New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-08-25
THE VALKYRIE'S GREAT BOOM
HER SPREAD OF CANVAS WILL BE ENOR-
SOME CONCLUSIONS SUGGESTED BY A SURVEY OF
HER SPARs AND LINES-AN EXPERTS
IDEAS on THE SUBJECT

IDEAS on THE SUBJECT
NJ ch said last Tuesday in this column
about the remarkable power of Valkyrie ILL., as
when she was afoat and in her cruising rig
new views and doubts arise when one sees the
enormous area of her racing rig 1t is difficult 70
remember the power Of the hull when first gazing
on her gigantic spars. Only one question can come
into any ones mind: "Can she carry them"
The hull Of Valkyre Ill has been here re-
ferred to embodiment. the very type. of power
Ia a boat. But there IL now a steel boom her
which to yachismans eyes is something simply
frightful. The parallel length Of it three times
paced off the edge OF the drydock. and that boom
docs not seem 10 be one inch less than a hundred
and fifteen feet long. An elephant is fairly well set
up in the matter Of strength. He is huge. We
respect him. But with The Tribune Building d
howdah on his back doubt begins
suppose you take approximate idea OF what
canvas this boat will carry The hull is about one
hundred and twenty-eight feet long over all The
bowsprt projects thirty feet beyond the nose. and
tbs ll5-foot boom seems extend about twenty or
ng-drawn-ou, counter. This will give in the
neighborhood Of hundred and eighty feet the
height OF. say I2o feet az It's apex. we get a fair
notion OF her ordinary spread OF canvas And to
side this triangle by the sixty-hve,fo foot gaff.
one stands on at distance and realizes the sail
which the now bare spars map out. and then
in the next look az the Valkyrie,. she seems all at
10 oppose all this sail pressure and TO give stability
to the whole erection Well there is the boat-a
keel like the large belly FIN on a buhead sundsH
They tel you ina; az the bottom OF this fin there
are eighty tons OF cad concealed under copper
sheathing. But the space IL occupies looks too small
and you cannot believe it,
In recent conversation with the writer the pres
ent Bishop Of Vermont quoted the Sunda y-school
boy who replied that faith was tryln to believe
Gcnity in Believing that so apparently small an an
amount OF lead and canoe could support sal press
Now this valkre III is a peach. in so far that
she cannot be all absorbed in bite She must be
rD many ma ah Pbe e arrived 9I Sew any
her from near the bow. the bilge. as it runs into
from the edge OF the drydock and amidshps. the eye
fails TO observe the true iatness Of the floor and
outer curves. and the hull appears much more V
SNAPPED than II Is. The only way these IDEAS can be
corrected is to dercend 10 the bottom of the drydoc
and see the real floor she possesses.
those most important lines in the centre section are
quite different from the representations published
by local newspapers, which were supposed to have
do not present fiat floor in the old skim
ming dish pattern and yet hatter than in the Vigil
wonder Is that the heavy middle part Of the hull
Bor,ion was sunk 50 deep in The water iatter
would have provided much smaller displacement
OF water at the same measure OF buoyancy. The
beat that will beat Valkyre III will be made In
this way; but at present Watson has not combined
the, old form of the fiat American hull with his
Keel TO thus extent In other words he has not yet
produced the combination which VIII give the great
est possible amount Of brute force Mr.. Watson Is
stu hnessing with scientific dicta regarding the
passage OF water under yachts hull AMI. al
though he has made great advance toward the
ideal brute the necessity 10 provide sufficient
strength 10 carry the lead mine seems t. have
partly prevented him from advancing stu further.
He Is still producing a yacht and not racing ma
chine. and some yachtsmen fear that the fastest
boats Of the future Will have their fms narrow
and so precarlousy attached 10 their hulls. to-
gether with so shallow displacement that they
VIII cease to be yachts In meritlng only the tite
Of machines
In this case. and it is AS certain arrive as that
the sun will rise tomorrow. there Will perhaps be a
prominent advantage to be derived by the country
that holds the cup at the time; because the racing
machine that will be fastest VIII not probably be a
vessel. nor. un.ess new Inventions be
made to bring strength. could she safely carry her
i al mine the ocean. This VIII mean that
The home boat will have even more advantage than
Is at present utilized and II may be asked later
why II has not been further utilized In the contest
now about TO on
sun while combining view 10 the present
aspects. 1t mt ST be noticed that the Valkyre Is
gong TO roll large swell after her when she is
'usned to speed. Her middle portion sinks deeD