Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-06-17
THE STILET TO-S GREAT SPEED.
The Principles Upon which the New
Yacht is Built.

No event In the last 20 years has created so
profound and widespread an interest among
New York shipping merchants steamboatmen
and yachtsmen as the performance on Wednes-
day last of the little steam yacht Stiletto i'm
beating the fast steamer Mary Powell The
Stiletto is conceded to have shown a speed of
"a miles an hour in her race with the Mary
Powell. which was up the Hudson river.
Since that event. wherever the little boat
has appeared, she has been greeted with
chorus of steam whistles, and has ex-
cited the most eager curiosity. On Thurs
day last she took out party to wit
ness the regatta of the New York Yacht club,
to the thousands of spectators as the racing
yachts themselves. On Friday she carried eX-
Coy. Tilde ma and his family on flying sail up
den, IT is said greatly enjoyed his trip on the
little vessel, insisted On having her run at full
speed. inquired of Mr.. Herreshoff if an ocean
steamship built after her model and furnished
with adequate engines of the same character
would be capable of making the same speed,
and asked many other puZzing and scientific
questions. The ladies of his party were de-
lighted.
The stiietto was built by the Herreshotf Nam
ufacturinG company, of Bristol. of which John
q. Herreshof is president and n. q. Herreshoff
superintendent aud designer. She was launched
in April. John b. Herreshoff says that the hull
of the Stletto is the product Of series of exper-
fments made with models in the same manner
as was followed by F'roude, the English ship
tests of the numerous steamers previously built
by the HerreshOH company. Her length over
sh IA, p sa ee. ss a,a Iee h depth 81 noid
ends OF the craft are very nearly alike, being
m, modeied SO as to present the smallest posi-
given notatiOn, as it is Ia the attainment of very
high speed skin water surface friction is
Ae factor of major resistance. The lines of the
bows are very nearly straight, and the bottom
Is made in round sections. The Slight slope OF
the deck forward and more pronounced slope
aft from the center, which gives the peculiar
appearance SO noticeable i'm the boat. as well as
in the inclination inward are given merely Tor
the purpose Of getting rid OF unnecessary
weight in the hull, consequent loss OF deck room
being matter OF no moment in a boat of this
kind.
to build a yacht capable OF conveying business
men quickly to and from their country resi-
dences and the city, but also I'D produce a craft
in case of necessity as a torpedo boat. The
problem of the naval warfare of the future, it
seems tom is TO be solved by speed and dyna-
mite-or. to be more specific, that one OF tho
great iron-clads of the present time would be
absolutely at the mercy of number of small
boats of great speed armed with dynamite
IN this boat is s Gil, is about that which ex-
perience has demonstrated to be the best for
obtaining high speed and that to which we are
tending in the construction of ocean steam
ships. Some years ago the tendency was to
make them much narrower, and the proportion
was worked down to about 1, but lately IL
has been carried up again to about 9, and the
results have proved more satisfactory.
"The engine is designed TO produce the great
est amount of power with the least possible
amount of vibration. 1t is an annular valve
inverted compound engine. 1t has two cylin-
ders, one OF II inches, the other of 81 inches
diameter, with II inches stroke Of piston.
With the maximum steam pressure of $50
pounds it will make $50 revolutions per min
ute, and is capable Of working with that high
pressure and high number Of revolutions
to break down. The space required for it
is very much smaller than that occupied by any
other engine in use of the same power The
ordinary yacht engines are capable of making
only from 175 to 225 revolutions per minute.
The essential feature of the engine Is In the
struction of the cylinder, which consists of one
cylinder within the other, with an annular
space between in which the valve works. The
Steam ports, or openings through which the
steam enters the inner cylinder, are ranged all
around 1t at the top and bottom, SO that the
steam pressure is exerted on the piston head
from all sides atonce and not, as I'm the engines
in use now, from only one side. We have made
as much as 25 miles an hour with the Stiletto,
and she can probably make as much as "a
m