Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-08-24
THE EEnnrnoAr rEAn1Ess.
Philadelphia Steamship Men Delighted
with the Work of Wilmington Ship
builders.

Ahtlfutiphlh Nttu
With the Work of Wilmington ship
builders.
The Philadelphia Record of Sunday,
speaking of the first trip made saturday
last by the officials of the Gloucester
Ferry Company on their new ferry boat
Fearless, just built by the Harlan &
Hollingsworth Company of this city,
remarks in the following compliment
tary terms on the boats qualities;
If you see marine novelty that is
huge, but graceful; swift, but noiseless,
and which makes hardly ripple as it
shoots past the wharves and marshes
on the Delaware, put it down as the
ferryboat Fearless, the first double
propeller ever seen in these waters. The
Fearless is the brand new addition to
the fleet of the Gloucester Ferry Com
pany, and her builders say she is des-
tined to revolutionize the ferry business
on the Delaware. She was given trial
up and down past the city front Satur-
day. Everybody was interested in the
speed of the boat as she swept through
the water, but it was with even deeper
interest that the rlyermen saw that
scarce a trace of swell disturbed the
surface of the river as the big boat hur-
ried along. This is due principally to
her hull, which is splendid in its lines
and almost a reproduction of that of the
Vigilant, the yacht which many believe
will be the cup defender against the
Valkyrie, the crack of Britain's white
winged flyers. The Fearless goes
through the water like swan, and as
she speeds ahead the water runs quietly
g,f !, cid l,Ar tVrr,
pellers, one at each end of the boat, are
deepin the water, and, instead of churn-
ing up the water like the surface of a
maelstrom, as ordinary screws do, they
suck the current downward.
The Fearless is a double.deck boat,
and was built by the Harlan & Hol-
lingsworth Company, of Wilmington.
Her beautiful steel hull was designed by
7. Jackson Shaw, who was aboard
Saturday. Mr.. Thompson gave carte
blanche, only asking that Mr.. Shaw
design the fastest fcrryboat that could
be built. He said he wanted it to run
between Philadelphia and Gloucester in
ten minutes. The Fearless has an indie
pendent air pump and condenser of the
Worthington type, and has independent
feed pumps. These are new features, as
is the special steam pumps for fire SER
vice, They are not for use on the Fear.
less alone, but the big ferryboat can
serve as tirebOat in the harbor.
The Fearless is as fine model as
ever came out of yard" said ]. j. De
Kinders, her designer, who supervised
the construction Of the machinery and
boilers. 'In 10 years there will not be a
side.wheel ferry boat on the Delaware
The double propeller ferryboats owned
by the Pennsylvania railroad were fire.
quently the only ferryboats that could
get into their slips on the North river
last winter. The paddles get clogged
with the ice, but the submerged pro,
pellers work under it. The front pro,
peller gathers the ice and shoves it back
while the rear propeller is pushing tn,
boat ahead. No matter how heavily
loaded on one side the Fearless will moi
list She will be able to run through
the heaviest ice in the Delaware"