The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-12-01
AN ELECTRIC LAUNCH.
The Hull Now Being Built by N. A
Jacobs.

The First in PortIand-It is for Major w.
r. Livermore of Boston, u. S, Engineer
for the First and Second Lighthouse
Districts-He Will Use it as Tender
for the Myrtle-Also in His Investiga-
ton of Atmospheric "Ghosts"
At Jacobs's boat building shop there
is now in process Reconstruction the hull
for the first electric launch ever bu1lt
in Portland, or probably in the state.
1t is a peculiar shaped hull. 20 feet IN
length over all, and six feet beam. 1t
is wider six inches below the gunwale
than anywhere else, giving the cross
section sort of barrel shape. 1t has
the unusual depth of four feet, the deep
est for it's size of any boat that Mr.. ia
cobs ever built This is to provide for
the accommodation of the storage bat
teries under the seats and floor that are
to drive the propeller. This launch is
being built for Major W.R. Livingston
of Boston, US. lighthouse engineer, in
charge of all the lighthouses from New
Bedford to the ST. Croix river. The
steamer Myrtle is his official boat, end
this electric launch will serve as ten
der.
Mr.. Jacobs submitted his bid for the
hull some weeks ago, and although the
bids were opened in Boston, and there
were many competitors, the Portland
boatbuilder got the contract.
We.understand that the application OF
the electric power from the batteries to
the machinery of the boat is new in
vention, and is to be tried in this boat
for the first time.
Besides using it as tender for the
Myrtle, Major Livermore will make use
of the launch in the experiments that
he has been making of late in regard
to the so.called GHOSTS" Oh silent Sec
tions of the atmosphere, through which
the sound of fog horns. bells, etc.. does
not penetrate.
For instance, if you should sail from
here to Cape Ann, as you neared the
station there you might hear the fog
horn 90 miles away. At Is miles dis
tant you might not hear it. and at eight
miles distant you might hear it again,
and SO Oh. 1t is well known fact that
foghorns in certain localities are practl-
cally unreliable, gbecause of these silent
spaces.that vary with the wind and eli
matte conditions, and may cause. and
have caused shipwreck and much loss
of life.
The matter has been investigated by the
lighthouse board for 25 years, but
without success. 1t has been noticed
that when the wind is blowing toward
the sound. consequently against the on
coming waves of sound, this peculia r
phenomenon occurs, whereas it does. not
occur so frequently when the wind is
blowing from the direction OF the sound
or across il.
Major Livermore has been experiment.
ing all summer at Boston light. He
has tried horns, bells and sirens whis-
ties, and has then sailed away from and
approached them in the fog, and found
that the nature of the sound does not
affect the existence of these silent
streaks or GHOSTS"
There are certain localities in Boston
harbor where the "ghosts" occur with
tolerable regularity, SO that they are as
well known as islands or currents.
At White Fl cad station, just this side
of Rockland, the phenomena is also very
noticeable. Sometimes when the fog has
been very low, it has occurred that an
approaching steamer has come near
enough for the officers to see the steam
from the foghorn rising above the fog
just ahead, and yet they could not hear
the great noise that it had caused.
AS yet there is nothing satisfactory
known that explain this phenomena.
With the electric launch, Major Liv-
ermore will be able to move readily,
place himself in various relations with
the fog horn while conducting his ex-
periments, than he could on the Myrtle.