The San Francisco call., 1905-04-16

shrek: the sound of her eight eX-
hausts smites the ear like the continu-
Gus reports of machine gun, mingled
with the scream of the river water,
while the shore, dimly seen through
veil of powdered spray. flies by Ike
train. There is no swing or plunge,
no lurch or roll The grand little craft
pours on her way on an absolutely
even keel. with no sense of being
driven, but a feeling as though boat
and her crew were flying and fleeing
on the wings OF the wind.
There is absolutely 10 sense of fio-
tation, no water-borne feeling what
soever. If one shuts ones eye il is not
difficult to imagine oneself on some
tearing vehicle running on. small roll
ers over smooth steel road at an in
credible speed. Sustained for the first
tine, it is like no other experience TO
be had In this world. but after the first
nalf minute or less there settles upon
one a quite delightful sense of security
and safety, so evenly and so truly does
she run
RESULT or EXPERIMENT.
. The Napier II was constructed by
Messrs. Yarrow & Co, the world 5
greatest ,torpedo-b boat builders, and. is
engined with two 45-horsepower Ma
pier motor engines, each driving its
own propeller shaft She was a fall
ure last year. In the trial races for
the international cup her bow plates
became cracked under the strain OF
meeting the sea. and her engines did
not work smoothly. She succeeded,
however. in beating the American
hier Challenger, which was then also
victim of bad luck, faulty ignition
depriving her of the use Of some of
her cylinders. But the Napier II
broke down completely before the
final race and was unable to come
to the starting iine-the prize, after
a squabble, being awarded to a French
boat the Trefie-a- Ouatre.
No craft ever before built has been
the subject of so many and varied, ex-
periments to arrive at the best shape
of boat and most efficient mechanism.
She is as chock full of science as the
latest battleship. To ascertain what
form of hull went easiest through the
water, a number of full-sized models
were built and towed behind a tor
pedo-boat, the resistance at varying
speeds being indicated by a dynamo
meter. Since last year several diff
ferent bows have been tried upon her
In that finally adopted the fore-foot
has been cut right away, giving all
most a fat floor from stem to stern
and making a complete skimming
dish Of her.
HER BOW VERY BLUNT.
She is entirely lacking in that fine
knife-like entrance which is supposed
TO be essential to the highest speed
The bow, in fact, is very blunt-just
as if two or three feet had been
chopped off-but as the boat, when
driven her fastest, has her fore-foot
lifted clean out of the water. the
thickness of the stem is of no mo-
ment, The bow has an extreme flare
on the top side to turn off the crest
of the bow wave, splash guards or
"whiskers" also being fitted as an ex-
tension of this fare. It is this de-
vice. throwing off on either side great
torrents of spray, that produces the
peculiar effect of wings when she is
seen bow-on.
The number of different propellers
that have been tried to get the most
effective form. when driven at over a
thousand revolutions a minute, would
have been quite beyond the capacity of
ordinary boat-builders. No expense
nor pains has been spared to make
her the swiftest craft of her size afioat
and she is now several knots faster
than she was at her best last year. AS
the Challenger has also been greatly
improved, 1t is the hope of naval men
that the two boats will meet again in
the race for the International trophy
which will take place in few months
THE COMBUSTION ENGINE.
1t is not alone the fact that she is
the fastest boat of her size yet built
which makes this marvellous little
craft worthy Of attention. Vastly
more interesting is she as evidence
that the time is not far distant when
the internal combustion engine, which
works by the explosion of vapor or
gases, will displace the steam engine
as the chief instrument of mans mas
terry over the sea. On that subject no
map is more competent to speak with
authority than-A. F. Yarrow.s He has