IB 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. y, i96§. 
A THIRTY-SIX,FOOT CRUISING LAUNCH DESIGNED BY BURGESS & PACKARD. 
The majority of the events, however, are general 
handicaps, which admit of all yachts of the club enter- 
ing, and in this class of rating there have been some 
close and interesting finishes. The cruisers are also 
catered for, three events being programmed for yachts 
that are scarcely up to the standard to be designated 
racers. 
There are generally about a dozen races during the 
season, at fortnightly intervals, for prize money aggre- 
gating some £225 odd, in addition to which members 
present many handsome trophies for the winners. To 
keep the sport strictly amateur has ever been one of 
the traditions of the club; such must undoubtedly tend 
to keep the sport healthy and clean. Among the early, 
rules was one which stipulated that all yachts com- 
peting in a club race must be manned entirely by mem- 
bers, and it is pleasing to note that after thirty-six 
years — while membership is not now enforced — the 
amateur status of each man of a racing yacht's crew 
(except the regular paid hand or hands, according to 
size) must be maintained, and it is compulsory that 
the man at the helm shall be a member. By way of 
encouraging the amateur, a member occasionally offers 
prizes for the skipper and each of the crew of the 
boat most successful during the season. 
The season closes with the Easter camp, an outing 
that has now become one of the yachting events of 
the year in these waters. As a rule, the site for the 
encampment is at a picturesque spot, known as the 
Basin, in Broken Bay, some twenty miles north of 
Sydney. The fleet get underway, weather permitting, 
when the land breeze makes on the Thursday night 
before the holidays, and proceed up the coast by moon- 
light. As many as twenty to twenty-five yachts will 
attend these camps, and for those members who do 
not sail up a passage is provided in the club steamer. 
On arrival, arrangements for their comfort are found 
as perfect as it is possible for camping accomrriodation 
to be. A spacious marquee for concert and dining pur- 
poses occupies a central position on the large green 
flat, and close handy is the canteen; on either side is a 
row of roomy tents, very comfortably furnished, for 
sleeping purposes. A peep into the interior of these 
little cotton abodes — which, being of bright crimson 
and gold stripes give some positive color to the fore- 
ground by day, and at night look like richly painted 
eastern lanterns set against the dark background of the 
thickly wooded primeval hills— convince one that the 
members of the Prince Alfred Y. C. are men of lux- 
urious tastes. The floors of the tents are carpeted, and 
the whole canvas village is illuminated with acetylene 
gas; the catering is done by a competent chef, and the 
campers have nothing to do but enjoy themselves. To 
some this may not sound like camping; but when out 
for a holiday it is just as well to be comfortable. As 
many as no have been known to sit down to dinner at 
one of these camp meetings. Four days' fishing at 
impromptu sports are indulged in at one of the finest 
resorts that can be conceived. 
In the winter months the members are entertained 
with billiard and other tournaments, conducted in the 
club rooms, and these serve to keep the members to- 
gether during a period that, prior to the establishment 
of the city quarters, was the cause of much falling off. 
In conclusion, it may be stated that the club hopes 
shortly to move into more commodious apartments; 
and that the day is npt far distant when it will be 
able also to support a waterside club house, is the 
dearest wish of the members. With the encouraging 
results of the past few years, it is scarcely too sanguine 
to expect that one day the Prince Alfred Y. C. will 
take the lead in the noble sport which will surely extend 
in Port Jackson, where every facility is the natural in- 
heritance of all those who desire to become yachtsmen. 
A 36-Foot Crttisingf Launch* 
* 
The design of the powerboat illustrated in these 
columns this week is from the board of Messrs. Burgess 
& Packard. The plans show a boat of 36ft. over all 
length, with unusually roomy accommodations for a 
craft of her length. She is a sensible type of boat, and 
was intended for use where bad weather is to be 
encountered. 
Her dimensions are as follows : 
Length — 
Overhang — 
Forward . 
Aft 
Breadth— 
Extreme . 
Bfeaft— 
To rabbet 
Extreme . 
Freeboard — 
.36ft. 
i 
.31ft. 
8in. 
4in. 
. 4ft. 
. loft. 
6in. 
. 2ft. 
Sin. 
. 3ft. 
. 4ft. 
sin. 
. 3ft. 
2in. 
2ft. 
8in. 
The cabin house is 20ft. long, and there is a waterway 
I ft. 6in. all around it. There is 9ft. of deck room for- 
ward of the house, and 7ft. aft of it. 
The boat has quite an elaborate cabin and six berths 
for sleeping. Instead of a cockpit aft, there is a railing 
around the deck, and chairs or camp stools are used to 
sit on. The companion slide over the< galley is made 
very large for good ventilatioji, and to take away the 
heat of the stove and engine. The saloon skylight and 
forward cabin skylight are also very large. The forward 
skylight is made like the conning tower of a torpedo boat, 
and this makes an excellent place to handle the boat from 
in all kinds of weather. The speed was an entirely 
secondary consideration, and room and seaworthiness 
were the first essentials. 
Queries on Marine Motors. " 
T. H., Des Moines, la. — Would it be possible to make my {61% 
cycle single cylinder engine explode every rev®rution? ; 
Ans. — It is very evident that you are new to the busi^ 
ness, for this is invariably the first question the beginner 
asks. A four-cycle engine always has four strokes of 
the piston to each explosion, whence its name. A two- 
cycle engine has two strokes to each explosion. In the, 
four cycle, following the four strokes in order, the first 
down stroke, the exhaust valve, being closed, draws into 
the cylinder a quantity of gas. The next stroke, which 
is upward, compresses it to from three to six atmospheres, 
say 4S to 90 pounds approximately, when it is ignited 
and the power is produced. The next stroke is down, 
and is the only power stroke of the four. The last stroke 
of the four is when the exhaust valve, is open and the, 
spent gases are forced out. The exhaust valve then is 
closed and the first of the four strokes is repeated by 
takmg in another charge of gas, then the compression 
stroke, the power stroke and the exhaust, etc. In the 
two-cycle engine, a charge is taken into the crank case 
or some auxiliary cylinder or compression space on the 
upward stroke of the piston, which at the same time com- 
presses a previous charge already in the cylinder. This 
previous charge is then fired and a power impulse is 
given. At a point before the lower center is reached, or 
before the end of the stroke, an opening in the wall of 
the cylinder, called a port, is uncovered by the piston, and 
the pressure is exhausted. Just a little later a port is 
uncovered in the opposite side and the charge of gas in 
the crank case or compression space, which from the 
action of the piston descending is slightly compressed, 
enters the firing cylinder, driving out the most of the re- 
maining burnt gases and furnishes a new charge of gas. 
The ports are both closed by the piston ascending, and 
.this new charge of gas is compressed to usually two to 
four atmospheres, approximately 30 to 60 pounds, and at 
the end of the up stroke is exploded} giving an impulse 
at every revolution or every two strokes of the piston, 
one down and one up. English custom is to call the two- 
cycle and four-cycle engines "two-stroke" and "four- 
stroke." It is much ruore descriptive and better under- 
stood. 
H. A., Boston, Mass. — I notice in a recent article by Mr. F. K. 
Grain it is advised not to wrap up an engine with canvas. Does 
that apply to an open launch, and is it better to leave the engine 
exposed to the elements? 
Ans. — If wet canvas touches any part of the engii^; it 
is extremely liable to cause severe oxydizing or rusting. 
If it is inconvenient to remove the engine from die 
launch, by all means construct some sort of covering 
which will keep the snow and wet from it. If this is tight 
and does not allow the snow to drift in, it will more than 
pay you for the trouble. With a brush and some cylinder 
oil cover all parts of the cast iron and steel not protected 
by enamel with a good coat. In the spring a little 
. naphtha and some clean waste will remove it very easily. 
Be sure to drain the water out of all the piping and re- 
move the check valve popets or if using swing checks 
you had better remove the caps. 
S. S. J., San Diego, CaL — What voltage is ordinarily used for 
marine gasolene engine ignition? 
Ans. — From 4 to 6.5 volts approximately, when using 
batteries, and frequently 10 or more on magnetos or 
dynamos. c'Oaustic" alkaline batteries should show .QS on 
open and .7 volt each on closed circuit. Dry batteries on 
closed cifcuit usually show i.i volts each, while each cell 
of storage battery or accumulator shows 2.2 volts. In 
Jump spark, which is operated by a secondary or induced 
current, the voltage of 4.S volts at the primary is in- 
(treased to some;2S,ooo volts in the secondary. It is! cus- 
tomary tO' use four to six cells of dry battery, fiye or 
seven cells of caustic alkaline, or t#o cells storage, in 
engines using make-and-break. In jump spark rarely afe 
more than four dry cells used except where the coils are 
especially wound for a voltage of over 4.5. High volt- 
age is liable to break them down or perforate the tin foil 
used in the "condenser." 
A. O. H., New York.— If A. O. H. will send his full 
name and address we will gladly answer his inquiry. 
Launch Meylert. — The cruising gasolene launch 
Meylert, owned by Mr. L. R. Armstrong, has been sold 
through the ofifice of Mr. Henry J. Gielow of this city 
to Mr: Willian Erb, of Philadelphia. 
