Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-03-16
QUEEN vICTORIA's NEW YACHT.

Queen Victoria may soon enjoy the
pleasure of a cruise on her new yacht, |
the largest ever built The new royal |
yacht, the name for which has not yet |
been definitely chosen, but which |
probably will be called the Prince AL |
bert, is now so far advanced that it is
expected she will be launched next
March. The first keel plate was laid
December %, 1897, at the government
dockyard at Pembroke by Mrs Wat
son, the wife of Capt. Burgess Wat
son, the superintendent of the dock
yard.
The British government has re-
markedly well developed faculty Of
keeping it's business to itslf. The
gates of the government dockyards
rarely open, even TO British citizens,
and almost never to foreigners. Con-
sequently, although all Englishmen IN
general and yachtsmen and naval
architects have been curious to know
what Queen VictOria's new yacht will
be like, ever since parliament appro-
ing IS known except the meager de-
tails the admiralty has seen fit to give
| out.
English curiosity became so clamor-
Gus a short time ago that the admiral
| ty decided to depart from its declared
policy OF maintaining secrecy about
the royal yacht so far as to give out
some of the principal dimensions OF
the vessel. The new yacht is to be
! $50 feet long and so feet beam. Her
! draught is to be Is feet and her dis
! placement is to be 1900 tons. This
will be by far the biggest yacht ever
built. William K. Vanderbilts yacht
a pretty good size1 yacht, is small by
comparison with Queen Victoria S
new peasure craft. The Valiant is
only 332 feet long, SO feet beam and
16 feet draught. Her gross tonnage
is 1928. Howard Gould's Niagara is
still smaller, being PIP feet in length
So feet beam and 16 feet draught.
The new royal yacht is as large rs
the cruiser Baltimore, larger than the
New Orleans and much larger than the
German emperor's yacht Hohenzol.
; lern The Hohenzollern is nothing
more than a protected cruiser, arma.
ment, protective deck and all, with
quarters fitted up for the emperor
= The British royal yacht, on the othel
HAND, will have none Of the quaitie:
of cruiser, but will be a yacht pure
: and simple.
: The hull is to be of steel, sheatheC
with wood, and covered with copper
7 She will be provided with double bot
t toms. She will have three funnel
/ and two masts. Speed is to be II
} an important consideration. The ad
: miralty has deigned to inform British
taxpayers that the yacht is to have tWt
l sets of triple-expansiOn four-cylinde
{ engines, driving twin screws and hav
: ing an Indicated horsepower of II,
= 900. The high-pressure cylinder o
= each engine is to be 261a inches il
r diameter, the intermediate cylinde
l 441b inches in diameter, and the tw
= w-pressure cylinders So inches in al
= ameter, all having a stroke Of 3
inches. Steam will be supplied by !
Y Belleville boilers, working at a pres
sure of 800 pounds, which will be re
duced at the engines to $500 pounds
Q The CRATE area under the boilers will
l be $40 feet, and the heating surfac
will be $4,000 square feet. This ma
= chinery is expected to drive the vesse
= through the water at a speed of 2
Y knots an hour with the engines max
= ing 140 revolutions a minute.
= Recently progress on the yacht Wa
= delayed by strikes, but men are nov
= working overtime to make up for it
Only the best artisans to be found il
= the United Kingdom are employed. TIL
- vessel will have orlop, lower, main
f upper and forecastle decks. 1t is es
4 timated that by the time the roya
= yacht is in the water she will have COS
e237, 533
Although no information concernin;
, the arrangement, fitting and furnish
ing of the interior has been given out
it may reasonably be surmised that he
majesty will be fairly comfortable OF
: board, since it is estimated that tn,
finished yacht will cost 100000 Or
in round numbers, $1,000, 900. -Nev
York Sun.