The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-05-08
POWER BOATS SHOW
INCREASE ON RIVER
Each Year Sees Additions to
Fleet on the Missis.
slppi River.

II was only a few years ago when one
might count the number of rover boats
on the Mississippi river in the neighbor-
hood of st. Paul on ones fingers. Not
WlthStanding the unrivaed facilities for
power boats of all descriptions, the sport
did not thrive in this locality. Whether
the people awakened to their opportunities
all at once it is difficult to say. but if re-
MAINS, nevertheless, that in the past five
years hundreds Of boats have been placed
On the Mississippi river between st. Paul
and Lake Pepin, and it is no uncommon
sight to see dozen or more boats in
action at one time
The boat building industry has deveI-
oped immensely, and in ST. Paul it has
assumed unusually large proportions. so
mat at this time there are several con-
Germs In the city which make an ex-
elusive business Of building power boats.
Inc 81 Paul Yacht club has done much
toward stimulating the sport locally, and
the chain of smaller clubs scattered along
the Mississippi river between st. Paul and
La Crosse has had a beneficial influence
on the pastime. The development Of the
speed of power boats in the past few
years has been great indeed OnIv a
short time ago boat capable of a speed
OF eight to ten knots per hour was re-
garded as extremely fast
Today boats are being built with mora
than twice that speed and some Of the
boats which are now in commission in
Eal59us parts Of the country have the
ingenuity displayed in the construction Of
engines and hull is nothing short of mar
Vicious, and the limit has not yet been
Speedy Craft Building.
One Of the distinct power boat sur
prlses OF the year in the speed line is
likely to be that being built at Detroit,
Mlch, Tor John r. and Horace E. Dodge,
OF the firm of Dodge Bros, machinists'
The boat Is to be an 85-foot steam sDepd
yacht run by crude oil and to have a
special engine of LOO horsepower. She
VIII also have special boilers capable of
stahQing 2 bOO-pound pressure and It Is
expected that she will attain a speed Of
thirty -hVe miles per hour for q straight
run Of ten hours. This sounds like a
fond dream, but the specially constructed
machinery that will be put into the boat
is depended on to make it a realization.
The boat is being built by p. H. Studer,
the Detroit builder who has been asso-
ciated, like the Dodge Bros. with sneed
launches on the lakes for some years. So
far as known she is the largest ATTEMPT
at crude oil fuel speed yacht ever built
and for this reason. if she fuliIIs expecta-
tons, she may attract the attention of the
whole power world
She will not, however, be q swift she'll
She is being built honestly with good
being taken to make her strong and
stanch: She Will probably be completed
some time in July. If successful on home
waters the first season her owners in
tenQ 10 take her down East and put her
against some of the best known speed
yachts on the Hudson river.
A view at the boats dimensions and
general, form shows that she is IS feet
over all; ~ feet on the load water line;
with an extreme beam of 10 feet. Her
greatest beam is just forward of amid
ships about where the smokestack sets
INTO the boiler. She tapers after to a
beam at the stern of Az feet, less than
half her greatest beam. Her forward
oVerhang is very slight, being but a mat
ter OF inches and her stern of the or
dlnary type gives her an after overhang
of 54 feet.
Special Boilers.
The boilers are of special construction
to stand the immense pressure and every
SMALLEST piece has to pass government
inspection. The boilers have to be tested
at LOO pounds water pressure, in accord
ance with the government requirement.
She will be equipped with two bearing
water-tube boilers, capable of standing s'' .
pressure OF 500 pounds to the square inch
and of a capacity to evaporate II 900
pounds of water an hour, or about 1875
pounds a minute.
So far as known this is the only pleas-
ure yacht ever built to carry such i'm
menSe boiler pressure. They are entirely
constructed Of Shelby seamless drawn
steel tubing, the steam dome being made
of a piece of seamless irawn7tt1bing
eighteen inches in diameter. GIG of an
inch thick and feet long.
The fuel used will be crude oil operated
by low pressure air system She will
have storage tanks of a capacity of 2 600
gallons. the tanks being placed each side
OF the keel under the forward and after
cabin floors. This brings the fuel load
down in the lowest part of the boat which
is going to give her great STABILITY.
Should she start to roll she will have Ia
lit almost her entire weight.