The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-02-04
FAILED TO MOVE.
How an Inventor Came ia
-. Grief.
Charles Bailey's SeIf-Navigating Ma.
chine Not Very Successful on
Its Trial Trip.

Charles Bailey Of Stockton claims tosbe
the inventor of machine which he has
named the "self-navigatlng bay traveller"
and yesterday morning at an early hour
Mr.. Bailey gave a private exhibition OF his
: invention and what it could do to party
of select friends The trial of the self
navigator" was set for 9 a. NJ and the
place of exhibition was the bay off Mission
flats.
Mr., Bailey is said to be a very eccentric
genius. His machine proved to be as
erratic "a its master is said to be, and Mr..
Bailey of Stockton came to grief.
Having tOwed the self-navigator to a
good Citing the owner explained to his
friends in a Whitehall boat how he pro-
posed to take advantage Of the motion Of
the water TO propel his craft forward.
Unfortunately for a successful trial
trip the hay was as smooth as glass. The
self-navlgatOr, which looks like II water
bycicle, refused to move.
Ripple up the bay little" shouted
Bailey Of Stockton, rocking the self-nayi-
gator violently by way of example. The
men in the Whitehall tried To create =
little swell. but still the navigator would
not bulge.
80 Lets wait for tugboat to pass" sug-
geSted Mr.. B., and IN the meanwhile I'll
. explain the machine.
You see," SAID he, tine navigator is
composed of two separate boats with a
high seat Oh this platform built between
them. When the swell strikes the star
board side it raises the boat on the right
and works a cogw heel, which turns the
screw. The platform works like hinge,
you. see. Now, when the wave reaches
The poTt-side noat it raises that and lowers
the starbOard crafi-ste? BY Keeping
broadSide 10 the wave one can travel with
out working his feet, the boat just goes
right along bv itself,
when you're running against the seas
then you can use the treadwheel TO make
the screw go r0und-see.
The men in the Whitehall evidently saw
in a very unsatisfactory sort Of way. for
one gentleman who hailed from Butcher
town shouted out:
"Ab. go on with your navigator. Stir
her 10 little bit and don't waste so much
wind! !"
closer to the Oakland ferries, so that the
swell might catch the navigator at the
proper angie.
Mr.. Bailey OF Stockton worked the foot
gear OF the navigator and the Whitehall
kept alongside Of her. People on the
.wharyeS thought thai small-sZed stern
wheel steamer was going up the bay, so
great was the wake left by Mr.. Bailey of
Stockton andshis machine.
The ferry-boat Piedmont had just passed
into the slip, and big curling white ell
was rushing toward the new marine woD-
der.
"Here she comes, boys" shouted Mr..
Bailey, with eXultatlon. Look out. now:
when it gets a-gong. you fellows IN the
boat won't be in H."
The big wave struck the navigator on
the port side. and Tor few brief moments
Mr.. Bailey WAS see-sawing up and down
on succession Of rollers, ana looked like
man dancing the Highland fling under
protest
The navigator went ahead with some
vim. spun around like a top. took couple
OF twists over sideways and acted in the
. strangest manner possible.
MI. Bailey Of Stockton got tangled up
. in the IA yigator aud the navigator got
tangled up with Mr.. Bailey. 1t took sew
eral minutes to extricate him and half an
hour to bring him to.
When last seen man was 10 each sec
ton of the navigator rowing up the bay
and enjoying gOOd-natured race for the
- flats. The Whitehall landed the detected
Mr.. Bailey OF Stockton at a convenient
wharf.