The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-28


When a number Of
women faint and man dies of fright, it is
tolerably clear that the P edmont must have
had pretty eyentful trip.
In fact there are hundreds Of people who
are asking themselves whether the bay
ferrv-boals are all that they ought TO be, in
the matter Of stability under trying con-
ditiOns.
Bay travellers are getting very nervous
about the matter.
The majority of the ferry-bOat Only draw
about SIX or seven feet of water and are
fst-bottomed.
When they are at all crowded they roll
very perceptibly ana in anything of sea
there IS sometimes very near approach TO
the critical angle OF instability where fat
bottamed craft is liable to turn turtle.
Most persons who travel by the ferry
boat must have noticed biz brass index
OF the lower deck with what looks like the
minute hand Of q watch pointing down
ward This index IS supposed to indicate
the trim Of the vessel, and il will be noticed,
# the steamer is heavily loaded. that il de-
yiates quite considerably from the perpen-
dicular.
It would be interesting to know how many
uCEAtC1 ti4U lEltALAN htIf~A tfSA htANA III
gust caught her on Thursday night.
An old towboat captain who has studied
the question Of stability pretty closely said
yesterday:
q am told that the Piedmont was caught
in a gust and keeled over considerably.
From all I can learn. it might have gone
hard with the passengers if It had been any
other boat but the Piedmont I viii tell
you WY.
These fsrTy-boats are safe up to a certain
point. just Ike a scOw-schooner. Bat once
past thai point they turn turtle as quick as
lightning.
''Now, the Piedmont is really one of the
safest ferry-boats on the bay, and for this
reason While it is true that her wheel is
smaller than the Oaklsnd's or The Newark's
so that she loses the balancing power of the
big wheel, YET the P.edmont's machinery IS
near all below dcck; IN other words she is
Oell-bsiasted and the center Of gravity is
lowered.
There are about 10 feet amidships from
the deck 20 The keel and 6 feet out Of the
10 are occupied by machinery. which acts
as ballast. You see the point?
Now, in case the Piedmont is caught in
q 80 AID, this ballast Will tend to keep her
from keeling over to he danger point, and
even tend 70 right her.
"But take a steamer with the bulk Of the
machinery above the water line. tile New
ara for instance. 1Oucan walk underneath
her shaft In the Oakland and the Pied
mont the shaft is below decE, where it ought
&c be.
suppose a steamer with heavy load on
the upper deck and her machinery placed
high is caught IN a gust, bTladside on. the
moment she heels over TO a certain angle all
d lHr.T Ida, h.
1 nave seen time and time again ferTy-bOats
starting out 10 cross the bay on the Oak
land route with a dangerous decElOad.
Taking the terTy-DOats generally the
Ukiah IS a strong substantial safe boat
The Eaclnal Is also a good strong boat bat
the Bay City Is ght boat for heavy
weather, and the FL Captain is still worse.
Tie San Rafael 10 light little boat but
yOu must recOl.ect that The boats that run
70 SauSaiitO aud Iiburon are not exposed
to tile same risk as the Oakland and A Ia
media boats When there is any weather
on they either buck right into it. bows on,
or have the wind asteTn. But the Oakland
and Alameda boats get the gusts on the
broadSde, and that is where the danger
comes.
'For instance a southeastern Ike that of
Thursday night breaks full on the broad
side Of the Oakland boats.
There IS nothing 10 check the force of
the gusts, ana the heavier the deckload, es-
peeialiy on the upper deck, the greater the
danger"
Nothing could be simpler than the ex-
PLANTATION given by nautical expert TO
reporter who asked how the danger limit
Was asceTtaiued.
He drew two rough sketches, showing an
ordinary wagon and a feTry-bOat, safely
loaded and overloaded He pointed out
that when the vertical line drawn from the
center OF the top Of the WagOu-lOad, or the
upper deek of the steamer, falls outside the
edge Of either there is only one result-a
capsize.
lin every vessel sfoat," said he. ''there is
quantity known as the msta-centric
height. This can be determined by cacula-
ton, aud there Ought to be rigid rules to
prevent this quantity from being ap-
preached Within the danger limit.
In many OF the ferry-boats The limit is
approached very closely indeed, especially
IN the summer excursion season.
IF one Of the sOutheasters we have had
this winter were to catch an excursion ferry
boat 1t would be a case Of DaYy Jones for
all hands"
The steamers Arago. Emily and Arcata,
which arrived Yesterday from tie north, all
had very heavy weather on the way down.
They bucked right into the southeaster on
Thursday night, and had a wild time off
Point Reyes. Aboard the Emily was a
female elk, sent down from Port Oxford for
the Golden Gate Park menagerie The
bDUA duAu4di " dS uuftt UdulI bruised ana
cut by the Incessant tossing OF the craft and
will need careful nursing to bring her
ar ind. The AragO had a hard time pass
ing through the heads in the binding rain
and spray, and was grateful for the welcome
music Of the Lime Point fog whistle.
The steamer MaTiposa, which was to have
been tOwed 10 the sugar refinery, was an
chOred IN he stream for safety on Thurs
day night, but dragged both anchors all the
way from Folsom TO Washington street
She was towed back to Folsom-steet wharf
and tied up.
The Humboldt was among the south
bound steamers which got caught in the
blow and had TO heave to for several hours
of Point Reyes. The wind was then blowing
sixty miles an hour.
The Hattie Gage, one of the four fishing
steamers, was all night making her way
from Point Reyes to the heads. and for
hours together the fnn force of the engines
only enabled the steamer to hold her own.
She brought IN the only lot Of fish landed
ms morning. as none OF the other boats
went ont. Tie fish sold at famine prices.
Inc Pacific Mail steamer City of Picking
is now three days overdue from Yokohama,
but no anxiety Is felt about her, as Captain
Searles Is known TO be an exceptionally
careful man, who will always prefer to take
the long route or keep his ship out Of
harms way. 1t is believed the Picking has
been delayed by head winds.
The steamer Gold, Of the Petaluma line,
was run into and badly damaged by the
steamer Aurora at her wharf during Thurs
day nights blow.
The Pacific Mail steamers San Bias. San
Juan and San Jose, commonly known as
the ''three saints" will hereafter be put on
the sway" service, calling at all ports. The
Acapulco, which arrived Yesterday. will
make the San Jose's next through trip,
sailing on February 6.
A considerable section of the filing at
Meiggs wharf. in the rear OF section B of
the new stawal, was swept into the bay
during the height Of the gale Oh Thursday
night. The strip is supposed to be 60 feet
vide on the filling and 40 feet wide on the
" harf, OF 100 feet in all. The filing had
been nearly completed, but the whole Of the
new soil was swept away and scattered over
private lots in the vicinity or washed into
LII. Il ILL., mil IL L.