great care, as it 
is very easy to twist off the ordinary stud bolt. 
Defacirg Surfaces. 
Do not pound on any of the bright surfaces of your 
engine with a hammer or wrench, without putting a 
piece of hard wood between, as it will be sure to mar 
the surface. 
Nuis, Pipe Fittings. 
Nuts and pipe fittings that will not readily unscrew 
can be started by pounding a little with the hammer. 
In case of a pipe, hold a weight against the opposite 
side, then apply the wrench. 
Electric Switch. 
Electric switch should be placed where it will not 
get wet, otherwise the moisture over the surface will 
short circuit, producing the same results as the closing 
of the switch. 
Pumps. 
If your pump refuses to work on first starting, hit 
the inlet check valve a sharp blow, and nine times out 
of ten your difficulty is at an end. Be careful in pack- 
ing your pump not to screw down too hard on the 
packing, it being far better to have the pump leak a 
little. , . 
Lubrication before Starting. 
Before starting your motor, fill all oil and grease 
■cups ,and oil all parts not provided with cups. Then 
adjust cylinder lubricator and start same, feeding before 
engine is started. If the engine has been standing idle 
for any considerable length of time, it is well to flush 
or force a considerable quantity of oil to the cylinder 
before starting. Should the cylinder oil thicken by be- 
coming chilled so that it will not feed, the cups can be 
warmed by burning a small piece of waste, say about 
the size of a walnut, saturated with gasolene and held 
under the cup. 
Handling with Reverse Lever. 
In handling your engine when desiring to make a 
stop, no matter whether equipped with reverse gear or 
reverse wheel, never stop the engine until the actual 
stopping point is reached. Many smash-ups are caused 
by operators getting rattled and stopping their motors 
when they should have allowed the motor to run and 
depended on the reversing mechanism. When the en- 
gine has no reversing device and dependent upon re- 
versing the engine, always make the approach for a 
landing from the side, avoiding coming head-on. 
Generator Commutatots 
Become scored and rough from use, and should be 
kept smooth by holding a piece of fine sandpaper stretched 
over a flat stick on the commutator while it is running, 
afterward applying a thin film of vaseline with the 
finger. Never use emery cloth on the commutator, as 
the small particles of emery will imbed themselves in 
the soft copper of the commutator and destroy it and 
the brushes. 
Short Circuits 
On generators are often caused by the dust from the 
brushes, and copper covering the insulated inside ter- 
minal causing a short circuit. A good plan is to keep 
a small paint brush convenient for dusting these parts. 
Wiring Batteries. 
Batteries are wired in single sets of any given num- 
ber of cells in series, as follows: Begin with either pole 
of the first battery, say the zinc, and wire to the car- 
bon of the next; then from the zinc of this one to the 
carbon of the next, and so on until the desired number 
are wired. This will leave at the end of the set a car- 
bon and a zinc pole vacant, to be attached to the line 
wiring. In the wiring of a double set the same plan 
is followed; but at the one end the zincs of each set — 
that is, the terminals from both sets are brought to- 
gether, the other ends being kept separate. These sepa- 
rate ends being run to the two poles of the double 
throw the switch. Another way, sometimes employed 
in wiring a double set of batteries, is to wire both sets 
in series, then connect both carbons together on one 
end and both zincs at the other end. By this wiring 
we use both sets at the same time, the effect being, how- 
ever, to double the amperage or, in other words, the 
results are the same as if we had but one set of bat- 
teries, but of double size. 
Gas and Pet Cocks 
That have become leaky may be made tight by being 
ground in with powered emery and oil, putting a little 
brown soap on the valve before putting it together. 
Caution. 
Never attempt to look in at any opening to the 
cylinder while the switch is turned on, and also beware 
of all open air and pet cocks — the reason is obvious. 
Paint for Exhaust Pipes. 
The best paint or covering for exhaust pipes or other 
parts subject to extreme heat is ordinary stove black- 
ing applied in the usual manner. If asbestos covering 
is used over the exhaust pipes, it must be protected by 
metal covering \i exposed to the elements, otherwise, 
moisture will dissolve it. 
Roberta Not Lost.— The yacht Roberta, before reported 
lost on the North Carolina coast, was at Charleston, S. 
C, on the .20th ult. Captain Golden reports all well on 
board. 
Maritime Superstitions* 
From English Country Life. 
"Seamen love to hear and tell, 
Of portent, prodigy, and spell; 
What gales are sold on Lapland's shore, 
How whistle rash bids tempests roar; 
Of witch, of mermaid, and of sprite, 
Of Erick's Cap and Elmo's Light."— Scott. 
Foam-crested waves are usually termed "sea-horses," 
but on the Welsh coast they are supposed to be the 
sheep of Gwenhiddy, a mermaid, and the fisher-folk 
say: "Beware when you see Gwenhiddy driving her 
flock ashore." Every ninth wave which breaks upon 
the beach is said to be larger than the rest, a belief 
which Tennyson mentions in "The Holy Grail": 
"Wave after wave, each mightier than the last, 
Till last a ninth one, gathering the deep, 
And full of voices, slowly rose and plunged 
Roaring ..." 
This is called Gwenhiddy's Ram, or the Death-wave, 
and according to a Cornish saying, 
"When the ninth wave breaks 
The earth shakes." 
Another superstition speaks of .a foam-crested wave as 
"the sheep of Norway," which are under the charge of 
a shepherdess named Aslauga, 
"Who tends 
Her flock along the white Norwegian beach," 
and it is considered a very ominous sign when Aslauga's 
sheep make their appearance. 
"Who knows what tale of wreck or death to-morrow may be told, 
For the wild white sheep of Norway are coming to the fold." 
When the waves send up a high spray, it is said that 
mermen are drinking toasts to the welfare of sailors. 
Sometimes the mermen appear in the shape of a mist 
which stretches right across a harbor bar, in order to 
warn sailors not to put out to sea on account of a 
gathering storm. 
The Scotch have a curious legend concerning "the 
ribbed sea-band," that is, the vermicular ridges which 
the waves make along the beach. Michael Scott, the 
famous wizard of olden times, had charge of a demon, 
for whose tireless energy it was necessary to find con- 
stant employment. No matter how difficult the task 
might be, the demon always contrived to accomplish it 
in a single night, and it seemed to be quite hopeless 
endeavor to keep him at work. At length Michael be- 
though himself of the task of making ropes out of 
sand. The demon was vanquished at last. He is still 
vainly striving to accomplish his task, and the un- 
twisted strands may be seen upon the shore whenever 
the tide recedes. 
The ebb and flow of the tides are under the control 
of a giant, who lives far down in the depth of the sea. 
The waves bear witness as to the state of the giant's 
temper. When he is angry they are lashed to fury, and 
they sink to rest as his temper cools. Children 'give 
the title of "soapsuds" to the lumps of froth that are 
churned by the action of the waves, and they say that 
"the giant has been washing his hands" when they see 
"Crisp foam-flakes scud along the level sands 
Torn from the fringe of spray." 
The electric light which often plays about the mast- 
head of ships is known by various names, such as St 
Elmo's Stars, or the Feu d'Helene. One flame only is 
a sign of foul weather. Two flames, which were known 
