The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-09
PETERSEN,S HOME MADE LAUNCH
Owners OF Some Crack Boats Surprised
by q Natural Born Mechanic.

by q Natural Born Mechanic.
The natives of Navesink Highlands
or those who dwell there all the year
are very proud OF an original gen us who
has lived among them for some time, and
who not long ago carried discontinue
among the residents Of several OF the neigh
boring towns. He s Carl Petersen, a
swede over six feet in height and Of ire
| mendous physical strength.
He makes his living by means OF dredg-
ing machine, but he is a natural born me-
| chanic and his fame rests principally upon
his achievements with a gaso,ene launch.
II seems that some time ago he put q
gasolene outfit into his rowboat. It was
| n very ordinary looking rowboat, and he
wasted no time in ornamenting the gasolene
| engine, so that when the whole thing was
done it attracted no particular attention.
IL was not very fast, and Petersen was
disappointed. Then he began tinkering
with the propeller. He found that the
blades were not properly set and were not
OF the curvature he believed they should
be.
He knew nothing about the science OF
curves and had never read line on the
fine points OF screw propellers. But he
scratched his shock Of hair. and popdered.
Then he procured number Of blocks OF
wood and began whiting propeller blades.
Day and night he whitfield away, ponder
ing all the time. Every spare moment he
put TO his whiting and his little shop was
soon Uttered with wooden blades of all
sorts and patterns.
q tir,e ha copob;paI tbaea throa ~,
bunch ad justing them at different angles,
and then he had lot Of castings made
Soon the shop benches were cluttered with
the metal propellers
About this time Peterson decided he
needed more length to his boat, 80 he sawed
it in the middle and spliced fifteen feet
into it. If the craft was commonplace
before, she was so no longer. People
looked at it and grinned Old watermen
studied it closely, and if they smiled at first
most Of them made up their minds that the
boat now had speed in her lines.
After the engine was So, up again, and
everything was ready. Petersen began
trying on the new propellsrs. Some oil
them were of no use and he cast them aside
Presently he found he had one set that
ans wered. and then he announced that he
would enter his piratical-lookng craft
in gasolene launch race that was TO come
of somewhere near Red Bank.
A lot OF the swells had their boats down
for this event, and when folks looked az
Pctersen's queer vessel, carelessly painted
and smoke begrimed, and then gazed on
the handsome, dainty boats Of the swells
they couldn't see much in the race for the
Swede. But the latter knew what he was
doing
He took his boat out when the swelll
were speeding theirs, and he ran up and
down so they could size his boat up all
they wanted But when he did this he
always put on one Of the poor propellers
The swells could tell by the sound Of his
engine that it was working up to its full
capacity, and when they ran away from
| him they believed they had the race pat.
So they wanted TO bet, and those who
knew what Petersen could do with his boat
| covered the money. OF course, on the day
of the race Petersen put on his best set OF
propeller blades. and the way he left the
others behind is still the talk OF that coast
region.
The swells did nor learn for many day
how it all happened. They saw Petersen
, leave them behind with his engine working
! at tho same pace as before. but with the
speed nearly doubled. They figured il
! out after time. Petereen's boat is the
fastest thing of its class around Savesink.