384 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[March 5, 1910. 
turer to turn out 10,000 engines during a year. 
The manufacture of small boats has been de¬ 
veloped up to 20 feet in length and built in large 
quantities both in wood and steel. Boats of 
greater length than this are too large to manu¬ 
facture in quantities due to the large unit and 
the difficulty of hauling. It is at this stage that 
the boat building line enters, two boats being 
rarely built alike, and as in fine custom tailoring 
each suit is cut for an individual, so each boat 
is designed and built to meet the specific require¬ 
ments of the purchaser. Yachtsmen who have 
heretofore depended upon steam power for their 
yachts are becoming more and more interested 
in the gasolene engine for this purpose. Motor 
yachts fitted with gasolene engines are now being 
built up to 140 feet in length, while a large num¬ 
ber around 100 feet are now under construction. 
Within this length extended cruising is possible 
in inland waters and through canals and rivers, 
98 feet being the limit for clearance through the 
locks and under the bridges.” 
Morris M. Whitaker, secretary of the Ameri¬ 
can Power Boat Association, said: 
“Very few outside those intimately connected 
with motor boats realize the enormous number 
of these vessels in daily use throughout the 
United States for business and recreation and 
to what a great extent the marine motor is used. 
Among ‘dyed in the wool’ yachtsmen the marine 
motor is also gaining ground, for business con¬ 
ditions to-day make it imperative for an owner 
to know when he can reach a given point and 
the motor is an insurance policy against being 
becalmed. So you see motors installed in some 
of the finest sailing yachts, and many who have 
used the motor as an auxiliary drop the sail 
when ordering a new boat, for there is no large 
crew to maintain and it is only a question of a 
few minutes to get under way and all the labor 
of hoisting sail is done away with. 
“The motor is also superseding steam, except 
in the largest yachts, for the small space it occu¬ 
pies makes better accommodation oh the given 
size possible. Upkeep, expense and attendance 
are lower, for the motor consumes no fuel ex¬ 
cept when in use, and it is cleaner and more 
easily handled than steam. 
“The marine motor also draws advocates from 
among car owners because there are no speed 
traps at sea, no petty and annoying holdups or 
dust. 
“The automobile motor is more highly de¬ 
veloped due to the absolute necessity of light¬ 
ness, but the marine motor is more sturdy and 
requires less attention to keep it tuned up. I 
ran across a marine motor a few years ago that 
was fourteen years old and still running per¬ 
fectly, a ripe old age surely, and one seldom 
reached by the automobile motor.” 
Henry j. Gielow, designer, said: 
“About nine years ago the first decided step 
was taken in the application of the internal com¬ 
bustion engine to marine propulsion, and boats 
from 25 to 50 feet in length were equipped with 
motors of from five to twenty horsepower, giv¬ 
ing a speed of frome nine to ten miles an hour. 
In 1902 cruising motor boats of about 50 feet 
in length were built that had a speed of from 
twelve to fourteen miles an hour, and in 1904 
a speed of more than twenty miles an hour was 
attained. This was followed with a speed of 
twenty-seven miles an hour the next year, and 
in 1907 the record exceeded twenty-nine miles 
an hour. Since then greater speeds have been 
attained. In the beginning these motor boats 
were patterned after the naphtha launch usually 
having plumb stems and elliptical overhanging 
sterns, but the models have been improved so 
that now they are staunch, seaworthy and able. 
“While the cost per horsepower with an in¬ 
ternal combustion engine using gasolene' is much 
greater than the cost per horsepower with a 
steam engine, still in view of the fact that the 
space required for the machinery of a motor 
boat is so very much smaller than that of a 
steam plant, the same amount of living accom¬ 
modations can be obtained in a much smaller 
vessel, so that for a given amount of living 
s* pee a very much smaller boat is required, and 
in consequence the horsepower necessary to de¬ 
velop the same speed in a smaller boat is very 
much less, thus reducing the fuel account very 
materially. 
“Another great advantage in favor of the in¬ 
ternal combustion engine is the fact that the 
boat is in condition to start off at a moment’s 
notice, while in a steam yacht something like an 
hour’s time is required to get up steam before 
the start can be made. This saves the cost of 
fuel required to get up steam and also the waste 
of the fuel remaining on the grates of a steam 
boiler after the run is completed, and which 
burns out without doing useful work. 
“The absolute evenness and efficiency of 
mechanical feed of gasolene fuel is in sharp 
contrast with the variation in the steaming of 
boiler installation. In the latter the firing takes 
place at intervals, thus causing a wide fluctua¬ 
tion in the steam pressure, and besides this the 
firemen become exhausted toward the end of 
a day’s run which will make itself felt in the 
operation of the steam plant. These are some 
of the causes that have led to the great popu¬ 
larity of the motor boat, and have contributed 
to the success of these boats in replacing steam 
yachts of about 100 feet waterline length and 
under.” 
W. H. Mullins, of Salem, Ohio, a manufac¬ 
turer and builder, thinks that the whole char¬ 
acter of the motor boat business has received 
more of an uplift this year than at any time in 
its history for these reasons: 
“The manufacturers realizing the future of 
the business depends upon a high class boat have 
made a concerted effort to provide boat buyers 
with boats and engines of dependability and 
quality. The development of the motor boat 
has in a large measure followed the develop¬ 
ment of the automobile. The average man own¬ 
ing an automobile will sooner or later require 
a motor boat. 
“The motor boat business in this country is 
just in its infancy and its future is very bright, 
indeed. There is not a large manufacturer of 
boats in this country who has not doubled his 
capacity within the last two years. There is 
not one of these manufacturers who will not 
find it necessary to double his capacity again 
within the next two years. 
“There are a number of motor boat builders 
in this country who are turning out hundreds—• 
yes, thousands of motor boats annually. To¬ 
day you can buy a first class family launch, 16 
feet in length, equipped with three horsepower 
engine, the complete outfit ready to place in the 
water and operate for the very low price of 
$110. This low priced boat has been an im¬ 
portant factor in the development of the motor 
boat game. The man who buys this small boat 
this year is looking for a larger boat next year. 
All over the country this same game of educa¬ 
tion and evolution is going on. There is no 
question that the motor boat industry of this 
country is on the up grade. It is growing rapid¬ 
ly, and the zenith has not been reached.” 
George Lawley, the veteran builder of Boston, 
said: 
“It was not so very long ago that almost 
every one who used boats for pleasure turned 
his attention to sailing, and interest in that line 
reached its maximum during the last decade of 
the nineteenth century. Since that time interest 
in this branch of aquatic sports seems to have 
declined. Even those who sail to-day have 
adopted auxiliary power. 
“The development of the motor boat side by 
side with the automobile has afforded great 
chances for mechanical training to young men 
whose tastes have not been developed and who 
are thereby given an opening that has proved 
a blessing not only to the student, but to his 
many anxious friends who are wondering what 
path he will take when life opens its numerous 
ways before him. 
“Probably every young man of a mechanical 
turn of mind has wished from his boyhood days 
that he might have a steam-propelled vessel. 
The first cost and expense of operation has gen¬ 
erally been prohibitive. When the comparatively 
inexpensive gasolene motor came to the front 
it became possible for these yearnings to be 
gratified, and now we see our embryonic engi¬ 
neers running around in their motor dories or 
launches, thereby acquiring not only health but 
nautical and mechanical experience that is in¬ 
valuable. 
“There is danger that the motor boat industry 
may be hampered in the future by legislation. 
Our Solons in Washington are endeavoring to 
formulate a law for inspection of all motor boats 
in order to afford better security not only to 
those who travel in them, but to others who may 
come in their way. All agree that there should 
be some governmental control, but there is dan¬ 
ger that our legislators may overdo the matter. 
It is hard to understand sometimes the minds of 
those who draw up Congressional bills. From 
a bill recently introduced in the House one would 
suppose that every motor vessel should be sub¬ 
ject to the same rules as steam vessels are to¬ 
day. While it is reasonable to believe that cer¬ 
tain rules could be furnished which would work 
in a very satisfactory way to secure the safety 
that is to be desired, at the same time there is 
all the paraphernalia for life saving that is car¬ 
ried by a steamer of many times her dimensions. 
It is to be hoped that wise counsel will prevail 
and that the bill, if passed, will be reasonable 
as well as efficient. 
“Every precaution should be taken in the 
handling of gasolene for security against leak¬ 
age. Most people realize this, and the boat 
builders are trying their best to ward off the 
danger. We claim there are far less accidents 
through the use of motor vessels than from 
automobiles, and certainly fatalities arising from 
the two causes cannot be compared. 
“We believe that a gasolene-propelled vessel 
as fitted out to-day is in every way as safe as 
a steam vessel. An efficient corps of gasolene 
engineers is being trained, so that the chances 
for accidents have been materially reduced. 
Motors have been perfected so far that in ex¬ 
perienced hands they are thoroughly reliable.” 
Sparks. 
John S. Poyen, of the Atlantic Company of 
Amesbury, was at the Motor Bow Show and 
did a big business. Mr. Poyen rather under¬ 
estimates the good qualities of his boats, and as 
a result has made hosts of friends. The Gurnet 
dory will soon be as popular in New York waters 
as on the other side of Cape Cod. 
George P. Spencer, formerly associated with 
the Greenwich Yacht Yard, is now with the 
Holmes Motor Company, at West Mystic. 
The Holmes Motor Company have sold a 33- 
foot boat to D. B. Blossom, of St. Louis, a 50- 
foot launch to Charles E. Bedford and a 30- 
footer to W. L. Supplee. The latter is a high 
speed boat for use on Lake Placid. 
George W. Childs Drexel, of Philadelphia, has 
purchased two 30 horsepower Twentieth Century 
motors for his new boat. 
President C. B. Orcutt, of the Newport News 
Shipbuilding Company, purchased a duplicate of 
the 54-foot Elco de Luxe, shown by the Elco- 
Bayonne, which he will use on the St. Lawrence 
River. It cost $11,500. Another has been sold 
to Michael Cudahy, of Chicago, for use at 
Mackinac Island. 
C. H. Forbes, of Orange, N. J.; A. J. Sco¬ 
field, of Bridgeport; David H. Huyler, of New 
York; J. K. Ross, of Montreal; L. P. Bradley 
and John H. Tyson, of New York, purchased 
Stamford motors during the show. 
Hollis Burgess, of Boston, visited the show 
during the week. He has purchased a 30-foot 
racer which he expects to furnish a surprise this 
coming season. 
The model of the Gregory, the first motor 
boat to cross the Atlantic, was shown at the 
Standard exhibit at the show. It is now a Rus¬ 
sian gunboat. 
A class of one-design 30-footers, which are 
equipped with thirty horsepower motors, are 
building for racing on the St. Lawrence. They 
were designed by Charles D. Mower. 
Commodore Frank D. Gheen’s new motor boat 
