The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1906-09-13
The Gasoline Schooner.

The ship and bark are dying, but the
schooner which has fought her way up
from the little twO-master of 100 tons.
to the 4, 5, and 6-master 1--WE shall not
say the 7-master, as she will not be du-
plicated) of from 1000 to 1000 tons reg
lister. is going to have new lease OF
life. and her battle with the ocean coal
and lumber barge, towed by tugs and
steamships, is going to be fought more
effectively and successfully than here
tofore, because of the perfection of the
gasolene engine, which is now to be APP
piled as auxiliary power to our regular
reighting schoOners.
To Garrett Schenck, president Of the
Great Northern Paper Co. OF Madison,
Maine, belongs the credit of having
dared to try the experiment OF equip
ping large freight schooner IA 1000
ton four-master) with a gasolene en-
CINE, of 500 H. p, and the Standard
Motor Construction Co. of Jersey CITY,
n. j., also deserves credit for having
possessed sufficient enterprise and faith
in their own ability to construct ma
rine gasolene motor of that power,
when $50 or 800 b. p. has been the high
est power heretofore built in gasolene
engines constructed on the Atlantic
seaboard.
The whole schooner world will watch
with keenest interest this experiment,
for if successful, hardly a schooner will
be constructed that will not be equip
ped with a gasolene or kerosene motor
for auxiliary propelling power:
But with all due respect to the owner
Of the new gasolene schooner and the
builder of her propelling engine, we be-
lieve that an electric launch, capable
of exerting so II. P. would tow the
Schenck schooner at from to knots
per hour, and would possess the fact OF
absolute safeness from explosion or fire,
obtaining as they would, power from
the vessel herself through slack cop.
per wire leading from the dynamo OF
the schooner to the launch, as all new
schooners are equipped with either
steam, gasolene or kerosene engines,
for operating the windlass, pumps,
hoists, ETC., and the same motor would
produce the electricity to feed the cleo
trio launch.
The electric tow boat would also
have the advantage OF not taking up
room in the hold, and there would be
less gasolene or other intlammable fluid
stored on board, and which may cause
the insurance people to advance their
rates on cargo carried in gasOlene pro
PEELED schooners, besides advancing the
cost of insurance on the vessel heIself.
But if the gasOlene schooner proves
as safe as steamer, there is little
doubt that the auxiliary motive power
will be a gasolene engine, but in view
of the many accidents that have occur
red (mostly through gross carelessneSS
nv, MOI t of tho PrlW1
it will be some time before sufficient
confidence has been gained in the new
motor to give it an opportunity to de-
monstrate its efficiency and economy
on schooners.
Some skipper may say that it would
not be an easy task to hoist an electric
launch out of the water, as the iron
davits now commonly used would not
be strong enough, to which we reply
that steel davits, hollow steel at that,
could be constructed which would be
perfectly strong enough to carry the
launch on, and as for hosting her out
of the water, it would be a far easier
task than heaving up the anchor, as II
the case of the launch the distance
from the water to the davits would sell
dom even when III ballast be more
than from eight to twelve feet, and
more frequently it would not exceed
half that distance.
We will venture the assertion that
the 500 II. P engine in the Garrett
Schenck schooner will not drive her
over five to six knots while less than
quarter that power in an electric launch
would tow her at the same speed. BY
applying the power direct from the
schooner to the electric launch, only a
very small storage battery plant on the
launch would be necessary, and great
saving in weight would result.
We hope some schooner owner VIII
experiment with the electric tow boat,
as the benefits that would come would
repay him a hundred fold, and we are
informed by electrical engineers that
the plan is quite feasible and presents
no obstacles that cannot readily be
overcome.-A. B. See, in the American
Shiphuilder.