Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-07-10

after all the machinery, stores. etc.
are on board. There are number of
small compartments which can be
filled with water and emptied at the
pleasure of the crew, and by this
means the vessel can be sunk to anv
depth below the surface. Over the
er-ballast compartments, on each
side and beneath the floor, are a mum
Der of six-inch iron tubes which will
be filed with compressed air, to be
liberated as the air grows foul within
the boat.
The motive power is electricity.
furnished by storage batteries which
will turn the propeller by a common
dynamo. 1ncandescent electric lamps
will furnish light. The boat is steered
to port or starboard by common rud-
der, while horizontal rudder or fin
on each side of the stern post will
elevate or depress the stern, and thus
shove the vessel further from or nearer
to the surface, independent of the ac-
ton of the water-ballast pump. The
inventor, Mr.. J. Fl. L. Tuck. saws
that she will attain a speed Of eight
knots an hour, and can travel a hun
dred miles with her ordinary storage
batteries. A hand crank is also fitted
for turning the propeller shaft, by
which a slow speed could be obtained.
The well hole in the center of the
boat is fitted with an alright hatch,
which can be removed from within.
Any one of the crew wishing to 90
on deck when the boat is below the
surface has only to dress in an ordin-
airy Divers suit, with air tubes con-
Meeting with the interior of the boat,
enter the well, close the door, gradu-
ally fill the well with water, and
then remove the hatch. In the we'll
are suitable devices for directing the
man at the wheel as those in charge
of the apparatus for elevating, lower
ing, and propelling the boat. When
leaving the well the hatch is closed,
the water runs into the water ballast
compartments, and then the man
opens the door and removes his
armor.
Ia warfare large torpedo can be
attached to each end of the boat, with
a strong insulated wire connecting the
two together, and with an electric
battery in the boat. To apply the
torped0es to the bottom of a ship the
boat has only to run beneath it.
When directly athwarthships, under
her keel, the pilot in the welI-hole can
loosen the torpedoes and allow them
to rise under the bilges of the ship.
Then he can run his boat ahead a
safe distance and explode the torpe-
does. # desirable a small cupola.
with glass windows, and an electric
lamp, can replace the we'll, and the
boat can be operated from within.
The boat is designed to remain I'M
der water without inconvenience to
the crew for forty eight hours, but a
rubber-tube device will be attached by
means of which air can be drawn
from the surface of the water under
ordinary circumstances. A small
mercury indicator will show the boats
distance below the surface.
The power of the storage batteries
to propel a yacht has been amply de-
mOnstrated in a number of expert
ments, the Latest of which was Oh
May II. On that day Messrs. Farron
& Co., Of Poplar, England, ran
forty foot launch at a high speed for
six consecutive hours by means of
Sieman's dynamos and Fruer-Sellon-
Volckmar batteries. AS long ago as
1901, Fulton, the steamboat inventor,
constructed a submarine boat, with
which he remained under water over
four hours. In view of these facts,
Mr.. Tuck asserts that the building of
a successful submarine boat involves
only matters of detail, and these, be
believes, he thoroughly understands.
A trial trip will be taken in about SIX
weeks.