The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-08-18
NEW BICYCLE BOAT.

MT. vietory's Invention Proves a
 Success
 R. A. Victory launched his bicycle boat in Lake Housatonic Saturday af ternoon. The novel boat was invented and built by MT. Victory in the Adel- phi rooms during his hours of leisure. The inventor has applied for a patent. His conception of the boat dates back to a year and half ago, at which time he had the drawings made. He work ed on the pieces of the boat wheneverI he felt so disposed, and 1t was not until q month ago that he made rapid pro- gress on 1t to completion.
 The boat is of the catamaran pat tern, IA feet inches in length, and to- tai width feet The sections are double enders and at the center are fifteen inches apart. A six inch box, two feet from the decks, conceals the mechanical works and place where the power is obtained. Saddles like those on bicycle are arranged on the top of the case in tandem fashion, and the pedals in revolving go down into the body of the sections on either side,
 The boat is propelled by copper buck cts set six inches apart on an endless chain, made to rotate by the motion of the pedals. The buckets are 2ie inches in diameter and are graduated to catch accurately on the sprockets attached to the two ordinary safety wheels. The pedals are fastened to the spindle of the wheels The saddle is adjustable so that a small boy can raise or lower the seat while pedaling on the lake.
 The boat launched Saturday, is as much of an experiment as anything else, but has proven 8 success. The idea will be improved upon by the own- CT, who will build another with more graceful outlines and compressed air sections, which will make the boat lighter and develop a higher rate of speed from the same power. The gear can be regulated the same as in a bi- cycle.
 J. Tucker Wells and Harold Victory, nephew of the owner, made the trial trip. They left the dock by the lake side pedaling over the smooth surface as gleefully as though they were going over a cinder path The man in front steers with a handle just as he would | turn corner on a wheel. A turn can 1 be made in twice tlie length of the | boat, without reducing the power below ordinary. The boat made three and a half miles an hour without exertion. | A large crowd watched the initial | trip from the balconies of the pavilion at the park, shortly after o'clock. A | O. front and rear decks, which will ac- commodate six persons. The inventor has already discovered that the buck l cts can be increased to six inches in diameter, which will increase the speed | obtainable to five miles an hour, and the pedaling will be equal to the pow | CT necessary to push bicycle along on a level roadside. The buckets dip into | the water about six inches below the 1 surface.
 The boat leaked scarcely enough to l dampen the bottom which is uncom- mon for a new boat A feature of the
 bicycle boat is that you can always | look ahead and one can propel it with | almost as little effort as two persons. | The boat will be taken out of the water | III d udy UT tWO anu lIlllliicu up Witli paint and nickel trimmings, and large
 buckets employed instead of the small 1 ones.
 Several prominent men inspected the boat Saturday and Sunday, and ad-
 mired it. The boat is a gem for fishing
 and duck hunting and can be handled as well without hands, with simple | attachment, as with them, For duck hunting 1t can be run In and out of bushes or inlets without the least trouble as the person propelling it only
 has to reverse his motion to move the
 boat forwards or backwards. The boat
 launched Saturday is yet unchristened,
 but will doubtless be called the Adel-
 phi. The inventor is contemplating the l manufacture of the boats in various
 sizes. It is next to impossible to upset
 it and it can stand the toughest of
 weather.-Ansonia Sentinel.