The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-04
AN EXCITING
LAUNCH RACE
On THE BAY
Two New Fliers Try
T heir Speed.
TESTING ARMoR-CLAD PILES
SOME THAT HAD BEEN DOWN
TEN YEARS EXAMINED.
The Much Libeled City of Columbia
to Go Into the Hongkong-Hon-
olulu Trade-Night Boats
for Sausalito.

Two Of the smartest steam launches
ever built in California were tried out
over the measured mile last Saturday.
They are the Karluk and Coils of the
Alaska Packers Associations fleet. and
under full steam pressure made u 40
knots hour with the tide and 81 knots
against it. The steamers are not built for
show, but for hard service, and every
thing used in their construction was the
best that money could buy. AS a result
the association has two of the finest boats
of their size on the Pacific Coast.
The Coils is 50 feet long Z feet beam
and feet deep. while the Karluk is four
feet shorter, but has the same beam and
depth of hold as the Coils. The engines
were designed by w. P. Lindley, the
supervising marine engineer of the Alaska
Packers Association, and they are beau
ties. The cylinders are 6$4-inch and 1872
inch, with 10-inch stroke, while the
boilers carry a working pressure of $50
pounds. giving the engines 216 revolutions
a minute. The speed test was from Mis-
sion Rock to Hunters Point, and the two
boats fairly few over the course. Both
in the run down to the point and back TO
the rock the Coils had little the better
of the argument, but not enough TO boast
Of
The Karluk and Coils are for use at the
canneries. The former will be shipped on
the ship Santa Clara to Kodiak and the
latter on the ship Bohemia to NugaSnak
There they will be used as tenders during
the season and will come back to san
Francisco with the fleet The Packers
Association has spent over S1oO,OU on us
fleet this year, and a better found or
better equipped lot of vessels has never
left this port.
Commissioners and their employees at
Fishermen's wharf yesterday morning
About ten years ago a cluster OF four
steei-clad piles were driven at thlS Spot
and the visit was for the purpose Oh see
ing what the teredo had been doing with
the wood during its long immersion
There were present Commissioners hlI-
burn. Harvey and Herold, Chief Engineer
Holmes and Assistant Engineer Ryan,
Superintendent of Urgent Repairs Long
and Assistant Superintendent jerks anu
pile-pulling crew.
was in fair shape. The action OF me
water had worn away the steel covering
in places, but the teredo had not galned9
an entrance and the wood was as SOUND
as on the day the pile was driven; COM
missioner Harvey used an ak with great
deftness, but the pile nowhere showe9
signs of decay. The second pile inspected
did not show up as well. The action OF
the water had worn the steel away IN
patches and the teredo had done It's dead
!y work The others appeared to pc IN
fair condition.
1t cost 81 a foot to put the steel cover
ing over the piles and the Commissioners
warrant any more piles being treated IN
that manner. In other words, the NE OF
a pile encased in steel is just the length
of time the metal will Withstand the cor
roding influences of the water. II the
covering costs a dollar a foot TO put on
and then only lasts ten years the pile is
a financial failure. so says Commissioner
Tie old steamer City of Columbia, over
which there has been so much litigation
both on this coast and in Hawaii, is 70
l,e cd nm mr. VlI
again She was sold in Honolulu few
weeks age for = song, and when some OF
her creditors attempted 10 have the sale
set aside evidence vas produced 10 prove
that the vessel was only good for scrap
iron and was not worth more tnan $loUO.
The sale was confirmed by the court, ana
according TO advices by the Nippon Maru
an hour later twenty men were at work
on the vessel that was only good for
scrap-iron." getting her ready for sea;
She was to be fitted with yards and sailed
as far as the Chinese coast. Then steam
was to be got on the boilers and her en-
gines set TO work. and she will enter
port she is to be thoroughly overhaUled
and pat in good shape, after which she
will run regularly in the Hongkong-Hono-
The United States collier Brutus will
get away for Guam in few days. She
was alongside the Italian ship Catherine
Accame yesterday and will take aboard
that vessels cargo of coal.
The mail steamer Mariposa will not get
in from Australia until Friday next, and
in the future that will be the day of ar
rival of all the Australian steamers. The
date of leaving Sydney has been made
two days later and that is why the Mari
posa will arrive Friday instead of to-
morrow.
There will be a radical change In the
Sausalito ferry system commencing with
April %. The great demand has been for
a late boat and now the patrons of the
road will get pretty nearly what they
want. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Satur-
days and Sundays there will be extra
trips arriving in San Francisco at 1850
be extra trips leaving San Francisco at
and 1870 p. m. This will leave Tues
day, Thursday and Friday as the only
nights on which there Will be no late
boat.
The British ship Aspice. from San
Francisco for Liverpool. on which ~ per
cent reinsurance was paid, was spoken
on January in latitude 81 south, longi-
tude IS west.
day state that the schooners King Cyrus
and Honopu had arrived at Kahului
from Newcastle. n. S. w, on March IS
and % respectively. The schooners Fal-
con and Albert Meyer, bark Haydn
Brown, brig Lurline and barkentine
Wrestler occupied all the berths in
Kahului so the Honoipu and King Cyrus
were standing on and off outside await
ing a chance to get in when the Nippon
will be glad to know that two new light
ers have been added to the facilities at
Kahului and that vessels are in conse-
quence getting much better dispatch
pPTSENT SWORN ITO EVANS