The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-28
spseidi cabk D,ipateh to TIE suS.


until the veil OF secrecy is lifted
There were no restrictions. however. about
going the wharf alongside tho Sham
rock after sho entered the water. and to-
day everybody seemed perfectly free to watch
the work being done on her The work
men kept at 1t all night. and by 3
O'Clock this afternoon the mast was stepped
and the gaff and topmast had been shipped.
The spinnaker boom stood on end on the deck.
its upper end extending a few feet above the
port spreader. Before these spars were taken
aboard they lay on the wharf and their meas
urements were taken.
As the Shamrock settles down to her de-
signed lines with the weight OF her spars and
rigging she looks better than she did yester-
day. but nothing that was seen to-day has
changed the Impressions already cabled to
THE Sun. The first thing that strikes one
10 the look OF power. and as you examine
more closely you see that this power extends
from the mast right back to the counter. The
forebody is something Of the canoe shape. The
nose sticks out conspicuously. and the en-
tire forebody seems merely an incident.
as though all 1t is expected to do is 10
point out the course. keep its head
above the water. and splash and make big
fuss over its work. But when you begin to
look aft and notice the beam and the full round
counter you naturally cast your eyes aoft to
see what can be the reason for this special
feature OF power in the hull. You expect some-
thing aloft and to-day one could get some idea
Of what the powerful body OF the yacht will be
called upon to support.
1.-THE Shamrock will have a spread OF canvas
that will surely make no mean showing COM
pared with the Columbia's II we knew
more definitely her shape below the
water we could form more intelli-
gent opinion OF the value OF her fat
counter. but even then it is doubtful IL Ameri-
cans yet believe in this feature in the model OF
the Shamrock. Tho long overhangs and lean
run are evidently essential features Of the
American 00-foot fin keel yacht. When one
crossed to the opposite wharf and got a look at
the Shamrock from distance OF 100 yards she
appeared at her best. Even then she looked
heavy. Her sheer is rather straight. The
lifting bow seems to emphasize the squat Of
the after body. The overhang aft naturally
looks too short. although the lines are carried
out to their natural ending. and in spite OF her
heavy quarters the yacht will cleave the water
without hang or drag anywhere.
When she was clear OF the wharf and a
straight view OF her stern could be had her
beam and resemblance to the out-and-out
centreboard type was remarkable. This
causes the thought that Fife is years be-
hind the times and leads to a more ear
seen and the draught known SO that the boat
could be better understood. Everything indi-
Gates that the Shamrock draws lot OF water.
For instance. before she was launched the
dock was sounded to determine the depth Of
water there. which is never less than twenty
six feet and ia frequently twenty nine feet.
An English yacht designer said to-day that
he was reasonably certain that the draught of
the yacht is twenty-sx feet. He added that he
l.. 1 IL.
source. One Of the men who works the gates
Of the dock said that there were twenty
nine feet of water there both yesterday
and to-day. Furthermore. he said that
there would not be less 80 long as the Sham
rock remained there. From another source il
was learned that the yacht s draught is twenty
two feet. Whether it is twenty-five or twenty
six feet cannot be said. but If it is taken that
her lead keel weighs only eighty tons it Is
pretty certain that it is hung very low. Eighty
tons il commonly mentioned by those who
helped to cast it. According to the reports re-
ceived here this is ten tons less than the keel
OF the Columbia weighs.
The mast OF the Shamrock is stepped we'll
aft 1t is stated in dispatches from America
that the mast OF the Columbia is twenty seven
feet from the forward end OF the water line,
which is significant in view Of her COM
paratively short bowsprit. In the Sham
rock the forward side OF the mast is
about thirty feet from the forward end
of the water line. The overhang forward
is 10 feet and the bowsprit is 53 feet cupboard.
making 81 feet from the tip OF the bowsprit to
tho forward side OF the mast This verifies the
impression that the Shamrock will have tre-
mendous forestaysail and great length along
the foot Of all the head sails.
The challengers main dimensions are:
Water line. under 30 feet; length over all. 100
feet: beam, % feet; forward overhang. ~
feet; after overhang. Il feet. The mast Is
1O6 feet over all. 1t is hollow steel
spar made OF about three eighths of an
inch steel. 1t is 3 feet q inches in cir
conference. making 1t trife under
% inches in diameter 1t carries its
diameter from heel to head. In fact. all the
spars are OF uniform diameter from end to
end. The mast extends 10 feet below deck
The masthead is III feet. and the hoist
is about Is feet instead OF rs, as
cabled yesterday. The spInnaEer boom
is eighty five feet long, as can be easily calcu-
lated when it is remembered that to-day this
spar was on end on deck and it extended Ave feet
above the spreader. The measurements given
OF the mast are accurate. The Gatf extended
to within about thirteen feet OF tho taffra and
its length is calculated to be sixty eight feet.
The boom is at Southampton. It lisa hollow
all, making it four inches longer than the re-
ported length Of the Columbia's boom
The spreaders are 20 feet q inches from
end to end, The stick most In doubt
is the topmast, To-day they sent up
wooden spar llfty-hve feet long. and it looked
as though they intended to use It, at least
in the trial races against the Britannia
although 1t is reported that Fife ia
going to try steel telescope top
mast in two pieces. rugged that
the upper half can be lowered into tho lower
at any height desired Moreover. 1t il reported
that a longer topmast OF wood is at Southamp-
ton, so it appears there is some doubt as to
how much top hamper the Shamrock will carry
to advantage.
1t would appear from the foregoing that tho
Shamrock will have as large il not larger
mainsail than the Columbia and more head
sail. while there is scarcely any doubt from
all these signs that. in the matter of working
and clubtopsas, all that the boat will carry
will be cracked on.
The spar plan of the Shamrock is something