The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-06-06
WEAKNESS IN SHAMROCK ii.
A Yachting Writer'S Opinion of the
Sacrifice of Strength for Lightness.

Sacrifice of Strength for Lightness.
The English correspondent of the scien-
t.fc American thus writes of Shamrock
IL:
In the designing of previous challengers
for the Americas Cup, George L. Watson
has always been held more or less in
chick by considerations of cost On this
occasion Sir Thomas Upton gave him an
absolutely free hand in the spending of
money. and this is probably the reason
why so much experimental work has been
done in connection with Shamrock II.
The elaborate tank tests by which the
shape of the hun was determined were
only the beginning of the experimental
work done in connection with the yacht.
Sections of every tubular spar and of
every bit of wire used for rigging were
taken and tested to destruction before
the weight of materials was fixed. In de-
Gliding upon these weights the margin
left for safety was of the smallest, and
the result brought disaster in the first
three or four trialt sailed.
The first time she was under canvas in
anything of breeze brought out an alb
normal stretch in the running fear and
rigging, and the strain of bobstay and
jib halyards on the bowsprit end found a
decided weakness in the butts in which
the heel of the bowsprit is set They
started from the deck, and beforA she
could be brought out again a collar mad
to be fitted taking in the bowsprit heel
and bracing it to the stemhead. When
these things were made good she was
started again, and this time she caught
a shrieking squall which put her to rather
a severe test Again 1t was demonstrated
how small has been the margin allowed
for safety for, though the squall was
nothing worse than might be expected,
even it summer weather, it left her lying
helpless like crippled seabird. 1t is said
that trouble started as she drove before
the wind with the breaking of one of the
backstay blocks. The boom was square
off and and one backstay was, of course,
Stacked away. When the other stay broke
the mast whipped like fishing rod, and
1t looked for a moment as if every spar
was going overheard. The mast stood,
but the gaff broke short off The topsail
yard was hollow wooden spar made for
Valkyrie III, and would probably have
stood we'll enough had the gait held. The
gait was, however, built of steel plates
only three-sixteenths of an ich thick. and
the jerk Of the mast was fatal to it, Dis
cussing the accident afterward Sir Thorn
as Upton stated, wisely enough, that if
these things were too weak for racing
strains it was better that they should go
then than in the actual contest. There is
much sense in this view; but the fact
that so many accidents happened in
weather which cannot be called abnormal
proves how much Mr.. Watson has sacri-
feed to the saving of weight. II has been
a principal factor aiding the Americans
in their successful defense of the Cup
has been the three thousand miles of
ocean which divides Great Britain and
Sandy Hook One of the lessons of the
trials has been to show that in the build
ing of the latest of the challengers little
has been conceded to the demands of the
passage. Had the yacht carried any handi-
cap in the shape of extra weight thrown
into strengthen, her for the ocean pas
sage. it is not likely that she would have
developed so many weaknesses during the
trials.