The Red Cloud chief., 1882-09-01

An apparatus has been invcntci. sbs
Introduction of which. IL - claimed.
viii prcveni sny further appalling dis
aster. caused by the collision o. vessels
In rivers. channels. aud n sea
The construction Of ia. device -
very simple and consists Of n pair OF
iron shutters or ..hns." nsed one On
each side OF the stern post al \ vessel
and shutting close 10 IL. ssies from the
stern post forward. The "tns are
kept tightly closed by 4 simple aPpsrs-
tu- on deck. which b. connected with
the p.lo, house. and when .'iei go
the stays connected with the Inns
allow them To opcn at right angles with
the ship. bringing IL NJ once To n stand
still. and hold ng il fast ,. IL anchored
The area of the ..fn." IL in direct
ratio with the size of the ship. and the
immediate storpage Of the vessel when
they are suddenly opened Is n certainty:
..fins" much larger than are needed
may be- fitted TO all ye.se.s without
looking out Of proportion 10 the size o.
the ship. For example. n vessel re,
curing fins with 4 superficial area of
100 square fee, Ia stop IL could be sup
piled with fms o! an area Of $40 feet
and they would not look large or dis
proportionate 10 the ship. When the
fms are released the experiment proves
that no jarring or Shocks experienced,
such as is felt on n railroad when the
brakes are applied. The wafer being a
yielding body, acts n a spring or cush-
ion. For foggy weather or darkness n
s~elf-acting guard is rugged our at the
bow Of the vessel. and should it meet
with any rigid BODY in the path Of the
ship when touched. it at once releases
the fins" and stops the We sci before
il can reach the obstruction. without
any movement or direction on the part
Of the pilot or navigating officer. When
clos ed the fins follow the outline of the
ship, and. being flush with its sides,
can in no way diminish its speed. The
inventors first experiment was made
with a 37l foot fast e yacht, 10
which was attached Il pair Of fins" 4
feet long By y feet VIDE. This power
proved 10 be at least twice as much ~
was needed to stop the vessel instantly
when at full speed. A second trial
demonstrated this fact when only one
fin was used. The space Travelled after
the brake was applied was so small that
il could not be dis.erned by persons
watching the experiment from the
shore.
To ascertain what sized fins would be
required TO stop n certain steamship OF
fourteen hundred tons measurement a
n r.f, mr. d.,t u-a. c.pefr1,ct.t IN carry
a pair of fins in position without fixing
them To a vessel. The float and fins
were towed out by q powerful tugboat,
being attached thereto by . new six
inch manila hawser. When the tug
boat was going at full speed with full
steam on the fins were released and the
effect was 10 snap the hawser like a
piece Of thread. making a report like a
cannon. The fins remained firm. The
breaking strain Of a six-inch hawscr is
said to be tw~enty-seyen thousand
pounds. The fins used on this occasion
were each 9x3 feet. or together an area
Of l44 square feet. When they were
tried with the fourteen ~hundred-ton
vessel they proved abundantly large.
stopping the ship instantly and holding
her fast against her power within a les;
distance than five feet.
In the opinion Of the inventor n col.
lision like that of the Stonington and
Narragansett could have been avcrtcd il
the steamers had been provided with
the brakes. The Stonington-the col.
liding vessel-had several minutes in
which TO stop. The same number o'
seconds would have been sufficient will
the brake to bring her to u standstill
Another case i'm point was the loss of tho
steamship. Bohemian. which wa;
wrecked on the southern point Of Miz
zen Head by collision with rocks. Out oI
fifty-seven persons on board t~hirty-fiv'
persisted. including the officers. On'
of the survivors stated in evidence tina
he was on the lookout and gave warn
ing of breakers ahead ten minute:
before the steamer struck. ~. j
Herald.