r oak slreo. 
aoil Plan '/i. scflfe- 
'Oak ^uncwalfi, 
12 f'^^^ by 4 
kOUONffi AND 
iAlllN< 
Uesiqned 'for FOREST RND STREAM by C.Gi.Davis. 
Oak f loori £V l" 
IC'ik keel plunk V't 
COMPLETE PLANS OF A TWELVE-FOOT ROWING AND SAILING SKIFF. 
Designed by Charles G. Davis for Forest and Stream. 
A Rowing and Sailing Skiff. 
It is not strange that there should be a wide diversity 
of opinion among yachtsmen as to the type of dinghy 
best adapted for general use. Almost every man has 
pronounced ideas on the subject usually because he 
needs a boat to fill certain requirements. Where one 
man will recomrnend a round-bottom boat, another will 
advise a flat-bottom skiff. As a matter of fact, there 
are good boats of both kinds that answer their require- 
ments perfectly. 
It is not so much a question of type as it is of model. 
Most of us have had experience with the cranky boat 
that slews and slides in every direction when being 
towed even in smooth water, and is quite impossible 
when it is rough. The stern of this boat usually rears 
up when one steps in the bow and either capsizes or 
careens sufficiently to nearly fill with water. Then 
there is the boat that is so low in the water that it 
is impossible to row without hitting one's knees at 
each stroke or clear the wave crests. A very frequent 
trouble with rowboats is the impossibility to keep them 
from sheering wildly, even when the man on the oars 
exerts an equal pressure on each. These are common 
faults, and many others might be mentioned. 
The dinghy question always has been, and probably 
always will be, under dispute. In publishing the plans^ 
of a 12ft. skiff this week we do not say that we have 
found the perfect boat that will suit everybody. This, 
would be impossible. But in the preparation of this 
design Mr. Charles G. Davis has avoided all the faults 
usually found in such craft, and the result is a capital 
little boat that will tow straight, row well with two or 
three on board and will also handle under sail fairly 
well. She will serve for a general all-round row and 
sail boat, or she would make an excellent little tender 
for a moderate-sized cruising or racing boat. 
The construction is as simple and the plans have 
been made so carefully, that any man or boy with a fair 
knowledge of the use of tools could build such a boat; 
without any difficulty. For the benefit of those who' 
wish to buy a boat of this type and size we have secured, 
an estimate from the Huntington Mfg. Co., of New 
Rochelle. This firm is prepared to build a boat from, 
this design of oak and cedar, varnished^ complete in: 
every particular, for $55. 
The Florida Power Boat Races. — Outside of the re- 
markable showing made by Mr. W. Gould Brokaw's 40- 
footer Challenger, equipped with a 125 horsepower Smith 
& Mabley engine, interest has for the most part been, 
purely local. M. A. D. Proctor Smith has had the hand- 
ling of Challenger. The record of im. 21s. for one kilo- 
meter and one mile in 2m. 11 2-5S. will stand for some: 
time to come. The former is something like one second, 
faster per mile than the latter, and is better than 27^/2. 
miles per hour. On Friday, however, from scratch with 
a turn, she did 8 miles in world's record time of i6m. 
33s., better than 29 miles per hour. In a trial against time 
made February 4, Challenger did a mile in 2m. 4s. The: 
events closed with a power boat parade of some forty or 
more electric and gasolene-propelled launches, auxiliary- 
yachts and houseboats. 
The sad accident resulting in the death of Frank 
Croker had a dampening effect on the sport, and the ex- 
pected trials of XPDNC and Challenger would have been: 
well worth seeing. As it was. Challenger had things, 
pretty much her own way. XPDNC was not unloaded: 
from the car. 
Power Boat Racing 
BY A, E. POTTER. 
The racing of power boats needs careful attention 
to several fundamental principles, in order to get satis- 
factory results, and not cause unpleasantness in the 
club or among different organizations. The American 
Power Boat Association has promulgated a set of 
rules, which, so far as they go, have proved pairly 
:satisfactory. The American Power Boat Association 
pays, of course, more attention to high speed or auto- 
boats, which are frequently built to compass certain 
:rules by which they hope to get some slight advantage, 
than to the cruiser class, which, in France, is made to 
include launches of all kinds not racers. They limit 
the length, amount of freeboard, beam and piston dis- 
placement. This manifestly favors the two-cycle engine 
manufacturer in being able to get more power out of 
his engine at lower speed, and again, unless his engine 
is properly designed, one is unable to run it at. such 
high speed as the other man with the four-cycle. 
In England the Marine Motor Association figures 
horsepower from fuel consumption. This favors the 
four-cycle engine. The American Power Boat Associa- 
tion, in figuring the horsepower, takes into considera- 
tion the speed of the engine, and this can also be 
changed alsout, so that advantage can be taken of 
;3ome loophole perhaps. 
The remedy for the existing evils in classifications is 
3iot so apparent, but it may come to the one-design 
class in power boats, even as it has in sailing craft. 
.ILimits of length, breadth and power seem to be about 
the only means of proper classification. For instance, 
a boat 24ft. long 4ft. 8in. wide could have a range of 
power that would put her into a certain class from 
length and beam, and then into several sub-classes, fol- 
lowing the substitution of one engine for another from 
3 to 16 horsepower, if that is the agreed upon limit 
of power allowed in that class, and there should be a 
limit. 
Boats built for heavy and rough water, can hardly 
'be classed with light low-powered launches, and in such 
contests endurance is more essential frequently than 
itemporary efficiency. 
The projected power boat race by the Knickerbocker 
Y. C. for cruisers is an excellent idea, and I sincerely 
hope that the event may prove sufficiently attractive 
to tempt many entries. It is for a popular class of 
boats; length is restricted to 40ft., and each competing 
boat must be a bona fide cruising launch, propelled by 
■either a kerosene or gasolene explosive engine, and 
have ample living accommodations for at least four 
people. These are wise conditions, and I trust that we 
:shall have many more similar trials before the close 
■of the season. 
In England and France many more racing events 
for power boats have been booked than here, but with 
the natural resources of the typical American yacht 
club, boat races can be conceived, advertised and run^ 
•and almost before the daily papers can describe the 
iboats entering and the course, the contest is on and 
'Over. 
If power boat racing in the next year or two be- 
comes as popular as it now promises, rules and regu- 
lationj will not be made to govern the contestants, but 
the boats will be built, as they should be — to conform 
to the provisions of the rules and conditions in force. 
Installation ControL 
From English Yachtsman. 
The Bureau Veritas has now published its long-ex- 
pected recommendations for the use of internal com- 
bustion engines in launches. For petrol and alcohol 
motors they recommend that: 
The tanks be in copper of substantial gauge, joints 
being rivetted and soldered. Perforated partitions to 
be placed inside to prevent a heavy volume of liquid 
washing about and straining the tank. 
The tanks to be placed in a special compartment 
completely isolated from the motor room and the rest 
of the boat. This compartment to be as far forward 
as practicable, the after part being closed in by a suit- 
able bulkhead. The tank to be of the same volume and 
shape as the compartment surrounding it, thus leaving 
little room for the accumulation of inflammable vapor. 
Should the tank not equal the compartment in height 
it should be raised upon a tight flooring. 
In wooden boats the compartment should be lined 
with lead or copper sheets, and a drain-pipe fitted that 
any leakage of petrol may drain out. In metal hulls^ 
a petrol tight floor should be fitted to the tank com- 
partment, also to be fitted with a drain. Certain makers 
arrange that the space around the tank can be flooded 
with water if necessary; this is a practice to be recom- 
mended, but is not necessary if the tank and its com- 
partment are carefully fitted up. 
The tank must be securely held down, so that th© 
filling and emptying pipes are not strained by vibration 
or pitching. 
'ihe walls of the tank must be strengthened at the 
points of junction of the filling and emptying pipes. 
The filling pipe must lead up through the deck, and 
the emptying pipe through the bulkhead, suitable pro- 
vision being made for keeping the compartment petrol- 
tight. 
The pipe leading to the carburetor must be of an- 
nealed copper, preferably in one length. If several 
lengths be used they must be brazed, not soldered to- 
gether, the joints to carburetor and tank must be 
ground cone joints. Two cocks must be placed on 
this pipe, one at the tank, and one at the carburetor 
inlet. 
Certain makers, chiefly abroad, pass the feed pipe out- 
side the hull ; this appears superfluous ; the pipe may lead 
inside perfectly well, provided that no electric wires, in- 
sulated or not, are in contact with it. 
A metal box or tray, fitted with a drain pipe, should be 
fitted under the carburetor; thus it can be emptied when 
necessary for cleaning or inspection. 
The usual precautions must be taken in fitting the cir- 
culating water inlets and outlets. 
The exhaust pipe should be in copper or iron, and not. 
less in diameter than the exhaust port on the motor. AUi 
joints must be packed with asbestos. 
It is advisable that part or all of the circulating water 
be sent either directly down, or through a water jacket: 
surrounding the exhaust pipe. In any case care must be 
taken that the pipe does not become dangerously hot,, 
more especially in wooden boats. 
The use of water-jacketed silencers is recommended'.. 
Should the motor be in an inclosed space, means must 
be provided for efficient ventilation. 
Electric ignition should invariably be used, and no ex- 
ternal sparks should be allowed, in case any inflammable 
vapors be present. This is especially important in boats 
where two motors are fitted, and where one might nee<J 
