The San Francisco call., 1896-07-19
Already Many of Them Are
in Use on the Har-
lem River.
Their Machinery Simple and
Danger Very Much Re-
duced.
Are Easy to Ride and Much Safer
Than Rowboat. but You Can't
Take Them Home.

1t is curious fact now, considering the
rapid development of the bicycle, that at
its inception it was designed only for use
on the water. The records of the United
States Patent Office show an assortment of
queer inventions of this character, based
on the idea OF the catamaran as to hull,
but having the motive power OF the pedal
subsequently adopted in the ordinary
bicycle OF to-day. Engravings of the water
bicycle, representing man astride of a
framework and saddle speeding over the
water at apparently twenty-five knots an
hour, appeared iii the illustrated periodi-
Gals forty years ago, says the New York
Herald.
The land cycle at that time was not only
still unknown-it was not dreamed of as
means of locomotion. The water cycle was
not a success, the screw propeller not
having been generally introduced. 1t was
constructed somewhat on the principle of
the swan boats that are now the delight
of the little children in Central Park. The
water wheel was geared to make more
revolutions than the axis of the pedal.
The catamaran was of the lightest con-
struction. No passengers were provided
for beyond those who worked the machine.
The latter was designed to be both single
and doubIe-the two operators sitting side
by side. 1t was an English invention, if I
remember rightly.
The invention of the land bicycle, fol-
lowing as it did on the heels of the tricy-
Gle, threw the water machine into obscur-
ity and the water wheel was cast aside as
sort of exploded experiment, as had
been the flying machine and perpetual
motion. The land bicycle itself was for
years considered impracticable for any
really useful purpose, and long after its
usefulness in everyday life had been dem
onstrated its advocates and riders were
considered ''cranks," who ought to be
! sent to the workhouse or incarcerated in
/ lunatic asylums. From that period to
the present the transition has been too
rapid to follow coherently; all the world
rides a wheel.
So fully absorbed have inventors become
/ in the improvement and perfection of the
i road wheel that the original object of
water travel has received no attention
until very recently. Perhaps the spoon
oar, the cedar shell and the swift steam
and naphtha and electric launches have
contributed to this neglect, These were
also unknown when the first water bicy-
Gle was introduced. But this apparent
neglect is being atoned for in the recent
sudden rush of inventors into the field of
| open water. Several practical bicycle
boats have been invented during the last
few months. Scores of patents in this line
have been applied for at the same time.
1t will surprise some persons to learn
that bicycle boats of various designs have
/ nOI oln ff,a Har hi
4 spring, and that more ambitious craft of
this kind have been encountered on the
open sound. 1t may be a still greater sur
prise to learn that boats of this character
are now under construction which, when
completed, will dare the dangers of the
deep sea, and even cross the Atlantic.
! Bat it is fact. Some of these have al
ready been successfully tested. They
all preserve the characteristics OF the land
bicycle and consequently adhere in great
measure to the design OF the original
| water wheel.
The hull is of cedar, the same as that o
the ordinary racing she'll But it is of
peculiar shape, the ordinary hull being
supplemented by second and smaller
hull dropped Immediately below the other
Into this lower hull, which corresponds to
the hold of vessel, the machinery, gear
ing and ballast are placed, and the screw
shaft revolves. The second or lower hull,
not only furnishes room for the machinery
below the water line, but it thus gives
great stability to the boat, which, having
a short shaft and light upper works, is
/ practically non n-capsizable. The wheel is
thoroughly submerged also and is never
| lifted out of the water in a chop sea. The
arrangement of the water-tight compart-
ments places the queer craft on the same
footing with the lifeboat of the life.saving
service-that is, the weight in the bottom
and the air chambers above cause the boat
to right itself ii capsized; and it is impos-
sible to sink it without destroying first the
air-tight ompartments.
The lower hull has very sharp cut
water, and also acts as the modern fin
keel in giving the boat steadiness while
under great speed. This vibration and
unsteadiness were the most difficult of
the several problems to overcome.
NEW TO-DAY.