64 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[April i, igoS- 
British Letter. 
Solent Class Racing. — Class racing_ on the Solent 
does not give promise of great vitality this year. Indeed, 
from the views expressed at the recent meeting of the 
Solent Classes Racing Association, the only class which 
is likely to be in a flourishing condition is the 24ft. class. 
The 36-footers and 30-footers are extinct, and the bulk 
of the racing falls to the South Coast and Solent one- 
design classes, the small handicap classes and the 24ft. 
and i8ft. linear raters. Truly the glories of the Solent 
as the home of the small rater classes appears to have 
departed, and there does not seem to be any special 
reasons for this, because in the days when the linear 
raters were at the height of their popularity in these 
waters, they were much more extreme in type than they 
are under the present rule, and therefore more difficult to 
dispose of when their owners had done with them. The 
chief factor in the destruction of the rating classes has 
been undoubtedly the rapid increase in the number and 
popularity of one-design classes, but this does not apply 
to the Solent as much as to other places, and certainly 
not with sufficient force to account for the almost total 
disapeparance of the linear raters which flourished there 
in such abundance and provided such good sport. With 
the exception of the Redwings, which are tiny boats and 
cannot be said to cut into class racing to any great ex- 
tent, the only one-design classes on the Solent are the 
Solent one-design class and the South Coast class. Of 
these the former was started in 1897 and attained great 
popularity, as many as fourteen or sixteen coming to the 
starting line a few years back, and causing clubs to split 
them into two divisions. However, even in this class the 
numbers have diminished greatly the last two^ or three 
years, and not much more than half a dozen ever started 
last season. The South Coast class came into existence 
in 1903, and displaced the 36ft. linear raters. In the fol- 
lowing year the 30ft. rating class dropped out, thus leav- 
ing nothing but the small fry to represent the Y. R. A. 
classes. On February 25 the Solent Classes Racing Asso- 
ciation passed a resolution to form a handicap class for 
ex-36-footers and 30-footers, and ex-5-raters and 2.5 
raters, as there are manj' such boats in and about the 
Solent, and it is hoped thus to fill up in some measure 
the gap caused by the defection of the leading Y. R. A. 
classes. The idea is more or less of an experiment, and 
will be discontinued after a season's trial if unsatisfac- 
tory. Of course it is what may be called a retrograde 
" step, but if owners will not build to the present Y. R. A. 
classes, it seems to be the best way to supply the defi- 
ciency in the small classes, as there are plenty of old 
raters going cheap, and a good deal of fun can thus be 
had at a small initial outlay. 
East Coast Racing.' — ^^On the East Coast the London 
Sailing Club is fortunate with its i8-footer classes, of 
which it has two — the Y. R. A. class and the restricted 
class — and this season three new boats are to be added 
to the number, all by different designers. For many 
years the sway in the Y. R. A. 18ft. class has been held 
by My Lady Dainty, and although boat after boat has 
tried to lower her colors, she has remained champion 
of her class from the year she was built down to the 
present time, or seven seasons in all. This is a truly 
wonderful record, considering that My Lady Dainty has 
been but little altered since she was built, and that com- 
petition in the class is very keen. In all she has won 
nearly two hundred prizes, of which the great majority 
are firsts. However, it is likely that her colors will be 
lowered this year, as one of the new boats is designed by 
Mr. G. W. Laws, who' was responsible for My Lady 
Dainty's lines, and another by the famous young Scottish 
designer, Mylne. Last season My Lady Dainty had the 
wonderful record (for a boat in her seventh season) of 
twenty-one prizes — seventeen firsts and four seconds — 
out of twenty-eight starts. 
Thirty-six-foot Class on the Clyde.— Once more the 
36ft. class on the Clyde is threatened with extinction, 
for Mr. Maclver has determined not to fit out Barabel, 
which is in the sale list. This brings Falcon as the only 
representative of the class, unless a purchaser is found 
for Barabel. It would be a great pity if this class fell 
through, for the pair had many close fights throughout 
a well contested season, and honors were pretty equally 
divided, Barabel just having a shade the better of mat- 
ters. The new 30ft. restricted class is increasing in popu- 
larity, but the 19ft. length class on the Clyde seems to be 
losing its hold, although it may only be a temporary 
slackness on the part of its supporters. The idea of the 
handicap match from Cowes to the Clyde organized by 
the Royal London Y. C, in June, in conjunction with the 
Clyde clubs, has caused the greatest possible satisfaction 
in Scotland. The race is open to all yachts exceeding 95 
tons Thames measurement. It is the very thing that is 
wanted to revive the ancient glories of the Clyde Fort- 
night, and it is hoped that British owners give efficient 
support to this race, instead of hurrying off to foreign 
regattas. Three cups are offered, value one hundred, 
forty and twenty guineas. These will be provided by the 
Royal London Y. C, and the Clyde clubs will give cups 
of similar values for a return race to Cowes. That the 
yachts which take part in the first race will be well 
catered for during the Clyde Fortnight, goes without 
saying, and preparations are already being made to in- 
clude them in the prize list. E. H. Kelly. 
MoTORBOAT Cruise to Thousand Islands. — Messrs. J. 
H. Mcintosh, Columbia Y. C, Norris Oliphant, Thous- 
and Islands Y. C, and R. C. Fisher, New York A. C, 
have been appointed as a committee to arrange a motor- 
boat cruise from New York to the home of the Thousand 
Islands Y. C. on the St. Lawrence. The boats will leave 
New York about August 18 and proceed through the 
canals and lakes to the St. Lawrence. The races for the 
American Power Boat Association Cup will take place 
August 24, 25 and 26 off the Thousand Island Y. C. house. 
K K 
Plymouth Y. C. Officers. — At the annual meeting of 
the Plymouth Y. C, held recently, the following officers 
were elected: Com., Hon. E. B. Atwood; Vice-Com., 
W. C. Gurney; Treas., W. T. Eldridge; Sec'y, F. H. 
Carver; Fleet Captain, Alfred Holmes; Treas., C. W. 
Finney; Executive Committee— M. S. Weston, Jr., B. 
Loring Thomas, C. W. Finney. A. L. Bailey; Regatta 
Committee— H. M. Jones, Alfred Holmes, E. B. Atwood. 
Marine Gasolene Engines. 
BY A. E. POTTER, 
{Continued from page 242 ) 
The higher the piston speed in a single cylinder two- 
stroke or double cylinder four-stroke engine with 
cranks both the same way (not at 180 degrees), the 
more the vibration. If counterweights are used the 
balancing must be very careful for high speeds. Figure 
as carefully as you can, the exact weight and position 
of the counter weights cannot be exactly determined. 
If this is to be done practically the crank shaft, fly- 
wheel connecting rod and piston must be assembled 
with the piston hanging downward and the crank 
shaft mounted on centers. Then the amount and 
position of the weights can be determined, and in no 
other way. This is an expensive method, and one 
rarely followed by the usual manufacturer, for the 
selling price will hardly allow of any such what is 
usually termed useless waste of time, and increased 
cost of production. In the manufacture of high-priced 
counter-weighted automobile engines, a method like 
this is usually followed, and in all future engines the 
weight of the piston, connecting rod and connection 
is weighed, and if over weight the excess of metal is 
removed. Pistons and connections in four cylinder 
French, German and Italian engines are usually care- 
fully weighed separately and if, in four cylinder con- 
struction the parts are not remachined, the two heavier 
reciprocating parts are arranged on opposite crank pins 
to better preserve the balance. 
A two-stroke single cylinder engine for marine pur- 
poses can be balanced in another way, which will 
sometimes remedy excessive vibration, particularly 
when the hull is weak in the wake of the engine. Set 
the crank shaft with the engine at half stroke. Open 
the relief cock in the head, remove the head 
or igniter. Pass a cord around the flywheel, so 
it will lead over the top of it and attach the end to a 
spring scale. Fasten a cord to the eye of the balance 
and lead the other end through a screw eye directly 
in line with the lead of the cord in the side of the 
boat's ceiling or elsewhere. Gradually tighten the 
cord, carefully watching the hand on the scales, until 
the flywheel moves, and note the pull necessary to start 
it. Now reverse the cord, placing the crank in the 
same position and note how much pull it takes to start 
the piston down. Turn the flywheel now until the 
piston is in the same position with the crank pin on 
the other side, and repeat the first two operations. The 
results should be the same. Now by adding counter 
weights to the flywheel web, it will be possible to 
decrease vibrations to a marked degree. Always test 
the pull both ways after fastening the weights to see 
whether or not you have too much or insufficient 
weight. The further the weight is from the shaft the 
more effect it will have. It may be better to put it a 
little to one side of directly opposite the starting_ pin, 
in which case the results of the tests would indicate 
which side, but for all practical purposes it wduld 
hardly be necessary, unless the flywheel itself was badly 
out of balance. 
A double cylinder four-stroke engine with cranks 
the same way is hardly ever met, and if so, usually 
has counterweights on both crank shaft and flywheel. 
To test for balancing you would use the same method 
as for a single cylinder two or four-stroke engine. 
A single cylinder four-stroke engine, or a double 
cylinder as well with cranks set at 180 degrees, no 
matter how carefully balanced, will have more vibra- 
tion than a two-stroke, as the impulses are in the 
former case given every other revolution and in the 
latter twice at every alternate revolution, with no im- 
pulses during the following revolution. 
Multiple cylinder engines are more easily balanced 
than single two-stroke and double four-stroke, and it 
is for this reason that multi-cylinder construction has 
had so much attention from gasolene engine designers. 
In four-stroke engines this has been comparatively 
easy, but in the two-stroke, of the older two-port type, 
it has usually been found almost absolutely necessary 
to use separate vaporizers for each cylinder, adjust- 
ments have been not easy to make, and rarely would 
each cylinder give its maximum power. The more 
modern three-ported type seems to have solved the 
question satisfactorily, and the multiple-cylmder two- 
stroke engine will this summer be the popular con- 
struction. There are many manufacturers, who,_ two 
years ago, would not guarantee their double cylinder 
engine, and, for all the cost would be more, would prefer 
to make twin screw installation, are now advertising 
and guaranteeing their double cylinder productions, 
with float feed carburetors and either make and break 
or jump spark ignition. These engines will run at a 
higher speed, are just as reliable as the older single 
cylinder construction, and last, but by no means least, 
they will last longer, and are easier on the hull, be- 
cause they are more nearly perfectly balanced. 
[to be continued.] - 
Queries on Marine Motors. 
B E B Clayton, N. Y.— Can vou tell me why certain engines 
are rated or classed as high-speed', while others are called low or 
medium-speed? 
Ans. — In the two-stroke engine there is a limit to the 
speed if of the older two-port construction, single cylinder* 
especially if poorly o^r not at all counterbalanced, which has 
been passed in the modern three-ported engine. This 
allows of much higher speed without losing efficiency for 
reasons already explained in these columns. Again, as 
engines of the latter type are usually built in pairs, they 
are better balanced and can be run at a higher speed 
without undue vibration. In the four-stroke construction 
an engine is rarely classed as high speed unless it has 
three or four cylinders, for it is well-nigh impossible to 
balance it sufficiently accurate in two cylinder con- 
struction with cranks both the same way, and even 
harder in single cylinder or with cranks at 180 degrees, 
as in double cylinder. Any three or four cylinder engine 
can be made high speed by reducing the weight of the re- 
ciprocating parts, pistons, connecting rods, wrist-pins, 
valves valve stems, etc. ; but this reducing of weight so 
materi'allv reduces the life of the engine that it is worth 
more with heavier construction for slow or medium speed. 
The Bfoofciyri Y. G. Dinner* 
THfe annual dinner of the Brooklyn Y. C. was given 
on the evening of March 25 at the Underwriters' Club, 
New York city. Commodore S. S. Fontaine presided, 
and about 100 members and guests were present. Com- 
modore Fontaine, in signaling the taking of "obser- 
vations," spoke of the flourishing condition Qf the club 
and the widespread interest manifested in the forthcom- 
ing ocean race from New York to Hampton Roads, and 
the accompanying annual cruise of the club, to be started 
on June 29. The Hampton Roads Y. C. has arranged for 
a grand regatta in welcome of the visit ; the Philadelphia, 
Baltimore and Washington Y. C.'s have arranged to 
cruise concurrently to Hampton Roads. Yachtsmen 
throughout the South have expressed much interest in the 
event, and various railroad and steamship lines have 
arranged to offer special rates and accommodations. Al- 
though provision was made in the first instance only for 
the ocean race of the restricted class, it has been, on 
further consideration, decided to offer prizes for the 
schooners and other yachts participating in the accom- 
panying cruise. 
Col. David E. Austen said that he felt much interest in 
the race and cruise, and had m.ade some personal effort 
toward getting up races between the schooners, sloops and 
yawls that will accompany the restricted racers, and was 
pleased to be able to report gratifying progress. He felt 
sure that the interest of the event would be much en- 
hanced by having races between the accompanying 
cruisers as well as the restricted class. He nurposed go- 
ing on the cruise in his 75 ft. schooner Wayward, and 
would be glad to race her against anything of her class, 
in or out of the club. 
Narragansett Bay Y. R. A. Meeting. — At the annual 
meeting of the Narragansett Bay Y. R. A., plans were 
aranged for the coming season, and dates fixed for the 
Association week of open racing. Delegates were present 
from the Rhode Island, Edgewood, Fall River and Bristol 
clubs, and from an informal discussion of the prospects 
it was apparent that the season of 1905 in Narragansett. 
Bay is to be one of the most active in some years. It 
was voted that the regatta committees of the four clubs 
comprising the membership be communicated with and 
requested to make the ruling that the Association pennant 
be displayed by all the boats participating in club regattas. 
The Association racing will be during the week of July 
10, the schedule being as follows: 
Monday, July 10 — Edgewood Y. C. 
Tuesday, July 11 — Association race at Potter's Cove. 
Wednesday, July 12 — R. I. Y. C. at Potter's Cove. 
Thursday, July 13 — Special race around Beaver Tail 
by the representatives of the Rhode Island and Sachem's 
Head Y. C.'s. 
Friday, July 14 — Fall River Y. C. 
Saturday, July 15 — Bristol Y. C. 
The dates selected are especially fortunate, as it is ex- 
pected that the Sachem's Head Y. C. fleet will be in the 
Bay during that week, and possibly the Shelter Island 
fleet, and the boats of both visiting clubs will be able to 
participate in the racing of Wednesday and Thursday. 
The following officers of the N. B. Y. R. A. were elected 
for the ensuing year : President, Frederick A. Barnes, 
Rhode Island Y. C. ; Vice-President, Harvey J. Flint, 
Edgewood Y. C ; Secretary, Thomas F. Bartlett, Fall 
River Y. C. ; Treasurer, Walter S. Almy, Bristol Y. C. 
t( 
The Power Boat News. — Last week there appeared 
for the first time a new publication, dealing exclusively 
with the power boat. It was published by the Rudder 
IPublishing Company, 9 Murray street, this city, and 
is called Power Boat News. It will be issued weekly, 
and, as Mr. Thomas Fleming Day in his introduction 
states, it is to be a weekly newspaper devoted to the 
power boat. Correspondents will be had in every port 
possible, whose duty it will be to collect good straight 
news. Mr. A. E. Potter, who was with Forest and 
Stream for but a few months, and who so ably filled the 
post of power boat editor, will have direct charge of the 
editorial work, assisted by Mr. C. D. Mower, who has 
done such good work on The Rudder. They are both 
practical men. 
4^ 
Work at Morris Heights. — Mr. J. E. Martin, Jr., 
New York, who owned the autoboat Catch Me, built by 
Robert Jacob, City Island, with a 70 horsepower Speedway 
engine, has ordered a new cruising launch from the Gas 
Engine & Power Co. and Chas. L. Seabury & Co., Consol., 
63ft. 6in, length, loft. 8in. breadth. Power will be two 
40 horsepower Speedway Model C engines. Mr. Walter 
Jennings, New York Y. C, has ordered a new naphtha 
tender for Tuscarora. Col. C. E. Burke, Cleveland, O., 
living this winter at Hotel Majestic, New York, has 
placed an order for a high speed launch also with the 
Gas Engine & Power Co. and Chas. L. Seabury & Co., 
Consol, 31ft. long with 24 horsepower Speedway engine. 
The boat will be used on the St. Lawrence. 
1^ 1^ 1^ 
Cruising Launch for G. C. Sutton. — The power boat 
fleet of the Bergen Beach Y. C. will receive an addition 
this season in the shape of a new cruising launch. Mr. 
George C. Sutton, treasurer of the Bergen Beach Y. C, 
is having a new cruising launch built 31ft. over all, 8ft. 
6in. breadth and 2ft. 2in. draft. The boat is very sub- 
stantially put together, and will have good accommoda- 
tions under the low cabin house. The boat will be fitted 
with a 4 cylinder 16 horsepower gasolene engine, and her 
tanks are of sufficient capacity to enable her running 100 
miles without refilling. The 12ft. watertight cockpit is to 
be entirely covered with an awning. 
Repairs on Colonia. — Commodore F. G. Bourne's 
Colonia, New York Y. C, which will be his flagship this 
season, owing to the fire which so badly damaged Dela- 
ware that she cannot be repaired in time, was towed to 
Morris Heights on the 24th ult. for rush repairs. The 
Gas Engine & Power Company and Chas. L. Seabury & 
Co., Consol., will have charge of all exterior repairs- 
new decks, new houses where burned, and general over- 
hauling of both hull and engine. Pottier & Stymus have 
charge of the interior work. This work must be com- 
pleted by June 15. .^^^^ 
