The Republican journal., 1903-04-09
THE GASOLINE BOAT.

Ever SINCE Adam lndlScretlOn man.
kind has been compelled to make a llv
ing, and that numerous Americans
have of late been very successful in do
ing this is shown by the unprecedented
number of pleasure craft building all
along the Atlantic coast. And the en-
thusiasm of those prospective yacht
owners, when discussing the merits of
the property they are i'll hopes of soon
to see cast upon the waters, indicates
them as sharing the belief OF r. l..
Stevenson, that more pleasure can be
derived from fooling among boats than
from adding up columns of figures.
Every Sunday, emitting the proviso OF
the weather's permission. scores of bus
mess men, whose personal appearance
is not suggestive of nautical inclina-
tions travel ship p-yardward to observe
another weeks growth of their mari
time wonders.
The genuine enjoyment it gives some,
and conservatism Of others are respon-
sible for the many orders builders have
received for sailboats, from the schoon-
er for deep-water cruising, the knock
about to be sailed strictly between
meal times, the skimming- dish with
reputation of having crossed a grass
plat after heavy dew, to the tlat-bot-
toned dory with nominal draught.
AS i'll the fight for supremacy in the
affections of their devotees between the
carriage with the horse and the vehicle
with the odor, the boat with the gaso-
line motor is putting itself to the front,
and is predicted as going to take the
wind out of many sails this coming sea-
son. The gasoline smell is no longer SO
vigorously denounced, it being now re-
garded as suggestive of bank accounts
and brown stone palaces with mansard
roofs.
The noise made by former types of
motors was not conducive to their find
ing favor in the eyes, or rather ears, of
yachtsmen. while the weight of some of
the engines l examined was enough to
stagger any boat, if not the whole of
nautical humanity. An advertisement
that said mot a ton of pig iron, but
four-cylinder, twentieth century, high
speed gasoline motors for sale-all
sizes, inserted by the Boston agent of
a western concern, brought me to his
place of business, where / very soon
was convinced of the fallacy of the as
sertion that "there is nothing new un-
der the SUM-" A 14H. P. four-cylinder
| gasoline engine, placed upon the pack
ing case in which it originally arrived
| from its western place of birth, was
running at speed of 600 revolutions
| per minute, while said running might
be likened to that proverbially associ-
| eted with watch. One of the features
was shifting spark, device to change
| the time of the explosion, preventing
the chance to be hurt by the so-called
| "back-kick" when starting, dreaded by
amateur and professional alike. A fioat-
| feed, insuring an equal flow of gasoline
to the cylinders, and the Importance of
which can be fully appreciated by any
one having run launch in a very heavy
| head sea, Occasioning a continuous re-
version of the relative positions of tank
and motor, was something | then saw
| for the first time.
| Yes-the gasoline boats are going to
be numerous, and nothing could con-
vince me more of the favor they had
the coast than the fact that a number
of Portuguese lobstermen, the most
conservative class of men that ever re-
tanned liking for an ash breeze, are
now the prowd owners of power dories.
These thrifty men, too conservative to
set their pots in travis, as done by their
native colleagues, but still buoying each
trap separate have noticed the advan-
tage of pursuing their calling in boat
propelled by a gasoline motor. And in
cidentally may add that in their case
| the gasoline smell is decided advan-
tage, it being the only perfume suffi-
GENTLY strong to offset the odo1 of their
bait.-Frank Hanson the The Marine
Riview.