The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-05-23
THE FIRST ELECTRIC LAUNCH.
Mr.. Carl Weber Launched 1T i'm the
HarbOr Yesterday.

Power Enough for -Four Hours Sailing is
Taken in Three Small Boxes-A Poten-
tial Liquid, Acting on Zinc and Carbon,
Makes the Boat Go.
An interested company gathered at the
Yacht Club house yesterday afternoon
to witness the trial of Mr.. Carl Weber's
electric launch. This is the first electric
boat ever seen in Portland harbor, and
those small boys who, from their perch
es at the end of the wharves yesterday
rubbed their eyes at the sight of row
boat moving up against the tide with
out the aid of either oars or smokestack,
were beholding a veritable wonder.
The larger portion of Mr.. We ber's
launch is not new. He has simply TAX
en- his roomy and comfortable fifteen
foot row boat Nellie" and applied Ito it
a novel electric motor. In the place of
the old wooden rudder of the Nellie, has
been placed a rudder made from a
strong sheet of composition metal. This
rudder is about the size of a wooden rud
der, but is hung with rather stronger
pintles. Also, at the bottom, on its near
edge, is placed little 14-lnch two-fan
propeller. This propeller is placed upon
the edge of the rudder blade, much as a
boy might place pin wheel on the edge
of single.
This propeller blade is so fitted that
an endless chain, exactly like bicyle
chain, can be run directly upward to a
sprocket wheel on the shaft of little
electic motor, which sets on the head
of the rudder, where the tiller joint is
made. Thus propeller, fan and motor
are part of the rudder, and can be
unshipped with it.
The motor is about as large as hat
or good-sized turnip. but within its
small compass it conceals the
POWER OF A HORSE.
1t is covered with casting which pro-
tects it from the water. OF course a mo-
tor, to do it's work, must have an cleo
trio current from some source. This
source, in the case ofssMr. Weber's launch,
is supplied from three wooden boxes,
each a little longer than a salt box, and
the three weighing about 100 pounds.
Each box contains several cans or cells,
each of which is filled with acid in
which certain pieces Of metal are sub
| merged. and connected by wires. These
| are storage battery cells and the
three wooden boxes make up the second
| airy, or storage battery. This, when
| charged, has potentiality enough for
| four hours work, at the rate of about
| five miles an hour. Two wires run from
| the boxes to the motor on the rudder.
Mr.. Weber gets the power for his stor-
age battery from a primary battery.
which consists of twelve rubber cans
or cells, each filed with a peculiar acid,
in which are submerged pieces of zinc
and carbon. The acid attacks the zinc,
as is seen by sizzling agitation, and
This primary battery can create power
enough for SO hours of sailing, and if
| Mr.. Weber wishes to make long jour-
ney he can take in his boat the primary
| instead of the secondary. When the
primary battery needs renewing, jug
| of liquid Is sent from Boston. The
| American Electric Battery Company of
Boston, who put the arrangement into
| Mr.. Weber's boat, have equipped several
launches, which are running about
| Boston.
When the launch left the Yacht Club
house yesterday, she went off at good
speed and steadily, exciting much inter-
Il
little switch near the helmsman's seat
enables the current to be put on and
| shut off at will.