FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Feb. 1905. 
J. Gielow to a member of the AmeHdan Y. C. SeneCa 
was designed by Mr. A. Gary Smith and built in 1901 by 
C. & Rv Pbillon. Seneca is a sister ship of Vencedor, 
ex-Oonas. She is flush-decked and has a centerboard 
below the cabin floor. Her dimensions are QSft. over 
all, 68ft. load waterline, 20.4ft. breadth, and loft. draft. 
The interior is handsomely finished in mahogany, white 
and gold; there are three staterooms for owner and 
guests, a bathroom, and a roomy main saloon. The 
.auxiliary power is supplied by a 25 horsepower Globe 
; gasolene engine giving a speed of about seven miles per 
;hour. Current for the electric lights is obtained from a 
• dynamo and storage batteries. Seneca was built for the 
■brothers Roy A. and the late William T. Rainey, and 
'when the latter purchased the 123ft. steam yacht Viola 
.the former bought the other's interest in the yacht. The 
•death of William T. Rainey made his brother the owner 
<of both: yachts, and he still has Viola at the present time. 
jMr. Rainey has been nominated for vice-commodore of 
ithe Larehmont Y. C. It is understood that the new 
(Owner will make Seneca his home during the coming 
;summer, with headquarters at the American Y. C, Rye, 
2^. Y., and that he will probably enter the yacht in many 
•of the season's races. 
•I It n 
Some New Boats. — The new designs which Mr. 
Charles D. Mower has turned out so far this season 
include the clas:S Q boat for Mr. W. H. Childs to be 
raced in Gravesend Bay. This boat will rate 22ft. under 
the new rule, and is up to the limits in every particular. 
She is approximately 25ft. on the water line, 36ft. over 
all, 7ft. 6in, breadth, and sft. 6in. draft. She will have 
about 700 sq. ft. of sail in jib and mainsail rig with a 
very short bowsprit. She is being built by the Hunting- 
ton Manufacturing Company at New Rochelle, and is of 
the best construction in every particular. It is expected 
that the boat will be launched early in the season and 
tuned up to racing trim by Mr. Mower personally before 
she is delivered to the owner. 
Also building at the Huntington shops is a racing cat 
of extreme type for racing in Barnegat Bay, with a 
special view of capturing the much-coveted Sewell Cup. 
This cUp is sailed for under the old Seawanhaka rule 
of W. L. plus square root of sail area divided by two; 
so this boat is of a very different type than the Childs 
boat designed under the New York Y. C. rule. She is 
a very Shallow skimming-dish of small displacement and 
long, full overhangs which gain length effectively when 
the boat is heeled to her sailing angle. The hull is prac- 
tically unballasted, and will be fitted with bilge boards 
and double rudders, and will undoubtedly be the first 
cat rig of this type on salt water. She will be built of 
mahogany and fitted with hollow spars. The construc- 
tion is light, but the hull is braced to insure ample 
strength. This boat is owned by Mr. Henry B. Babson, 
who will sail her in the races throughout next season. 
Her dimensions are 30ft. over all, 20ft. waterline, 9ft. 
beam and 9in. draft of hull. The sail area is 540 sq. ft. 
An interesting little power boat has been designed for 
Mr. Samuel C. Hopkins, of Catskill, N. Y., which is a 
modified Express. The new design is 26ft. over all, 2Sft. 
waterline, 4ft. pin. breadth, and she will be used for 
general service and also as a tender for towing Mr. 
Hopkins' raceabouts. She will be fitted with a Grant- 
Ferris motor, and will have a speed of about 12 miles an 
hour. 
A boat for use on Great South Bay has been designed 
for Mr. James Russell Curley which will be built by 
Warren Purdy, of Amity ville. Long Island. This boat 
is intended for both racing and cruising. Her dimen- 
sions are 30ft. over all, 20ft. waterline, 9ft. breadth and 
2ft. extreme draft without centerboard. She will have 
1,000 pounds of outside ballast and carry about 500 sq. 
ft. of sail in a sloop rig with a short bowsprit. She will 
have a cabin of fair accommodation and a large cockpit. 
4^ 4^ 
Bekgen Beach Y. C. Elects Officers.^ — The annual 
■meeiing of the Bergen Beach Y. C. was held on Tuesday 
evening, February 7, at the Imperial, Brooklyn; officers 
for the ensuing year were elected as follows: Com., Hi 
A. Lachicotte; Vice-Com., John A. Still; Rear-Com.,' 
•Gilbert S. Terry ; Treas., George C. Sutton ; Financial 
;Sec'y, Harry Boehm; Recording Sec'y, Furman Pearsall; 
.Meas., Jas. H. Green; Directors, for two years, A. L. 
Fuller and Jas. H. Green; for one year, Harley Merry, 
R. O. Sidney and W. H. Pitt. The club is considering 
plans for the erection of a new club house at Bergen 
LBeach, and has every prospect for a successful year. 
4? 4? 4? 
New iCruising Power Boat for Mr. H. H. Behse.— ■ 
Trobably no more commodious and able a cruising power 
iboat will be built this season than the one in process of 
^construction by the Milton Point Shipyard for Mr. H. H. 
Behse,. A. Y. C, from designs by Mr. H. J. Gielow. 
IDimensions are 46ft. 4in. over all, 42ft. on the load water- 
iline, 9ft, beam, and 3ft. draft. The cabin forward will 
Ibe 12ft, 3in. long, aft of this the galley and toilet, and 
immediately aft of this, the full width of the boat, is 
tthe space devoted to a Craig 15 horsepower gasolene en- 
gine. The cockpit will be 14ft. long, and will serve as a 
dining room in pleasant weather. Sufficient fuel capacity 
will be provided to serve for a 600-mile run without re- 
filling the tank.. Steering is done from the forward star- 
board side di the cockpit, in close proximity to the con- 
trol levers, and is thus made a one-man boat. The boat 
is of modern' trunk cabin construction, and would stand 
extremely heavy weather should occasion require. Con- 
tract calls for delivery April 15. 
it »l >e 
Work at Morris Heights. — The Gas Engine & Power 
Co. and'Ghas. X. Seabury & Co., Consol., are lengthening 
Mr. John H. Hanan's Edithia, built by Samuel Ayers at 
Nyack from plans by Messrs. Gardner & Cox. When 
completed she will have 24ft. additional length and 
power equipment will consist of two 250 horsepower Sea- 
bury engines, triple expansion, and special Seabury 
boilers. They are overhauling Mr, Edwin F. Goltra's 
New York Y. C.'s Illini, formerly the Reva. A new bow, 
raised bulwarks, new teak rail and changes in the bridge, 
are th^ boat features getting attention, while new Sea- 
bury boilers will constitute about all the changes in the 
engine room. 
Marine Gasolene Engines. 
BY A, E. potter. 
_ The earliest types of explosive engines were used en- 
tirely for stationary purposes, and the fuel employed was 
illuminating gas, made from coal by the old-fashioned 
process, long before the modern water-gas was perfected, 
although its manufacture had been attempted experi- 
mentally some years previously. The gas machines, car- 
buretting air with gasolene vapor for illuminating pur- 
poses, where coal gas was high or could not be obtained, 
made a ready market for the lighter gasolene of 86, 88 
and 90 degrees gravity, but the heavier naphtha and ben- 
zine, having not much merchantable value, was practi- 
cally a waste product until the development of the gaso- 
lene engine following the use of the gasolene 
or vapor stove, this latter in turn giving way to the 
safer blue-flame kerosene stove. While for many years 
there was a surplus of naphtha over the production and 
consumption of kerosene, it is only the present winter 
that kerosene has actually been produced far ahead of 
consumption, necessitating a decrease in its price of one 
cent per gallon, while the price of naphtha has not been 
change_d_ except to slightly be increased, with a strong 
probability that in the coming yachting and automobiling 
season the price will be considerably advanced. 
'jWhile a rich gas could be made from the lighter gaso- 
lene', it was too rich to give perfect combustion in ex- 
plosive engines, and had to be further mixed with air to 
secure the proper proportions. Naphtha^ — called stove 
gasolene, and often gasolene — in gravity from 69 to 74 
degrees, was found to vaporize easily and in sufficient 
quantities to operate explosive engines, with a further 
reduction in richness by admixture with air, and by 
rrieans of carburating devices the old engines were in 
some cases so arranged that they could be operated on 
a'Jmixture of naphtha vapor and air. This was the be- 
gthhing of the so-called gasolene engine, readily taking 
its' name in its evolution from the gas engine. Another 
reasbn why it was not called the naphtha engine was 
that; the name had been pre-empted by the late F. W. 
qfeidt. 
Without going into the subject of the inventor of the 
first explosive engine, or who first used gasolene in lieu 
of illuminating gas for operating engines, all of which 
can be readily found out by consulting various encyclo- 
paedias and other books of reference, it is my intention 
to explain what it takes to make a gas or gasolene en- 
gine,' its functions, the various types, the weak and strong 
points of the twO' principal types, why they run, etc. 
An explosive engine is usually of the horizontal or 
vertical style. The old method and that at present 
almost universally in use is, in stationary practice, to fol- 
low horizontal construction with comparatively low speed, 
rarely exceeding 600 feet piston speed per minute, mak- 
ing the stroke approximately one and one-half times the 
diameter of the cylinder. When these engines came to 
be used for marine purposes, the excessive stroke made 
vertical construction so high that the proportions were 
reduced to the stroke equal to, or slightly longer than, 
the diameter. Where excessive stroke has been employed 
in some cases, it has usually given way to shorter stroke 
or increased diameter for the same stroke, and even dur- 
ing -the past year a large English manufacturer of marine 
gasolene engines has adopted a standard of stroke but 60 
per cent, of the diameter. What results he is able to get 
I am unable to learn from any published tests of opera- 
iiiori, consumption, or efficiency; but the short stroke re- 
duces the height of the engine materially and lowers the 
center of gravity to about the lowest point possible, no 
matter what efficiency practical tests may show. Be it 
as it may, the English short stroke engine is meeting 
with considerable success at home, and a careful eye on 
its progress is no doubt being kept by American 
designers. 
A gasolene engine for marine purposes must neces- 
sarily have features in common with stationary gas en- 
gines and others wholly at variance from the nature of 
requirements. In some ways the stationary needs features 
not necessary to the operation of the marine, and in 
others the marine has requirements unnecessary in the 
stationary. 
Some engines are advertised as "absolutely valveless;" 
but when they come to be carefully analyzed we find they 
all have admission as well as exhaust valves. To be 
sure, they do not need to be separately cam operated with 
spring return, or the ordinary clack or check valves; but 
they are nevertheless valves, even if they are ports in the 
walls of the cylinder opened and closed by the piston 
itself. A gasolene engine therefore has to have valves, 
and in its operation resembles more than anything else 
I know a plunger pump, the action of which is no 
doubt familiar to all our readers. As the piston alter- 
nately draws into the cylinder or crank case a charge of 
naphtha vapor and air, it in turn forces it out as the 
valve leaves its seat or the port is uncovered. A recipro- 
cating rotary motion pump of necessity has valves; so 
has a gas engine; but a centrifugal pump has no neces- 
sity for valves, for there is constant drawing and pres- 
sure, and its action is not reciprocating, alternately draw- 
ing in and forcing out. 
All gasolene engines with which we are familiar in 
marine use are either two or four-cycle. This distinctive 
nomenclature seems harder for the beginner to learn than 
almost any other in connection with the two types, and 
I am going to explain it carefully and thoroughly, so that 
anyone of ordinary intelligence may be able to explain 
the action of the two types and readily distinguish the 
difference and tell by a glance at a cut, photograph or 
the engine itself, whether it is of the two or four-cycle 
tj'pe. The thing hardest to drill into _the understanding 
of one who is taking his first lesson, is what is a cycle, 
and what its reference is in connection with the two and 
four, with which it is always associated. 
It is hard to tell who first used the term cycle in ex- 
plaining the two types, but they are liable to he mislead- 
ing. Properly cycle means, circle.^ As used in this con- 
nection it means rather a completion, as the cycle of the 
moon or the sun, when its changes return to the same 
day of the year. 
All gasolene engines, when running, take four opera- 
tions to complete their cycle before they return to the 
first or repetition. These four acts are, first, induction, 
or drawing the charge of gas into the engine; second, 
compression, or reducing its volume; third, explosion, 
with power resulting from the expansion of the com- 
pressed volume of gas ; and fourth, exhaust of the burned 
gases or products of combustion. No matter what type 
engine is examined, these four operations or essentials 
may be observed. If no gas is drawn into the cylinder 
there can be no explosion; if no compression, there is 
comparatively little power when explosion takes place; 
if no explosion, there can be no power; and lastly, if the 
burned gases are not exhausted, there will be no new ex- 
plosive charge drawn into the engine. Some engines 
complete the cycle, which is set up by these four separate 
and distinct operations, in as many, or four, strokes of 
the piston, two up and two down, and these we call four- 
cycle. In England they are called^ much more appro- 
priately and descriptively, "four-stroke;" while other en- 
gines unite these four operations so that two are con- 
current or take place before the piston changes its 
direction. 
For instance, an engine has an inclosed, fairly 
tight crank case, and the flywheel is turned two or three 
times until the crank case or some other similar recepta- 
cle is filled with a mixture of naphtha vapor and air, 
say in proper proportion to be available for use in the 
engine. With the piston on the upper or outer center, 
descending, it partially reduces the volume, giving more 
or less compression, depending entirely on the clearance 
and two or three other conditions to be explained later, 
until the port is uncovered in the wall of the cylinder, 
giving a free passage from the crank chamber to the 
space above the piston, which is known as the combus- 
tion chamber. The piston then ascending compresses 
this charge to from 30 to 60 pounds above atmospheric 
pressure, at the same time taking a volume of new gas 
into the crank chamber, combining the two operations of 
induction and compression, which are both present in the 
up-stroke. The explosion takes place near the upper 
center, and the power becomes operative, continuing until 
a port on the opposite side of the cylinder from the inlet 
port is opened, when the exhaust takes place. You will 
see that the last two operations take place during the 
down-stroke, and the cycle is completed, for at the next 
up-stroke the two first operations are repeated. The cycle 
is now completed in two strokes instead of four, and we 
call it a two-cycle engine, while our English cousins call 
it a "two-stroke." Some writers claim that a one-in- 
two-stroke and one-in-four-stroke cycle would be better; 
but it appears to me that these are too long, and if we 
thoroughly understand what is meant by our terms two 
and four-cycle, even if they are not exactly what we 
would like from a descriptive point of view, or with 
strict regard to correctness, they will fully answer the 
purpose. 
A two-cycle engine could have outside operated inlet 
and exhaust valves, but very seldom does; in fact, I have 
never seen an engine of this type so equipped, but several 
do have mechanically or automatically-operated inlet 
valves. If an illustration of the engine itself shows a 
spring-returned valve, which is operated by any mechan- 
ism one-half as often as the engine flywheel revolves 
completely, it will be sure to be an exhaust valve, and the 
engine is necessarily of the four-cycle type. A four- 
cycle engine cannot exhaust entirely through a port un- 
covered by the piston, as in a two-cycle, and must ex- 
haust through a valve kept open practically during the 
entire time of each alternate up-stroke of the piston. On 
the other hand, a two-cycle engine would not exhaust 
all its burned gases except for the following charge, 
which enters through the inlet port under slight com- 
pression, forcing the greater part of them out by replac- 
ing their volume with the next or following explosive 
charge. 
[to be continued.] 
[The above description of the gasolene engine is made 
simple and in as plain terms as possible. If any of our 
readers are unable to^ understand the description and 
difference, we will be very glad to- hear from them, and 
will cheerfully answer any question on the subject in our 
next issue, when we will publish a full and complete 
description of the good and bad features of both forms 
of construction; and we shall be very much pleased to 
have any reader suggest anything for or against either 
type that is omitted. — Ed.] 
Queries on Marine Motors. 
. H. B. R., San Francisco, Cal.— What is the usual rate of com- 
pression in gasolene engines? 
Ans. — It depends on how well the parts are machined, 
clearance, and wire drawing. In two-cycles it rarely 
exceeds 45 to 50 pounds, while in four-cycles it fre- 
quently reaches 90 pounds gauge, which seems about 
the limit. In the Diesel engine 40 atmospheres is 
used, approximately 600 pounds, but ignition is caused 
by this high compression, the fuel not being injected 
until the beginning of the power stroke. 
J. A. R, Duxbury, Mass. — How many revolutions ought a 
6in. by 6in. single cylinder engine to make two-cycle? 
Ans. — As many as possible, so long as there is no 
loss of power from excessive speed and the engine 
can be kept on the bed without too much vibration. 
If you cannot get this information from the manu- 
facturer, you can tell this by testing with a Prony 
brake. For this the engine will have to be set up on 
a good solid foundation. 
The Monaco Power Boat Races. — The boats desig- 
nated as racers are divided into four classes with no limit 
as to power, as follows: Class i, up to 8m. long; class 2, 
8 to 12m. long; class 3, 12 to iSm. long. English or 
American-built boats of 40ft, length will get entry in 
class 2, while 60ft. boats will race in class 3, Commercial 
boats are divided into two classes as follows: Class i 
or working boats, up to 6.5m. long, with a maximum 
carrying capacity of 450 kilos; class 2 or fishing boats 
must be registered as such before March 5, and must 
have a capacity of 100 kilos per meter of length. The 
other class, including pleasure launches and cruisers, was 
described in our columns last w^ek, ^ ^ 
